Today, a student comes into my office. This is one of the physics summer students who are here as a result of a nation-wide selection for the brightest. Here's the exchange: "I can't run GIMP on the server." "Did you try typing 'gimp' on the command line?" "I did, and it didn't work." I sigh, and start…
The saga is complete, at least for now. It's possible that there will be more games released with the Uncharted title, but Nathan Drake has climbed his last cliff face. In reviewing the game, the most striking thing about it is the graphics design. Naughty Dog knew how to take full advantage of the PS3, and they…
I was one of the jurors let go as a result of a challenge. So my jury duty is over. I won’t have to do it again for four years (for a federal court) or six years (for a state court).
This year’s Passover seder (on Friday evening) is more logistically complex than previous years, even though the number of people is fewer.
I seem to be slowly moving back to working on Isaac Bonewits' biography. I've let it lie fallow for about two years, mainly because I became frustrated at my attempts at some hard-to-reach interview subjects. Recently, Phaedra Bonewits has tried to identify the original members of the American Council of Witches. She was kind enough to forward…
From today's Writer's Almanac: On this day in 1327, the poet Petrarch saw Laura for the first time. [...] Petrarch was 22 years old, and she was a teenager, maybe 17. He fell instantly in love. He wrote: It was the day when the sun's heavy rays Grew pale in pity of his suffering Lord When I…
So I've got the new car. People around me seem to expect me to feel excited. I've blogged and posted on Facebook complaints about the purchase process. I was nervous about buying a new car, and now that I have it I'm nervous about owning it. Why don't I feel excited? At this point in my life,…
In a <a href="https://argothald.wordpress.com/103135/">previous post</a> about drones, I described my baby steps into the hobby. I started flying my "real" quadcopter, the <a href="http://www.dromida.com/drones/dide04xx-vista-fpv/index.php">Dromida Vista</a>, about a month ago. I did this where I work, <a href="http://www.nevis.columbia.edu/">Nevis Labs</a>, during my lunch hour. This made sense to me, since my goal was to take video of the Nevis…
This is a venting post. <lj-cut>It's definite: I need to get a new car. I hoped to get another 25,000 miles out of my 18-year-old Subaru, but that's not going to happen. I hate, hate, hate the car-buying process. I'm a lousy negotiator. The dealers are experienced and aggressive. The financial issues are complicated. If this were…