File this under “do try this at home”. Since Christmas I have been occasionally practicing Origami which has been a lot of fun. Origami, particularly unit-origami as you might think has some fairly strong roots in geometry and some exquisite forms can be produced with some surprisingly complex folds. Probably the best example of this is the Bisected Cube folded from a single sheet, the bisection is covered exactly by a 2nd sheet of paper folded into a perfect hexagon.
This past weekend I tried my hand at Kirigami. Kirigami is …

Are you out of your mind? Meaning are you mad? Or insane? and to what degree? Seriously, how would you know?
Consider the tool you’d be using to determine the answer could potentially be skewing the results, e.g. your mind if insane may not give the right answer.
So the question is relative. You need a frame of reference. An objective third party perhaps, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. A neurologist could verify the physical construction of your brain but that will fall short in validating how the mind …

I have built many frameworks over the years and I have a love-hate relationship with them. Building frameworks or other types of abstractions such as code generators, template engines and so forth are great creative outlets which tend to distract the over-burdened developer from the primary task at hand which is shipping software. They’re a lot of fun to think about and build and you don’t need to worry about those pesky business requirements. But are they worth the investment?
The first problem with a framework is the requirements. Since …

A slight tangent this time; If you’re looking for a good valentine’s day gift for men, specifically a watch, it can be a daunting task. Of course no one needs a watch into today’s world but that’s not the point.  The watch is the only piece of jewelry a man can legitimately wear so in my view it’s fairly important to put some thought into it. The worst thing you can do is walk into a jeweler’s not knowing what you want, you’ll end up $2,000 poorer with a boring …

Is there an intelligent designer? If so then they are surely a mad and cruel scientist. Observe the parasite “Cymothoa exigua” [LINK]. Here’s is an animal, a parasite, that attaches to a fish’s tongue. Once attached it cuts off the blood to the tongue which eventually falls off. It then happily lives in its unfortunate hosts’ mouth. I assume its incredibly painful for the host fish who is powerless to get rid of it.
Or how about “Sacculina”, the mind-control barnacle? [LINK]
“Upon finding a host crab, a female Sacculina will crawl …

Bob Proctor is at it again.  The Secret, which benefited greatly from “The Oprah Effect” essentially put The Law of Attraction, around which much of Proctor’s shtick is based, on the map. The Law is…
“Essentially, “if you really want something and truly believe it’s possible, you’ll get it”, but putting a lot of attention and thought onto something you don’t want means you’ll probably get that too.”
This claim is entirely fantasy based, with no clinical evidence to back it up AT ALL. Yet The Secret was purchased by over 2 …

Moore’s Law states that the level of technology/computing power available doubles every 18-24 months. This exponential growth has held true the last thirty years and shows no signs of slowing down. There is a physical limitation which will be reach but I have no doubt that by that time we will switch from silicon-based transistors to some other means. E.g. Just the other day scientists announced the world’s first molecular transistor consisting of a single molecule of benzene [LINK].
So what’s next? Well if computers get stronger/smaller/faster you might think we’ll …

“I wonder on what basis anyone can say condoms make AIDS worse. The Pope is either stupid, ignorant or dim.” so says Richard Dawkins, speaking at a the University of Valencia after having been awarded an honorary degree. [LINK]
Dawkins was referring to the Pope’s comments in Africa earlier this year where the Pope said this about HIV/AIDS: “You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem.”
Dawkins loves to stir things up as it were but he’s not alone. The pontiff’s comments have prompted …

Drawing is something most people will claim not to be able to do. “I can’t draw”, “I am no good at drawing” or “I wish I could draw”. The ability to visualize is a foundational piece of our intellect. Drawing is just a physical manifestation of an image in the mind. Just as music encourages us to use different parts of our brains, there is much to be gained by the practice of drawing, even if you’re “no good at drawing”.
In the book “What Do You Care What …

Herb and Dorothy Vogel did something amazing. Together over 50+ years they amassed the greatest collection of contemporary artworks in the world on a postal-worker’s and librarian’s salary. The collection, worth in the millions, was donated to the National Gallery and is currently on display*. They are a very cute couple and I admire them for having pursued their dream and having lived their lives regardless of their constraints.
Having watched the documentary on their lives and collection I couldn’t help but call bullshit on the contemporary art world and the …