Off you go... into the purple yonder! » Personal

Happy 30th, GNU!

ward — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 02:53:03 +0000

RMS launched the GNU project on September 27th, 1983.

MIT hackers generously lent us the use of the Green building tonight. It needs some of its pixels repaired, though!

Welcome Oscar!

ward — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 02:51:20 +0000

at the White House

ward — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 02:18:21 +0000

I visited the White House last week to present a poster on Arvados.org during a Champions of Change event about Open Science.

There are more photos on Flickr.

View from my ‘office’

ward — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:07:55 +0000

Sadly, this is just for a few weeks…

page 56

ward — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:11:16 +0000

“”

Sorry, that was the nearest book – page 56 is a blank page. Second nearest then.

“The variable’s name must be a valid identifier”

Rules:

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence
* Post that sentence along with these instructions
* Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

(via John’s blog)

Irish Swiss cheese

ward — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:56:49 +0000

This country never ceases to amaze me. Everything is standardized – down to the kind of cheese you get when you order a sandwich. There’s American, Swiss, Cheddar, Provolone, etc.

Somehow Emmentaler, Gruyere and the many other cheeses from Switzerland got standardized into ‘Swiss cheese’.

And that ‘Swiss cheese’ often tastes best when imported – from Ireland for instance:

It tastes quite good – like a young Emmentaler, but as if it was made from sheep’s milk rather than cow’s milk. Irish Swiss cheese – what a concept!

I must note that it is easy to buy the various different kinds of imported (Swiss) cheeses – but they are of course more expensive.

overheard on the T

ward — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 20:56:18 +0000

On the green line, near Park Street station:

People pay a lot of money for rides like this in Disney Land

… while commenting on a particularly bumpy ride on the green line.

ruth is here

ward — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 14:07:44 +0000

swiss chard

ward — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 03:02:34 +0000

Swiss chard is a curious vegetable. Raw, it smells like rhubarb. It looks like rhubarb – though the stems are not as thick.

When cooked, it smells like spinach and the leaves taste like spinach too. But it has the same effect on your teeth as rhubarb!

Of course, the real question is why it is called Swiss chard… Not even Wikipedia provides that answer.

reflective screens

ward — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 03:02:05 +0000

I’ve wondered for a while why so many laptops come with highly reflective screens. Today I found out why: I saw a guy on the subway actually using the screen of his laptop as a mirror to get his hair … Continue reading →