tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55149772024-02-18T08:49:52.465-05:00Precision BloggingPlease check out my fantasy novel, <a href="http://ravensGift.com">Raven's Gift</a>. (From there, you can get the audio, etext or book.)tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.comBlogger2036125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-87752577868979559292019-01-16T19:58:00.001-05:002019-01-16T19:58:45.267-05:00Hello, all you tennis commentators out there:<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A lot of ex-tennis stars and commentators are covering the matches at the 2019 Australian Open right now. A great batch of them, on at least two different channels: Tennis Channel, and ESPN2. A note to you all:<br />
<br />
This tournament is taking place in Mel'bn. Mel'bn! Not: Melburn. Listen to any Ozzy pronounce it. The word "Melbourne" is pronounced, Mel'bn.<br />
<br />
Sheesh.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-3957478488624682422018-09-27T19:56:00.000-04:002018-09-27T19:56:03.402-04:00Look out, Look out...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today, Senator Lindsey Graham threatened the Democrats, re their attack on Kavanaugh: "If this is the new norm, you better watch out for your nominees."<br />
<br />
Excuse me, sir. We democrats <i>were</i> watching our nominees. I have two words for you: Merrick Garland.<br />
<br />
Gosh, these Republicans have a ten-second memory and no shame.</div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-43785319453804185182018-09-20T12:39:00.002-04:002018-09-20T12:39:56.715-04:00Box in a Box packing: Many a pitfall...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We just received a box from Amazon. Inside the box was a smaller box, protected by a little rapping. I opened the outside box with care, because it had a "This side up" symbol.<br />
<br />
The inside box also had a "This side up" symbol. It was pointing at the bottom of the boxes.<br />
<br />
The particular product we bought was not perturbed at being carried upside down. Thank goodness.</div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-43635278148334272422018-09-13T20:55:00.000-04:002018-09-13T20:55:06.660-04:00My first "Impossible Burger"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I ate my first "impossible burger" (I'll call it the IB) today, at Shelly's Cafe in Teaneck, NJ, USA. The IB is a veggie burger that most remarkably imitates real beef, both in taste, and, so they say, in its suggestion of gravy. <a href="https://impossiblefoods.com/faq">Here is its website</a>.<br />
<br />
So, how good was it? Well, my burger was delicious, partly because of the many additional ingredients inside the bun. In fact, it was hard to separate out the taste of the IB from its surroundings.<br />
<br />
My wife asked, "How far are you willing to go out of your way for another one?" I would say, certainly fifteen miles. But next time, I will look for a simple cheese burger treatment of the IB, just so that I can focus on its taste. I think that it still does not come close to feeling like real meat, but it does better than the many other veggie burgers I have enjoyed.<br />
<br />
Impossible Burger!<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-5438413790710942602018-09-01T21:23:00.000-04:002018-09-01T21:23:26.607-04:00Mind Cards, a fun iPhone game:<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am enjoying the very straightforward game of: Mind Cards. It is free in the IOS app store. My FAQ/advice page to help you play it is here: http://ravensgift.com/mind-cards-faq-guide.html .<br />
<br />
The game is rather simple at first. The initial challenge is to develop a clean technique, to avoid making horrible blunders. Gradually, as you card deck increases, Mind Cards becomes a game of real skill.</div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-7693608825978665412018-08-09T12:50:00.003-04:002018-08-09T12:50:40.706-04:00It's Hard to change New Habits...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It was time to recharge my iPad. Whenever I attach the charging cord to the device, the screen turns on. Consequently—duh—I should not turn the screen off just before I plug the iPad into its charger.<br />
<br />
It has been remarkably difficult for me to remember this, but I got my payoff today, courtesy of another totally unrelated habit that should have been irrelevant.<br />
<br />
I walked over to the charging cord and stupidly began to press down on the on/off button. Now bear in mind, this is a physical button. As I pressed, I remembered that I did not want to turn the screen off, so I slid my finger off the button. Why did I slide it off? Because, if you click or tap a button on a computer screen and decide you really did not want to press it, you can usually avoid the press by sliding your finger off of it. (You should have noticed by now that most computer screen buttons activate when you let go of them, not when you press them.)<br />
<br />
Well, what do you suppose happened when I slid my finger off the physical on/off switch? It didn't activate!!<br />
<br />
I can't understand it, but I'm happy with the results.<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-68808513330135468252018-07-08T08:31:00.000-04:002018-07-08T08:32:26.555-04:00Djokovic, Edmund, 2018: Double bounce: Lots more to say…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
I watched short clips of the incredible moment at Wimbledon 2018,
where the umpire gave a point to Kyle Edmund after he hit a ball on
the second bounce. I was sure there was more to it than that brief
clip, so I watched the fourth set in which the incident occurred.
