December 2003 Archives
There are certain rites-of-passage in your journey up the Perl programming ladder. At some point you will have written a DBI abstration layer (guilty) and, of course, some form of HTML/XML templating solution (ahem, also guilty). For the last couple of weeks I've been ripping out the home-grown templating solution and replacing it with the spiffy HTML::Template.
Why HTML::Template and not Mason or Template Toolkit? Well, quite simply Mason and TT are leaning towards overkill for my templating needs. HTML::Template does what I want and does it well. Can't beat that and at the end of the day I'm a happy Programmer.
Ok, is it just me or is this now getting a little absurd?
WASHINGTON - The FBI is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning.
Today is the last day of my Christmas vacation and I'll be back to work tomorrow. Still today has been pretty damn good so far if I do say so myself. Playing tons of Ratchet & Clank so I can finally complete it before playing the follow-up (Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando). Also there's been plenty of old skool synth pop goings on as well. Giving XMMS a good workout thus far:
Gary Numan - Replicas
Gary Numan - Telekon
Human League - Dare
OMD - OMD
Soft Cell - The SIngles
Yazoo - Upstairs At Erics
Yazoo - You and Me Both
How anyone would consider voting for Bush at this point is beyond my comprehension. The USA is supposed to be "the land of the free" right?
On December 13, when U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein, President George W. Bush not only celebrated with his national security team, but also pulled out his pen and signed into law a bill that grants the FBI sweeping new powers. A White House spokesperson explained the curious timing of the signing - on a Saturday - as "the President signs bills seven days a week." But the last time Bush signed a bill into law on a Saturday happened more than a year ago - on a spending bill that the President needed to sign, to prevent shuttng down the federal government the following Monday.Great. Oh and don't forget the lack of judicial oversight:By signing the bill on the day of Hussein's capture, Bush effectively consigned a dramatic expansion of the USA Patriot Act to a mere footnote. Consequently, while most Americans watched as Hussein was probed for head lice, few were aware that the FBI had just obtained the power to probe their financial records, even if the feds don't suspect their involvement in crime or terrorism.
While broadening the definition of "financial institution," the Bush administration is ramping up provisions within the 2001 USA Patriot Act, which granted the FBI the authority to obtain client records from banks by merely requesting the records in a "National Security Letter." To get the records, the FBI doesn't have to appear before a judge, nor demonstrate "probable cause" - reason to believe that the targeted client is involved in criminal or terrorist activity. Moreover, the National Security Letters are attached with a gag order, preventing any financial institution from informing its clients that their records have been surrendered to the FBI. If a financial institution breaches the gag order, it faces criminal penalties. And finally, the FBI will no longer be required to report to Congress how often they have used the National Security Letters.
Handy little table of Windows software and the Linux equivalent.
One of the biggest difficulties in migrating from Windows to Linux is the lack of knowledge about comparable software. Newbies usually search for Linux analogs of Windows software, and advanced Linux-users cannot answer their questions since they often don't know too much about Windows :). This list of Linux equivalents / replacements / analogs of Windows software is based on our own experience and on the information obtained from the visitors of this page (thanks!).
Sal and I got ourselves brand spanking new NEC 525 cell phones. How cool are they? WAY cool. That's not all, by switching from Sprint to ATT we got them for free (they're $299 each in the store) AND we'll be paying $30 less a month on our cell phone bill.
I'm still grinning from ear to ear.
Ben Hammersley raises an interesting point now that some of the Presidential campaigns are using open source software. He ponders:
One interesting thing. I asked Tony Steidler-Dennison of the Clark campaign about the legality of using non-US citizens within a project for an American election. As an Englishman, I’m not allowed to contribute cash, so how can I be allowed to contribute code?He also raises a tongue-in-cheek point that I've heard elsewhere many times and I do actually think he (and others) have a point:
The other point to ponder is a mischievous one: given the US’s unique role on the international stage, is it morally right for its election to be decided, or even participated in, only by its own citizens?
