GOTCHA, CAPTCHA!
CAPTCHAs are Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart. We all encounter these visual puzzles used as website defenses against robo intrusion. Our solving the puzzle … Continue reading
LITTLE CON ON THE PRAIRIE
IT’S AN irony that the sweet, gentle, and heartwarming stories by Laura Ingalls Wilder are associated with literary piracy. At the heart of this Little Con on the Prairie are … Continue reading
GIUSEPPE TARTINI—DEALING WITH SIGNORINA PREMAZORE, CARDINAL CORNARO, AND THE DEVIL
SO HERE’S this rich kid from what’s now Slovenia, back then the Republic of Venice when he lived at the turn of the 18th century. He marries beneath his class, … Continue reading
BANNED WORDS
OH, I get it. Trump officials weren’t limiting freedom of speech in prohibiting those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from using these seven terms: diversity, entitlement, evidence-based, … Continue reading
ALEISTER CROWLEY—A FIRST-RATE NUT CASE PART 2
AT A TIME when representatives fail to represent, judges can’t judge, and leaders don’t lead, it’s somehow comforting to hear about a nut case who was first-rate in his outrageousness. … Continue reading
ALEISTER CROWLEY—A FIRST-RATE NUT CASE PART 1
HERE’S A guy who invented his own religion, practiced English Magick, channeled an ancient supernatural Egyptian, popped recreational drugs, climbed Himalayan peaks, and maybe even acted as a British intelligence … Continue reading
HUZZAHS FOR PERLMAN, NASH, AND SAENT-SAËNS!
I’VE JUST heard the most marvelous Itzhak Perlman recording of Camille Saent-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, and it has instantly risen high on my Christmas/Hanukkah list, both as gift and … Continue reading
DOUGLAS DAUNTLESS SBD—SLOW BUT DEADLY
LET’S CELEBRATE an aircraft that contributed mightily to our victory in the Pacific in World War II, the Douglas Dauntless SBD. Indeed, the SBD accounted for destroying more Japanese tonnage … Continue reading
CHARLATAN TRUMP
THERE ARE those of us who would argue that “charlatan” is too kind a word to describe the likes of Donald J. Trump. However, the word has such interesting etymology, … Continue reading
TRAVELIN’ THE RAILS WITH CHARLEY F. MURPHY
WHAT FOLLOWS is a multi-part exposition of science (you’ll excuse the word) based on charge, force, and magnetic field, better known among students of physics as Charley F. Murphy. My … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 