JamesCronen.com

Recently while doing a home renovation project, I found some razor blades in my wall.

I’ve learned since I published that piece that some medicine cabinets in the middle of the 20th century actually had a slit in them, for the express purpose of razor blade disposal. So it’s very likely that these blades were intentionally dropped into the wall, never to be found again. Thanks to my friends Steve and Marie, who each independently grew up in houses with similar medicine cabinets. Without their input I never would have known of such a cabinet!

Also, my friend Satoshi pointed out to me that the Carey’s blades are likely products of the company that is now Carey International, Inc., self-described as “the world’s leading provider of chauffeured transportation.” J. P. Carey was a barber and entrepreneur, and started a barbershop at New York’s Grand Central Station. His business in Grand Central grew such that he offered other services, including a limousine service. It was the limousine service that really took off and is why Carey’s company is still around today.

Thanks for your help, friends!

I’m back from Dragon*Con, and have almost caught up on sleep. We all had a great time.

There were costumed freaks, late-night dance parties, panel discussions, and every little bit of surreality your mortal brains could ever think of.

I missed my chance to meet Phil Plait, as he was at the Pimps-And-Hos party probably an hour before I was. I was lucky enough to be pinned into a corner by Pamela Gay as she was evangelizing the International Year of Astronomy, 2009. (IYA2009 will get its own post sometime later. Maybe, in, well… 2009.)

Much of the cast of Firefly was there, and entertained us in a few Q&A sessions. I’m not a big science-fiction fan, but have really loved Firefly since my wife and I were introduced to it in 2006.

We met a lot of fun new people, and of course did all of this while massively sleep-deprived.

I’m so going next year.

My friends John and Jeff just (within the past hour) got back from a cross-country motorcycle trip during which they traveled 6,502.6 miles in 15 days.

The average velocity for a trip is the total distance divided by the total time. This works out to be an average of 18 miles per hour. For a fortnight.

I’m seriously impressed. But if I were them I wouldn’t want to be sitting down anytime soon.