personal – Page 6 – The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach

My summer reading

Aug 29, 2010

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Just to put it in one place, here’s what I’ve read and what I hope to read this summer. Already Read Neverwhere by Niel Gaiman The Engineer Trilogy by K. J. Parker Devices and Desires Evil for Evil The Escapement To Engineer is Human by Henry Petroski (2010 0708) Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay…

Quote of the Day

Jul 19, 2010

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mongreldogs

in Health of the Republic, personal, politics

From a post by Steve Benen over at Political Animal: In human history, it’s never been easier to get — and stay — well informed. Folks just have to take some responsibility. If they don’t, the result can be a dysfunctional democracy. It’s impolitic to say this but not all pastimes and passions are equal.…

Review: Inception

Jul 16, 2010

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mongreldogs

in movie, personal, review, science fiction

Inception a Christopher Nolan Film Arbitrary 5-Point rating: 5 out of 5 Inception is a weird, ambitious, action-packed sci fi thriller-cum-heist flick. It is, in its own way, as ambitious as The Matrix and suffers from the comparison only in that it didn’t come first. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Tom Dom Cobb, a thief of a…

The Perils of Positive Thinking

Jul 6, 2010

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mongreldogs

in personal, politics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo I think the major point — that a unquestioning devotion to “positive thinking” is both dangerous and immoral — is a good one. We definitely allow suffering because we think everyone has a shot, so if they’re suffering, it must be their fault. It’s pretty easy to see how comforting this is, to people…

Why I have no respect for design behaviors at Microsoft

Jun 30, 2010

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mongreldogs

in personal, technology

I’ve received my new laptop and am working on getting it outfitted and up to speed. (This process, by the way, is distressingly like moving to a new home and is equally as frustrating and potentially as traumatizing.) After logging in for the first time, the system helpfully suggests that you create a system backup. …

Days of miracle and wonder, indeed

Jun 24, 2010

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mongreldogs

in movie, personal, ramblings, science fiction, teaching

For about ten years, I’ve been running a project in my Honors Physics course called Days of Miracle and Wonder (yes, title taken from a Paul Simon song). In it, the students are asked to create a business case for a product or service not available today but likely to be so by 2030. Although…

I might just be succumbing to the lure of reliving my misspent youth…

Jun 23, 2010

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mongreldogs

in movie, personal, science fiction

… but this looks awesome.

Seconded…

May 24, 2010

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mongreldogs

in Health of the Republic, law, personal, politics

This piece from the Atlantic captures my feeling pretty close to exactly, re: the recent Rand Paul flap on the Civil Rights Act and his alleged “courage”. In particular, the conclusion: Now, after the police dogs, night-sticks and fire-hoses have been beaten back, Rand Paul wants to reopen the question, while, to be sure, claiming that…