I received recently an e-mail, purporting to contain a list of spurious weights and measures. Bizarre scales. Never, ever, possibly used scales. Nothing like furlongs per fortnight or anything like that. But the “sheppey,” defined as “the closest distance at which sheep remain picturesque,” or roughly 7/8 of a mile. (Note to self: Use theContinue reading “On Ridiculous Measures”
Author Archives: Allyn
On Obama and Space Policy
For some time, I’ve had one great reservation with Barack Obama as a potential President. Obama wanted to gut NASA, taking the funds for Constellation, the successor to the space shuttle, and channel them into funding education. One analysis of Obama’s education plan likened it to Hernando Cortez burning his boats when he landed inContinue reading “On Obama and Space Policy”
On WordPress Bugs, Not Features
“It’s a feature, not a bug!” It’s a classic line. A Microsoft line. About how bugs in software aren’t really bugs, they’re undocumented features. WordPress 2.6 has a new feature called “Post Revisions.” Basically, every time you edit a post, you can “roll back” the post and undo changes, as users can with Wikipedia. ItContinue reading “On WordPress Bugs, Not Features”
On Rating the Fictional Presidents
Historians like to create lists. Which presidents were best? Which were worst? So on, and so forth. My brother called. He mentioned that a television station was showing Dave, that wonderful film about a man called upon to impersonate the president when he suffered a stroke, and his transformation from the tool of the imperiousContinue reading “On Rating the Fictional Presidents”
On Future Proofing
Our story begins a little more than a month ago. A young woman posted on the WordPress support fora that she wanted to move her blog to WordPress, and she needed to know if it would be possible to bring her website’s design over as well. My curiosity was piqued, and seeing an opportunity toContinue reading “On Future Proofing”
On Bernie Mac
Actor Bernie Mac passed away earlier today, apparently of pneumonia. He was fifty years old. To be honest, I wasn’t that familiar with Mac’s work. I loved his performance in Bad Santa as the head of security for a Phoenix department store. If I caught a bit of The Bernie Mac Show, the sitcom heContinue reading “On Bernie Mac”
On the End of the Week
It seemed, as the week wore on, that I would never get through the things I needed to do at work this week. I had writing. I have proofing. I had more writing. I had more proofing. I had to do research for writing. I had to get clearances on various things. It never seemedContinue reading “On the End of the Week”
On Thursday’s Quick Hits
Today, a round-up of things on my mind. The Olympics begin in a day or two. That I don’t know exactly when they begin is a sign of how much I care. Which is to say that I care about the Olympics not at all. I’ve no intention to watch them. When I was eleven,Continue reading “On Thursday’s Quick Hits”
On Being a Bluesman
Because the coffee has yet to kick in and the brain is not yet engaged, an early morning meme, this one snagged from the legendary Curly Dog Dupree himself, the meanest blues guitar man this side of the Bronx. 😆 What’s Your Blues Name? Follow the instructions below for the genuine thrill that comes withContinue reading “On Being a Bluesman”
On the Restoration of the Knights Templar
A successor order to the Knights Templar has filed suit in Spain against Pope Benedict XVI to restore the name and assets of the disgraced military and religious order. The Knights Templar were one of the monastic military orders to emerge from the Crusades in the eleventh century. With the end of the Crusades, theContinue reading “On the Restoration of the Knights Templar”