I am pleased to announce that readers can now receive Abdiel’s blog posts as an electronic newsletter. While I consider a feed to be the best way to keep current with a blog, I realize that some people just like email better. To sign up, visit the new “subscribe” page on the main navigation.

“Remember, your influence reaches alot farther than you probably think. People notice how many times you blink. You are watched and you effect.” [sic]
~A Blogger
In 1835 Alexis de Toqueville, a French observer of this country, remarked that it was “universally admitted in the United States” that “everyone is the best and sole judge of his [...]

You may be aware that I have a dormant blog called Florizel, which I am planning to revive only if I go on a long vacation and feel like writing. I was over there doing some housekeeping recently, and had to delete 1,935 spam comments. (Yes, I was guilty of a little procrastination. And yes, [...]

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I did. If you visit this site (as opposed to just using the rss feed) you’ve probably noticed the remodeling job that took place over the holiday. Besides a cozy new layout, the most important change is that Abdiel’s blog and its other web pages are finally [...]

A man crept up to the door of a certain house, and peered through the glass. After a moment of hesitation, he grasped the knob and shoved the door open. His movement pulled a string which triggered a blowtorch that spewed flames down from the ceiling and ignited his hat, compelling him to turn around, [...]

After having been on winter break for a few weeks (my school is on quarters, not semesters), I am finally completing my standard vacation cycle, which I go through every summer break, winter break, spring break, etc. (I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever stop going to school.) It usually starts [...]

I was just reading an article (I’ll actually post more about it later), and I found a really amusing quotation from Lord Chesterfield’s advice to his son on March 9th, 1748:
Having mentioned laughing, I must particularly warn you against it…. Frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill manners; it is the [...]

In the latest issue of Business Week there is an article called “‘Mr. P’ Learns His Lesson.” The author, Robert Pondiscio, worked for five years as a fifth-grade teacher in New York. This is what he had to say about that frustrating part of his life:
One of the unintended consequences of the accountability movement in [...]

Today I did a Google search logged into my brother’s account. On his Google home page he has Einstein quotes of the day. This was today’s: “Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus or Ghandi armed with the money-bags of Carnegie?”
It was an interesting thought. I looked up on the web and found the rest of the [...]

Yes, I’m serious. Go ahead. That is, if your name is Clint Westwood.
In fact, Clint already had his fun. Last Saturday the violent 22 year old drama student gave a mall Santa some pumpkin pie to go with the beard and wrinkles. The venerable saint was not amused, and police say that if they hadn’t [...]