Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert and general troll, died yesterday at the age of 68. Dilbert was helpful in building my cynical resistance to the inanity of cube-farm life when I was in technical support in the 90’s. His book The Dilbert Principle also had some very good ideas on how businesses should be run in …
Author: Uncle Josh
Uncle Josh on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan has directed a new version of The Odyssey. The movie comes out in July 2026 but the trailers have dropped and people are mocking it for its ahistorical costumes and setting. It was apparently filmed in Scotland, which bears little resemblance to the Mediterranean, and the costumes are not one would call historically …
Uncle Josh Encounters Newspeak
Today I saw an announcement from the Python Software Foundation that they were withdrawing from a National Science Fund grant because the bigotry in the White House included language like this in the grant contract: “…do not, and will not during the term of this financial assistance award, operate any programs that advance or promote …
Uncle Josh on the Death of Donald Trump (clickbait, sort of)
To my knowledge, Trump is still alive. But I’ve been thinking about what will happen if he dies in office. The Heritage Foundation has to have a plan. They’ve been planning a corporate faschist takeover of the United States for 50 years and Project 2025 was the culmination of their efforts. I’ve been wondering how …
Uncle Josh on 100 Tiny Treasures, fit the first
I blame Stephen Sondheim. This is an unnecessary hook to start this entry. As I chronicled in Finishing the Hat, my desire to create art again flared up. Along the path of trying to remember some watercolor techniques I discovered Leslie Stroz’ 100 Tiny Treasures challenge. It looks like there are a couple of these floating …
Uncle Josh on Finishing the Hat
My church choir does an annual fundraiser of Broadway tunes. This year I tried to sing “Finishing the Hat” from Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. I even painted two pointillism hats to donate to the auction that accompanies the show every year. Let’s just say that several mistakes were made. I am a failed …
Uncle Josh Asks What If…? for the umpteenth time
It’s been a while since I looked at what my alternate selves have gotten up to. Some background: When Google’s Gmail product went live on 4/1/2004 I grabbed a coveted first-initial-last-name account. My brother wanted that account (we share an initial) but I think he’s forgiven me, especially when he reads about what that email …
Uncle Josh Finds a Flaw in the Four Dystopias Model
I have said for a long time that the US is stuck between four dystopias, and I think the model is incomplete. The four dystopias are: 1984 – Big Brother is a totalitarian state that demands the citizens agree with whatever the government declares the truth. Leader Dearest’s lies and demands that people back him …