think twice » Uncategorized

how to use a paper towel

Ian — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:00:16 +0000

I love finding new, presumably better ways to think about things we’ve been taking for granted. Here’s a brief (4.5 min), entertaining TED talk that teaches us a better way to dry our hands with paper towels:

TED: Joe Smith on How to Use a Paper Towel

silence

Ian — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:49:22 +0000

I’m buying a house, getting married, and teaching one new class and one wholly-redesigned class. Is that a good enough excuse for not blogging?

The Last Laugh

Ian — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:14:21 +0000

In Irritation and Laughter, posted in 2006, I talked about Stephen Oluka, the brother of my close friend and colleague Silas Oluka. Stephen taught me much about attitude through the example of his irrepressible laughter, even while dealing gracefully with grim circumstances.

Well, I recently learned that Stephen has died, apparently the victim of medical mismanagement of a serious and unpleasant, but eminently treatable, problem. (If you must get sick, I advise doing it somewhere other than Kampala, Uganda.) The world is more impoverished for his passing, and the schools of Uganda especially so.

I don’t know if Stephen managed to retain his sense of mirth to the end; if anyone could, it would have been him. But I’m quite sure he’s laughing now, taking hysterical new delight in the great and beautiful joke that is life — without in the least diminishing its sanctity, pathos, or grandeur.

Here’s to you, Stephen Oluka.

It only smells funny…

Ian — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 21:29:21 +0000

…it’s not really dead. This blog, I mean. I’ve got several thoughts and anecdotes to write up; the problem is that I’ve been so flat-out plastered with work that I haven’t had the mental space to write anything thoughtful. Apologies … Continue reading →

Brrreeeport Mucks My Model

Ian — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 09:57:12 +0000

Scoble, Microsoft’s resident geek blogger, is doing an experiment. He’s asking bloggers to put the word “brrreeeport” in their blogs, and then see how quickly various search engines pick it up. This post is completely outside my normal topical areas … Continue reading →