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One big microwave

February 13th, 2002

Tim points to some really neat visualization of wireless network coverage areas. Reminds me of infrared rescue helicopter cameras. Or radiation exposure topography. The closer you are to the blue areas, the less likely you are to still have functional gonads.

What are the human implications of the new ubiquity of wireless computer communications? Am I fooling myself that 802.11 and wireless data really makes things any worse than broadcast Radio, TV, cell phones, cordless phones have already made things? How close are we to baking ourselves in this gigantic radio-frequency Greater Metropolitan Area oven?


UltraEdit 9.0 is available. I registered it in 2000 so no free upgrade, but it’s well worth the $17.50 to keep updates flowing for another year. Fantastic editor. What sold me originally was that it printed in color-context, but its list of features is endless. Column mode, Function lists, User-defined context colouring, file Diff, FTP open/save, macros, regex search/replace, dos cmd to window, low energy spin and fluff cycle…

While I’m on about indispensable things, TightVNC is a great version of AT&T’s Cambridge UK labs VNC remote control program that uses optimized compression. I use it all the time, well at least when my @#$&^@%* cable provider is up!!

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A bridge too far

February 7th, 2002

Contract Bridge may be coming to the Olympics. Andy Barrie said it best on CBC this morning (paraphrased): “What’s next – Rock, Paper Scissors?”.

They interviewed a guy on the Canadian team that just won a huge tournament in Salt Lake City. Olympic Bridge athletes (?!) must be split into separate teams for men and women and undergo random drug tests.

Now, I really, really appreciate that these people are the best in the whole damned world at a pastime that is remarkably challenging and worthy of all sorts of respect. But IOC, give your fucking heads a shake.

I’m starting to train now for the 2012 summer games where I’ll partake in the booger-flicking competition.


Tim says he can’t wait to watch every minute of riveting Olympic Bridge coverage. I’m considering making room in my cable tv portfolio for this event’s coverage by dropping the ever-popular Paint-Drying Channel – a tough decision but I’m willing to sacrifice. If only I could afford the tickets to the event floor. Bastard ticket scalpers.

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Redefining standards

February 7th, 2002

According to The Register, CSS means “Cross-Site Scripting”.

You would think a technology magazine editor would consider that coining a temporary acronym to shorten an article is not helpful if in doing so you’re clashing with a significant not-too-distantly related standard acronym. It’s especially ridiculous since the offending contraction was then only used once more in the article.

In making such a gaffe while using their usual haughty high-horse tone as they pat themselves on the back for exposing yet another example of abject IT incompetence, they sorta come out with both guns blazing and their fly wide open.

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ponying up

February 5th, 2002

It’s a nerd, it’s a brain, it’s…

Registration-Boy!!

Today I registered three programs online:

  • Radio Userland – Here’s my $39.95, one ticket to the future, please.
  • PocoMail – $25 for a great mail program with filters and scriptability out the yin-yang. Tools for techies.
  • Winzip – $29 and finally, I’m legit with this absolutely indispensable tool.

All told less than $100US for three ass-kickin powerhouse tools.

Feels good.

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The festival of the link

January 31st, 2002

Where linkfests are concerned, Shane McChesney is the freakin man. L’uomo del freakin. L’homme qui freak. El hombre del freakin. Der freakinmann. O homem do freakin.

Oh yeah, and thanks again for all the fish, Douglas.

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all things ot

January 30th, 2002

John Otway is a great musician and character I’ve watched usually from afar for many years. Lots of fun and always a regular guy. I love the survey on his site.


Eric Costello of glish.com has written an article for Apple on Remote Scripting with an IFRAME.

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just how I like it

January 29th, 2002

While the west coast is having unseasonably cold and wintry weather, this has been the BEST winter I can ever remember in Toronto. No snow, mild temperatures. I’m not a skier, can you tell?

It was so warm this past weekend that I actually took down the christmas lights! That’s gotta be the first year I’ve ever had them down before June.


I hear Mandrake 8.2 is in beta. One new feature I look forward to is the Minimum Installation option – a bare-bones Linux installation in 65 Mb.

I would have liked that option when I recently installed my machine. Install it with next to nothing, then build up the functionality you need. That way I’d be more confident that I wasn’t biting off more than I could chew.


Wow! a 25 inch monitor for only $31.75!!

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if the browser don’t fit…

January 23rd, 2002

News.com reports on how AOL/Netscape is suing Microsoft, saying:

In some ways, the Netscape lawsuit is trying to achieve what the government failed to do so at trial

Highly publicized trial lets Netscape killer get away scot-free. Victim’s family sues in court for damages.

I guess the next step is Microsoft moving to Florida, playing lots of golf, selling macabre autographs and beating up on motorists.