[This one got stuck in the ‘drafts’ bucket because I enjoyed his book so much that I want to write a worthy review. Sorry, Steve Grand. I have moved on.] If I became suddely independently wealthy, I would be doing … Continue reading →

[another half finished post. no idea what it was about or who said it] Senator Hillary Clinton’s use of the phrase “elite opinion” to dismiss the near unanimous opposition of economists to her proposal for a gas tax holiday was … Continue reading →

[every now an then I go back and hit publish on half-finished drafts. Today is such a day.] It’s the high numbers in Azerbaijan (42%) and Nigerian (60%) that scare me.

My understanding of the second amendment has gone through several phases. In my first phase it made no sense at all to me. Then I heard about Miller vs USA in which the Supremes of the day said “In the … Continue reading →

Since I love paradoxes so much, I love the idea that, as the UK and US trend ever more egalitarian in their approaches to education, they see ever greater gaps between low and high and achievers. Meanwhile, Finland has a … Continue reading →

Said Judas to Mary, “O what will you do with your ointment so rich and so rare?” Continue reading →

Ever wondered why there are 360 degrees? Constellations make a circle throughout the year — ever see the Big Dipper upside down sometimes? (Never fear, it’ll be rightside-up in 6 months). Here’s a theory about how degrees came to pass: … Continue reading →

Nicholas Kristof is asking each of the presidential candidates to commit to a Truth Commission (modelled after South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee) early in the next administration. This commission would be to investigate claims like “There is no longer … Continue reading →

The guidelines for Project Euler say that Each problem has been designed according to a “one-minute rule”, which means that although it may take several hours to design a successful algorithm with more difficult problems, an efficient implementation will allow … Continue reading →

In the comments of a review of a book about Turing… I guess it’s probably fitting that so many computers have been used to tell strangers “Haha u r so gay”.