Category Archives: Jack Handy

“Wall Street” is a very well-made movie. (If you get a chance, you should also listen to the commentary track Oliver Stone did for it; it’s a good example of the form.) It’s interesting that Gordon Gekko, the quasi-villian of … Continue reading →

A funny thing happened to me today; a fellow came to my door, identified himself as a Special Agent with the U.S. Federal Investigative Services, and said he wanted to ask me some questions about a former neighbor who’d moved … Continue reading →

The 2nd movement of Beethoven’s 7th symphony really is quite breathtaking. This observation might seem a little jejune; after all, it’s Beethoven. The 7th symphony isn’t exactly obscure. (And the 2nd movement encored at the symphony’s premier.) Nevertheless, I think … Continue reading →

I’ve written about Keith Hennessey before, but this post is particularly interesting: He writes about the internal bureaucratic arrangement of the Bush (43) White House staff. Of special note: Bush 43 had about two dozen direct reports, which is more … Continue reading →

It’s easy to go overboard when praising Apple’s design, but they do turn their attention to some pretty neat challenges.

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. Memorial Day is a modification of an earlier day of commemoration, Decoration Day, which was in turn created to honor those Union soldiers who died in the American Civil War. To present … Continue reading →

I was listening to AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” the other day. Fun little CD. And, you know – AC/DC: Rock and roll. Guitars and drums. Lots of songs about sex and touring. But there’s also this one track … Continue reading →

There are three basic ways to learn a new framework (or new programming language). In roughly the order you should try them, and in increasing order of usefulness, they are: Reading documentation Reading code Writing code

I was reading some iPhone docs last week – specifically, the Cocoa Fundamentals Guide, and I came across this remarkable statement: Programming becomes largely an exercise in assembling the programmatic components that Cocoa provides along with the custom objects and … Continue reading →

Looking at a receipt the other day, I noticed that the combined state and local sales tax in my area (Silicon Valley) had reached 9.25%. Even as I type that, I find it hard to believe. It’s motivated me to … Continue reading →