http://www.robocut.com/

It's Halloween. Do I have to give kids candy? What happens if I don't?

Saddam's mailbox

Dutch study packs from the University College of London.

AN IRISHMAN'S DIFFICULTIES WITH THE DUTCH LANGUAGE, FOLLOWED BY JACK O'NEILL'S FURTHER ADVENTURES IN HOLLAND. Hilarious, but mind the MS Comic Sans.

http://www.subvertise.org/

Unfortunate missing comma right at the end of this report in the Age. That, or John Landy is really really really really important.

"There were songs and music from performers including the Melbourne Symphony, Mark Seymour, Vanessa Amorosi and John Farnham and tributes from Melbourne schoolgirl Kelly West, who spoke of the miracle of hope, Indonesian embassy official Imron Cotan, who said the act of terrorism had marred the serenity and sanctity of Bali and Governor John Landy."

Apple have released Darwin for x86

Age: "Using Australia's 2001 census data, the report found that 8.8 per cent of inner Melbourne couples were same-sex, higher than Sydney on 5.9 per cent and San Francisco on 5.4 per cent."

Take the BBC political insults quiz.

Age: "Psychologists probing the wave of corporate crime in America have noticed a trend that may not surprise many workers: the boss could well be a psychopath."

BBC quiz helps you choose a premiership team.

Microsoft apologizes for NYC graffiti: "MICROSOFT has apologized to New York City for blanketing public property with hundreds of butterfly decals used to promote the company's new MSN 8 internet service."

BBC: Eminem impersonator causes panic

BBC report on serious crime fighting in England: "closed-circuit television cameras are also being used in an effort to identify other people throwing bread for the pigeons."

I had a dream that it was really trendy to wear bits of curtains as scarfs. Then some super-fashionistas took it further by wearing a short section of the curtain railing, arranged like a stiff collar that stuck up as high as their chins in front.

(I know other people's dreams are boring, but I couldn't resist)

3PBS have a really good set of links to Melbourne bands including electronic and dance, indie and 'world wide grooves and acoustic'.

Sites missing from Google

"Most of the missing sites are ones that deny the Holocaust or promote white supremacy. France and Germany have strict laws banning hate speech, while the United States favors freedom of expression even for unpopular viewpoints."

...

"Mr Edelman said users would have no inkling of any exclusions unless they compared search results side by side. He suggested Google could better serve users by inserting a "placeholder" where sites are removed due to government or other censorship."

BBC: AOL Time Warner to restate results

"Dot.com icon America Online has overstated its results over two years, bosses of the internet firm have revealed in a statement revealing a continuing slump in ad takings."

Remember when you could trust accountants?

TV Cream - waste days of your life tracking down tv shows you almost remember from when you were a kid.

If you're like me and always forget the syntax of .htaccess files, this simple, step-by-step tutorial on .htaccess and .htpasswd is very handy.

BBC: Screensavers crack medical puzzle.

Distributed computing works!

Age: Global web servers crippled by electronic attack.

(I'm tempted to wonder if it has anything to do with Al Qaeda)

Guy Fawkes isn't for another two weeks, but the fireworks stores are everywhere (around Hackney, anyway). Kids have been setting them off for weeks already, it sounds like there's a war zone just down the block. I can't imagine what the night itself is going to be like. I'm actually excited, Guy Fawkes is so exotic thing for me. Luckily I had time to get used to countries where you can buy your own fireworks in Amsterdam.

People are striking again in England. There's been two or three tube strikes since I've been here, and there are more on the way, apparently in support of the fire fighter's strike.

I know the 80s are back in, but surely going back to strikes that throw the country into chaos is going too far.

"I helped blow up a Bali nightclub -- by driving my SUV to work every day!"

Age on Telstra and Microsoft and the increasing number of government organisations looking at switching to Linux.