Adding some background makes this triple, or maybe even quadruple
umpiring error even more interesting.<br />
<br />
For those of you who have not seen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kaw4bAXv8o8">the
clip</a>, Djokovic hit a soft ball to Edmund’s forehand when Edmund
was moving away to guard his other side. Edmund desperately shifted
course and scooped under the ball, hitting a nasty cross shot that
Djokovic could not possibly reach. Edmund’s cross shot, however,
was out (it was not called out). Edmund dropped his racket in the
followthrough, and his momentum took him to the net. Edmund wound up
with both hands on the net as Djokovic began to argue with the
umpire. The commentators believed the umpire was claiming that Edmund
had gotten his racket under the ball before it bounced, and the ball
came off the edge of the frame. Djokovic said later he simply argued
that Edmund’s shot was impossible unless he hit the ball after the
second bounce. (The video shows clearly that the ball bounced twice
before Edmund hit it.)<br />
<br />
Quite amazingly, this umpiring error cost Djokovic two points. The
umpire assessed a penalty for delaying the game while he argued. It’s
a good thing for that umpire that Djokovic managed to win the match.<br />
<br />
First of all, why didn’t Edmund concede the point? It is
possible, as he insisted afterwards, that he had no idea what had
happened. But on the previous point, Edmund’s sense of injustice
must have risen to astronomical levels. Novak Djokovic had hit a
serve that the linesman called out (a long ball), just as Edmund
swung at it. Edmund’s return was long. The umpire overruled the
line judge (correctly, I believe) and called the serve in. Edmund
asked to replay the point. The umpire ruled that even if the ball had
been called in, Edmund failed to return it, and gave Djokovic the
point. Edmund argued that he would have hit the ball better if it had
been called in.<br />
<br />
This is an umpire’s judgment call, and you could see it made
Edmund furious. When he went after that ball on the double bounce, I
would not blame him for feeling that the universe owed him one point.
Now it is clear that Djokovic won the point, because:<br />
<ol>
<li>
The ball double-bounced<br />
</li>
<li>
Edmund hit it out (Djokovic could not see this, and he did
not challenge; the Hawkeye showed it was out)<br />
</li>
<li>
Edmund dropped his racket hitting the ball. He could have
been called for throwing his racket.<br />
</li>
<li>
Edmund’s forward motion took him into the net. The umpire
should have noticed this before Djokovic occupied his attention.<br />
</li>
</ol>
Why didn’t the linesman call Edmund’s shot out? The
commentators on TennisTV believed the linesman stopped paying
attention as soon as the ball double-bounced. It was obvious to the
linesman that the point was over.<br />
<br />
What fascinated me most was the aftermath. If you have a chance to
see a replay of the rest of the match, you will see two incredibly
angry players fighting every point. Usually, players impress me with
their deep concentration, but here, they both felt unfairly treated
and furious.<br />
Kyle Edmund is a British player, and this incident occurred on his
home ground in Wimbledon. Before this point was played, the crowd
seemed almost divided in their applause. But the crowd had no
patience for Djokovic’s argument with umpire. After play continued,
they roared with approval every time Edmund scored a point.<br />
<br />
I can’t wait to see the aftershocks from this incident. Some
people called Edmund a cheater for failing to concede the point. (But
please note, it is possible he really did not realize what he had
done.) I personally think Edmund should have conceded the point for
touching the net.<br />
The umpire is going to be awesomely criticized. And please note
that the bad call just happened to favor the home player.</div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-59375468236822326122018-07-04T23:25:00.000-04:002018-07-04T23:25:11.454-04:00Learn a lot about architecture while howling with laughter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Kate Wagner has created a website about the atrociousness of McMansions, called <a href="http://mcmansionhell.com/">McMansionHell</a>. Hers is a rather deep website. While you read her sendups of the awful aesthetics of McMansions, you will learn a lot of terminology and a lot about architectural principles of style and beauty. And you will laugh.<br />
<br />
She demonstrates that McMansions not only look funny on the outside. <a href="http://mcmansionhell.com/post/150597521816/mcmansions-101-revisited-aesthetics-aside-why">They tend to be weird inside, expensive to maintain, poor investments, and often bad for their surroundings</a>.<br />
<br />
Her <a href="http://mcmansionhell.com/dank">Certified Dank™</a>page takes us inside some of these McMansions, for some of her funniest observations. A number of McMansions apparently have a "Great Room", a room with a very high ceiling and a great deal of misproportioned space. Commenting on one of these rooms, she points to a small fan hanging, oh, maybe eighteen feet from the floor, and says, "if you think your job is futile, imagine being this fan."<br />
