§ Tolkien
Strange and delightful things can happen when you type words into your searchbar on a whim. Such is the case with "Hoom", an expression familiar to anyone fond of Tolkien's Fangornian shephard, Treebeard. Google replied to my query with Walking Directions to Mordor. Just "continue East toward CIRITH UNGOL" indeed.... more
§ Geeky
Why do I love Google? It's not due to the pleasing lack of banner advertising in its search results. It's not for how Google motivates better semantic markup. It's not because of Google's fundamental guideline: "Don't Be Evil." It's even only fractionaly the result of how accurately Google's algorithms can interpret my queries. I love Google because when you type... more
As Muslims across the world begin to observe the holy month of Ramadan, it seems only fair that those in the non-Islamic world should take advantage of this period of reflection to assess their predispositions towards the Muslim faith. Never forget, that were it not for the leadership and preceptivness of one great son of Islam, the Rebel Alliance would... more
My morals and values are the direct result of Saturday morning cartoons from the 1980's. "How," you may ask, "is that something to be proud about?" I could answer, but that would lead to a lengthy aside involving John Wayne, Robin Hood and Oedipus Rex. Back to the plot: if Transformers was most loved amongst the above mentioned cartoons, then... more
§ Geeky
Regrettably, the entertainment world loves to periodically deify itself with self-involved award shows such as the Oscars, Grammies and a dog's breakfast of (even) lesser awards. All these events are about as entertaining as a marathon of American Idol--without the token-caricature-evil-English-guy--and they're roughly as classy and legitimate as well. No wonder then that awards given thorugh the web or about... more
§ Geeky
I'm nearly done deciding between speech to text programs to outfit my computer with. The point of the software is to enable you to dictate to your machine and execute other tasks, in a supposedly more efficient manner, through voice commands. Specifically, most speech to text programs offer the ability to use commands prefixed by a hot word to alert... more
§ Geeky
For a time now, I've been aiming to post about the websites of my friends and family. However, while browsing through surveys at my friend Brownie's site I rediscovered Reasonably Clever's wonderful Mini-Mizer. "Picture yourself in plastic" indeed, as you use The Mini-Mizer to fashion Lego likenesses of yourself, your friends and anyone else that you want to view... more
§ Science
Whether or not you're a card carrying geek like myself, you're likely to agree that this uphill garden waterfall is brilliant. Invented by James Dyson's eponymous engineering and design house, the reverse water fountain is the focal point of the "Wrong Garden" exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show. On a related note, "Microcosm", the winner of the show's Best Chic... more