Village Voice
New York city to criminalize possession of pollution detectors, Geiger counters, etc...
So, let's take this to the next level. Everyone needs to carry a permit in order to call 911. If you don't have a permit and you call 911, you'll be charged with inciting panic and severely prosecuted.
I for one, don't think that this: Cell phone detectors is such a bad idea.
What else should we outlaw so that people have the illusion of security?
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Going Down on Madonna
Happy New Year, everyone. Let me tell you about my annual Minnesota vacation.
Christmas at my Uncle's house was business as usual. Because this is the one time every year that the whole clan meets in one place, the conversations remain almost exclusively superficial. "How are you doing?" "So, where are you now?" "What are you doing?" "Do you have a girlfriend?" which would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that each of the 2 dozen people ask you the exact same questions. At one point, I was standing in the kitchen talking with my aunt and just as I was answering the last question on the list, my uncle walks up behind me and asks, "How are you doing, where are you now?" at which point I pivot and begin reciting my answers from the top.
After eating from a great panoply of cheesy, greasy, or salty foods in which the only vegetarian option was raw vegetables and ranch dip (poor brother), I sat down with my grandfather for his and my Christmas State-Of-The-whatever-the-hell-grandpa-wants-to-talk-about address. When talking with my grandfather you are struck with the realization that no less than 97% of the things he says are completely derived from stock phrases, cliches, and aphorisms, peppered with the occasional malapropism.
After grandpa's startling explication of the relative proximity of similarly plumaged fowl, he went on to lend his support to the widely held scholarly opinion that the construction of ancient cities took more than 24 hours.
After giving me a nod and a wink as if to say, no need to thank me for the invaluable advice, he begins to tell a story.
Grandpa's stories wander through the realms of moral parable, historical fiction, non-fiction, and a genre i like to call incoherent sentence fragments. I know I'm walking the fine line between humorous observation and invective, but you have to realize that my grandpa is not senile, nor is he unintelligent. In fact, I have the sinking suspicion that he's playing some intricate game with the family, mentally laughing at us all while we try to follow what seems to be a mix of an aesop fable, a john wayne movie, and a collection of one-line jokes.
After his rousing tale, I excuse myself, and retreat to the circle of cousins, most of whom are my age. My cousins are, almost without exception, extremely interesting people. They are kind and funny, clever and well educated. I like this part of Christmas.
As for Madonna, well, on the 23rd of december, my beloved friends, Mr. and Mrs. Gubbins, and I were playing a game of Yahtzee. For those of you unfamiliar with this game, the rules are quite simple. You roll 5 dice and try to get certain outcomes, such as all sixes, 3 of one type and 2 of another, runs of 3 or 5 etc. At its most basic level, this is a game of chance. I am not an avid Yahtzee player, in fact I may have played once before in all of my days. However, on this fateful day, the gods were with me and I happened to play what could possible be the greatest game of yahtzee ever played in the history of the known universe. My final score was 670 points (or somewhere thereabouts), and from what I can gather, that's about what God's score would be were he to actually play dice in the universe. After I stopped dancing my wild "I'm-better-than-you" dance, and warmed up my vocal chords for a rousing "nee-ner nee-ner boo boo", Mr. Gubbins said, "That will probably be the best game of Yahtzee you will ever play." I exhaled the breathe that was supposed to carry the "nee-ner's" and began to ponder. Mr. Gubbins statement was most surely true. The planets would never align in such a way again to grant a mortal the awesome power bestowed unto me. I began to worry, did I peak too soon? Does this mark the slow downward spiral into obscurity? Will this laurel support my figurative weight until I'm 80, or will people say "Yeah, Sprocketplug played a good game of Yahtzee when he was 26, but he hasn't done squat since." Am I condemned to be just another Albert Einstein?
Dan Berg, in his song Tiger Woods, wrote
"I had a friend whose goal in life was to one day go down on Madonna, that was all he wanted, that was all, to one day do down on Madonna. And when my first was 34, he got his wish in Rome one night. He got to go down on Madonna in Rome one night in some hotel. And ever since he's been depressed. his life in shit from here on in. And all our friends just shake their heads and say too soon too soon too soon, he went down on Madonna too soon, too young too young too soon too soon...."
