QWERTY, DVORAK, KALQ, OR? PART 2
YESTERDAY, THIS ALL STARTED WITH a Smithsonian Magazine article on QWERTY. Today, we continue gleaning tidbits from Ellen Wexler’s article. A Non-Jamming Theory. Ellen Wexler recounts, “In a 2011 paper, … Continue reading
QWERTY, DVORAK, KALQ, OR? PART 1
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE RECENTLY POSITED, “The QWERTY Keyboard Will Never Die. Where Did the 150-Year-Old Design Come From?” In February 25, 2025, Ellen Wexler updated a Smithsonian article by Jimmy Stamp … Continue reading
FACTS—NOT TRUMP’S “ALTERNATIVE FACTS”
I GLEAN INFORMATION from a variety of sources, among them BBC World Service, Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, London Review of Books, Voice of America (thus far), The New York Times, … Continue reading
ON TRUMP—OF ALL PEOPLE?!—CONTROLLING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THIS IS TANTAMOUNT, OF COURSE, to RFK, Jr. in charge of health and human services. Or an unelected Musk being in charge of anything governmental. But there we are. The … Continue reading
CAN A GOVERNMENT BE RUN TO “FAIL FAST, LEARN FASTER”? SHOULD IT BY OPERATED IN SUCH FASHION?
“FOUR EARLIER STARSHIP LAUNCHES Highlighted SpaceX’s ‘Fail Fast, Learn Faster’ Approach” reads the headline of Deccan Herald, citing the International New York Times, October 13, 2024. The article’s subhead expands, … Continue reading
WADDINGTON’S WAR PART 2
YESTERDAY WE LEARNED OF THE ALLIES’ SECRET WW II WEAPON—the game of Monopoly fitted out with escape aids for POWs. Today we continue with details from a variety of sources. … Continue reading
WADDINGTON’S WAR PART 1
“CRIKEY!” SAID THE BRITISH WW II POW, “I’ve just landed on Regent St. and it has a hotel!” He also recognized that his escape plans were enhanced by this Monopoly … Continue reading
DOGE FLUNKS ARITHMETIC
THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (sic) recently posted a “wall of receipts” claiming it had already saved the federal government $55 billion. What with a math Ph.D. and all, I … Continue reading
WOULD YOU BUY A USED (OR NEW) CAR FROM THIS MAN?
I DON’T RECALL ELON MUSK (aka “The Chainsaw Wielder”) being on any ballots. Yet he has become BBF of the guy who won by a mere 1.5 percent of the … Continue reading
LAURA D. FAIR—FEMME FATALE EXTRAORDINAIRE OR A WOMAN SCORNED? PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, Mrs. Laura D. Fair led an adventurous life of five marriages and an extended affair culminating in her shooting her lover after his being reluctant to … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 