Red Rock
One of the most fascinating pictures from T.S. Eliot's the Waste Land:
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, 23
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
Britannica's Demise
The New York Times reports:
In an acknowledgment of the realities of the digital age — and of competition from the Web site Wikipedia — Encyclopaedia Britannica will focus primarily on its online encyclopedias and educational curriculum for schools. The last print version is the 32-volume 2010 edition, which weighs 129 pounds and includes new entries on global warming and the Human Genome Project.
The end of an era. A 244 year era.
82
The temperature in Fahrenheit that we reached today here in St. Charles County. Incredible, beautiful weather.
Windows 8 Browsers
It seems that Microsoft had to create a special category of applications to permit third party web browsers in its new Metro user interface. The new interface, much like Apple's iOS used on iPhones and iPads, places significant restrictions on what applications can do. But, unlike iOS, these restrictions apply to the new preferred interface for Microsoft's desktop operating system. And, that makes things a whole lot more complicated than they are with a phone and tablet OS.
I'm still uncertain about Windows 8's fusion of a desktop and tablet OS. This new complication just seems like another demonstration of the roadblocks Microsoft faces in making the next Windows a viable operating system.
Camping Apologizes
Family Radio's Harold Camping has acknowledged and apologized for his error concerning the prediction of the end of the world:
But we now realize that those people who were calling our attention to the Bible's statement that 'of that day and hour knoweth no man' (Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:32), were right in their understanding of those verses and Family Radio was wrong. Whether God will ever give us any indication of the date of His return is hidden in God's divine plan.
Refreshing.
Unraveling
I was more than a bit surprised when I saw commentators start noting ways Apple's presentations were becoming less well organized post-Jobs. In particular, various folks mentioned the ambiguous “new iPad” name, the play on words used to launch the product and the colorful Apple logo at the end. Matt Thomas deals with these points very succinctly.
Incidentally, am I the only one to note that the lack of a numerical qualifier after the name iPad simply puts the iPad within the naming conventions always applied to the iPod family?
HT: Gruber
Blogging Goal
I decided after Christmas to see how many consecutive days I could blog. I find such goals are helpful, because they encourage me not to wait to blog until I have a perfectly refined idea. So far, I have posted every day since Christmas. Including, with this post, today.
ESVBible.org and the Study Bible
If you own an ESV Study Bible, you have an online access code that allows you to access all the content of that study Bible on ESVBible.org for free. If you've never tried the online access functionality, you ought to try it — it is really well done. Moreover, if you tried it long ago, try it again. The new edition that came out last year sports a significantly improved design (while remaining free for all ESV Study Bible owners).
The iPad 3
Gruber writes about the AP's suggestion that the iPad 3's specs indicate a “modest upgrade:”
I suspect this is a prelude to much of tomorrow's post-event coverage, echoing the initial tech press reaction to the iPhone 4S. But if a faster processor, more RAM, a double-the-resolution retina display, a better camera, and maybe even LTE networking make for a “modest” update, then what would it take for the iPad 3 to be deemed an immodest update? A fusion energy source? Teleportation? A camera that sees into the future?