<br />
I am definitely a fan of this website, and I look forward to her search for the worst McMansion in every state.<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-16744934699239107782018-07-02T18:50:00.001-04:002018-07-02T18:50:21.412-04:00But it feels like...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I checked the temperature at my favorite weather web page today, and it told me the temp was 99 (Fahrenheit), but <i>it felt like 97</i>. I wondered how the air could feel like 97. I suspect that, just as there are people with extraordinary taste, who can tell us when there is a hint of raspberry in coffee, or a hint of chocolate in a whiskey, there must be natural experts who can feel the temperature.<br />
<br />
I imagine a conversation between one of these experts, Herb, and a weather scientist named Candice.<br />
<br />
Candice: The temperature gauge says 99 degrees, Herb, what do you think?<br />
<br />
Herb (shakes his limbs a bit, taps the back of his left hand with two fingers, and take a deep breath): I'd say it feels like 97.<br />
<br />
Candice: Amazing! That's just what the computer predicted. We must be right on.<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-64408998793759643422018-06-10T20:44:00.000-04:002018-06-10T20:44:15.398-04:00Shelby Lyman's chess column has been pretty accurate lately, but...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here is one needing correction. I read this column in the <a href="http://www.nj.com/times/">Times of Trenton</a> of June 10, 2018. The problem is:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1GkOsHPToXkTgak8TnvJVKrVvyyXx8LlEkKs2o2ZkUlgequFqm2s1WmsUE41oS2_bQ652QfLUKcgD0ya-f877eteFK8E3fARqZYXWybocrdZln8w7-47Mfa7npxyXP1eWVGA/s1600/Shelby-sunday-june-10-2018.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1GkOsHPToXkTgak8TnvJVKrVvyyXx8LlEkKs2o2ZkUlgequFqm2s1WmsUE41oS2_bQ652QfLUKcgD0ya-f877eteFK8E3fARqZYXWybocrdZln8w7-47Mfa7npxyXP1eWVGA/s400/Shelby-sunday-june-10-2018.png" /></a><br />
<br />
Lyman gives 1... Re6, but despite what he says, it does not threaten mate. Please enjoy the pretty positions in which black wins after 1. ...c3 !<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-49352775533869523992018-06-07T20:15:00.004-04:002018-06-07T20:15:51.760-04:00Security advice for Apple:<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I don't want to opine on Facebook anymore, so, once again: I'll blog here.<br />
<br />
On my iPhone and my iPad, from time to time, Apple requires me to type in my password so that I can go back to using my fingerprint. Quite obviously, the screen into which I am required to type my password consists of nothing but a keyboard.<br />
<br />
It is a keyboard in relatively light lettering, probably close to invisible in some lighting, but much worse: it is an ordinary Apple keyboard, in which you have to do a lot of shifting to get numbers, upper case and punctuation. Now Apple, and in fact all security advocates, want us to use interesting passwords, right? Not just a bunch of lower case letters? So why not give us a password keyboard with KEYS FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING. Go ahead, give us seven rows of keys. There's plenty of room on the screent.<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-61589020597636928242016-06-05T11:29:00.000-04:002016-06-05T11:29:03.018-04:00Great physical Therapy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just completed a series of Physical Therapy sessions at Activcore in Princeton, NJ. I brought a knee problem to my therapist, Jason Goncalves. He did a thorough initial evaluation, determining that by favoring the knee for two months, I had weakened many muscles on my left side. He treated my whole body and improved my knee, some recent back problems, and even a problem with cramps in my neck that turned out to be related.<br />
Activcore uses a system called "Redcord" in which your body is lifted and supported in a variety of ways to enable exercises to focus on specific muscles, without triggering reactions caused by one's weak spots. In the hands of a competent therapist like Jason, Redcord produces rapid results.<br />
<br />
