Tag Archives: technology

Spin All the Things!

Visitors to the Belm Utility Research Kitchen, after seeing all of the gadgets and equipment, always ask “Is there anything else you need?” My answer is always the same: I’d like a chamber vacuum sealer and an ultracentrifuge. The former … Continue reading

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Bugs!

I had to move this blog to a new web host. While the migration was as painless as could be expected, there were still a few hiccups, some of which are still being manifested in these pages: There are stray … Continue reading

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Still Waiting For My Food Pills

This is a transcript of a talk I presented at Readercon 22 on Friday, July 15. Images are included as they appeared in the slide show. I had submitted the following description for the conference program guide: Cooking has always … Continue reading

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Punching Your Ticket

In the dark ages of computer programming, mainframes like the IBM System 360 relied on keypunch cards for both program and data input. Programs consisted of huge stacks of cards arranged in a specific sequence, which, if spilled, lent a … Continue reading

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75,000 and Counting

Last January my iTunes library hit the 70,000 song mark. This month I exceeded 75,000. My latest music listening experiment has been the service provided by lala. I used their MusicMover software to match the contents of my library to … Continue reading

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New Toy

I have been playing with my shiny new Bliptronic 500o, which I received for Xmas. Rather than try to describe it, I can show it to you in action. Straight out of the box it’s a bit limited. It only … Continue reading

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The iTerrarium

I thought that my Macquarium was the finest example of what could be done with a Macintosh that had reached the end of its useful life. Then I saw the iTerrarium constructed by Paul Riddell of the Texas Triffid Ranch, … Continue reading

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Kind of Bloop

Lots of musicians pay with 8-bit music composition programs, reworking pop favorites to sound like they were generated by old video game systems. But few have tried their hand at chiptune jazz, a deficiency that Andy Baio of Waxy.org sought … Continue reading

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I Saw a Film Today, Oh Boy

When Harmonix released the first Guitar Hero game I was rooting for them. The company had been co-founded by an old MIT friend, and the game looked like a lot of fun. I was rooting for them again when they … Continue reading

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Behold the Awesome Power of Bacon!

Harold McGhee’s On Food and Cooking is the most exhaustive reference on the chemistry and physics involved in food preparation, but nothing beats a few flashy demonstrations. I still have a vivid memory of Mr. Wizard, the great American science … Continue reading

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