Everyone has to give in to web-crack every now and then, right? Ten Top Trivia Tips about Mike Drake! Mike Drake is the male seed of a flower blossom which has been gathered and treated by bees. In his entire life, Mike Drake will produce only a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey. It’s bad luck to whistle near Mike… Read more →
Author: Mr. McLaren
A short pause
There may be a short break in service over the next week as I am about to enter a period of intense time commitment at work–I’m preparing materials to teach a whole team of new developers about our product, which has a pretty huge history and codebase, and then I’m teaching them. I really hate when I have to do… Read more →
North End Hangover Survival
I’m still laughing (on the inside, occasionally) about the Mad Russian’s advice for surviving vodka overconsumption, and it has me thinking about “hangover cures” and survival strategies. The days when I kept Ibuprofen on the headboard to prevent me having to make the painful choice between getting out of bed (and thus increasing the pain) or just enduring the pounding… Read more →
Conspicuous Consumption (this time it’s a double entendre)
So, I found out today (via Cool Hunting) about eCreamery where, among other things, you can design and order custom ice cream. It is ridiculously expensive–like $100 (US) for a gallon (perhaps easier to think of as $12.50 a pint), not including the FedEx price to get it to you (if you live in America). So even though I will… Read more →
The Darkening Ecliptic
I have no interest in commenting on the current book frauds. The blogosphere has both James Frey and JT Leroy covered. However, I do want to out Christopher Moore. Read more →
Conspicuous Consumption
My first thought on seeing this thing in one of the hundreds of mail order catalogues that comes to my house–I buy a lot of stuff online, which apparently means that my address ends up on a lot of “hot prospect” lists or something–was “damn, that’d be pretty cool”. My second thought, upon seeing the price of the thing ($17K… Read more →
I Am In The Wrong Country Next Week
Sigh. Blackwell on Charing Cross Road 18th January 7pm An evening with Michael Moorcock, in conversation with Alan Moore Tickets £6 normal, £4 for leeches on society. Buy them from the shop or call 0845 456 9876. This is totally going to be the Battle Of The Beards: versus Read more →
Wow
I would like to write about last night’s movie night. However, I’m not sure I can. I’m still laughing when I think about it. Let’s just say this: “The act of death has caused another life to be reborn. Together we share the wonder of human existence, and let there be no doubt that all of us are brothers. There… Read more →
Mad Russians
I think of vodka as a serious drinker’s drink. Not a “serious drinker” as in “someone who knows how to live the good life, and likes to drink”, but rather “serious drinker” as in “views the beverage as a delivery system for sought-after oblivion”. This is likely due to the number of people in the service industries I have known… Read more →
An Early Saturday Miscellany
OK, I love this BBC story about some crazy plans the American military have had for “non-lethal” weapons. The US military investigated building a “gay bomb”, which would make enemy soldiers “sexually irresistible” to each other, government papers say. Other weapons that never saw the light of day include one to make soldiers obvious by their bad breath. Any guesses… Read more →
Scientists Say Smart Things, Too
I’ve referred to Professor Paul Myers, and his blog Pharyngula on more than one occasion here, and I’ve probably lifted uncredited links from him a few more times (“bad blogger, no Google juice for you”). I definitely read his stuff among the first things every day. Well, he’s the subject of the Science Friday interview today at Daily Kos. I… Read more →
SF authors say smart things (Part 3)
I could just as easily have titled this one “Looking forward to 2006”. Right now Bruce Sterling is having an online interactive discussion/seminar on the view for the year ahead over on The Well’s Inkwell.vue There are more than one places in the discussion already where Sterling is saying smart things, and the thread is still growing. Here’s an example:… Read more →
Looking back to 2005
I don’t really feel that sense of the end of something, and of something new beginning that we’re meant to feel at the start of a new year. I haven’t gone through any reflecting, and sizing up of 2005, because I don’t feel that usual sense of demarcation that the holiday season typically generates–I just feel each day as part… Read more →
H.G.P.A.
Have you noticed I talk a lot on this blog about my weekly poker game? This is some more of that–I should make a category for this so people can skip these posts if they don’t care. What you’re looking at there is a scan of some playing cards featuring the crest & slogan of the Halifax Gentlemen’s Poker Association… Read more →
SF authors say smart things (Part 2)
Responding on his message-board-cum-blog to a question about writing and “staying in the moment” Christopher Moore (whom I’ve mentioned here before) goes on at length about Buddhist concepts and their relation to the arts. Here’s the nub of what he says: In my studies I ran across an interview with Wynton Marsalis, wherein he compares Jazz to Sumi-e. What he… Read more →
