News Archives: January 2004

Saturday, January 31, 2004

Mail Clients

For some time now, I've been using Eudora. But with the growth of Spam, I need to be able to redirect mails to the spam filter on the server intact. No changing headers, no adding "by way of" or any of the other rubbish that Eudora does. Even after searching for some time, I can't find a way to do that with Eudora. (By contrast, most Unix mail clients - Pine, Mutt, whatever - do this with a single key-stroke. Most of them refer to it as "bouncing".)

So, unless someone out there knows how to make Eudora do this, I need to get a new mail client. It'll need to have most of the same features as Eudora (filtering, multiple personalities which can be changed between when sending messages, not auto-running evil scripts) but it needs to be able to redirect messages without changing them.

If anyone has any suggestions, please post them in comments. I really would appreciate it.

Posted by graham @ 09:31 pm

Thursday, January 22, 2004

They Smirk at your Hairstyle and Sleep with your Wife...

Finally I've recovered enough from Claire's birthday to start posting again. The weekend was busy but largely fun. Highpoints (for me) included the wonderful Santorini restaurant in Edinburgh and a pub full of friends. The only low(ish) point was being charged five quid to be reminded why I don't go to nightclubs. It was okay, but I'd prefer a good pub any day.

For those few who are uninitiated, Neil Gaiman was given permission to post an MP3 of the wonderful March of the Sinister Ducks. Everyone should have a copy. Especially Glorantha-philes.

Posted by graham @ 02:54 pm

Friday, January 16, 2004

Birthday Cake

Claire's birthday is this weekend, so I've spent a fair chunk of today baking her a cake. The apricot layer cake is an old favourite of hers, quite easy (if a little time consuming) to make, and very impressive and tasty. Basically, you take a thin layer of chocolate sponge, spread on a thick layer of apricot jam, then a thick layer of butter icing. Add another layer of sponge, and repeat. This year's cake is three layers high, the final sponge being smothered in chocolate icing. Should taste wonderful.

Posted by graham @ 08:50 pm

Lost Doctor Who Episode Recovered

News from the BBC that a lost (meaning deliberately destroyed) episode of Doctor Who has been recovered. The episode is the second episode of "The Daleks Masterplan" - the longest single storyline ever attempted by the program. The new discovery brings the total found to three of the twelve episodes. Apparently the last copy was nicked by a former BBC engineer, who has now decided to come clean. While this is great news for all fans of the series, it always seems a bit odd to me for the BBC to be so self-congratulatory over recovering material they willingly junked in the first place.

The timing of this is also mildly amusing - just after the BBC released a video of what was then the last episodes in their archives not to be released. Probably safe to say that this episode won't get a VHS release now, but will hopefully turn up on DVD soon. Only another 108 to find.

Posted by graham @ 07:59 pm

Thursday, January 15, 2004

Mindstorms Safe

A press release from Lego has squashed the rumour that Mindstorms might be under threat. Misunderstanding in the geek press or hasty corporate backdown? I don't care - my dreams of one day owning a cheap robotics experimentation set is still alive!

While I wrote this post, someone else copied the entire press release into the comments of my last story to mention Mindstorms. Looks like someone else was skimming the Slashdot headlines today.

Posted by graham @ 03:54 pm

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

More WMD Discoveries Debunked

Mortar shells found in southern Iraq by the Danish military do not appear to contain chemical weapon agents as originally suspected.

Now there's a surprise. Full story, courtesy of Fox.

Posted by graham @ 08:16 pm

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Friends Will Be Friends

Humour is a dangerous concept, especially when transmitted over the Internet. When I mentioned a desire for Lego Mindstorms a few posts ago, I wasn't seriously expecting anyone to buy me a set. Well, maybe my wife. For my birthday (which is ages away). When a good friend offered to actually do so (I've no idea how seriously) it took me by surprise. While it is wonderful to have such generous friends, I'm a bit embarrassed at the thought that I appear to be begging from friends. I don't really like seeing myself that way, and am even a bit dubious when friends ask about Amazon wishlists and similar. So there it is - I appreciate the thought, but worry that I might be taking advantage. Just buy me a beer next time we're in the same town.

