Eureka Moments
The belief that great ideas arise from unexpected brain farts is widely embraced, yet rarely true. The legend about Isaac Newton and the apple is probably to blame. Surely you’ve heard it. Isaac is sitting under an apple tree, pondering the true meaning and purpose of life, when without warning a piece of falling fruit […]
Research
Much of my over fifty-year career has been spent in research. This is where you try risky projects which are likely to fail with the hope that one will eventually succeed and give birth to a new revenue stream. Many see research as a glamorous occupation, until there is a layoff and only those with […]
Rizz and All the Rest
After going full goblin mode at the weekly staff meeting, you may have imagined your rizz rising, but if you followed up by posting a vape selfie without a vax label your followers might just unfriend you. If you think this first sentence is complete gobbledygook, making absolutely no sense whatsoever, you are half right. […]
Don’t Be Afraid
We spend an average of 6 ½ hours every day on the World Wide Web, a portion of the Internet consisting of pages and documents connected by hyperlinks. Over five billion people – two-thirds of the world’s population – works remotely, scrolls through information, and streams content using popular search engines and browsers to index […]
Enter at Your Own Risk
My ISP has been pestering me lately, claiming that my equipment is outdated, and I am not taking full advantage of the higher data rates available on my current Internet plan. I was skeptical, as always, that this was another ploy to sell me less for more – just how bad could my 14-year-old modem/router […]
Artificial Dementia
While it is widely known that Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, only serious historians will recall that this catastrophic event took place on August 24, 79 AD. If you are curious what typical Pompeiians ate for breakfast that morning nearly 2000 years ago, there are a few conserved bits of papyrus that […]
The Yuck Factor
The Yuck Factor is best explained with an example. Suppose you pull off a panel to begin working on some network equipment, and you find a dead rodent. That would be a YF = 7. Other discoveries like multiple rodents – or their time of death – might raise the number. If on the other […]
What is the Chance?
We are gamblers, you and me. With our very first breath, we begin assessing our surroundings and playing the odds for survival and pleasure. We strive to amass data on what works to our benefit, and what doesn’t. Unexpected outcomes (aka “outliers”) might be pleasant surprises or not-so-pleasant disappointments – either way, most of us […]
A Do-It-Yourself BS Detector
Both of my parents were educators, and reading was a common pastime in my family. Dad subscribed to U.S. News and World Report, the Los Angeles Times and the Pasadena Star News. When we got a TV, his favorite news provider was Walter Cronkite. For those too young to remember, Cronkite anchored the CBS Evening […]
Remember When….
A good memory serves us well. Our recall of directions, people’s names, answers for exam questions – all these and many more useful morsels – helps to position us for success in life. Most of our present choices and future plans are served in one way or another by our recollections of the past. Researchers […]
