Jennifer Taylor › Comments

"Twenty-five years ago, on Sept. 24, 1984, Nelson and Jean Hepner, who were ranked No. 93 and No. 172 in the world, engaged in a 29-minute, 643-shot rally that remains the longest point played in a professional tennis match." - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

"Packett, who covered tennis and other sports for The Times-Dispatch for nearly 40 years, recalled the match as dull, yet strangely compelling. 'I’m not sure why I even watched it,' he said. 'I’m glad I did, since it turned out to be a historic match, but it wasn’t one of the highlights of my journalistic career.'" - Jennifer Taylor

"They make bold claims for AirManager, their new system. It can be fitted during a routine overnight service and uses less power than a light bulb, but is capable of zapping just about all the bacteria, viruses and other biohazards in cabin air—as well as destroying chemical contaminants and pollutants. And it also removes nasty smells." - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

"Another advance that will make flying more comfortable in the coming years is the greater use of carbon fibre, especially by Boeing and Airbus, to make aircraft fuselages.... The use of carbon fibre will make it possible to pressurise cabins to a higher, more comfortable level. Nor does carbon fibre corrode, so the air inside the cabin will not have to be kept quite so dry." - Jennifer Taylor

What does "average maximum" mean though? Do unemployed people actually get paid that much, or is that just the top end of some range that they could hypothetically be paid? - Jennifer Taylor

I'm guessing this is just the top end. And you probably can't get it even for a whole year. That's why it's a comic, not a news article :) - Eugene Nudelman

Not showing it in Denmark either. We have to pay $9 per day to watch games live on wimbledon.org I guess - Charbax

Looks like folks on Twitter are complaining too: http://search.twitter.com/search.... But there does seem to be a live stream here: http://www.justin.tv/dinkdan... - Jennifer Taylor

Onoes, JustinTV is dead now...DMCA violation apparently. :-( - Jennifer Taylor

"As California ceases to function like a sensible state, a new constitution looks both necessary and likely....The plan is to introduce voter initiatives in next year’s ballot calling for a constitutional convention, to have the convention the following year, and to put the new constitution on a ballot in 2012, when it would take effect." - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

There were so many hilariously scathing remarks about California in this article. And there's apparently a proposal that the delegates to the constitutional convention should be chosen from the general jury pool. How awesome would it be to be chosen? - Jennifer Taylor

Look! It's our team! As examples of Google's "many foreign-born engineers". - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

"Immigrants like Mr. Mavinkurve are the lifeblood of Google and Silicon Valley, where half the engineers were born overseas, up from 10 percent in 1970. Google and other big companies say the Chinese, Indian, Russian and other immigrant technologists have transformed the industry, creating wealth and jobs." - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

Colors have been renamed through the years, beginning with the 1958 renaming of "Prussian blue" to "midnight blue." The color known as "flesh" was renamed "peach" in 1962, partially in response to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. "Indian red" was renamed "chestnut" in 1999 due to concern that some children thought the crayon color represented the skin color of Native Americans.[1] According to the company, however, the name originally referred to a reddish-brown pigment from India that is used in artists' oil paint. - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

It might be more difficult to grow up with today's colors, what with their ridiculously-specific names. Like what if you wanted to color your shadow Manatee? Would you feel really constrained, like the crayons are telling you that you're coloring wrong all the time? - Jennifer Taylor

"It tasted like apricots, honey, and gold. It was so smooth, it glided over my tongue like a silk cloth over polished wood. I tossed manners to the wind and started eating it straight from the jar." This jam is soooo delicious. Can't wait to eat it with the fresh bread I'm baking! - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

So annoyed. - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

"Dear technology, she's just not that into you. Sorry." - Jim Norris

kang - :) I recognize what you are saying. I was just just putting forward a different theory. Jennifer also provides an excellent counter example. I can understand if there was parental bias against women-in-tech - Bindu Reddy

"My family usually doesn’t eat white meat. We find it dry and unappetizing. Thus, sets the scene for the following story. We’re at a drive-thru at KFC. KFC: What can I get you? Mom: I want a eight-piece meal with biscuits and mashed potatoes. KFC: Regular or Crispy? Mom: Half regular and Half crispy. Can I get it all dog meat? KFC: Uhm, excuse me? Mom: I want half regular half crispy. All dog. KFC: Ma’am, we don’t do dog here. Me: Uhm, sorry my mom meant DARK." - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

Quote from one of the articles on the page: "I think there was a barrier to entry for some viewers (for 'Galactica'), since it had the backdrop of space and spaceships." Moore concurs, saying "We had viewers say that if they were able to trick their wives or girlfriends into watching 'Galactica,' they loved it." Wow I'm so sad that I totally fell into that stereotype. Anyways, lots of interesting articles from people in different fields about why they like BSG, including a political blogger, an astronaut, a rabbi, and members from the military (even a real life Starbuck!). - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

"My suggestion to the powers that be in the leagues I have spoken to is to have the leagues work together and create a “beatwriter co-operative” .  We need to create a company that funds, depending on the size of the market and number of teams, 2 or more writers per market, to cover our teams in depth.  The writers would  cover multiple teams and multiple sports. They will report to the newspapers where the articles will be placed, who will have complete editorial control. In exchange, the newspapers will provide a minimum of a full page on a daily basis in season, and some lesser amount out of season. That the coverage will include game reporting that is of far more depth than is currently in place, along with a minimum number of feature articles each week in and out of season.  And most importantly, these articles will be exclusive to print subscribers." - j1m from Bookmarklet