To what shall I devote the rest of my life?
-SP
Christmas at my Uncle's house was business as usual. Because this is the one time every year that the whole clan meets in one place, the conversations remain almost exclusively superficial. "How are you doing?" "So, where are you now?" "What are you doing?" "Do you have a girlfriend?" which would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that each of the 2 dozen people ask you the exact same questions. At one point, I was standing in the kitchen talking with my aunt and just as I was answering the last question on the list, my uncle walks up behind me and asks, "How are you doing, where are you now?" at which point I pivot and begin reciting my answers from the top.
After eating from a great panoply of cheesy, greasy, or salty foods in which the only vegetarian option was raw vegetables and ranch dip (poor brother), I sat down with my grandfather for his and my Christmas State-Of-The-whatever-the-hell-grandpa-wants-to-talk-about address. When talking with my grandfather you are struck with the realization that no less than 97% of the things he says are completely derived from stock phrases, cliches, and aphorisms, peppered with the occasional malapropism.
After grandpa's startling explication of the relative proximity of similarly plumaged fowl, he went on to lend his support to the widely held scholarly opinion that the construction of ancient cities took more than 24 hours.
After giving me a nod and a wink as if to say, no need to thank me for the invaluable advice, he begins to tell a story.
Grandpa's stories wander through the realms of moral parable, historical fiction, non-fiction, and a genre i like to call incoherent sentence fragments. I know I'm walking the fine line between humorous observation and invective, but you have to realize that my grandpa is not senile, nor is he unintelligent. In fact, I have the sinking suspicion that he's playing some intricate game with the family, mentally laughing at us all while we try to follow what seems to be a mix of an aesop fable, a john wayne movie, and a collection of one-line jokes.
After his rousing tale, I excuse myself, and retreat to the circle of cousins, most of whom are my age. My cousins are, almost without exception, extremely interesting people. They are kind and funny, clever and well educated. I like this part of Christmas.
As for Madonna, well, on the 23rd of december, my beloved friends, Mr. and Mrs. Gubbins, and I were playing a game of Yahtzee. For those of you unfamiliar with this game, the rules are quite simple. You roll 5 dice and try to get certain outcomes, such as all sixes, 3 of one type and 2 of another, runs of 3 or 5 etc. At its most basic level, this is a game of chance. I am not an avid Yahtzee player, in fact I may have played once before in all of my days. However, on this fateful day, the gods were with me and I happened to play what could possible be the greatest game of yahtzee ever played in the history of the known universe. My final score was 670 points (or somewhere thereabouts), and from what I can gather, that's about what God's score would be were he to actually play dice in the universe. After I stopped dancing my wild "I'm-better-than-you" dance, and warmed up my vocal chords for a rousing "nee-ner nee-ner boo boo", Mr. Gubbins said, "That will probably be the best game of Yahtzee you will ever play." I exhaled the breathe that was supposed to carry the "nee-ner's" and began to ponder. Mr. Gubbins statement was most surely true. The planets would never align in such a way again to grant a mortal the awesome power bestowed unto me. I began to worry, did I peak too soon? Does this mark the slow downward spiral into obscurity? Will this laurel support my figurative weight until I'm 80, or will people say "Yeah, Sprocketplug played a good game of Yahtzee when he was 26, but he hasn't done squat since." Am I condemned to be just another Albert Einstein?
Dan Berg, in his song Tiger Woods, wrote
"I had a friend whose goal in life was to one day go down on Madonna, that was all he wanted, that was all, to one day do down on Madonna. And when my first was 34, he got his wish in Rome one night. He got to go down on Madonna in Rome one night in some hotel. And ever since he's been depressed. his life in shit from here on in. And all our friends just shake their heads and say too soon too soon too soon, he went down on Madonna too soon, too young too young too soon too soon...."
To what shall I devote the rest of my life?
