Random thoughts

An uncommitted blog on just about anything

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The aftermath of George W.

January 21st, 2009 · 1 Comment

I’m sure in the next few weeks we’ll read a lot more about the legacy of George W. Bush’s 8 years at the White House, but I’ve found this post on the subject very entertaining: http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/ Anyway, execution by slow slicing sounds terrible. We can be really creative when it comes to destroying things.

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“Little Italy” goes back to San Jose

January 21st, 2009 · Comments Off on “Little Italy” goes back to San Jose

The county of Santa Clara has begun plans to bring a “Little Italy” neighborhood back to San Jose. The web site is still under construction, or at least I hope the “coming soon” text when you click “Vision” does not refer to a lack of vision in itself. Jokes aside, from a sociological standpoint there’s […]

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The sky is the limit

January 20th, 2009 · Comments Off on The sky is the limit

There must be a reason why english has an expression like “the sky is the limit”, but nothing like “the grave is the limit”. It’s not just a matter of glasses half full or half empty, it’s a matter of what’s in those glasses. There’s a lingering optimism hidden in the communicative ammo this language […]

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A special day? (part 2)

January 18th, 2009 · 3 Comments

The other day, fresh from the US citizenship experience, I found myself with a lot to write, and very little time. This blog post is about the hour and fifteen minutes at the Campbell Heritage Theater, and I promise I will stay on track. [The “backspace” key on my keyboard is a friend that will […]

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Dear Apple

January 18th, 2009 · Comments Off on Dear Apple

Yesterday my iPod died. Or did it? It was absolutely dead: it was not responding to pressing buttons (and, no, “hold” was set to off), it was not responding to plugging it into a power outlet, it was not responding to my USB. It was just a scratch-prone soap-bar-like piece of junk. I bought a […]

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One month, three stories, one theme

January 16th, 2009 · Comments Off on One month, three stories, one theme

Joseph Needham was a biochemistry research fellow (then tutor, then fellow, then Master) at the University of Cambridge. For most of the first half of his life, Needham was engaged in establishing himself as a chemical embryologist of distinction. He then discovered China, started studying the language and the culture, and became intrigued with one […]

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A special day?

January 15th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Today, January 15th, 2009, 476 people gathered at the Campbell Heritage Theater for their Oath of Allegiance. 476 new U.S. citizens from 62 countries. I was one of them. The Immigration Officers on the stage kept on insisting this was a special day for us. It turned out to be, but not for the reasons […]

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Economic crisis and leadership

January 13th, 2009 · Comments Off on Economic crisis and leadership

http://www.feer.com/essays/2009/january/hu-jintaos-great-leap-backward When times get tougher, raise your voice and remind everybody that everything is still under control. Your control.

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About genome

January 11th, 2009 · Comments Off on About genome

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11Genome-t.html If I had to build a list of people I’d aspire to know, Steven Pinker would probably be around the top of that list. That said, I don’t think I’ll try to know him through his genome.

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Old videos of Beiping

January 10th, 2009 · Comments Off on Old videos of Beiping

Ooops, no, Peking… wait, Beijing… ok, let’s just call it Dadu. Some interesting clips of the city in the 1930s: http://www.quirkybeijing.com/?p=62 The train station is still so easily recognizable, though the entire area north of it is gone.

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