There’s been a little trend brewing in the world of kids’ bikes: skipping the training wheels and getting the kid to ride a “balance bike” or “runbike” instead.  It’s a pedal- and chain-free kids bike with a low seat so the feet can comfortably touch the ground.  Here are pictures of two: a fancy one for $329, and a functionally similar one I made recently for $5.

Here’s why I made the second balance bike, and how: …more

I thought I had gotten over pitying Windows users (I’m bigger than that now), but then I read “How I learned to stop worrying and tolerate Vista.”  It is the saddest piece of tech journalism I have ever read.

The author, Stephen Williams, has been so worn down by experience that he has no positive expectations of Windows anymore, but no willingness to try alternatives either.  He projects a kind of bovine acceptance …more