Bethesda — a truly wonderful game company, unfortunately recently purchased by Microsoft(1) — has been making pretty good computer games for a long time now. Mostly each game they put out out has advanced the art of all gaming on computers to some extent. Some times a lot, sometimes less Read more…
If it’s not good for at least 100 years, why did you design it, build it, sell it or buy it? Why? Imagine how much bounty the Human Race (and the God-Zillions of other critters we share this planet with) could have if every thing we made or did was Read more…
Not mine, I’m reposting it here. You know the expression; those who fail to learn from History, blah blah etc. Read this carefully. You are living in Interesting Times Learning to live in fear. After looking out the window I could see all the trucks and cannons go by, This Read more…
There are two books that stick in my mind when I think about the year “1984.” One book (obviously) is the one by that very title, written in 1949 as a warning about where we were heading, both as a nation and as a planet. George Orwell gave us such Read more…
No opinion on these is being expressed here. Just suggesting these ought to be thought about… by everybody. Why are spies treated differently during war than is every other participant in that war? All sides have spies. All sides have soldiers. All sides have guns. All sides have Old Men Read more…
I just ran into a most curious concept. (Well… “just” might be an exaggeration, but it makes for a great opening line to the posting, don’t you think?) “Alpha Sheep.” Huh? Alpha, in these terms at least, refers to one who dominates and exerts his will over his part of Read more…
Just some things to think about… <He said with a grin> 1 — In studies conducted in England involving Chemotherapy, in double-blind style testing, half the participants getting the placebo lost their hair. Belief, man… what a concept. So why do I have to pay extra on my medical insurance Read more…
This posting is partly an exploration in how language evolves and sometimes has consequences we weren’t expecting. If that doesn’t interest you, feel free to move on. Actually, no — read it anyway… 🙂 There’s a term much in use these days: “3D Printing.” I have been holding that this Read more…
I just received another “update” from the Powers That Be in my county [“county” not “country”], update on CoVid. As with the previous posting inspired by a previous such report, I don’t see that these “daily briefings” can possibly do anything except inflame the population over an issue they understand Read more…
Among a great many other things, I work on computers for people. Something that has always bothered me is that the client has to give me his password(s) for the computer before I can work on it. That’s a security violation. The rule [not that we “do” rules, here, of Read more…
So, given the time of year ‘t is, as I write this, I’ve had several versions of A Christmas Carol playing(1). I just clicked on something (older meaning, not the new-ish one). What Scrooge experienced was in fact what so very many people these days report as NDE’s (near-death experiences), Read more…
This one will be short(-ish). It’s just a thought that occurs to me every time I’m on a cell phone call and the call drops, or every time some one leaves me a voice message and it takes 3 days to show up on my phone, or a text message Read more…
There is a logo, flash, picture, etc. that all real estate advertising in America includes. It is detailed in a document published at hud.gov which has much to say about “fair housing.” What is meant in this document by fair housing is that one can not discriminate against people on Read more…
The 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States recently came up for conversation in a group I was with. This is widely held as the anti-slavery amendment, and indeed that was its purpose. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall Read more…
This posting’s a little different. It’s a request, to any and all of you out there who might want to take on this project. An amazing project. Our world is pretty gummed up right now. At least it seems that way, yes? Lot’s of pain, lot’s of apparent injustice. Lot’s of Read more…
I have had it… just totally had it. I just sent a message to my state representative (imagine that?) over some thing important to me, trying to ensure that it’s important to him as well. (Or at least that he’s aware of it; the best that can be done most Read more…
I found this newspaper clipping up on the Internet a while back. Sigh… 1958 newspaper article. Sixty-four years ago (and counting). We’ve been telling you about all this for a very long time. How much longer will you wait? It won’t be too much longer that you can wait. Stop using Read more…
It seems strange to me when I get to the end of an interminable checkout process on someone’s website (the bigger the company, the longer the checkout process, ever notice that?) to then see a statement about “how much money I saved today.” I am stunned that — apparently — Read more…
I cringe every time I see an ad for “high-speed” this-or-that cabling, such as USB(1) cables. I cringe because undoubtedly many people now believe that “speed” has something to do with the cabling. Trust me: it’s a piece of wire with some plastic wrapped around it. Properly crafted(2)(3) it has Read more…
No slur on the Japanese, here; none at all. They are good, creative, hard working people, with a rich national identity and great sense of Business all over the World. However… I was looking through eBay for some World War II model sets: ships, planes, whatever. After a while it Read more…