So now the euro, as a currency we can use at the cash register, is three weeks old, and we’ve all had time to get used to it. The changeover really hasn’t gone badly, even in famously disorganized Italy. There were long lines at highway tollbooths and banks the first week (the holiday peak travel… Continue reading Ringing in the Euro
Copy Protection Wars
This is getting entertaining; check out this article from The Register. Another article mentions that: “White Lilies Island [Natalie Imbruglia’s latest] uses Israeli technology company Midbar’s Cactus Data Shield to prevent the disc from being played in a PC CD-ROM drive. The encoding process systematically corrupts the music stored on the disc. A hi-fi CD player’s… Continue reading Copy Protection Wars
Early Tourist in Nepal
We visited Nepal in 1969 or ’70, when I was about seven years old. The country had only recently been opened to tourism, after a Russian named Boris Lisanevich persuaded the then king that this would be a good source of income for his impoverished country. Boris himself ran the first hotel, called the Palace because… Continue reading Early Tourist in Nepal
Just Wild About Harry? The Fan Fiction Phenomenon
I’ve long been an avid reader of fantasy, and even at the tender age of 39 I don’t hesitate to read books classified as for children or “young adults” (I’ll recommend a few at the end of this article). But I didn’t rush to read the Harry Potter books when they came out, and don’t… Continue reading Just Wild About Harry? The Fan Fiction Phenomenon
Conversation in a Bar
While having my morning coffee, I overheard a man talking to the waiter: “I married two sisters. No, really. My first wife caught me with her sister. [Meditatively.] Who do you think is worse: the husband who sleeps with his sister-in-law, or the sister who sleeps with her sister’s husband?” …there’s a novel in there… Continue reading Conversation in a Bar