Posts from — August 2004

So you think you know how to Google? Unless you have the entire complement of advanced search operator-value pairs committed to memory and can craft a specific word order wildcard query, you’ll probably benefit from the little nudges and prods provided by the Google Guide.

No I’m not going to say anything about getting ditched at lunch today. It’s not a very bright idea to piss off your IT guy. Didn’t you request one of those new, slim Dell LS notebook computers? Gee, sorry we’re all out of them. Darn it. Got a computer virus that destroyed all your files? Hmmm, I can’t imagine how you would have gotten something like that. Sorry that I couldn’t help you with it. Have a nice day.

From the Washington Times…”India’s population to overtake China’s.” Control yourselves people, please.

Thank goodness I don’t suffer from Triskaidekaphobia, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it through the day.

Check out my Moblog. This is one of the latest trends with camera phones.

Medicine: You have been provided with a razor blade, a piece of gauze and a bottle of scotch. Remove your appendix. Do not suture until your work has been inspected. You have 15 minutes.

Engineering: The disassembled parts of a high-powered rifle have been placed on your desk. You will also find an instruction book, printed in Swahili. In ten minutes, a hungry Begal tiger will be admitted to the room. Take whatever action you feel appropriate. Be prepared to justify your decision.

Music: Write a piano concerto. Orchestrate and perform with flute and drum. You will find a piano under your seat.

History: Describe the papacy from its origins to the present day, concentrating especially, but not exclusively, on its social, political, economic, religious, and philosophical impact on Europe, Asia, America and Africa. Be brief, concise, and specific.

I encountered a rude person on the elevator today. I was going toward the almost closing doors when a guy already on board was actually pushing his floor button in an attempt to close the door before I got there. Sheesh. Luckily for him I didn’t recognize him for he would be having major computer problems right now. Instead I gave him a nasty glare after I got on. Here are some general rules of etiquette when travelling on an elevator.

You can also visit my archives for more on the topic.

John Hefron just won The Last Comic Standing award. I thought Alonzo Boden had it in the bag. Too bad.

Mozilla just released a security update to it’s Mozilla and Firefox browsers. I hope this isn’t going to be a trend. It was nice not having to worry about constantly patching the browser like I do with Internet Explorer. Still I’m enjoying Firefox every time I use it.

A few weeks ago, CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) a division of Homeland Security recommended that people consider using Firefox as an alternative to Internet Explorer.

When will all this nonsense end? Perhaps the new Windows XP service pack will help. Beta copies are floating around now and it should be released very soon. The feedback I’ve read so far on it is positive. I’ll hold judgement until I can test it out myself. It’s being reported that this service pack is the single most important update since Windows was first introduced.

I’m continuing to enjoy Doom 3.

The much anticipated sequel Doom 3 goes on sale tonight at midnight. They say this version is by far the most realistic and looks nearly equal to animated films like Shrek 2. I’m getting my copy tomorrow.

Darl McBride is cackling again that “Linux is mine, all mine.” From Techworld: “McBride also made clear his overriding goal - the destruction of the free software movement: “Wait until the SCO battles are over and let’s see if it’s free or not.” McBride has repeatedly said in the past that free software stifles innovation and harms the IT industry because companies can’t produce great products without any financial return.” Yeah, right.

Dave was looking at iPod’s last weekend and actually considered getting one of the new Dell MP3 players. Don’t do it, Dave. There’s a reason for the iPod’s popularity - it rocks.