I got the June issue of F&SF (Fantasy and Science Fiction) yesterday and it just reminded me of how for behind I am on periodical reading. The one magazine that I always try to keep up on (and to which I have been subscribed the longest) is SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. To illustrate just how far backlogged…
I change my outgoing voicemail message every morning to reflect the current date. It usually goes something like: This is Jamie Rubin. It’s Thursday, May 11. I’ll be in the building all day today. Please leave me a message. This morning, when the system beeped to record my outgoing message, I coughed and, of course,…
I woke up with a bad stomach ache this morning, the first such one I’ve had in a considerable amount of time. Ever since I cut off caffeine over two years ago, the number and severity of my stomach aches has dropped precipitously. It is very rare when I have one now, but this morning’s…
I’m a little behind in the news and finally got around to seeing Steven Colbert’s roast followed by the two Bush’s making their speech on CSPAN. I have to say that, although the President and I disagree on just about everything (frankly, I think it’s because he never listens to my advice), we agree that…
I’ve come up with an idea for an invention that will revolutionize business and allow me to retire rich and famous, and I’m posting it here to claim priority to it. My invention is this: TiVO for Business Meetings Can you imagine being able to pause live meetings? Or better yet, skip through them, or…
About a year ago, I got on the mailing list for COMPUTERWORLD, which is an IT trade magazine. Because I am an IT professional (I guess software developer counts as IT) I get the subscription for free. It is an awful magazine, I’m afraid and the few times I’ve tried to read it, I’ve found…
There should be a law of some kind that says that written fiction cannot be derivative of visual media (I sometimes long for the reverse too, but realize that would be impractical.) In other words, put an end, by general acclimation, to all Buffy and Star Wars and Star Trek and Smallville books. Etc. I…
I am fascinated by chain-letter type spam because it shows just how gullable people can be. In my junk mail folder this morning, was a message with a subject “FW: FW: This is SOOOOOOO Creepy” and the gist of the message was that if you read the entire message and made a wish, your wish…
On a lighter note, we had, on the flight home yesterday, about the funniest pilot I’ve ever heard in my life. While people were still boarding, he got on the microphone and did a “stand up” routine of which George and Gracie would have been proud. He sounded like a stand-up comic. He had a…
Although I am one who benefits from being a member of United’s “elite” program (Premier, Premier Executive, etc.) it is hard for me to take such a program as anything other than a perquisite given to frequent business travelers as a way of recognizing their business. Certainly, I don’t think it makes me innately better…