• Media, Software / Internet

    Posted on July 11th, 2008

    Written by Chris Sivori

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    Free Wall Street Journal: Part Deux

    In the previous entry, I explained how you could read full articles at the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) by tricking wsj.com into thinking you originated from Google News. Basically, any WSJ traffic from Google News is allowed to view the full article.
    My previous solution was awkward kludge, but it got the job done. Of course, [...]

  • Arts, Psychology

    Posted on May 21st, 2008

    Written by Chris Sivori

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    Creativity and sensitivity

    Ran across this in a recent NY Times article on memory:

    “A broad attention span may enable older adults to ultimately know more about a situation and the indirect message of what’s going on than their younger peers,” Dr. Hasher said. “We believe that this characteristic may play a significant role in why we think of [...]

  • Literature, Software / Internet

    Posted on March 13th, 2008

    Written by Chris Sivori

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    Google Book Search a joy for antiquarians

    Google Book Search is a project that exemplifies Google’s vision for information. For the past few years they’ve worked with various libraries and universities to digitize books, periodicals, and journals that might otherwise have remained untouched in their collections. Each resource is scanned by hand and rendered into indexable text. For older works whose copyrights [...]

  • Literature, Society

    Posted on February 18th, 2008

    Written by Chris Sivori

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    At a Long Enough Time Horizon

    Yesterday I had an itch to set my thoughts careening by reading some good science-fiction. I went down to the library and picked up Vernor Vinge’s “Marooned in Real Time“. It did not disappoint. It was interesting enough that I ended up finishing it in one day. It has the perfect mix of intrigue and [...]

  • Media, Psychology

    Posted on December 30th, 2007

    Written by Chris Sivori

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    I can’t really explain it

    …but there is something fascinating about faux-reality shows like The Hills or Laguna Beach. If I’m ever channel surfing and happen across one of these shows, I’ll get sucked in. It has the approachable mundane-ness of a reality show with the story line of a high-production television drama. I have a hard time watching shows [...]

  • Literature, Religion/philosophy

    Posted on November 11th, 2007

    Written by Chris Sivori

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    Selections from Moby Dick

    Last winter I finished reading Moby Dick. When you read a book that is justly revered you cross a line into understanding what all the fuss is about, though maybe even further from understanding. Moby Dick is the kind of book you could never imagine writing yourself.
    Melville has this ability to capture and [...]

  • Film and motion pictures, Literature

    Posted on November 10th, 2007

    Written by Chris Sivori

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    Related notes on life and death

    I’m looking forward to seeing “No country for old men“. Tried to see it last night, but there was a fire alarm at the theatre and they made everyone leave, which, as you can imagine, was very frustrating. As someone who loves both the novel “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy and most films by the [...]

  • Media, Software / Internet

    Posted on November 7th, 2007

    Written by Chris Sivori

    Tags

    Now I get it. I think.

    I was startled when my 18 year old cousin told me to “email” him on MySpace. I asked, “No, what is your email address? So, I can actually send you an email.” Email = MySpace? Since I’m not a user of MySpace’s closed garden, basic old-fashioned open-protocol email is how I get in touch with [...]

  • Comics

    Posted on October 30th, 2007

    Written by Chris Sivori

    Tags

    Webcam plus wacom plus wackadoo

    I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve barely touched my Wacom tablet since it arrived a few weeks ago. Despite the best of intentions, I have yet to start drawing like a tornado. I’m still getting the hang of all the buttons and settings, which are fairly complicated. Also, as I intimated previously, being creative is [...]

  • Comics, Media

    Posted on October 12th, 2007

    Written by Chris Sivori

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    Wacom Intuos3 Review

    More than a decade ago, I used to reach out to the world through little home-made publications we called zines. Apparently, it was a movement, although in retrospect it seems fairly minute as movements go.
    For the younger people: Making zines was a way to self-publish and share your thoughts and creativity with other people [...]

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