Monthly Archives: December 2004

indirection

We learn something every day. The old republic of Venice took indirection to an amazing height: New regulations for the elections of the doge introduced in 1268 remained in force until the end of the republic in 1797. Their object … Continue reading

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friends far away

I am pleased to hear from Udhay that his family in Madras are all safe. Madhu apparently was in transit from Sunnyvale to Bangalore at the time of the disaster. I hope his path was not through Bangkok!

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links? what links?

why women live longer backyard monorail animation of the Sumatra tsunami Operation Republican Freedom Conduct Unbecoming

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the jolly old elf

My contemporary Jim Henley (alternate archive) reminisces: Dammit, when I was a boy we had to work at atheism and agnosticism. We walked uphill in the snow – both ways! – to doubt the cogito! Nobody handed us disbelief on … Continue reading

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a rifled revolver

In the first episode of Have Gun Will Travel (1957), Paladin points out that his custom-made revolver has a rifled barrel, “a rarity in a hand weapon.” Say what?!

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mark your calendar

Asteroid 2004MN4 is an exceptionally high impact threat: the boffins give it one chance in 45 of intersecting with Earth on 2029 April 13. Monday: Or not; newer measurements have taken that date off the list, though they still give … Continue reading

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a hacker’s tale

I hope this yarn is true: one of my favorite MacOS toys was developed clandestinely. We wanted to release a Windows version as part of Windows 98, but sadly, Microsoft has effective building security. (Cited by Travis.)

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