"Although chief executive Steve Ballmer says Microsoft will talk to customers about its "value proposition", deep price discounting is not on the agenda. Despite analysts who recommend open-source or free software to enterprises over Microsoft on the server and increasingly on the desktop, Ballmer predictably says Microsoft's products cost less than free software in the long run.

That hasn't stopped Telstra - Microsoft's first enterprise licensing customer in the world - the Federal Government and several banks considering the switch to free software alternatives. In July, Centrelink, the world's 12th-biggest processing organisation, started a lab to develop free software Linux. A month later the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs, as part of a $90 million three-year contract with IBM Global Services Australia, moved its file and print services to an IBM zSeries mainframe running Linux."

If you use bash (probably the most common shell these days) and you've never tried history expansion, read this and give it a go. Excellent stuff.

PHP Tutorial - a nice introduction to PHP for beginners.

Age: PM flags tougher gun laws

"But Mr Howard could meet resistance from Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, who last night ruled out a ban on possessing handguns following the Monash University shootings."

Don't tell me I have to think Howard is more sensible than Steve Bracks (who never lived up his 'new labour leader' potential, quite a feat after years of Kennetisation).

Who controls your computer? Richard Stallman, in The Age, of all places.

Gamespot: Microsoft may pull Xbox in Australia

Ape-man Ballmer tries petulant bully tactics, but he can get stuffed because it's Australia's right to provide legislation to allow citizens to view legally purchased content from other regions.

Websites that suck, number 1234023450534 in a series: I tried to get to the Espy's site today to check out the rumour that they had pokies, and got this error (using Mozilla and IE 5.5). If anyone's in Melbourne, can they ring them?

(A devastating rumour I heard in the middle of the Whitlams' gig on Saturday - Fraser's incredibly bad timing was apparently inspired by "Blow up the Pokies" (mp3).)

Age: "Dinosaur preserved for all time

Move over, ice man. Scientists have found a 77-million-year-old dinosaur so well preserved they're calling it a mummy.

Most of the leathery skin on this creature, discovered two years ago in Montana where there are a number of fossil sites, is intact, though turned to mineral.

Its throat and shoulder muscle are still there. Its face retains traces of its nail-like beak. Its discoverers even say it contains the remnants of its last meal, a half-digested mass of plant material."

(quoting lots because the Age doesn't allow access to archives).

IHT: "An inscription in stone, found in or near Jerusalem and written in a language and script of 2,000 years ago, bears the words "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.""

Jesus had a brother? I wonder if he was the oldest or the youngest.

PM soars in wake of terror

Harsh editorial comment at news.com.au

Name that beard

BBC: "Crushed passenger wins obesity payout"

Doonesbury talks sense on Iraq.

Age: "Australia would fight terrorism in South-East Asia through diplomacy rather than sending in troops, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today."

Shame they can't propose the same thing in Iraq!

Article/tutorial on xinetd (probably of interest to no-one except me)

Denim and Silk: "Informal Tools For Early Stage Web Site and UI Design"

Stick with us in Iraq campaign, Powell pleads
As if Australia hasn't already paid enough for Howard's arse-licking support of Bush.

According to a caption in the BBC article, "Many Australians now consider themselves to be at war" without offering any evidence.

(If I die overseas, I will personally haunt any fool who covers my coffin with an Australian flag.)

Clive James on Bali in the Guardian. I'm posting it because it's interesting, not because I agree with it all.

Steve Champeon on The Secret Life of Markup

http://www.blackpeopleloveus.com/index.html

BBC: Teen inventor creates 'mouse mitt'. (How cool is that?)

Microsoft try an Apple-like switch campaign but are busted using imaginary people for their real-life case-studies by slashdot readers. The story makes it to the real-world via media like yahoo and bbc. Microsoft pull the ad, eventually realise how damaging the story is, and try and scapegoat the woman in the campagin: Ad fiasco: we will act, says Ballmer.

