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Ava Princess

By Ava

Once upon a time there was a princess named Ava, and she had sisters named Lily and Clara. Her mom and dad were thinking about a party for her. And then she went outside so her parents couldn't see her.

And then she decided to make a birthday cake for herself. And then there was a monster. That monster almost got her, but it was only a person.

It was one of her sisters. It was Clara. And Lily was a princess, so she went back into the castle, and she started writing. And then there was another thing that she wanted to add to it. Her sister was in the picture.

Princesses

Ava and Lily at a fall festival

By Ava

Once upon a time, there was a princess whose name was Ava. And then there was a horse. And then the horse had a prince on it. And then the prince told the princess how to do art. And then she already made art. And then she showed the prince her art project.

THE END

Updated Performance Against Seed Expectations

Some of you are probably familiar with the Performance Against Seed Expectations (PASE) metric used with the men's tournament brackets. In short, the metric takes into account how many games a seed is expected to win based on past performances since 1985 (the first year of the 64-team tournament). I use this metric to determine expected offensive statistical totals for the college basketball fantasy league that I run each March.

Gonna give you up? NEVER!

With the 10th anniversary of "The Developers" happening this year (right now, in fact!), I wanted to address a sensitive issue regarding Rick Astley.

I didn't invent the rickroll, at least, not directly.

Ten years

Ten years ago this month, I originally published "The Developers." It's weird to think it was that long ago, and even weirder to think that I started on the book 13 years ago, in 2002. While so much has changed with the Internet, the key tenets of the book seemingly still hold true:

1. The Internet is a social place.
2. Governments and corporations are always watching.

Then again, I guess these items are relevant in real-life situations as well. It's just much easier to track people (definitely as a group but also as individuals) online.

From the Archive

More flaws available for Internet Explorer

Every browser has its good and bad moments, but it's sure seems like most moments are bad for Internet Explorer. Recently it was announced that people using IE 6 were vulnerable, even if Windows XP Service Pack Two is installed.

Microsoft reported one of these flaws last year, but there are still no patches for these flaws, which are described as "extremely critical" ones.

Book review: "Ficciones" by Jorge Luis Borges

When I read a bad book, I finish it, even if it takes me forever. If I read a good book, I want to keep reading it, as much as possible, until I'm at the ending.

Book review: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave"

They say that if you believe enough in something, and have enough persistence to see it through to the end, then regardless of the circumstances, it will be accomplished.

What's next ... Kentucky to ban the Internet?

People outside of Kentucky might think it's somewhat bizarre that government officials are now blocking state employees' Internet access to blogs that are critical of Governor Ernie Fletcher.

Unfortunately, it's not that crazy. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.

The current administration has made a name of cutting off as much negative opinion as possible, and since June 23, state workers cannot resolve the Bluegrass Report and other statewide blogs.

Is it wrong to download songs for free from the Internet?

Even though there's a growing number of websites that allow visitors to pay chump change for a song from your favorite artist, many people are still using free sites as their main way to obtain songs.

This question was posed to the Good Advice Committee, which is comprised of five individuals (including me) who well aware of the numerous dilemnas posed by today's technology. The GAC will tackle online ethical situations in upcoming editions.

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