I'm doing much better now, and hope to preserve my gains with regular exercises at home. But I will miss all the support that Redcord gave me, to enable me to focus on my worst muscle groups.<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-62261735892739538582016-01-07T10:57:00.000-05:002016-01-07T10:57:07.450-05:00"Way of Life" is a terrific app for managing my daily responsibilities<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I use <a href="http://wayoflifeapp.com/">Way of Life </a>to track matters as mundane as brushing my teeth, shaving and taking my vitamins. I use it to make sure I've taken out the garbage and done my 3-per-week exercises. The red blots on my progress charts gently prod me to do better. I know I could not remember my daily tasks without a program like this, and I can't imagine an easier way to enter my list of tasks. Way of Life is a winner!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-25785675364395861002015-10-07T12:20:00.001-04:002015-10-07T12:20:17.773-04:00DailyArt PRO - An app with a daily view of fine art and more:<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm writing today to recommend an app called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dailyart-pro-your-daily-dose/id591624937?mt=8">DailyArt PRO</a>. (There's also a free version called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dailyart-free-daily-dose-fine/id547982045?mt=8">DailyArt Free</a>). Each day, the curator chooses a good image of a fascinating work of art. It is likely to be a painting, but it may be ancient, modern or anything in between. Excellent commentary accompanies the picture. I've been enjoying this app for a while. It informs me and brightens my day.</div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-54138657862403260982015-06-17T10:06:00.003-04:002015-06-17T10:06:32.093-04:00USAF Drone Pilots Probably need a Union:<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Slashdot points to a NYTimes article about how the airforce people who pilot drones in our theaters of war are burning out. They are probably being overworked, but in addition: the stress of switching back and forth between being a killer pilot and a family person, every day, is horribly wearing. See: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/06/17/0315219/usaf-cuts-drone-flights-as-stress-drives-off-operators<br />
<br />
This story reminds me of a Phil Ochs song about the Thresher submarine, a US nuclear submarine that vanished under water, taking its entire crew with it, before it ever saw battle. Ochs' song says:<br />
Oh, can't you see the wrong?<br />
She was a death ship all along<br />
Died before she had a chance to kill<br />
<br />
Read more: Phil Ochs - The Thresher Lyrics | MetroLyrics<br />
http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-thresher-lyrics-phil-ochs.html<br />
<br />
Here's a quote from the NYT article:<br />
“Having our folks make that mental shift every day, driving into the gate and thinking, ‘All right, I’ve got my war face on, and I’m going to the fight,’ and then driving out of the gate and stopping at Walmart to pick up a carton of milk or going to the soccer game on the way home — and the fact that you can’t talk about most of what you do at home — all those stressors together are what is putting pressure on the family, putting pressure on the airman,” Colonel Cluff said.<br />
<br />
And that reminds me of a fine Shel Silverstein cartoon that shows a manager leaving work to go home, looking incredibly angry. Once out of the office, he opens a box he's carrying and switches heads, putting on his "nice" face.<br />
<br />
Bottom line? When you create a new kind of workplace, maybe you want human factors people and psychologists to study it before you do too much damage to the workers.</div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-43408133632719210962015-05-14T10:16:00.002-04:002015-05-14T10:16:18.110-04:00Google: Please help me to remember why I set up "alerts":<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have a suggestion for Google.<br />
I like to use Google Alerts. I will read a news story and wonder how it's going to be followed up, so I often set up an alert to track it. Weeks later, Google will give me alerts, and what if I have forgotten why I set up the alert in the first place?<br />
<br />
Here's my suggestion: <i>Google should allow me to write a note to myself for each alert, to help me track the alerted story.</i></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-64073126885714245472015-05-05T19:05:00.000-04:002015-05-05T19:05:05.067-04:00A good kosher restaurant in Manalapn, NJ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recommend Capri Kosher Italian Cuisine Restaurant, address 335 Route US 9 S, Manalapan, NJ<br />
(Summerton Plaza). <span style="line-height: 100%;">We are eating out more that usual just now, and we recently ate three good meals at Capri.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 100%;"><br /></span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The restaurant's
website is caprikosher.com . There's lots of delicious food on their
extensive menu. They serve Italian, some American food, and there is
fresh Sushi. The portions are enormous, and the staff is very
friendly. You can eat well for less than $20 per person.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-83944790480552975812014-10-14T11:17:00.003-04:002014-10-14T11:17:37.320-04:00MiniLegend: What the Hell?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm trying to play an IOS RPG/Card game that is so new, it seems to have no reviews yet (as of Oct 14, 2104). Well, here's a short comment:<br />
<br />
