Author: Dan Q
Dan Q is a software engineer, a director of a voluntary organisation, a trainee counsellor, a keen geocacher, and an amateur magician. He lives with his partner and her husband in a polyamorous triad, and occasionally finds time to blog.
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Dumb McBrainfart
I can't believe I've spent most of the morning wondering why a web site I'm working on (yes... actual work) kept causing Apache to crash, when I realised that I'd made a recursive function with no break condition, which caused the execution of a recursive function with no break condition, which caused the execution of …
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Wild Winter For Aberystwyth
All the usual old folks are saying that this winter could be even wetter and wilder than last year for Aberystwyth. We had a hailstorm come in from the sea, today, which battered quite marvellously at the front of our new sea-facing offices. The picture above was snapped just before it started to fall.
Opening the … -
If Architects Had To Work Like Web Designers
This blog entry amused me today... it's true that people don't seem to treat web engineering as a discipline that requires any kind of planning or organisation. Jon knows what I'm talking about.
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How Not To Go About A Programming Assignment
This is particularly for the attention of folks like Claire, Paul and Jon who are this year taking part in their second-year group projects: How Not To Go About A Programming Assignment. It's a great guide to everything you should do on a project like this, particularly if you want to fail (folks like Ruth …
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Today’s “Dudley’s Dungeon”
Today's "Dudley's Dungeon" comic strip is absolutely fantastic. If you're a NetHack player, you oughta read it. If you're not a NetHack player... <sighs>
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Now! And Then
Maybe it's just me... maybe it's personal taste... maybe it's to do with when I was born... but I've always felt that all the best dance and trance music was produced between about 1990 and 1996. It's all there. After that it all got silly and rappy and sounded like the same old stuff. Before …
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Feel Like Santa
I bet Santa's busy this time of year, too, judging by the fact that the supermarkets seem to have completely forgotten Halloween and Bonfire Night in favour of Christmas. Let's see, there's...
Another Busy Weekend
I've spent another weekend helping out those folks at Aberystwyth Nightline with the training of their new volunteers. Despite having graduated and … -
Instructions On How To Clean Your Toilet
Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.
Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids. You may need to … -
The Gender Genie
The Gender Genie is quite remarkable. Copy-paste a heap of your journal entries (and state that journal entries is what they are) and it will attempt to guess your gender, based on the language used (and partially explain it's reasoning).
I'm apparently male, with a two-thirds certainty. Not bad. -
Story I Heard This Morning
There's nothing worse than a snotty doctor's receptionist who insists you tell her what is wrong in a room full of other patients. I know most of us have experienced this, and I love the way this old guy handled it.
An 86-year-old man walked into a crowded doctor's office. As he approached the desk, … -
BBC Seeks Geeks For Open-Source Codec Work
There's a story on The Register: The BBC are looking for eager open-source hackers to help them develop their new Dirac video codec project. Looks fascinating, and with the weight of the BBC behind it, it could have a bright future.
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Nightmare Before Halloween
Despite all the fun last night brought, the alcohol evidently went to my head somewhat and I had a particularly awful nightmare. I dreamt that, later this month (on the 29th, in fact), Claire dies of a terminal illness. I don't remember much of it; only that we were making preparations for Halloween when she …
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A Very Happy Unbirthday, To Andy
Dan plays Twister at Andy K's "unbirthday" party.
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Apathetic Journal Entry Generator
Generate apathetic journal entries automatically. This tool revolutionises blogging for those sad fucks who only uses their weblogs to say that they haven't done much and that they haven't had time to update, sorry (in case anybody's reading it). I mean, really - do you actually have nothing to write about?
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Things That Have Been Happening
I've had a couple of moderately hectic days, and somehow haven't found time to tell you all about them yet. Let's see what I can remember:
The Tale Of Troma Night 50
Troma Night 50 was a success: a chance to re-watch some of the films that made Troma Night's 1 and 2 so... bizarre. And it …