Posts

Posted on

The Ace Of Cups

There is something that can not be captured in a hastily taken photograph in how Bear Stearns World Headquarters Building shines, with it’s glass crown sucking up clouds, amongst dark art deco buildings of the Jewelry District, when already late, sleepy and caffeine deprived I drag myself to work, on the way to the door handle that will give me a static shock and my noisy cubicle. I also can’t take a decent picture of the building’s crown when it lights up at night.

Joseph Ainslee Bear and Robert B. Stearns must have been superhuman to build a company that occupies a building like that. At leas their names are pretty cool. I wonder what “B” stands for.

Posted on

It’s Reader Tech Support Happy Fun Hour!

What do you guys know about window air conditioners? I am about to go and buy 3 air conditioners – one 220v and two 120v. My plan of action before consulting google was this: measure the rooms, calculate approximate BTU needed and buy some Panasonic or Fedders brand units and arrange for delivery and professional installation (I’ve installed enough air conditioners myself, and I don’t want to do it anymore now that I can afford it). Well, I searched on the web and in newsgroups a bit and so far my plan is unchanged.

Any better ideas?

Posted on

Tremendous Gobbling Capability

Fowler’s custom gobble tubes “make excellent yelps and clucks but are noted for the tremendous gobbling capability. ”

“Once you have mastered the yelp you should now be able to make the notes necessary to gobble. With the call positioned the same as the yelp, begin by saying the notes “ticka” “ticka” “tooka” “tooka” “tooka” “tooka” “tooka” “tooka” with more emphasis placed on the first note and less as you move to the end.”

TiVo® Newsletter, Volume 50 on “TiVocabulary”:

“tooka-tooka (too’ka-too’ka), n., v., —n. 1. the sound the TiVo® service makes in 2x fast-forward or rewind (or 3x, in the interest of brevity). 2. the desire to speed past acts, events, or people that don’t interest you. —v., 3. to skip past the boring stuff, such as when Ryan Seacrest won’t shut up during American Idol. “

Posted on

Piled Higher And Deeper

I visited my college recently to pick up my diploma. As usual I looked through the college newspapers.

Well, the political climate is rather interesting at good Old BC. There are two political parties – PHD (conservative) and USL (liberal). For most of my college career PHD, which name as far as I know is not an abbreviation, but like Häagen-Dazs® just a pleasing combination of letters had a long winning streak. That streak ended right after I had a pleasure of being quoted by a college newspaper reporter saying something to the effect that I think that PHD will win again.

What is interesting to note is in the last election United Students League had a very narrow victory amongst allegations of running a smear campaign. By just 21 votes Mohammed L. Hussain won over Yehuda Katz. I am not making this up, people.

Posted on

The Worm Oroborous

I was reading Barrington J. Bayley’s The Knights of the Limits which Amazon in its wisdom recommended for my consumption. The title story is about space travelers from a universe which inhabitants move in patterns through discrete points in space, like chess pieces.

This got me to think – 5 days a week a stainless steel worm moves me in a roughly L shaped pattern, from one tower into another, from one island onto another. And in both towers there are two computer screens and a chair. The two Ls form a Kekule snake, the Worm Oroborous.

I like to think that I am a Knight, but I am really a Pawn.