Category Archives: culture

The one-laptop-per-child (OLPC) seems like it must be a good idea: create a cheap (under $100) laptop for children in poor countries. With access to computers, children could take control of their education and…well, good things anyway. However, things have … Continue reading →

I have had an Amazon Kindle for a few months now. It’s not perfect by any means but I really like it and for some sorts of books I prefer to read on the Kindle to on paper. The first … Continue reading →

I wrote earlier about learning Chinese, but the first foreign language I learned was French. I did it at school and I first went to France on a school trip in 1964. I even have a French O-level (the exams … Continue reading →

Christian’s guest blog earlier this week reminded me of a golden rule when you move, especially if you only move somewhere on some sort of temporary assignment. That rule is: always live your life as if you’ll live permanently where … Continue reading →

“Microroasting.” It sounds like something that might go on in the diffusion oven of a small fab. But actually, I’m talking about coffee. It is totally off topic, but then it’s Friday. I’ve been learning how to talk “coffee roasting.” … Continue reading →

Today is July 14th, the equivalent in France of July 4th in the US. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, which is considered to mark the start of the French Revolution. I lived in France for over … Continue reading →

People often ask me about living overseas since I have some experience of it. I was brought up in Great Britain and moved to the US twenty-five years ago (with a baby), lived in the south of France for nearly … Continue reading →

It’s interesting how the relative values of things change over time. Agatha Christie, looking back on her early life, remarked that she “couldn’t imagine being too poor to afford servants, nor so rich as to be able to afford a … Continue reading →

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This question often gets posed as an example of a question that is impossible to answer, since plainly chickens come from eggs and eggs come from chickens. In EDA, there are chicken … Continue reading →