Christmas day was supposed to be a great day for the British Space program. After successfully detaching itself from the Mars Express Craft, the space probe Beagle 2 was supposed to touch down on the surface of Mars and look for signs of life. All very cool indeed. Except there's been no signal from Beagle 2. Bugger.
Hopes are fading for Beagle 2, the British space probe that was due to touch down on Mars early on Christmas day. Efforts to detect the probe's radio signal, which would indicate the Beagle had landed safely, have so far drawn a blank.Beagle 2 was due to make contact for the first time shortly after 6am on Christmas day when Nasa's Mars Odyssey probe, which has been orbiting the red planet since 2001, flew over its intended landing site. But the Nasa orbiter found no sign of the Beagle.
Later on Christmas day, scientists at the giant Jodrell Bank radio telescope in Cheshire turned the 76m dish towards Mars in the hope of detecting Beagle's call sign, a signal no stronger than a mobile phone's. They also heard nothing.
If this post shows up then I will assume the upgrade to MT 2.65 was a success :-)
Last night I had a dream that I was fighting in a battle. The battlefield was kind of a cross between those shown in Braveheart and LOTR:TTT. What were we all fighting over? Aha, it was something VERY important. I was fighting on the side that thought Ice Cream was the best food on the planet. Our opponents thought that cheese was the best food on the planet. The dream began with me not knowing which side fo fight on. I was arguing something to the effect of "But I like Ice Cream *and* cheese, how can I possibly choose the right side?"
In real life there would have been no question about whose side I would fight on - Ice Cream beats cheese every day of the week in my book.
From the "no surprise there" department:
LOS ANGELES - "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" has collected $124.1 million since its Wednesday debut — the highest-grossing five-day opening ever, according to final box office figures Monday.The previous record holder was 1999's "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace," which collected $105.7 million between its Wednesday opening and the following Sunday.
I'm SO full, I think I'm going to burst. My boss took the development group out to lunch today. We went to Houstons. Had one of the best burgers I think I've ever eaten in my life. This thing was HUGE. So we're now back at the office staring blankly at our monitors wishing we could have a nap instead :-)
LONDON, England (AP) -- Are there ghostly goings-on at Henry VIII's palace, or is that hazy image of a fellow in fancy robes just a bit of Christmas cheer?Closed-circuit security cameras at Hampton Court Palace, the huge Tudor castle outside London, seem to have snagged an ethereal visitor. Could it be a ghost?
Interesting write-up of the recent Debian compromise.
I loved the original Christmas Vacation. For some reason it never fails to amuse me. It's one of those movies that we watch every year at Christmas. I was surprised to see Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure advertised in the TV guide yesterday. Blimey, there's another Christmas Vacation movie I thought to myself, better check it out.
No words can adequately describe the crapfest that is CV2. If you ever want a good example of the worst acting on planet earth, watch this movie. We bailed after 15 minutes.
How dare they. The vending machine bastards have raised the price of drinks to 60 cents. There I was, happy with my dollar bill, safe in the knowledge that I would be having two drinks this afternoon. Bugger.
I can see the future, and it involves vending machines that take debit cards. Either that or I could bring more money to work instead of being a cheap bastard :-)
After trying out a couple of Linux distros I have been running Mandrake 9.1 for a while now. I first installed it on my laptop back in July and since then have installed it on my desktop at work and on my computers at home (removing an old Red Hat 7.2 installation in the process).
Ronaldo has a similar story. I like the sound of his Mandrake 9.2 review. I think I might be upgrading :-)
Sally's ankle still isn't better. She twisted it quite badly back in June. The specialist thinks that she tore the ligaments and they still haven't healed properly. So, on Tuesday morning, they put another cast on her ankle. This one is a proper non-removable one. She has to keep it on for 6 weeks.
The good thing is that she doesn't need crutches. They gave her a little cast-shoe that she puts on to enable her to walk. As long as her ankle doesn't move (trust me - it can't) she can put as much pressure on her foot as she likes. She's as pleased as pie - she HATES crutches with a passion. This was the reason she didn't want a cast on in the first place; she feels like in invalid. Now that she can hobble around, she doesn't mind the cast at all.
