As I’ve demonstrated in the past, I like cows. Not the actual animal so much as talking about them. I find it humorous when people moo (within reason) and I think cows can be a great source of entertainment. However, now that I know that cows are smarter than we thought, I feel I should […]

I’ve checked Googlism.com several times over the months (years even) to see if there were any results for my full name, but it always said, “Sorry, Google doesn’t know enough about dan hersam yet.” That seems odd, because when I search for dan hersam there are over 20,000 results. Anyway, I eventually gave up, until […]

A year or two ago my wrists began to hurt and I became slightly concerned. I didn’t have the option of spending less time at the computer, because that’s what I do for work, so I had to find a way to continue using the computer without making my wrists hurt. I talked to a […]

I spent far more time than I should have playing Flash Ball Revamped (Metaphysik), and I concur with Andy; it is one of the most addictive flash games I’ve played. It took a while, but I completed all 125 levels. At times I became so enraged that I sputtered unintelligible gibberish, left the computer and […]

When you write a blog entry and link to a page on your site, it’s tempting to use a relative URL because it’s convenient. There’s a problem though – if you have an RSS feed, the subscribers may be reading your blog entry on another site which isn’t on your server, so the relative link […]

Now that I’ve read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I’m looking forward to seeing the movie which will be in US theaters on May 6, 2005 (The trailer says April 29th, 2005 but that’s when it comes out in the UK). I tried viewing the trailer off the official site but it never loaded, […]

As a programmer, I often have optimization on my mind. I will think of a way to do something, then think of a way to do it faster. However, it’s easy to optimize the wrong thing. For instance, if you have a computation that takes five minutes to complete, and there is one function that […]

Marc Eisenstadt at Corante has been using e-mail since 1972, and has begun an analysis on the last 8 years of it. I have e-mail archives from back in 1995, but I’ve also deleted a lot of e-mail, especially when I used Yahoo Mail because I didn’t have enough room to store it. I’d like […]

When I was living in Spain, I was robbed. Twice. The first time it happened I was caught totally unaware because they did it in such a bizarre way. A guy named Chris and I were talking with two guys in Retiro Park and one of them asked if we played fútbol (soccer). We said […]

It doesn’t happen too much anymore, but in the earlier days of browsers they would crash far too often, and I consequently lost what I was working on. I remember several occasions when I was writing a long e-mail and the browser crashed and I had to write it all over again. Another time I […]

I saw banner ad for lowermybills.com and clicked on it to see exactly what they provided. Essentially, it’s a service to compare the cost of a particular service, like internet access, cell phones, insurance, debt reduction and loans. It’s pretty straightforward. You just type in your address or zip code after selecting the area you […]

The story on my daily calendar was called, ‘A Close Shave.’ That’s the same name as one of the Wallace and Gromit movies, but that’s not why I’m writing about it. First, here’s scene 14 of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. NARRATOR: The Tale of Sir Lancelot. FATHER: One day, lad, all this will […]

You may not have noticed, but Google no longer links to dictionary.com for their definition link on the top right of the results page. They now use Answers.com and after using them myself for a few days, I understand why. Before, when I wanted a definition I used Dictionary.com or MerriamWebster.com, but Answers.com combines information […]

I don’t know what determines the color and size of the flower (and whether or not there’s a little fly buzzing around), but it’s still fun. A site called Organic HTML has you enter your URL and watch a plant grow (before your very eyes) representing your web site. Here’s mine. Isn’t it beee-yuu-tiful? (via […]

I’ve always considered MapQuest and Yahoo Maps to be incredible in that you could get precise directions to anywhere in the US in seconds. It’s one of those things that is so useful you’re in awe every time you use it. Well, Google has done it again. Check out Google Maps, which not only let […]

As I said before, I received a free sample of Canker-Rid with the understanding that I would write about how well it worked. (By the way, I have a few more free samples. If you’re interested in getting one, let me know). The day it came in the mail I had two canker sores that […]

Writing a book is one of the most popular goals people have at 43 Things and if you’re a blogger and want to write a book, you may be a lot closer to doing it than you think. blogbinders.com will publish your blog in book form. A 125-page book would cost about $15, so it’s […]

Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Calendar from Page-A-Day sits on my desk and I just read a funny one where the scammers truly got what they deserved. A Vietnamese man devised a cheap plan to make a lot of easy money – he started with an ordinary lump of iron, then used cow fat and paint […]

I had a cell phone for several years but I’ve just ended my contract. When an older friend of mine (who has lived without cell phones for over fifty years) heard the news, he said, “I know it sounds silly, but I can’t imagine not having one.” It’s interesting how some technologies get such a […]

I currently spell check my blog entries by copying and pasting the text of the entry onto spellcheck.net, but I’ve found an easier way with Firefox. It’s called the SpellBound extension and it allows you to spell check any text area by right-clicking in it and selecting the ‘Check Spelling’ option. I tried installing it […]

I’ve received two e-mails in the last two weeks from people I haven’t been in touch with for ages. They’re using a service called Bebo to try to keep in touch. The e-mails had the same content. Here’s what they said. Hi I am updating my address book and it would be very helpful if […]

Firefox is getting a lot of media attention right now, but it’s odd that Opera hasn’t gotten much. Many of the features that people are raving about in Firefox have been available for years in Opera. This wired article about Opera discusses the history of the forgotten browser. Unlike the majority of web users, I’ve […]