err.. previous message courtesy on neville turner associates, pangborne ;)
kev
- Tue Sep 30 20:25:55 2003

hello from the copper inn
kev
- Tue Sep 30 20:10:27 2003

That's all well and good Tom, but will that allow you to actually read your email...?
John
- Tue Sep 30 16:47:51 2003

I'm trying to get RedHat on my Libretto. For fun and profit. :-)
tom
- Tue Sep 30 16:26:26 2003

A) Saturday October 11th B) Saturday October 18th C) Saturday October 25th D) Saturday November 1st E) Saturday November 15th (For my benefit when I check my diary tonight)
Rob Lang
- Tue Sep 30 15:07:48 2003

How irritating! I have sent you three altogether - one last night and two today (so far).
John
- Tue Sep 30 14:03:50 2003

My email is playing up. Well, the Mailsweeper is playing up. I've not had anything.
tom
- Tue Sep 30 14:01:11 2003

Rob - sames goes for you too.
John
- Tue Sep 30 09:23:23 2003

Tom, have you checked your email this morning?
John
- Tue Sep 30 09:23:08 2003

Right....
tom
- Tue Sep 30 09:15:11 2003

Yes - it is sort of beep beep Hartlepool isn't it? Or maybe beef, beef, Hartlepool. Perhaps a shopping list then?
John
- Mon Sep 29 15:42:01 2003

Relive those happy moments:


You might be better of right clicking and doing that whole "Save Target As..." business.
John
- Mon Sep 29 15:37:27 2003

I quite like the idea of a signing arab song, but it would probably be more difficult to manufacture than a singing one. It would need complex hand movements and carefult timing. Then there's the problem of "Signing dialects" ... presumably he'd sign with some sort of arabic accent. Or just in arabic. And we all know what would happen if you signed incorrectly in arabic - they'd want to chop yer hands off. I'm not kidding, either, look at the trouble you can get into if you render their text characters incorrectly! Luckily you can blame any text problems on MicroSoft's Unicode fonts, but I doubt you'd have such a convenient scapegoat with a singing, signing, hand-chopping arab song. And for those who have actually *heard* the song ... did anybody ever find out why he appeared to be singing about Hartlepool?
Jimmy
- Mon Sep 29 15:23:03 2003

or even the singing arab song?
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 29 14:25:10 2003

Are you going to build a microelectronic circuit that allows it to play the signing arab song?
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 29 14:24:33 2003

Yes Please! Rush me my splendiferous "Camel 1.0" today!
No thanks! I am an accountant, and am not interested in camels.
Jimmy
- Mon Sep 29 13:12:06 2003

Of course, on reflection that might mean that many of my own messages would be rejected.
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 29 07:46:51 2003

I think the message board should have it's own intelligence, so that it can reject anything that is blatently s**t on its own!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 29 07:46:11 2003

Go on John, you show 'em mate!
dsp
- Sun Sep 28 20:38:29 2003

If you have a legitimate message over 512 characters, there's a bit of Javascript that gives you a warning - although I don't think the spammers are using the add message page anyway.
John
- Sun Sep 28 15:01:40 2003

Ok I've put in a filter to try and stop spammers clogging up the board with huge messages. You can't add anything over 512 characters now unless you have a password.
John
- Sun Sep 28 15:00:22 2003

After the cheese shop incident.. boku wa kikori de genki ki wo kiru maenichi (kare wa kikori de genki ki wo kiru maenichi) ki wo kite, gohan wo tabete, TOIRE wo suru. suiyoubi wa kaimono, gohan wa PAN desu. boku wa kikori de genki ki wo kiru maenichi (kare wa kikori de genki ki wo kiru maenichi) ki wo kite, asonde, ohana wo miru. jyofuku wo haite, kissaten ni iku. atashi wa kikori wa yo ki wo kiru no deshou (kimi wa kikori da zo ki wo kirun darou) hakumono wai HAIHIIRU, SUTOKINGU to BURA. onna ni naritai, watashi to haha.
Mark
- Sun Sep 28 11:26:32 2003

this afternoon i got bored so i went wardriving. many thanks to the anonymous person providing the internet access.
kev
hamilton road, reading, - Sat Sep 27 13:16:28 2003

Q: How did Darth Vader know what Luke Skywalker was getting for Christmas? A: He felt his presents.
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 26 12:51:42 2003

I bet no-one else spent yesterday evening in quite the same way as I did: http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/archives/00000134.html
John
- Fri Sep 26 12:33:54 2003

Glad to hear you found it ok! I also feel a bit less crazy now that someone else has been able to appreciate it. It's quite fantastic isn't it?
John
- Fri Sep 26 12:03:30 2003

Ah, Henekeys: http://www.rowan.me.uk/?q=node/view/197
tom
- Fri Sep 26 11:13:06 2003

Well then Kev, it is currently looking like only me and you are interested in the London day out (Chie said she will come along, but wants to go off shopping instead of the pub bits). Is Mr. Steele in America this weekend?
John
- Fri Sep 26 09:18:21 2003

Did you have the sound on? And did you manage to win? It's verrrr good don't you think?
John
- Fri Sep 26 08:39:46 2003

I suggested London in the first place, because the boss had wanted to go this weekend. She has since changed her mind, thus leaving me with (a) no prospect of visiting Henekey's in the near future (b) no ideas as to what to do this weekend. Bugger, eh? I have to humour her at the moment, as she is (as ever) mid-job-change. There's no rest for the wicked, I can tell you. Not even the extremely wicked.
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 26 08:39:35 2003

nice john, was this part of your spontaneous saturday drinking bonanza plan ?
Kev
Nowhere near a pc, - Thu Sep 25 22:59:28 2003

I think you may enjoy: http://www.brianmung.com/blainegame.htm
John
- Thu Sep 25 21:57:59 2003

While the first time I saw it, I was sceptical. That second time, however, clinched it for me. I'm going for it.
Travis
- Thu Sep 25 21:29:49 2003

Cheers for that.
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Sep 25 15:59:57 2003

piss off.
Annyoing Wanker <tosspot@wankersrus.com>
- Thu Sep 25 15:45:58 2003

Rob, if you have time on your hands, learn XML. I used to have all kinds of personal problems until XML came into my life.
dsp
- Thu Sep 25 15:14:42 2003

Sounds like a jaunt to London might be fun. Will canvas the office but I don't hold out much hope....
Kev
Work, - Thu Sep 25 14:37:43 2003

Rob, have you considered an internet porn service? There's gotta be money in that somewhere, given the sheer number out there. Don't worry about the morality of it. Could be a nice career opportunity.
Travis
- Thu Sep 25 14:09:30 2003

I'd love to turn...damn...how do I make that sign...ho-hum. I can't turn 6 anything into 6000 of the same. That post was simply too long for me to read. I guess that scheme only works for highly motivated individuals who are literate.
Travis
- Thu Sep 25 14:07:12 2003

Rob/Tom - have you checked your email in the last few minutes...?
John
- Thu Sep 25 10:13:06 2003

Jimmy/Kev - any further thoughts about our Saturday London escapade... Could be fun don't you think? Jimmy - talk to the boss and ask permission, if you haven't done so already. Kev, buy an extra couple of tins of baked beans for your hostage (or maybe you can hire a hostage sitter). Also Kev, feel free to invite anyone else in the office (who of course won't be free because they're young and trendy and in couples).
John
- Thu Sep 25 08:41:15 2003

Smallest room...? Have you got one of those compact kitchens? Or are you talking about the entrance hall per chance...?
John
- Thu Sep 25 08:37:38 2003