-SP
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Why do I get up in the morning...
A question that I've heard on lot in job interviews is the title of this blog: What gets you up in the morning? It's an interesting question with a variety of interpretations. As I've thought more about this, my answer would have to be: Irony. I truly love those moments of irony, moments of poetic justice, moments that make you say "noooooooo, seriously?"
Example 1: Three years ago Professor Blackwell, longtime businessman and entrepreneur, was indicted for insider trading (among other things). In order to testify he had to get a substitute teacher to lecture his business ethics class.
Delicious.
Example 2: In high school, Johnson's American Lit class. There was some discussion about the differences between men and women and...let's call her Betty...Betty raises her hand and says "Boys always generalize."
Example 3: This morning, I get a new pair of scissors from the department supply closet. However, the tag is attached to one of the loops in the handle. Attached with thick cardboard bound to itself with a big brass button. The cardboard is so thick that I cannot tear, pry, gnaw or bribe it off. That's right, in order to remove this tag I would need...a pair of scissors. Ahhh lovely.
Tell me some of the great ironies you've experienced recently and we shall revel in the beauty.
Example 1: Three years ago Professor Blackwell, longtime businessman and entrepreneur, was indicted for insider trading (among other things). In order to testify he had to get a substitute teacher to lecture his business ethics class.
Delicious.
Example 2: In high school, Johnson's American Lit class. There was some discussion about the differences between men and women and...let's call her Betty...Betty raises her hand and says "Boys always generalize."
Example 3: This morning, I get a new pair of scissors from the department supply closet. However, the tag is attached to one of the loops in the handle. Attached with thick cardboard bound to itself with a big brass button. The cardboard is so thick that I cannot tear, pry, gnaw or bribe it off. That's right, in order to remove this tag I would need...a pair of scissors. Ahhh lovely.
Tell me some of the great ironies you've experienced recently and we shall revel in the beauty.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
it's so easy bein' green...
I just signed up for AEP Ohio's Green Pricing Option. I pay a little more on my electric bill per month (only about $3), and this enables me to purchase 4 blocks (400 kilowatt hours) of renewable energy. It's not like they're hooking my apartment up to a wind turbine or anything, but from here on out, I am, in a sense, using only renewable energy to power my little domicile! Horray!
https://www.aepohio.com/news/releases/viewrelease.asp?releaseID=447
Who would have thought it was that easy?!?
-SP
p.s. all the profits for the green pricing option go into creating more sustainable energy options.
https://www.aepohio.com/news/releases/viewrelease.asp?releaseID=447
Who would have thought it was that easy?!?
-SP
p.s. all the profits for the green pricing option go into creating more sustainable energy options.
Friday, October 26, 2007
I can see a trend...
Should this blog become a repository for all the wacky stuff that I encounter whilst teaching? Perhaps.
Exhibit A: an email I received last night from a student I had about 2 years ago.
I've copied the email below but I've X'd out the student's name...keep in mind everything between the lines is one email.
Dear.Peter Sprangers
Hello.
This is XXXXX who was your student at 2006, spring.
I think you are still teaching stat 135. Right??
I transfered to another school, far away from OSU.
I want to transfer stat 135 to my current school. But this school require me to bring stat135 syllabus. I checked online, but I can just see the "basic syllabus". But, I need to see detail.
Dear, peter..
I am so sorry for asking this kind of thing to you.
But I need your help. You are only one who can save my life.
Could you send me e-mail with stat 135 syllabus attached??
Please..I do not want to take stat class again. It was so horrible,,difficult..
Please..help me out..
Thank you very much.
Have a good day.
XXXXX
Awesome. So I send the student a copy of our current syllabus, a feat which takes me approximately 3 and a half minutes. Her response:
Thank you for kindness.
I appreciate..
Have a good weekend.
God bless you~
XXXXX
Me, saving lives since 2005. Sprocketplug out.
Exhibit A: an email I received last night from a student I had about 2 years ago.
I've copied the email below but I've X'd out the student's name...keep in mind everything between the lines is one email.
