I have an unnatural fixation with pixels. For two years I was a stalwart supporter of the 17-inch PowerBook/MacBook Pro. My argument was simple and ignorant: “You need as many pixels as possible because you need to be able to see as much as possible.” This pixel fundamentalism blinded me to the simple fact that… More

I’m a sucker for charts’n’graphs. The only thing better than data is data about data. Data about data is information that, in quantity, becomes knowledge, which is just a short hop away from wisdom. And when wisdom shows up, you know you’re this close to figuring it all out. As a nerd who erroneously believes… More

Just back from Scotland for recruiting. Same universities as last time, St. Andrews and Edinburgh. Last year, this is the trip that inspired the A Glimpse and a Hook article, so it’s appropriate that this year’s trip forces a revision. I bagged on the objective section of the resume in the Glimpse piece, using the… More

A nerd needs a project because a nerd builds stuff. All the time. Those lulls in the conversation over dinner? That’s the nerd working on his project in his head. It’s unlikely that this project is a nerd’s day job because his opinion regarding his job is, “Been there, done that.” We’ll explore the consequences… More

I’m back from a few days in Vegas. Before I left, I decided it was time to talk a bit more about Vegas, and I decided I’d Twitter tips for what I consider to be a successful Vegas trip. Thing is, from the moment I set foot in the airport, I realized I had a… More

Coffee approach pattern Delta was in play today. This unlisted approach pattern is a stop in Los Gatos to hit one of two decent coffee shops, The Great Bear or the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting company. Neither shop can compete with Peet, but Los Gatos has other attractions. Namely, the soon-to-be-completed Apple Store: Store errata:… More

Mornings are a delicate proposition, but there are two events which, if they occur, guarantee a positive experience.  The first event is coffee acquisition. Currently, there are three different coffee approaches, each has its own consequences. They are: Crappy mountain swill.  This is coffee from the local store. They try, but it’s a serious B.… More

In the past two weeks, I’ve seen a second flood of friend requests on Twitter. Included in this second wave were several Twitter haters who apparently believe that they’ve made their point and now it’s ok to join Twitter. Welcome. I wasn’t the first person to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. In fact, my original… More

As soon as you decide to become a professional nerd, either via a university degree or simply because you sit up all night writing Python to scratch your particular technical itch, you think you absolve yourself of having to stand up in front of a group of people to make a presentation. And you might… More

Ok, stop reading right now and count the toys you can see from your desk. Don’t ask me for a definition, just count. Ordered by proximity, I’ve got: The amethyst ball the Mom gave me. A hockey stick given to me by a prior team. Near this hockey stick is a hockey puck. A cup-sized… More