I know which room you're in, Kev. And I know what you're wearing. And I'm not even using my largest binoculars (not *today* anyway).
Jimmy
Stalking outside Kev's house, - Thu Sep 25 08:37:02 2003

Ah. Wireless.
tom
Bottom of garden, - Wed Sep 24 20:03:49 2003

Arn't pocket pcs great. I am currently writing this from the smallest room in my house - and its not under the stairs Jimmy ! I hope I haven't sullied your board too much John with all that extra information ;)
Kev
smallest room, - Wed Sep 24 19:12:22 2003

This week I will mostly be hunting for jobs. Still.
Rob Lang
- Wed Sep 24 17:54:15 2003

You may have the wrong message board there Tim - I think you wanted rant-at-incompetent-developers.net perhaps.
John
- Wed Sep 24 15:24:33 2003

Bloody hell! Regional settings, date and currency formats you arse!!
dsp
- Wed Sep 24 14:59:29 2003

Well, it was retold for our bloody times, wasn't it? I mean ... I had to keep it short. This version is so modern that you could almost "txt" it to somebody. So no room for circumlocution, I'm afraid. Hell - there wasn't even room for the romance! (Well, unless you count the horse).
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 24 13:02:45 2003

Personally, I liked it. I don't think you circumlocuted quite enough. For example: Thinking in the manner that of late I have oft found myself doing would place me in the position that, should my intentions be trusted, a mere person such as myself might be arriving at the conclusion of, be it indirect or otherwise, given the state of my stomach, prone to such rumblings and other matters that we need not discuss here in great detail can lead only to the state of mind where one considers an imminent consumption of luncheon, here and forthwith.
John
- Wed Sep 24 12:44:32 2003

Random?! I'll have you know that was not random at all. In the same way that the BBC wishes to have the Canterbury tales "Retold for our time" ... I thought I'd have a go at "Pride and Prejudice" (with a dash of "Sense and Sensibility" thrown in for good measure). Obviously, it's a modern-day version, in which Mr. Darcy tries to locate his horse by posting questions on a message-board. It is also a lot shorter than the original, in that everybody can air their suspicions (and indeed grievances) with the naughty Mr. Wickham right from that start, rather than stewing over the problem for about 50 chapters. Lydia remains unchanged (pretty much) and her father still thinks her silly. No sign of Jane (or the sleazy vicar) ... but *something* had to go, didn't it?
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 24 12:37:53 2003

How strange indeed. I'm in London today, and there seem to be loads of police in all the tube stations... which is a bit worrying.
John
- Wed Sep 24 12:04:14 2003

HOW TO TURN £100's into nothing. READING THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! I found this on the back of a toilet door and decided to try it. Send all your money to completely random addresses from the phone book. IT REALLY WORKS! And it's perfectly legal!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Sep 24 09:45:49 2003

I think that HTML checking program should be renamed to Dr. Sneeky Peek
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Sep 24 09:19:50 2003

Oh! How random it all is
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Sep 24 09:19:25 2003

Am I in the wrong novel, here?
Mr. Willoughby
- Wed Sep 24 08:49:51 2003

Silly girl.
Mr. Bennet
- Wed Sep 24 08:49:10 2003

Oh Mr. Wickham, you're so funny! Tee-hee!
Lydia
- Wed Sep 24 08:48:40 2003

I am not naughty! And I resent the implication!
Mr. Wickham
- Wed Sep 24 08:47:30 2003

I daresay it was taken to Brighton, by the naughty Mr. Wickham. Although I doubt if he has any intention of marrying it.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
- Wed Sep 24 08:46:03 2003

Has anybody seen my horse? I went for a swim, and when I came out, he must have wandered away.
Mr. Darcy
- Wed Sep 24 08:44:12 2003

