The Off-Key Bard

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The Archive

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How Does Your Phone Get Notifications When the App Isn't Open?Technology
This Day in History — Voyager 2 Begins Its Epic JourneyHistory
This Day in History — Photography Is Given to the WorldHistory
How Does Copy and Paste Actually Work?Technology
Names Are Not DefinitionsThe Bard's Musings
The Diseases We Were Allowed to ForgetThe Bard's Musings
This Day in History — Helium Is Discovered in the SunHistory
Why Do Games Take Up So Much More Space Than Movies?Technology
This Day in History — Venera 7 Launches for VenusHistory
This Day in History — Kittinger Steps From the Edge of SpaceHistory
What Is a File Format, and Why Does It Matter?Technology
Why Isn't My 1 Gig Internet Downloading at 1 Gigabyte Per Second?Technology
This Day in History — The Wow! SignalHistory
This Day in History — The First Satellite Photograph of EarthHistory
The Wealth of a NationThe Bard's Musings
Why Do I Have Wi-Fi but No Internet?Technology
This Day in History — The Coin-Operated Telephone Is PatentedHistory
Why Doesn't Every Charger Charge at the Same Speed?Technology
This Day in History — Echo 1A Takes Communications Into SpaceHistory
Why Does My Phone Get So Hot?Technology
This Day in History — Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil Patent Frequency-Hopping TechnologyHistory
What Is BIOS, and What Happens Before Windows Starts?Technology
This Day in History — Magellan Arrives at VenusHistory
What Is a Passkey, and Is It Really the End of Passwords?Technology
This Day in History — The Atomic Bombing of NagasakiHistory
What Is Phishing, and Why Are People Still Falling for It?Technology
This Day in History — Genesis Launches to Capture Pieces of the SunHistory
What Is a VPN, and What Does It Actually Do?Technology
USB-C Is a Connector, Not a CapabilityTechnology
This Day in History — Viking 2 Arrives at MarsHistory
This Day in History — Hiroshima and the Atomic AgeHistory
What Is a Driver, and Why Does My Computer Keep Asking for One?Technology
This Day in History — The Path to the First QuasarHistory
What Is Encryption, Really?Technology
Joe BidenHistory
This Day in History — Europe and Asia Connected Beneath the BosporusHistory
What Is a Backup, Really?Technology
Donald J. Trump (First Term)History
Knowing Things vs. Knowing How to Know ThingsThe Bard's Musings
This Day in History — MESSENGER Begins Its Journey to MercuryHistory
Why Do Websites Keep Asking If I'm a Robot?Technology
Barack ObamaHistory
How Do QR Codes Actually Work?Technology
This Day in History — The Positron Is PhotographedHistory
George W. BushHistory
In the Name of the InfiniteThe Bard's Musings
This Day in History — Oxygen Is DiscoveredHistory
What Does HTTP vs. HTTPS Actually Mean?Technology
Bill ClintonHistory
This Day in History — The First Drive on the MoonHistory
What Is Cache, and Why Does Clearing It Sometimes Fix Problems?Technology
Who Do We Trust With Our Health?The Bard's Musings
George H. W. BushHistory
This Day in History — "In God We Trust" Becomes the U.S. MottoHistory
What Does "404 Not Found" Actually Mean?Technology
What We Choose to FundThe Bard's Musings
Markets, Governments, and the Labels Between ThemThe Bard's Musings
This Day in History — NASA Is EstablishedHistory
Ronald ReaganHistory
What Happens When You Click "Print"?Technology
This Day in History — The First Photograph of a Solar EclipseHistory
Jimmy CarterHistory
Why Does My Browser Keep Asking to Save My Password?Technology
Gerald R. FordHistory
This Day in History — Insulin Is Successfully IsolatedHistory
What's the Difference Between RAM and Storage?Technology
This Day in History — Emmy Noether Changes Physics ForeverHistory
How Does Face Unlock Know It's You?Technology
Richard NixonHistory
This Day in History — The First Woman Walks in SpaceHistory
How Does Tap-to-Pay Actually Work?Technology
Lyndon B. JohnsonHistory
This Day in History — Apollo 11 Returns HomeHistory
How Does GPS Know Exactly Where You Are?Technology
John F. KennedyHistory
Why Governments ExistThe Bard's Musings
Dwight D. EisenhowerHistory
This Day in History — Ford Sells Its First AutomobileHistory
We've Always Done It This WayThe Bard's Musings
What Is Bluetooth, Really?Technology
This Day in History — Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Is BornHistory
Harry S. TrumanHistory
Why Doesn't More Megapixels Always Mean Better Pictures?Technology
Franklin D. RooseveltHistory
This Day in History — John Scopes Is Found GuiltyHistory
Patriotism and LoyaltyThe Bard's Musings
What Is an Operating System?Technology
Herbert HooverHistory
This Day in History — Operation Valkyrie FailsHistory
The Quiet Cost of Being WatchedThe Bard's Musings
What Actually Happens When You Type a Website Into Your Browser?Technology
