I went out to my Beetle to retrieve a box from the trunk. A fat squirrel was dragging the remnants of a neighbor’s Halloween pumpkin across the parking lot. He froze, unable to decide if he should stay with the pumpkin or bolt, and it was clearly a tough decision; the pumpkin was almost asContinue reading “Seen About Town”
Monthly Archives: November 2024
“No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Wear an Ugly Christmas Sweater”
We’re getting closer to Christmas — Thanksgiving is this Thursday — and the Facebook ads have taken a turn toward the festive and unlicensed. Case in point? James Bond-themed uply Christmas sweaters. For the record, I do not own an ugly Christmas sweater, and these will not change that. I do not care if they’veContinue reading ““No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Wear an Ugly Christmas Sweater””
Brigadier Gerard Returns!
I have a Brigadier Gerard short story in an upcoming Sir Arthur Conan Doyle anthology, and the story teams Doyle’s Napoleonic hero with Nikolai Rostov from Leo Tolstoy’s War & Peace. Read on for more information on the story and how to pre-order the collection.
Roads I Have Traveled: Or, the Madness of Facebook’s Algorithms
Facebook’s feed algorithm is famously weird. It often “thinks” I’m interested in businesses in the Memphis area. I’ve never been to Memphis. It once recommended an Orthodox subscription box service and another time an Episcopalian dating website. Recently, it thinks I’m interested in PG-13 rated Frozen content. I am not. I’ve seen the film onceContinue reading “Roads I Have Traveled: Or, the Madness of Facebook’s Algorithms”
A Near Run Thing
This game of backgammon ended up being far closer than it had any right to be. I was meticulous not to leave anything unprotected… until a series of bad dice rolls left one piece unprotected, white would have to roll a 1 to take it, and white did. I won, but like Waterloo, it wasContinue reading “A Near Run Thing”
Terminal Madness
The last month has felt like a year, and I spent Saturday decompressing. And Sunday. And what’s a fun way to decompress? Play with Linux! First, I wanted a terminal-based music player for my Debian CTWM install, so I installed MOC. Then, I wanted a terminal-based email client. I tried Neomutt first, and after anContinue reading “Terminal Madness”
Carl Sagan, on His Ninetieth Birthday
Carl Sagan, the astronomer and writer, would have turned 90 today. When I was seven, I watched Cosmos on PBS with my dad. In many ways, I credit my atheism to this formative experience. (Also formative, the Ichthus Christian music festival, but that doesn’t have anything to do with Sagan.) Sagan died in December 1996,Continue reading “Carl Sagan, on His Ninetieth Birthday”
Election Day
I voted before work this morning. I live in one of those lauded-slash-dreaded swing states. There was a time–2008? 2012?–I wanted Ohio nuked from orbit. It was the only way to be sure. Now I want myself nuked from orbit. I registered to attend a Kamala Harris rally in Harrisburg last week, but didn’t go.Continue reading “Election Day”
A Cute, but Non-Functional, Bluetooth Keyboard
I bought my niece a keyboard. She turns 16 at the end of the month, and she is a budding writer and journalist. So when I was at Five Below a few weeks ago looking for other stuff, I saw a cute keyboard and bought it, a wireless Bluetooth typewriter-style keyboard. Look at it! It’sContinue reading “A Cute, but Non-Functional, Bluetooth Keyboard”