« December 2007 | Main | February 2008 »
January 27, 2008
Ramen Noodles, Japanese Style
The mind boggles.
Posted by pgutwin at 9:02 PM | Comments (0)
Guten Tag Herr Gutwin
I recently received my Halbtax Abonnement card, better know in English as a Swiss Rail half-price card. This required some reasonable amount of planning and execution, not to mention the expense, but I'm now well-known to the SBB and for some strange reason, proud of it.
The next time I need to travel oh, say from Zurich to Davos Dorf, I will only have to pay a mere 27.50 Sf rather than the full 55.00 Sf fare. Such a deal! Or, as the SBB says: "mit dem Halbtax-Abo rechnen sich Ihre Reisen richtig." Genau!
Posted by pgutwin at 5:12 PM | Comments (0)
The Art of Math
My personal experience with Math is a bit difficult to describe: it's somewhat visual - not in terms of the symbols on paper, but what I "see" in my mind's eye. Typically black and white, sometimes they have color.
The art of Thomas Briggs resonates with me in the same way - somewhat familiar, somewhat ethereal, fluid, unbounded, bursting with possibilities. Wonderful stuff.
Oddly, I came across this link on Andrew Sullivan's blog.
Posted by pgutwin at 6:59 AM | Comments (0)
January 21, 2008
What An Adventure
The very first computer game I played was "Adventure". My Dad purchased it with the first computer he bought. I was musing about the game today, and stumbled across The Colossal Cave Adventure page. What a treat - it brought back many, many fond memories.
"Playing adventure games without tackling this one is like being an English major who's never glanced at Shakespeare." — Steven Levy.
Download the MS-DOS game and have some fun - you'll be glad you did.
(I'm only slightly upset there's no OS X version...)
Posted by pgutwin at 9:31 PM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2008
Oh - That's How It's Done
I'm a bit nervous about Google. Sure, they seem to have a firm grip on what needs to be done, and they do it without being evil ("Don't be evil"). But I still wonder - we've seen "good" companies go someplace else.
But I'm very impressed by Google Research for this:
Rather than just confining research opportunities to a select few, Google expects all engineers to be engaged in the innovation process. Engineers are expected to spend 20% of their time working on a project of their own choosing – Google News and Gmail are just two of the many interesting projects that have emerged this way.
If only all technology companies thought that way...
Posted by pgutwin at 6:03 PM | Comments (0)
Brother Against Brother
Andrew thinks it's cool ( and it is), but I also think it's sad.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:33 AM | Comments (0)
Mood Ring
Einstein Brothers Bagels, Phoenix, AZ Airport:
"What's that ring your wearing? It looks like an engagement ring".
"Yea, sort of".
"What do you mean 'sort of'? Are you engaged or not"?
"It depends on how I feel - if I'm mad at him or not".
There was more, but I left so I didn't have to listen. Life can be uncertain, but there's no sense in adding to the confusion.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2008
Ouch
We visited K & B this weekend in Cambridge, and stayed at the Le Meridien hotel. We were really impressed with the hotel - the rooms were very comfortable, and the staff was excellent.
The hotel was formally owned by MIT, and the common areas and room decor subtly reflect the association with the Well Known Institute. The prints in the rooms and halls show pictures and drawings of MIT in various stages of construction, and the bedspread is covered with formulas.
I honestly didn't notice all this detail at first, but was aware that the place felt vaguely familiar and comfortable. It wasn't until I saw this cartoon in the bathroom that things snapped into place - and then...well, I'm getting ahead of myself.
I snickered as I read this - and realized that My Dearest probably had not understood the cartoon (if she had seen it). To test my theory, I asked her from the bathroom if she had seen it - she said no, so I read it to her. I waited for her response. Nothing.
As I walked back into the room, she looked at me with that knowing gaze - yes, she understood that I got the joke and she didn't. But the joke was on me - my geek-ness was on full display.
The hotel did feel a little closer to "home" for me, but the world at large (or at least those in my life that represent it) all smile knowingly...
Posted by pgutwin at 4:56 PM | Comments (0)
January 8, 2008
Amen
"All my life I've known the Clintons. As much as I like them, it's time for someone like Barack."
Posted by pgutwin at 6:07 PM | Comments (0)
That Would Be Nice
It seems that Comcast is promising ultra-fast internet connections. I wonder if they will roll it out in Burlington first?
Posted by pgutwin at 1:53 PM | Comments (0)
I'm Melting
It's 8:30AM on January 8th and the current temperature is 52F. I have a confession: I really appreciate the warmth. Mind you, all the snow is melting and the skiing and ice boating sucks so I'm not particularly happy about that. But going out is relatively pleasant. I had to drop off the dry cleaning this morning, and a number of people were driving around with their window down. (NB: This is risky. With so much water on the road in pot holes, it's not uncommon to take a huge wave over the bow, and certainly with the right timing could end up where the drivers window should have been...)
The forecast is for more cold on Thursday and maybe snow over the weekend. That's good - the warmth is nice, but I'm ready for winter again.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:31 AM | Comments (0)
January 7, 2008
Winter Fun
Yesterday was a wonderful day of ice boating. Up in North Hero, just below the state park there was miles of black ice. Don had sharpened my runners (OK, they are actually his runners, along with the boat) and it was a great time to knock the dust off and get some really good practice in, along with strengthening those neck muscles.
The conditions were pretty unususal: there was a nice southerly breeze about 8 with gusts about 10, the tempreature was in the 40's and lots and lots of good ice. There was a thin film of water on top of the ice, so there was a lot of spray and a light coating of water on everything and consequently it was pretty damp and cold, despite the warm temperature.
It's wonderful to have the convergence of the three key ingredients of hard water sailing - good ice, close to home & free time. A good time was had by all...
Posted by pgutwin at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)
January 4, 2008
OK, I'm Listening
Is there something else that can be done with a big house in the 'burbs (or a modest coop in the city)? "Far from rejecting the rigors of adulthood, they were seeking a more rigorous and rewarding way of life. "
Food for thought...
Posted by pgutwin at 8:45 PM | Comments (0)
From the "More Where That Came From" Department
It's a little hard to imagine that Colorado is last one to face the crisis.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:35 PM | Comments (0)
January 3, 2008
And this is bad because...?
Apparently, cellphone users slow down traffic. I'm at a loss to understand why this is a problem. For example, say I'm following - oh - Becca, and she's chatting her head off with - oh - say The O-ster. Now, the only reason they would be talking while she was driving would be for some very important reason - oh - say, discussing some recent geo-political crisis and how they should respond with either financial aid or direct support.
For me, that's good enough. I'd be glad to slow down to let her concentrate on that kind of conversation. I'm all about improving the world we live in.
Posted by pgutwin at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)