Monthly Archives: September 2006

Today I Was Part of a “Very Isolated, Very Random” Problem

September 26, 2006 – 10:46 pm
. . . according to a Comcast spokesperson. Our good buddies at IDG News Service report that the failure of a DNS (domain name system) server at Comcast caused problems for some Web surfers in the northeast section of the U.S. today, making several Web sites, including Google, inaccessible. The server failure caused connectivity problems for a [...]
By filosofo | Posted in Boston, Comcast, Gmail, Google, Internet | 1 comment

Plato on Today’s Social Sciences, Perhaps

September 21, 2006 – 11:16 pm
“Suppose a man was in charge of a large and powerful animal, and made a study of its moods and wants; he would learn when to approach and handle it, when and why it was especially savage or gentle, what the different noises it made meant, and what tone of voice to use to soothe [...]
By filosofo | Posted in Philosophy, Plato, Politics | 2 comments

Brookline: “No We’re Not Part of Boston!”

September 19, 2006 – 10:39 pm
Though surrounded by Boston, the 300-year-old town of Brookline is its own city. At the border of Brookline and Brighton—a neighborhood of Boston—you can see that each town seems not to take account of the other, at least with regard to fire hydrant placement (hydrants usually are more than just ten feet apart). [...]
By filosofo | Posted in Boston, Brighton, Brookline, Fire Department, Fire Hydrant | 6 comments

Northern Forest Canoe Trail

September 15, 2006 – 10:10 pm
After reading about it in the New York Times, I’d like to try parts of the fairly new Northern Forest Canoe Trail. With rapids rated no higher than Class IV, it should be mostly scenic and leisurely.
By filosofo | Posted in Canoe, Recreation, Travel | 1 comment

Honor Among Thieves

September 15, 2006 – 4:51 am
I happened to stumble (literally) across a website offering students essays for sale. Having taught at or been a teaching assistant at several universities, I know how seriously they take plagiarism: many schools will expel students caught turning in a paper not their own. That’s why the this particular site, which claims to be among [...]
By filosofo | Posted in Education, Papers, Plagiarism, Teaching | 5 comments

Five Years Later

September 11, 2006 – 11:36 pm
The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were horrifying. We should never forget the murdered civilians and sacrificed lives of the police officers, firefighters, Flight 93 passengers, and other brave men and women. And it’s likely we as a nation won’t forget, thanks to the work of the national memory [...]
By filosofo | Posted in 9/11, Current Events, Flight 93, Iraq, Islam, New York City, World Trade Center | 5 comments