Another day and yes….another podcast. This time it is the history of this day in history. Every day you will get audio from the news reports, speeches, the grunting groaning gleeful and glorious sounds of people talking about what was happening to them on this day back when this day in history was their now. I will...
Read more »
Another day and another podcast generated. Each day funny shows broadcast on that day across recorded history will be waiting for you in your podcatcher/device of choice. This time I have focused on funny stuff that makes me laugh. So far I have included some Goons Shows, You Bet Your Life, I’m Sorry I’ll...
Read more »
Still in beta, I have work up some simple bash scripts to generate a sort of This Day In History podcast…for now this one is dedicated to the fathead of all fatheads Jean Shepherd. What was he saying on this date in history? Now you can find out easily by subscribing to this podcast....
Read more »
How cool would it be to set up a TelegraphNet around the house. Instead of calling the kids down to eat we could send out the message in Morse. hmmm an ya know we have a bunch of pots wire throughout the house doing nothing…oi. Thanks Make… Reinventing Morse: Build your own telegraph kit.
Read more »
One of the many things I want to teach the kids is how to pick locks. Yes I will wait to they have an understanding of the appropriate uses for the skill…and yes I sense some of you rolling your eyes thinking “why the heck would you teach your kids that?”…yes I am talking...
Read more »
“Sashura sent me a link to this NYT obituary by Margalit Fox of Sol Steinmetz, “a lexicographer, author and tenured member of Olbom (n., abbrev., < On Language’s Board of Octogenarian Mentors)”; Ms. Fox lards the obit with as many word histories (“his surname is the Yiddish word for stonemason”) as she can, and I’m sure...
Read more »
Back in 2006 I cobbled together a Serenity/Whedonesque themed bit of sound to a simple background sample. It is a 4 min journey into the Verse and then some. Being both Yeeee and Haw. Serenifly.mp3
Read more »
How is Chinese food like Linux? Who the heck is General Tso and why is his chicken so good? Fortune Cookies are not Chinese? Watch this great talk and learn a little more about the foods we eat.
Read more »
128 vintage pocket calculators.
Read more »
The sleeper awakes…..needs a cup of coffee…perhaps some breakfast….From a pile of old and new gear Media Whore Studio West rises and says , in its own way , “Morning Neighbor”. Listen with us if you will… Awake.mp3
Read more »
Ken Nordine is a voice that makes my mind happy in that charged/amused/connected way. His works all engage . It is a happy thing that WFMU’s Beware of the Blog has found some early recordings of Nordine opening up a Hi Fi store… Hi Fi Store…just those words alone set the stage. Listen to the...
Read more »
Not understanding the sources you use to back up your ideological foundations is not a great idea. Sadly it is done more than you might think for all manner of justifications, say for instance homophobia. What do you do though when your source’s author informs you that you failed to comprehend what he actually wrote? It seems...
Read more »
You have heard me talk about this podcast before and you probably will again a few hundred times more…..this week one of those lesser known but fascinating points in history. This weeks its all about Sex Sun and Assassinations as we look at Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. “He replaced the traditional head of the Roman...
Read more »
We do. I have been playing with the Rye recipe into the 5 Min A Day Bread books and am loving this one. It is not the NYC rye of my youth but it is closer than any I have bought or made before. One of the authors is an ex NewYorker so I...
Read more »
“When Steven P. Jobs, the chief of Apple, introduced the iPhone 4, he hailed the design of its antenna, which is built into a steel band that encases the phone. But almost immediately after the iPhone 4 went on sale, consumers began to complain that when they touched a spot on the lower left section...
Read more »
As you can find out from watching the Good Eats episode on Eggs Benedict the venerable Thomas’ English Muffin is not really English (it was invented in NYC) and is a closer relative of the crumpet than the muffin clan….but all that aside….Seems the company that now owns the brand is trying very hard to keep...
Read more »
![How to Get Started with Usenet in Three Simple Steps [Usenet]](http://tomwsmf.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/500x_title-image.jpg)
Everything old is new again….case in point one of my all time favorite fishing spots on the intertubes that I have not hit in a few years….Usenet. Lifehacker has an article called How to Get Started with Usenet in Three Simple Steps . Looks like I might get out the old line and tackle box.
Read more »
The current duo of half sisters, direct down the tree of the grand ol Wagner himself, are attempting to make the hard seated limited ticket ultra elite opera fest a bit more family friendly. This year they offered up a condensed and reworked version of Tannhäuser which was attend by 200 or so budding little...
Read more »
In 1978 then POTUS Jimmy Carter had a series of Solar Panels installed at the White House to heat the water.. At that installation he uttered this prediction… “In the year 2000 this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy…. A generation from now, this...
Read more »
Scientific American reports in Transgenic Canola Plants Break Free of Farm….. “Transgenic canola plants in North Dakota had received genes making them resistant to herbicides, such as the weed killer Roundup. Researchers collected and tested 406 canola plants along thousands of miles of state roads. They found 347 carrying at least one resistance gene. There...
