Category Archives: Jack Handy

So, Steve Yegge. Steve’s got an interesting post up, made no less interesting by the fact that its thinking is not only wrong-headed, but creepy and dangerous. Briefly – and I don’t think that I’m begin unfair here – Steve … Continue reading →

I found something interesting today: The Onion’s AV Club is running a feature reviewing (in both senses of the word, I suppose) the classic, 1960’s Star Trek episodes. What’s unusual about the feature is its tone; for a publication as … Continue reading →

Lore Sjoberg is a funny guy. Why not spend 90 minutes (or so) with him? (Re: Episode 9 – I don’t know which of the 7 basic types this post is. Perhaps a variation on “Buy a thing”? Also, when … Continue reading →

I learned something interesting today: The thickness of thread (i.e. the stuff that makes up fabric) is not measured by its diameter, apparently because thread’s cross-section is not circular. Instead, thickness is measured indirectly, by means of density and volume.

Remember this fascinating article? (It’s about those www.CITYNAMEsingles.com signs that were nearly ubiquitous 6-9 months ago.) If you don’t remember, or haven’t seen it, it’s worth a read. I have only an anecdotal note to add.

Today, a brief contest between two theories explaining why you’ve been hearing so much about Twitter recently. Our contestants are Mickey Kaus, who has reasonable instincts for when he’s being had, and Seth Godin, who knows a lot about how … Continue reading →

According to this article in Slate, Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a little-studied condition. I bet this news makes those diagnosed with NPD very, very unhappy.

There was an interesting story in the paper (well, technically, on the S.F. Chronicle’s website) the other day about a court order which has resulted in the suspension of operations of the “Hawaii Superferry“. I think this is interesting primarily … Continue reading →

There’s been a lot of outrage lately over some $165M in total bonus compensation that was paid out to senior people at AIG, a recipient of over $100B in federal bailout money. This is silly. Anyone who’s been around floundering … Continue reading →

A friend once concisely illustrated why it’s difficult to write software that can understand human language. He cited as an example the (possibly well known) phrase “chocolate dessert cup store”. It’s a delightfully bizarre case.