Not So Super
For some, a flop is a Broadway play that didn’t do well at the box office. For others, the term conjures the vision of a high-jumper executing the ubiquitous Fosbury technique. For the scientific elite, it is an acronym for Floating Point Operation. The appeal of modern computers is basically two-fold; they can automate the […]
Selfie Reflection
Selfie Sticks in various forms have been around for a long time. Since the first caveman saw his reflection in a pool of water, we have been fascinated by our own image. In the first Century, the Romans invented hand-held glass mirrors, and all of us have been looking back ever since. Mirrors are everywhere. […]
Tools, Gadgets and Oreos
If you own some sort of exercise tracking device like a Fit Bit or a Fuelband, you are a ten-percenter. Market research shows that 1 out of every 10 Americans over the age of 18 has one of these high-tech wearables. That same research tells us that one third of those who got them have […]
Does Not Compute!
Around the age of one year, the average human will stand on two legs and start walking. For some reason, parents think this is a good thing, forgetting how convenient it was to strap them into a car-seat-carrier and have total control over their whereabouts. Of the three primary childhood milestones – walking, talking and […]
Fly Catcher
Reading about the latest developments in technology can really make me feel like an old fart. Consider fly swatters. For most of my life, if there was a fly that was annoying you, you rolled up a newspaper or magazine, crept up on the little Musca domestica Linnaeus, and quickly swatted it into oblivion. Those […]
All Is Not Forgotten
Ninety-five percent of all lab animals are mice or rats. Without them, we humans would be in pretty bad shape. They have been used as models for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, Alzheimer’s and a host of other human maladies. If you’ve ever been cured with a medication prescribed by a doctor, odds are you […]
If a Tree Falls
“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” This is a classic thought experiment from Philosophy 101, intended to kick off a flurry of questions about the relationship between observation and reality. For science-minded folk who have no patience for such drivel, the […]
Robots Are Not What You Think
Most of us associate the word “robot” with some modern high-tech contraption but the idea of a mechanical human actually goes back a very long time. People are quirky, after all, and the idea of having even some of the functionality minus the drama has always been appealing. The very definition of the word robot […]
Easier is Better
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” (Friedrich Nietzsche) We love inspirational quotes to help us through challenging times, and this is one of the classics. My late father had another favorite -“Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things” (Henry Ward Beecher). The common theme in these […]
DUI…P?
Pot has a lot to learn from alcohol. Alcohol is the senior intoxicant, having been legal in the U.S. since the 21st amendment repealed Prohibition in 1933. Still, pot is catching up; nearly one third of all Americans live in a state where marijuana has been legalized to some degree. Automobile accidents due to DUI […]