I opened the game and went to the register screen. I carefully typed in my desired account name, my long password (twice) and my email address. Then I tapped "Register". I got an error message:<br />
<i>Account or Email not found.</i><br />
Well, why should they be found? I haven't <b>registered </b>yet<b>!</b><br />
I tried again, very carefully (which means I had to retype everything), and I got the same error message.<br />
The developer's website is <a href="http://www.pocketriver.com/">http://www.pocketriver.com</a>.<br />
<br />
What the hell?<br />
<div>
What the hell??</div>
<div>
What the hell???</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-67335448123560752542014-10-08T15:16:00.000-04:002014-10-08T15:16:01.866-04:00Don't Tailgate!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Here's wonderful technology: Don't you wish you could call a nearby driver's cellphone by dialing their license plate number? (I'm just talking about you and me; we wouldn't want anyone else to have this capability.)</span></div>
tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-77784692972564806212014-08-19T13:10:00.000-04:002014-08-19T13:10:10.817-04:00Re: the influence of Frederic Bazille on Norman Rockwell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If art interests you, you are going to hear about this new computer program that can discover influences among artists. The program has discovered some well-known influences, and it has also discovered some previously unremarked influences, such as the link the algorithm makes between Frederic Bazille’s Studio 9 Rue de la Condamine (1870) and Norman Rockwell’sShuffleton’s Barber Shop (1950). <a href="https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/when-a-machine-learning-algorithm-studied-fine-art-paintings-it-saw-things-art-historians-had-never-b8e4e7bf7d3e">See this page at Medium.com</a>.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I would like to add an observation about this claim of influence:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bullshit.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Both pictures have an angled line setting off a subset in the lower left. I'm sure that is unbelievably rare in paintings, oh sure. Both pictures have an old-fashioned heating stove (and they are quite different.) I never imagined that people would want to keep warm in paintings, these must be the only such examples.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bazille has a violinist playing with a pianist in the main room. They are remarkably far apart. Rockwell has a few musicians playing in the back room. They are acting more naturally, with the clarinettist(?) and the cellist sitting down while the violin stands, and they are all close together.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The computer program also found that both pictures use a wall-corner to divide up the picture, and both have a low "front" area that is not—as in many paintings—loaded with tchotchkes. Otherwise, one can see tons of differences in the pictures. I'l say it again? Did the Bazille painting influence Rockwell? Bullshit.</div>
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tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-77032500205127398222014-06-02T09:27:00.001-04:002014-06-02T09:27:49.459-04:00EA To Pay College Athletes Up To $951 Each ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://consumerist.com/2014/06/02/ea-to-pay-college-athletes-up-to-951-each-for-stealing-their-likenesses/#more-10165048">EA will pay college athletes up to $951 for using their likenesses</a> - without permission - in computer games. Their lawyer seems happy with this settlement, saying that it rights a "huge wrong".<div>
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Well excuse me, but if the athletes are being PAID, they are no longer amateurs, right? The colleges who utilized these <b>professionals</b> in their games ought to forfeit them all.</div>
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tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-22336385505468211872014-06-01T12:40:00.001-04:002014-06-01T12:40:10.076-04:00Tyrwhitt's lovely shirts: no nasty pins!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm not a squeamish person, but I fear shirt pins. Every time I buy a shirt, I know that I will get pinstuck if i fail to hunt and hunt and find every last oe of the 5, 6, 7 or even 8 sharp pins.<br />
<br />
But not now! I have been buying <a href="http://www.ctshirts.com/default.aspx?q=%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C">Tyrwhitt's shirts</a>, and they come beautifully packed with nary a pointy pin. What a pleasure they are to unwrap and wear. I recommend them: good quality, and good for the price. You can deal with the online store, or <a href="http://www.ctshirts.com/Charles-Tyrwhitt-London-stores?cnt=london-stores">find their brick&mortar stores</a> in the USA, the UK (especially London) and at a few international locations.<br />
