as one life finishes, the other one starts

So let’s see if I can put all my fancy talk about avoiding the sunk cost fallacy into practice. My Roomba, Master Wong, no longer works. He will disengage from his cradle, roll forward about five inches, then power down as soon as he hits the first obstacle. This is most likely because I’ve overcharged [...]

these words just come out with no gripe to bear

People asked me last week why Tiger Woods had to apologize to the world for his infidelities (well, they weren’t asking me so much as they asked the question within earshot, which is all the license I need). They advanced theories about Tiger being a role model, but that didn’t quite ring true. Tiger has [...]

fight the horde; sing and cry

Hey, guys. I figured out how to save Iceland’s economy the other day. Just off the top of my head. In case anyone’s curious, or anything; I dunno. Oh, hi, still here? Okay, good. Iceland can turn its shattered economy around by transforming the island into a giant server farm. … … … no, wait, [...]

he drinks a whiskey drink, he drinks a vodka drink

Like most single Americans between the age of 21 and 36, I regularly go out and drink with large groups of people. Wait staff at bars accommodate large groups by ringing an entire table up as a single check. However, in an informal gathering, people come and go at different times. They order different amounts [...]

it’s like nothing else to make you feel sure you’re alive

I’m in so many other media this week. First, I have a post up on OTI comparing Burn Notice to John le Carre novels. If you like either, you ought to check out the other. Or, at least, my article. Second, don’t forget this week’s podcast if you haven’t listened to it already: our 2009 [...]

I can’t drive fifty-five

I put a high premium on convenience. I value my time very highly. While I don’t mind taking the bus – it gives me time to read, or watch videos on the iPod – I’d prefer to drive if it’ll save me some trouble. In Boston – or Cambridge, where I live – this convenience [...]

let’s go to the mall! today!

Today’s sign of the continuing disintegration of the American shopping mall as a center of commerce:Selling Snuggies in a mall sounds odd enough – the reversed bathrobe is one of those products that thrives on direct marketing and drop shipping, not herding massive quantities of inventory around. But no one’s selling these in a storefront [...]

iceland part three

Concluding our three part series: Heat, Part One. Hot water in Iceland stinks, literally. The entire island sits on bubbles of sulfuric water, requiring only a little drilling to summon to the surface. The amount of effort that the rest of the world puts into heating water for the home, a Reykjavik home has to [...]

iceland part one

I didn’t know what to expect for my first international flight traveling alone, so I got to Logan early. I kicked my shoes off for the security line but, in the current production of TSA security theater, did not have to present my boarding pass. With several hours to kill, I had a few beers [...]

get the cd from sam goody

If I released a music player that stored two hundred songs, took up about as much space as a fat paperback book and used a proprietary format other than .mp3 or .aiif or .wav, how well do you think it would sell? Even if I only charged $15? Do you think it would compete with [...]