Uncategorized
On Pranks (and eggs)
Feb 2nd
Pranks seem to have a long history in science. For instance, you had this nuclear scientist who’d crack safes in his colleagues’ offices and give waitresses a hard time.
The computer engineering equivalent of a prank would be the easter egg– the inside joke that made it to the released product, the hidden feature that prints More >
On Demos and related ailments
Jan 29th
Superficially, a popular public demo is every technologist’s dream. It’s the one opportunity that one gets to show off one’s work to the public at-large, get praise, feel one’s work is important to the world… all of that.
Scratch that surface and you’ll see why demos can be tiring, frustrating events with very low RoI unless More >
The changing nature of Web search
Jan 17th
Earlier this week, John Hoproft (yes, the algorithms guy) visited the lab. Over a very interesting lunch, he posed the question “Where do you folks see web search heading over the next few years?”.
Of course, there was a reason behind the question: “You know, as web search engines get better, people will stop creating links More >
Hello world!
Jan 4th
This is my newer blog, the older one lives on at the Last Paradox. I’m moving here for the greater flexibility WordPress offers.