Pylimitics

Simplicity rearranged

unmonetizable content since 1997

  • Howard Garis

    There are plenty of widely known books, book series, and characters written for children. Howard Garis may have written more of them than anybody.  Garis was born in New York state on April 25, 1873. As an adult he moved to Newark, New Jersey and worked for a while as a reporter for the Newark Continue reading

  • Franz and Imelda

    The next morning, Imelda and Fritz were in the laboratory early, well before Doctor Witherspoon had even awakened. This was normal, of course; one of the eccentricities cultivated by inventors — especially the more wealthy of them, which certainly fitted Witherspoon — was rising late and dallying over eggs, bacon, toast, and tea while reading Continue reading

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  • Hypercorrection

    “Hypercorrection” is the tendency to take a grammatical rule (sometimes a real rule, sometimes imaginary) and extend it via a mistaken analogy. I’m sure you’ve encountered this. It’s behind the idea of changing “doubtless” (a perfectly good word) to “doubtlessly” (not a word), and when you have a word like “ignoramus,” pluralizing it as “ignorami” Continue reading

  • Busting Blocks

    The year is edging toward summer, the season for blockbuster movie releases. One of the seasons, at least; another raft of the things shows up around Christmastime. Take a look at the Hollywood movies of years ago, though, and you’ll notice that the business has changed drastically. In the 1920s and 1930s, studios cranked out Continue reading

  • Gideon Sundbäck

    Otto Fredrik Gideon Sundbäck was born April 24, 1880, on a farm in Sweden. His family was well off, and Sundbäck was able to continue his higher education in Germany. He graduated in 1903 with an engineering degree, and moved to the US in 1905.  Sundbäck settled in Pennsylvania, in a medium-sized town, and pursued Continue reading

  • Shakespeare and Company

    William Shakespeare was possibly born today, in 1564. As a writer born on April 23 in the 1500s, it’s understandable if there’s a lot of confusion about him. After all, another writer was born on April 23 in the 1500s — actually the year 1500. I’m talking about Johann Stumpf, of course, who wrote about Continue reading

  • Linguistic Flexibility?

    It’s pretty common in English to use a word in a different way than its “part of speech” suggests. That is, using a verb as a noun, or a noun as a verb, etc. We can get away with this and still be understood because English sentences generally provide plenty of contextual clues so you Continue reading

  • Bells, dumb and bar

    Possibly the most famous piece of exercise equipment ever is the dumbbell. It’s the iconic thing used in illustrations and cartoons; two heavy weights on the ends of a bar. Just a glimpse of it evokes weightlifting, exercise, gyms, and the like. Except…it’s nothing at all like a bell, so what’s with the name? The Continue reading

  • Electra Reactivated

    Ronald spent the next two days and nights in the laboratory, first disassembling the automaton’s components even further, looking for jammed gear trains, wobbles in tiny jeweled flywheels, checking intricate glass parts for cracks, and testing India rubber seals for leaks. Finding nothing, he began to reassemble Elektra. When the gleaming figure was complete, Ronald Continue reading

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  • The Automaton

    “Ronald! Ronald, come here immediately!”  “On my way, Professor,” came the reply from the storeroom. Ronald emerged, carrying a jeroboam of the acetic acid Professor Q had sent him to fetch. He set the large bottle down carefully and rushed to the Professor’s side. “Look at this, Ronald, just look!” The professor indicated his shoes. Continue reading

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About Me

I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.

Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.

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