Open Mouth Insert Foot

I find it amazing how bad Bill Gates is at interviews that he can let slip this little choice quote:

"You don't need perfect code to avoid security problems."

He then goes on to indicate that "firewalling and the other is called keeping the software up to date" will avoid security problems.

Well, firewalling won't work if the firewall code isn't `perfect' as it will have holes in it large enough to drive malicious stuff through.

And `keeping software up to date' is another way of saying `patching the holes we have in our not perfect code.'

Nice.

So we don't need perfect code, we just have to be willing to have other people protect imperfect code with their hopefully perfect code, and keep patching their imperfect code.

*

To all ye ghost, goblins, ghouls, monsters, imps and witches, have a fun frightfully filled candy chomping, trick and treating safe All Hallows Eve!

tempus fugit

Moments of calm, lulls, bumps, yelps, frustrations, euphoria, jubilation, happiness, days of contentedness, those of sorrow, yearning, pensiveness and the quite in between. All ridden out in a whirlwind of time. Two years have passed since the day we first started this little adventure, almost two years since we purchased our first domain. How the months have flown...

space cowboy turns 31

Today one of my dearest friends joins our venerable group of the over 30 somethings. Mo welcome to the fold. Soon we’ll be buying you walking sticks, so that you can hobble about like the rest of us, and finding you young nurses to care for your every whim. [impish wink]

Wishing you a wonderful birthday. Hoping that it is filled with laughter, humour, happiness, friends/family, love and all your hearts desires. Wishing up many, many happy returns. May all your wishes come true.

Much love and raucous joyous celebration
Us.

*Sorry Mo, I just could help myself. [Squishy]

The Joker - The Steve Miller Band*

Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
'Cause I speak of the pompitous of love

People talk about me, baby
Say I'm doin' you wrong, doin' you wrong
Well, don't you worry, baby, don't worry
'Cause I'm right here, right here, right here, right here at home

'Cause I'm a picker, I'm a grinner
I'm a lover and I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun
I'm a joker, I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I sure don't want to hurt no one

I'm a picker, I'm a grinner
I'm a lover and I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun
I'm a joker, I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I get my lovin' on the run
Whooo Whooooo!

You're the cutest thing that I ever did see
I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree
Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time
Ooo-eee baby, I'll sure show you a good time

'Cause I'm a picker, I'm a grinner
I'm a lover and I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun
I'm a joker, I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I get my lovin' on the run

I'm a picker, I'm a grinner
I'm a lover and I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun
I'm a joker, I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I sure don't want to hurt no one

[break]

People keep talking about me, baby
They say I'm doin' you wrong
Well don't you worry, don't worry, no don't worry, mama
'Cause I'm right here at home

You're the cutest thing I ever did see
Really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree
Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time

Candy.

Got to work to no computer, no desk and no actual ability for me to earn my keep. Instead of being mightily productive I spent the day shadowing my immediate boss, gleaning as much information from him as humanly possible under the circumstances of watching someone else work on their computer. Aye, a fine and productive day it was. <--insert mighty sarcasm here

As the day passed I also watched him devour one rocket candy pack after another like the crack candy* that they are. Trying not to be outdone and having nothing much else to do, I attempted to keep pace with his mad sugar popping skills. Coupled with the two 16oz cups of coffee downed in the late after noon in an attempt to stay mostly coherent, I can safely predict that the precarious sugar rush that I have ridden all afternoon shall come to a sudden anti-climatic downer in a minute or two. If you need me I’ll be the squidgy unmoving lump on the rug.

*I know I have read this somewhere else. The term stuck. If it is yours please leave a link.

Physics

Physics is a whole lot more fun when applied to real world things.

In other news, I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. But I am currently suffering a job related extreme version of what I consider to be a social/societal waste of time.

I look at jobs and I think about how important it is in the relative scheme of things. What I'm doing and what I've thought about doing in the past have been mostly a big 0 from this point of view. The jobs I've done have really had no impact on anything.

I've had fun jobs, I've had some lousy ones. Currently my job is... irrelevent outside of its societal setting and I find that I am dissatisfied with that.

I feel the need to do something that has a bit more meaning. But there are limits. I can't be a doctor or similar health related profession, I just don't have the guts for it I don't think. I don't want to put myself in the line of fire, so police work is really out I think. I considered the fire department, and while I would have to do a bit of bulking up in order to pass physical requirements, I understand that it is a rather insular group and hard to get into. But it would be valuable I feel.

