December 2011
3 posts
Zakaria: The real burden on the U.S. economy –... →
Zakaria: The real burden on the U.S. economy – Global Public Square – CNN.com Blogs: “the big shift in the United States over the past two decades is not a rise in regulations and taxation but a…
On telecommuting →
In late November I posted a link to an article that talks about the absence of “old” people at Google, and compared that writer’s notes with my own job search. I lamented that I’m having trouble…
Annual Rant: Cars are NOT Gifts | The Dog Ate My... →
Annual Rant: Cars are NOT Gifts | The Dog Ate My Wallet: “I HATE the car commercials that indicate you should buy a car as a gift. HATE THEM. Now, these commercials are almost always Lexus (this…
November 2011
2 posts
Poor service from Whirlpool →
My problems with major appliances this past week have left one of my Twitter followers to suggest that maybe the house is build on an old Indian burial mound. In the space of two months, the Kenmore…
On Joe Paterno and student riots →
So last night the students of Pen State rioted after nearing that their beloved football coach allowed a pederast in his employ to continue to molest children after he was caught in the act.
Wait,…
September 2011
4 posts
What the hell happened to ‘compassionate... →
At each GOP debate, there seems to be at least one moment of really grotesque, vile audience behavior that underscores just how out of touch with my worldview the Republican base really is.
Several…
1 tag
After a while… →
…you feel soaked to the bone.
This is the third consecutive day of rain, and we were awakened before dawn this morning with a loud electrical show. Apparently this is the last day of it, once this…
New kitties →
Max passed away earlier this year. His untimely death caught us all by surprise. We adored that cat; we showered him with affection and pampered him. So when his health turned so suddenly and…
Finally, juice →
After we spent part of Monday scavenging free wi-fi and power from local libraries, it was a blessed relief on Tuesday morning at 4:15 AM when all our appliances sprung to life.
During a few idle…
August 2011
3 posts
Post-Irene assessment →
As I write this it’s about 6:30 AM on Monday August 29th, the morning after Hurricane (well, for us, Tropical Storm) Irene blew through New England. All told, we made it through just fine – the…
SyFy’s Alphas: sped superheroes →
What would happen if special ed kids grew up to become superheroes?
That’s largely the idea behind SyFy’s new series Alphas. There’s a lot more to it than that, obviously, but that’s the basic…
July 2011
9 posts
Why I love Project Runway →
Too often “reality” shows feature contrived contests that may test contestants’ athleticism or personality, but usually fall short of demonstrating any measure of their actual ability to do things….
WordCamp Boston 2011 attendee thoughts →
It is, perhaps, a bit unfair of me to throw in my two cents’ worth about WordCamp Boston 2011, since I didn’t go to either the Saturday night reception at the Microsoft NERD Center or the Sunday…
On Oslo, Muslims and kneejerk journalism →
People are still reeling from the terrible terrorist attack in Oslo – perpetrated, it appears, by a lone right-wing (white, Christian) extremist who bombed a building and then murdered dozens at a…
Three-man job →
When I woke up this morning, the lawn hadn’t been cut in a week and a half and it was seriously overgrown. By the end of the day, it was done, so I feel good about that.
When James mowed it last,…
I hate crowds →
Bonnie thought on Thursday that it would be fun to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 during the midnight show. The kids agreed, and we got to the theater about an hour early, but it…
In which one of our children has gone to live... →
Last week I looked at James as he sat in a chair playing his Nintendo and said, “You haven’t played with your friends too much since summer vacation started. It’s kind of a shame.”
He agreed, and…
Independence Day →
Bonnie’s mom, dad, sister and brother in law throw together a huge Independence Day party every year at their house in Wareham, which is only about half an hour from where we live. They invite…
AMB Live: Tech Superpowers →
John Welch and I on Friday had the rare honor of doing a live Angry Mac Bastards podcast (with Darby Skype’d in) at Tech Superpowers’ new Patriot Place mall storefront. (When I say “live,” I mean…
Daring Fireball: On Attribution and Credit →
Daring Fireball: On Attribution and Credit: “But to me it’s still disrespectful, and — admittedly, my position as an independent writer/publisher biases me in this regard — belies an institutional…
June 2011
1 post
Michele Bachmann’s Holy War | Rolling Stone... →
Michele Bachmann’s Holy War | Rolling Stone Politics
While it’s easy to dismiss Bachmann as wild-eyed, raving lunatic, I think the truth is much more terrifying: that all of her talk about being…
May 2011
1 post
Young, dumb and full of… →
Apt description of the crowds that gathered after the news of Obama Bin Laden’s death was announced.
Looking at footage from Boston, NYC and DC, almost everyone who took part in the spontaneous…
April 2011
1 post
Done with Comcast DVRs, once and for all →
I have absolutely had it. Once again, my Comcast-branded DVR shit the bed tonight. Lighting up with an obscure error message that the tech with whom I spoke on the phone was unable to do anything…
March 2011
4 posts
tumblrbot asked: WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?
Sucker Punch review →
Just got back from the theater to see Sucker Punch.
