Monthly Archives: October 2006

Don’t criticize the war, unless you want to be arrested

When I was a child, I was taught that the United States was a “free country.” That I could say anything I wanted, with only minor limitations (e.g., libel or inciting violence). That the people were protected by the Rule … Continue reading

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Portmanteau of the Day

grotendous /gr-tnds/, adjective, grotesque, horrendous. Used for extreme emphasis. Adverb: grotendously. Cory Doctorow brought the adverb form to my attention with a posting on Boing Boing: What’s weird to me is how the collective output of all that great work … Continue reading

Posted in Portmanteaus, Neologisms, and Sniglets | 5 Comments

Tire repair

A few months ago I ran over some kind of debris in the road, which slashed the sidewall of one of my tires (original equipment Firestone “Wilderness LE” P265/70R16). I purchased a new pair of Firestone “Destination LE” tires at … Continue reading

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CS classes; 17-20% per year hike in the cost of education at UIS

My Academic Advisor indicates that I am not required to take the CSC 410A Java Programming class, so in the Spring I’ll take two other CS classes and one of the three Liberal Studies Colloquia or Public Affairs Colloquia courses … Continue reading

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I’ve been admitted to UIS and accepted into the BSCS program!

Woo-hoo! I’ve been unbelievably anxious about this over the last three weeks, but I just received email notification of my acceptance.  The official notification will be in the mail. I can hardly wait to get started!  The Spring semester begins … Continue reading

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F&SF Competition #73 Entry

Fantasy and Science Fiction has resumed their competition series, and the latest challenge is to combine the title of a genre book or story with another name, and describing the plot of the combined work. I’ve never entered the competitions … Continue reading

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Logitech V450 Laser Cordless Mouse for Notebooks

I previously wrote about using the Logitech V200 cordless notebook optical mouse with my laptop. My only complaint with the V200 was that while the receiver snaps onto the bottom of the mouse for storage (and powers off the mouse … Continue reading

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Road to Ruin II

Those of us that protested the so-called “PATRIOT” act were criticized as being “soft on terrorists”.  We’ve been told that the taking away of our civil liberties is just a temporary measure until the terrorist problem is solved.  And we’re … Continue reading

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