Jerry Stratton

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Jerry Stratton

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Born
in The United States
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Influences
Hunter S. Thompson, George Orwell, J.M. Barrie, Stephen King, Ray Brad ...more

Member Since
June 2013

URL


I write at Mimsy Were the Borogoves on politics, technology, and programming for all.

I studied Psychology at Cornell University and guitar at the Musicians Institute of Technology. I have appeared in at least one bad movie from the eighties and participated in at least one ill-fated pre-Internet hypermedia startup.

I am the author of The Dream of Poor Bazin and 42 Astoundingly Useful Scripts and Automations for the Macintosh. I’ve also collected the recipes of Chicago and IGA chef Eddie Doucette in Tempt Them with Tastier Foods.
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Jerry Stratton I’ve been researching computer culture in the late seventies/early eighties, and reading a lot of old BASIC books. There were so many collections like…moreI’ve been researching computer culture in the late seventies/early eighties, and reading a lot of old BASIC books. There were so many collections like “BASIC Computer Games” and “24 Tested, Ready-to-Run Programs in BASIC” and “57 Practical Programs & Games in BASIC”. I wanted to read such a book today, using modern scripting languages and the advanced abilities of the Macintosh. Since the book I wanted to read didn’t exist, I wrote it.(less)
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It Isn't Murder If They're ...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2002 — 2 editions
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The Missing Index: For the ...

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42 Astoundingly Useful Scri...

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SuperBASIC: The Manual

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The Dream of Poor Bazin

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Gods & Monsters

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Haunted Illustrious Castle

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Unofficial Index of the Sou...

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The New Colossus Breathes Free

There’s nothing wrong with The New Colossus except the way the institutional left has twisted it into meaning the opposite of what it actually says. Emma Lazarus wrote The New Colossus for the exiles of government-sponsored terror to escape their persecutors to a land of Freedom, not for letting their persecutors in to continue the persecution here.
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Published on March 04, 2026 04:00
Artichoke Tales
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The Essentials of Archery by L.E. Stemmler
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This is a fascinating overview of archery, and a deceptively quick read. It appears to be very comprehensive, covering everything from acquiring beginner equipment, to how to shoot, to building your own equipment, especially various styles of bows fr ...more
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Artichoke Tales by Megan Kelso
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Ringworld by Larry Niven
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This book has been around and famous for almost my entire science-fiction-reading life, and yet I haven’t gotten around to reading it until now. It’s one of those books where I’ve heard so much about it that I already knew how the story goes.

Except t
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The Maximortal by Rick Veitch
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This is a neat little retelling of the superman story as if (a) Superman were real, and (b) Superman created himself. It also references period characters such as Sherlock Holmes, although ambiguously. In Holmes’s case, for example, it’s hard to tell ...more
Hunting the Falcon by John Guy
"A history/biography.

Briefly covering the two central figures from infancy to when Anne went to France to serve as a queen's demoiselle. Much of the diplomacy of the era features.

When Henry pursued Anne, Anne putt him off until she finally signaled by" Read more of this review »
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
"I don't normally ready YA books, but when I saw wizard, fantasy, and sourdough bread in the description, I was hooked. So glad I read it. Kingfisher kept me biting my nails the whole read. This is fun, action packed, thoughtful, and just a touch of d" Read more of this review »
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Endless Feasts by Gourmet Magazine
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This is an amazing collection of early writing about food starting from Gourmet’s founding in 1941. The earliest are Frank Schoonmaker’s “American Names for American Wines” of March 1941 and M.F.K. Fisher’s “Three Swiss Inns” of September 1941.

The mo
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What to Eat—How to Cook It by State Council of Defense of...
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This is an odd duck in several ways. It is the earliest cookbook in my collection to use temperatures, even if just occasionally, for oven temperatures. Further, most of those temperatures are in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit. Both of these are prob ...more
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A Disgrace to the Profession by Mark Steyn
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On being sued for writing that Michael Mann was a hack, I’m not sure my first response would be to right a book highlighting all of the scientists—most of whom support the claim that global warming is something that can and should be counteracted by ...more
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Endless Feasts by Gourmet Magazine
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Ludwig von Mises
“The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they recommend a system which is characterized by rigid observance of routine and by a resistance to every kind of improvement. They call themselves liberals, but they are intent upon abolishing liberty. They call themselves democrats, but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries, but they want to make the government omnipotent. They promise the blessings of the Garden of Eden, but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office. Every man but one a subordinate clerk in a bureau.”
Ludwig von Mises, Bureaucracy

“I love the early hours of the day. It’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.”
James Lileks

Samuel G. Freedman
“A novelist who has to defend his creation by telling a reader *But that’s what really happened*, is a novelist who has failed.”
Samuel G. Freedman, Letters to a Young Journalist

Victor Davis Hanson
“The great hatred of capitalism in the hearts of the oppressed, ancient and modern, I think, stems not merely from the ensuing vast inequality in wealth, and the often unfair and arbitrary nature of who profits and who suffers, but from the silent acknowledgement that under a free market economy the many victims of the greed of the few are still better off than those under the utopian socialism of the well-intended. It is a hard thing for the poor to acknowledge benefits from their rich moral inferiors who never so intended it. (p.272)”
Victor Davis Hanson, Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power

Victor Davis Hanson
“Victory may now require a level of force deemed objectionable by civilized peoples, meaning that some, for justifiable reasons, may be reluctant to pursue it. But victory has not become an ossified concept altogether.”
Victor Davis Hanson, The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern

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We seek the Dark Tower, and will travel with Roland throughout the year, reading the Seven as well as Related Holy Texts.
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