Well the ol' flu finally caught up with me this week. I haven't been to work since Monday and I'm not going today either. One thing's for sure - I've never blown my nose this much in my life EVER. Talk about red raw. I need some of that kleenex with the lotion in it or something.
Last night I had a dream that Sally and I were in the band Iron Maiden. I was the drummer and she played guitar. Bruce Dickinson (singer) kept having a go at Sally because she kept getting a song wrong. I then proceeded to stick my drum sticks up Bruce's nose. He then laughed and finished the rest of the concert with said drum sticks still up his nose.
I woke up and just laughed, it was one of the more amusing dreams that I can recall.
From the "I didn't know you could do that" department. I was poking around google this morning and stumbled across their Search By Number feature.
Parcel tracking IDs, patents and other specialized numbers can be entered into Google's search box for quick access to information about them. For example, typing "fedex" followed by a space and a FedEx tracking number will return the latest information on your package
Nothing we haven't read before but anyone thinking of voting for Dubya next year might want to give his resume another look over.
Got to love that Haliburton and their no-bid contract wins.
Washington -- A Pentagon investigation has found evidence that a subsidiary of the politically connected Halliburton Co. overcharged the government by as much as $61 million for gasoline delivered to Iraq under huge no-bid reconstruction contracts, senior defense officials said on Thursday.The problems involving Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, were described in a preliminary report by auditors, the officials said. They said the issues are a source of deep concern within the Pentagon, whose contracts with KBR were awarded without competitive bidding and have a potential value of $15.6 billion.
Halliburton, an enormous corporation that had more than $12.5 billion in revenues in 2002, has emerged as a symbol for many people who opposed the war in Iraq and who said the interests of such companies with close political ties were given too much consideration by the administration.
Criticism of the company intensified when it received the no-bid contract worth billions of dollars to provide a variety of services in Iraq.
Dr Martin's, Dr Martin's, Dr Martin's Boots (ahem, a Young Ones reference - Alexi Sayle sang that as I recall). Anyway, it occured to me that I've had my trusty pair of DM's for over 11 years now. Amazingly, they're still in one piece and I love 'em. Don't have much of a sole but they're still bloody comfy.
The new Battlestar Galactica was on last night. I liked it. They did a good job with the Vipers. The take off sequence from the Galactica looked almost identical. Not sure how I'll take to the new Cylons especially since they can look just like humans now. Anyway, I think I'll watch it again tonight to see how it ends.
Oh, did you notice that the SciFi channel is going to have a reality TV series? Please make it stop
Nicely lined up in my car's cd player this afternoon:
The Cure - Faith
The Cure - Pornography
Inspiral Carpets - The Singles
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Twice Upon A Time, The Singles
The Sisters Of Mercy - Floodland
Blimey, bit chilly in the North East.
The season's first major snowstorm walloped the Northeast on Saturday, closing Boston's Logan International Airport and dumping at least 23 inches in parts of New York.Now, compare that with Phoenix[0] yesterday. I drove with my windows down while wearing shorts & t-shirt past workmen planting palm trees. It's no wonder we have a MASSIVE influx of retirees in the <tongue_in_cheek>Winter</tongue_in_cheek> :-) To be honest, it's a major pain in the arse navigating with 85 year olds from Montana driving their Lincoln Towncars as slooooow as humanly possible.
In 55 years time when I'm 85 and I think it's a good idea to drive MY Lincoln TownHoverJetThingy (hey, it could happen) around the skies of Phoenix, please shoot me.
[0] And here's the big trade off. Phoenix is WONDERFUL in the Winter. We go outside while people in Boston stay indoors because it's too bloody cold to go out. In the Summer, people in Boston get to go outside while we stay indoors because it's too bloody hot to go out.
Taito are re-releasing Space Invaders in the arcades. Apparently there's been a rebirth in classic video gaming in America. Who knew? I can't even imagine how much money I spent on Space Invaders back when I was a wee lad.
