Author: cosmo

Apparently the TSA has finally gone too far. I figured it would only be a matter of time before they added one thing too many to the list of things you can’t bring or can’t do or have to put up with. And the combination of the backscatter x-ray machines (so-called “porno scanners”) with the “enhanced pat-downs” has apparently broken the proverbial camel’s back. This week there’s been an explosion of reports and blog articles from people all over the place sharing their horror stories at the hands (get it?) of the TSA.

I even climbed on the catch-phrase bandwagon when I sent my weekly survey about ultimate on Thursday. The options about whether everyone wanted to play were:

• Yes.
• No.
• If you touch my junk, I’ll have you arrested.

And today I found a hilarious graphic that was apparently on the cover of a book left at a TSA checkpoint.



It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out. Maybe some common sense will finally prevail.

Actual e-mail from Zack to his friend Alec:

The response from Alec:

I shudder to think what my e-mail messages at age 9 would have been like. Maybe it’s best that technology didn’t appear until I was 18.

Wikipedia is awesome and amazing. To think that hundreds of thousands (millions?) of people volunteered their time to contribute to what is essentially a compendium of human knowledge is inspiring. The web site is on their annual fund drive, so I took a moment to contribute. I’ve used the site at least weekly for years, and I feel like I need to give back in some small way. And it’s sure cheaper than buying a set of encyclopedias a decade ago!

The thank-you page has a cool banner:

One might argue there’s a bit of hyperbole here, but it’s not that far from the truth. Wikipedia is, in fact, free access to human knowledge. The last time that might have happened was at the Library of Alexandria. In the last century– heck, even the last decade– such a thing was unthinkable. And yet here we are. Wikipedia demonstrates the power of the internet and of human cooperation.

Take a minute and send a donation.

Yesterday I hung the oversize prints that Thom made for me. There are four photos by me and two by Rob.

After three years in an office with blank walls, it’s nice to finally have some kind of decoration. They look awesome.

A new course at Berkeley: StarCraft Theory and Strategy. This is the actual course description:

I’ve never played StarCraft (I’m a big fan of Warzone 2100) but this is pretty cool. Or scary. I’m not sure which.

Oh, and bonus points that you need calculus and differential equations to “fully understand” the course.

I’m writing a proposal (whee!) and I meant to type the word “telecommuting” but instead ended up with “telecommuning”.

It made me laugh… I suppose telecommuning would involve some sort of long-distance spiritual link with someone, and perhaps some ohhhhmmmmm chanting.

Yay, jury duty!

The amazing un-fall-like weather continues; today the thermometer topped 70 degrees. It was sunny with a few wispy clouds, so after taking the opportunity to wash my car, I hopped on my bike and tooled around town a bit.

I had my camera with me and captured a few cool things along the way.

Global warming is probably a bad thing, but I can’t say I’m complaining too much when it’s almost 70 degrees on November 5th. Wow.

I’m listening to some tunes and one of the classics by 2nu came on. It made me think of Nardo Polo, the legendary guy mentioned in several of the songs by that band.

On a whim I checked out Urban Dictionary to see if he was that legendary. Indeed, he is.

It reminds me of one of the ultimate teams I put together for a tournament back in the mid-1990’s. My friend Mike “Cheese” Monterastelli and I were co-captains of the team, and both of us loved 2nu, so I suggested that we name our team The Greatest Marble Players Who Ever Lived. Awesome. It sure confused the other teams, though…