There is an interesting article on the DRM in the new IBM laptops with finger scanners on InformationWeek. The article goes a little further than most though, showing that the DRM can be used to track what documents you open and when. This is scary stuff. The finger scanners are not that new either
I am however waiting for that nice finger scanner to log me on to all my websites, as the security chip in the laptop authenticates the fingerprint and then sends something like a public key to the server. All that I need to do is set up the website to accept that log on… maybe someone will do it soon.
Monthly Archive for March, 2006
So Blue Fusion has finished for the year. IT was incredible fun, and got in at least one paper (the Hampshire Chronicle did send a reporter, but no photographer so I took photos of the event for them as the official photographer for the event) but I have not yet found their article online.
I still need to sort through the photos and put a few online so you can see them. There are also posts on some blogs (I will be introducing this blog soon) and also a post here.
The week was great fun, but unfortunately I don’t have the time to really write about it, though the Blue Fusion website should eventually get some write-ups put on to it, though I am not sure when that will happen…
I have been Google Desktop Search through work, and have to say I have found it really useful. It also has a section of “hot stuff”. I have no idea where the data for it comes from, probably the popularity of searches. Anyway, I clicked on a link there called Spore and was pleasantly surprised to find a video on google on what has to be the coolest video game I have ever seen.
Maxis have excelled again with Spore. They have taken the feedback from people playing The Sims and gone and written an awesome fully precedural computer game.
It is difficult to explain exactly what all this means in laymens terms, but an article on gamespy might help (But watch the above video!! It is incredible!).
This is the one game that I will most defenitely buy, and those that know me know how reluctant I am to part with hard earned cash for computer games. This game is like all their others in that there is no end or winning point, but it is so freeform that there seems to be absolutely nothing that you can’t do in it.
“Please be aware that as your wives age, it is harder for them to maintain the same quality of housekeeping as when they were younger. When you notice this, try not to yell at them. Some are oversensitive, and there is nothing worse than an oversensitive woman.
Let me relate how I handled the situation with my wife, Marsha. When I was laid off from my consulting job and took early retirement in April, it became necessary for Marsha to get a full-time job, both for extra income and for the health insurance benefits we needed.
Shortly after she started working, I noticed she was beginning to show her age. I usually get home from the golf course about the same time she gets home from work, and although she knows how hungry I am, she rests for an hour or so before she starts dinner. I don’t yell at her. Instead, I tell her to take her time and just wake me when she gets dinner on the table. I generally have lunch in the Men’s Grill at the club, so eating out is not reasonable. I’m ready for some home-cooked grub when I hit that door.
She used to do the dishes as soon as we finished eating, but now it’s not unusual for them to sit on the table for several hours after dinner. I do what I can by diplomatically reminding her several times each evening that they won’t wash themselves. I know she appreciates this, as it does seem to motivate her to get them done before she goes to bed. I really think my old job as a consultant helps a lot. Telling people what they ought to do is one of my strong points.
Also, now that she has gotten older, she does seem to get tired so much more quickly. Our washer-dryer is in the basement, and sometimes she says she just can’t make another trip down those steps. I don’t make a big issue of this, just as long as she finishes up the laundry the next evening. I’m willing to overlook her shortcomings in this area. Unless I need something ironed to wear to the Monday lodge meeting, or to the Wednesday and Saturday poker club, or to Tuesday’s and Thursday’s bowling, I’ll tell her to wait until the next evening to do the ironing. This gives her a little more time to do some of those odds and ends, like shampooing the dog, vacuuming and dusting.
If I had a really bad day on the course and it was wet and muddy and my clubs are a mess, I let her clean them, you know, getting the grit off the grips and a little light Brillo on the club faces. Since my golf bag is heavy, I lift it out of the trunk for her. Women are delicate, have weak wrists and can’t lift heavy stuff as good as men. But I had to tell her that I don’t like to be wakened during my after-golf nap, so rather than bother me, she can put them back in the trunk when she’s finished.
Another symptom of aging is complaining, I think. For example, she will say that it is difficult for her to find time to pay the monthly bills during her lunch hour. But boys, we take ‘em for better or worse, so I just smile and offer encouragement. I tell her to stretch it out over two or even three days. That way she won’t have to rush so much. I also remind her that missing lunch completely now and then wouldn’t hurt her any (if you know what I mean). I like to think tact is one of my strong points.
When doing simple jobs, she seems to think she needs more rest periods. She had to take a break when she was only half finished mowing the yard. I try to not make a scene. I’m a fair man. I tell her to fix herself a nice, big, cold glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade and just sit for a while. And, as long as she is making one for herself, she may as well make one for me, too, then take a break by my hammock. That way we can talk until I fall asleep.
I know that I probably look like a saint in the way I support Marsha, but I’m not saying that showing this much consideration is easy. Many men will find it difficult. Some will find it impossible! Nobody knows better than I do how frustrating women get as they get older. However, guys, even if you just use a little more tact and less criticism of your aging wife because of this letter, I will consider that writing it was worthwhile. After all, we are put on this earth to help each other.
Regards, John.”
Editor’s Note: John died suddenly Thursday, May 19th. He was found on the golf course with a broken Big Bertha Golf Driver lying beside his body. His wife Marsha was arrested, but after the jury read this letter, they accepted her defence that he accidentally sat on it. She was released from custody on Friday.
Bright sparks is over, and happened to go rather well on Friday.
My robots performed quite well, and all the other activities were wonderful. The finale was excellent as we had a computer rendered (very old school 2D rendering) triathlon using the athlete that the kids had been training all day. 2 heats and a semi-final later we had a winner and a hell of a lot of noise (we had convinced the kids that they had to cheer for their athlete to help him go faster, and while the microphone sensor did work it did not affect anything except the people above us). Upper management are somewhere above us as are human resources. One woman I spoke to said it was refreshing to have kids screaming as it is usually very quiet, but we were happy to have unleashed the screaming monsters all the same.
Monday saw the start of Blue Fusion (which is for the 15/16 year old group as opposed to the 12/13, and used to be known as Young Visions). We swapped out DIY Timepiece, in which one had to construct a timer and scales from random pieces of stuff, and in its place put in Eco Sim, in which the schools had to work out a compromise between avoiding global warming and taxing their population to revolt. Eco Sim had some serious problems during the day and was close to being pulled, but some fixes tonight will hopefully see it through the week.
My robots did well even though there was some confusion with the scoring and the scores had to be adjusted later which hopefully didn’t upset too many schools. All looks good with them for tomorrow - some more glue to hold certain parts together (the rubbery kind that peels off so as not to damage the Lego) and new hosts tomorrow to score it and help the kids and everything is set.
I had plenty of fun taking photographs of the event and if possible will (i.e. if I am allowed to keep copies and display them) I will put some up online. The best activity to photograph was probably Search For A Planet, as the room was dark except for a 80 inch (or so) plasma TV and two UV lights (or blacklights) to help illuminate everything. A splash of UV reactive paint here and there made everything slightly more colourful.
Search For A Planet is probably the only activity that actually asks the schools to attempt any maths, and some of the schools really failed spectacularly with this part. I really wish I knew what physics is on the GCSE syllabus as acceleration and gravity seem almost like alien concepts to most of the kids (apart form one who had long hair, a leather biker jacket and looked like The Fonse (how the hell do you spell the guy from happy days?), or quite like I did during my A level years. This kid managed to get most of the way to the perfect planet on his own, leading his school through all the astrophysics which he quite clearly knew well. It almost worked, until the other students in his school took over and started playing with the selections and then it all went pear shaped…)
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