Author: Rory

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.

It seems I got as much of the New Hampshire vote as Al Sharpton. Take that, sucker. Taking into account the margin of error (4%), I could have beaten him with my astonishing 0% to his possible -4%.

If you want to point out that I’m linking to American political news at MTV, your jeering may be better informed that I got the news originally from Fark.

If I was a more vocal blogger, or if I didn’t have a lecture to go to right now, I’d have more to say on this. I just dropped back here after a visit to slashdot, where I was met with an ad for a technology conference in O’Reilly Hall, UCD.