Dear.Peter Sprangers
Hello.
This is XXXXX who was your student at 2006, spring.
I think you are still teaching stat 135. Right??
I transfered to another school, far away from OSU.
I want to transfer stat 135 to my current school. But this school require me to bring stat135 syllabus. I checked online, but I can just see the "basic syllabus". But, I need to see detail.
Dear, peter..
I am so sorry for asking this kind of thing to you.
But I need your help. You are only one who can save my life.
Could you send me e-mail with stat 135 syllabus attached??
Please..I do not want to take stat class again. It was so horrible,,difficult..
Please..help me out..
Thank you very much.
Have a good day.
XXXXX
Awesome. So I send the student a copy of our current syllabus, a feat which takes me approximately 3 and a half minutes. Her response:
Thank you for kindness.
I appreciate..
Have a good weekend.
God bless you~
XXXXX
Me, saving lives since 2005. Sprocketplug out.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Why I'm a bad professor....part 2...
Student writes:
Would you say that the problems that we did on Wednesday are about the same difficulty and type as the ones on the exam?
Thanks,
Jeff
I respond:
The review on Wednesday was a subtle machination to lull you into a false sense of security. The actual exam will cover such topics as: 16th Century French politics, the efficacy of NSAIDs after anthroscopic surgery, and the life and times of Mannie Davis, director of the 1956 cartoon Heckel and Jeckel.
Cheers,
Peter
I'm a dick.
Would you say that the problems that we did on Wednesday are about the same difficulty and type as the ones on the exam?
Thanks,
Jeff
I respond:
The review on Wednesday was a subtle machination to lull you into a false sense of security. The actual exam will cover such topics as: 16th Century French politics, the efficacy of NSAIDs after anthroscopic surgery, and the life and times of Mannie Davis, director of the 1956 cartoon Heckel and Jeckel.
Cheers,
Peter
I'm a dick.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Why I'm a bad professor...
Me: ...so this pdf is defined for values of theta between 0 and positive infinity.
Student: Why can't theta be negative?
Me: Because that would cause a collision between time and anti-time resulting in the obliteration of our universe.
Student: ...
Me: Moving on. The expected value of this pdf....
Student: Why can't theta be negative?
Me: Because that would cause a collision between time and anti-time resulting in the obliteration of our universe.
Student: ...
Me: Moving on. The expected value of this pdf....
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Where have I been?
A whole month without posting???? I bet you're dying to know what I've been doing. Three words: human animal hybrids.
Using advanced statistical modeling and lasers I have done the impossible. Stay tuned for more information.
Also, if anyone has been watching Fox news it looks like they're gearing up to support a war with Iran. I, myself, think middle east wars are becoming a bit passé, but what do I know.
Safe journey spacefans, wherever you are.
-SP
Using advanced statistical modeling and lasers I have done the impossible. Stay tuned for more information.
Also, if anyone has been watching Fox news it looks like they're gearing up to support a war with Iran. I, myself, think middle east wars are becoming a bit passé, but what do I know.
Safe journey spacefans, wherever you are.
-SP
Thursday, August 16, 2007
More news for nerds...
From Slashdot
"Researchers have released a new paper on quantum computing theorizing how to use optically controlled electrons to make an ultrafast quantum computer. From the article, 'Scientists have designed a scheme to create one of the fastest quantum computers to date using light pulses to rotate electron spins, which serve as quantum bits. This technique improves the overall clock rate of the quantum computer, which could lead to the fastest potentially scalable quantum computing scheme of which the scientists are aware.'"
This seems like a fairly dubious honor. Seeing as scientists have yet to make quantum computer that can do more than factor the number 6, it seems silly to give credit to a person who has theorized the fastest quantum computer. That's like having a debate with Mr. Gubbins that goes something like this.
SP: I have an idea. What if we could make a toaster oven that also could spontaneously rearrange matter. For instance, we could use lasers or something to turn a banana into a 1984 Delorean.
Gubbins: Yeah, but what if the toaster could also play music from local radio stations.
