I just got back from seeing Live Free or Die Hard (in France: Die Hard 4—Retour en Enfer), and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I can’t believe it’s been 19 years since the first Die Hard came out, with Alan Rickman as the excellent bad guy. But I also just finished reading Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale […]

After watching Spider-Man 3 last weekend, Morgen and I were discussing how Peter Parker is an introvert. And it occurred to me that this is true of most superheroes’ secret identities. In fact, that seems to be almost mandatory—more than glasses or an unfashionable haircut, an introverted demeanor can effectively deflect unwanted attention and help […]

In my book Take Control of Mac OS X Backups I mention the existence of several software-plus-online-storage combos that enable Mac users to back up their files to a nice secure server somewhere out there on the net. But I don’t express much enthusiasm about them, because they’re generally quite slow and unreasonably expensive compared […]

A group of nonprofit organizations called 826 National, which currently has six chapters around the country, teaches writing skills to children. As a way of raising money to support their work, each chapter runs a specially themed storefront operation selling supplies for everyone from superheroes to pirates. (Read more about 826 National at Interesting Thing […]

As previously mentioned, Firefly is without any doubt the best thing ever to have been broadcast on TV. This outer-space western followed the exploits of Captain Mal Reynolds and the crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity, and has attracted a rabid base of fans (or “Browncoats,” as we like to be called) far out of […]

By George! A modernized version of “by Jove!” (in other words, Jupiter). For Pete’s Sake! A softer form of “for God’s sake” or “for Christ’s sake,” supposedly a reference to St. Peter. For the Love of Mike! Slightly less popular, according to Google, than “for the love of Pete!” but Pete’s already made the list, […]

Just a few years ago, it was a novelty found only in Sweden: a hotel built entirely out of ice. Each spring it melted, and each winter it was rebuilt, bigger and better than before. The original Ice Hotel is still a hot (well, cold) property; each year thousands of people pay handsomely to sleep […]

On a vacation in Hong Kong in January, I kept noticing terrific signs that you’d never see in the U.S. I took pictures of a bunch of them, and here are some of my favorites. I’ve seen “Caution: Wet Floor” signs, but never one warning me about a garden hose. Speaking of watering… I thought […]

Tomorrow, February 24, is the 18th anniversary of the death of Laura Palmer. (And to think that she was only 17 at the time…gosh, it makes me feel old.) Laura Palmer was, of course, the fictional character around whom the plot of the TV series Twin Peaks revolved. A few minutes into the pilot, her […]

“Hello, I’m a Mac…and I’m a PC too.” Yes, you really can have the best of both worlds. Now that Macs run on Intel processors, it’s easier than ever for Windows and Mac OS X to coexist on the same computer. So whatever your biases against the “other” system, just get over it and run […]

In Western Christian traditions, the period of Lent begins 40 days before Easter, starting with Ash Wednesday. The day before Ash Wednesday is known by a variety of names, and is frequently marked by celebrations, such as the famous Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, and the Carnevale of Venice. […]

I’ve bought all kinds of stuff from Amazon.com: books, DVDs, electronics, kitchen gadgets, and so on. It’s great for those quick, easy purchases, but what if you’ve got money to burn? You’ll be delighted to know that you can put your American Express Centurion Card to good use with any number of extravagant purchases from […]

I followed The Apprentice avidly during its first couple of seasons, but the show has gotten progressively more annoying. Among the things that irritate me most is the fact that the contestants all speak some weird dialect of Business English that seems to consist mainly of clichéd baseball metaphors. Some of the phrases I hear […]

Morgen and I recently returned from a month-long trip to Indonesia and Hong Kong. It’ll take us a while to sort through all our photos and write about our experiences. But we’ll say this much: we’re alive and well. This despite the fact that before, during, and after our trip, Indonesia has made international headlines […]

Having trouble sleeping at night? It could be the light from a streetlight (or a neighbor’s floodlights) streaming through your bedroom window and interrupting your circadian rhythms. Intrusive artificial light at night can take several forms, and each causes its own set of problems. Here are five examples, taken from Interesting Thing of the Day […]

As Thanksgiving draws ever closer, I’d like to offer another list excerpted from Take Control of Thanksgiving Dinner. You know the old saying about too many cooks in the kitchen. As long as you have just one willing assistant and my book, you’ve got all the help you need to prepare a complete Thanksgiving meal, […]

You’ve carefully planned a full Thanksgiving menu, bought your ingredients, and arranged a lovely feast—and then, inevitably, someone asks, “What can I bring?” You have everything under control, but you also don’t want to turn away help or hurt anyone’s feelings. What do you say? Here are a few suggestions, excerpted from my book Take […]

Of course most of us store our music digitally on a computer or iPod these days, but some people still think having physical CDs (or even—gasp—vinyl) is a pretty neat idea. If I learned anything from reading/watching High Fidelity (book | DVD), it’s that there’s more than one way to organize one’s albums, and an […]

You’ve heard of the Book-of-the-Month Club, no doubt, a handy way for bibliophiles to feed their obsession without leaving the house. I’ve personally been a member of a fruit-of-the-month club and a chocolate-of-the-month club too. But the range of items you can receive by mail, once a month by subscription, is truly staggering. This list […]

When he wasn’t busy drafting the Declaration of Independence, founding the University of Virginia, or serving as President, Thomas Jefferson liked to invent things (and, frequently, improve upon other people’s inventions). He never took out a patent, owing to his belief that every invention should benefit all of society. Just a few of his numerous […]