That's what's missing in a lot of jobs today. A value, outside of the importance that is placed upon it within society. A contribution to something more than just an aspect of an imposed civilization's needs.

I don't know if I am looking for a way to contribute to people, or just have a more lasting impact on some element of the world. I know I'm not looking to be a nobel prize winning chemist or physicist.

Maybe I'm just looking for something to take pride in.

I suppose a lot of jobs can have an element of that within them. Maybe the elements within me that determine the degree of pride in work have changed. Maybe they weren't important to me before.

Or maybe they have simply expanded in scope.

Note to Self:

6:45 in the morning is not the time to be checking shirts to see if buttons are intact, especially when said buttons are not all intact. It is also not the time to realize that you have no stockings left that do not have runs in them forcing you to ditch the idea of wearing something that what have made the ultimate first impression. Finally. One should not be attempting to write all this down when they only have five minutes left to get their posterior ready and out the door.

Visually stumped

I tend to acquire knowledge visually. I need things to literally be drawn out so that I can grasp the gist of what a person is trying to explain, get across, or have me do*. However, when it comes to computer programs, I either need someone to show me what steps are necessary to obtain the desired output, or I need to sit down with said program, manual in hand and play.

This Friday my boss informed me that we would be starting a new contract next week utilizing a program which I have never played with before. Due to the fact that I was working from home, he sent me the manual and some examples. The small hitch is. I do not have said program installed on my computer, nor did he actually send me a copy so that I could install it. Over the past few days I have been trying to glean all that I can from the manual. But without the program I have no clue what the people who wrote the manual are trying to convey. I can’t visualize any of the menus, nor can I decipher how to actually manoeuvre through said menus. Needles** Needless to say I am freaking out.

I just hope that when I get there and finally see the program it will all coalesce, and maybe, just maybe, I can pull off pretending that I actually know what the hell is going.

*get yer minds out of the gutter. [wry shaking of head]
**graçias bella!

Would you like Bacon with that?

So, I like linking movies to one another using the bigger name actors. I organize DVDs like that on the shelf to a certain degree.

This link and the one from it that connects any actor to any other one is pretty fun :D OK, it is for me!

6 degrees.

England

OK, if I'm going to move to England, I really need to learn this game.

Football, I can understand. And given the nature of football matches in England... I think I'll take a pass on going to see any matches for fear of my life.

Rugby... that's a little confusing and I may need some few pointers.

But cricket totally confuses me.

Iceman Cometh from Iceland

Too cool. Now that's the kind of captain you want to work for... I think...

Grumpy Gus.

I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus. I will not be a grumpy Gus...

Fneh. This isn’t working. Grump!

Update: However, a walk and a hot yummy vanilla latté seems to have done the trick!
[a much less grumpballish munin skips off, humming happily to herself, scaring the cat and all other manner of cuddly beast]

Good Will Hunting

This is a shame, some nice tunes on that soundtrack were all I had heard of his music, but I did enjoy them.

What else can I say. It's sad there won't be any more.

Tempting the gods

My email program has just looped itself, refusing to even glance at the spelling mistakes contained within the email I am about to send. The software we installed this morning refuses to function, making for a very poor first assessment. And to top it all off I have already managed to spill one and a half cups of coffee on my person and on the desk nearly missing the keyboard, important documents and technical references. Surprisingly it all splashed onto my chair and the 10 inches of space that are normally reserved for my note pad. I ask ye gods of electronic gadgetry, of zippy coded zeros & ones, of snappy caffeine goodness can anything else possibly go wrong today?

by way of the woolly mammoth

Concentration seems to be as elusive as the mountain yeti, or the fabled three-toed sloth. A sense of jittery anticipation is prevalent and all I really want to do is scream, yelp, shout or simply yell at the top of my lungs, anything to get rid of the bundle of tense lumps that seem to have taken up residence in my lower stomach. So much for the captivation of multitasking, that too has evaporated in a cloud if steam, its tendrils wafting up to the ceiling where it now clings. Its demeanour cheeky and mocking, as it gathers itself and congeals into great droplets of attentiveness, waiting to fall on someone else’s head and grace them with the ability to get work done today.

The taste of defeat, one which I do not swallow well, gathers like bile in the back of my throat and the whispers of muses who have skittered on taunt me, ‘better to pack everything up and head home, back to the warmth bed and hearth’ they say. ‘Much better to hide under the covers, then try and concentrate’ they add.

