Sorry, this is not a post about personal fitness or adjusting your gullibility while watching The View. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t come close to mastering my profession. I suspect that’s the case for most people who work in technology-related fields, as well as those whose focus is on creative endeavors (after… Continue reading Stretching
Category: Thinking Allowed
The sources of Midland County’s net gain in population
Forbes Magazine has created an interactive graphic showing population movements into and out of every county in the United States in 2008, based on federal income tax-related data provided by the IRS. A mouse click on each county reveals lines emanating from that county to every other county where people moved to or from, and… Continue reading The sources of Midland County’s net gain in population
Characterizing the Earth’s Population
National Geographic has analyzed certain characteristics of the Earth’s approximately 7 billion human inhabitants and offers up some interesting statistics in six categories: Language: 13% speak Mandarin as their first language, vs. 5% Spanish and 5% English Nationality: 19% are Chinese, 17% Indian, 4% American Religion: 33% are Christian, 21% Muslim, 13% Hindu Livelihood: 40%… Continue reading Characterizing the Earth’s Population
Citizen reporting of bad driving: What could possibly go wrong?
Anyone driving slower than me is an idiot.Anyone driving faster than me is a jerk. —Unknown The preceding observation is perhaps the best reason that the proposal to create a 24-hour hotline that allows Texans to report bad drivers is a bad idea. I fear that many of us lack the objectivity and discipline to distinguish… Continue reading Citizen reporting of bad driving: What could possibly go wrong?
Best Laid Plans
If you’re seeking reasons not to make New Year’s resolutions, look no further than what happened to us last night. We can’t be assured that our plans for the next four hours will succeed, much less those for the next 365 days. We had planned to bring in the new year at a dance, but… Continue reading Best Laid Plans
Quantifying Melodic Similarities
I read a science fiction short story many years ago where the plot involved someone composing the last possible piece of music. Every combination of musical notes had been created. I don’t recall the author (it sounds like something Bradbury or Lieber or Ellison would come up with), or even the rest of the plot… Continue reading Quantifying Melodic Similarities
Amazon reluctantly does the right thing
Amazon.com’s “commitment to principle” lasted about twelve hours, and then it showed that it’s still in the business of turning a profit and dependent on the good graces of its customers to do so. In pulling from its virtual bookshelf the disgusting The Pedophile’s Guide To Love & Pleasure: A Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct, Amazon… Continue reading Amazon reluctantly does the right thing
Lessons from a Class Reunion
We attended our 40th high school reunion in Fort Stockton last weekend, and while it was a very enjoyable time, it was also confirmation that in some ways, you really can’t go home again. A couple of lessons were learned. Lesson #1: Boys will be boys. I’ll never understand the attraction of breaking out a… Continue reading Lessons from a Class Reunion
Measuring “Religious Knowledge”
Remember my mild rant about the lack of critical thinking skills among students? It’s not just students who are falling short in this area; some newspaper reporters appear to be challenged in this regard. Here’s a quote from a story in the Los Angeles Times about the results of this survey (link to a PDF… Continue reading Measuring “Religious Knowledge”
Unflattered by Imitation
After more than ten years of doing freelance web design/development, I keep thinking I’ve seen everything…and then I encounter something new. I received an email yesterday from a client who had been contacted by another organization, the latter asking permission to use unspecified aspects of the former’s website in the design of a new site… Continue reading Unflattered by Imitation