Category Archives: Jack Handy

Since I turned on comments in mid-December, I’ve accumulated several thousand spam comments. (Hopefully, you haven’t seen any of them.) The signal-to-noise ratio is just crushing, and I need to rethink my approach to the problem. So comments are going … Continue reading →

Some people wax rhapsodic in re: the virtues of high density housing. Those people don’t have upstairs neighbors like mine. I hope you’ll indulge me in an open letter to these neighbors. Dear Sir and Madam; Your children’s raucous and … Continue reading →

There’s been some loose talk recently to the effect that the Senate might change its rules s.t. the filibuster is weakened, and the majority thereby empowered. I would be astonished if this happened in the current Congress; it makes no … Continue reading →

A while back, I heard an ad on the radio that included this gem: The Internet used to be called the World Wide Web. Now, this is wrong in every important respect. The “World Wide Web”, if it refers to … Continue reading →

Today’s post is going to be a little smug. I can’t help that, but I think there’s a cautionary tale here worth telling. Twitter I thought that Twitter was one of the stupidest ideas I’d ever heard. I was introduced … Continue reading →

The USS Phoenix (CL-46) was built in Camden, New Jersey, and launched in 1938. She was anchored at Pearl Harbor during the December 7th attack, but was not damaged. She served throughout the Pacific during WWII, receiving 9 battle stars. … Continue reading →

If you’re a woman interested in persuading a man that you’re wife material, it might be best to avoid mentioning that you’ve read (or, worse, liked) “Eat Pray Love“. The whole celebration-of-the-breaking-of-commitments thing probably isn’t the message you want to … Continue reading →

The Chinese (near?) equivalent to “casting pearls before swine” is “playing music to the cows”. I think it’s cute.

The blog’s been getting a little grumpy lately, so, today, just a list of a few things and people that I like: Glass backlights on convertibles. I think they add a little bit to the cost of the car, but … Continue reading →

Today I was reminded that there are two ways to use one’s intelligence during a discussion: One can try to ascertain the truth, or one can try to win the argument. People who routinely engage in the latter are boring, … Continue reading →