HOW TO TURN $6 INTO $6,000!!!!!! READING THIS COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE! I found this on a bulletin board and decided to try it. A little while back, I was browsing through newsgroups, just like you are now, and came across an article similar to this that said you could make thousands of dollars within weeks with only an initial investment of $6.00! So I thought, Yeah right, this must be a scam,but like most of us, I was curious, so I kept reading. Anyway, it said that you send $1.00 to each of the 6 names and address stated in the article. You then place your own name and address in the bottom of the list at #6, and post the article in at least 200 newsgroups. (There are thousands) No catch, that was it. So after thinking it over, and talking to a few people first, I thought about trying it. I figured: what have I got to lose except 6 stamps and $6.00, right? Then I invested the measly $6.00. Well GUESS WHAT!!... within 7 days, I started getting money in the mail! I was shocked! I figured it would end soon, but the money just kept coming in. In my first week, I made about $25.00. By the end of the second week I had made a total of over $1,000.00! In the third week I had over $10,000.00 and it's still growing. This is now my fourth week and I have made a total of just over $42,000.00 and it's still coming in rapidly. It's certainly worth $6.00, and 6 stamps, I have spent more than that on the lottery!! Let me tell you how this works and most importantly, why it works....Also, make sure you print a copy of this article NOW, so you can get the information off of it as you need it. I promise you that if you follow the directions exactly, that you will start making more money than you thought possible by doing something so easy! Suggestion: Read this entire message carefully! (print it out or download it.) Follow the simple directions and watch the money come in! It's easy. It's legal. And, your investment is only $6.00 (Plus postage) IMPORTANT: This is not a rip-off; it is not indecent; it is not illegal; and it is virtually no risk - it really works!!!! If all of the following instructions are adhered to, you will receive extraordinary dividends. PLEASE NOTE: Please follow these directions EXACTLY, and $50,000 or more can be yours in 20 to 60 days. This program remains successful because of the honesty and integrity of the participants. Please continue its success by carefully adhering to the instructions. You will now become part of the Mail Order business. In this business your product is not solid and tangible, it's a service. You are in the business of developing Mailing Lists. Many large corporations are happy to pay big bucks for quality lists. However, the money made from the mailing lists is secondary to the income which is made from people like you and me asking to be included in that list. Here are the 4 easy steps to success: STEP 1: Get 6 separate pieces of paper and write the following on each piece of paper;PLEASE PUT ME ON YOUR MAILING LIST. Now get 6 US $1.00 bills and place ONE inside EACH of the 6 pieces of paper so the bill will not be seen through the envelope (to prevent thievery). Next, place one paper in each of the 6 envelopes and seal them. You should now have 6 sealed envelopes, each with a piece of paper stating the above phrase, your name and address, and a $1.00 bill. What you are doing is creating a service. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY LEGAL! You are requesting a legitimate service and you are paying for it! Like most of us I was a little skeptical and a little worried about the legal aspects of it all. So I checked it out with the U.S. Post Office (1-800-725-2161) and they confirmed that it is indeed legal! Mail the 6 envelopes to the following addresses: #1) R. Overton P.O. Box 18818 So. Lake Tahoe, CA 96151 #2) KEVIN LEE 8377 APT. I MONTGOMERY RUN RD. ELLICOTT CITY MD 21043 #3) Stephanie Hicks 1283 Evening Canyon Henderson NV 89014 #4) Javed Mohammed Suite 302 3 Hickory Tree Rd. Toronto Ontario, M9N 3W5 #5) Bonnie Brunet 32 Arthur st., Cornwall Ontario, K6H 4G3 #6) Kristan Poirier 4666 O’Keefe Rd. RR#1 St.Andrews West Ontario, K0C 2A0 STEP 2: Now take the #1 name off the list that you see above, move the other names up (6 becomes 5, 5 becomes 4, etc...) and add YOUR Name as number 6 on the list. STEP 3: Change anything you need to, but try to keep this article as close to original as possible. Now, post your amended article to at least 200 newsgroups. (I think there are close to 24,000 groups) All you need is 200, but remember, the more you post, the more money you make! This is perfectly legal! If you have any doubts, refer to Title 18 Sec. 1302 & 1341 of the Postal lottery laws. Keep a copy of these steps for yourself and, whenever you need money, you can use it again, and again. PLEASE REMEMBER that this program remains successful because of the honesty and integrity of the participants and by their carefully adhering to the directions. Look at it this way. If you are of integrity, the program will continue and the money that so many others have received will come your way. NOTE: You may want to retain every name and address sent to you, either on a computer or hard copy and keep the notes people send you. This VERIFIES that you are truly providing a service. (Also, it might be a good idea to wrap the $1 bill in dark paper to reduce the risk of mail theft.) So, as each post is downloaded and the directions carefully followed, six members will be reimbursed for their participation as a List Developer with one dollar each. Your name will move up the list geometrically so that when your name reaches the #1 position you will be receiving thousands of dollars in CASH!!! What an opportunity for only $6.00 ($1.00 for each of the first six people listed above) Send it now, add your own name to the list and you're in business! ---DIRECTIONS ----- FOR HOW TO POST TO NEWSGROUPS------------ Step 1) You do not need to re-type this entire letter to do your own posting. Simply put your cursor at the beginning of this letter and drag your cursor to the bottom of this document, and select 'copy' from the edit menu. This will copy the entire letter into the computer's memory. Step 2) Open a blank 'notepad' file and place your cursor at the top of the blank page. From the 'edit' menu select 'paste'. This will paste a copy of the letter into notepad so that you can add your name to the list. Step 3) Save your new notepad file as a .txt file. If you want to do your postings in different settings, you'll always have this file to go back to. Step 4) Use Netscape or Internet explorer and try searching for various newsgroups (on-line forums, message boards, chat sites, discussions.) Step 5) Visit these message boards and post this article as a new message by highlighting the text of this letter and selecting paste from the edit menu. Fill in the Subject, this will be the header that everyone sees as they scroll through the list of postings in a particular group, click the post message button. You're done with your first one! Congratulations...THAT'S IT! All you have to do is jump to different newsgroups and post away, after you get the hang of it, it will take about 30 seconds for each newsgroup! **REMEMBER, THE MORE NEWSGROUPS YOU POST IN, THE MORE MONEY YOU WILL MAKE!! BUT YOU HAVE TO POST A MINIMUM OF 200** That's it! You will begin receiving money from around the world within days! You may eventually want to rent a P.O.Box due to the large amount of mail you will receive. If you wish to stay anonymous, you can invent a name to use, as long as the postman will deliver it. **JUST MAKE SURE ALL THE ADDRESSES ARE CORRECT.** Now the WHY part: Out of 200 postings, say I receive only 5 replies (a very low example). So then I made $5.00 with my name at #6 on the letter. Now, each of the 5 persons who just sent me $1.00 make the MINIMUM 200 postings, each with my name at #5 and only 5 persons respond to each of the original 5, that is another $25.00 for me, now those 25 each make 200 MINIMUM posts with my name at #4 and only 5 replies each, I will bring in an additional $125.00! Now, those 125 persons turn around and post the MINIMUM 200 with my name at #3 and only receive 5 replies each, I will make an additional $626.00! OK, now here is the fun part, each of those 625 persons post a MINIMUM 200 letters with my name at #2 and they each only receive 5 replies, that just made me $3,125.00!!! Those 3,125 persons will all deliver this message to 200 newsgroups with my name at #1 and if still 5 persons per 200 newsgroups react I will receive $15,625,00! With an original investment of only $6.00! AMAZING! When your name is no longer on the list, you just take the latest posting in the newsgroups, and send out another $6.00 to names on the list, putting your name at number 6 again. And start posting again. The thing to remember is: do you realize that thousands of people all over the world are joining the internet and reading these articles everyday?, JUST LIKE YOU are now!! So, can you afford $6.00 and see if it really works?? I think so... People have said, "e;what if the plan is played out and no one sends you the money? So what! What are the chances of that happening when there are tons of new honest users and new honest people who are joining the internet and newsgroups everyday and are willing to give it a try? Estimates are at 20,000 to 50,000 new users, every day, with thousands of those joining the actual internet. Remember: play FAIRLY and HONESTLY and this will really work.
Kristan poirier <korntones4@hotmail.com>
- Wed Sep 24 01:24:57 2003

http://www2.imagiware.com/RxHTML/ Very naught as the URL style rendering needs to escape on carriage returns!!
dsp
- Tue Sep 23 14:28:23 2003

The most impressive site of the day has got to be Doctor HTML. It will parse and criticise your pages, and even report dead links! Its great!! http://www2.imagiware.com/RxHTML/ The maison is quite naughty!
dsp
- Tue Sep 23 14:27:45 2003

Tim - how about now what...?
John
- Tue Sep 23 13:19:23 2003

Yup. I have one more :-)
tom
- Tue Sep 23 12:57:08 2003

Anymore pics of your baby on Radar?
dsp
- Tue Sep 23 12:49:26 2003

How about now?
dsp
- Tue Sep 23 12:49:10 2003

Nope. My camera is still dead!
tom
- Mon Sep 22 12:39:02 2003

Ewwww.... did you take any pictures?
John
- Mon Sep 22 12:38:01 2003

Well, I had spent all day Thursday building a covered walkway down the side of our house... and managed to escape getting saw or brick dust in my face at all. Then I went to cadets and we spent ages sorting through the crap that has accumulated in the hut - I am the king of being ruthless with stuff! I think it must have been a piece of rusty metal or even paint that ended up in my eye... OUCH!
tom
- Mon Sep 22 12:30:17 2003

Sounds horrid! Prey tell, Tom, how you came to have a lump of metal in your eye in the first place? You didn't go for dinner with Kevin Warwick, per chance?
John
- Mon Sep 22 12:07:17 2003

John, the new RSS URL for rowan.me.uk is: http://www.rowan.me.uk/?q=node/feed/
tom
- Mon Sep 22 11:29:44 2003

I had to go to the hospital to have a piece of metal (?) removed from my eye. The rest of the weekend was spent avoiding the sunshine and pumping in the eye drops. Oh, and getting drunk/hungover.
tom
- Mon Sep 22 11:22:51 2003

Well good morning everyone. I hope all of your weekends weren't as staggeringly dull and soul destroying as mine was.
John
- Mon Sep 22 09:24:36 2003

A good idea is one that serves the purpose well. Their purpose is to infect a lot of people and I think it has worked. Irritating or not, it does fit the purpose very well. It plays upon human nature better than any previous virus!
Rob Lang
- Sun Sep 21 18:54:37 2003

Rob - how so? I personally am finding it very irritating (just because of the sheer volume), but am prepared to keep an open mind if some greater good is being served...
John
- Sun Sep 21 10:42:08 2003

I had another 100 or so when I opened my mailbox just now. I'm getting so militant about deleting them now, there is a high chance any real mail I receive is going to be deleted as well.
John
- Sun Sep 21 09:51:55 2003

Unrelatedly, might I inquire your favorite horror movies? I'm a huge fan of the genre but I'm looking for maybe some of the more obscure but good ones.
Travis
- Sun Sep 21 02:57:18 2003

