I was pleased to read that a Federal US court has decided that the US currency system (dollar bills) is not fair for use by blind people. Other countries use bills of different sizes or have raised text on the bills so that people without the use of their eyes can distinguish different denominations.

I remember (from the movie Ray) that Ray Charles used to ask to get paid in singles so that he could know for sure that he was paid the proper amount. Since that time, every denomination of dollar bill except the single has been revised with new security features, but none of them have introduced any “accessibility” features so that the blind could tell them apart.

What an unexpected surprise this book was. It’s a guide to the “puzzle” interviews like those used by Microsoft and other high-tech firms. It has lots of advice and history and info about these types of interviews, which is worth skimming, but the real fun is the puzzles themselves. For example:

How do you think they make M&Ms? (make a specific guess)

If you have a 5-quart bucket, a 3-quart bucket, and an infinite amount of water, how would you measure out exactly 4 quarts of water? (describe the exact procedure)

You have two lengths of fuse. Each will burn for exactly one hour, but the fuses are not necessarily identical and do not burn at a constant rate. There are fast-burning sections and slow-burning sections. How do you measure 45 minutes using only the fuses and a lighter? (describe the exact procedure)

How many piano tuners are there in the world? (estimate)

There are tons of these puzzles on the Internet, so you might be able to skip the book if that’s all you care about, but it was a very enjoyable read nonetheless. 5/5 stars.

I have never read the book that this was based on, so this movie was completely new to me. I felt it was exciting at times and a bit slow at other times. It was kind of like a modern-day Indiana Jones, but not nearly as colorful or exciting. I thought it was interesting, but overall nothing to run out and see. 3/5 stars.

I should have put this recipe up here long ago, but the day has come. This is super-easy, involves almost no prep, and is very tasty. For some reason people think kiwi and lime are a funny combination, but they complement each other very nicely.

Required Equipment:

• Rice cooker
• Chef’s knife
• Peeler or paring knife
• Cutting board
• Skillet
• Small prep bowl
• 2 Bowls for serving

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken breasts
• 3 kiwis
• 3 limes
• 1.5 cups of rice
• salt, pepper
• butter/oil

Suggested serving: serves 2. You might also want to try marinating the chicken in lime juice before cooking it.

Procedure:

• Prepare your rice, put it in the rice cooker, and start it.
• Slice the chicken breasts very thin and into medium-size pieces and give them a light salting.
• Warm up the pan and put some oil and/or butter into it. I use corn oil, but butter tastes the best.
• Slowly introduce the chicken into the pan. They should sizzle and cook through almost all the way before you turn them over.
• When they are done on both sides, remove the chicken or just turn off the heat.
• Peel the kiwis and mash them up into the prep bowl. You may want to remove the cores if they are too firm.
• Cut open the limes and squeeze two into the prep bowl.
• When the rice finishes cooking, distribute it into the serving bowls.
• Squeeze the remaining lime over the rice, and mix it up.
• Put the chicken in the bowls and then season with pepper.
• Pour the lime and kiwi mixture over the chicken.
• Serve and enjoy!

I had wanted to see this movie for many years, and it lived up to all the hype. It was paced very tightly and really kept me guessing. Every character is complex and suspicious, and the twists were really impressive. Don’t let the movie’s age turn you off, this is a solid movie. 5/5 stars.

I attended a “discussion” last week between Vaclav Havel and Bill Clinton. In it, the most interesting point, I felt, was made by Bill Clinton, who pointed out the difference between a Majoritarian government and a Democracy. A majoritarian government is one in which the views of the minority are ignored, and the views of the majority are favored. By contrast, a democracy is one in which the views of the minority are protected. Let’s not forget that this is what makes democracy so important! Before the democrats took the congress, it looked like we were slipping into a majoritarian government. When the “minority” is only slightly less than half of the population, it is extremely important that their views are taken into account! It is interesting, however, that our voting system is majoritarian. Once again… the problem of voting systems pops up!

Paul Graham, author of Hackers and Painters, just published on his web site one of the most influential essays I have ever read. The essay is called Mind the Gap and was a chapter from Hackers and Painters, but for whatever reason Paul put it on his web site for free. The topic is why the rich/poor income gap is not as unfair as people think. This essay singlehandedly moved me from a democrat to a political moderate when I read it a year and a half ago! It’s a long one, so print it out and give it a read. Here it is.

My coworkers all know that I am a philosopher of sandwiches, but it was my college friend Dennis who forwarded me this article about a recent lawsuit concerning the definition of the word “sandwich”. How do you define a sandwich? Is a burrito or “wrap” a sandwich? How about a hotdog? A quesadilla? A hamburger?

If you read that article, be sure to take the slideshow survey!

Woo hoo!

… and if we’re lucky, the senate! Thank you all for voting! Even if democrats don’t take the senate, I think we can all look forward to a more responsible government. Also, congratulations to Nancy Pelosi who is the first female House speaker. She has promised to “drain the swamp” of corruption and I certainly hope that she does.

Halfway through this movie, I felt like my mind had been put through a blender. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long long time. There is so much “wrong” with this movie, I don’t know how they managed to find the people in this movie! Here is a funny article about the suckers/co-stars. Borat managed to find just about everything wrong with America and lampoon the hell out of it. Consider yourself warned, you will be horrified in every way imaginable! 5/5 stars!

I think most voters are either so disgusted or so ignorant that they are more likely to vote for “the other person” than for their favorite person… because it’s hard to have a favorite when you don’t like any of the options. So for voters who are thinking of the race in a negative way (i.e. I’m going to pick the lesser of two evils), mudslinging campaigns should be more effective than self-promotional campaigns.

Another thought: we all think it is generally good to preach values, but let’s not forget that values are not always practical in every situation. Look for a candidate with good judgement, not someone who says what you want to hear.

As we draw closer to the midterm election, it appears that more and more e-voting problems are coming to light. Even the optical scan e-voting systems are not safe. People have found ways to cast multiple votes with a single ballot without needing to do any hacking. Simple things like using post-it notes and filling in more circles than you were supposed to… that’s all it takes. Here is a summary of all the stuff that has already gone wrong. It’s so sad.

Also, I just heard about Clint Curtis, a computer programmer, who testified in 2004 that he was asked to write election-stealing software by congressman Tom Feeney in 2000. This is pretty amazing.