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Why your windows fog up
You know how when you get into the car with wet hair, after a short while your driver-side window will be fogged up, and the fog will be creeping across the windscreen and into the back window? The effect is quite dramatic if you have a lot of hair and if it is chilly out.…
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A goose, a fox and a bag of grain
So this is a logic problem which you are all probably pretty well acquainted with, considering it’s been around since the dark ages. It goes like this (or some variation thereof): a farmer has a goose, a fox and a bag of grain that he has to transport across the river. The boat that he…
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Marginalia and Ephemera
I just read a post on the I Love Typography site about shrinking margins. It made me think about marginalia and ephemera. Marginalia is the stuff that’s written in margins of text. Ephemera is basically the same, but it doesn’t have to be written into books – it can be notes on cocktail napkins or…
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Something is better than something else
It’s pretty easy to complain. It’s easy because it’s lazy. We (you, me; people) complain because being the victim is exciting. Particularly if nothing bad actually happened. Like, we were up late last night and – oh god – we’re sooo tired today. I’m going to interrupt myself to posit an exception to this entire…
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Objects in mirror are closer than they appear
Most North Americans are familiar with the warning “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” If you’ve ever wondered why objects in your car mirror are closer than they appear, or why the passenger side mirror carries this warning but not the driver’s side – wonder no more! The thrilling answer is here! I…
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My little guy
Henry took his first major spill today. He tumbled out of my mom’s arms (from a pretty low height) and bruised his face. He was having a helluva morning. I took him to the doctor to make sure he was ok. He seemed fine, just upset. He kept stroking his fingers under his eye and…
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Delightful oddity
Part of my job is to put together a daily worldwide e-newsletter. So a few days before the start of a new month, I create a folder for that month that contains the blank word documents that will become the drafts of the newsletter. They all say the day of the week and date at…
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Grammar – just try harder, please
You get judged by the way you write. You (and I) probably get judged on a lot more than that, honestly, but grammar has a certain set of rules that you can be judged on in your absence, in the case of the written word. Everyone makes mistakes. It happens. Habitual inconsistencies, however, point to…
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Death Cab for Cutie
Last night Bob took me to see Death Cab for Cutie featuring Magik*Magik Orchestra. It was an early birthday gift. We also went out for sushi. Let me tell you all about it. To begin with, Bob bought a pair of tickets in the second row of the balcony, then realized he could get tickets…
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Levon
Levon Helm – subject for the eponymous song by Elton John, drummer for The Band, one-time cancer survivor – is in his final stages of his fight with cancer. UPDATED: Levon died April 19, 2012. For Bob’s birthday one year, I got him tickets to a Midnight Ramble, at Levon’s house in Woodstock, NY. It…
Revelry Reverie 