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If one were into conspiracies…
Our country is running massive deficits, financed by foreign government purchases of Treasury instruments. It’s not clear how long we can keep finding buyers for our debt while paying virtually zero interest. This is especially so when the stock market is going up, presenting an attractive (at least in theory) return compared to government bonds. […]
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Request for important Gmail feature
One of the nice things about Gmail is their “labs” feature, where Google engineers can add cool experimental features to which users can opt-in. One of the most useful is a feature that alerts you whenever you send an e-mail that mentions an attachment but for which you forgot to actually attach anything. Along those […]
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Photos of Alex
In case I haven’t mentioned it, a constantly (some might say obsessively) updated photo gallery of Alex is available at http://gallery.me.com/jrbirge To keep Alex’s pictures out of nefarious hands, the site is password protected. The username is family, and the password is alexander. If you’d like to subscribe to the photos as a feed, you […]
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Dropbox: How to REALLY not run a public beta
Man, am I having a bad week. No sooner had I been burned by beta testing Mendeley, I get absolutely toasted by trying out Dropbox. The goal of Dropbox, in case you haven’t heard of them, is to allow one to keep a folder of files transparently synchronized across multiple computers (and the web). In […]
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Fashion victims finally hit bottom
I’ve noticed (probably about two years later than the rest of the world, of course) that the latest in men’s fashion are printed designer t-shirts. Actually, I kind of like some of them, as fashion goes. Or did, rather, until I found out that people are paying $70 for a silk screened t-shirt. You know, […]
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Problems with Audible authorizations on Mac OS X?
Recently, after restoring backup from my Time Capsule, I ran into a problem where I’d have to reauthorize my Audible audio books every damn time I opened iTunes. Suspecting the usual culprit of problems on a Mac, messed up permissions (especially given the recent restore), I poked around and found the problem child. If you […]
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Why unions tend towards self-destruction
As pointed out by Mish Shedlock, the public MTA union has brokered an 11% pay increase while municipalities across the country struggle to make ends meet. The callous disregard of public unions for their taxpaying “employers” is highlighted in this article by the candid comments of an Albany police union chief, who stated for the […]
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Review: Uppababy Vista Stroller 2009
There are a lot of things to love about this stroller. For me, the best thing is that it’s one of the few strollers designed for tall people. The handle extends to a reasonable length for a 6’4″ person. There is no through-axle, but instead an arch that gives plenty of space for your feet […]
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Stay Classy, New Jersey Juries
The New Jersey district court finds it necessary to specifically inform potential jurors that they are not permitted to show up for jury duty in nylon track suits. Ah, Jersey…
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Mendeley: How NOT to run a beta preview program
One of the (many) influences Google has had on the software industry is the concept of the beta release as product. In some ways, this is a good idea, as it creates a community of early-adopters who can act as a massive beta testing community, giving the company feedback on real world use and making […]