More straight-forwardly enjoyable is the apparent ability to summon friends to comment here by mentioning them in a post. So far it only seems to work for Gloranthaphiles. I've been wondering how they're finding the site - does the site show up on a Google search for their name? (Indeed, are they as vain as I am, and conduct the odd Google for their own name?) Is there some link somewhere that is driving Glorantha fans this way? Or did I mention the site in some forgotten conversation, and they've been checking in since to catch up with my news?

Final Christmas cards (probably) arrived in the last couple of days. Jeff & Melanie Kyer have the excellent excuse of getting married, moving house (and in one case country) and sending the card across the Atlantic. The lateness was more than made up for by a lovely, long letter, complete with photo from their wedding. I really must send more cards next year, and include my own letter. They're such a pleasure to receive.

Posted by graham @ 10:03 pm

Sunday, January 11, 2004

Kilroy Lies to Protect His Job

Robert Kilroy-Smith has attempted to defend himself from accusations of racism - made after an article published in last week's Sunday Express. In today's Sunday Telegraph he claims :

If I am not allowed to say that there are Arab states that are evil, despotic and treat women abominably, if I am not allowed to say that, which I know to be a fact, then what can I say?

That seems terribly reasonable. Unfortunately for Kilroy, a quick check online shows that his actual comment was :

Apart from oil - which was discovered, is produced and is paid for by the west - what do they contribute? Can you think of anything? Anything really useful? Anything really valuable? Something we really need, could not do without? No, nor can I.

What do they think we feel about them? That we adore them for the way they murdered more than 3,000 civilians on September 11 and then danced in the hot, dusty streets to celebrate the murders? That we admire them for being suicide bombers, limb amputators, women repressors?

No mention of evil governments, just an attempt to portray all members of a race on the basis of the worst examples. (An equivalent would be to hold all Christians responsible for the crimes of Hitler and Torquemada.) Kilroy's comments are blatantly racist, in a very nasty way. The fact that he has lied about what he is accused of indicates he knows this. Never the less, the BBC cannot be associated with such opinions, and has no choice but to terminate his contract immediately. Racists like Kilroy have no place in public life.

Posted by graham @ 01:45 pm

Saturday, January 10, 2004

Breaking News

In the last hour, the BBC has published a story on chemical weapons being found in Iraq. The story indicates that only "traces" of chemicals were found, on mortars probably left over from the Iraq-Iran war. Expect this to be blown up by the media into a massive "proof that Iraq had nasty weapons" story, then quietly dropped when it becomes clear that there wasn't enough agent there to do more than give someone a nasty rash...

Posted by graham @ 10:10 pm

Another Mixed Bag of Updates

Server problems mid-week, work on the fallout from that, plus everything else on my plate means I have been a bit quiet here for a while. It also meant that Wednesday's Online Opinion column turned up late. In the end, two columns appeared - one on so-called copy protection (which is, of course, actually copy prevention and one on AOL's nasty new habit of sending junkmail that looks like bills. I'm also giving serious thought to adding a comments section to OO - one thread for each article. Perhaps that will bring in the elusive interaction/debate I keep seeking. Probably not, though.

It was slightly tempting to write a column on this week's Washington Post article that revealed the most damning evidence about Iraq's weapons programs. But really, what is there to say? The whole thing would be laughable, if it weren't for the thousands who died.

More genuinely amusing was Verisign (those well known experts on Internet security) who this week allowed one of their root level certificates to expire, breaking I have no idea how many secure web sites round the world. Only the latest mistake (or worse) from the company whose slogan is "The Value of Trust". Which, I guess, is why those of us who genuinely value trust, get our secure certificates elsewhere.

Speaking of trust, why is that I need to go to an American newspaper to find out that opposition to their loopy guns-on-planes plan is not limited to one British union and a charter company? In fact, several other countries or national airlines have refused to comply. Surely the British media should be accurately reflecting international opposition to this idea?

Interestingly, America appears to not like the same rules being applied to its citizens (scroll to the bottom) :

"We have told the Brazilians that we think that these are measures that provide tremendous inconvenience to travelers and that they need to be changed," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Tuesday.

These measures are essentially the same as those facing Brazilians (and pretty much anyone else) entering the US under new plans.

