The Lempel Ziv Diet
This month I sat down to work on my applet pie ala modem and popped open the zipper on my pants. My unzipped state forced me to reflect on my recent research on cookies and chips. I decided to move away from research on food in hopes of trimming down. In my lifetime I have seen […]
Server Farming
My friend, Mary Payne, and her son Don plant sweet potatoes every year. Their “garden” space for the sweet potatoes is in their backyard. They could plant a row or two of sweet potatoes and have plenty for themselves. Instead they plant an acre of sweet potatoes and can supply sweet potatoes to the entire Dry Fork community. If you […]
Serious Backhauling
When you live in a rural area you just have to know about backhauling. I live out in Pittsylvania County and I consider myself a modest backhauler. I have daily tasks that involve collecting someone or something from my home and backhauling it into the city. Quite often I am backhauling children from home to school or soccer or […]
Quantum Mechanics Inc.
In April I traveled with my family to Chicago, Illinois. We took a day trip out of the city and ended up in the small town of Batavia, Illinois where we met Mr. Fitzgerald Hicks of Quantum Mechanics, Inc. This is the story he told us: “Today, I’d like ta sell ya on Quantum Mechanics, Inc. Now, we’re small mechanics, quantum does stand for the smallest amount of something […]
Petaflops
Some people love numbers. My husband, Frank, adores numbers. If you ask him what the largest number is, he will say, “Infinity plus one.” It does not bother Frank at all to discuss infinity. On the other hand, I have my limits. Infinity is way too large. I draw the line at a gazillion. So, […]
Ingenuity
My fifteen hens are a constant source of enlightenment. For instance, my two Buff Cochins are pastry experts. They might fuss over butter versus vegetable shortening, but they can talk you through making the perfect lemon meringue pie. Genu, my Black Australorp, has the widest breadth of knowledge. She is versed in everything from literature to philosophy. She says […]
Compatibility
My husband and I celebrated out 20th wedding anniversary this past summer. Twenty years ago we had a short courtship prior to our marriage. We played tennis, took walks and ate dinner together between July and October and after 2-3 months it was clear that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Human relationships are complex, but one thing […]
Clockspeed
Our daughter, Emma, went to camp for the first time this summer. Her week of camp was filled with the usual activities like archery, riflery, horse back riding, as well as the unusual, synchronized swimming. Synchronized swimming is synchronized by rhythm. There is a rhythm to the strokes and movements, so that a pair or team of swimmers can […]
Chips
Just when I think I am learning something about computers I get tripped up on some basic issue. This month it happened to be chips. I realized that in the course of conversation I might hear or even say something about chips, microchips or microprocessors and I would have absolutely no idea what I was […]