Author Archives: José Iriarte

One reason to become a teacher

Posted on August 16, 2011 by José Iriarte

On Friday I was fortunate enough to attend the wedding of one of my former students. Over the years there’ve been way too many funerals, but this was my first alumni wedding. During the reception, I had the most wonderful … Continue reading →

Posted in teaching | Leave a comment

Customers as Vultures

Posted on August 10, 2011 by José Iriarte

Lisa and I headed out to the Borders in Winter Park today for the second time to see what bargains we could find. In all the talk about how sad it is to lose another brick and mortar bookstore, and … Continue reading →

Posted in bookish life | 8 Comments

Dear Internet: I’m back!

Posted on August 9, 2011 by José Iriarte

I’ll post more later today, but I was getting tired of the blog not being updated, so I figured I’d let the world know I’m back from Mexico. Did you miss me, internet?

Posted in uncategorized | 2 Comments

Reasons not to become a teacher

Posted on August 5, 2011 by José Iriarte

The other day, a former student of mine who is now in college wrote to me asking me to share with her the “dark side” of being a teacher. There are plenty of sources one can find romanticizing the teaching … Continue reading →

Posted in teaching | 5 Comments

Google’s Anonymity Fail

Posted on August 3, 2011 by José Iriarte

If you’ve been following the nerdverse’s ongoing conversation about Google+, you probably know of the debate over their “real name” policy. Basically, Google wants you to have one account, and for that account to be recognizably you. So you OSC … Continue reading →

Posted in tech geek | 2 Comments

Literary Language or Stock Clichés?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by José Iriarte

A few days ago one of my friends linked to this article via Google+. I think it’s an interesting article, and, at the very least, it’s a good warning to writers to stay away from stock clichés. I searched through … Continue reading →

Posted in tech geek, writing | 3 Comments

About a Town

Posted on August 1, 2011 by José Iriarte

The town I live in has gotten a fair amount of notoriety over the years. It’s had more than its share of articles and even books written about it–even a disparaging song by one clever rock band–and lots of people … Continue reading →

Posted in rants | 5 Comments

Way more competitive than YOU are

Posted on July 29, 2011 by José Iriarte

It took me five or six years to figure out that other couples don’t play games the way my wife and I do. We’ve got a massive collection of pretty much every game either of us has ever owned, and … Continue reading →

Posted in assorted nerdom, writing | 6 Comments

7th Sigma

Posted on July 29, 2011 by José Iriarte

Steven Gould has long been one of my favorite writers, with Jumper and Helm in particular being books of his I’ve loved enough to reread. As a matter of fact, I haven’t made much of a secret of the fact … Continue reading →

Posted in books you might enjoy | 2 Comments

I’m Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader, But I Want To Be a Millionaire

Posted on July 28, 2011 by José Iriarte

If you ever got the chance to visit the tragically defunct Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Play It! attraction at either Disney MGM Studios or Disney’s California Adventure, then you probably recognize what’s in the picture. The fact that … Continue reading →

Posted in assorted nerdom | 3 Comments