You made it! Thanks for visiting.
It has been way too long since I added an article and upgraded my site. On the heels of returning from Drupalcon Chicago, I'm looking forward to trying to keep up with the latest and greatest options in Drupal these days. I have been rapidly building new sites at my new gig over at the University of Maryland. At least one of my daughters has taken a mild interest in programming, so maybe I can eventually get her to add some items on the site!
This year, 2024, marks the 42nd year (should be 43 years in a row since the tournament was canceled in 2020 due to COVID) that I have picked at least one NCAA men’s basketball bracket. I have copies of many of them, including the one from 1981, when I picked my Louisville Cardinals to win the championship. That was the year they lost their first game on a halfcourt shot. Some people might be deterred after that jarring experience, but not me! Then again, I was only 5 when it happened.
It is really remarkable that after writing online stories for 25 years, I have a topic today that I’ve both never written about and something I know more about than almost anything else.
That thing is figs.
How did we get to this point? My uncle had a fig tree in his backyard, and we lived at his house 16 years ago. Coincidentally, my father-in-law also had fig trees, so when we bought a new house 14 years ago, we accepted a gift of a fig cutting and planted it in an auspicious backyard location.
Great book that runs the gamut of synthetic biology
The term "natural" used to be substantially easier to apply to basic items like fruit and animals. It is both exhilarating and frightening to consider "improving" genetic material, but humans have a knack for putting their marks on everything imaginable.
During high school and college, I worked at Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in Louisville, Ky. Besides battling racuous crowds and the blazing heat, one thing that was interesting to me was trying to keep track of the different people I was seeing throughout the day. As a games attendant (a.k.a. carnival barker), I would attempt to personally say things to people that I saw multiple times, whether at different games or at different parts of the park. This was mostly just a sales tactic, and I think the customers likely thought I was training to have my own magic show.
This might be too grandiose of an idea, but I thought
I would try to explain the U.S. vs. Microsoft case in
one tiny column. So if you have been following the case
closely and do not need an explanation, feel free to
take this opportunity to play the
Lucky Dollars game.
For those of you still with me (I hope it's at least
Nintendo has owned up to the problem with the wrist strap problem. The games firm has announced that it will replace broken straps for its Wii console.
Rejoice! Not that I have a Wii, but I just cannot stand to see broken televisions, windows, dogs, etc.
Corporate Ties has been available at any Barnes and Noble location for a while (although not necessarily stocked in the store). The good news is that Carmichael's, Louisville's oldest independent bookstore, now has copies at both of its locations.
Carmichael's is a great locally owned bookstore. I've made purchases there; I've been to events there; and I've had a book talk there as well. When you stop by, tell them I sent you!
Borders stores in Champaign, Ill., Evansville, Ind., and Poor Richard's Books in Frankfort, Ky., are now selling "The Developers." Well, I should say I'm assuming they are selling the books, as long as the shipments made it there and they aren't sitting in the back of the store somewhere.
If you happen to live in one of these areas and are ready to read the book, here's the information you need:
Champaign (Ill.) Borders Bookstore
802 West Town Center Boulevard
Champaign, IL 61822
Phone:217.351.9011
In general, I'm not a huge fan of inspirational books. I think that people have become enamored with novels like these because they need motivation to make something out of their lives. But, more times than not, once they've put the book away, they revert back to their usual lives and don't make any changes. Not only that, but many inspirational books are too shallow and bland to reach the surface of giving people hope.