Interesting links and notes on updates to my main website.



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This is what they want.
They want you to never own anything.
Every time you use it, you have to pay a fee.
You can't sell it. Someone else can't buy it.
Just money money money for them.

So you don't have software. You have a "license" for software.
You don't have an OS on your hardware. You have a "license" for the OS on your hardware.
They literally use this daft system to try to make people pay again for stuff that was already purchased.

Hardware Manufacturers Gouging Customers

My comment: You own nothing. posted by Richard at 22:38 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

security - W32.Mimail Virus

OCIPEP Advisory AV03-33
W32.Mimail Virus
W32.Mimail Ver posted by Richard at 22:11 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Public Service Announcement

Rethink Breast Cancer

It uses Flash, which seems, erm, somehow appropriate. posted by Richard at 09:01 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Finally, a public official who can explain the administration's social policies in the original German.

--Bill Maher, via Bobby the Mat.

via Wil Wheaton posted by Richard at 22:25 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

vocab

words that sound dirty but aren't

cack-handed . . . . adjective [English dialect cack, keck awkward] (1854) 1 British : LEFT-HANDED 2 British : CLUMSY, AWKWARD

useful coinages

chillax: To chill and relax concurrently.

from

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition - New Words and Senses Sampler

and

A pocket lexicon of teen lingo posted by Richard at 20:44 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

In a speech given to the MoveOn organization, Al Gore provides a clear, systematic description of some of the falsehoods that underpin the US Government's Iraq War and economic policies.

text
video (RealVideo)

He also says

I am proud that my party has candidates for president committed to those values. I admire the effort and skill they are putting into their campaigns. I am not going to join them, but later in the political cycle I will endorse one of them

Via Daypop. posted by Richard at 16:28 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Turn Down the Lights. Via Slashdot. posted by Richard at 13:27 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Oh, I forgot all about this event (I read about it on the bus this morning) - I wonder if I would have been evacuated, I certainly lived in that general area.

At the end of this article in the Globe they try to draw some very strained comparisons to The Halifax Explosion (circa 1917, devastated Halifax, for those of you who aren't familiar).

Halifax explosion forces 400 to leave homes

The CBC article is more straightforward: Explosion rocks Halifax waterfront. posted by Richard at 13:25 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Oh good, this should slow things down:

The US Department of Homeland Security issued an advisory Tuesday directing federal airport screeners and local authorities to pay particular attention to small electronic devices such as remote key locks, camera flash attachments, cell phones and radios.

from Security advisory focuses on electronic devices via OCIPEP Daily Briefing.

I still think it is odd that I have to present my cellphone for inspection, but not my larger electric razor (it is apparently exempted as a "personal grooming device"). posted by Richard at 12:59 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Tired of Rogers sending you wireless messages about the benefits of wireless messaging? Rogers.com - Rogers AT&T Wireless – Marketing Permission (also reachable via shorter rogers.com/wp URL) posted by Richard at 12:55 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

I've converted my entire blog to use Reblogger. It slows the page load a bit, but it allows me to get emailed the comments, rather than having to check manually. posted by Richard at 09:54 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

A ton of stuff about security on TaoSecurity. Via Blogs: Another Tool in the Security Pro's Toolkit (Part Two). posted by Richard at 16:53 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

The End of Free posted my submission on the Economist moving to a pay subscription model for PDA content. posted by Richard at 12:50 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

I'm trying to figure out how to properly set up CVS to support multiple projects, with multiple developers. I haven't been able to find any really solid information on that. I've found information on multiple devels. on ONE project, or multiple non-overlapping developers on multiple projects, but not really anything where I can have

Projects 1, 2, 3
and
Developers A, B, C
where one or more of A, B, and C may be working on P1, 2, 3

I've read some of O'Reilly's Essential CVS, and the free book I mentioned yesterday, and the site http://durak.org/cvswebsites/doc/

Now I'm going to have a look through USENET, starting with comp.software.config-mgmt

I would have thought this kind of thing would be a FAQ.

UPDATE: After having reviewed this topic, I have decided that it is impossible to do multidevel, multiproj in CVS. The main two options are to have all developers with access to all projects (which is what I will do) or to have separate CVS repositories for different projects. posted by Richard at 10:07 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991. Via SE. posted by Richard at 07:56 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Camp aims to beat web addiction. Via Random Abstract. posted by Richard at 07:42 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

photography tilting east

PhotoEast

OuterSurf Gallery, Sunday Snapshot etc. posted by Richard at 18:48 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Free book in PDF or HTML format online Open Source Development with CVS posted by Richard at 14:30 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

The cradle for my Sony Clie is now only intermittently connecting.
Things fall apart.

Perhaps I need to sing it a recharging song.
erm, this reference probably won't make sense to you until yesterday's Fisher is online posted by Richard at 13:55 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Why do people make windows that don't resize?
I fvcking hate windows that don't resize.

