March 28, 2012

Ms. LaVette in NYC!


NeuroCooking friends in the New York City area have just three more nights to see Ms. Bettye LaVette at the Café Carlyle.

March 26, 2012

"It is our duty to take note."


My testimony at tonight's meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Education is available.

March 25, 2012

"AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D" part II (or, "Do you want fries with that?")


(March 20, 2012.)

Last year, we wrote here about our favorite lens, the Nikkor 35mm f/2, which is made by Nikon, and sold by Nikon, but which Nikon doesn't really want you to buy.

Now it appears that if you do own this lovely little lens, Nikon would like you to replace it (with something more expensive). The "technical guide" for their recently introduced super-camera, the 36 megapixel D800 (Tag line: "Every photo will astound. Every video will dazzle."), states that "enhanced sharpness" is available with just a few of their lenses, not including our favorite:

"Enhanced sharpness" is not available with the the AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D!

Doesn't this smell like "upsell?" You've ordered their new camera, and they're asking, essentially, "Do you want a lens with that?" Like when you order a burger, and you're asked, "Do you want fries with that?"

March 23, 2012

Narrative, Big Data & the Future of Communication

My reflections on the SXSW conference, Emotion and the Search for Meaning for SXSW, have been published here.

March 18, 2012

"I take no sentence for granted."


Just one sentence (another titles this post) from the essay "My Life's Sentences" by Jhumpa Lahiri in today's New York Times:
"The urge to convert experience into a group of words that are in a grammatical relation to one another is the most basic, ongoing impulse of my life."

March 16, 2012

My Robotic Kitchen

NeuroCooking readers may be interested to know that My Robotic Kitchen Planned this Dinner Party was voted 2nd Worst SXSW 2012 Session Title.

March 6, 2012

Col. Van T. Barfoot (1919-2012)

On May 23, 1944, Col. Barfoot was ordered to lead an assault on German positions. He went out alone and crawled to within feet of a German bunker.

According to his Medal of Honor citation, he tossed a grenade inside, killing two Germans and wounding three others. He then moved to another bunker nearby and killed two more German soldiers with his submachine gun while taking three others prisoner. A third machine gun crew, watching Col. Barfoot’s methodical assault, surrendered to him. In all, 17 Germans gave themselves up to Col. Barfoot.

In retaliation, the Germans organized a counterattack on Col. Barfoot’s position, sending three tanks toward him.

Col. Barfoot grabbed a bazooka grenade launcher and stood 75 yards in front of the leading tank. His first shot stopped it in its tracks. He then killed three of the German tank crew members who had attempted to escape.

The other two tanks, witnessing the destruction, abruptly changed directions, moving away from Col. Barfoot. Returning to his platoon, he helped carry two wounded U.S. soldiers almost a mile to safety.
- From the obituary "Van T. Barfoot, Va. Medal of Honor recipient who won battle to fly flag in front yard, dies at 92" by T. Rees Shapiro in today's Washington Post.

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