I have never been able to explain why this is so, why moments of jitteriness assault my moods allowing for no real work, thought or motivation to do said work. They are there, and as such maybe they are also an excuse when I no longer want to work or am bored with the topic at hand. But other days it seems that this feeling manifests itself when I am overwhelmed, when I do not have confidence or the belief that I can actually accomplish what I have undertaken. And no matter what I do it hangs overhead, a black cloud, feeding the sense of futility and inadequacy that bubbles from within. And with it the desire to be proactive slinks out the door, tail held firmly between its legs.

Brita for your Cell...

Well, if this comes through and becomes as popular and useful as it seems, it occurs to me that Brita might be making filters for just about anything that could use this as a power source.

Brita for your laptop, cellphone, PDA, mp3 player, etc...
After all, you wouldn't want your power source to get clogged... and then of course you'll be seeing advertisements for using CLR on your laptop... very odd.

Amber Alert

In case someone sees this and has information. In case it helps. Amber Alert for Cecilia.

Geeky lore.

Mildly occupied, lots of multitasking to accomplish today. Will be back soonish, in the meantime some good old home grown geekiness.

"Science is not a collection of facts. It is an ongoing process that attempts to remain in step with the latest research. That is why scientists sometimes change their minds." – OSS

Link contributed by the bubbly and playful Ed.

more geekiness for your perusing pleasure:
*Only geeks
*Dark, warm with the light aroma of popcorn.
Geeky culture: [we've got culture, yes we do. we've got culture, how about you?blink. erm, we do?!?]
Geek. Pure and simple
Where we love to spend our hard earned greencoloured backs.
Geeked and coded.
And if the need ever arises you can always 'rent a geek'.

Stockings

Pantyhose are the Devils tool I tell you. Whoever thought to invent them should be strung up by their toes or made to wear them constantly. Especially the kind that are scratchy and have the inane ability to creep down your leg at the most inopportune moments*, forcing you to contort yourself into the oddest of positions just so you can hike them up discreetly.

*These moments have included, but are not exclusive to:
Being in an important meeting when first impressions could either make or break the deal. Talking to theDude, otherwise known as he who signs your pay checks, while you try to convince him that the money he pays you each week is just a titch below what you are truly worth. That time you walked by that utterly attractive charming heart palpitating cute boy/girl with whom you’d been flirting with for months...

An almost belated birthday.

The perky and adorable* Geekgirl is celebrating her birthday today!
Wishing you an incredible and enjoyable day. May your day be filled with all manner of wonderful things, love, laughter and yummy moments. Wishing you all your hearts desires. Many happy returns M. Great big squishy hugs.

*I fear she may just deck me for that one. Ducks and hides. Okay. Okay! I yield. Sexy and adorable. Is that better? ;o)

Rule by Proxy

I am amazed by this guy... And not in a good way.

He's got issues.

I particularly like the bit about how the Jews "invented Socialism, Communism, human rights and democracy..."

So much for people like Marx, general human respect and the Greeks! Obviously they were all pawns, willing proxies for the Jews.

No doubt the persecutions of the Jews throughout history have also been a part of their `rule by proxy.'

The bit about how the Jewish invention of the above human rights etc so that "persecuting them would appear to be wrong, so that they can enjoy equal rights with others." What an amazing statement. I assume he means that persecution in general is fine?

How statements like this can combine with other sensible statements is even more amazing. But his comments about the need to stop suicide bombings, and how the Islamic nations should be focused on their own economic health are sensible.

The rest... well, they seem to be the ill-considered and uneducated posturings of a person with a serious anti-Semetic agenda.

Wimples

Is it normal that at the age of thirty-one blemishes still grace my chin? I had thought that the 30’s were a guarantee of pimple free complexion. No more toners, astringents, creams or cover-ups, just clean, healthy lovely unblemished skin. But alas it would seem that this is a fallacy.

So anyone got any cover up?

Bittersweet reminisces.

Every once and again the memories of people who are no longer part of your life emerge. Triggered by a smell, a sound, a song or an image they come unbidden. Some are colourful, and vibrant. Flashes of days gone by. Of moments shared. Of laughter, pain and loss. Others are slow drawn out recollections. Moments that lasted seconds are prolonged into extended brooding minutes. Each evoke feelings of loss, tinged by bittersweet pangs of mild regret as you wonder how they fare. Of those that have moved on, some will remain, muses that flit into your life when the need arises. Others will disappear completely, their presence no longer a light in your life, but their memories dance on. Shadows in your heart.

