Why do I alway leave my packing until the last minute? Is it just that I enjoy the stress? Airport, here I come. Read more →
Author: Mr. McLaren
Can Not Process Data
You know those hoary old SF stories where the hero defeats the robot/intelligent energy matrix/computer/whatever by giving it information that can not be logically processed–isn’t “Is the following statement true? ‘This statement is false.’” the classic one?–and thus causing the super-powerful processing of the robot/intelligent energy matrix/computer/whatever to burn out, usually accompanied by a nice visual of electrical explosions? Well,… Read more →
I’m Excited: Shadow Unit
Well, this is certainly the best “online entertainment” news I’ve read in a while. I’ll let one of the participants explain: Shadow Unit is, more or less, the website for a serial drama in internet form. Or possibly it’s a fan site for a TV show that doesn’t exist. Over the next couple of months, the site will be updated… Read more →
Here We Go Again
Yup. It’s around the world again. Same route, same distance, slightly longer stay this time. I checked it out this time, the straight-line distances between the airports are (I put the imperial numbers in for the Yanks, in the parentheses): Outbound Halifax – London (Heathrow) : 4589km (2852) London (Heathrow) – Hong Kong : 9653km (5998) Hong Kong – Melbourne:… Read more →
Quote Of The Day
“People who have to apply rules like them because they eliminate the need to exercise judgment.” –Ernie The Attorney He goes on to suggest that some people don’t want to have to defend a judgment, but I suspect there are a really large number of people who are too lazy to get that far: they just don’t want to have… Read more →
Exceeding Expectations: Republicans and The Crazy
Seriously? I mean, seriously? Republicans picked Huckabee? Even in crazy Jesusland, isn’t “I won’t sign this bill because calling a tornado an ‘act of God’ makes God look bad” crazy enough to make someone unelectable? I expected some ludicrousness from Americans, especially Republicans, but my expectations have been exceeded. And I thought the TSA facecrime thing would be the dumbest… Read more →
2008 And The Public Domain
Well, it’s another year, and consequently there’s a bunch of new works falling into the public domain. You can read all about it at copyrightwatch.ca. Some highly relevant examples to me: in life+50 countries (like Canada and most of the world) the published works of Dorothy Sayers, Lord Dunsany, Nikos Kazantzakis, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and lots of others are all… Read more →
Even More Things I Did Not Know
Science has brought us a permanent, but easily-removable, tattooing ink. Does this change the metatext of tattooing? I mean, the pain is still there, but if the permanence isn’t part of the subtext anymore, what does that mean for the story? Is it to obvious to predict the rise of a serial-tattooing culture, or a rift between the permanents and… Read more →
This is one of the things political commentary looks like…
… in the postmodern/postirony/mashup/youtube generation. I am not too old yet to appreciate it. (Admittedly, the song is 20 years old, which may help in bridging that gap.) Read more →
Leonard Cohen For Iron Doug
This post is primarily targeted to my pal “Iron” Doug Hern, who is having his 127thThis is an approximate value birthday today. This is a recording of Leonard Cohen doing a reading/performance at the 92nd Street YM-YWHA (yes, that’s the “The Young Men’s-Young Women’s Hebrew Association”) Hotel in New York City, New York on 14 February 1966. It includes Cohen… Read more →
Climbing The Walls
I am completely climbing the walls tonight. I’ll explain why, but it will take a second, so either throw a pizza in the oven (hi Neil!) and settle down, or else skip along to the next entry. Read more →
She’s blowing my secret identity
Apparently this conversation (I’m reporting it second-hand, so the quotes might not be exact) occurred on my daughter’s drive in to the day care this morning. Sarah: I don’t want to go to day care today. Trish: It’s just for today and tomorrow and then you get to spend four more days at home. Think of it as a chance… Read more →
Does This Explain Something?
Should you be MALE or FEMALE?*created with QuizFarm.com You scored as Female Being mostly female by thought, a good thing in many ways: By definition it means that you are more creative, and sensitive towards your environment, enabling you to express yourself freely. Female 54% Male 46% Either 39% Neither 32% (via Fred) So, that might mean something… I don’t… Read more →
Things I Did Not Know
The expression “the worm turns”, commonly used (at least by me) to mean “the situation has changed and the previously disadvantaged party now holds the advantage”, is apparently an evolution of the old proverb, “Tread on a worm and it will turn.” The proverb was likely intended to say “even the lowliest creature will strike back when threatened/attacked/mistreated”. This is… Read more →
Perfect Steganography
You know what steganography is, right? “Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one apart from the sender and intended recipient even realizes there is a hidden message.” Quite often these days this means encoding information into the insignificant bits of large binary files–changing the colour the pixel at (134,651) from… Read more →
