Christmas gift idea for your favorite glasses-wearing geek

Raymond Chen July 31, 2006 Jul 31, 2006 07/31/06

Yes, I'm talking about Christmas gifts (or "winter solstice gifts" if you prefer) in July. I'm one of those people for whom buying Christmas gifts is a brain-wracking ordeal, and I'm always on the lookout all year round for the "perfect gift". Last Christmas, a friend of mine gave me a micro-fiber lens-cleaning cloth that comes in a pouch you...

The Seattle Monorail has two trains, and they collided

Raymond Chen July 28, 2006 Jul 28, 2006 07/28/06

Murphy's Law vindicated again. The Seattle Monorail has two trains, and last year they managed to collide. To get this to happen was particularly tricky, since the trains run on separate tracks, and there is only one spot on the entire line where a collision could occur—and they found it. You can read about it in this Associated Press ...

Handy tip: If you're going to break into vehicles, the police vehicle service center is probably a bad place

Raymond Chen July 27, 2006 Jul 27, 2006 07/27/06

And you probably shouldn't fall asleep in the van you break into...

Real Madrid (i.e., proper football) comes to Seattle

Raymond Chen July 26, 2006 Jul 26, 2006 07/26/06

Hot off the presses. Real Madrid (with David Beckham, Ronaldo, and other stars) will play an exhibition match against D. C. United in Seah^H^H^H^HQuest Field on Wednesday, August 9th. I wonder if it'll be anything like the last soccer match I saw. At least let's hope they're ready to play instead of having tired themselves out playing ...

If you know German, the world is, well, slightly more confusing

Raymond Chen July 25, 2006 Jul 25, 2006 07/25/06

While it may be true that if you know Swedish, the world is funnier, I have to admit that my knowledge of German only served to create momentary confusion. When I saw the headline that the head of BetonSports was arrested, I thought to myself, "Who the heck would have a web site devoted to sports in concrete?" That's because the German word...