Ha, that's too funny, I wasn't aware of that. - Jennifer Taylor

I got 71. Which is, you know, very much a minority - j1m from Bookmarklet

Yeah I did it a couple more times and got 100 and 101. Of course, it's a slightly different 100 each time. I had a hard time spelling: Liechtenstein, Suriname, Guyane, Belarus, ... In fact I never got any of those 4 during a game, though a wasted time trying multiple times. - j1m

HA, I like the </head><body> one the best. - Jennifer Taylor

Ouch. but not as ouch as the firewire logos, those look like cattle brands - j1m

Just finished watching the Chinese documentary "Please Vote For Me". Totally hilarious and SO CUTE. I especially loved the debates between the three kids. Favorite quote from Luo Lei, after being accused of beating up too many of his classmates: "Sure, I beat you, but only because you misbehave." - Jennifer Taylor from Bookmarklet

Nah, not such as would be visible to you if you visited them. It would be they need roof repairs or something. You might learn more by rooting around http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/ - j1m

I was surprised that they're proposing to replace existing buildings, since 50 years doesn't seem that old. Plus they're asking for $67 million in bonds. Wikipedia says the recent renovation of Widener Library (which felt pretty gigantic and impressive and fancy, even for Harvard) was $97 million by comparison. Just thinking about this one a little harder since I get to pay property taxes for the first time (wheee!). But I agree with "libraries are good". - Jennifer Taylor

Many of the engineers Mr. Obama met at Google were from Asia or Eastern Europe. “As far as I could tell, not one was black or Latino,” he wrote. His guide told him that finding American-born engineers of any race was getting so hard that American companies were setting up shop abroad, in part for access to talent. - Jennifer Taylor

"When this nation puts its energies into the idea that an education is the birthright of Americans, rather than a scarce commodity that must be doled out on the basis of pre-determined capacity, it sees enormous benefits." I thought this was an interesting quote. I strongly disagree with the "pre-determined capacity" part, but great teachers do seem to be a scarce commodity. - Jennifer Taylor

Royal Gala, hands down. - Nigel Tao

Pink Lady and Fuji. - Jennifer Taylor

Think Cricket would enjoy this? - Jim Norris

So far so awesome (thanks, Sanjeev!) -- I have now retired Ounce's "classic" litter box (and she seemed to prefer the robot anyway, probably because it's cleaner). - ⓞnor

“It has the taste of the forbidden, the illicit — the subversive, even,” said Hélène Samuel, a restaurant consultant here. “Eating with your hands, it’s pure regression. Naturally, everyone wants it.” - Jennifer Taylor

Excellent article! I agree completely. In fact, I have been saying as much since the bubble burst. Enrollment in CSE is almost entirely dictated my market conditions and student perceptions of it. We are now just beginning the start of the next upswing, which might be delayed a bit for the duration of the current recession. I expect the next decade to employ an order of magnitude more software engineers than the last one: the Internet is just starting to be used, web services, iPhone, cluster computing. I also liked his "calibration" document. We employ many of the same techniques here at USC to make sure undergraduates are prepared. I'm also happy that he mentioned the mock interviews since I will be doing those for my 492 students in the Fall. - Jose M Vidal

"You asked what US companies can do. They can demand greater federal investment in K-12 science and math education...." Why not be more direct and demand that they actually teach some computer science and engineering? Students interested in these fields often start college with zero knowledge about them, and a good number drop out early because it's so fast-paced. Teaching it earlier would better prepare those students to be successful, AND attract more students to the field. - Jennifer Taylor

The article is about suburbs in America in general, but it uses Valencia as one of its features. I'm impressed, because nobody ever knows where the heck it is when I say where I'm from. I also had NO idea that those "paseos" were built for something other than dog walking and kids, or why so many of our street names were named after places in Italy. Very amused that I'm learning the history of my hometown from the British. - Jennifer Taylor

I think they know everything. - j1m

Wait, how come it's now called Chris and Jenn's Blog but then the About me has a picture of Jenn. - j1m

Yeah, I liked the old title better too, but I felt guilty that lots of people were finding my blog by searching for [cost of living <location>]. - Jennifer Taylor

People offered the banknote [dollar bill] believed, on average, that they could use it to buy 83 paperclips, 72 napkins or 46 sweets. Those offered the [Susan B. Anthony] coin thought 39 paperclips, 51 napkins or 27 sweets. In other words, the note was believed to be almost twice as valuable as the coin. - Jennifer Taylor

Yeah, saw that after I posted the comment. Interesting. This could be why many businesses create "funny money": casino chips, arcade tokens, Microsoft Points... unfamiliarity makes them seem worth less, which makes prices seem cheaper, which makes consumers spend more? - ⓞnor

yum yum... - Jing Lim

oh yum yum! That is a thai durian i presume, wait until u tried some Malaysian durian :) king of fruit indeed. - Kar Soon

I took piano lessons when I was younger and actually regret not remembering much/knowing how to play. It's probably because my parents were a little more relaxed than most Asian parents about it, thus never fully crushing my will. Don't get me wrong, I hated the lessons, but looking back, I wish I had practiced enough to actually have a little bit of skill on the piano. - April Buchheit

@ⓞnor: If anything, the book is stating the obvious. It doesn't ask you not to try to fix your weaknesses, but to realize that you're doing mostly remedial work by fixing them, and you will likely never excel at any work that depends heavily on your weaknesses. Improving your weaknesses is beneficial, of course -- I may never be a world-class athlete or musician or writer, but this doesn't mean I should stop working out or trying to develop the artistic side of my mind. - Tudor Bosman