Dan Q
Then you’re old enough to appreciate this: OSNews is running an article about the upcoming fight between Google and Microsoft. Where the Netscape/Microsoft battle involved web browsers, the weapons of the Google/Microsoft battle will be search engines and e-mail services.
If you’re confused as to how companies can be fighting by trying to increase the market share of their free product, read the article.
[this post has been partially damaged during a server failure on Sunday 11th July 2004, and it has been possible to recover only a part of it]
[further parts of this post were recovered on 13 October 2018]
Now here’s an interesting article [security.itworld.com]. It seems that the European Union is investing €11 million over four years into developing a secure communication system based on quantum cryptography.
For those of you not in the know, quantum cryptography (for passing crypto keys) works like this:
Quantum Cryptography For Dummies
Claire and I stayed up late and played multiplayer Civilization 3: Conquests together. When the Carthaginians picked on her, I stuck up for her and razed one of their cities. We’re hoping that by working together, we might be able to get a spaceship to Alpha Centauri before 1900.
We played until it started to get light. Then we went to bed and rolled around, laughing. Then we had sex as the sun rose.
A long multiplayer games session followed by a shag. Is there anything more romantic?
This is a repost promoting content originally published elsewhere. See more things Dan's reposted.
This repost was published in hindsight, on 11 March 2019.
Ruth wrote:
Today we have been…
…testing Dan. Earlier I sent in to ask how many times the big Panda said ‘nice’ in Panda Ko Panda (12, 5 times referring to bamboo). When we were getting food at the Chinese, Dan accused Bryn of having sent that in (he was logged on at the time), I might have got away with it but I burst out laughing.
Then just now, Bryn and I were wondering how many cups of coffee you could make using all the water in the pacific ocean. In case anyone wants to try it, the answer is 259 million cups, using 518 million tablespoons of ground coffee. That’s a lot of caffeine!
Bryn: “Can you imagine the size of the coffee filter?”
Yay! Take a look at this piccy (especially you, Paul).
Just extracted this from the just-released minutes of our last staff meeting. It’s from a section about what tasks are assigned to whom:
Dan:
How very right.
[this post has been partially damaged during a server failure on Sunday 11th July 2004, and it has been possible to recover only a part of it]
In this era of pro-Linux and pro-Windows hoo-hah, it’s good to see an article who’s writer really has his head screwed on: Common OS Myths Debunked is a wonderful piece; go read it.
Linux is not the answer!
Windows is not the answer either!
Don’t even get me started on MacOS…
Operating…
Typhoid in my left arm. Hepatitis A in my right arm, and a heap of Malaria tablets to boot. Decided that the best way to get this lot into my bloodstream as fast as possible was a quick sprint around Aberystwyth. Now I feel slightly dizzy and nauseous. Lovely.
On the up-side, I didn’t have to pay for any of this medication. Today was the last day that the surgery I attend isn’t charging for those which are considered ‘holiday medication’.
Feeling a little more woozy now. Think I’ll dance for a bit to make sure it’s worked it’s way into my system properly (better to make myself hideously sick for a day than ill for a week, I say), then take a rest.
Hooray for pathogens!
WTF??? If you go to Symantec’s Online Virus Scanner using most browsers, you’ll be told that you need to use Microsoft Internet Explorer to continue! Isn’t this just asking for trouble? It’s like saying, “Yes, we’ll check your house is secure. Now just unlock your door…”
Just plain weird.
Yes, the the rumours you’ve heard are true – The Flat has been rearranged. In a mighty effort (and with the help of Claire, Paul and Bryn), we’ve pretty much ‘mirrored’ the room widthways. This change provides several benefits:
[damaged post partially recovered on multiple occasions]
The Register are running an article about the new UK ID card, and what it all means. They’re always a great source of information on such things, if slightly cynical… and this document is no exception. Go read it. Then throw rocks at Mr. Blunkett. <grin>
Last night’s dream
Claire was complaining at me because I’d bought online driving lessons, which she considered to be significantly worse value for money than ‘traditional’ ones. I argued that I didn’t
actually want the lessons, but they were only 10p each and I only had 20p pieces and I needed 10p pieces, so I bought them so as to have them give me 10p pieces in change.
After I was woken by the alarm and hit the snooze button…
This morning’s dream
I wake up on Ynyslas beach, and (despite wondering how I got there) decide that I ought to go to work, so I start trekking South towards Borth. Alex, a coworker, overtook me, driving
his old car (he replaced it a few months ago).
Monday night’s dream
Somewhat reminiscent of Far Cry (a first-person shooter I’ve been playing too much of recently), I was armed to the teeth and shooting heaps of mercenaries. As time went on, I began to
have a conflict of morals, and began wondering who was the ‘bad guy’ – me, or them. Then, perhaps to prove it, I raped one of the hostages I was supposed to be rescuing. Hmm.
I still can’t get my online bank working. Too close to the deadline to be at this stage. Shit! Shit! Shit!…
I woke up this morning to two mysteries:
1. Why had I set my alarm for 8:30am?
2. Why do I have a nose bleed?
I’ve solved the former: Claire needs to move her car (which is parked on double-yellows outside) or she’ll get ticketed when the morning wardens come by (morning wardens? they’re like traffic wardens, but they put tickets on people who still look half-asleep). The latter? No idea.
Yay; we’re off to the Borth Animalarium today, to look at meerkats! Followed by Troma Night!
My ‘Online Bank’ project isn’t going very well. So far it allows you to add Books to a Cart and get the total cost of them all. Which isn’t terribly useful, because that sounds more like a bookstore to me than an online bank… but I couldn’t find an example online about how to use EJBs to make an online bank, just a bookstore. D’oh.