fighting the lack of good ideas
This morning I saw the headline on InfoWorld: “Oracle stopping development on Itanium — slap at HP or obvious decision?” At my previous employer, we were entertained by a couple visits from both HP and Intel folks ballyhooing the Itanium, HP-UX, and the future of the platform – especially in the database arena. I thought those visits…
My interest in cryptography has extended, now, for more than 15 years. The first book I read on the topic was David Kahn’s seminal work, The Codebreakers. Several years later, I received a copy of the book for Christmas, which I promptly reread. Kahn’s writing style is eminently inviting, sucking the reader into an extensive…
I have read, and reread, Flatland several times. It’s subtitle, “A Romance of Many Dimensions”, would most likely have been surprising when it was originally published in 1884. Edwin A Abbot weaves a tale of exploration, heresy, discovery, enlightenment, geometry, and more in a mere 81 pages (in the copy I have). We are introduced…
I had high hopes for Martin Langfield’s book, The Secret Fire when I purchased it several months ago. The cover headline reads, “the world is under threat… from a weapon launched in 1944”. Sounded good. The back cover, likewise, sounded pretty good, too: Sotheby’s, London, 1936 A paper by Sir Isaac Newton is sold at…
I have a great deal of interest in early-stage startups: they’re generally the most interesting to watch, and if they play their cards right, have the best opportunity to Win Bigâ„¢. Y Combinator is a seed fund organization started by Paul Graham. I first heard about them several years back when a couple friends and…
Several years ago, Cliff Stoll’s amazing, true-life account of espionage and system administration in the 1980s was recommended to me. Mr Stoll started his professional life in astronomy, but, due to budget cuts at Lawrence Berkeley Lab, he moved into systems administration. Interspersed through the book are both political commentaries (he was after all at…
For several years, I have done business with Harbor Freight and Northern Tool and Equipment. Both are low-medium cost suppliers of tools, supplies, and equipment. This morning I received the weekly email sales flier from Harbor Freight, and see they have a 19.2v cordless drill for $24.99 (regular price $29.99). This got me to thinking…