geekery ← Ellen Shapiro dot com ← Page 2

The Inevitable Comes To Pass

Jun

20

2009

Having scraped change out of the couch, sold off my possessions on eBay, and been given some extremely well-timed birthday gifts of cash money, I finally broke down and bought an iPhone. Part of me wanted to wait until I got an actual job, but the Sprint network in my neighborhood was crapping out so ...

28 And Other Recent Developments

Jun

12

2009

Recently, I have: Turned 28, to relatively little fanfare. Which is probably appropriate, because it’s not a terribly significant birthday. Drinks at the friendly local “We have a ton of awesome beer” establishment were fun, though. Found a surprisingly viable backup employment plan if I can’t get on anything for the fall season (which I’ll ...

When Computer Geeks Try To Hand-Write Things

Mar

25

2009

I read about a website called YourFonts, which will let you make a free TrueType font out of your own handwriting. I thought, that sounds kind of fun, and maybe I can make something that will actually make my handwriting legible. Here are the results: Yep, that worked out well.

Sometimes, Technology Hates Me

Dec

9

2008

Many people assume that because I have a relative facility with technology, it does not randomly decide to hate on me the way it seems to with everyone else. To that, I counter with the events of this evening: I fought with a writer’s crapware laden-computer for half an hour at the end of the ...

The Battle Royale Begins 3

Nov

13

2008

Today marks the end of my Sprint contract, and the beginning of a technological battle royale. Let’s meet the contestants! IN THE RED CORNER…. The Blackberry 8703e, better known as the Crackberry. A practically indestructible phone on a shittastic network. A phone that I’ve dropped on concrete or asphalt so many times I’ve lost count. ...

I May Never Leave The House Again

Oct

30

2008

From the department of It’s About Fucking Time: TiVo and Netflix sign a deal to allow Netflix Watch Now streaming to Series 3 TiVos. If only I had time to watch half the shit I’m TiVoing right now, let alone the Netflix discs rotting by my TV. At least this will be a good way ...

Things, Divided 1

Oct

7

2008

Still just buried in work as we try to get our footing, but a few quick: THINGS I LIKE – This American Life’s podcast this week, aptly titled “Another Frightening Show About The Economy.” You can download it for free from that page for the rest of the week, and it’s a much, much clearer ...

Addition To The Previous Space Nerdery

Oct

4

2008

MSNBC’s Cosmic Log breaks down the bailout in terms of the Apollo program: Even accounting for inflation since the program ended in the early 70’s, this bailout could pay for seven Apollo programs. Seven Apollo programs. Not just sending one set of guys to the moon, but the ENTIRE program. SEVEN TIMES. And that’s before ...

For My Fellow Space Nerds

Sep

29

2008

NASA found snow on Mars. At least one of my PA’s is about as much of a space nerd as I am and gave an excited, “DUDE!” when he read this, causing me to make him send me the link. I know fuck-all about the continued collapse of the American financial system and quite possibly ...

The Long And Short Of It

Aug

11

2008

When I was swimming while I was in Idaho, I thought maybe the pool might be a little longer than the pool at my gym, since it was taking me a solid six minutes longer to finish 100 lengths than it had been at my gym. The folks at the pool in Idaho swore up ...