SP: Wow. Your theoretical toaster is better than mine. I acquiesce.
"Researchers have released a new paper on quantum computing theorizing how to use optically controlled electrons to make an ultrafast quantum computer. From the article, 'Scientists have designed a scheme to create one of the fastest quantum computers to date using light pulses to rotate electron spins, which serve as quantum bits. This technique improves the overall clock rate of the quantum computer, which could lead to the fastest potentially scalable quantum computing scheme of which the scientists are aware.'"
This seems like a fairly dubious honor. Seeing as scientists have yet to make quantum computer that can do more than factor the number 6, it seems silly to give credit to a person who has theorized the fastest quantum computer. That's like having a debate with Mr. Gubbins that goes something like this.
SP: I have an idea. What if we could make a toaster oven that also could spontaneously rearrange matter. For instance, we could use lasers or something to turn a banana into a 1984 Delorean.
Gubbins: Yeah, but what if the toaster could also play music from local radio stations.
SP: Wow. Your theoretical toaster is better than mine. I acquiesce.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
is all that we see or seem...
My dream last night:
I was a paraplegic Billy D. Williams fighting a group of Satan worshippers, posing as a travelling ultimate frisbee team. The Satan worshippers were stealing fetuses and burying them near the stands of the ultimate frisbee fields. I caught the lead worshipper and killed him using a mining pick.
Then I was in a large convention that turned out to be a very odd game of football in which both sides continually changed costume. At one point my dad and stepmom were dressed as klingons and i was in a barbershop quartet with joe uphoff, chris foot, and who i think was kevin leville.
Don't ask me, I have no freaking clue.
-SP
I was a paraplegic Billy D. Williams fighting a group of Satan worshippers, posing as a travelling ultimate frisbee team. The Satan worshippers were stealing fetuses and burying them near the stands of the ultimate frisbee fields. I caught the lead worshipper and killed him using a mining pick.
Then I was in a large convention that turned out to be a very odd game of football in which both sides continually changed costume. At one point my dad and stepmom were dressed as klingons and i was in a barbershop quartet with joe uphoff, chris foot, and who i think was kevin leville.
Don't ask me, I have no freaking clue.
-SP
Friday, August 03, 2007
This is not a good idea...
Posted on Slashdot.org
"Robots have been roaming Iraq, since shortly after the war began. Now, for the first time — the first time in any war zone — the 'bots are carrying guns. The SWORDS robots, armed with M249 machine guns, "haven't fired their weapons yet," an Army official says. "But that'll be happening soon." The machines have actually been ready for a while, but safety concerns kept them off the battlefield. Now, the robots have kill switches, so "now we can kill the unit if it goes crazy," according to the Army. I feel safer already."
Have we learned NOTHING from the Terminator movies? Or 2001: A Space Odyssey? Or Short Circuit? wait...that one ended o.k., but other than that you're just begging for a robot rebellion. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to be put into a vat of purple ooze and used as a biological battery or hunted for sport by mechanical overlords...laughing with those horrible tinny voices, laughter like the sound metal scraping against metal, their expression of joy not unlike a low speed car crash.
What do you think, my friends? Are you ready to join me in the resistance!
-SP
"Robots have been roaming Iraq, since shortly after the war began. Now, for the first time — the first time in any war zone — the 'bots are carrying guns. The SWORDS robots, armed with M249 machine guns, "haven't fired their weapons yet," an Army official says. "But that'll be happening soon." The machines have actually been ready for a while, but safety concerns kept them off the battlefield. Now, the robots have kill switches, so "now we can kill the unit if it goes crazy," according to the Army. I feel safer already."
Have we learned NOTHING from the Terminator movies? Or 2001: A Space Odyssey? Or Short Circuit? wait...that one ended o.k., but other than that you're just begging for a robot rebellion. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to be put into a vat of purple ooze and used as a biological battery or hunted for sport by mechanical overlords...laughing with those horrible tinny voices, laughter like the sound metal scraping against metal, their expression of joy not unlike a low speed car crash.
