All is not lost in Venzuela…
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Blog Posts
All my blog posts and articles
Page 77 of 142 (2823 total posts)
February 2010
It’s hard to cancel Wall Street Journal Online
Who would think that an august publication like the Wall Street Journal would pull something like this: I was paying for access to their online edition. I decided to cancel it. Their very rich and sophisticated web site lets me change just about anything, but there’s no mention, anywhere, including FAQ and help, on canceling. Oh, and wait, there’s more: there is an 1-800 number to call. But guess what, they too can’t cancel. They have to forward you to someone else, and wait again, who then tries to talk you out of canceling. Geez.
JetBlue: Summary cancellation
I was supposed to fly from San Fransisco to Boston today. Monday (2 days ago) I got an email from JetBlue saying, more or less: “Sorry to tell you, but your flight has been canceled. Please call 1-800-xxx to make a new reservation or get a refund.” No explanation of why. I ...
Read more →When news breaks, we fix it
That was the old slogan of Jon Stewart’s Daily Show. This morning, while I was in a meeting, my cell phone reported the following ‘breaking news’ from CNN: “– An explosion at a Connecticut power plant near Hartford has caused “mass casualties,” ...
Read more →January 2010
Sophsiticated (odd) paywall at the Wall Street Journal
So I am trying to decide whether I should renew my subscription to Wall Street Journal online. I read an article hear and there in the journal probably every day but certainly not the whole paper. So I’ve been paying a little more attention to what that subscription gets me. Here are some interestin...
Read more →Wolfram on Computable Knowledge
Stephen Wolfram is a genius. (Ok, he’s also a bit grandiose, self-promoting and arrogant, but I think he’s amazing. Kind of like I feel about Ray Kurzweil, another geni...
Read more →Interesting old article by Marvin Minsky
Just came across this odd link somewhere. He’s a good and clear writer, enjoyable to read whether you agree or not: Why People Think Computers Can’t by Marvin Minsky.
Ruby and Rails job boards in Boston
I get asked from time to time to recommend ruby, rails, and other developers in the Boston area, either for full time or part time gigs. I’m developing a list of good local job resources – started so far with the help of pal Brian D: - [Dave Beisel](http://www.genuinevc.com...
Read more →The new, now cancelled, Jay Leno Show
Finally I found someone expressing what I have been thinking about the fracas about NBC, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien etc. etc. And while I didn’t know then what I know now, I did eagerly tune in for the first Jay Leno @ 10:00pm sh...
Read more →Stop treating Americans like idiots and cowards
An excellent article in the Wall Street Journal about the way the media and politicians want us to react to the recent Christmas Day attempted terrorist attack. **“No amount of statistical evidence, however, will make...
Read more →Frank Rick (again): The other plot
Ok, I am on a Frank Rich binge, but he does have one thought provoking article after another. In his column recently he wrote about The Other Plot to Wreck America: > “If they all skate away yet again by deflecting blame or mouthing pro forma ...
Read more →Fillibuster: Congress is totally broken
Thomas Geoghegan has a fantastic column in the New York Times explaining the mess we are in because of the perversion of the fillibuster rule. I don’t know how we are going to get out of it, but… come on! You sh...
Read more →About our credulousness: another great Frank Rich article
Another great column from Frank Rich — Tiger Woods, Person of The Year. I recommend reading the whole thing. Here’s a telling quote: **“The most lethal example, of course, were the two illusions marketed to us on the way to...
Read more →Great production of “All My Sons” in Boston
I’ve been a subscriber at the Huntington Theater for years and years now and this new play is the best one by far this season and one of the best in the last few years. “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller, at the Huntington Theater in Boston, MA, USA I ha...
Read more →Zappos Rule
I don’t own or buy many shoes. Recently I needed to replace a shoe and visited my previously favorite shoe store, twice (they had to get the right size from the other store, or something…) but left not satisfied. This is a really good store, but they didn’t have what I needed Also, I found that, li...
Read more →The Boston node of OSDV
I’ve been working quite a bit on the Open Source Digital Voting foundation project over the last 9 months or so. It’s really weird but I’ve turned myself into a mini-expert on how elections are organized and run here in the USA. It’s fascinating and way complicated. OSDV is a ...
Read more →TrustTheVote project
I’ve been part of the core tech team of the TrustTheVote project and recently have been blogging over there too. You can find today’s post about Open Source e-Voting here.
New words: COTS and GOTS
In my work with the Open Source Digital Voting foundation, and TrustTheVote, I just learned two new words, for your educational pleasure: “COTS” – Commercial off the shelf “COTS” – Government off the shelf Ok, not all the posts here are gems, but it is also my personal memory bank 🙂
December 2009
Two movies: “Precious” and “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre”
(Note: Spoilers for both movies, but nothing that everyone probably has already been exposed to) I saw both these movies this weekend. One I thought was very good but disturbing, the other I thought was [so so, kind of sick, but I did watch it ...
Read more →I’ll be teaching a course at Brandeis University
Follow along as I develop the course: Brandeis University Web App Dev, Mobile App Dev and Incubator I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to co-teach 3 courses next year at Brandeis University. It’s something th...
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