iamcal.com Since May 2000

office stories: someone in my office has just gone on a five minute rant about sainsburys selling him a fillet of snapper without descaling it. apparently he didn't realise they hadn't ("they always do, don't they?") cooked it and subsequently covered the entire meal in scales (cue wife: "what the fuck is this? i'm not eating it"). cooking seems way too difficult - i definately need a geek girlfriend who's in to cooking (or alternatively, just eat in resturants the whole time).

ah, also, you can join the dbdi mailing list by sending a blank mail to dbdi-dev-subscribe[at]perl.org

i'm about a month behind reading the perl6internals lists, but the dbdi announcement from tim bunce is interesting. this would almost force php and ruby to get good dbi layers in core. i, for one, can't wait.

the (poignant) guide to ruby is just great: "A range is two values surrounded by parentheses and separated by an ellipsis (in the form of two or three dots). Think of it as an accordion which has been squeezed down for carrying. (Sure, you can build a great sense of self-worth by carrying around an unfolded accordion, but sometimes a person needs to wallow in self-doubt, carefully concealing the squeeze-box.) The parentheses are the handles on the sides of a smaller, handheld accordion. The dots are the chain, keeping the folds tightly closed. Normally, only two dots are used. If a third dot is used, the last value in the range is excluded. When you see that third dot, imagine opening the accordion slightly. Just enough to let one note from its chamber. The note is that end value. WeBAD+92ll let the sky eat it."

i was just asked "Is this 'social software' new then?". my response: "yes and no. the term is new, the concept is old. read these if you're interested: the_excesses of social software, my working definition of social software

apparently mocha ssh client runs fine on the p900 (i hadn't tried it yet). i'm reticent to install it, as at least i have some small periods of time (while travelling) when i can't do any kind of server maintainance (not true of course - i can always dialup via bluetooth). getting the balance right between accessability and responsibility is tricky.

overheard: "football is like sex as far as i'm concerned - i'm much rather take part, however bad i am, than watch it."

is it me or is stinger one of the most ufesul bits of software available? (along with adaware). it seems kinda crazy that it's free. it certainly stops me from wanting to buy any antivirus software.

spotted on the company intranet by a colleague: "Please remember that all Internet sites visited from an **** network or that you visit from your workstation can now be easily captured for reporting. Thus making it easier to monitor and manage Internet traffic and usage. If in doubt, see the guidelines on Internet usage in the **** staff handbook or use this link". nice.

ConConUK is something not to be missed. given that i'm bunking off work on friday to go and see lowgold, then taking monday morning off to go to the dentist, i'm not sure how i justify taking monday afternoon off with only a few days left until i leave. hmm, some pleading might be in order.