Monthly Archives: December 2010

I just submitted my first Windows Phone 7 application. It’s a simple RPN-notation hex programmer’s calculator. I wanted a replacement for my basically irreplacable HP-16C, a fantastic computer geek calculator that HP discontinued in 1989. I have two of these, … Continue reading →

Huh; the brits have decided to ashcan their national identity card system. I saw this on The Register and thought it was a joke. But, nope: http://www.ips.gov.uk/cps/rde/xchg/ips_live/hs.xsl/53.htm I had no idea they were so sensible. (One does wonder what else … Continue reading →

Tor Books’ new catalog says that Vernor Vinge’s new book, Children of the Sky, will be out in October 2011. It’s a sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep. Wheeee! Link to Tor Books catalog (pdf). (via io9) Other books … Continue reading →

’tis the season, therefore whenever I must brave a store I armor myself with a Zune and some loudish music to drown out the Pavlovian Chorus that drives our economy. Otherwise, I start making up words in my head, like … Continue reading →

_Ascent_ is a wonderful video on YouTube describing the filiming and events of a space shuttle launch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2VygftZSCs&feature=player_embedded#! It’s sad to see the shuttle go, but it will be good to see it be replaced with something less expensive and … Continue reading →

SpaceX’s recent launch had a secret payload: http://www.spacex.com/press.php?page=20101209 I thnk I like these folks.

I upgraded to WordPress 3 (a bit of a pain, involving a database move, too). Things are a little strange. But aren’t they always?

In a nutshell: Blows dead exploding goats.

A cow-orker of mine pointed me at this jargon collection from a company he used to work at. Even though it is local to a company and has a bunch of specifics (e.g., to “MarkG” and other personalities), it’s surprisingly … Continue reading →

Here’s the best summary of Wikileaks I’ve read so far. http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/12/05/Wikileaks Personally, I think the USG should get, oooh, about 10GB per year of classified capacity, with the rest published or destroyed. If it won’t fit on that super-classified thumb drive, it … Continue reading →