Age: Bin Laden targeted Australians after 9/11

Gas Station Decoys

Yesterday I came across 'omelette chips and beans' in a can. I'm still getting over the English love affair with beans in a can, I'm not ready for either omelettes or chips (chips!) in a can. Apparently there's also something similar called 'all day breakfast' in a can.

US press ignores Australia's pain

news.com.au: "A "fearless spam fighter" has won a David and Goliath legal battle against a junk e-mail marketing company."

BBC:As the prostitute entered the room, the full horror for him of discovering his daughter's occupation hit him.

SQL for Web Nerds and Internet Application Workbook

Wired have a standards-compatible xhtml and css redesign.

Lindows 2.0 Dissected, a glowing review of Lindows, the Windows-like Linux distribution available on Wal-Mart's cheap consumer pc's.

Papers from the UKUUG Linux Developers' Conference include Experiences of Using PHP in Large Websites and just for Fraser, The GNU Hurd.

No reason at all these consultants sound familiar.

Security Alert: UCSB bans Windows NT/2K : "The University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) recently banned student computers running Windows NT or Windows 2000 from the campus network, to which students connect in the school's dormitories. According to this notice, the operating systems were banned because "we have to consider the overall health of our network when dealing with vulnerable operating systems, virus protection, and network security threats." "

new.com.au: "A romantic beach interlude for two American tourists almost ended in disaster when the rising tide at Rose Bay swallowed their vehicle for 15 hours."

BBC: "The inventor of the Tomb Raider computer game is seeking more women to work as testers at its Derby headquarters.

Core Design is launching an Angel of Darkness version of its hit Lara Croft game, but so far no women have applied to work as testers for the project."

Age: "The Victorian Government is refusing to disclose how much taxpayers' money it used to subsidise a Melbourne concert by former Beatle Paul McCartney"

I didn't read the article, but this made me laugh: (The Age) "At the recent Venice Film Festival, there were audible gasps as a decidedly paunchy Tom Hanks arrived at the press conference for Road To Perdition."

Age: "First complete Linux distribution for Xbox released"

An investigation of chips/crisps flavours available here is quite scary.

Some samples, by brand. Walkers Marmite Yeast Extract Flavour Crisps
Walkers Pickled Onion Flavour Crisps (I'd actually try these)
More from Walkers: Beef & Onion (they're vegan! but what vegan wants to eat meat flavours?), Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Coronation Chicken (I've yet to figure out what this is), Chargrilled Steak, Chip Shop Curry.

Golden Wonder: Rib 'N' Saucy, Sausage & Tomato, Steak & Onion, Brannigans: Smoked Ham and Pickle, Roast Beef and Mustard.

Apparently there used to be 'hedgehog' flavour crisps.

It's also a good excuse to link to Tokyo vs London chips/crisps. Chipworld was immensely helpful to my research.

php vs asp and the newer 7 Reasons Why PHP is Better than ASP

Anti-war petitions: http://www.moveon.org/nowarworld/ and http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=13827

Websites that suck, number 24023402012303 in a series: http://www.argos.co.uk/: "Sorry, the Argos Internet site cannot currently be viewed using Netscape 6 or other browsers with the same rendering engine."

Today I tried prawn cocktail flavoured chips (or crisps, as the boys at work insist I call them). That's weird enough, but they were vegetarian too.

Last night I had a dream that I was an Indian (Asian, if you're English) woman, and that my friend and I were given semi-trailers. They needed some work, so learning to drive them was all the more exciting when you couldn't be sure if the brakes were going to work.

Age: "Crikey.com.au journalist and shareholder activist Stephen Mayne today said his attempt to become a News Corp director had frightened its chairman Rupert Murdoch."

Age: "Exorbitant public liability and medical indemnity insurance payouts could be capped under new reforms passed by the Victorian parliament's lower house early today."

(Merryl - if you're reading - I hope everything's ok)

I keep meaning to take a photo of the Franco Cozzo store of Hackney I pass each day on Kingsland Road. It even has one of those big swan beds in the window. It makes me a bit homesick.

