June, 2011 archive
QOTD 0
John Irving, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
I don’t go out of my way to find or invent things that are bizarre. It just seems to me that I notice more and more how commonplace the bizarre is.
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Off to Work They Go 0
128 spam comments between 2:30 p. m., when I did my regular database cleanup and backup, and now. Ten to 15 a day is typical.
The gnomes have been busy.
Akismet caught every one of them.
What Nemski Said 0
This is the first edition of What Nemski Said (also, the comments).
Twits on Twitter 0
CSI: Seoul version.
Days of Future Passed Up 0
Where’s my jet pack?
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source.
What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.)
When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, June 2.
Directions:
Lake Taylor Hospital
1309 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, Va. 23502 (Map)
Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks)
Uno Chicago Grill
Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (Janaf Shopping Center). (Map)
Bombs for Google Bombs 0
This is a gross over-reaction to making a little-visited website unavailable for a few hours.
The planning was given added urgency by a cyber-attack last month on the defence contractor, Lockheed Martin.
It is silly and stupid and betrays fundamental ignorance of networking on a conceptual (as opposed to a technical) level, a lust for perpetual war, or a basis for endless consulting contracts.
I’m betting on one or both of the last two choices.
Land of the Midnight Eclipse (Updated) 0
There will be a solar eclipse tonight, midnight, June 1, Norway daylight savings time, which is 6 p. m. US EDT. Norway is UMT +1.
You can watch it on line here.
H/T Susan for the link.
Addendum, Later That Same Day:
Screen captures tomorrow.
UK Birds Go All Hitchcock 0
One student at Icknield Community College in Watlington is said to have been scratched by one of the birds as he ate lunch in the market town.
A farm worker said the increasingly bold kites were “sweeping up” chickens. Witnesses have also described seeing the birds perching on prams.
It sounds as if they have been taking lessons from the sea gulls at Wildwood.
The Surveillance Economy 0
In the Boston Globe, Alex Poulos foresees the growth of surveillance, not by the government, but by business, not for “security,” but for “marketing purposes, to enhance your shopping experience” (not his words; my paraphrase of marketese).
He predicts a presence that is increasingly intrusive, invasive, horizontally integrated (so there’s no escaping it), and interactive (in the computer sense).
Here’s a snippet from his comments. Follow the link for the rest.
Soon 3-D ads will be common. But later, we’ll have 4-D advertising — smell will be produced, to stimulate appetite.