I know there are lots of folks severely affected by the U.S. government shutdown. I'm not one of them. A few days ago, I experienced my first direct encounter with the shutdown: I couldn't use www.time.gov to recalibrate my wristwatch. (It gains several seconds a month, and I like to keep it within 10 seconds of official NIST time.)

Helpful new moisturizing tip ( Read more... )

I was driving south on the NJ Turnpike when I saw this billboard:


( Read more... )

Power was restored sometime Sunday afternoon. So my recent desperate search for candles, and eventual purchase of several at a generator-powered CVS, was... probably what ultimately brought power back to the house. (Related: Carry an umbrella to prevent rain ( Read more... )

As I head into the last day of our honeymoon by packing up a giant box to ship back home, I am coming to the realization that despite all the rough spots on this trip, this honeymoon has been a smashing success. Not just memorable (which on its own does not indicate whether the experience was positive or negative) but unabashedly wonderful ( Read more... )

I am typing this on my brand-new laptop! It's very exciting because I haven't had a laptop with any connectivity to speak of since my previous one got stolen several years ago. But here it is! It got here from Amazon much quicker than I expected it would (very glad I didn't bother spending anything on "faster" shipping). And it's much sleeker ( Read more... )

I feel sad that gay rights advocates have to actually use "homosexuals can't help but to be homosexual" as a defense. I understand that in our society, people who believe that homosexuals are not responsible for their orientation are generally more tolerant of homosexuality than those who believe that homosexuality is a choice. And when it comes ( Read more... )

My local doctor's office is sort of a clinic. They are open from 9 till 9 on weekdays. Officially. It turns out, they most likely are only open until anywhere from 8:30 to 8:45, depending on their whim ( Read more... )

Often newcomers to Python are amazed by the features in the language, particularly if they are only familiar with older languages that either have fewer features or clunkier syntax. The mailing lists and forums are littered with exchanges similar to

Beginner: Boy, it would be really cool if Python would let me get a list element counting from ( Read more... )

No news is good news when it comes to these things. I'm glad to report that we didn't suffer any major damage. The windiest part of the storm for us came late Saturday night and extended perhaps into the wee hours Sunday. It was calm and merely rainy when I woke up at 8, which meant Irene moved on much earlier than I expected. The yard is ( Read more... )