Be prepared to surprise them during your next job interview!

As the story goes, a bright young programmer interviewing at Google (or was it Microsoft? Or Facebook? … take your pick) was asked to explain why manhole covers are always round, and not square or some other shape.

The standard, very logical explanation is that round covers won’t fall through the hole they cover, taking into account the lips around the edges of the lid and the hole it snuggly fits into. Supposedly, round is the only shape where this is possible.

Bean counting is boring. At least that was the assumption I lived with most of my life. But the following short Python programs are easy to set up and run (they’re free too!) and they can help you take control of your personal financial decisions. Once again, Python has helped me hack my life in good ways, and it probably can help you too.

1. Payments for That New Car

Taking out a loan can be intimidating. A huge step towards making the process more comfortable is to have a good idea ahead of time what your monthly loan payments will be. …

Thinking outside the box just might help save us all

My wife wrote a screen play, “Lagrange Lancelot”, where the planet is saved from climate disaster by a unique geoengineering idea. It’s a very cool storyline, resulting in world peace as a by product after drastically slowing down a climate disaster. I just wish the fate of our planet, in the very real world, was also that cool.

Houston, We Have a Problem

We are in dire straights. My goal here is not to dwell on all the scary news. You can Google on “climate change” to find all the latest on that, from the…

You don’t have to rely on what ANYONE tells you!

There’s a ton of anecdotal descriptions and opinions out there explaining why the Earth must be flat, or why it can’t be flat. But why latch on to someone else’s opinion or facts one way or the other, even if their explanations and arguments seem very logical or perhaps based in science?

If you trust science and the scientific method to provide accurate results and facts, like I do, then you’re all set. The Earth is round. …

Our Moon is an odd ball. Very odd.

Pink Floyd had it right — there really is a dark side of the Moon. Let me explain.

Obviously Odd Features

Consider that the Moon always keeps the same side facing the Earth — we never see its back side from here. Scientists explain this as a feature of “tidal locking”, where the internal stresses from slight bulging due to the forces of gravity have slowed the Moon’s spin to a relative standstill. …

Don’t waste time learning yet another proprietary 3D design language.

3D printing your own creations is awesome! Perhaps Santa brought you one of the new, lower priced 3D printers for Christmas, or maybe you recently discovered that many public libraries and “makers” clubs make it easy (and cheap) to turn your ideas into real, tangible, 3D creations. In any case, this new hobby, entrepreneurial, or arts-and-crafts creation craze is catching on fast. OpenSCAD makes the design process simple, and Python makes using OpenSCAD even better.

Here’s a simple, short, secure Python script that lets you take control.

Passwords are a pain in the butt. There’s no way around this fact. In today’s world there are way too many passwords to remember, which leaves most people with one of three options; either start repeating passwords, or parts of passwords, write them all down somewhere for supposedly easy reference, or install a free or commercial password manager program.

Limitations of a password manager program

A password manager program is a good choice, but there’s a learning curve, you still need to memorize at least one really strong password to get into your passwords…

You can try this at home, but do it the easy way

Imagine a special, square dartboard, say exactly 2 meters by 2 meters in size, with a giant bullseye circle inscribed within its borders.