January 2012
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Highlights from 2011
This past year was an eventful one for someone like me who has already passed most of the common milestones of adulthood (college, marriage, home ownership, children). The highlights:
I started a weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin, named after this blog (which, in turn, was named after something I wrote for Ars Technica in 2009). I’ve been amazed by the popularity of the show and the quality of...
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Summer Movies: 1982
The following movies were released in the summer of 1982.
An Officer and a Gentleman
Annie
Blade Runner
Conan the Barbarian
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Firefox
Poltergeist
Rocky III
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
The Road Warrior
The Secret of NIMH
The Thing
Tron
Is it just nostalgia, or does that lineup positively trounce any summer in...
August 2010
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Papermaster
Here’s my brief entry in the speculation derby surrounding the departure of Mark Papermaster from Apple. Assuming Papermaster is out at least partially due to the iPhone 4 antenna and not some completely unrelated matter, and assuming Apple really did know about the iPhone 4’s antenna problems even before Papermaster was hired, it may seem strange or even unfair that he’s ended...
April 2010
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Black Hole Sun
Many years ago, I recall talking with some of my Mac-nerd friends about how strange it was, after Apple’s near-death experiences of the late 1990s, to be living in a world where it’s just assumed that any tech luminary will mostly likely use a Mac. A year or two later, Tim O’Reilly gave a name to this prognostication technique: watching the “alpha geeks.”
This trend...
March 2010
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No Movie for Old Men
2012 is an awful movie. I knew this when I added it to my Netflix queue, but I wanted to stay up to date on the latest in computer-generated apocalyptic destruction. I’m a fan of special effects in general and stories about the end of the world in particular.
All the boxes were ticked: absurd “science,” impossible escapes, a nonsensical plan to save humanity, familial and...
February 2010
2 posts
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Obama's Teleprompter
I’ve never considered Obama a very good speaker. It may be because he speaks slowly and pauses a lot, all of which drives my fast-talking-Italian-New-York-native-self up a wall. Whatever the reason, my low opinion of his speaking ability meant that I was willing to believe that the Obama teleprompter gibes could very well be indicative of a real problem. Those jokes fed my fear that Obama...
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Tumwhatnow?
I have a blog where I write about technology stuff, and I have a Twitter account where I write about whatever strikes my fancy. When I want to write something non-tech-related that’s longer than 140 characters, I have a problem. Maybe Tumblr (or something like it) is the solution? We’ll see.
Update: Of course, now I just spent 20 minutes futzing with Tumblr themes (before giving...