It’s very rare for me to be actually awakened by an alarm clock. Generally I wake up on my own just a few minutes before the alarm is set to go off–which is actually kind of annoying, since mornings when I have to set an alarm to get up are invariably mornings when I want …
Category: Blog
Comdex ’97
Each year, more than 200,000 people descend on Las Vegas with more on their minds than gambling and Wayne Newton. They’re there for Fall Comdex, the largest computer show in the world (a.k.a. “Nerdvana”). This year’s Fall Comdex just wrapped up, and the one trend that stood out was the ongoing effort to change the …
Global warming update
What with all the talk about the greenhouse effect recently, I decided it’s time for a quick review… The term “greenhouse effect” is usually used today in reference to a predicted gradual warming of the Earth caused by an increase in various gases in the atmosphere, primarily due to human activity. Really, however, the greenhouse …
Pumpkins
Maybe it’s their cheerful orange color or their round, sort of huggable shape, but people love pumpkins. And this is the time of year when pumpkins really come into their own. In mid-October we’re eating them in pies, and by the end we’re carving them into jack-o-lanterns. All the fruits we call pumpkins belong to …
Glaciers
The first time I saw Lake Louise, several years ago, its beauty stunned me. Recently I visited it again, and the effect was the same: if it’s not the most beautiful spot on Earth, it’s darn close. What created Lake Louise still hangs above it: a mighty glacier. A drive along the spine of the …
Home runs
It’s World Series time again, and it’s shaping up to be an exciting one–but for me, nothing can equal the excitement of the 1909 Series. I remember it like it was yesterday. The smell of the grass, the roar of the crowd, as I made my way to the mound to start for the Detroit …
Skunks
There are lots of good things to smell in the summertime: flowers, steaks on the barbecue, fresh-cut grass. But there are also other, less fortunate smells: hot wet dog, five-day-old roadkill–and skunk. My personal experience of the smell of skunk has been limited to a whiff of that inimitable scent wafted on the breeze, …
Spam
Few things equal the thrill, when you first get an Internet account, of receiving e-mail. But it’s not long before the thrill gives way to annoyance, as you discover that much–sometimes most–of the mail you receive has subject headings like “Get Rich Fast!” or “XXX HOT BABES XXX”. Yes, just like your regular mailbox, …
Sputnik
This Saturday marks the 40 anniversary of one of the most pivotal events in 20th century science: the launch by the late Soviet Union of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. Nowadays, of course, we take satellites for granted: we see photographs taken by satellites every evening on the news, we watch television signals …
The world land speed record attempt
Right now, on a dry lake bed in Black Rock, Nevada, two teams are locked in a fierce competition. Using exotic, jet-propelled vehicles, they’re striving to break the sound barrier–on land. In the process, they’re pushing technology to its limits. What makes the competition even more interesting is the contrast between the two teams. On …
Tea, revisited
I drink a lot of tea. In my family, every meal except breakfast was accompanied by a tall glass of iced tea, and today, I almost always have a glass of iced tea at hand when I’m watching TV, reading, or writing this column. Which means that recent studies touting the health benefits of …
Asthma
Most of us breathe without even thinking about it. In and out, in and out, the air moves easily and effortlessly. But there are millions of people for whom breathing can never be taken for granted, and their numbers are increasing: asthmatics. Asthma is a narrowing of airways in the lungs that causes coughing, wheezing …
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