I ran again this morning. All is good with no aches or pains. (And if you believe that, I have this bridge to sell you….) Seriously, I am a little sore and can definitely feel parts of me which do not “normally” make themselves felt but nothing extreme. I am alternating between jogging for one […]
Now I’m a Runner
I’ve been walking almost daily for over a year and recently got to thinking about running, which I have never done. As a kid, I was always too chunky. As an adult, I have neither been in good enough shape nor have I had the motivation to get in shape. For the first time, I […]
Aged on the Best Authority
I have been walking regularly for over a year and have lost almost 30 pounds. Now I want to start running and the calcified structure within my skull nudged me and suggested that a little research might be in order before I hit the pavement. I checked the library and discovered that the authority record […]
Real Virtual Alchemy
I have learned to change lead into gold, and back again, for real! Well, sort of. Thus far, it only works within the virtual world of programming languages like Python. Here is the recipe. (If you are not into geek-speak, skip to the bottom where I natter on about reading ebooks on an iPad.) class […]
Ban the Bikes!
St. Charles County, MO, will try to ban bicyclists from using some state highways, as reported in the Suburban Journals, Bill would ban bicycles from some highways in St. Charles County. How wrong can you get? In the year 2010, amidst all the hue and cry about poor health, obesity, and greenhouse gases from automobiles, Councilman […]
Copyright Madness
You may not be aware of some of the insanity which current copyright laws create in many countries, not just the United States. Here are two songs which you may think are free and clear but which are, in fact, copyrighted and subject to royalty payments: Happy Birthday to You The Chicago-based music publisher Clayton […]
US Immigration Reform for Immigrants’ Descendants
If you are a US citizen then you are almost certainly the descendant of people to immigrated to the United States. As you consider your position on immigration reform, please look at the issue from at least two perspectives: How do immigrants affect you and your loved ones today, and, just as important, how would […]
Inspired by the Man in the Arena
Nelson Mandela gave a copy of Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” speach to François Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team, before the start of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. I find this quote much more inspiring and apropos than the poem Invictus. It is not the critic who counts; not the […]
Python Generators Neatly Untangle Loops
The Python programming language has become my first choice for most tasks over the last year or so. The more I use it, the more I find to like about it. I just stumbled across generators in a way that made them make sense to me and it is so cool that I want to […]
Death of St. Charles Municipal Airport
This has got to be the coldest, most insensitive obituary ever written: !STL 06/424 3SQ AD CLSD WEF 1006300501 In English, this NOTAM (federal NOTice to AirMen) says that the St. Charles Municipal Airport will close at 12:01am CDT, Wednesday, June 30, 2010. After 67 years of service, the owner will shut it down forever. […]
USPTO Grants Patent On ’60s Era Billing Method
Back in the Old Days, I had to pay for computer time on Michigan Terminal System (MTS) at the University of Michigan. It was a simple system: the more you used, the more you paid. MTS charged for CPU time, RAM used while your program was running, disk space used to store your files, I/O […]
Instrument Approach Plates on the iPad
I just upgraded the instrument approach plates that I use when flying IFR in my airplane. My new iPad with ForeFlight Mobile HD replaces my Sony PRS-505 with ReaderPlates that I have been using since December 2008. The Sony and ReaderPlates replaced paper that I had been using since 1987. This is a very good […]
2,4-D Precautions
The chemical 2,4-D is a primary ingredient in many common home-use herbicides and I always figured that it must be safe. This morning, I was disturbed to find this on OSHA’s Occupational Safety and Health Guideline for 2,4-D (DICHLOROPHENOXYACETIC ACID): Personal Hygiene Procedures If 2,4-D contacts the skin, workers should immediately wash the affected areas with soap […]
Facebook’s Last Straw
Facebook added the proverbial last straw with its latest privacy faux pas. It has demonstrated, yet again, that in pursuing it’s goal of selling advertising, Facebook places very little importance on our personal privacy. Remember that, while Facebook ostensibly is a web site designed to help people connect with like-minded people, in fact Facebook is […]
Infrastructures are Important
Sometimes (often) XKCD hits the nail squarely on the head.
Beautiful Chemical-Free Lawn
My venture into natural lawn care has produced a beautiful lawn, far exceeding my expectations. Let me tell you what I have done and then relate a funny (but true) story from Wednesday evening. I had a soil analysis performed by the University of Missouri extension and, while waiting for the results, I applied some […]
Shopping for a Refrigerator
Candy and I are shopping for a new refrigerator. The good news is that we don’t need to spend as much as I feared we would. The bad news is that shopping for a fridge is worse than choosing a breakfast cereal. The manufacturers and stores seem to create as many models as possible just […]
Ross Sisters, Singing Contortionists
Truly amazing. The song lasts one minute and then, well, just watch.
Free Airplane Rides
Kids of all ages love airplane rides, especially when they get to be in the front seat of a small plane and get to take the controls and do some of the piloting. Have you ever heard the buzz of an airplane overhead, stopped what you were doing, and stared up at the plane? Perhaps […]
Recycling Without Trucks or Gasoline
We have several “tufts” of tall-grass around the edge of our patio. Last year, I tried letting it go au naturel, which is a technical term meaning: I let it be and didn’t tend it at all. I didn’t like that. It looked scraggly pretty much all the time. So this year, I went back […]
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