‘Cowboys. Sceptics. Bullies. Villains. Heroes’

Any company that puts out a call out for: Cowboys. Sceptics. Bullies. Villains and Heroes, has my staunch vote as a company to be working for. Now if only I had me some mad coding skills and a smidgen, i.e. wackloads, of talent...

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canucks out there, and a happy Columbus Day to all ye Yanks.
Hope you all have a good restful day off, filled with merriment and thanks.

amusement

Telemarketers are a funny breed and though they can on occasion be crass, tactless, exasperating, arrogant or just plain rude, yet it always amuses me when they ask me if my mom or dad are in. Especially when there is a long pondering mildly confused pause after I say hello. [evil little grin]

Addendum: Though I must admit, on most of these occasions I am sorely tempted to tell the person eviltelemarketer, that 'mommy and daddy are in the bedroom and that mommy is making very funny noises'. Hopefully this will not consequently cause any serious/dangerous/adverse effects to the person on the other end of the line.

Save the Boobies

The Boobiethon ends this weekend, so please take the time to go and donate. It honestly doesn't have to be much, any little bit helps. You never know who’s life you may be saving.

Harry Potter

Well, the next movie should be interesting.

The previous two have been pretty good, although the last one failed to catch the nuances involved in the book.

Now, with the replacement required for the role of Prof Dumbledore, and the change in director it should be interesting to see how well the movies hold up.

I am glad to see that Emma Thompson has been chosen to play the part of Prof Trelawney.

It is even more amusing considering Kenneth Branagh was in the previous movie...

Well there you go.

guilt: the great motivator

I am not sure if guilt is the greatest motivator in the world, but it seems to be the one that gets me into work on some days when I shouldn’t really be there.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy what I am doing. And it’s not that I wake up in the morning depressed and despondent wanting to do nothing more then dig deeper into the blankets and cover my head pretending that life truly doesn’t exist pass the confines of my illusionary walls. No, on most days, I look forward to work*, minus the stress and anxiety that seems to be a constant companion of late. I look foreward to the challenges that work may present, even though those are always accompanied by a tinge of mild fear and the thought that I may not be fully up to the task. I am funny that way. And yes, most days coffee is required before I am even remotely anywhere near what may be considered to be sociable, or at best approachable. No the guilt comes when I know that I should really be at home, in bed, with soup and tea, because a fever has been raging for the past day and the cold that started a week before has not let up even in the slightest. Or, when I have worked beyond what most would consider reasonable and still feel the need to come in on the weekend to make sure that the works gets finished on time.

I have never been able to explain the guilt that I feel it is just there. A heavy lump that settles in the pit of my stomach, a voice in the back of my head, constant and demanding that honour should be met.

*as much as anyone who works can, with the general wishing of a lifelong supply of aeroplane tickets and hotel vouchers, never having to worry where the next paycheck is coming from or how you are going to pay the bills.

Waiting for Cheese

I noticed today that They Live came out on DVD.

This is a very classis piece of cheese. However, thanks to a couple of comments I also found out that a Special Edition that includes a commentary track by the director and Roddy Piper is out in England (region 2 encoding for Europe, Middle East and Japan)

This is very depressing as I would love to pick that movie up with the commentary. Oh well, must wait and see if they release it over here in little old region 1.

*Hic!*

Hic. Oh bother. Silly Hiccups. Can’t stop. Hic. Anyone got any tips, tricks or make ‘em go away charms that can help with the hiccoughs? Hic. Owchie. Sillyness this is. Hic.

jello brain

There is something about rendering a large succession of images that turns the brain to a mass of squiggly gelatinous mush*. Eyes glaze over as the computer churns through the mathematics that are required to produce a visually captivating image. Sharp edges are rendered soft and muted as the mind wonders what all this will amount to. Colours blend and fade, and the harsh tones of artificial light become a subdued half light, complementing the images, causing it to reflect upon itself, as the lights dance about the floor. The brain now fuzzy doesn’t quite comprehend why it is doing this, but instead gets lost in the process: Click. Place. Twirl. Shift. Move. Click. Render. The minutes become hours that pass in a flash of mouse clicks. Fingers cramp, and the ever-present cold of the computer room settles into their joints. The brain, jiggles in it casing. Something else calls, a need of warmth and movement. The mind oblivious to the call continues upon its task.