Finally, in sad news for budding roboteers everywhere, rumours have surfaced that Lego is to drop their Mindstorms range of robot kits. Anyone buying me one before they vanish (or organising a successful "Save Mindstorms" campaign) will be eternally blessed.

Posted by graham @ 09:58 pm

Tuesday, January 6, 2004

From the Department of Bold Royal Predictions

The various inquests and inquiries will conclude that Dodi Al Fayed and Diana Windsor died in an accident, caused by a drunk/high driver and neither of them wearing seat belts. No foul play will be discovered. Mohammed Al Fayed will declare that these inquiries were flawed, nutty conspiracy theorists will believe him.

Anne will not be banned from keeping animals, despite the fact that she is clearly incapable of doing so safely. She will however continue to be referred to as the Princess Royal, presumably to distinguish from all the non-royal princesses we have these days.

The royal family's much publicised love of canines will continue not to extend as far as those canines of a distinctly russet hue.

Posted by graham @ 05:00 pm

Wonder What He'd Make of Spellcheck

Those who don't read Neil Gaiman's journal (and if you don't, you should) may have missed the wonderful poem by P.G. Wodehouse dedicated to a printer's error. Well worth a read.

Posted by graham @ 08:31 am

Well Done Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook has become the first airline to stand up to Bush's gun nuts. In a public statement they have stated that they will cancel any plane on which they are required to place guns. Lets hope that their stance makes it easier for other airlines - and indeed the British government - to find a backbone.

Meanwhile, more details of the plan are emerging. It seems there will be just a few dozen marshalls (26 from two police forces, as far as I am aware) which will make them (a) easy to track down - one leak in Scotland Yard and most of them could be identified (b) easy to spot - undercover policemen? and (c) easy to distract. The last one is the biggest worry. A simple code (say "London" when you mean "Manchester") and the small number of marshalls on duty will be on the wrong planes anyway.

Dear oh dear.

Posted by graham @ 08:27 am

Monday, January 5, 2004

Little Mysteries

Life is full of puzzles. Why does someone keep visiting a dead page on Online Opinion from a site dedicated to a well known d-list celebrity video? Why are Tesco selling Christmas puddings at the same price regardless of quality? Or is that just an example of staff who couldn't be bothered with customer service, so put up the wrong price? Why has no one made a little box to connect a DVD player to an old TV - one with only an ariel socket? Who actually buys all the crap that spammers keep trying to sell? And why do Southampton always self-destruct every time I settle down to watch them on the telly?

Answers on a postcard, please.

Posted by graham @ 10:34 pm

Weapons of Mass Deception (Part, er, I've Lost Count)

The BBC today quotes Tony Blair as saying that :

"I don't believe that the intelligence we got was wrong."

This was in response to a question on whether he expected WMD to be found in Iraq.

Now, given that we know that lots of the information we were given before the war was complete bollocks (45 minutes, tons of chemical and biological weapons, active nuclear program) and accepting that Blair's "we" might not include you and I, there are three possibilities.

1. Blair was lying then. The intelligence given to Blair never indicated any of the claims that were made.
2. Blair is lying now. Blair knows full well that the intelligence was wrong.
3. Blair is an idiot.

Whichever is true, he shouldn't be in Number Ten.

Posted by graham @ 10:19 pm

Hogmanay Let Down

Edinburgh Council has announced that it won't be refunding 25,000 people who paid £15 each for tickets to the Hogmanay Street Party. It isn't as if the concert cancellation that caused the problems wasn't largely predictable - the weather was as forecast, and the stage wasn't close to being up to the weather. That's a lot of unnecessarily disgruntled people, and a potential class action law suit. One step closer to killing off Edinburgh as a Hogmanay holiday destination.

Posted by graham @ 10:09 pm

Friday, January 2, 2004

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a better New Year than those on Princes Street, or my friend Grant. Claire and I saw in 2004 at a small party in Edinburgh. A few good friends, some good food, and (in at least one case) far too much to drink. The cancellation of Princes Street came as little surprise - on the drive in, our car was nearly hit by flying pieces of wood and one of those large waste bins you get at garages. I wouldn't want to be outside in that wind. Of course, there are a number of people complaining - probably the same people who would be complaining all the louder if someone had been seriously injured.

Posted by graham @ 10:27 pm

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