Technology is like a religion for some. If it ain’t in their language it must “suck”. We may be able to thank headhunters and job descriptions for this unnecessary level of specialization. Jobs often come with a laundry list of specific required skills and those specific skills are either the result of a monoglot project […]
Has Science Died?
“The present boastfulness of the expounders and the gullibility of the listeners alike violate that critical spirit which is supposedly the hallmark of science.” —Jacques Barzun, Science: the glorious entertainment Being an avid, albeit amateur, physics aficionado, I watched with great interest as the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded. I read the summary findings, […]
iSad? The passing of Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs passed away this week. It was surprisingly difficult to come to grips with our feelings on this matter. We do not hide the fact that we are not Apple fans, however there were admirable qualities to Steve Jobs that we cannot deny. We broke our thoughts down to a few main characteristics of […]
Foldit!
This ingenious idea has now delivered and it is still BETA! Foldit is much like Mahjong or even Solitaire in that it presents as a puzzle game, albeit in 3D! … However, the rules of the game are as near a match to the rules of biology, chemistry & physics as a computer can muster. The objective […]
Remembering 9/11
This morning Barack Obama quoted Psalm 46 verbatim. No interpretation, no opinion, just the words of the Bible: 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and […]
Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO
This took nearly 2 years longer than we expected, however Steve Jobs has finally just resigned. Preliminary reports from back in January made it clear that his health problems were not a thing of the past, however the big test has arrived. Is Apple a cult of personality, and does the share lock down from […]
HP, DELL, Microsoft
Some major changes this week on the PC front. While DELL announced a more conservative income outlook HP has announced that they will sell their PC unit altogether. While the market has weighed in with its opinion already, it is possible that they are wrong. Specifically about Microsoft & Dell. If HP feels that they […]
When You’re Holding a Hammer (Everything
The wisdom of good programming is pretty similar to the wisdom of good life. There are definitely people in life that are too theoretically minded to be any practical good, but practical seldom turns out to be a vice as long as it is accompanied with skill. So the saying, “when you’re holding a hammer, […]
Hard to Fake
About 10 years ago my wife and I were building our first house. It was completely custom, and the staircase was especially elaborate. In talking to the woodworker who would be doing the railings we were met with a lot of confidence. He said straight out: “I can make anything out of wood.” Isn’t it […]
Google’s Monopoly
We’ve discussed this before and will likely discuss it again. Google. Google is again being scrutinized concerning their business practices. Anyone who has worked hard to generate significant search engine optimization for a client will know that Google keeps it a moving target. Their motto is “Don’t be evil.” However that hardly qualifies as verifiable […]