People say Microsoft at least makes good useable software.
Well then why is the fcking Rules Wizard in Outlook a window I can't resize?
Why do I have to scroll up and down
up and down
just to be able to see all my rules?

Fvck. posted by Richard at 09:30 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

This morning when I booted my ancient PowerMac G3, which is still where I do most all of my Internetting, the 2nd hard drive didn't start at boot.

It went more like clink clink click.

My world is falling apart.

It has done this a few times before.
It came up after I shutdown and powered back up again. posted by Richard at 07:50 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Test of reblogger. posted by Richard at 07:14 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

I want a blog commenting system that
1. is preferably free
2. will email me when there are new posts
3. is hosted remotely

BlogBack Plus is available as a gift to existing users only who donate $5 or more, via PayPal. For every $5 donated you can get access for six months.
BlogBack no longer accepts new members.

backBlogPro one-year-subscription costs $10 (US) via PayPal. Subscriptions are automatically renewed.
backBlogPro will email when there are new posts.

HaloScan will upgrade to premium account including email notifications for a donation of $10 (USD) or more, via PayPal or Paysystems.

Enetnation provides email notifications in the donation version, which is 10 pounds, via some credit card service or PayPal.

Reblogger says it will do email notifications.

YACCS no longer accepts new members.

Computers - Internet - On the Web - Weblogs - Tools - Commenting posted by Richard at 06:41 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

It is raining with ferocious intensity. posted by Richard at 06:40 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

FocusCentre has been bought by Henry's. The Bank Street location has some signs up about a sale, presumably clearing out old stock before they switch over to the new identity. posted by Richard at 18:25 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

SCO Wants $699 for Linux Systems (before Oct. 15, 2003)
After October 15, SCO says they'll want $1399.

Presumably they will use this money to buy crack, of which they must currently be consuming tremendous amounts. posted by Richard at 15:53 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Blogger was periodically an indicator of why you might not want to trust your mission-critical systems to MS SQL Server, as attempting to reach the www.blogger.com home page was for a while giving the dreaded

[details removed] posted by Richard at 15:51 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

'Ethical hackers' test for weakness

The politically correct term for this is "penetration testing", which come to think of it, doesn't sound that PC after all. posted by Richard at 13:01 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Citizenship and Immigration starts on database project

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will be keeping closer tabs on visitors and residents coming in and out of the country through a comprehensive database that will be a single point of reference for the ministry.

The project, dubbed Global Case Management System (GSMS), was first announced in April and is just getting under way now. Management consulting firm Accenture was hired on by the CIC in a two-part contract to help define and carry out the project worth an estimated $54 million over three years. Services company Ajilon Consulting is also participating.

Accenture has chosen Siebel's eGovernment product to be the basis for the GSMS running on Microsoft's SQL Server database.

Well, I feel safer already.

"You're not OK until we've said you're OK," said Mercier.

Oh, even better.
posted by Richard at 12:42 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

IBM opens Ottawa software lab to develop open source apps

IBM Centers for Advanced Studies posted by Richard at 12:39 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

The good news is that my friend also has a Dell 8200, which makes it easy to test parts.

So far: my hard drive is fine. posted by Richard at 07:28 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Fox News is way, way over to the right.
Which apparently, is how some people like it.
Billboards thank God for Fox News

This has got to be some kind of parody thing.
Right?

Via SE. posted by Richard at 07:24 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

In case someone "borrows" your web content and then decides to argue about copyright, you may want to point them to Protecting Your Business Information from Web Theft and Copyright Violation and in particular the paragraph

Everything on your Web pages -- text, graphics, and HTML code -- is protected by US and international copyright law, whether or not you have gone to the trouble of formally applying for a copyright with the Library of Congress (though registering makes it easier to prove your ownership in court, should that become necessary). Knowing this, be very careful not to use someone else's materials, photos, or graphics on your Web site. Always ask for permission and be ready to pay for using someone else's hard work to enhance your business Web presence.

Under the Berne Convention, to which both Canada and the US are signatories, original written works are protected automatically. They do not need either to be registered, or to have a copyright notice.

Protecting Intellectual Property is another useful site. posted by Richard at 16:57 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Just a note that my radio station still exists, and it appears that people still listen to it. You have to be a Live365 premium or VIP or whatever, some sort of pay member anyway, in order to listen to it. Now that I have some money coming in from Google AdSense I may pay so that the station becomes free again.

Here's some text from my old radiostation page:

You can listen to my Internet radio station, which is always running as it is hosted on Live365 servers. The music is encoded at 56 kbps, which they categorize as cable/DSL/T1 speed, so you'll need a fast connection. I think the tracks are on shuffle (random order) play.

I have uploaded 81 tracks totalling just over 6 hours of music.

