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Snippets, Page 2

A short post or comment (well, for me) about some topic that doesn’t warrant a full blog article.

Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice (TED)

TED is an amazing resource of smart, passionate people helping others to see possibilities. Bryan Stevenson shines a light on one of the critical failings of American society.

Why Does CJ Wear Glasses?

Eyeglasses are a marvelous invention. When they are matched to one’s own eyes, the results can be nothing but spectacular (which is related to “spectacle” which leads us to “eyeglasses”…language is nifty like that). My life would be so different without these wondrous bits of glass/plastic.

Getting WordPress Excerpt Text to Post in Google+

I was getting very annoyed with Google+ whenever I’d link to an article on my blog. Instead of showing either the excerpt or the first “x” words of the article text, I’d see instead other administrative text from the source code. A little bit of coding fixed that up quickly and nicely.

What Could Have Been Entering the Public Domain on January 1, 2012?

“That means that all these examples from 1955 are only the tip of the iceberg. If the pre-1978 law were still in …

Marching to the Beat of a Different Little Drummer Boy

Some people just glide into the holiday season as if on a poem. Others start off well, but have a few stumbles before they get the hang of it.

Amy Purdy: Living Beyond Limits (TEDx)

When she was 19, Amy Purdy lost both her legs below the knee. And now … she’s a pro snowboarder. She asked…

Vases – A Poem

This is sort of like a free-verse haiku (jiyuritsu haiku) though it even stretches that definition. Sometimes what you want to say defies a format you typically use.

Inequality Based Incentives – A Baseball Analogy

Richard Epstein pointed out that incentive is fueled by inequality. What he didn’t say is that there are limits to that. We only need to head out to the ballpark to see them.

Shuttle Discovery – Rode Hard

On another site, someone posted a picture of the space shuttle Discovery and noted that it didn’t exactly look showroom clean:

Some Fond Convenience Store Memories

Back in the long-time-ago, when I worked at 7-11, I tried to have fun where I could. Working alone on the graveyard shift afforded me a certain amount of latitude when it came to whimsy. For example

The Carnival as Life’s Metaphor

When I was a kid, I used to love when the traveling carnivals would stop and pitch their rides and tents…

“Incredible Girl” Funding

On occasion, I like to support projects of people I’ve come to know and like. Aurora is trying to fund her short film, Incredible Girl, and is seeking investors. You don’t have to have a ton of cash, either. Anything from $5 to $5,000 will be appreciated–though, to be fair, more money invested gives you more perks.

Studpidity

Sometimes happy accidents create brand new words that fill and hitherto unnoticed gap. Such is the case with “studpidity”.

Steve Wozniak: The Geek Who Made Geek Cool

I think Steve Wozniak is perhaps, overall, the neatest of the old-school geeks. Partly is comes from the boxes he designed, but it’s also largely because he’s just a cool human being as well.

Great Firefly Comment

Seriously, what is it about science fiction shows getting really good in their third seasons? If this is actually a general rule of science fiction, I’m a little scared to imagine how

Yeah, About Those Zombies

Y’all know I’m a geek. I’ve been a geek–and also a nerd (it varies)–for a very long time. Most, if not all, geeky/nerdy types have blind spots within our own culture. For me, it’s zombies.

The Kaylee and Anya Doppelgänger

Ever since the FBI arrested members of an alleged (at this time) Russian spy ring, pictures of one of them, Anna “Anya” Chapman, have been released and they keep making me do double-takes. Why? Because she’s a dopplegänger for the actress Jewel Staite, who played Kaywinnet Lee “Kaylee” Frye in the series Firefly.