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tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-65439046053235940682014-05-13T15:10:00.000-04:002014-05-13T15:10:46.319-04:00Talisman, the fine board game, has arrived on the iPad!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was lucky to receive a copy of the
IOS Talisman game that I can review. There is already an informative
and positive review at <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/29894/talisman-digital-edition-ios-video-review" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a>, so I will not repeat what
their reviewer covers. And <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id681942253?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank">here's a link to the iTunes store</a>, if you are ready to buy. (To be precise: there exists a "Talisman Prologue" game that we are NOT discussing here. The good news is that we get an app for the full Talisman.)</div>
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Talisman is a remarkably imaginative
treatment of RPG in a board game, and that game has been faithfully
reproduced in the IOS app. As usual, the app frees you from a lot of
counting that the board game requires, and the app prevents you from
making illegal moves. Also, there is a tutorial built into the game,
so you do not have to know Talisman to enjoy playing the app.</div>
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Talisman belongs to a category of games
that I’m sure you are familiar with: it is a game of skill
(considerable skill in fact) with a large element of luck. Almost
every game turn offers a chance to make a tactical decision, and
there is deep strategy in deciding whether you are ready to go for a
win.</div>
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Games of this type are wonderful to
play in social settings. Everyone has a good time, and none of the
novices notice that you are playing the game better than they are.
They have a reasonable chance of winning, but that won’t bother
you, because you know that in the long run, your skill will carry the
day.</div>
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A Talisman game can last a long time.
When the iPad first came out, one of my first reactions was: Wouldn’t
it be great to play Talisman on my iPad? I imagined the iPad Talisman
game saving the state of the game so that I could return to it
several times a day for some rounds of play. Talisman on the iPad
allows me to do exactly what I want, while the game’s AI plays one,
two or three oponents. (Of course, several actual people can also
compete, using this app.)</div>
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There is already an expansion set (and
apparently, more coming) that I expect to buy, with – among other
things – many more fascinating player characters. Talisman, among
RPG games in general, is highly unusual in offering a stupendous
variety of different kinds of characters to play with. There’s much
more variety than the usual human/elf/dwarf+fighter/mage/thief.</div>
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Talisman, I’m glad you’re here!</div>
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tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-2947182149183704682014-05-13T14:27:00.001-04:002014-05-13T14:27:12.996-04:00A simple way to fund the U.S. Post Office:<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This afternoon I collected all the junk mail (and even a piece of real mail) that the postman had left for us, and realization struck:<br />
<br />
Suppose the Post Office threatened to triple the amount of mail I receive unless I agreed to pay them one dollar per week. That's a significant amount of money, but I would cave in if I could possibly afford it. Many of us would.<br />
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Think of it this way: snail mail comes to us through a sort of conduit, and the USPO could establish a slow lane (choked with ever more junk mail) and a fast lane.<br />
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tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5514977.post-22327562935752236842014-05-05T15:59:00.000-04:002014-05-05T15:59:24.857-04:00"Three, please!" (I'm afraid you had to be there.)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I blogged recently about my feeling that <a href="http://precision-blogging.blogspot.com/2014/01/too-many-buttons.html" target="_blank">an elevator that moves between only two floors needs one less button</a>. I entered the same elevator that inspired that blog entry today (on the second floor), along with two women deep in conversation. The woman nearest the control panel pressed the button for floor #1 while they continued talking.<br />
<br />
I could not resist saying, "Three, please!"<br />
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The same woman turned to the control panel and extended her finger to press the nonexistent button. And then, fortunately, both women laughed and laughed.<br />
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tobyr21@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08478279273433877261noreply@blogger.com0