Isotropic is …
... my personal blog. Anything I write here is simply my personal, probably ill-formed, opinion and does not represent the views, beliefs, positions, or opinions of any other person or entity.
Monthly Archives: February 2009
23 Feb 2009
I finally bought a new TV
Wheee! That’s my new Sharp AQUOS LC-37D64U wide-screen LCD TV, which replaces an ancient analog set in my living room — which was going bad and I almost never watched anyway. So far the Sharp has performed excellently, even with broadcast and analog inputs. It’s about time I moved into the modern world with that […]
22 Feb 2009
Trivia for 2009-02-22
Jackson is the largest city in Mississippi, with a population of 529,456. That’s 2.3 times the size of the second-largest area, Gulfport-Biloxi, with 227,904. Mark Dominus, in Second-largest cities, lists the quotient for each of the US states. The highest is 25.7 (Illinois) — or infinity, depending on what you think of Rhode Island. You […]
20 Feb 2009
The first Twitter?
Long ago, on a VAX cluster far away, I was systems manager. phone was among the many utilities available, and was quite handy for chatting with other users on the cluster. Students seemed to enjoy it a lot, so much so that some would randomly phone other users just to say “hi”. Unfortunately, college faculty […]
20 Feb 2009
Broken Windows
This isn’t about Microsoft Windows. The Parable of the Broken Window describes a shopkeeper whose window is broken by a little boy. Everyone sympathizes with the man whose window was broken, but pretty soon they start to suggest that the broken window makes work for the glazier, who will then buy bread, benefiting the baker, […]
18 Feb 2009
Linux in Exile
I prefer Linux over Windows. If I have problems with Linux, over 95% of the time I can assume that it’s my error. If there is a real problem, it tends to be definite, reproducible, and will usually be fixed by someone in a relatively short time. On the other hand, whenever I have Windows […]
16 Feb 2009
VerifiedSpam
I’ve noticed an increase in spam from VerifiedSpam.com [1]. I smirk when I read the disingenuous No, this isn’t spam email. It’s penetrating online established communities relative to your website, product or services. Not only does this increase SEO & Web Traffic, but by targeting forums relative to your online activity, you are able to […]
16 Feb 2009
What would the neighbors say?
Sometimes, when I’m looking at the code of a complete stranger, I get that same, weird feeling I get when I’m creeping through my neighbour’s house. Picking up their stuff, looking through their fridge. That’s from item number 5 (Read the code from an open source project) in Leon Bambrick’s 8 ways to be a […]
09 Feb 2009
Anti anti-vaccination
In Irrefutable Logic I mocked Jenny McCarthy’s logic-free argument against vaccination. Well, here’s some information on the person who started it all. According to Brian Deer of The Sunday Times, “The doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance […]
08 Feb 2009
Who wants in your genes?
While I’m not all that fascinated with my genetic makeup (maybe I’m just too old to care?), many are. If you’re among those, check out Daniel MacArthur’s blog, Genetic Future, where he writes “about the genetic and evolutionary basis of human variation, and the companies trying to sell you information about your genome.” In an […]
04 Feb 2009
Just say “Cheese!”
Here’s an interesting mix of articles about public imaging. It’s not enough that you have to watch out for your camera-phone-armed friends and enemies who may catch you in a moment of indiscretion (check with Mr. Phelps), the rabid paparazzi who are continually hounding your trail, or the proliferating surveillance cameras — now you need […]
