I see Google has a new patent search feature. This is one of the more useless Google features to those of us in the software industry. The first rule of software patents is “never read software patents”. The broad nature of many software patents makes it almost certain that my code infringes multiple patents out… Continue reading Google patent search
Geminid meteor shower? No thanks
It's supposed to be the best meteor shower of the year, but I live in about the worst light-polluted area of the planet, and I'm not about to drive out to the desert in the middle of the night. I've been disappointed before when I tried to watch meteor showers.
5 hours' work, wasted
For the sake of 10 minutes. Because Mrs Elbeno insisted that I turn off the computer NOW and go to bed last night, and /tmp gets cleared on boot. Grrr. If you’re reading this, Mrs Elbeno, I’m never listening to you again over such matters!
Wii gubbins
5183 7827 7354 6715 I’m pro level at tennis! And advancing rapidly with the bowling (high score 197). Golf I haven’t touched yet, baseball is fun but takes too long, and boxing is a bit hit and miss (har) for me.
the yearly mail merge
Yule is almost here and Mrs Elbeno and I have been writing the letter, which means that once again I get to figure out how to do a mail merge from the address book spreadsheet to a sheet of labels. And every year it changes slightly. This year it was quite easy though, despite the… Continue reading the yearly mail merge
a thought experiment
I followed the story of Christopher Soghoian with interest over the last few months. As you'll recall, he is the security researcher who put a fake Northwest Airlines boarding pass generator on the web, and was subsequently visited by the FBI. There are two amazing parts to this story, for me: first, that the FBI… Continue reading a thought experiment
Book sale haul
Today was (is) the quarterly Culver City Library book sale. $15 got us: The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin 3 Hardy Boys Books: The House on the Cliff (2), Hunting for Hidden Gold (5), The Mystery of Cabin… Continue reading Book sale haul
I have my Wii
Played with it a bit last night. Fun! I can see that Wii Sports Tennis is going to be great. But I was too jet-lagged to play much. I set up my Mii and did the online update, played a bit of Tennis and Bowling. Now I just need a component video cable, and Zelda… Continue reading I have my Wii
Wii!
I’ve won (the right to purchase) a Wii in the office lottery. Our office is getting just over 100 of them in two shipments. The first shipment has already arrived, and the second shipment will arrive shortly after I return from holiday!
Windows Vista: Restrictive EULA?
The Windows Vista EULA has been in the news a bit today. It contains several worrying features. Other sites were complaining about how it allowed just one re-install on different hardware; that is now fixed. So you can upgrade more than once and transfer it. There has also been some complaint about the clause that… Continue reading Windows Vista: Restrictive EULA?