What do you think, my friends? Are you ready to join me in the resistance!
-SP
Friday, July 06, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Extra Credit
On my final exam I gave my students an extra credit problem:
"If Peter started a band, what would his band name be?"
here is a not-so-random sample of responses:
Stat-tastical Avenger Force
The Extraploators
Whitesnake (although i think this name is taken)
The Probabilities
Sprangers and the Null Hypotheses
SP Rangers
Madrak and the Holy Rollers (someone I told I play world of warcraft)
Sprangers and the Back Row Bandits
that is all.
-SP
"If Peter started a band, what would his band name be?"
here is a not-so-random sample of responses:
Stat-tastical Avenger Force
The Extraploators
Whitesnake (although i think this name is taken)
The Probabilities
Sprangers and the Null Hypotheses
SP Rangers
Madrak and the Holy Rollers (someone I told I play world of warcraft)
Sprangers and the Back Row Bandits
that is all.
-SP
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Aim for the head.
Well, my friend Tison and I decided to catch the late showing of "28 Weeks Later." the sequel to the popular horror/survival film "28 Days Later." The original film, 28 days, is remarkably well done. It was a new spin on the zombie genre and fairly artistic while being extremely intense and provocative.
28 Weeks Later takes place, you guessed it, 28 weeks after the initial outbreak of the Rage virus. A virus that turns normal people in hyper-violent man-eaters with complete disregard to bodily hygeine. Here's the kicker, unlike the lumbering, groaning, reanimated corpses of George A. Romero's classic, those infected with Rage are fast, nimble, and often silent. The other kicker is that rage is extremely contagious (through blood and saliva) and symptoms present literally seconds after infection. So there's the setup. At the end of 28 days later, we see that the infected, although vicious, are stupid. They eventually die of starvation and 28 weeks later, the US military has arrived to clean up the mess. (Marines to the rescue!). They've quarantied and cleansed Dogs Island (Britain) and have begun rehabitation. Here's my favorite head slapping moment of the film.
The virus becomes active again after a woman is found who has partial immunity to the disease. They determine that she's a carrier just in time for her to infect one person and thus renew the great epidemiological bloodfest. So, the klaxon's blaze the words "Code Red" are yelled by important looking people in uniforms and the Marines rush in to..."save the day." I use the quotes because, apparently, part of the quarantine procedure is to shove hundreds of people into tiny rooms so that they're standing shoulder to shoulder, lock the front door with chains, and leave the back door wide open for zombies to run through. Oh, but before that, they turn off all the lights. Who's the military genius who came up with this plan? My reconstruction of that dialogue
Jim: What about the civilians, Sir? What should we do with them in the event of an outbreak.
Joe: Well, we want to keep them calm and protected. So let's crowd them into a room, not tell them what's going on, leave the entrances unguarded, lock the front entrance but leave the door leading to the infected zone unlocked.
Jim: That seems like a bad idea, Sir.
Joe: You're right, we should turn off all the lights too.
PAH! I'm going to make a survival film where the protagonists make intelligent decisions at every turn! I mean, they'll still die, but that's what will make it even more frightening. I hate the let's-see-what's-in-the-basement mentality so prevalent among braless babysitters during blackouts.
final word: rent the original. it's great. avoid the sequal.
28 Weeks Later takes place, you guessed it, 28 weeks after the initial outbreak of the Rage virus. A virus that turns normal people in hyper-violent man-eaters with complete disregard to bodily hygeine. Here's the kicker, unlike the lumbering, groaning, reanimated corpses of George A. Romero's classic, those infected with Rage are fast, nimble, and often silent. The other kicker is that rage is extremely contagious (through blood and saliva) and symptoms present literally seconds after infection. So there's the setup. At the end of 28 days later, we see that the infected, although vicious, are stupid. They eventually die of starvation and 28 weeks later, the US military has arrived to clean up the mess. (Marines to the rescue!). They've quarantied and cleansed Dogs Island (Britain) and have begun rehabitation. Here's my favorite head slapping moment of the film.
