I signed up recently for the Post Office's "Real Mail" notification. The deal is, when you've got something in your PO Box, they send you an email to tell you so. I'm expecting a check -- some affiliate commissions. For a few days, I've gotten emails, but haven't been able to get to the box...
[read more]

I recently got a new Mac Mini. I love having so much computer in such a small, quiet package. But I do have a few gripes about changes between Leopard and Lion, mostly having to do with differences between Spaces and Mission Control. First, when I switch between apps (using cmd-tab or by clicking an...
[read more]

The times, they are a changin'. As they always do. Change causes pain. Because it requires change. It requires adaptation. It requires abandoning old comforts that no longer have a foundation to stand on, finding new foundations, and building on them. What is the role of government in times of major change? Daniel Levis wrote:...
[read more]

I started working on my taxes today. Step 1: buy

I got an email from eBay today. The subject line was "don't disappoint them - get the hottest toys". I understand that marketers want to tap into emotions to motivate people to buy. And that's okay. Up to a point. Let's make eBay's message a little more explicit: "If you don't buy everything your kids...
[read more]

I got another of those emails from SpamArrest today asking me to verify that one of the emails to my mailing list wasn't spam. This time, something on SpamArrest's website struck me as ironic, if not downright hypocritical. SpamArrest is a whitelisting service -- they block email from anyone who the recipient hasn't opted in...
[read more]

I live in Nebraska, so what I'm about to say is heresy. But we need more heretics. I read somewhere the other day that gas that contains corn ethanol produces more greenhouse gasses than straight gasoline, and even more than other, easier to produce sources of ethanol. And we know that the growth of the...
[read more]

A year ago, at the end of one of my periodic political rants, I wrote: But I have a dream. I have a dream that one day, enough people in this nation will get sick of the two major parties to vote ‘em out. In fact, that’s a sabotage strategy I might be willing to...
[read more]

My wife was watching a program in the next room about individuals and businesses walking away from "underwater mortgages" (mortgages where more is owed than the current market value of the property). I wasn't listening carefully, but I did hear someone talking about it as a "business decision". I disagree. In a real estate transaction...
[read more]

I watched a presentation by Lawrence Lessig today about why we need campaign finance reform now, and it got me thinking -- the ideal of democracy is 1 person, 1 vote. But how much of a vote does each of us have? First, here's the presentation: Each citizen starts off with one vote. But those...
[read more]