I’ve always thought X-10 home automation was a very cool thing, and wanted to get into it. It’s so damned easy to install! You don’t have to replace all your wiring, or anything. And it’s evolved way past the clunky-looking plug-in “lamp modules” that they used to stock at Radio Shack. Now, you can just…

The HP33s calculator I ordered has finally arrived. The manual is an inch thick, and it ain’t because there are 10 languages in it. It’s all English. This is a calculator with a learning curve. Haven’t had time to play with it much, but so far it’s pretty cool. I was surprised to find the…

After thirty years of Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments battling it out in the calculator market, it’s finally over. And it looks like TI has won. It saddens me. I don’t claim to know who makes the better calculator, or even if programmable calculators are still relevant in today’s world. But the battle certainly kept the…