£5 for the Library

I’m going through email from when I was away, and found this gem:

The Library is introducing on Monday October 18th a £5 charge for a Day Card for students who wish to use the Library but do not have their Library card with them. As my attached letter explains we have been surprised to find that . . . → Read More: £5 for the Library

You’re a failure, Mr. President

You’re a failure, Mr. President, and the only way this country can get back on track is by putting you on the unemployment line.

They can keep the angry demonstrators far away from Bush’s speeches. They can jack up the polls with deceptive ads. But, so far at least, they can’t stop the opposition candidate, if he . . . → Read More: You’re a failure, Mr. President

BlueJ 2.0

In this week’s Apple Developer Connection newsletter:

[6] Java Tool News: BlueJ 2.0

BlueJ 2.0 from University of Kent at Canterbury is an interactive, full-Java interactive development environment (IDE) aimed at helping users learn programming, Java, and small project development. This version adds substantial improvements to functionality and . . . → Read More: BlueJ 2.0

The Apps I Use

In a few months, I’ll probably nuke the system for a move to 10.4. There’s all kinds of applications I have on my machine that I make use of that I might forget about, and end up wondering what they were.

SoundSourceThis makes it easy to switch where audio goes (in and out).
Quicksilver This became invaluable . . . → Read More: The Apps I Use

Respect and Motivation

A good friend of some years dropped an email a few days about with some reflections on how he might envision his children being educated. Not that he has kids, mind you, but he was thinking ahead. His own education was fairly non-traditional, and somehow, despite being raised by wolves, turned out relatively brilliant. Except when . . . → Read More: Respect and Motivation

Quicksilver: A launcher util for OS X

I have been poking at things all day: getting my calendar for the semester sorted, running little errands, cleaning up my filesystem… all just getting ready for the year, really.

I just downloaded Quicksilver. This nifty little app lets me hit CTRL-space, and then I can start typing the name of an application, URL, or any of . . . → Read More: Quicksilver: A launcher util for OS X

Stopmotion with iSight, language learning with Skype

We’re getting an iSight camera into the office soon (well, Christian is getting one), and I was looking at what it takes to mount it on a tripod (although these flexi stand things might be better). What was cooler was I found software for creating stop-motion movies with an iSight.

That’s so cool. I just watched a . . . → Read More: Stopmotion with iSight, language learning with Skype

Skype: Everyman’s Internet Telephone

Before taking a 2-week break from the world, I was excited to discover that Skype had been released for OS X. Just like I had been earlier excited by the discovery that I could talk to my family using iChat, I now discovered that I can, using my laptop, call anyone in the US for 2 . . . → Read More: Skype: Everyman’s Internet Telephone

Fear in Electoral “Discourse”

“It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.”— Zell Miller, Republican National Convention 2004

I refuse to be intimidated . . . → Read More: Fear in Electoral “Discourse”

And to push on a premise…

I think it might be an intrinsic component of human nature to listen to others tell stories more than to tell our own.

And if this is true, why are there so many weblogs?

Why do people keep photo albums?

Why do we love to talk on the phone with friends and family?

I think these are all acts of . . . → Read More: And to push on a premise…