Calvin CoolidgeHistory
This Day in History — The Spark at Seneca FallsHistory
Why Does My Phone Know Things I Never Told It?Technology
Freedom Cannot Grow in a Closed FistThe Bard's Musings
This Day in History — Gemini 10 LaunchesHistory
Warren G. HardingHistory
Why Does Every Website Want Me to Download an App?Technology
This Day in History — The Spanish Civil War BeginsHistory
What Is Artificial Intelligence, Really?Technology
Woodrow WilsonHistory
Do You Really Need Gigabit Internet?Technology
This Day in History — The Great Schism BeginsHistory
William Howard TaftHistory
This Day in History — The Battle of GrunwaldHistory
Theodore RooseveltHistory
What Does Your Router Actually Do?Technology
Does Closing Apps Actually Make Your Computer Faster?Technology
This Day in History — The Storming of the BastilleHistory
William McKinleyHistory
This Day in History — The First FIFA World Cup Kicks OffHistory
Grover Cleveland (Second Term)History
What Happens When You Delete a File?Technology
Benjamin HarrisonHistory
SSD vs. Hard Drive — Why Does One Feel So Much Faster?Technology
This Day in History — Wild Bill Hickok's First GunfightHistory
This Day in History — When Common Soldiers Defeated Europe's Finest CavalryHistory
Grover ClevelandHistory
What Does the GPU Actually Do?Technology
Chester A. ArthurHistory
What Does the CPU Actually Do?Technology
This Day in History — Wyoming Joins the UnionHistory
James A. GarfieldHistory
This Day in History — USS Thresher Is LaunchedHistory
What Is RAM, Really?Technology
It Can't Happen HereThe Bard's Musings
This Day in History — The Roswell Incident Captures the World's ImaginationHistory
Rutherford B. HayesHistory
Why Do Software Updates Take So Long?Technology
This Day in History — The Arrival of Sliced BreadHistory
Ulysses S. GrantHistory
Why Doesn't My New Phone or Computer Have All the Storage It Promised?Technology
Andrew JohnsonHistory
Frames, Hertz, and the Soap Opera EffectTechnology
This Day in History — Jan Hus Is ExecutedHistory
The Lessons We Choose to ForgetThe Bard's Musings
Abraham LincolnHistory
This Day in History — The Bikini Makes Its DebutHistory
LCD, LED, OLED, QLED, Mini-LED — What Do They Actually Mean?Technology
The Work Behind the WorkThe Bard's Musings
Can Someone Hack Me Just Because They Know My IP Address?Technology
James BuchananHistory
Of the PeopleThe Bard's Musings
This Day in History — The Statue of Liberty Is PresentedHistory
This Day in History — The Battle of Gettysburg EndsHistory
Franklin PierceHistory
Games AnywhereThe Bard's Musings
Why Does My Wi-Fi Work Everywhere Except Where I Am?Technology
This Day in History — The Civil Rights Act Becomes LawHistory
Millard FillmoreHistory
Why Does My Internet Get Slower at Night?Technology
Does My Computer Have a Virus?Technology
This Day in History — The Walkman Changes How We Listen to MusicHistory
Zachary TaylorHistory
This Day in History — Blondin Walks Across Niagara FallsHistory
Do Expensive HDMI Cables Actually Make a Better Picture?Technology
James K. PolkHistory
There Is No 'The AI'The Bard's Musings
John TylerHistory
More Bars Doesn't Always Mean Better ServiceTechnology
This Day in History — The Townshend ActsHistory
Why Does My Phone Battery Die So Fast?Technology
This Day in History — The Stonewall Riots BeginHistory
William Henry HarrisonHistory
This Day in History — The Liberty Bell Comes HomeHistory
Martin Van BurenHistory
The Next OutsiderThe Bard's Musings
Why Does Everyone Keep Telling Me to Use Two-Factor Authentication?Technology
Andrew JacksonHistory
This Day in History — The First Smallpox Inoculations in the American ColoniesHistory
People, Persons, and Citizens: Three Words That MatterThe Bard's Musings
This Day in History — Custer's Last StandHistory
John Quincy AdamsHistory
Why Does Every Website Ask About Cookies?Technology
This Day in History — The Dancing Plague BeginsHistory
James MonroeHistory
The New Robber Barons Wear HoodiesThe Bard's Musings
What Is "The Cloud" Actually?Technology
James MadisonHistory
This Day in History — The Typewriter Is PatentedHistory
Why Is My Computer So Slow?Technology
This Day in History — Galileo Recants Before the InquisitionHistory
Why Aren't All My Speakers Working?Technology
Why Invest in Tomorrow's Energy?The Bard's Musings
This Day in History — The First Ferris WheelHistory
The TV Isn't Broken (Probably)Technology
Thomas JeffersonHistory
This Day in History — Jaws Hits TheatersHistory
John AdamsHistory
Why Does Everything Need an Account Now?Technology
Why Does Restarting It Actually Work?Technology
The Empty Storefront ProblemThe Bard's Musings
George WashingtonHistory
This Day in History — JuneteenthHistory
Why Is My Wi-Fi Acting Like a Goblin?Technology
The City Has Started ListeningCreative Projects
The City Is Starting to SpeakCreative Projects
Where Verasanth StandsCreative Projects