…I’ve had too much coffee today. I’ve got the shakes.
Category Archives: Asides
On Sudoku Puzzles
I have to tell you, this has kept me up nights with worry. The world is not going to run out of Sudoku puzzles. It’s an obvious worry. You go in the bookstore, and you see hundreds of Sudoku books, many of them written by Will Shortz. Surely, you think, there’s a limit to Sudoku.Continue reading “On Sudoku Puzzles”
On Strange Conversation
Yesterday morning I was in the kitchen fixing a cup of coffee. Coffee poured, sugar added, I was ready to put in a dollop of milk. I opened the refrigerator door, I took out the bottle of milk, and… My grandmother said, “The milkman came? Is it fresh?” Now, I am not someone who’s quiteContinue reading “On Strange Conversation”
On a Slashdotting
I’ve been Slashdotted! Well, not exactly. Slashdot actually had nothing to do with the spike in website traffic I’ve seen in the past thirty-six hours. Rather, Google and other search engines are to blame. This website gets about 125 unique visitors a day. About. Over the holiday weekend hits were in the eighty range. MiddleContinue reading “On a Slashdotting”
On Recent Search Phrases
Stat time once more! Here’s a random factoid. In the past two weeks, which is what the server report I pulled this morning covers, twice as many people accessed The World According to Allyn with Windows 3.1 machines as by Amiga machines. I’m just amazed there are people out there, doing the Internet-thing, with WindowsContinue reading “On Recent Search Phrases”
On Phishers
Today I’ve been inundated with phishers. A phisher is a particular kind of spammer–not a follower of that college favorite band, Phish, a band that I’m not even sure still tours–one that wants their target to give up all sorts of personal information like credit card numbers and the like. Today, I keep getting messagesContinue reading “On Phishers”
On McDonald's and My Grandmother
My neighbor has started taking my grandmother to McDonald’s, if not on a daily basis then at least four or five times a week. To be frank I’m a little surprised that my grandmother goes. McDonald’s… well, it’s never been her kind of restaurant. My grandmother’s McDonald’s is an interesting place. This is typical–“I hadContinue reading “On McDonald's and My Grandmother”
On Perfection
Allyn’s Rules of Life. Number 43. “When it comes to lunch there is nothing in life more perfect than a peanut butter and banana sandwich.”
On the Illuminati
The recent discovery that one of the top fifty search terms to reach this website in the past two weeks is “illuminati spelled backward,” combined with the death earlier this year of Robert Anton Wilson, co-author of The Illuminatus! Trilogy, reminded me today of a strange anecdote in my life. Several years ago, I postedContinue reading “On the Illuminati”
On New Things!
So I’m sitting at the desk, working on some writing, and a Yahoo! Messenger window opens. Curious, I begin a conversation. Could this be a fan? Could this be some random bloke? Conversation, conversation, conversation. Then! Nigerian spam! Sigh. Most exciting thing all day, and it’s Nigerian spam. :/ Bleh.