I hate to admit it, that Microsoft virus was a good idea.
Rob Lang
- Sat Sep 20 16:02:47 2003

No, my Reading uni account - although several aliases feed into that so it's hard to know exactly which address is being targetted...
John
- Fri Sep 19 16:27:29 2003

Which account are they coming to? Work I assume?
tom
- Fri Sep 19 15:57:10 2003

Those virus emails are still pouring in - about 1 every 15 minutes. It's getting very irritating now!
John
- Fri Sep 19 14:30:44 2003

That sounds like an excellent piece of equipment
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Fri Sep 19 14:27:39 2003

My router has seven LEDs on the front, each of which can light up in either green or yellow, and they can all flash pleasingly when something is happening.
John
- Fri Sep 19 14:26:12 2003

....and cheers Tom
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Fri Sep 19 14:06:42 2003

I think the quality of any piece of networking hardware can be judged by the amount of flashing LEDs it has, and even ...oh.... backlit LCD displays!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Fri Sep 19 14:05:57 2003

Yes. I have a firewall as well with NAT, and whats more its red and has FLASHING LED's!!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Fri Sep 19 14:04:55 2003

Tom: It's a Sonicwall firewall. I can find out the model if you need that also. It's at the company I am working for and can cope with VPN, so I think it's quite a sophisticated ones. Any ideas?
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Fri Sep 19 14:03:53 2003

Yes Tim - it does all my NAT-ing and is really neat - it's like the networking equivalent of a fusebox. I feel much more comfortable on the web knowing I'm hiding behind a physical bit of hardware, rather than a software equivalent, although fundamentally it probably isn't necessarily any more secure. As William Wallace said in Braveheart: "You may take our routers, but you will never take our FREEEEDOOOOM!!!" Or something like that.
John
- Fri Sep 19 14:00:55 2003

Secretly I am jealous of John's hardware modem/router box and want to get one too.
dsp
- Fri Sep 19 13:48:28 2003

I cannot offer any help on Firewalls and NAT. My only contribution is I use Win2000 Server to NAT for my LAN which is nice. I like the sounds of one-to-one NAT, this would allow me to play multiplayer games on my laptop. Hmm...
dsp
- Fri Sep 19 13:47:52 2003

Yes even I was bored with the one about books by the time I'd finished writing it. The one written on the plane, however, had some great feedback - people seemed to really like that one! I guess there's no accounting for taste.
John
- Fri Sep 19 13:28:52 2003

John, I just read(*) your article on your collection of books. It really is the most staggeringly dull article you've ever posted. It's even worse than that one you wrote on a plane because you were bored to tears with the flight. Well done, sir!




(*) well, I nearly read it. I kinda drifted off partway through.
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 19 13:22:55 2003

Nope. Looks like you got all ours too!
tom
- Fri Sep 19 12:48:32 2003

Anyone else been inundated with fake "security updates" in their email overnight?
John
- Fri Sep 19 11:46:56 2003

Simon, that can be a nightmare.. The H323 protocol is a bit complex for most firewalls. Generally, you need to avoide Hide nat (many to one) and use a one to one NAT. WHat firewall is it?
tom
- Fri Sep 19 11:19:03 2003

Does anyone with firewall expertise (or who just knows) know how to get the voice connection on M$ Messenger working behind a firewall. I've found lots of random things including that it doesn't like NAT, I just wondered if anyone knows anything please
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Fri Sep 19 08:51:21 2003

Mainly USB. Some use serial (but it's old and slow). When I plug mine into the port, it appears in Explorer as "Removable Hard Drive F:", which contains a load of JPEG files. Oddly enough, you can use it as a "Normal" file-system, insofar as you can upload (for instance) a Word document onto the camera. It's a funny ol' world.
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 19 08:29:36 2003

Heh. That said, what's a nice, affordable digital camera? Or more to the point of what I'm looking for, how do you get digital images on to your computer from your camera? Do you generall need a program or just a USB? I obviously am rather ignorant...
Travis
- Thu Sep 18 19:35:07 2003

Yea, you're right Travis. I don't generally hear that many people complain to such an extent about digital cameras, with the exception of professional photography types, which means for the large part people who have them must generally be happy... or at least they've been made to think they are.
John
- Thu Sep 18 15:57:02 2003

It's supply and demand, my British friends. If you think there are others of like mind, make a digital cam that does one or the other and cash in?
Travis
- Thu Sep 18 13:58:39 2003

I've put those images in the article as well.
John
- Thu Sep 18 13:32:07 2003

I've turned it into an article.
John
- Thu Sep 18 13:23:52 2003

John, I've sent an e-mail to you (your reading.ac.uk address) with some digitally-zoomed rubbish attached. Is there some way we can have 'em posted here for "Full rant effect" ? Oh, go on!
Jimmy
- Thu Sep 18 13:07:55 2003

Up the garden path, in through the French windows at the back of the house, out again at the front door, down the drive, across the road, round the corner, and into the park for a game of frizbee. That's where we've been led, mate. My camere offers "Digital zoom up to 4x" at the maximum resolution. This *must* mave some sort of in-camera StretchBlt going on. As I said before, "Bollocks to it".
Jimmy
- Thu Sep 18 12:55:49 2003

Or are you talking about a digital zoom which resizes the bitmap in the firmware? Now that sounds particularly horrid. On my camera I can only use digital zoom on the lower resolutions, which brought me to the assumption it was basically a crop. Resizing in firmware though... -shudder-.
Similarly, a lot of cameras nowadays (mine included) seem to have a maximum resolution you can take pictures at which is actually above the maximum resolution of the CCD - apparently it interpolates into the higher resolution. What is the point of this? Can this ever be any better than taking a picture at the CCD's maximum resolution and then resizing it on your PC (which is also pointless)? I think not somehow. The more I think about it, the more it makes me wonder if we're being led up the garden path by these digital camera manufacturers.
John
- Thu Sep 18 11:35:53 2003

Yes, I've always wondered what the point of digital zoom is, given that it's basically the same as taking a picture at the highest possible resolution and then cropping the bit you want afterwards. I guess the only benefit of it is that it saves you a bit of space on your card. I can edit images on the camera itself with mine, which includes cropping, and I'd be quite happy to just have this feature rather than a digital zoom. Besides anything else, you're probably more likely to frame your subject better after the event anyway.
Having said all of that, it is vaguely useful when doing video clips, as these are restricted to a resolution much lower than the maximum resolution of the camera. So here it makes a bit of sense to have a digital zoom. Although, of course, it isn't a zoom at all really - what it really means is "which area of the CCD do you want to record?".
John
- Thu Sep 18 11:25:02 2003

Indeed. The thing to *really* look out for is the physical size of the CCD chip. The smaller the chip, the fewer photons fall on each pixel, and hence the greater amplification required. The amplification is analogue and prone to noise ... so for the best results you want the largest possible capture-device. Of course, resolution-reduction will also help out here. Beyond about 3 MPixels, you can't really tell the difference in quality anyway ... it's gonna be approximately as good as 35mm film. And another thing ... I want a zoom-lense. Yeah, one of those big, bolt-on jobbies about 8 inches long. How many times have you taken a picture of something which looks amazing ... only to find it lost ina borind background? Digital zoom, of course, is no zoom at all ... just pixellation, so bollocks to it.
Jimmy
- Thu Sep 18 10:21:59 2003

