I've been reading a lot more since I got the smartphone and an InstaPaper account. Surprisingly, a significant fraction of this reading is on paper; I think being able to read anywhere and anywhen has me thinking about reading more, and makes books seem more reasonable ( Read more... )

So after entertaining three different offers for more than a week, I decided to accept a position as a "Scientist" with Cataphora, Inc., in Redwood City, CA. My start date has yet to be determined; I need to get my house sold ( Read more... )

I thought that this ~45 minute lecture on how to deliver a lecture (in a collegial environment) was pretty interesting and well-done:

How to Speak, by Patrick Winston

Lots of standard speech tips there, but also some teaching-specific tips.

Ever since kragen turned me on to them, I've enjoyed the Long Now Foundation's Seminars About Long-Term Thinking. Some of you have had to suffer through hearing me gush about how good they are. Once again, I'd like to encourage you to go check it out. They always make audio of the lectures available, and frequently slides and other materials too. It' ( Read more... )

Sometimes I skim Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools blog. It's this listing of things he comes across that seem like really good ideas, and why he thinks so.

For example, today, he provides an extensive review, with notes and pictures, of a Physics textbook, Motion Mountain, which is available for free as a PDF download.

The other day, I was reading Drawn!, the illustration and cartooning blog, and they made this post on creativity. I followed all the links and read all the comments, across all the blogs involved. I thought it was a fascinating discussion, not least because the vast majority of the participants actually conducted themselves like grown-ups ( Read more... )

It hardly seems worth the effort to note the problems with an article posted at the Register, but having been through it, I can't resist.

Earlier, I linked to the article hereI'm pretty sure that the power didn't go out because circuits were overdrawn. I think the conference was powered and cooled perfectly adequately. The report I received was ( Read more... )

Hey, you can actually see me in this picture, arranging marketing materials to make a backstop for the slot racers (which have a tendency to fly off the track): http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2007/11/sc07_cluster_challenge_day_one. ( Read more... )

I'm waiting on the day shift to come and relieve me so I can get some rest and a shower ( Read more... )

Good old Richard Feynman. Always good for a few sage nods and a good laugh.

http://wwwcdf.pd.infn.it/~loreti/science.html

(If only he was in fact joking.)