Monthly Archives: August 2004

I wonder: when the sign says Automatic toll lane — coins only, does it take an act of supreme deviousness to interpret this as meaning: Toll must be paid; Toll must be paid in coins; Bills will do you no … Continue reading →

Today’s choice bit of weirdness: I’m sitting out my office hour for the afternoon flipping through the internet, and the Dean of the college I work in stops outside my door, glances in, and says to whoever he’s talking to: … Continue reading →

So classes have officially started hereabouts. On my way to my first class yesterday, one of the department secretaries pulled me into the office and let me know that there’s a room conflict, and that my class — yes, the … Continue reading →

I’d like to thank Kevin Drum of Political Animal for clearing up a bit of the nonsense around the phrase statistical tie. Essentially: if in a two-candidate race you have people’s preferences within the margin of error — say, 48% … Continue reading →

When I was enumerating (in the Java, not the combinatorial sense) the comforts of being back in my Midwestern Industrial Hub, one that I’d neglected to talk about was the public library. Usually my library visits involve a lot of … Continue reading →

While beginning the Great Apartment Cleanup that is one of my main goals this weekend, I found and revived my old Handspring Visor Neo. I picked it up back in my grad student days, and have come back to it … Continue reading →

I’ve recently finished re-reading Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. I think this is my third reading of it since I acquired my copy about a year and a half ago; nine months between readings seems about … Continue reading →

…if that’s a word I know it’s not ’cause I looked it up That’s one of those skills that I learned in my school Back in the Midwest, this time for the duration. It’s probably about time that I went … Continue reading →

Glancing over a list of famous people with personality type ABCD, I notice that Paul McCartney is listed, not as Musician, but as Beatle. Once you’ve transcended your profession, what can you do next? One feature that I sort of … Continue reading →

While browsing through a local used bookstore with my one-time Lovely Assistant, I discovered The Superior Person’s little Book of Words. It’s a lovely little work, which gives definitions and suggested usages for something like 500 neglected or misunderstood words. … Continue reading →