Bonnie, the kids and I have been looking forward to this movie for months. There was a long marketing lead for this movie, and its PG-13 rating…
Bad game, Reed: PAX East’s encroachment on Anime... →
As I noted previously, Bonnie, the kids and I spent a great weekend at PAX East, the video game fan event just held at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center.
PAX was the brainchild of Penny…
Back from GDC/iPad 2 rollout →
I spent last week in San Francisco, to attend the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and the iPad 2 rollout event. I got home on Saturday evening and spent most of Sunday recuperating, though at…
January 2011
2 posts
Jared Loughner is a psychotic lunatic, not a... →
Just something to remember as people on both sides of the political divide line up and point fingers, blaming each other for what happened to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others who Loughner shot in…
What about the other 1.6 million people on the... →
By now, many people have seen the video of this homeless Ohio man, Ted Williams – the guy with the golden pipes:
It’s turned into an overnight sensation broadcast on national…
September 2010
1 post
Is Moss worth the fuss? →
Last night Randy Moss embarrassed himself and the New England Patriots football team. All because he’s in the last year of his 3 year, $27 million contract, and because it hasn’t been extended, he…
November 2009
4 posts
This is why steroids are bad →
A tip of the hat to American Hero Jasen Bruce, who recently beat the shit out of a Greek Orthodox priest who asked him for directions in broken English.
Apparently this MENSA shoe-in thought…
iPhone version →
I’ve just installed the WPtouch plug-in, which should show a customized version of Tikkabik on the iPhone (and certain other mobile phones). Let me know if you run into any difficulty with it.
A week with a MacBook →
For a very long time, I felt that having more screen real estate trumped portability. But my tune is changing.
I’ve been a long-time user of Apple’s heaviest laptop iron. I got a PowerBook G4…
Halloween hangover →
Yay! We’ve made it, we’ve survived another Halloween.
Bonnie and I love Halloween – it’s why we got married on October 30th (the closest we could get to Halloween that year). And so it is that our…
October 2009
10 posts
Officer Christopher Lloyd, American hero: Child... →
This morning Bonnie pointed me to an article reposted on the Huffington Post, recounting the story of a 15-year-old special needs student who had been severely beaten by a police officer in his…
Bluetooth weirdness/stuttering on the iPhone 3G →
My iPhone 3G has been demonstrating a problem with streaming audio via Bluetooth. The problem is now fixed, though it required me to completely reset the device in order to get it to work.
I…
iPhone app bizdev and marketing symposium at MWSF →
I’ve been working with IDG and a cadre of really talented individuals to come up with a market symposium for Macworld Expo next February. The details of it have been put online this week.
This…
A good way to end the week →
Friday was Robert’s IEP team meeting, the first such meeting we had at the tech school he is now at.
Not being familiar with the administration, not being overly familiar with the school, I had…
On the Heene family and celebrity culture →
Like most of America, I’d never heard of Richard Heene before Thursday. But I instantly felt horrible for him and his family when reports emerged that his son (ironically named Falcon) may have…
Getting some of my life back at the grocery store →
For years I’ve made a weekly – sometimes a biweekly – ritual of going to the grocery store to stock up on what we need as a family to eat for the next four or five days.
That obviously involves a…
Shout out to “Get a Custom Design” →
Long time Tikkabik readers know that for the last couple of weeks I’ve been using a new theme here; it’s a Wordpress theme called Retromania, from a very talented designer named Jay Hafling, who has…
iPhone OS 3.1.2 →
On Thursday Apple released an update to iPhone OS 3.1.2 that, at least according to the description, fixes the problem I’ve previously talked about. I’m just installing it now, so I can’t say…
Trains, automobiles, but no planes →
I’m getting ready for a short trip to NYC to visit some friends and business colleagues, and that means leaving the house before the crack of dawn on Friday morning to catch an Amtrak train from…
Out of control bureaucratic behavior in Mashpee... →
What kind of nanny state B.S. is this?
Bonnie and I attended an open house at our younger son’s elementary school last Thursday night and got a chance to meet with his teacher, who gave a short…
September 2009
10 posts
The Beard and the Skull, together again →
I’m pleased to announced that I’ve joined The Loop as Executive Editor.
The Loop is the brainchild of Jim Dalrymple, with whom I’ve worked for more than a decade at Macworld and MacCentral. It’s…
Hi there →
Tikkabik.com first got started way back in 1994, when I was a young’un working in my first real IT job at a graphic design firm in Watertown that’s still around, called Corey McPherson Nash. I met…
Catching up on back to school shopping →
We spent much of the weekend — including half the day Saturday driving through monsoon-like torrential downpours — shopping for the kids. We had to wait until this weekend to do the shopping because…
“You lie!” →
Republicans who insist on reframing the health care debate around excluding illegals in the U.S. are incredibly short-sighted.
Congressman Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s speech this…
Which is why the folks in Sleepy Hollow were... →
James:
“Mannequins in clothing stores are so weird.”
Me:
“Well, they help to show off how the clothes would look on a person.”
James:
“Yeah. On a headless person.”