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Entries Tagged as 'Commentary'

Seriously, Fedex?

December 7th, 2008 7 Comments

I was tracking a package on Fedex.com the other day and saw this tantalizing promotion: I thought- ooooh, I’ll bet we get to track packages via GPS-equipped trucks. I’ll know where my package is within 6 feet at all times! So I went and played their little video of the upcoming changes. I couldn’t believe [...]

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Battling the Telemarketers

July 14th, 2008 2 Comments

I may be the luckiest guy around.  In the last week, I have been randomly selected to win: trips, cash, TVs, a college education and, most importantly, rude wake-up calls. One morning last week I woke up to 2 missed calls. Thankfully the ringer had been off. Not to worry, they were going to call back. Again. [...]

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The Church: A Nondeterministic Finite State Automata

July 14th, 2008 2 Comments

The Black Box Consider a black box. The box takes, as inputs, a number of things. As output, the box produces some output that is both expected and desired. How the box works and what’s inside of it is of no moment. What matters, for now, is whether it works or not. Not understanding the [...]

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On Blogs

April 16th, 2008 7 Comments

(Warning: nerdy, but skippable, portions found in [brackets]) The other night I was thinking about a friend who shares an email account with his wife. I know there are a lot of efficiencies that come from sharing – but does that apply online, when things are free and no real resources are consumed? Sharing an [...]

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Life Takes Visa Propaganda

March 16th, 2008 4 Comments

The Visa Version: There’s a crowded restaurant at lunch. Choreographed masses spin with loaded trays. Lunch-goers approach the register, present a magic Visa card, a quick swipe, the card is handed back and they walk away. Some poor clod gets to the counter and tries to pay with cash – the dance is brought to [...]

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