Jimmy - I actually agree with you to some extent on this. Although I would lay the blame more squarely at the feet of people with ORD (obsessive resolution disorder). As in, the people who think the only way to measure the quality of a digital camera is its megapixel rating.
I'm on my third camera now, they're all from the same manufacturer (Sanyo), and each of them was more or less the latest model when I bought it. So, I'd assumed they'd all be an unpwards progression - each camera would be basically the same as the last but slightly better in some way. In fact, the current camera, number three, often takes worse pictures in certain situations than the second one would have done. The reason? Sanyo seems to have sold out at some point between camera two and three, and gone for the low quality (therefore cheap) but higher resolution CCD rather than the high quality (therefore expensive) but lower resolution one, to remain competitive. This is because, as I said, resolution is the only thing most people seem to judge digital cameras on, and for it's price range Sanyo's cameras were normally ignored by the general public for being too low resolution.
I doubt this is an isolated incident - the obsession with megapixels (and perhaps, as Jimmy says, pointless features we don't really need) is going to mean we're all going to end up with worse digital cameras.
John
- Thu Sep 18 08:55:42 2003

Fair enough. Perhaps I was too hasty. Or pasty. Or tasty even?

damn!<>br>
I can't keep away from that rhyming web-site
It makes me calm when I'm mad or I'm uptight.
It makes me know that everthing is alright
And my day will pass like a ray-of-light.
It's nothing silly - not by a long site
'Cos it will excite, ignite, like a night-flight or a knife-fight.
Rhymezone.com is outtasight.

Jimmy
- Thu Sep 18 08:47:08 2003

What an interesting concept - given the crazy world of fashion, one day people might go out and buy a stereo because it warbles, sounds tinny, has a faint hiss in the background, and the bass is almost inaudible.
John
- Thu Sep 18 08:37:54 2003

I should like to object to the previous comment on the grounds that I, for one, prefer poor colour quality on my digital media devices.
Travis
- Wed Sep 17 18:32:43 2003

Actually, there is no justification for that feature whatsoever. Digital cameras should decide whether they take movies or stills, and do just one of those. Otherwise we all end up paying through the nose for silly features we hardly ever use ... while the main purpose of the device is compromised e.g. poor colour quality.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 17 17:38:28 2003

It is quite special though isn't it? I think that one little movie single-handedly justifies the video clip feature on my camera.
John
- Wed Sep 17 14:46:57 2003

Oh come on Rob, do you honestly expect us to believe you've never been at a James Bond themed fancy dress party wearing a strange wig, being rotated on a stool by a Japanese woman whilst singing along with "We have all the time in the world".
John
- Wed Sep 17 14:43:44 2003

I think I've seen the strangest thing in the world. http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/john/pictures/gavsparty/VCLP0001.AVI
Rob Lang
- Wed Sep 17 13:51:37 2003

While it is annoying to receive spam, I find that I can feel good about it, by spamming back at the world. I send at least 25,000 e-mails every day with adverts for penis enlargement, containing links to web-sites that don't exist.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 17 12:34:15 2003

If you use outlook, there's a plugin you can get from here http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/ which filters spam out of your email. You have to train it by showing it a selection of known spam emails, but after that it's pretty effective.
graf
- Wed Sep 17 11:55:33 2003

It's a bit like being stuck in a cycle of mopping your kitchen floor every day, only to wake up the next morning to find someone had leaned through your window and vomited on it again.
John
- Wed Sep 17 11:00:44 2003

I regorganised my mail yesterday, and totally cleaned my inbox out so there weren't any messages in it at all. Imagine my joy this morning on opening it up and finding someone had kindly filled it back up again with 24 pieces of the finest hand crafted spam. So I'm looking at about 50 a day. This means if I went away on holiday for a month I'd have about 1500 spam mails to delete when I got back. How annoying.
John
- Wed Sep 17 10:57:35 2003

There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those that don't.
dsp
- Wed Sep 17 10:53:35 2003

To the tune of "I feel like chicken tonight":
I feel like drinkin' tonight, drinkin' tonight.
John
- Wed Sep 17 10:47:22 2003

The problem with Angle-Grinder Man, is that (foolishly) he has a photo on his site, showing him with his masked removed ... thus revealing his true identity. Now I ask you, is this the action of a *real* superhero? Also, don't you think he's going to face stiff opposition from "Bolt Cutter Man", or "Revenge Traffic Warden With Shotgun Man"?
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 17 09:00:24 2003

Hi, can I contact you by ICQ ? Spasibo.
Julia <julia@noalter.com>
- Wed Sep 17 07:28:22 2003

Also, having looked at the cached version on the 'interesting' pages of the google search, a porn site had a direct link to the board!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Sep 17 07:08:58 2003

Hi, can I contact you by ICQ ? Spasibo.
Julia <julia@noalter.com>
- Wed Sep 17 01:04:24 2003

Strange. I get 404 on anglegrinder man as well
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Tue Sep 16 20:15:31 2003

Yes! I've found two...interesting...sites on the 7th page when I include the quotes. Nicely done.
Travis
- Tue Sep 16 15:30:34 2003

I tried again just now and it worked fine. Perhaps your ISP is blocking it because of its subversive political material.
John
- Tue Sep 16 15:05:06 2003

404, I'm afraid!
Rob Lang
- Tue Sep 16 14:11:11 2003

More on angle grinder man here: http://www.anglegrinderman.co.uk/
John
- Tue Sep 16 12:26:22 2003

I also enjoyed the following story about David Blaine (sorry to bring him up), particularly the line "Tormentors have also thrown eggs and bananas and even sent a burger up on a remote-controlled helicopter. ". Marvellous. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3112430.stm
John
- Tue Sep 16 12:25:24 2003

I think silly season must have started in the news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3112670.stm
John
- Tue Sep 16 12:23:34 2003

It seems to have changed already - I'd searched for literally "maison de stuff", including the double quotes. I did this again just now, and that original link has gone, but there's still a couple of curious ones on the 7th page.
John
- Tue Sep 16 10:53:07 2003

Nor could I, Travis. What *do* you think he's referring to?
Jimmy
- Tue Sep 16 08:58:18 2003

John, you've intrigued me. Not because I'm a sick bastard. It's...research. I didn't see anything strange on the 7th page...or the 1st through 8ths of the Google results. What search engine are you using?
Travis
- Mon Sep 15 22:45:55 2003

happy half year birthday!
little panda
- Mon Sep 15 21:13:29 2003

RG1. Sounds exclusive doesn't it? MMMmmnnnph!
tom
- Mon Sep 15 18:32:49 2003

Where's this email then Rob? Have you forgotten how to spel my name...?
John
- Mon Sep 15 16:40:26 2003

I prefer 'Dwarf Donking Monkey Bottom'
Rob Lang
- Mon Sep 15 16:39:00 2003

Or indeed "Nerys Hughes waxwork figure".
John
- Mon Sep 15 16:34:51 2003

It also works faily well with "Dilbert", "Wibblestick" and "Northamptonshire".
Jimmy
- Mon Sep 15 16:23:28 2003

I have just amused myself by imagining every occurence of house in that last post actually reads "horse". Try it, you might like it.
John
- Mon Sep 15 15:46:27 2003

We've finally exchanged contracts on the house. Which means that on friday I will own a house. Or part of one at least. I will live in a house that nationwide owns most of, but which Hester and I will be slowly buying back. Moving out of RG1 postcode for the first time in 8 years too. Scary.
Graf
- Mon Sep 15 14:33:50 2003

Either that, or it's you square-root-th birthday of being 702 and a quarter.
Jimmy
- Mon Sep 15 13:02:03 2003

