This post is the first part in a series summarizing the definitive book about computer operating systems, by Andrew Tanenbaum, which would go on to inspire Linus Torvalds to create Linux. This first post starts with two major types of OS system calls: those for processes and those for files. Subsequent posts will follow. Click to Read More...

Ever wondered what your life would be if you married your high school sweetheart, or that person you met on the train in Europe? First-time author (and game designer) Holly Gramazio takes this speculation to the furthest, and most enjoyable, extreme, with her debut novel, The Husbands. A woman returns home to find she has a husband waiting, surprising given that when she left the house, she was single. Even more surprising, she soon finds the husband can be exchanged simply by having him pop up into the attic, for any arbitrary reason. One goes up, another comes down. I love this book on every conceivable level. It is flawlessly executed, and an enjoyable read throughout. Click to Read More...

For the performance of Joep Beving in Washington DC (6/26, Miracle Theater), he exposed the innards of his piano, so you could see the individual notes play through the delicately dancing hammers, shimmering more beautifully than a thousand AI-created worlds. He explained this was to get a more unfettered feel for the sounds emanating from the instrument. But it also seemed like there was an unspoken emotional directness to it as well, much like the music itself. Click to Read More...

I guess I am an eclipse chaser now. For this latest one, April 8, 2024, I drove 16 hours to Arkansas to get under the path of totality, to the Atlas Obscura Ecliptic Festival at the lovely Cedar Glades Park, up the mountains a bit from Hot Springs. The event had a mix of speakers and musical acts, including the wonderfully alien Sun Ra Arkestra following up the main event itself. It was a three day shindig, so you had to camp, or take a shuttle back into town each evening. So I bought a Coleman Pup tent (more on that later) and secured a home directly underneath the passing. Click to Read More...

In his book, The Creative Act, Rick Rubin eschews celebrity name-dropping or gossipy story-telling about the staggering number of famous musical acts he has produced in the past four decades. Rather he dons the persona of the wise sage, an Alan Watts of creativity offering zen-like meditative reflections on summoning the muse. And just when you think each chapter is about to end, he serves up yet one more aphorism for ya. What can we learn here? Click to Read More... Click to Read More...

Flamenco Beach, on the tiny Puerto Rican island of Culebra, is difficult to get to from pretty much anywhere. But, by my second visit, I had decreed it my all-time favorite beach. Click to Read More...