The Revenge of the Anti-Drunks
We humans tend to oversimplify things; ergo there are only two kinds of people. The nerds embrace technology, and the Luddites oppose it. We are certain we understand the distinction, but we are wrong. The appellation nerd is so entwined with our culture that it is nearly impossible to pin down the exact origin or […]
Methane Monitor (aka Fart Tracker)
The Apple Watch is lots of things to lots of people – chic, attention-grabbing, fun – but at its core, it is basically a sophisticated computer worn on the wrist. Like any computer, it is only as good as the software that it runs. Apple is well aware of this, and has promoted apps which […]
A Boy and His Atom
It takes a truly tech-savvy scientist to understand the awesome technology at play in your computer’s disk drive. For everyone else, there is one basic fact that remains clear. Since each generation of disk drives holds more information, whatever is representing that information must be getting smaller. IBM started making disk drives for computers in […]
Mystery Meat
During my son’s freshman year at Colorado State University, I had several occasions to visit him and eat in the dorm cafeteria. Among the various foodie temptations were a carvery, a pizza counter, a burger grill and both sushi and salad bars. As for desserts… don’t get me started. Things have changed since my first […]
Group Hugs
“Can we all get along?” This famous line (often misquoted) was poignantly spoken by Rodney King. He was appealing for calm after the verdict in his police brutality trial that triggered the ’92 Los Angeles riot, a rampage that cost the city over $2 billion dollars. If you think anyone listened, just Google “Ferguson, Missouri.” […]
Taking Pictures
There are certain elements of technology that have saved my butt in tense situations. Example: We are at some sort of family gathering/vacation/dinner/graduation/party /wedding/ etc. when my wife turns to me and says, “You brought the camera, right?” A “yes” answer would, at the very least, postpone a dirty look until the film was taken […]
PancakeBot to the Rescue
One of the most important skills you must have in order to be a good parent has nothing to do with diapers or shoelaces; we’re talking about pancakes here. When our kids were growing up, it was absolutely essential that I produce “Mickey Mouse” pancakes. The taste, color and texture were secondary; the most important […]
High Jumping in Kenya
Most of us in this country take for granted how richly blessed we are. We have clean water, indoor plumbing, and a very high standard of living compared to the rest of the world. When we don’t like something about our government, we are free to complain without fear of being thrown in jail. Our […]
Apple’s Grasp of the Obvious
The U.S. Patent system is founded on an elegantly simple process for encouraging innovation. You come up with a unique idea that is not obvious to someone who is familiar with the subject area. You describe it in sufficient detail that others can duplicate it. In return for doing so in writing, the government will […]
Death, Taxes and the Speed of Light
We take great comfort in knowing that some things never change. The sun always rises in the morning and sets in the evening (except at the North Pole in June). Water always flows downhill (unless you are a scientist at the University of Rochester). And every week the Internet will have a new party-photo of […]