Blog

A vision for the future 12 years ago
I made a concrete decision to make the use of a car optional instead of a requirement. This means that everything that I need to get done in my life can be done without a car and that anything that requires a car -- say, driving to Las Vegas or wine country or into the mountains for a vacation -- is…

Death before Monster Cable 13 years ago
I picked up two new toys of late. I'm not going to go into details of what because it's not important. But I can assure you that, because the consumer electronics industry loves to make things obsolete, I continue to not have a super-impressive home theater setup because I'm just not enough of a…

One silly misapprehension that's keeping you from getting active 13 years ago
A significant number of people I've met have one grievously silly misapprehension that's keeping them from getting enough activity to feel better and be in better shape. Let's say you were where I was a few years ago, or where one of my friends was a few months ago. You work Silicon Valley hours…

A few thoughts about the leaked cables 13 years ago
Privacy has to be viewed in the context of relative power. For example, the government has a lot more power than the people. So privacy for the government increases their power and increases the power imbalance between government and the people; it decreases liberty. Forced openness in government…

The cost to fun ratio 13 years ago
I've been analyzing my spending along a single unifying principle recently. It's a good way for me to explain what was formerly a vague unconscious thing. And I've had this discussion with some of my friends and I've found them using my notation in conversation as well. It turns out, if you want to…

SpaceX and manned spaceflight 13 years ago
I'm assuming it started in the late seventies, when corporations started wanting to get involved in the space business on their terms. There's tons of failed dreams starting in the eighties and continuing until today that were trying to do what happened today -- a private-industry spacecraft. For…

The car accident in front of us 13 years ago
It was Adrienne and my wife and myself going up the 880 on our way to wine country in the rain. It wasn't a heavy downpour, but not a mere sprinkle either. My wife was driving. Now, Californians don't know how to handle rain. Not in the slightest. There's some of us who moved in from far more severe…

10 reasons why I don't bother playing video games anymore 13 years ago
When I started hearing about scary pieces of software that couldnt be un-installed and would cause problems with your machine, I started realizing that purchasing games was just as dangerous as pirating them...

Me and video 13 years ago
A repeated problem I have is that, whatever I do, I like to do it really really well. Or I don't really feel like doing it at all. For example, with photography, I'm not happy with a cute little P&S digital camera. Or a cheesy editor that might come packaged with a camera or DVD burner. Or normal…

Four annoying things that gnaw at the back of my consciousness 13 years ago
Apple products, Android, and Bicycling...