Last Friday we packed up the family and headed three hours east of Marbella to Almeria, Spain, to participate in the 2012 Roquetas de Mar Chess Festival. Here's the story.

In discussions about society and economics, proponents of collectivism often respond to free-market capitalists with incredulity. How could you possibly put profit above the needs of human beings? That is a tragic misunderstanding. And in a domain so important but so closely tied to emotion, it often derails constructive conversation and progress.

We were recently invited to attend the Christmas lunch of the "Hockey Alcalá" mountain running team, at the Bodega Marcelino Serrano, in Alcalá la Real, in the Jaén region of Andalucia. What a great find, for high quality, economical wines.

This past weekend, we had a wonderful two-day hiking trip to Pampaneira, in the mountainous region in Granada called the Alpujarra. Here's the photo-packed trip chronicle.

Phil Greenspun posted an article discussing a study of the efficiency of Medicaid in Oregon.

The conclusion was that Medicaid increased hospital use by about 30 percent, outpatient medical care by

American Express is a 62 billion dollar company. You'd hope a company that size could hire some designers who've at least learned the basics. But judging from the look of their statements, that wouldn't seem to be the case.

When you consider the risks involved in driving fast and the small amount of time actually saved, it's pretty obvious that it's not a smart tradeoff!

Reflections on the re-election of Obama, from the perspective of someone living in a country collapsing from the weight of socialism.

Germanwings provides a good example for the workflow companies should offer users when sending newsletters.

As Skype has evolved over the years, I've the impression they've hired a bunch of visual designers, and told them...