Category: Uncategorized

Merry Xmas

After trying many ornament shots, this is the best. Not bad for a compact under such low lighting conditions. Of course I really need an SLR, proper tripod and remote shutter…

2006: the good stuff

Good stuff that is specific to me: Of course, the best thing is mini-Elbeno. We started the year getting ready for his arrival, and since he's been here our lives have been changed forever in a wonderful way. And we have also been keeping in closer contact with the rest of the family since he… Continue reading 2006: the good stuff

The tree's up

This year I did the whole job while Mrs. Elbeno tended to mini-Elbeno. It's looking good this year, in the dining room rather than the living room where little hands run amok. We have finally retired some of the original cheapo filler ornaments we bought when we first got the tree. This year we toyed… Continue reading The tree's up

Google patent search

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.

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

the only meme you need

What are you? A meme by Elbeno. Choose wisely and reveal your true self… Q1 Paint a picture Write a song Run a marathon Q2 Louis Armstrong John Lennon Britney Spears Q3 July 20th, 1969 November 22nd, 1963 June 6th, 1944 Mostly A's: You're the blue face of a Rubik's Cube. Dependable and true, you're… Continue reading the only meme you need