Author Archives: Anton

limited voice recognition?

Posted on Saturday, 2013 October 26 by Anton

When I answer the ’phone, I generally say either “Yes?” or “Good day/evening, Sherwoods” rather than “Hello.” With cold-callers I often don’t get a response to that; I pause and try a variation or two of “Is someone there?” before … Continue reading →

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a shifting role

Posted on Saturday, 2013 October 12 by Anton

The original Nikita (1990) and the American remake Point of No Return (1993) had a minor character called Victor the Cleaner — played by Jean Reno and Harvey Keitel respectively — whose specialty was making evidence, such as bodies, disappear. … Continue reading →

Posted in cinema, language | Leave a comment

has self-parody always been a thing?

Posted on Thursday, 2013 September 19 by Anton

The movie Taras Bulba (1962) opens with a narration. I thought: Have I heard that narrator before? Have I heard a parody of that narrator? Yes and yes. It was Paul Frees, who also narrated Dudley Do-Right.

Posted in cinema | 1 Comment

i am but mad north-north-west

Posted on Thursday, 2013 September 19 by Anton

On average, my cats don’t ask for much attention; a head-rub suffices for half the day. For a few days recently, they were much more demanding. Perhaps it was the change in the weather; we’ve had a week or so … Continue reading →

Posted in Cascadia, pets, spambait | Leave a comment

degrees of treason

Posted on Thursday, 2013 September 19 by Anton

Peter Ludlow (linked from Reason): The former United States ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, argued that Snowden “thinks he’s smarter and has a higher morality than the rest of us … that he can see clearer than other … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Leave a comment

cat mannerisms

Posted on Tuesday, 2013 September 17 by Anton

It bothers me that Rocky and Bramble, though not obviously neurotic, don’t share the joyful manner of their predecessor Pillow (2005–2010?), who gave the impression of expecting fun around every corner. What am I doing wrong? It now occurs to … Continue reading →

Posted in pets | 1 Comment

it’s all connected

Posted on Saturday, 2013 August 31 by Anton

My old calculus book gives a formula for the curvature of a parametric arc in the plane — that is, an arc defined by two functions (x(t),y(t)) of one variable. For thirty years I didn’t think about the derivation of … Continue reading →

Posted in curve-fitting | Leave a comment