I’ve been reading some noise on the wire lately about anti-features. Benjamin Mako Hill, who seems to have coined the term, writes: “Anti-features are sold to customers as features but are fundamental or unavoidable aspects of systems that can only be removed or withheld through technological effort.” In other words,…
e-book reader
I got an e-book reader for my birthday! It’s very shiny. Comparable to the weight of a small hardback, with an internal memory of 200MB (doesn’t sound a lot, but novels don’t take up much space), and expansion slots for SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo. The e-ink technology is…
Gasoline prices comparison
My regular gas station in West LA is running just under $4.40 a (US) gallon right now. My dad’s regular petrol station in South London is £1.30 a litre, which is about $9.70 a gallon.
End of the Vacation
Sunday was another rest day: we went to Crystal Palace Park in the morning, and in the afternoon we had a birthday tea to celebrate the family birthday coincidence. Monday was my actual birthday, and now that half term was over, we headed back to the Natural History Museum for…
London Calling
Here’s how the holiday has been so far: Arrived Thursday afternoon after taking off Wednesday night. Spent the first evening chilling and getting over some jetlag. Friday we headed to Greenwich, walked through Greenwich park and looked around the Royal Observatory. Didn’t have time to see a planetarium show, but…
I’m in London
Catching up with family and friends on the UK side. Weather’s not bad at the moment, and I must have a sort of reverse jet-lag because I’m up at 6.40am on a Saturday (and nobody else is yet). Yesterday, went to a whole other hemisphere.
Unexpectedly Valuable
It’s come to my attention recently that my library of video games contains some that are now quite rare, sought-after, and therefore valuable. Many of the video games that you can’t buy new any more are available through eBay or Amazon sellers, although frequently (at least on Amazon) the items…
Unexpected CS Book Bonanza
This weekend was another book sale, this time over at our other local library. It’s a smaller library and fairly new – I wasn’t expecting much. There were only about 10 smallish tables of books, so I was quite surprised to find quite a cache of computer science books on…
Embouteillage
The arid highway subjugates the earth, A monument to mastery of man. Fantastic artifice: cement and steel, The world enslaved and trammelled by its span. A million ugly motors fight the road; Retch bitter toxins from a distant star. Miasma of a century’s exhaust Insinuates itself in every scar. Gentle…
Schmap uses more of my photos
For their second Australia guide. Princess Theatre, Melbourne Cockington Green, Canberra Fort Denison, Sydney