16th December 2008

Comparing because I can

A quiet afternoon and two identical laptop computers. What to do? In the geek world, the answer is simple; compare and contrast your two “favourite” operating systems. After all, subjectivity isn’t scientific, so a dual-boot machine leaves you convinced that A is better than B, but the doubt persists. What if I’m suffering from a discontinuity in my benchmarking memory?

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posted in computing | Comments Off on Comparing because I can | 333 words

12th December 2008

Among the bridges

By an odd set of coincidences, I came into contact with bridges today. Not the historical variety, carrying the world across a stream, but the newfangled, telecommunicational kind that link faces across a distance. One bridge worked. The other never got a chance. I didn’t expect either when the day started, but that’s what gives form to coincidental moments.

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posted in computing, education | Comments Off on Among the bridges | 326 words

5th December 2008

My editor is limping

I’m living the open source adventure these days. The most recent upgrade to WordPress wiped out the toolbars from the text editor, leaving an empty grid where the different buttons used to be. I’ve consulted the support forum, where others are faced with the same disfunction, but none of the advice offered by others fixes the problem.

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posted in computing | Comments Off on My editor is limping | 269 words

13th November 2008

Tunes, snow and an improved game world

My kids laugh at me, because I’ve got the music in me. Put on headphones, some tunes, and the groove oozes from between my joints. Maybe it’s time for a visit to one of their places, where people slam or skank or whatever it is that they do; I can laugh louder and longer. For now, I’m just going to listen to Bob Sinclar and let the rhythm take me.

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posted in computing, economy, education | Comments Off on Tunes, snow and an improved game world | 283 words

7th November 2008

Finding the links I need

After six days in the doldrums, the breeze has returned. Oddest thing; I installed the new weather station hardware last Saturday morning, and the world around me went to calm. Until this evening, I wondered if I’d even tightened the set screw properly. Maybe the whirlygig wasn’t anything more than an ornament. Oh well, if controlling the climate was that simple, someone else would have already created a commercial system.

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posted in computing | Comments Off on Finding the links I need | 257 words

3rd November 2008

Satire, nostalgia and a dog with retrieval disorder

When you don’t know whether you should laugh or cry, follow the lead of American television, and show an evening of political satire. After all, if even one more person is scared enough to go and vote then the goal has been met. These are tense times; somebody crack another joke, please!

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posted in computing, history, pets | Comments Off on Satire, nostalgia and a dog with retrieval disorder | 261 words

23rd October 2008

When one trend masks another

Time to apply a little imagery to the current economic conditions. First of all, for those of us who have had our incomes fixed by decree, the average day is grey, with hints of rain. There’s little change in view, so we take our delight in the details. Consider the trend in the price of gas.

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posted in computing, economy | Comments Off on When one trend masks another | 270 words

22nd October 2008

The planes are back in the virtual air

Once in a while, my involvement with the anonymous world of eBay goes awry. Not too often, two or three times in a hundred. Just enough to remind me that this is still the “real world” and there are those who would take advantage of perfect strangers.

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posted in computing | Comments Off on The planes are back in the virtual air | 305 words

8th October 2008

The code must be revealed

How much time should a person waste in the quest for information that they need to do their job? The attitude of some institutions concerning things like access codes is bewildering. Not so much where I work (although there are moments…) but other members of my family have come head to head with the beast known as system security.

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posted in computing | Comments Off on The code must be revealed | 296 words

26th September 2008

A dogfight on the living room wall

Forget Top Gun. There’s a dogfight going on over my living room, and I’m ready to take my Gravol now. Since sometime yesterday, the tactical comms channel reminds me that the enemy is ready to lock on and blow me out of the sky. My gaming children are deep in the game/movie called Ace Combat 6, and I’m impressed.

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posted in computing | Comments Off on A dogfight on the living room wall | 266 words

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