The Frustrated Bunny

Technology. Science. Politics. Geek. Etc.

Personal / Random

Confessions of a self-professed slob

I’ve never been what you’d call an organized person. I’m most certainly not a neat freak. If my room wasn’t a total mess when I was growing up, it was still cluttered, with a “residue” of mess around the edges of the room, stacks of books and papers, a messy desk and a layer of dust so thick in some places that an archaeologist might have a little fun excavating my trinkets. And don’t get me started on the hairballs that could be scraped up off of my carpet or pulled out of the vacuum cleaner. (Of course, with waist-length...

Politics / Technology

Lawmakers lack knowlege of technology issues

In the past couple of weeks, ZDNet has picked up two related stories (Google CEO: Techies must educate governments, 10/17/06; Chris Patten: Politicians have no grasp of technology, 10/27/06) regarding government leaders’ lack of education regarding modern science and technology. Upon reading both of them, I joked that someone needs to call Ric Romero and let him know about this “breaking news.” I was shocked — shocked, I say — to discover that the people making important decisions regarding our technological future often have no idea as to what they’re even voting on. As a courtesy to those who haven’t...

Technology

Handwriting losing importance in digital age?

Cursive writing rapidly becoming passé The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand, and now it’s threatening to finish off longhand. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2006, just 15 percent of the almost 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive. The rest? They printed. Block letters. And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of U.S. students who no longer get much handwriting instruction in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive. When...

Politics / Technology

Wal-Mart to iTunes: How dare you undercut our prices

RETAIL-IATION: Wal-Mart warns studios over DVD downloads Worried about its massive DVD sales, retail behemoth Wal-Mart has told some of Hollywood’s biggest players it will retaliate against them for selling movies on Apple’s iTunes. Those who know me personally (and even some of those who only know me online) are aware of my particular dislike for Wal-Mart. I refuse to shop there if I have any alternative, and I use my disapproving glare and tone of voice upon discovering that any of my friends or family have shopped there recently. I have many reasons for this, some personal, some political,...

Technology

Vinyl sees unlikely revival

C|Net: Crave Talk: All hail the analogue revolution It sounds like an unlikely revival, but vinyl is scratching and crackling its way back to the top. Seven-inch vinyl records are once again a popular format for some indie singles’ sales in the UK. Sales of 7-inch singles have risen to well over one million this year. The last time things looked this good for vinyl was 1998. This article was written from a U.K. perspective, but vinyl has seen a similar resurgence in the States, as well. I recall that one of the biggest complaints that music collectors had about...