Incidentally everyone, today is my 26 and a half birthday. This means I'm a quarter of the way to being 106.
John
- Mon Sep 15 10:59:58 2003

Indeed. I have a picture in my mind of some old lady with a basket on wheels with a washing machine, tumble dryer and a fridge stacked up...
tom
- Mon Sep 15 10:01:08 2003

I've been having a look at the Comet website. Strange how all internet shopping sites seems to have followed the "Add to Basket" paradigm. Quite rediculous when you think about it, putting a washing machine in a basket.
John
- Mon Sep 15 09:56:29 2003

I'm thinking of buying a washing machine. May only be using it for 6 months or a year, so I want something pretty cheap. Any suggestions?
John
- Mon Sep 15 09:48:09 2003

Doing a search for "maison de stuff" just now, to see if anyone else had linked to our site, I found a very surprising link on page number seven. I haven't dared click on it yet, in fact, I'm even scared to post the URL.
John
- Sun Sep 14 18:34:52 2003

These ghillie suits seem like marvellous things. I'm considering making my own. I found some instructions on how to make them, which suggests I cover it in stuff to blend in with my surroundings. Naturally, I want to remain unseen in my office, so I was thingking of covering it with computer bits and maybe a splash of coffee. I'll probably have to try quite hard to find a decent match for the carpet. What do you guys think?
Jimmy
- Sun Sep 14 08:38:30 2003

Would you believe the crazy coincidence Tom - Jimmy works in an office just a couple of hundred yards from where your wedding reception was held.
John
- Sat Sep 13 23:30:46 2003

John: You'll be surprised to know that I tend to do more on the 'green' side of the cadet programme. I run the Ghillie suit making project, I help plan and run our weekend and night exercises.. I don't do much flyboy stuff at all actually! Hmm, perhaps I should have joined the ACF (Army Cadet Force) in stead??
tom
- Sat Sep 13 19:06:27 2003

I have decided that I would quite like to meet Jimmy in person and get lashed up. The fun we could have shocking John. I'll be the one wearing the cloud suit.
tom
- Sat Sep 13 19:04:10 2003

Oh, you're no fun anymore!
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 12 19:05:46 2003

I didn't expect that.
John
- Fri Sep 12 18:10:18 2003

... and hang around in bars!
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 12 17:26:18 2003

Is that a sort of "spot the bloke" competition...? Anyway Tom, I thought you were more on the air force side of things? Surely for an air force ghillie suit all you need to do is stick a load of cotton wool to yourself and pretend you're a cloud. In fact that would work equally well on the ground - in rural areas you could pretend you're a sheep, and in urban areas you could pretend you're, errrr, a big bundle of abandoned cotton wool.
John
- Fri Sep 12 17:16:04 2003

Look behind you! http://www.3822.org/images/fieldcraft/ghilliesuits/GS1.jpg
tom
- Fri Sep 12 16:47:30 2003

John, you can alter your LJ without having to pay anything. This is my free journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/pseudobrain It's not completely customizable but it's a damn sight better than the default. I'll email you some details on style overrides later on. I'm not quite sure when that'll be though because last night some idiot let The Fretwell and I lose in a pub that sold beer for a pound a pint. I... are... broken...
Rev. Rusty
Currently in Hell, The Hot Bit - Fri Sep 12 16:29:26 2003

He he heh. Well, it looked curiously enough like the image on screen when it was printed out, but then, the whole thing could have been one long video really couldn't it???
tom
- Fri Sep 12 16:11:11 2003

Yeah, but one black-and-white-and-grainy baby in cross-section looks pretty like another. When you've seen one, you've seen them all. Believe me, I used to work in a baby-breaking yard. Admittedly, it wasn't black-and-white, but it *was* cross-sectional.
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 12 15:08:49 2003

Don't you get to look at it live on the screen first...?
John
- Fri Sep 12 14:32:16 2003

Did they say "Do you want your baby in JPEG, BMP, TARGA or animated GIF"? Or was there not a choice of formats? And what if they gave you the wrong file? Or what if they sent your file to the wrong person? Or maybe it's just a gimmick and they say "Hey, looks - this is your kiddie on a disc" only it isn't, and it's just some random child they happend to have a JPEG for? Would you ever know? Ooooh, and it makes me wonder. How does it affect you fellas?
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 12 12:42:16 2003

I'm trying so hard to work today, but all I can think about is pubs. Ho, hum.
John
- Fri Sep 12 12:04:10 2003

Tom, it's OBVIOUSLY a boy, then.
Travis
- Fri Sep 12 00:21:28 2003

I wisely spent today in central London, in lots of crowded areas, and around lots of high profile buildings.
John
- Thu Sep 11 21:53:33 2003

I had to fly this morning. It was a bit concerning when Alison said "Hey - it's September the 11th and you're flying". I hadn't noticed up 'til then :(
Jimmy
- Thu Sep 11 13:26:46 2003

Tom: That bloody rocks mate!
dsp
- Thu Sep 11 12:21:45 2003

ps. http://www.rowan.me.uk/node.php?id=193
tom
- Thu Sep 11 11:07:49 2003

It's September 11th. Two whole years today since the Al Quaida attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. I would strongly suggest that you all keep vigilant and safe out there today and for the next few weeks.
tom
- Thu Sep 11 08:09:27 2003

Thanks for pointing that out Mark! I think I must have been trying subconciously to beat my own personal best for getting pictures on the web as quick as possible, by uploading a set before they were actually taken.
John
- Wed Sep 10 15:43:27 2003

Hi John, Have you discovered the time machine while I wasn't looking? You've put up photos of a night out on 10 Sep 2003... on the AFTERNOON of 10 Sep 2003! ;)
Mark
- Wed Sep 10 15:33:39 2003

Now
I've
Got
It!!!!
MWwwwahhh ha ha haaa!
... aaaaaaah

Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 14:44:06 2003

I've sent it - have you not received it...? Do you have an internet nazi somewhere blocking it?
John
- Wed Sep 10 14:42:32 2003

SING: Feeling sad and unheard, Penalties I've incurred, You don't send me password ... Anymore!
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 14:38:11 2003

You don't love me anymore, do you?
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 14:36:01 2003

Test! (not really Jimmy posting this)
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 14:34:29 2003

Well - how am I supposed to express myself lyrically then? Could you e-mail a password to me, please? I promise (as your cult leader) not to abuse it. Oh go on!
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 14:24:13 2003

I'm afraid it's just not possible without a password at the moment...
John
- Wed Sep 10 14:20:49 2003

123
Test
- Wed Sep 10 14:14:28 2003

Dammit, John - how do I get linefeeds? What do I type?!??!!
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:49:01 2003

I'm very glad to hear you'll join It's lonely in September. Despite the fact we eat beef loin, You'll make a model member!
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:48:25 2003

My potato peeler's broken and I don't know what to do,
I think I might have broke it when I hit it with my shoe,
I've looked through all the cupboards and I can't find any glue,
...so Mr. cult leader I am going to join you.
John
- Wed Sep 10 13:37:46 2003

Hey - that's a bit "Always look on the bright side..." isn't it? We should make a Python-style song (no, NOT the language) ... choose a subject!
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:31:11 2003

When life is getting hard,
Things don't turn how you expect,
Just eschew all your worldly posessions,
and join a religous sect...
John
- Wed Sep 10 13:30:03 2003

... and about my goatee bieng purple.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:26:56 2003

You liked it? Well, your verses were rather cunning too. You can come and join my cult! Like I said, we don't achieve much, but we're a happy bunch. Oh, and don't worry about the munitions - I lied about that bit.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:26:35 2003

