If you knew that you were going to die soon, how would you spend your time?

Randy Pausch was a highly successful professor of computer science and human-computer interaction and design at prestigious Carnegie Mellon University.

But then he was told that that he was going to die of pancreatic cancer.

So he got his affairs in order.

Provided for his [more...]

How much does it cost to go to the movies these days?

I’ve been told that, around here, it’s normally about $10 (USD) per ticket, but you have to pay about $8 more if you want to see a 3D movie.

That’s $18 per person. I just can’t imagine any movie that my wife and I would be willing to pay $36 to see.

In fact, the last time we went to a movie theater, it cost [more...]

We’ve all seen it — in movies and in television programs.

The main character — who has apparently never played poker before in his life — somehow finds himself — it’s always a man — playing in a high-stakes poker game.

And promptly loses all of his money, along with his car, his home, his wife’s fur coat, and his childrens’ college fund.

In steps a good friend who enters the game with $5 and quickly [more...]

Doctors know a lot more about how our bodies work than we do.

And they know all about the latest options for treating debilitating diseases and conditions.

And they have access to all of the medicines, equipment and expertise that can prolong life.

Doctors have also seen a lot more people [more...]

A few days ago, I described the methodology that I would follow if I wanted to try to predict the next few years of technology.

in a nutshell, look at what’s currently out there, and think about where it appears to be heading — sort of like aiming a gun ahead of a moving target.

I presume that financial speculators use that same basic methodology to help them decide which new companies to invest in.

And it sure looks to me like [more...]

It seems logical that my background would have caused me to be suspicious of — and distant from — other people.

A socially awkward geek.

But, instead, ever since my mid-teens, I’ve been a socially aware, popular person.

Who’s always been [more...]

Britney Spears does it.

Ke$ha does it.

Kim Kardashian does it.

Maybe you do it, too — either on purpose, or without even realizing it.

Vocal fry is a way of [more...]

When you were a kid, did your parents tell you what they wanted you to be when you grew up?

My Catholic mother used to tell everyone that she wanted me to be a priest.

In fact, just to please her, when I was about ten or eleven years old, I took a greyhound bus for several hours, all by myself, to East St. Louis, to attend a week-long, summer program that was supposed to teach me a little bit about the priesthood.

I don’t remember much about it, other than [more...]