Lunchtime Shell Game on 38 Geary

On Thursday, 13 May, a few of the tech team»and HR« at my work took cabs to Dong Baek, located in the Tenderloin’s northeastern section.1 John Jonathon Leslie Jeffrey Sung Jack Lunch was great, better than I expected.2 I...

Posted by mistersquid on May 21, 2010 8:15 AM

Coda de Cinco

I loved celebrating Cinco de Mayo when before leaving California for the University of Virginia in Fall 1993. Because I was unaware of the historical significance of the holiday, Cinco de Mayo was a low-pressure excuse to have a...

Posted by mistersquid on May 6, 2010 7:43 AM

Looking for a Job in California in Early 2010: An Anecdote

In July 2009, I notified my chair that I would not be returning to my job as a professor of literature. My departure was abrupt and left the department in the lurch. For that I am sorry. I am...

Posted by mistersquid on January 27, 2010 7:51 AM

Rumored Apple Tablet and the Rumored Future of Print

The hype machine is cranked to frenzy and the air is smokey after the Apple’s latest burst, Come see our latest creation. The more perspicacious among us are connecting dots»via« between Apple’s product announcement and the New York Time’s...

Posted by mistersquid on January 19, 2010 2:14 PM

6.5 Earthquake Rocks Humboldt County

Trudy’s Sweets & Treats in Ferndale, CA (source) The linked SFGate article notes that no injuries were reported, but 18,000 customers were without electricity as darkness fell. It calls to my mind the 12:29 PM 17 August 1991 Honeydew...

Posted by mistersquid on January 10, 2010 9:23 AM

Some Thoughts Regarding the Creation of Text-to-Speech Audiobooks Using Consumer-Grade Software, or One Possible Outcome for Academic Professionalism as a Result of Fully Digitzed Text

Codex Books, Audiobooks, and Assistive Devices: A Tale of Near Misses The last book I checked out of Alden Library while still a faculty at Ohio University was Clay Shirky’s 2008 Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without...

Posted by mistersquid on September 17, 2009 9:47 PM

Reorganizing This Movable Type Blog: Mistersquid Refreshed

Before returning to California after a 17-year adventure in the world of higher education (one that may not quite be done done), I restructured the way I was developing material for this blog. That restructuring was born of a...

Posted by mistersquid on September 13, 2009 12:48 PM

Who I Thought I Was

This morning I dreamt I was going to a workshop about the use of technology in academic research. I was with people who reminded me of my colleagues and coworkers in the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia....

Posted by mistersquid on June 22, 2009 7:30 PM

Friction and Its Discontents

Those of you who know me in real life probably aren’t surprised by my blogging hiatus. Those of you who know probaby aren’t either. I suppose I’m the only one who’s surprised. In the last year (has it been that...

Posted by mistersquid on May 4, 2009 10:27 PM

A Tale of Two Beings

I know why Jill Bolte Taylor's presentation, her "stroke of insight," is "universally considered the best" presentation of the TED conference held annually in Monterey, California. Taylor's message, her testimony, has deep implications for our shared existence. When you watch...

Posted by mistersquid on March 17, 2008 6:53 AM

Notes toward an interruption

My lawn needs mowing. I have this notion that after the next heavy rain, water will pool in the middle of my lawn and a family of beavers will make a dam in the middle. They will gather sticks from...

Posted by mistersquid on July 28, 2007 10:44 AM

Cuss in Public

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is no friend of the people, what with his pathological case of the smirks during questioning about Federal eavesdropping on phone lines and electronic data streams. But we knew that his GOP-backed agenda against civil...

Posted by mistersquid on March 14, 2007 10:17 AM