Monthly Archives: July 2008

Some definitions

Posted on Tuesday, 29 July 2008 by David Gorsline

EXTIRPATE Verb applied only to heresies and corns. FACE The mirror of the soul. So some people must have very ugly souls. INSTRUMENT If it has been used to commit a crime, it is always “blunt,” unless it happens to … Continue reading →

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Not ready for prime time

Posted on Monday, 28 July 2008 by David Gorsline

The most peculiar thing about the new search engine at cuil.com is the random images that are presented next to returned search results. These images are presented on the first two results pages for my name, next to summaries of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Internet | Comments Off

Cash for Clunkers

Posted on Sunday, 27 July 2008 by David Gorsline

Alan Blinder proposes an economic stimulus measure that’s good for the environment as well: subsidized repurchases of aging, inefficient cars and trucks, targeted to the low-income households that need the money the most. …a fourth possible goal. By pulling millions … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and Business, Energy Sources and Consumption | Comments Off

Equus

Posted on Saturday, 26 July 2008 by David Gorsline

BRUCE: In my life I’m not going to be afraid to blind the horses, Prudence. PRUDENCE: You ought to become a veterinarian. BRUCE (very offended): You’ve missed the metaphor. PRUDENCE: I haven’t missed the metaphor. I made a joke. BRUCE: … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotable | Comments Off

Turn in your yogurt cups

Posted on Saturday, 26 July 2008 by David Gorsline

Robert Siegel surveys the state of recycling programs in three suburban D.C. counties. He makes a good point about the “stickiness” of programs and what waste they accept—one that should be obvious, I suppose. County Executive Isiah Leggett announced that … Continue reading →

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At the park: 20

Posted on Thursday, 24 July 2008 by David Gorsline

Earlier this month we made our last field trip to monitor nest boxes. The raspberries were ripening, the Typha was eyeball-height, the dodder was showing its bright orange, and Indigo Buntings were singing in the mapletops. It was a good … Continue reading →

Posted in In the Field | Comments Off

Some lists: 3

Posted on Thursday, 24 July 2008 by David Gorsline

Inappropriate Muzak for the food court “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” by Gordon Lightfoot “O Fortuna,” the opening song of Carmina Burana, composed by Carl Orff “Always True To You (In My Fashion),” by Cole Porter (tie) “Synchronicity II”, … Continue reading →

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From the Director

Posted on Wednesday, 23 July 2008 by David Gorsline

A Warning: There will be no gunfire in this production. There will be no smoking of cigarettes during this production. No strobe light will be used. There will be no intermission. There will be no strong language. If you are … Continue reading →

Posted in Theater, Yeah Yeah Yeah | Comments Off

Keycap casserole

Posted on Sunday, 20 July 2008 by David Gorsline

Virginia Heffernan worries at the problem of how to quote message board posts.

Posted in Blogs and Internet, Words Words Words | Comments Off

Too much time on my hands

Posted on Sunday, 20 July 2008 by David Gorsline

Via Steamboats Are Ruining Everything, the above image is a word cloud assembled by Wordle from the content of the last two-plus years of posts made to this blog—more precisely the 300 most common words, net of noisewords like and … Continue reading →

Posted in Metaposting | Comments Off

Short bits of string: 7

Posted on Saturday, 19 July 2008 by David Gorsline

After much virtual knuckle-scraping, I have managed to mount the folders from a networked hard drive running Samba from my Windows XP laptop.

Posted in Computing and Mathematics | Comments Off

Some links: 26/a

Posted on Thursday, 17 July 2008 by David Gorsline

The Post reprinted my complete plug for Huntley Meadows Park in the background material for its Fairfax County Community Handbook.

Posted in In the Field, Local News | Comments Off

Some lists: 2

Posted on Wednesday, 16 July 2008 by David Gorsline

Leta (via Lori) turned up a Top 10 list of saints incorruptible.

Posted in Backstage | Comments Off

Some links: 29

Posted on Sunday, 13 July 2008 by David Gorsline

Amy Cortese spotlights Blaine Brownell’s transmaterial.net, a blog (and associated books) of green building materials and other technological innovations in construction. She singles out plans by Serious Materials to introduce EcoRock, a carbon-neutral gypsum board replacement. A typical gypsum drywall … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Sources and Consumption, Tools and Technology | Comments Off

Wash Day

Posted on Thursday, 10 July 2008 by David Gorsline

A grim little poem from Allen Grossman: Water. Well-water is real cold. No stove, pigs or not, is hot enough to bring well-water to blood heat. For that you need a heart. …with an allusion to the first verses of … Continue reading →

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