It'd come with a cast iron guarantee of becoming a cult musical, what with it being a musical about a cult, and everything.
John
- Wed Sep 10 13:22:25 2003

Excellent work Jimmy!
John
- Wed Sep 10 13:21:21 2003

Of course I'd be better as a cult-leader if only I could get the carriage-returns to work at the ends of my verse-lines. As for the musical version, I think I'd like to be played by Kevin Spacey. Or maybe Samluel L Jackson (yeah, I know he's not a stage performer, but this is *such* a great musical, I'm sure he'd be tempted).
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:20:45 2003

I'm you favourite cult leader, And I'll show you your salvation. When you come and join me, you'll have found your true vocation. I'm a mythical world-leader and I need no explanation. I've funded all my churches from my global corpartaion. You know I want to see you, always in my congregation, and I'll help you find your inner-self ... you final destination.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:17:52 2003

Do you think we could get Placido Domingo and Sarah Brightman to play the lead roles...?
John
- Wed Sep 10 13:17:44 2003

Oh what a cult leader,
Despite his modest ambitions,
Amongst the perks of membership,
Is a discount at the optician's.
John
- Wed Sep 10 13:14:28 2003

Yeah, I'm a cult leader, and I sport a purple goatee. You'll see me on the telly at the weekend, at the Grand Prix.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:12:45 2003

I'm a cult leader, baby With only modest ambitions. I dress all my minions in the very latest fashions.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:10:00 2003

rhymezone.com - first time I've ever used one, and in fact I'd never heard of the concept before either, but it was the sort of thing I was convinced ought to exist on the internet, and lo and behold, it did. It seemed to confirm there are no words to rhyme with orange, and there's only a paltry eight that rhyme with monkey. Hmmmm.
John
- Wed Sep 10 13:08:25 2003

Hey I'm a cult leader, With only modest ambitions, Better watch out for my stockpile Of illeagal muntions!
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:08:23 2003

Marvellous! Which on-line rhyming dictionary did you use?
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 13:05:42 2003

You have to imagine it building to a crescendo, Broadway style, with an army of dancers in the background, all performing a slightly hammy dance routine, whilst wearing the cult uniform.
John
- Wed Sep 10 12:59:45 2003

Hey he's a cult leader,
With only modest ambitions,
Yet he preaches his teachings,
Regardless of meteorological conditions.

John
- Wed Sep 10 12:58:00 2003

Sounds like a good subject for a song in an Andrew Lloyd Webber style musical:
He's just a cult leader,
With only modest ambitions,
He says no world domination,
But we have our suspicions.
Yea he's a cult leader,
With only modest ambitions,
This verse would be more surreal,
If I had some juxtapositions.
Oh he's a cult leader,
With only modest ambitions,
And he's training his disciples.
To be qualified obstetricians.

etc.
John
- Wed Sep 10 12:54:23 2003

Of course! I run a small cult of my own, pretty much as outlined below. We don't achieve much, but we're a happy bunch.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 11:12:50 2003

Now you, on the other hand, definitely want me to join a cult.
John
- Wed Sep 10 11:03:39 2003

Alternatively, you *could* just sit around and do nothing. Actually, I recommend it. In a society where everybody has to be "Doing something" at every possible instant, the act of "Not doing" is often neglected. Indeed, it has become anathema to the "Protestant work ethic". In a lifestyle full of computers and mobile phones and televisions and all sorts of electrical gubbins which are supposed to enhance our lives, we find that the meaning of our very existence has been lost (or badly obscured at the very least). Our posessions end up owning us. No, you should sit still for a few days and perhaps meditate ... but if you prefer a lot of activity, I suggest a quick browse of a second-hand bookshop - and you can read in peace. Stop *doing*, unless it is to perform the subversive act of *not-doing*.
Jimmy
- Wed Sep 10 09:36:41 2003

Do you want me to join a cult or something?
John
- Wed Sep 10 00:34:06 2003

John, it's about not sitting at home in front of the telly. It's about not sitting in the pub. It's about experiencing something with ones friends. Don't ask for a more precise definition, because there isn't one.
Rob Lang
- Tue Sep 9 16:58:12 2003

In the end, I went for instant noodles. Just soy sauce and some odd chilli sauce I had in the fridge, but surprisingly nice.
John
- Tue Sep 9 14:29:16 2003

Yes, it is a bit. I can't decide what to do for lunch either.
John
- Tue Sep 9 13:39:53 2003

Quiet?
tom
- Tue Sep 9 13:36:53 2003

dsp: you'll need a copy of ethereal. (http://www.ethereal.com) Download this + the WinpCap library. WinpCap needs to be installed first. "Ethereal. Sniffing the glue that holds the Internet together." Niiice.
tom
- Mon Sep 8 22:22:44 2003

What's it all about then Rob...?
John
- Mon Sep 8 17:48:11 2003

Unmanagability will occur this weekend.
Rob Lang
- Mon Sep 8 17:45:23 2003

Have just received an email which I assume to be a virus. It was allegedly from Microsoft Security something or other, and the subject was something about service packs. So that got deleted straight away. Very poor attempt Mr. Virus Spreader.
John
- Mon Sep 8 12:58:06 2003

At work, our network admin bloke often talks about packet sniffers. I'm not sure if these things are relevant or useful to you Tim, but they have a good name so I wanted to mention it anyway.
John
- Mon Sep 8 12:50:14 2003

To all network gurus (Tom): How can I record/log/monitor bandwidth usage on a Windows Server?
dsp
- Mon Sep 8 09:56:21 2003

I was at an Air Cadet parade, where there were nearly 400 cadets marching in step. Lovely. I had a wonderfully pointless job of Squadron Adjudant, which in this case meant keeping the-chap-who-does-the-shouting company. This week, I will be mostly job hunting.
Rob Lang
- Sun Sep 7 20:27:29 2003

I went to a Donkey Derby today. It was staggeringly banal.
John
- Sun Sep 7 17:16:58 2003

John: I am working on our wedding video at the moment. I have grabbed it from analogue video using a Pinnacle USB thingy at 6MByte/s. So that was excessive then? I guess the final result will be at a much lower rate to fit on a DVD..? I may require some advice on that when it somes to the actualy final rendering of the thing. At the moment, it's cut and snip and titles and music time. FUN FUN FUN! :-> (big grin!)
tom
- Fri Sep 5 17:17:48 2003

dsp: Did you succeed with the negative scanning? Results?
tom
- Fri Sep 5 17:15:17 2003

Cheers John
Simon
- Fri Sep 5 15:27:08 2003

Simon, I've uploaded a selection of full sized originals (around 600k each) to another folder on the website. I've put a link to it from the normal page, or you can go directly with this URL: http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/john/pictures/simonswedding/full/
John
- Fri Sep 5 14:41:09 2003

Also John, are you and Chie still willing and able to come and visit us in November? Still no chance of being able to come before?
Simon
- Fri Sep 5 14:37:13 2003

Neither of the two sets, nor the ones from Tom and Sarah's weddings are very great photographically speaking (although obviously the subjects are all marvellous!). Whenever I see other people's pictures from weddings they always look far, far better than mine. I think wedding photography really isn't my forte. Maybe partly it's just down to lots of other people having cameras there too - I don't feel special any more! I ought to stick to drunken randomness I guess.
John
- Fri Sep 5 14:25:00 2003