Read more »
Pentagon Demands Wikileaks ‘Return’ All Classified Documents. “The Defense Department demands that WikiLeaks return immediately to the U.S. government all versions of documents obtained directly or indirectly from the Department of Defense databases or records,” said spokesman Geoff Morrell, opening the Pentagon’s daily press briefing.” Give us back our secrets? Hello Genie…back in the...
Read more »
Sure it is only a day or so away, but when news came out that the Official Update was available from an Official server for a manual update …. zoom zip and Bobs our uncle .. 2.2 on my little ol Droid 1. After that it was a few installs to get Flash and...
Read more »
I loves me the Galcon, an amazing real time seat of your pants multi player risk style game set in space. I have been playing since 2007 on Linux and of course was a bit ticked off when an iPhone app of it came out some time ago. I wrote the author and asked “Why no...
Read more »
AndroidOS has an amazing little app called Tasker that gives you the powers to instruct your device to take over the boring tasks of turning various things off and on, alerting you when things happen (based on location, time, other apps, other tasks, etc) and in general working for you in the ways you...
Read more »
Heather found this cute little link to a bunch of Print and Make Dr Who Cubecrafts. Print….snip…fold…and you too can play out all your favorite episodes….or make new ones…oi the possibilities.
Read more »
Cosmic Variance reports “The sun kind of burped yesterday, and sent gigatons (or maybe hellatons?) of material streaming our way – to Earth that is. There is an awesome video of it over at SpaceWeather.com. The particles, mainly electrons and protons in the sub-100-eV range, are expected to reach earth tomorrow (Aug. 3) and could give...
Read more »
Lifehacker reports on a remote mouse/kydb app for the Droid. I have been using Gmote and VNC to muck about with other computers….lets see if this will pass the “Am I Still Using It In A Week” test.
Read more »
Oh the Commodus years…it is so nice Rome had its own Bush era. If you have not already listen to this fine bit of history…. 096- The Most Aptly Named Emperor.
Read more »
1996: ““
Read more »
This blog goes back 10 years or more…in that time the places I have used to post my thoughts, links and whatnots have shifted from services both self hosted and otherly hosted. I think its now time to think about unifying all the bits and bitness that makes up the loose miasma of my...
Read more »
A quick game idea for a contest over on BoardGameGeek…a chance to stretch out the game making ideas.
Read more »
Did some one say “New Issue”? If you have any games or such that you would like to see included in such a thing please drop me a line at tomhiggins AT gmail.com
Read more »
Tennessee v. John T. Scopes Trial: Publisher E. Haldeman-Julius, standing in front of the Defense Mansion. Originally uploaded by Smithsonian Institution Two great historic items that go great together… The Scopes Trail and Little Blue Books publisher E Halderman-Julius. This reminds me that I need to unpack and continue cataloging the hundreds of Little...
Read more »
I found these at a treasure trove of greatness in Portland OR called the Dollar Scholar. I have 20 or so volumes, each jam packed with well written well documented howtos and diyisms. !974 and DIY was a strong force. This jared my memory a bit as I realized back in those times I...
Read more »
Whore’s Union price list From the sharp eyes of our pal at the Soup Greens blog.. “Whore’s Union price list The following MP3s a very dirty jokes from the 1890s on a wax cylinder recording, via the incredible Archeophone release Actionable Offenses: Indecent Phonograph Recordings from the 1890s:”
Read more »
Whore’s Union price list From the sharp eyes of our pal at the Soup Greens blog.. “Whore’s Union price list The following MP3s a very dirty jokes from the 1890s on a wax cylinder recording, via the incredible Archeophone release Actionable Offenses: Indecent Phonograph Recordings from the 1890s:”
Read more »
Delilah and Dad Originally uploaded by TomHiggins After years of saying “no pets!” the family broke me down last night. Bright and early this morning off we went to a local adoption place and found us a new family member. Delilah is a 4 year old Black Lab/German Shepherd with the pulling capacity of...
Read more »
Heavy Petal: How to make seedbombs: “This past weekend, Al from my guerilla gardening group led a seedball-making workshop. I loved it; it was so satisfying just to get my hands muddy and spend a couple hours in a zen-like trance rolling seedballs… I highly recommend the process! Here’s the recipe: 5 parts dry...
Read more »
You folks know I love me the Jean Shepherd. I have run shoutcasts and podcasts of his works over the years and still a day dose not go by when I need a fix. Archive.org has become a common ground place to put such things and so good people have been uploading the good...
Read more »
Danny Kayes First Show A little test here to see if a tag system might work.
Read more »
Trevor F. Smith: Speed Readers Speed reader is a damn interesting concept and a nice change of pace for reading books. Give it a spin.
Read more »
DSC_0860 Originally uploaded by TomHiggins TADA!!! The future.
Read more »
Some of the folks over at LibriVox decided to tackle writing a collaborative novel in this fine month of November which just happens to be National Novel Writing Month. I am Chapter 6, I might be more chapters if i have the time and more folks do not sign up to fill in the...
Read more »
Why is the universe the way it is? Cause James Burke Say SO! Well actually cause we consensually say so. And thats one to grow on….
Read more »
