My First Day of College
I still remember my first day of college. I got up early and rode my bike across campus. Along the way, I stopped at a pedestrian bridge over the Red Cedar River, watching people...
Samoa Stories: Queen Mary 2
There wasn’t always a whole lot to do in American Samoa, so I found my entertainment where I could. One of my favorite things was trolling cruise ship passengers, like the time I went...
Opposing Censorship. Opposing SOPA.
The internet is abuzz with opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). With these two acts, the United States Congress would drastically change Intellectual Property law. And...
Park Güell: High Atop Barcelona
Jamie and I got off the subway and walked back above ground. I was expecting a large expanse of grass, but instead I saw a dense urban streetscape. “I thought you said we were...
A Brief Letter to the New York Times
A few years ago, in the early stages of the 2008 Presidential campaign, I got a Letter to the Editor published in the New York Times. It was only two sentences, lamenting that the...
Media and Writing Systems
I’ve noticed that writing systems are affected by the media on which they are written. This explains a lot from the shape of specific fonts to the form of entire writing systems. Let’s take...
23 Reasons to Mourn Dublin Dr Pepper
Dublin Dr Pepper is a Texas staple. Ever since soda manufacturers switched from cane sugar to high fructose corn syrup, the Dublin bottling plant has made a name selling soda with Imperial Sugar. Unfortunately,...
Workplace Adventures: Mistakes and TPS Reports
There’s a telling scene in the movie Office Space, where the boss chews Peter Gibbons out for not put the proper coversheet on his TPS report. A moment later, a second boss comes along...
Peet’s Coffee and Tea: A California Chain in Texas
Like In-N-Out Burger, Peet’s Coffee and Tea is a recent import from California. And like In-N-Out, it has a very dedicated following. Fans of the coffee chain call themselves Peetniks, and they go out...
Aloha Hawaii: Waikiki Beach
Waikiki Beach in one of the most famous beaches in America, if not the world. It’s a very popular destination because of its proximity to downtown Honolulu and Diamond Head mountain. As an urban...
