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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…

Ahh, orange juice… the sweet, sweet nectar of the gods.

As I do every day, I’m enjoying a snack which includes a nice tall glass of orange juice. I’ve been drinking this stuff daily for as long as I can remember– probably 30 years or more. I chug about two quarts of it a day, and apparently a single 8-ounce glass will give you 100% of the recommended dose of vitamin C for the day. Doing the math, I’m getting about eight times the C I need. Good stuff.

Yep, autumn is finally here. Despite beautiful 70-degree sunny days, the trees have decided it’s time to bunk down for the winter. The tree in our backyard has turned a brilliant red and yellow and looks awesome.