Author Archives: Pace Arko

Bioengineering is faster and cheaper than terraforming

My news aggregator handed me a Slashdot article about terraforming Mars and other planets. One of the points raised was that terraforming, while possible, would be very slow and expensive, taking thousands of years before a stable biosphere was achieved. … Continue reading

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The End of Work?

We’ve all seen it. These processes have been facts of life ever since the Industrial Revolution began. One could argue that it all started with agriculture and domestication. We were doomed as soon as we developed language and harnessed fire. … Continue reading

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Disaster Movies and the Electric Power Grid

So let’s assume it’s the End Times, the Wrath of Gods has descended upon us heavily in the form of flesh-eating ghouls rampaging in the streets. The question is asked, “If zombies attack, how long before the power grid fails?” … Continue reading

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SpamBayes is great!

The amount of spam I get through my business account, which is exposed to spambots, is fairly small, about 37 spam a day. The amount of spam I get through my personal account, which is hidden yet visible in a … Continue reading

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Cognitive Disabilites Shortchanged?

So my news aggregator captured an essay from Juicy Studios about how people with learning and cognitive disabilities got shortchanged by the WAI. After reading it, I have to say that Mr. Leitch is a little too confrontational. It is … Continue reading

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Where I stand in the political spectrum

Often I have a hard time explaining my politics to people. Or more factually, I’d rather avoid explaining my politics to people because I often find some point where I disagree with them. Or more exactly, I often find that … Continue reading

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A wide ranging set of links

By way of Stephen’s Web comes Quality Tips for Webmasters, a short list of simple yet powerful ways to improve your site accessibility, usability and ease of maintenance. Neat, energy efficient gadgets (by way of Metafilter.) From the starving, yet … Continue reading

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Still more reasons to turn javascript off!

I resolve to write one entry in this journal every day, even if it’s total crap. At least I have persisted in keeping it going for three years now; that’s a start. Chastisements are finished. Now, on to business: Reading … Continue reading

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Flakey theological speculations

Let’s suppose there is an afterlife. I don’t believe there is one, but let’s just suppose there is. Why do most people automatically assume this means something? What if we die and and are reborn into a world that is … Continue reading

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Accessible since 1998

It’s gratifying to see web designers getting organized about accessibility–gives me a sense of vindication. I discovered accessible web design when a friend hired me to do the Microsoft Accessibility Site back in 1997. In 1998, I discovered the work … Continue reading

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