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A Face Only a Mother Could Love
We’re thinking of physically reconfiguring our network equipment here at the house. Currently, the DSL modem and router are upstairs in my office — at the far end of the house — where they’ve been since we moved here ten years ago. Since then, things have changed: The Missus no longer has a desktop computer. [...]
Net-Blind
Fun situation: a crash-bang-thumper of a thunderstorm blew through our neighborhood the other night. No animate casualties, gratifyingly. But among the inanimate ones: The Missus’s computer. our network router the base station of our cordless phone set our phone service, briefly, and either our DSL modem… or my computer’s network card… or both. Not a [...]
Updates: Watson on Jeopardy!
If you were interested in the subject at all, you’ve probably read all about it already. But for what it’s worth, I updated my “What Is Hubris, Alex?” post of a couple days ago with three longish comments recapping the three nights’ programs. The first one is here; scroll down on that page for the [...]
“What Is Hubris, Alex?” *
I’d heard of this little demonstration of computing power some time ago; last week I caught a documentary about it on PBS’s NOVA program. On the way into work today, I also heard a more up-to-date report of it on NPR’s Morning Edition. The event itself takes place tonight through Wednesday, during the regular Jeopardy! [...]
Identity Crises
[Image: 'A Little Family History,' by B. Kliban] From whiskey river: Moment A person wakes from sleep and does not know for a time who she is, who he is. This happens in a lifetime once or twice. It has happened to you, no doubt. Some in that moment panic, some sigh with pleasure. How [...]
Real-Life Dialogue (EDT Edition)
[The scene: a suburban home situated somewhere in the (US) Eastern time zone. It is a mild, sunny Sunday afternoon in mid-March, and He and She are seated at their respective computers on opposite sides of a low wall, enjoying the sunshine when they remember to look out a window.] She: [From her side of [...]
Uncomfortable Numbers
From whiskey river: A Word on Statistics Out of every hundred people, those who always know better: fifty-two. Unsure of every step: almost all the rest. Ready to help, if it doesn’t take long: forty-nine. Always good, because they cannot be otherwise: four — well, maybe five. Able to admire without envy: eighteen. Led to [...]
Things Programmers Think (and Sometimes Say)
In my day job, I have a couple of stock responses to questions from clients or just to my (and their) experiences with computers. One of these stock responses is something which clients almost never like to hear, because it translates, roughly, to This may sound like a “yes,” but if you believe that you’re [...]
Smashing Your Thumb with Your Trusty Hammer
[Technology alert: If you're not into PC tech, especially wonky stuff about operating systems and such, you might want to give this post a pass.] As some of you may know, I almost never use Microsoft Windows anymore — at least, when at home. (At work, there’s no other option.) Until a couple days ago, [...]
Forward Bravely, into the Past!
This March — the 12th, and isn’t it interesting I remember the exact date? — marks my 30th year as a computer guy. When I started out at AT&T, my job title was Member of Programming Staff (with a digression into Managerhood); at my present job, I’ve been a Distributed Systems Specialist, a Business Systems [...]
