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Stuff + nonsense. Updated daily. So far. Pretty much. Overwrought by Scott Knaster.
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Friday, June 13, 2003
President Bush falls off a Segway
Yep, I thought it was a joke, too, until I saw the pictures.
Commencement
Yesterday my son Jess graduated from high school. This, of course, is impossible, as he was just born recently some time (the exact year escapes me), and I'm clearly far too young to be the parent of a high school graduate. Some of you out there might even remember when Jess was born, so you'll agree with me on this. Seriously, congratulations, Jess! You did it!
T-Mobile Sidekick Wins
The T-Mobile Sidekick, which just keeps getting incredibly good press, has won PC World's Product of the Year award.
Missing Seattle
Last night I was watching the Mariners-Expos baseball game from Seattle's Safeco Field, one of my favorite ballparks. In my previous life, I visited Seattle (well, Redmond, anyway) for two days and a night every month, and I never stopped enjoying it. I had the easiest flying commute in history. I got up early in the morning and Barbara dropped me off at San Jose International (aka Dinky Airport), a 15-minute drive from our house. My flight always left from gate C-15, an old part of the airport that has a security check for just 2 gates, so there was never a line. I could leave my house 30 minutes before a flight and still make it. Once in Seattle (about an hour and a half flight), I rented a car, which at Seattle's airport is still on-site, and drove to campus in Redmond. There I got to spend two full days meeting with cool folks learning what was going on (instead of doing any work) and having dinner with my friends before returning home on the evening of the second day. Those monthly visits were definitely the best part of working at Microsoft, and I miss them. Well, the food at Cafe 9 was lousy, so I don't miss that. ;-)
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
Radio mystery
In the U.S., call letters of radio stations in the east start with "W", and those in the west start with "K". But why those letters? Who thought them up and who assigned them? Why not one letter for the whole country? (To avoid name collisions?) If you know, add a comment or send me mail.
ReplayTV becomes even less relevant
The latest owners of ReplayTV have announced that the next version will drop the commercial-skip and send-show features that got them sued. Brilliant move, guys! You've managed to remove the only reasons anybody had for buying your product instead of the competition.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Bob Dylan quiz answers
Five songs that mention Bob Dylan in the lyrics:1. The Who, The Seeker ("I asked Bobby Dylan...") 2. Jesus Jones, Right Here Right Now ("Bob Dylan didn't have this to sing about") 3. John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance ("Tommy smothers, Bob Dylan, Tommy Cooper, Derek Tayor") 4. Billy Joel, We Didn't Start the Fire ("Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion") 5. Counting Crows, Mr. Jones ("I want to be Bob Dylan")Here are a whole bunch more.
Monday, June 09, 2003
System of a Down name origin
Where does the band name name System of a Down come from? Here's a little (very little) insight. (See The Name Game about halfway down the page.)
Bob Dylan quiz
Can you name five songs with Bob Dylan's name in the lyrics? This morning KFOG radio had a quiz that featured tiny sound clips from five such tunes. I'll post KFOG's list of songs tomorrow.
Fish, plankton, sea greens...protein from the sea!
This is the time of year when classes of preschoolers, kindergartners, etc., take CalTrain from San Jose to Palo Alto, spend a few hours at a park, then ride back. Almost every morning for the past few weeks, my train has included a carload full of excited little kids taking their first train ride. Today as I was walking through the tunnel to the platform, 40 or 50 kids swarmed around me, giddy with life. I felt like Peter Ustinov at the end of Logan's Run.