*for some unfathomable reason the words ‘squiggly gelatinous mush’ evokes an images of bright green jello, lime flavoured bright green lime jello to be exact.

paving the way

“MIT to reach a steady - though never static - state by 2008. Between now and then, we will publish the materials from virtually all of MIT's undergraduate and graduate courses.” -MIT

For anyone who ever wanted to follow science/engineering/social studies but just couldn’t afford the time. This link is just amazing. I can’t but applaud MIT for putting this together.

I have an inkling as to what I’ll be doing during those long sleepiness nights when insomnia once again rears its ugly head. So much to learn and I have no idea what tickles my fancy most: History, Ocean Engineering, Anthropology…

Football and Church

Well, I was amused by this story. Especially the part about the increase in business during the 1994 Council of Churches meeting.

And the lord saw that it was good.

Upcoming features

I like mentioning movies that are upcoming and might be cool.
After all, if I find them interesting maybe someone else will also.

Currently playing:

School of Rock. Yes, it looks like good cheesy fun.
The Takedown. Just for the Rock and Walken.

And if you could find it:
Bubba Ho-Tep. Yes, it sounds crazy but it's supposed to be damn good for what it is.

Coming up:

Returner. Seems to be some very bizarre mix of cheese movies done with more cheese.
Matrix Revolutions of course!
Return of the King... of course! I have to see how it is wrapped up and how condensed the remaining plot is. Ignoring the obvious major cut to the book.
Love Actually. Great looking cast and the writer has been a fave for that genre.
Last Samurai. Definitely waiting on this one. Waiting to hear more about it, not waiting to see it. While I love a good Samurai film, I consider those to be done by people such as Kurosawa to be the only Samurai films. So, either this will be good, or it will be Shogun part 2... (shudder)

Well, that's about it for a while... the rest consist of things coming out on DVD... yummy!

One step over the hill.

The wonderful and effervescent Drama Queen is one year older today! Happy Birthday Meredith!

Hope your day is filled with many happy moments, lots of love, giggles, and joyous yelps of laughter. Wishing you a wonderfully delicious and enjoyable day. May all your hearts desires be granted. Many happy returns.
Big squishy birthday hugs.

Go give her some birthday loving!

grr.ump'y

I am grumpball! Hear me roar. [mewwl]
erm... [squeak]

sigh.

Heavenly Thoughts

I was headed to work when I overheard what sounded like the word, `heaven.'

Now, I'm not exactly sure what I believe in and what I don't. To a certain extent I believe that what is, is.

However, this did get me thinking a bit about the nature of heaven.

It probably doesn't help that I'd been reading the Lucifer comic released by Vertigo.

I considered the premise that where we are now is in fact heaven.

After all, what is heaven? It's supposed to be this wonderful place and everything. But what makes a place wonderful?

Some would say that a place of ease, with foods and drinks and infinite numbers of young virgin women would be it. But I would imagine that might get boring. After a great deal of time perhaps, but boring nonetheless.

By it's very supposed nature, heaven cannot be boring.
And I don't believe any god would spend all their time catering to us in order to make sure we are not bored.

Therefore there must be some manner of being able to influence the nature of heaven by what we would consider to be `heavenly.' Some aspect of free will carried over.

But there again, being able to have whatever we want would also get boring. There would be no surprises, nothing unexpected. Everything would be predictable. And while some would disagree, predictability can also be boring.

So somehow heaven would have to have some uncertainty to it.

Uncertainty and influencability.

In other words, heaven would have to be able to be shaped by us, and also outside of our control.

It would be what we would make of it.

And that is a very disturbing thought. Look around at the world. The pollution, the destruction and war. Consider the endangered and extinct species, the devestation of land, water, and air.

If heaven would be what we make of it. We would make of it a hell.

cloudy skies

Soft. Fluffy. Streaks in the sky. Capturing light at whim. Holding the rays close. And then releasing them in a great flash of light to dance amongst the waves. An inverted ocean in the sky. The storms of the past few days have brought some gorgeous cloud formations to the skies of our little hamlet...

*click to see full picture

For the Boobies

The second annual Blogger Boobie-Thon starts today! Go see, enjoy, and give a little. It doesn't have to be much, but every little bit helps.

The first $359 raised will be going towards a blogger charity ("Run For Their Lives - PAWS Chicago 8K"), and everything else beyond that will be going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. -Robyn