There is a station web page that will give you some brief information about it. posted by Richard at 11:14 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

My Dell 8200, which is 4 months beyond its one-year warranty, appears to be dead.
If it has become a $3000 paperweight, I will not be very happy.

Based on the recent problems with my new iBook, I now recommend you get a 2 or 3 year warranty with any new expensive computer. posted by Richard at 09:57 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

i can't do this any more.
i'm very tired. posted by Richard at 00:11 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

I'm not sure what to do about my images on the net.

Because here's the thing.
People steal my ports page.
They steal it all the time. They take it and they wrap it in some flash layer, they change the email address to point to them, they do all sorts of damn things.
Most of the time, amusingly, they leave the copyright notices I have scattered in HTML comments throughout the page intact. (You can email me if you're interested in current examples.)
No doubt soon my Google AdSense ads will find themselves on someone's stolen copy page too.

So based on this, I have to assume that people steal my photography from the net and pass it off as theirs, all the time. The prospect of that annoys me. I wonder if I should withdraw my photo galleries, or stamp visible notices and invisible watermarks all over them, or what.

In Shutterfly, as far as I can tell, it is impossible to unshare files. There doesn't appear to be any way for me to delete a previously created open share. People can buy copies of the photos, but they can't get big digital versions of them.

In Ofoto, people have to login to view photo shares, which I guess is a kind of control. However, again I don't see any way to unshare photo albums.

On Pbase there is even less control. Probably on Pbase I should have all the images stamped.

Pbase reports:
You have 9 galleries and 161 images online.
These pages have been viewed a total of 24414 times.
Your photos are using 14 Megabytes of storage space. posted by Richard at 20:26 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Tomorrow is a holiday.
I think it's Natal Day in Halifax. posted by Richard at 19:48 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Apparently blog.akerman.ca is on BlogShares. I have no idea what this means. I don't understand BlogShares. There are all these trades and the value is going up and what is it based on? Why are these people trading? Based on what? I don't understand. posted by Richard at 19:44 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Shareware book about photography by Harold M. Merklinger: The INs and OUTs of FOCUS. posted by Richard at 19:16 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Reviewers are outdoing one another to slag Gigli.

The Star reports

It is an exquisitely bad movie: One to be savoured, marvelled over, shared with friends and generally appreciated in a state of awestruck wonder. ...
At least on first viewing, this is a movie best experienced for the sheer, balls-out bravura of its badness.

The Globe opines

This is not just ordinary bad in a Bad Boys II sort of way, but a hypnotic, black hole of a movie that sucks reputations, careers and goodwill down its vortex. Rarely has a movie that doesn't star Madonna achieved such a skin-crawling mixture of deluded preening and bungled humour.

posted by Richard at 16:13 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Food fight: Schools battle obesity
Making meals fun crucial to succes [sic]

Erm, isn't making meals tasty the key to success?
Traditionally "eat your vegetables" translates in CanUSA to plain peas, beans, carrots etc. sitting on the plate. Oh yum.
Meanwhile, there are loads of delicious cuisines such as Indian, Thai, Ethopian etc. that are very healthy and have loads of vegetables but have the advantage of actually tasting good. posted by Richard at 14:20 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Parent trap: Letting go as kids hit college

Part of me would find it amusing if this generation of parents, after having over-supervised and over-scheduled their children from birth, ended up with their kids falling apart in the unstructured environment of university.

The reality though is mostly I pity the profs. In my day, the parents had no idea who the profs were. You went to university, you got your marks, that was it. The profs now will either give in with massive grade inflation for demanding obsessed parents, or spend all their time trying to explain to the parents that there are no parent-teacher meetings because the parents are supposed to be out of the equation.

In informal surveys last year of about 200 parents of incoming students at both the University of Guelph and the U of T, an overwhelming majority said they expected the university to call them about everything, from their child failing a course to winning a prize, getting sick, being depressed, or even quitting university all together.

In fact, in none of those situations would the university call a parent.

posted by Richard at 14:12 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Small birds were bathing in the sandy dirt in front of a building I passed. It was quite amusing. posted by Richard at 14:10 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Does anyone else like "moblogging" for mobile blogging? It sounds more to me like group blogging. I think a better term would be mobilogging. posted by Richard at 09:29 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Changing advertising / cultural trends: Erred on a G String?

Grr. Blogger ate post modifications.

Above link discusses some controversy about an [advertising image].

Image (was linked) from incredibly annoying Sloggi UK site. Ah yes, flash, fullscreen, and nonstop "music". Groovy.

UPDATE 2004-04-05: Link to image removed as almost all of my blog hits were due to that one image. posted by Richard at 08:41 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)

Watched Daredevil last night. It was just fairly generic. It was hard to watch Ben without thinking of The Onion "focus groups demand Ben and J.Lo. die at end of Gigli". posted by Richard at 08:37 / permalink (post) | permalink (numeric)