Month: December 2006

The end of year quiz is once again with us, courtesy of King William's College on the Isle of Man. Off you go.

# of remote family members spoken to: 11 # of video games received: 2.5 # of books received: 3 # of hours spent opening Mini-Elbeno's gifts: 4 # of minor injuries caused by toy defence systems packaging: 1 # of marzipan fruits received (eaten): 15 (0) # of pictures (movies) taken: 71 (4) # of… Continue reading Xmas 2006 stats

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…

I make no apologies for taste. But at least it doesn't include Slade. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Diana Krall O Tannenbaum – Vince Guaraldi Trio All I Want for Christmas is You – Mariah Carey Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Bjorn Again (It Must Have Been 'Ol) Santa Claus –… Continue reading Highlights from the Xmas Playlist

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

It will occur at 4.22pm PST this afternoon. Waes hael!

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

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

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.