Age: "This month the California legislature passed a law mandating that, by 2017, at least 20 per cent of the state's energy must by provided by wind, solar, thermal and other renewable energies."

Oh, the irony. I typed 'internationalisation asp' into google and they suggested 'Did you mean:internationalization asp'.

I can't help but find news of the African money scam funny, but this is almost sad: NCIS estimates that up to five Americans are sitting in hotel lobbies in London everyday waiting to meet people connected with this con.

Photo of a very poorly designed church window doing the rounds.

BBC: Women in Bangladeshi villages are making a successful living by renting out airtime on their mobile phones.

Play the Celebrity Stockmarket

I am the person old ladies talk to at bus stops, it seems. Otoh, it's quite useful because they're at one with the bus lore of London.

Photo with story 'Senate candidate blue -- literally' makes Celine's bad photoshop job look possible. (Thanks Faye for the link).

BBC: Australia 9th most connected country.

The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard was in England meeting the
Queen at Balmoral. They were discussing Australia and Howard's plans
for the future.

Howard asked the queen if it was possible to turn Australia into a
Kingdom to increase its force in the world market. The Queen replied,
"One needs a King for a Kingdom and you are most certainly not a
King."

He then asks if it is possible to turn Australia into an Empire. The
Queen replies, "For an Empire one needs an Emperor you are most
certainly not an Emperor."

Howard thinks for a moment and then asks if it is possible to turn
Australia into a principality. The Queen replies, "For a principality
one needs a Prince and you Mr. Howard are certainly not a prince."

The Queen adds further, "Without meaning to be rude Mr. Howard I think
Australia should remain as a country."

Age : interview with Slackware's Patrick Volkerding.

http://www.php-princess.net/

Age: "In a survey of 130 cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit rated Melbourne and Vancouver in Canada as the best cities in the world in which to live, with Perth ranked third and Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide tied in eighth place."

BBC: " A well-known Iranian actress has landed herself and an award-winning young film director in court, for kissing him on the forehead and shaking his hand in public." ...

""She kissed me like a mother kisses her child," Mr Zamani said.

But this did not prevent the head of the local justice department ordering their arrest for disturbing public morality. "

Last night I got some basic groceries for the house, and found Turkish apple tea, which was ace. But the brand name made it even better - Lezzo.

Age report on bogus 'blondes to die out in 200 years' story that made it onto the BBC news site, among others.

BBC on Clinton at the Labour Party conference in Blackpool. Skip over the starstruck bit at the top for the content.

DIALTONES (A TELESYMPHONY): "A concert performed entirely through the ringing of the audience's mobile phones."

It sounded like a bit of a mess in the video but it might have sounded better in the hall.

New bills aim to protect consumers' use of digital media.

"Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, plans today to introduce the ``Digital Choice and Freedom Act,'' Silicon Valley's response to a host of Hollywood-backed bills tilted in favor of copyright holders.

Lofgren's bill would ensure consumers can copy CDs, DVDs and other digital works for personal use, just as they now do with TV shows and audio tapes."

The Australian: "Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer will fly to Sydney next month in a bid to shore up the software giant's relationship with Telstra, its biggest local customer."

I've made a mental note to read xhtml 2.0 properly when I get time.

Age : "A survey of British spending habits published today found 1 in 20 people dump their girlfriends or boyfriends before Christmas or Valentine's Day to avoid buying a gift for their partner."

Jesus had short hair! so you should too.

If you've heard about The Office but it's not showing where you are, you can read the almost as cringe-worthy newsletters instead.

This morning I had a bath, incredibly relaxing except that I had to get out of it so soon. (My new flat doesn't yet have a shower).

Skip to the next entry if you're in no state for something upsetting.



Walking to the bus stop I saw a girl lying on the road. She'd been hit by a taxi. I think she was dead. Her eyes were open. I think she'd been on her way to school. The taxi was still on the pedestrian crossing she must have been using when it hit her.