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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Avatar Diary
Maths in the morning. How is it that the first lesson in a new module always makes so much more sense than any other one? Went home for lunch in my three-hour break, returning for Psychology. Watched a video on "Eyewitness Testimony". We've seen the same one three times now. Alecia took the second half …
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Avatar Diary
Psychology in the morning was low-tone, and everybody seems to be under excess stress. Bunked off General Studies, because the recently-done exam paper hasn't been marked anyway, and it'll be cancelled as usual... Everything seems to be this week. Instead, took off into town with Fay, browsed the shops, put in my application for a …
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Avatar Diary
Didn't go in to college. Virtually all my lessons have been cancelled anyway. Instead - spend the morning catching up on sleep lost over the last few weeks, and took the afternoon as a chance to deal with my backlog of e-mail in my InBox...
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Avatar Diary - Birthday Aftermath
Dan shares photos from the aftermath of his 18th birthday party.
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MyFirstTime Contribution
The following somewhat-autobiographical post was originally shared via website www.thefirsttime.com on 15 November 1998. It was republished here on 22 March 2021.
What feels like eons ago, when I was a mere stripling of a 13 year old, I was 'caught in the act' of shoplifting. It hadn't even been my idea, which pissed me off … -
Universities!
From my UCAS form:
1. Y50 UNIVERSITY OF YORK
MEng Honours in Computer Systems and Software Engineering
GG67 MEng/CSySE
2. A40 THE UNIVERSITY OF WALES, ABERYSTWTH
MEng Honours in Software Engineering
G700 MEng/SE
3. M20 THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
BSc Honours in Computer Science
G500 BSc/CS
4. E56 THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
BEng Honours in Computer Science
G501 … -
Panning Around Dan
The following graphic is almost 1½MB large, and may take some time to load. Please be patient. It will happen, eventually.
Retrospective (27 July 2020): I've just recovered this old web page from a backup. This image and the description above first appeared late in 1998 on the "about" page of my original blog. Remember when … -
Placeholder for Dan's First Blog Post
Dan's first blog post was made on this date. Its existence and the date of its publication can be derived from other sources, but its contents have been lost. It didn't have a title. It will have been available at http://castle.onza.net/ (and then later http://castle.onza.net/diary/) from the date of its publication through 1 October 1999.
This … -
MOVE IN PROGRESS
Castle of the Four Winds is currently in the process of moving to it's new location at castle.onza.net. Please alter your bookmarks and links, then check out the NEW-AND-IMPROVED-SITE!
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My GeekCode
This page was posted to one of my first websites, on 25 March 1998 (as well as appearing in my email/usenet signatures etc.). It was republished here on 22 March 2021.
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1 (www.geekcode.com)
GPd->+s:a17C++U--P!L(+)E-W+++N++oK+++w>---O+M-V?PS++PEY-
PGP(-)t-(--)5X-R+@tv>-b+++DI@D+++>++G++e>+++++h!*@r!z+
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------ -
Mother's Day
Dan spends mothers day visiting his mother's brother.
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LORD II - Preston College Version
This document was shared on my college Intranet and via a hidden URL on my first website, on 11 December 1997. It was republished here on 22 March 2021. It provides instructions for players of the multiplayer DOOR game I adapted for local network play and the world I built within it for my friends …
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Addiction; a monologue
This declaration was posted to one of my first websites, on 1 November 1997. It was republished here on 22 March 2021.
(lights up on a computer nerd, with no dress sense and even less common sense. Perhaps with jam-jar glasses and spiky hair. He's sat in front of a blank computer terminal.)
Nerd:
They say I've … -
WildCat BBS
This image was shared here in hindsight, on 22 March 2021. I didn’t actually start blogging until around August 1998; the message and text below were published on a bulletin board system to which I contributed.
The picture above illustrates the software I have just ordered -
Declaration of Hardware
This declaration was posted to one of my first websites, on 22 April 1997; I'm not certain why. From the sounds of things I was using a school computer at the time. It was republished here on 22 March 2021.
I am using an RM PC-433S Accelerator on a 486 Nimbus Network, operating a Brother M-1824L …