January 2019

To install RAM Doubler — software that radically changed the way the OS worked — all you had to do was copy one file to the Extensions folder in your System folder.

⤑ 25 Years Ago: RAM Doubler

I still remember this piece of software fondly, as a child I never asked how it works but today this is the first question I get when I tell about it.

 

Review of Out of Spite, Out of Mind by Scott Meyer

And another Magic 2.0 book read: Out of Spite, Out of Mind (Magic 2.0 Book 5) by Scott Meyer.📚 I gave the series another change, the characters are still a bit shallow, and the author is continually repeating the same thing the characters are doing. But somehow I cannot stop reading it! The beginning of the book was dull, but it got better towards the end. I like the concept behind the series, but I cannot lose the feeling that the characters are a bit childish.

Read 3 remaining paragraphs...

/review
My latest project a picture frame from reclaimed wood. Birthday present for my father.

My latest project a picture frame from reclaimed wood. Birthday present for my father.

 

Review of The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons

Review of The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons.📚 I will never trust my brain again! I think this is what I take out of reading this book. Especially chapter two about the “illusion of memory.” I can see how this works with the example given in the book, where they ask the question what you did on nine eleven. I have a strong memory of this day, but after reading this chapter, I start to doubt it even more.

Read 5 remaining paragraphs...

/review

I love webcomics

The other day I realized that I read a lot more than books as I’m also an avid reader of webcomics. And over the past several years I’ve read quite a lot, and I’ve never spoken about it – quite the opposite to all the books I consume. The first webcomic I’ve stumbled upon was the JoyOfTech, and although the drawing style is quite simplistic, I like the content and the humor in it.

Read 6 remaining paragraphs...

 

I just got asked if I‘m old enough to vote at a political rally in town — and I was standing there with my wife and daughter 😀.

 

Here’s a reflection: the value proposition of democracy is that it provides for a peaceful transfer of power, once an incumbent regime loses its political legitimacy. If you have a working democracy you don’t need revolutions to get rid of incompetent leadership.

⤑ Someone please cancel 2019 already?

 

Review of Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Last week I finished reading Mortal Engines (Predator Cities Book 1) by Philip Reeve.📚 Seen the trailer for the movie before Christmas and was intrigued about the story. The book is an easy read. Unfortunately, the author is quite repetitive in his writing. Multiple characters are saying the same things. I understand that these are like proverbs in this world, but it still sounds a bit forced. Luckily the book took some unexpected turns towards the end, and I’m glad it did not lead to an entirely happy ending.

Read 2 remaining paragraphs...

/review

General relativity resolved the matter by establishing that the universe could be both finite — i.e., could contain a finite number of stars in a finite volume of space — and unbounded. The key to this realization lay in Einstein’s demonstration that, since matter warps space, the sum total of the mass in all the galaxies might be sufficient to wrap space around themselves. The result would be a closed, four-dimensionally spherical cosmos, in which any observer, anywhere in the universe, would see galaxies stretching deep into space in every direction, and would conclude, correctly, that there is no end to space. Yet the amount of space in a closed universe would nonetheless be finite: An adventurer with time to spare could eventually visit every galaxy, yet would never reach an edge of space.

⤑ Coming of Age in the Milky Way (via Kottke.org).

This looks like an interesting book to read.