The virus becomes active again after a woman is found who has partial immunity to the disease. They determine that she's a carrier just in time for her to infect one person and thus renew the great epidemiological bloodfest. So, the klaxon's blaze the words "Code Red" are yelled by important looking people in uniforms and the Marines rush in to..."save the day." I use the quotes because, apparently, part of the quarantine procedure is to shove hundreds of people into tiny rooms so that they're standing shoulder to shoulder, lock the front door with chains, and leave the back door wide open for zombies to run through. Oh, but before that, they turn off all the lights. Who's the military genius who came up with this plan? My reconstruction of that dialogue
Jim: What about the civilians, Sir? What should we do with them in the event of an outbreak.
Joe: Well, we want to keep them calm and protected. So let's crowd them into a room, not tell them what's going on, leave the entrances unguarded, lock the front entrance but leave the door leading to the infected zone unlocked.
Jim: That seems like a bad idea, Sir.
Joe: You're right, we should turn off all the lights too.
PAH! I'm going to make a survival film where the protagonists make intelligent decisions at every turn! I mean, they'll still die, but that's what will make it even more frightening. I hate the let's-see-what's-in-the-basement mentality so prevalent among braless babysitters during blackouts.
final word: rent the original. it's great. avoid the sequal.
Monday, May 14, 2007
In good company
What's so special about May 14th?
It's not just my birthday, it's also the birthday of George lucas, the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown Colony, the anniversary of the first human test of the smallpox vaccine, and the day that Lewis and Clark began their now famous expedition across the American frontier.
Huzzah! A happy day indeed.
-SP
It's not just my birthday, it's also the birthday of George lucas, the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown Colony, the anniversary of the first human test of the smallpox vaccine, and the day that Lewis and Clark began their now famous expedition across the American frontier.
Huzzah! A happy day indeed.
-SP
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Admitting Defeat....
I would like to admit defeat.
The windows operating system has finally won in the international market. I just read that Microsoft has just sold it's 244th copy of Windows vista in China. That's right, two weeks after it's release, the 1.3 billion people living in China have shown their unwavering support of the Vista platform. At this rate, we expect Windows vista to sell over THREE HUNDRED copies by next week. That's about 1 copy of Vista for every 4.3 million people.
Well done, Microsoft........well done.
-SP
source: http://slashdot.org/articles/07/04/18/1512216.shtml
The windows operating system has finally won in the international market. I just read that Microsoft has just sold it's 244th copy of Windows vista in China. That's right, two weeks after it's release, the 1.3 billion people living in China have shown their unwavering support of the Vista platform. At this rate, we expect Windows vista to sell over THREE HUNDRED copies by next week. That's about 1 copy of Vista for every 4.3 million people.
Well done, Microsoft........well done.
-SP
source: http://slashdot.org/articles/07/04/18/1512216.shtml
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Kurt Vonnegut, in memoriam.
Kurt Vonnegut passed away early this morning. He was a tremendously gifted and prolific author. If you haven't read him, you should consider yourself a horrible, horrible person. Check out Slaughterhouse Five, God Bless You Mrs. Rosewater, or Sirens of Titan.
Peace,
SP
Peace,
SP
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Florida...
Spring break was fantastic. The best part was seeing my family. Brother pictured below.
Brother, Dad, and Stepmom pictured below.
Also, I have been reading Far From the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy. It's simply brilliant. It's not the quickest read, mostly because Hardy describes all his scenes with indelible scrutiny...and usually in an altogether novel way. It's a story about unrequited love, passion, and the social mores that keep us in a state of constant frustration. I'm not finished, but I would recommend it without hesitation.
-SP
Brother, Dad, and Stepmom pictured below.
Also, I have been reading Far From the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy. It's simply brilliant. It's not the quickest read, mostly because Hardy describes all his scenes with indelible scrutiny...and usually in an altogether novel way. It's a story about unrequited love, passion, and the social mores that keep us in a state of constant frustration. I'm not finished, but I would recommend it without hesitation.
-SP
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