Years ago, Steve Martin described the great new drug he was taking, “placebos”. Starting June 1, you’ll be able to buy them too, under the Obecalp brand name, though medical experts don’t think it will work.  [h/t Monday Evening]

Just after I got my amateur radio license last fall (sequential call sign AF6FG), I applied for a vanity call sign, AI6ES.  I really wanted a 1×2, but none of the ones I wanted were available.  One became available this month, so  I submitted another application, which has now been granted.  My new call sign [...]

Now that I’ve got an Albert Einstein action figure, it occurs to me that I need some other physicist action figures to keep him company.  Unfortunately there don’t seem to be any action figures of Neils Bohr, Marie Curie, Richard Feynman, Albert Michelson, or Max Planck.  No wonder so few children grow up to [...]

Mike, Diane and I went to Santa Cruz today to watch Blade Runner: The Final Cut.  Afterward we stopped by Bookshop Santa Cruz.  Aside from a few books, I faced a dilemma as to whether I’d rather buy the George W. Bush Voodoo Kit or the Albert Einstein Action Figure.  Albert won.

Out of curiousity, I tabulated some of the data from the commencement program. I didn’t double-check my work, so I may have introduced errors.
A total of 518 Associate’s degrees were awarded to 396 students, with 294 students receiving single degrees, 83 students receiving two degrees, 17 students receiving three degrees, and 2 students receiving [...]

Mike, Diane, Dan and I went to Scott’s Seafood in San Jose for dinner. I had a cup of New England style clam chowder, the seared ahi tuna entrée, and the crème brulee. Everything was delicious, and the service was excellent.. The restaurant is on the sixth floor, and has a nice [...]

Only 26 years since I first entered college, I can finally say that I’m a college graduate, though I’ve only earned an Associate’s degree (Associate of Arts in Mathematics).  The graduation ceremony was this afternoon.  The speeches were mercifully short.  Despite their being almost 200 certificate and 400 degree graduates, the whole ceremony took only [...]

The birds nesting in the trees near my bedroom window wake me up earlier than I’d like in the morning, and at night they keep me awake, singing past 2 AM. I’ve taken to sleeping with earplugs, but then my alarm clock doesn’t wake me up. It occurred to me that there might be watches [...]

I just bought a cap and gown, so I guess I will go to commencement after all.
Herff Jones apparently must make them from some ridiculously cheap fabric, since they say not to wash or dry clean them.  I presume they must use better fabrics for the rental ones so that they can at least be [...]

On a mailing list, someone suggested that no matter which candidate we elect in November, he or she will not be able to halt the decline of the dollar.
Paul Ciszek replied:
Imagine a foreign country called Dumfukistan. This country is inhabited by religious fanatics who believe that the world will end any day now. This [...]