Thanks! I think you have the best one of us in the registry office, because as you say your camera coped well with the backlight problem. Any chance of emailing me the original so I can get it printed and add it to our album please?
Simon
- Fri Sep 5 14:24:29 2003

Ahhh yes Simon - I uploaded them today too!
John
- Fri Sep 5 14:19:40 2003

After looking at the pics of Tim's I also noticed some nice ones of our wedding too - Nice, John, Nice!
Simon
- Fri Sep 5 14:13:30 2003

I was quite pleased with the ones of the car towards the end - I was messing about with the colour adjustment on my camera, and I thought they looked kind of nice. Maybe need a bit of cropping though. I've got bigger sized originals as well (1600x1200) which you're welcome to if there's any you want to print or anything.
John
- Fri Sep 5 14:02:05 2003

Tim, I finally uploaded my pictures from your wedding today. I know it's a year and a bit late, but, well, there you go. I had hesitated for a while given that my pictures didn't come out so well, but in the end I thought it best for completeness' sake to upload them anyway. I'm not going to put the URL here, as I have an exceedingly sophisticated system of categorisation which should allow you to find them with ease.
John
- Fri Sep 5 13:58:46 2003

I'd like to contribute. I have a DVD player.
dsp
- Fri Sep 5 13:38:26 2003

... and don't talk to me about dampers!!!!!!!!! Argh!
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 5 12:29:41 2003

I've been looking at its web-site. The gist is this: it doesn't re-encode, it "Transcodes" instead, which is a hell of a lot faster. However, it refuses to go into details of what the transcoding process might be. I suspect that you are right in saying that the coefficients for the higher frequencies are probably thrown away (or may ones with very small amplitudes). I asked the question in the first place, to see if you had any further ideas about it (or maybe had used/analysed it). It just struck me as rather interesting ...
Jimmy
- Fri Sep 5 12:28:44 2003

Errr, pretty much what Graf said sums it up really.
John
- Fri Sep 5 11:43:30 2003

Seriously though, I think DVDs are often encoded at wastefully high bitrates - like 8 or 9 Mb a second for the video stream. In broadcast MPEG-2, which is generally the same resolution, you can normally tootle along quite happily at 3 or 4 Mb/s without a huge number of complaints. 5 Meg on DVB and you feel like you're being spoiled. You can just about squeeze 720x576 video into just over 2 Mb/s with MPEG-2 if you're careful, although a good old fashioned broadcast engineer brought up on analogue video (and iron filings for breakfast) would probably rather gouge his eyes out (with his own ribs) than watch it. His last dying words spluttered through the bloody mess that used to be his face would be something about high frequency detail, and exactly how important it was for him to be able to count how many leaves there were on that tree two miles away, etc.
John
- Fri Sep 5 11:42:15 2003

Although I'm not sure the inertial dampers will be able to compensate for that level of plasma flow being rerouted to the warp conduits, captain.
John
- Fri Sep 5 11:33:57 2003

If it's clever, it should just discard coefficients in each macroblock corresponding to the higher end of the frequency spectrum from the encoded bitstream, so it doesn't have to go through all the effort of a decode/encode cycle. Having said that, your motion vectors and inter-frame dependencies probably make this a lot more difficult than it sounds. Mnph.
John
- Fri Sep 5 11:32:25 2003

Presumably "DVD Shrink" re-encodes the video at a lower bitrate so you can get more on the disc. So you'd be sacrificing some of the quality to fit it onto a smaller disc.
Graf
- Fri Sep 5 11:24:01 2003

Jill: I've obviously failed in my attempt to convince you, so from one Jill to another the very best of luck on Saturday and in the future.
Mad Mumsie
- Fri Sep 5 08:51:42 2003

Nope, no idea to be honest...
John
- Thu Sep 4 13:15:30 2003

John ... how does "DVD Shrink" work? Apparently it squishes a DVD into a smaller DVD. Any ideas how? Ever used it? Apparently it's freely downloadable ... Thoughts?
Jimmy
- Thu Sep 4 12:58:36 2003

2 more sleeps until i'm a mrs
Jill
- Thu Sep 4 12:43:32 2003

Ah Travis - We could tell you what a course is, but we'd have to kill you afterwards. (This is to do with his other life in the Air Training Corps) and very smart he looks in his uniform.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu Sep 4 10:02:59 2003

He he heh.. comments John? http://www.comics.com/comics/dilbert/archive/images/dilbert2003203280904.gif
tom
- Thu Sep 4 08:48:52 2003

Sorry. What's a course? As in a course in school? Or military?
Travis
- Thu Sep 4 01:50:47 2003

Privet. Alex, please send me email
animated <anime@yourmail.com>
- Wed Sep 3 21:16:29 2003

Here in Daedalus mess, we have limited net access. Which is nice. Course is tiring but a bit of a larf. Thanks John, will check it out when I get back!
Rob Lang
- Wed Sep 3 20:21:24 2003

Odd that, I was just thinking about making the comment, isn't it quiet without Rob. He's -away on a course this week.
mad mumsie
- Wed Sep 3 10:52:06 2003

Rob, not sure if you're checking the board much at the moment, but just in case, I made a category for you from my pictures page: http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/john/pictures/categories/Rob.html
John
- Tue Sep 2 15:22:24 2003

Absolutely fantastic John! Cheers dude!
dsp
- Mon Sep 1 21:50:10 2003

Tim, I thought you might like this picture, taken in a student house in Reading, which I meant to show you over three years ago. I wonder if it was stolen...?

John
- Mon Sep 1 21:27:45 2003

That is truly dreadful. 16MBytes to hear Stephen Hawking. Kill me now.
Jimmy
- Mon Sep 1 18:11:27 2003

Oh YES it's working!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 1 18:07:03 2003

Downloading....82% complete....the suspense is unbearable...
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 1 17:57:27 2003

Oh pants, I've just realised that I am running version 5, that's why. Hopefully the one I am downloading now will save the day...
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 1 17:44:05 2003

Maybe it's because I am using the full version of Acrobat, not just the reader. I am downloading this other reader thing in the hope that might work!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 1 17:43:04 2003

I promise I'm not making it up Simon - here's a screenshot!!

John
- Mon Sep 1 17:38:46 2003

So am I so no. I had a search for it on the web an it reckons there is something else called ebook reader or something...
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 1 17:30:11 2003

...it couldn't be that it's only present on some versions of Windows could it? I'm using 2000.
John
- Mon Sep 1 17:28:49 2003

In the View menu, there's a sub-menu entitled "Read Out Loud" from which I chose "Read This Page Only". If it helps, I'm using Acrobart Reader 6.0.
John
- Mon Sep 1 17:28:18 2003

Oh no, I still can't find it - Where is said function to be found please?
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 1 17:24:28 2003

The temptation to be really juvenile and fill a PDF with swear words is now quite high. This may be slightly influenced by the highly tedious and unhumourous nature of the work I'm doing today.
John
- Mon Sep 1 16:32:56 2003

I actually NEED that read out function NOW! It sounds humourous. I can't find it yet but am downloading the latest version...
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Sep 1 16:09:54 2003

Actually, I think you'll find it's the 1st of October.
ManFromTheFuture
- Mon Sep 1 12:48:57 2003

Imagine that, 1st September already.
Click here for last months messages.
John
- Mon Sep 1 09:21:29 2003

Has anyone else found the "Read Out Loud" function in Acrobat Reader (maybe you need the most recent version)? I've just had Stephen Hawking presenting excerpts from my thesis to me. Well it's brightened up my otherwise dreary morning, anyway!
John
- Mon Sep 1 09:20:14 2003