Month: February 2004

My latest todo list (yesterday) featured the item "Write todo list manager MEmo for new computer". This should read "write todo list manager MEmo", as it will ultimately run both on my home computer and on the host server of SoylentRed.net. Several times a day I want an easy way to send myself notices of the ‘do this later’ variety, and most of those times I’m stuck on a college computer, so putting the system in on a net-accessible machine is a necessity. Right now I use, in no particular order – and believe me it’s quite devoid of order – email, ftp, a little notebook and my memory (the personal kind that Dell didn’t double for free) to remind myself to do stuff. Stuff, invariably, does not get done.

Enter MEmo. The name, as with most things SoylentRed, is due to djinn. It’s a concise ‘memo to self’, pronounced ‘mee-moe’. It’ll keep items with various data, like description of task, required time of completion, catagor(y|ies), status etc. I have a complete list somewhere. Above all, it will be useful. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Scatterbrain it’s that I’ll only do something right if it’s useful. I didn’t finish my mp3 player. I didn’t finish my text editor. I didn’t finish my game. Scatterbrain is in constant development for longer than any of my other projects. MakeLink is more complete than I would ever have got before. MEmo will join them.

• Make list
• Setup scatterbrain on stephenbrophy.net
• Update scatterbrain on SoylentRed.net
• Fix home wireless network
• Write todo list manager MEmo for new computer
• Finish college assignments
• Setup Red Hat Linux on new computer (fix graphics card)
• Find more interesting stuff than lists to write about on SoylentRed.net
• Fix bugs / code unprettiness / feature requests in CopyTitle Firefox extension (soon to be renamed MakeLink)
• Make project pages on Soylentred.net for such projects as MakeLink/CopyTitle
• Get MakeLink listed on Firefox extension lists
• Finish Final Fantasy X-2 (on its way from Play.com with free delivery)
• Catch up with my projected feature list for scatterbrain

The currency conversion quoted in the headline will become significant on March 12^th, March 14^th or even February 20^th, depending who you ask.

I’ve been, um, you know…

Since my last post I’ve:

• brought the Scatterbrain code up to a level good enough for limited distribution. That means that Stephen will have comments soon (as soon as neither of us is working or celebrating VD.)
• written an extension for fire[bird|fox], which required learning how to package extensions, learning more about javascript than I thought there was to know, and stealing lots of other people’s code.

I’ve released updates to the CopyTitle extension at a rate of two a day, and it’s now a complete package. I will be adding a few options, which will require learning the Mozilla preference interface. I don’t know when I’ll have time to do it though.

We all know I cheat by just copying the good quotes from other sites, but this one doesn’t look like it’s going to be bettered any time soon. If you haven’t heard already (it seems to be only hitting the mainstream press now), some 15% of the Win2000 source code has been leaked, along with some NT4 code. From BBC News’ coverage of the story:

For Microsoft to have this code paraded in public is hugely embarrassing. Not least because the code is littered with profanity.

Code code code, code code code, dunk! Fuck!

Tonight, on the Impulse Buying Network…

I’ve concluded that the reason we all like computers so much, specifically the reason we like getting new computers is the collection of numbers we get to spout at everyone we meet. The following numbers are associated with the machine I ordered yesterday:

• 3
• 800
• 512
• 1,326.91
• 0
• 80
• 128
• 3
• 8x
• 8x
• 5.1

Full marks to anyone who can identify each number and its associated unit.

I know everyone was looking forward to the release of the new Firebird 0.8, but instead there is no more Firebird. But in a remarkable coincidence, there’s a fantastic new browser just released, already at version 0.8 and incridibly similar to Firebird, called Firefox. Yay and, um, yippee.

I can’t help but picture it running around chasing a little blue hedgehog. The icon is very much like Tails, except for, ya know, the tails. I wonder if there are plans to rename Thunderbird (incidentally, now version 0.5), to ‘speedy blue hedgehog’. I’d use it.

I know Stephen’s going to accuse me of AOLism again, but this on’e even more worthy of my micro-vote than the last one: UCD Humanist society? I’m in, but I’ve never been one for organisation. I fear it will require some non-electronic means to get others on board.

I have a problem. It’s not really that problematic. It’s more of an issue. Or just, ya know, a thing. But it’s also, in a way, two problems. In the same way that, for example, auctions and online auctions are worthy of seperate patents.

I used to carry a notebook. It was small, flexible and covered in the craziest random crap you’ve ever seen. I took note of songs that I wanted to download so that I would no longer be cursed by the affliction known as I’ve-Got-Bandwidth-What-Will-I-Do? I noted that Leela’s first name is Turanga. I listed things that were to be done, things that had been done, facts, allegations and other miscellany.

I no longer have such a notebook. Actually, I still have that old one, but it’s full. And it says 1998-99 on the cover. I intend to buy a new one, because they are oh so useful. In fact, I should make a note of my desire to buy a new one. If only I had something to write it in.

It occured to me today, while overhauling Scatterbrain for readability, stability and portability, that a neat feature would be the ability to leave private notes for oneself, including lists of things that need to be done. I would use said feature to track my ideas about new features like this one. If only I had a mechanism for remembering to implement it.

My solution is a cunning disguise of one such message as a post, so I’ll be reminded to buy my notebook and implement my, um, notebook.

Via a completely unrelated article posted on Fark, the best quote of the week comes from a local6.com story:

During a hearing last week, the judge looked at a picture of a battered rape victim, and asked why the suspect would rape her, saying "she doesn’t look like a day at the beach."

Yes I laughed. Yes, it’s awful. Yes, I’m going to hell. But I’ll wager you’re coming with me.