My XO laprop is here from the One Laptop Per Child program! it actually came before Christmas, but I haven’t tinkered with it too much yet. I did figure out right away how to install the Opera web browser, because the default Firefox-based browser doesn’t have JavaScript enabled. Too many of my web activities require…

My mom’s been visiting for the holidays, and we’ve spent some our time together redesigning her website. I’m not good with graphics, but I like the result of following Mom’s directions to the best of my ability. We stuck with TYPO3 as the back-end content management system. We considered ditching it for something simpler, but…

We liked Trees Lounge enough that we put Steve Buscemi’s next, less well-reviewed film on the queue. Buscemi shows his talent again for finding humor in the most pathetic recesses of life, but it’s missing some of the spark I found in Trees. It’s also a bit too much like You Can Count On Me.…

Our battery is low after a day running the heater without any appreciable sun for solar charging. The furnace requires electricity for ignition and running the fan, so if we drain the battery there’s no heat. To avoid this we decide to drive for a while to the Dakota Hot Springs, which are open until…

Ann mentioned an idea to me a couple of days ago that has become more appealing to me as I mull it over. Instead of feasting for Thanksgiving, why not try fasting? We consume all the time. Is consuming more really a good way to give thanks? Going without seems like a better way of…

I’ve ordered an XO laptop as part of the One Laptop Per Child program’s Give One Get One program. This is a kid’s computer, but it runs Linux, has WiFi and mesh networking, and is quite rugged and portable. I’m betting that I’ll actually use it, and hoping a kid somewhere is inspired by it…

When my birthday approached last July I was inspired to attempt a summary of my outlook on life after 35 years. I’m pretty sure I’ve been thinking for most of that time, so I asked myself, “Have I reached any conclusions yet? Do I have any idea what my life has been, or what I…

Ann’s parents have braved snowstorms and the continental divide with their new 19-foot trailer to meet us here in Lander, Wyoming at the Sleeping Bear RV Park. It happens to be our first time testing our camper with full hookups, so we have a little RV test fest going. Our traveling pets, Sandy and T…

Intellectually, I know that rainfall doesn’t drain in the Great Basin, the one spot where the continental divide follows two separate routes around the lip of a giant bowl of dirt. I know that we’re headed for a junction called Muddy Gap, but in my head it’s just a name. What I’m concerned with is…

I’m still rummaging through my copy of Where Mathematics Comes From, reveling in each revolutionary detail. It represents such an upheaval in my understanding of math, I started feeling more free to question basic mathematical concepts. Lately I’ve been wondering about the mystical value of Pi. Why do we divide a circle’s circumference by its…