http://www.chrishoover.org Chris Hoover's blog Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:52:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en David Sedaris is hilarious, and he had a fantastic essay on air travel in the New Yorker recently. I particularly liked this passage, about traveling in business class. It so perfectly parallels my experience: “May I bring you a drink to go with those warm nuts, Mr. Sedaris?” ... http://www.chrishoover.org/uncategorized/on-being-a-sloppy-nobody-in-business-class/ Concern over the stupidity of the average American has been a theme of intellectual pundits throughout my life, finding an initial voice in the early 60s with Richard Hofstadter's "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life." Since then media attention to the subject has ebbed and flowed over the years. During ... http://www.chrishoover.org/general-mutterings/american-idiot/ One of the most amazing things I've ever seen is a demo of Photosynth done by Blaise Aguera y Arcas at TED 2007. Photosynth is a kind of sophisticated web robot that can find images (e.g. by scouring sites like Flickr), automatically determine which images are of the same ... http://www.chrishoover.org/uncategorized/jaw-dropping-technology/ I work for a company based in Ireland, and I travel to Dublin a lot. It's a global lifestyle filled with parties and laughter, a jet-setting wonderland that only a very few get to enjoy. I know you're jealous! And well you should be. Take comfort. There's ... http://www.chrishoover.org/uncategorized/my-exotic-life/ This quarter's topic at the Silicon Valley Junto is "This I believe," a theme borrowed from the recently-reinstated NPR program. "This I Believe" was originally produced in the 50s by Edward R. Murrow, and was wildly popular in its day. A book of transcripts of essays from the ... http://www.chrishoover.org/uncategorized/this-i-believe-or-damn-im-a-shallow-shallow-little-man/ I was talking with a friend the other day in a local Blockbuster. He commented that 7-11 stores used to rent movies, and that he missed having that option. "With 7-11, there were, like, five movies to choose from. It was really easy to decide which of the ... http://www.chrishoover.org/general-mutterings/stop-obsessing-and-just-choose-for-crying-out-loud/ As I've mentioned a couple of times in previous posts, I've recently joined a new company and now have a totally different work schedule. My company is based in Ireland, and I'm working primarily from my office at home in San Francisco, supplemented with monthly trips to Dublin. It's my ... http://www.chrishoover.org/general-mutterings/man-this-is-much-harder-than-i-thought-it-would-be/ Well, it's only been a week or so since my last post, but based on the carryings on I'm getting via email, you'd think that I've engaged in some terrible betrayal. Sorry about that. I do have an excuse: I've started a new job. It's a good excuse, because ... http://www.chrishoover.org/general-mutterings/5-tips-for-starting-a-new-job/ Babies with baggies are particularly unwelcome. http://www.chrishoover.org/general-mutterings/no-children-no-baggies/ My sporadic blogging oflate is due to a major change -- I'm transitioning jobs, having finished my last day with my previous employer Friday only to get on a plane Saturday, fly to Ireland, and begin my first day with my new employer (based in Dublin) on Monday. It's been an ... http://www.chrishoover.org/uncategorized/transitions-transitions/