Monthly Archives: February 2005

Jason Kottke pointed to the Bacontarian, a site devoted to one of my favorite foods: bacon! Our cafeteria’s delivery guy somehow managed to forget bacon yesterday, and it won’t be available until Wednesday. How will we survive breakfast?! Oh, well, … Continue reading →

I just used the movies search trick on Google to see what’s playing in our area. I have one word of advice for every other movie listings site out there: speed. It took me all of 30 seconds to find … Continue reading →

Meryl pointed out In2Books, a program to pair young readers with adult pen pals which began in the Washington, D. C., schools. The adult reads the same book the children do, and they correspond about it. Perhaps they will find … Continue reading →

Country Walkers sells walking tours that for some reason remind me of the picnic scene outside Florence in A Room with a View. From her feet the ground sloped sharply into view, and violets ran down in rivulets and streams … Continue reading →

The Big Sister made this doll yesterday.

Maybe the question to ask is not did a four-year-old paint these, but why do people pay so much for abstract works? I’m quite confident that those paintings could be by a child, but I’m not so confident that abstract … Continue reading →

The Sisters were discussing theology the other day. The Church sent us an offering envelope for Easter, along with the mass schedule for Holy Week. I’ve been using it as a bookmark, in lieu of any other scrap of paper. … Continue reading →

Jim McGee points to a nice set of lists of passwords not to use. Another set is available at dictionary.com, though Answers.com‘s might be easier to reference. Me, I keep mine on the refrigerator.

In the Constitution’s Commerce clause, the Congress is granted the power To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; In the same document’s Fifth Amendment, the Federal government may not confiscate property: … Continue reading →

This raised quite a few interesting consumer technology questions. Ordinarily, for example, one needs a credit card (and good credit) to secure a cell phone. “The Amish pay in cash,” explained the merchant, who, along with most Amish-friendly shopkeepers, didn’t … Continue reading →

“Look Who’s Talking,” by Howard Rheingold (Wired, vol. 7, no. 01, January 1999), is a very interesting piece on the response of the Amish to technological changes. He writes, [A] dispute over the role of the phone was the principal … Continue reading →

When I was reading 1901, I was struck by the frequent use of “indeed.” It was anachronistic. Indeed, the word sticks out like a sore thumb in contemporary use.

Bill Bumgarner wrote Since giving away my iPod Shuffle to my wife a few weeks ago, I have had need of a portable storage device. Never before, but now I do. Go figure. and proceeded to discuss storing an encrypted … Continue reading →

Where I’ve lived has informed what I like in a place. Providence Forge, Virginia Loveland, Ohio Monterey, Virginia Richmond, Virginia Annapolis, Maryland Hampden-Sydney, Virginia The Bronx, New York Shrub Oak, New York Ossining, New York Yorktown Heights, New York Mahopac, … Continue reading →

The last time we went car shopping, the most annoying use of the option package was Ford‘s. Certain colors were only available with the V8 and towing package, and the V8 was only available with other things that we’d rather … Continue reading →

I have a simple test for determining the quality of a vendor. Of course, I have no budget, and few listen to me, so my test does not see much use. But if you wonder at the intricacies of buying … Continue reading →

My brother gave us a bottle of Château Morrisette‘s Sweet Mountain Laurel for Christmas. I like this: it tastes of Concord grapes. A unique and refreshingly sweet dessert style wine made from Native American grape varieties. A firm acidity balances … Continue reading →

A commentator on NPR tells us what word we should use instead of jihad.

Have you noticed that realtor websites do not provide you with the most important piece of information about a property, the location? This is the hook to get their 5%. When they sell, or attempt to sell, the properties, they … Continue reading →

Somewhere in Chicago, there’s a big wirelessed mall. More than 18,000 daily visitors who frequent the restaurants, food court, train station, retail stores and common areas of The Merchandise Mart — the world’s largest commercial building — and 350 W. … Continue reading →