If you read xkcd…
If you read xkcd (and if not, why not?), you’ll probably enjoy Abstruse Goose. Today’s comic had me searching Wikipedia for articles on group theory, which I think is a good thing…..
Read More If you read xkcd…December 2008
Harvard art at the Sackler
More photos. Harvard University has embarked on a major renovation of its art museums, particularly the Fogg Museum on Quincy Street. During the reconstruction, they’ve consolidated some of their pieces in the smaller Sackler Museum on Broadway. On a beautiful (but chilly) morning, we decided to take the #66 bus over to Harvard Yard and…
Read More Harvard art at the SacklerDoonesbury's brilliant today
As you can see here. Which reminds me: where’s Riverbend?
Read More Doonesbury's brilliant todayFor family and friends
I’m in Brookline, Massachusetts for a week, and yesterday we went up to Lynn to see my daughter, her husband, and the two grandchildren. Normally at the end of December Lynn would be deep in snow, but yesterday the temperature reached 64F, and when we arrived the kids were playing in the yard. I took…
Read More For family and friends"Snow packed" by design – FAIL!
I’ve only been up to work a couple of times since the snow and ice first settled on Seattle. Even though I simply have to walk across the street from my apartment and take a shuttle bus up the hill, it’s a risky and stressful business. To someone from Boston, familiar with how urban snow…
Read More "Snow packed" by design – FAIL!More stupidity from back home in the UK
Not only is religion being co-opted by politicians in the UK (or is it the other way round?); it appears that creationism is making inroads. As The Bad Astronomer reports A survey in the UK shows that about 1/3 of the teachers in England and Wales think creationism should be taught in science. About half…
Read More More stupidity from back home in the UKReligious pandering back home
Oh bugger. One might hope that one of the most non-religious countries in the world would reject this nonsense, but apparently not: True, it is embarrassing to be the only western democracy that has theocracy built into its legislature. The 26 bishops in the Lords interfere regularly: they are a threat on abortion, and their…
Read More Religious pandering back homeHistorical oddities
I’ve been digging into my American family roots, and came up with a couple of amusing nuggets. My father was American, and his mother was named Kate Denig. This seemed like a fairly easy name to trace, so we worked back through the US Census records at Ancestry.com. There was one significant element of confusion,…
Read More Historical odditiesA year with the Kindle
Last November, I became one of the first people to acquire an Amazon Kindle ebook reader. A year later, I thought it might be interesting to reflect on a year of living with the device. I’m doing this purely on my own behalf; even though I work for Amazon, I don’t need to pump up…
Read More A year with the KindleOn the toe liberation front….
Inspired by a colleague of mine, I just acquired a pair of Vibram Fivefingers KSO shoes. A couple of years ago I spent most of the summer in some really thin “river runner” style shoes, and it was the closest thing I’d found to having the freedom of going barefoot while still providing some basic…
Read More On the toe liberation front….