Another Reason To Live In California

I watched the movie, Secretariat, last night. It was OK. Only OK. Watching the actual horse Secretariat, when he was running in 1973, was much better. This ESPN show from a decade ago really captures the story (in 5 short segments on YouTube). Interviews with all the players — owner, trainer, jockey, others — and…

When I went to the Computer History Museum last month to see President Levin update the local Yale alumni on the “state of the university,” we got a quick tour of the Babbage Engine, which is reputed to be the first programmable calculator. Pretty impressive. [youtube width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VCNLqRtsgk[/youtube] A view of the Babbage Engine from…

Stephanie Kittredge — my first wife, the mother of my two eldest children — lies seriously ill in a San Diego hospital.   In May, when last I saw her, her COPD was so far advanced she needed supplemental oxygen and wheelchair.    After a 3-week trip to NYC to visit Molly in late May,…

I did my back exercises earlier today and I feel better already. I’ve struggled with lower back pain periodically for over 30 years — as do many tall, heavy men, especially those who get out of shape, have sedentary and/or stressful lifestyles.  Happily, though, I didn’t get surgery.  Instead I discovered a “program” which has…

I looked thru the Super Bowl ads this year and have the following observations: * car companies simply MUST advertise, even at > $3m / :30 seconds.  I thought the car commercials were the best * e-trade didn’t disappoint; their latest baby advisor was precious * movie trailers are another high ROI category.  There were…

San Francisco has recently created a walking tour of the downtown area, the Barbary Coast Trail ™, bringing tourists and others face to face with the history of our town. It was modeled on Boston’s Freedom Trail, and gives the adventurous pedestrian an efficient and annotated path thru areas where the Gold Rush started, where…