Isotropic is …
... my personal blog.
Unless otherwise indicated, 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.
Author Archives: hornlo
07 Mar 2010
One hand clapping
If I asked you to “listen” silently to this page for 4’33″, would that be a copyright violation? What if I attached a 4’33″ long mp3 of silence? If I recorded it myself, would that be a forgery or a performance? What if I used a kazoo instead of a piano? Would 4’34″ of silence [...]
04 Mar 2010
Time Flies
“Ethan here: Today marks the 44th anniversary of Candelstick Park tornado that struck Jackson. 57 people died and 504 people were injured.” –@16WAPTNews I haven’t thought about that in years. My uncle was working there at the time; my aunt too, or maybe she was just visiting him. I vaguely remember them describing the experience. [...]
19 Feb 2010
I C U
This is why I keep a PostIt over the lens of built-in cameras. Cory Doctorow says: According to the filings in Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District (PA) et al, the laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools’ administrators, who [...]
19 Feb 2010
Surprise, Surprise
Rands In Repose asks an interesting question: I want you to think of the last time you were surprised. Good, bad, I don’t care. When was the last time you were really surprised? Got it? Ok, now think about the very first thing that you thought about the surprise. I don’t want to know how [...]
15 Feb 2010
It’s not the fall …
… it’s the sudden stop at the end. When your plane breaks apart at 35000 feet, you have about three minutes before you hit the ground at around 120 miles per hour. You might even survive. Dan Koeppel provides a morbidly humorous survival guide in Popular Mechanics’ “How to Fall 35,000 Feet—And Survive“. According to [...]
12 Feb 2010
Snow in Jackson, February 2010
We seldom see snow that amounts to anything, but this was enough to close schools and businesses. I’ve posted a few pictures on Flickr.
06 Feb 2010
I’m a PC, and ruining your battery was my idea.
It is ironic that Microsoft’s claim that Windows 7 will improve battery life is being countered by some users threatening class action lawsuits due to W7 ruining laptop batteries. At least since June 2009 (Windows 7 and the battery error “consider replacing your battery” –Microsoft Technet) testers were reporting this problem. Yet it continues, with [...]
28 Jan 2010
Doldrums
Other than work related stuff, I’ve pretty much been offline for the last few weeks. That is to say, I’ve let a lot of messages scroll below the fold and have not kept up with my news feeds. Nor have I spent much time on my personal projects, such as Japanese, or configuring my new [...]
14 Jan 2010
Under Pressure
Finally I have water pressure again, seems like more than before the crisis. At last I can shower and wash clothes again. Wheee! Before we decry the timeliness of Jackson’s response to a few leaks, just image this 20 million gallon a day leak in NYC’s water supply that has been known about for 20 [...]
