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What is yet to pass…
Nothing like a graphical representation of every day of your life to put things in perspective… It turns out that when I graduated from high school, I had already used up 93% of my in-person parent time. I’m now enjoying the last 5% of that time. We’re in the tail end. It’s a similar story…
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Robots in Space
“Sure, where’s my jetpack and flying car and all that, but the fact that humanity has more than two dozen robots currently exploring the solar system seems pretty futuristic to me.“ https://kottke.org/19/06/space-robot-roll-call While we need to get people out into space, robots need to lead the way. Much cheaper, obviously safer, and will tell us…
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Inbox: friend or foe
If your job doesn’t fundamentally depend on your email*, then ask yourself if you control your email or if email controls you. Our Email Is A Monster (Oatmeal). Some ideas to consider: No matter how focused you are, when that little window flashes up in the corner of your screen or your phone beeps, you…
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Marginal Revolution: Is the generalist returning?
This Marginal Revolution article, based off the article “At Work, Expertise Is Falling Out of Favor” from The Atlantic, brings up a good point about specialization and generalizing: our current economy may be diverging from the standard theory that bigger and more complex economies and industries require more specialists. Or in other words, you may…
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How I got hooked on Science Fiction
My first science fiction reading was this book. Actually, this very book. My dad had it — I think he was taking a science fiction class at a university? If I am lucky, I actually asked permission to borrow the book and he said I could keep it. More like, I borrowed it to read…
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50 years since Moon Landing
Ignoring the crass commercialism (hey, it’s Oreos), it is strange to think that it has been 50 years since the moon landing. I watched it in a black and white TV and space travel has interested me ever since. Yes, I think we should go back.
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Home-made Marshmallows
My sister makes marshmallows for Christmas. Toasted coconut for me. Other lesser flavors for other people. I eat them slowly throughout the year. Leave a bag of store bought marshmallows on your shelf unopened for a month and you can pound nails with them. Leave my sister’s marshmallows in the cellophane bag tied with a…
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Health warning: social rejection doesn’t only hurt – it kills | Aeon Essays
Article discussing research indicating that there is a relationship between ‘social pain’ and physical pain. Written with too many click-bait quotes, it does point out some thought-provoking things. In a landmark experiment in 2003, Eisenberger and her colleagues had test subjects strapped with virtual-reality headsets. Peering through goggles, the participants could see their own hand and a…
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Creepiness–Convenience Tradeoff
A good article from the Nielsen Norman Group, a group that focuses on technology (generally software) user experiences. The site itself is a good resource for those developing technology for larger groups of people such as companies or the general public. Summary: As people consider whether to use the new “creepy” technologies, they do a type…
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Fiction: Cesena
written November 2018 On 26 July 2015, 1000 musicians gathered in Cesena, Italy to perform one song for a band they all loved, The Foo Fighters. The performance can be found on YouTube under the title “Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters Rockin’1000 Official Video”. The speech at the end of this story starts at…
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Hiring Interns
If you are fortunate enough to work at a company that has an intern program, make sure you take advantage of it. Having interns in an IT department is a great way to find new talent, extend the skills of existing staff, and bring young energy into the department. Requirements for interns are not high.…
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Self Help
There are lots of articles on the web talking about this way and that way to improve your life, home, work, diet, productivity, whatever. Pay attention to how long the author has been doing whatever they are selling. All too often, it is measured in weeks or months. Show me someone who has been using…
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The Route of a Text Message
An excellent writeup by Scott B. Weingart of what happens when you send a text message. Written in a way that you can easily read it as deep or as superficial as you want.
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Travelog: Washington DC
The following is a single page version of 7 facebook posts I made as a travelog of a Washington DC trip. Some of the facts may be, um, completely made up unverified.
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Built To Last (or How My Dad built something electronic that has lasted for 300,000 hours and still is running)
My dad (John Bredesen Sr.) had a career where he, among other things, built radio and television stations. The technical stuff. Transmitters and studios and really tall antenna. Took me about 3/4 of the way up one of his towers…1200 ft…gave me some serious willies. And he climbed them. Voluntarily. With safety harness, but still.…
John Bredesen: Remember, wherever you go, there you are.