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Bonding With the Machine

"Every time [the robot] found a mine, blew it up and lost a limb, it picked itself up and readjusted to move forward on its remaining legs, continuing to clear a path through the minefield.

"Finally it was down to one leg. Still, it pulled itself forward. Tilden was ecstatic. The machine was working splendidly.

"The human in command of the exercise, however—an Army colonel—blew a fuse.

"The colonel ordered the test stopped.

"Why? asked Tilden. What's wrong?

"The colonel just could not stand the pathos of watching the burned, scarred and crippled machine…

The Biggest Man on the Field

Thomas E. Witte tells the story of an amazing photograph—and an even more amazing athlete.

Simmering in Your Drawers

I'll break something, I swear to God! Maybe one of Newton's laws. You've got all the distance of uncertainty simmering in your drawers.
&#151Jim Teacher in "Mad Flo"

Considering the many enthusiastic responses I've received in reference to last week's suit entry, it seems I should write about suits more often. And so: I looked up from my sturdy book to find an unusually large number of suits riding this morning's train. They surrounded me, whistled and winked at me, wagged their pinstriped fingers at me, raised their padded shoulders, flapped their skinny lapels, and laughed…

High Fidelity

That's the life for me!

At HE2007 minus two, we have another hi-fi post.

Reginald Goodall—The Holy Fool

On An Overgrown Path posts a fine (and balanced) appreciation of Reginald Goodall.

The link to a discussion of Adolf Hitler's record listening habit is fascinating.

The Lovesong of J. Alfred Audiophile

Gordon Sell PR has added a new client to its already impressive roster. Proclaim Audio of Durham, CT, is absolutely new to me, but I will take the opportunity to get to know the company during the Home Entertainment Show.

With the DMT-100 speaker system ($25,999), the engineers and designers at Proclaim Audio confronted the variable of room acoustics, in an attempt, it seems, to effectively eliminate the room itself, to create a speaker that sounds good in any room of any home. The result is an unusual system which, in fact, eliminates the speaker cabinet. An 11" woofer, 5"…

Is It Real?

With just one day to go until HE2007, we present our last hi-fi tease: The story of the Edison Tone Tests.

Round the World on a Rat

Ian Pindar reviews William Rosen's Justianian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe, in which a "flea looms as large as an emperor." Sound like an unlikely read? Apparently not.

Without having read it (yet!), it puts me in mind of the delightfully misanthropic Rats, Lice, and History: Being a Study in Biography, Which, After Twelve Preliminary Chapters Indispensable for the Preparation of the Lay Reader, Deals With the Life History of Typhus Fever by Hans Zinsser.

Zinsser accomplished the unlikely feat of engaging our sympathy for that much maligned pathogen host: "Man…

Double Dozen

24 craft beers you should be drinking. Hey, it's a list and it's beer. Double the pleasure.

I haven't had 'em all, but the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and the Ommegang Belgian-style Abbey ale are incredible. Strong, yes, but with so much flavor, you practically have to chew them.

Out of Print

Here's a weird one. I was recently going through CDs that sit on my shelves, in my collection so to speak, and for kicks I decided to check how much a random handful were worth on Amazon. Perhaps it's my naivet, but to my very great surprise, many were out of print. So let me get this straight, a business that needs catalog pieces right now as much as ever is allowing a significant portion of their holdings go out of print? Wow! I was at a party recently where I overheard this: "So do the big labels want to go out of business or is there another plan?"