Japanese game machine maker Taito Corp said on Friday it plans to restart sales of "Space Invaders" in the United States, almost 25 years after the game first appeared in video arcades.Link via Matt
It's December so you know what that means. That's right, it's time for Mark Fowler's Perl Advent Calendar where you get to learn a thing or two about some cool CPAN modules.
Watched the 46664 concert last night on MTV. Unfortunately it wasn't the greatest concert I'd ever seen. However it did redeem itself slightly when The Eurythmics did a decent version of 'Sweet Dreams'. Being the synthesizer geek that I am, I thought it was way cool that Dave Stewart actually played a Moog onstage.
So *that's* what happened to the Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Dubya eliminated them.
Not breaking any ground, Bush highlighted the accomplishments of his administration, saying he had eliminated the terror threat from Afghanistan and weapons of mass destruction from Iraq and ensured that Medicare will remain solvent.How could I have been so silly. There I was thinking no WMD had been found :-)
How that bloke has the balls to stand up there and just lie through his teeth amazes me. Does he really think the American public are that stupid?
Not sure if I've been living in a cave but here's some other Peter Jackson news that I just read. Looks like he wants to make The Hobbit:
Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson says he would be interested in making a movie of The Hobbit._and_ King Kong:LOTR production company New Line Cinema are reportedly in talks to buy the film rights for JRR Tolkien's book.
Director Peter Jackson, fresh from the Return of the King world premiere, will start work on his $200 million King Kong film in Wellington next month.Universal Studios is to pay Jackson a record $32 million to direct the film which is expected to provide between 1500 and 2000 jobs.
How cool would it have been to have gone to the ROTK premier in New Zealand?
New Zealand's usually sleepy capital came awake in a roar of celebration yesterday as stars returned for the premiere of "The Return of the King," the final film in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, parading through the city in open cars flanked by black-shrouded horsemen, orcs and hobbits that inhabit the beloved novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.I'm still trying to convince my wife that a FOTR and TTT marathon is in order for Dec 16th followed by ROTK on the 17th. So far she's not going for it. Well, I've still got 14 days to work on her :-)
A little google fun at Dubya's expense. Just do a search for 'miserable failure' and then sit back and smile :-)
Via Atrios
Ever wonder what kind of food Texas death row inmates request for their last meal? Well, wonder no longer, just head on over to final meal requests. The oddest one is probably Miguel Richardson:
Chocolate birthday cake with "2/23/90" written on top, seven pink candles, one coconut, kiwi fruit juice, pineapple juice, one mango, grapes, lettuce, cottage cheese, peaches, one banana, one delicious apple, chef salad without meat and with thousand island dressing, fruit salad, cheese, and tomato slices.
Today is World Aids Day. To mark the event, the vatican has again called for people to not use condoms. Sigh.
With the lovely two day holiday because of Thanksgiving I had a 4 day long weekend. NICE. Random foo:
Thursday:
- Turkey & Stuffing
- Turkey
- Turkey
- Tired
- Snoring
Friday:
- Christmas decorations
- Kraftwerk
- Lunchtime drinking really screws up the rest of your day :-)
- X2 - They did a really good job with Nightcrawler
Saturday:
- Homework sucks
- Why did I leave homework till the weekend?
- Why doesn't Wine work on my Linux box?
- Ahem, why doesn't Wine work with a WinXP partition & Office 2K?
- Works fine on my laptop with with a Win98 partition & Office 2K
- Grr, 3 hours later still not working
- Gave up, rebooted into winders :-(
- T1 & T2 - How could John Connor have sent Kyle Rees back in time if John Connor would not have existed in the first place had Kyle Rees *not* been present in 1984?
- Everyone loves a time travel paradox :-)
Sunday:
- Rugger. All day long
- World Cup Quarter Final, Semi Final, Final
- Never watched so much Rugby in my life - loved it
- New Barnes & Noble, usual story, $100 and 2 hours later...