The word synecdoche is a very strange and uncommon word that seems to be popping up for me everywhere. Most recently in a talk where the speaker seemed almost embarrassed to use (or even know?) the word. As best I can tell, it is a way of using a simple word to describe a bigger […]
Microsoft Visio is a program that is commonly used in my field. It is a versatile program that lets you do flowcharts, mindmaps, swimlanes, wireframes and even interactive prototypes. Being so full featured it does not come cheaply, and it is not one of the standard applications installed at work. I do have Adobe Illustrator, […]
If you have been working with computers for a while you will have learned to be hyper-careful with important files because your system may crash or do something awful to your work at any time. For me this means frequently saving my work and also frequently saving a new version of the work as I […]
I had a dim memory of myself and a neighbor setting up a card table with some bowls of macaroni, peeled grapes and spaghetti and telling people to come inside and feel the real ‘brains’, ‘eyeballs’, and ‘guts’. I don’t think it amounted to much, but I was telling this story to Kenton and I […]
I’ve been thinking about writing about the audiobook I’ve been listening to – Before the Dawn, by Nicholas Wade. It is a very interesting book that I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in archeology, anthropology or evolution. Although really, those are just the broad categories that are covered by this book. One […]
When I say private space, I don’t mean a place for privacy, I mean the democratization of sub-orbital, low-Earth orbits and beyond. I am very interested in the privatization of the space industry because I believe that ultimately it will be the only way that access to space will become available to common citizens. While […]
One of the most important sci-fiction films ever made, is the 1927 Fritz Lang classic, Metropolis. I happened to be looking through the Gutenberg library for free books to read on my iPod and I found Metropolis was available. As a science fiction fan, I’ve always been interested in Metropolis, but my only memory of […]
How do you get people to pay for something that they can get for free? Well, you can repackage it, add some new value and basically give it value by changing the nature of the product. For example it does not seem like you can imagine a real world freebie more basic than air, dirt […]
I don’t think this is anything new, but when it comes to hotel experiences it is all in the details. The Delta hotel I am at now does not get this. It started with the 12 year old Internet connection instructions (“now open Netscape Navigator”??!!), but then the ancient bar staff and the generic Muzak […]
One of the ideas that has fascinated me for a number of years now is the idea of am alternative economy that is not based on resource scarcity and does not use money as the medium of exchange. Most of this thinking was inspired by Cory Doctorow’s sci-fi story “Down and out in the magic […]