Wednesday  20 Feb 2019           comment?

Wednesday  13 Feb 2019           comment?

Der Spiegel has a nice slideshow of pedestrian icons from walk/don't walk signs around the world. This one—my favorite—is from Prague.

Monday  11 Feb 2019           comment?

Russian (Soviet era) slide-rule-like calculator on eBay: Way cool logo.

[updated at 13:55 PST]
It's not a slide rule in the sense that the two scales don't slide relative to each other. One knob rotates the entire face and the other knob rotates the red pointer. Instructions here.

Saturday  09 Feb 2019           comment?

I watched Three Identical Strangers yesterday and really liked it. Intense subject matter.

And the setting was familiar: I'm about the same age as the triplets and also from New York. It doesn't spoil the movie to say that it reënacts a scene where a 19‑year‑old gets a speeding ticket on New York State Route 17. My first speeding ticket (68 in a 55 zone) was on Route 17 when I was 20.

Friday  08 Feb 2019           comment?

Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker was questioned by the House Judiciary Committee today. I listened to the action this morning (until it was time to meet a friend for some climbing). Whitaker, like many before him in such situations, wasted time in attempts to run out each representative's short allotment. Questioners demanded yes or no answers, usually to no avail. Whitaker is a dastard but at least it was encouraging to see Democrats assert themselves more now that they are the majority in the House.

As long as we're on the subject of how to deal with questions: I like how John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin handled a dopey request from David Letterman (at 8:20 in this YouTube clip from 2012).

Saturday  02 Feb 2019           comment?

From an appreciation of John von Neumann in the Feb. 25, 1957 issue of Life magazine. Speaking of dogs (mathematically named or otherwise), I watched Pick of the Litter this week and liked it. I can't remember any other movie making me cry as much as this one did.