Category Archives: software

software: preserving the pen-based computing past

I’m fortunate to have been a minor supporting character to some some ground-breaking software that failed in the marketplace: the PenPoint operating system from GO Corporation, the NeWS network/extensible window system from Sun Microsystems, ingenious forward quadratic texture mapping from … Continue reading

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skiing: RIP Dr. Ruth Westheimer, 1928-2024

RIP Dr. Ruth Westheimer, sex therapist and author! I was her ski instructor in 1999 when she came to Squaw Valley USA (now renamed Palisades Tahoe) age 70 for a celebrity ski “race.” The good ski instructors weren’t interested because … Continue reading

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software: sneaky “gnihctamsim” phishing

I got an e-mail asking for my bank details. From: Michael Doyle <ventas@farbiq.com.ar>To: undisclosed recipients:;Reply to: logistica.industrialparts@gmail.comSubject: Re: URGENT PROFORMA INVOICE Hello Dear, Greetings Our company has approved the attached purchase order. Please review the purchase order list, and return … Continue reading

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web: multimedia killed by far worse videos

Video now consumes most Internet bandwidth. But video is terrible for imparting information about… stuff on web pages, or for teaching me about music. Videos that scroll through web pages It is nuts that in order to read about, say … Continue reading

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music: “new” Beatles songs will never end

“Now and Then” is sweet and has a good backstory, but this is not the last Beatles song. 2024: Sean Lennon finds a tape of his dad whistling a fragmentary tune and muttering a few lines. The remaining Beatles and … Continue reading

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software: fixing scanned photos in GIMP

I received boxes full of old family pictures that were cropped with the old selection tool of “Physical scissors”. Here are my notes on how I scanned them and neatened them up. Scanning Arrange multiple pictures on all-in-one printer’s scanner … Continue reading

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art: excellent VR experience of the ISS

THE INFINITE is one of the best VR exhibitions I’ve experienced (and I’m lucky to have strapped into Char Davies’ unbelievably great Osmose and the PHI Centre’s Horizons VR greatest hits exhibition, and even the early 1991 Dactyl Nightmare VR … Continue reading

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AIs making images of music!?!! 🤯

Hi music fans. OpenAI’s Jukebox was generating music waveforms from scratch way back in 2020 (as I wrote). Since then, silence from OpenAI. I suspect half the music in Spotify’s “contemplative acoustic music for yoga/Pilates” and “mid-tempo EDM for hip … Continue reading

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software: making it safer to run random programs

I was dubious about Google’s new Fuchsia operating system, but it has some very interesting ideas, including capability-based execution. Programs that can do nothing until you grant them capabilities are so much better – I hate downloading some Windows .EXE … Continue reading

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art: Franz Kline’s best work in years, done by AI

“Painting of a black cat with white markings sitting on a chair” is the best thing Franz Kline has painted in 60 years! Love the coiled energy and the furry tail on the left. This is the best of 9 … Continue reading

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