What rough beast slouches...
Aug. 26th, 2003 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsThis week, it seems, the mundane and physical aspects of my life are bailing on me. First, I learn that my barista has quit. Y'see, there's this cafe' that I stop at on the way to pick up Yamaarashi-chan every week on Wednesday, and for a year the barista there, Jason, made me the same thing to the point where he knew what I wanted, hot or cold, rain or shine. He quit. Now I have to train a new barista. Ah, well, here's to hoping he's found better pastures.
Then I learn that the last donut shop in my area is closing down. It was a Dunkin' about two years ago, but Dunkin' pulled out of Washington, citing an "environment hostile to business," and other interests have claimed their stores. Apparently the local one wasn't making money. That'll leave Lucky Donuts about a half mile further away, with a terrible selection and only-game-in-town prices. It's not like we went there often-- once a month, according to Quicken. But still, it was a treat, and now we can't do it.
Our Braun Multiquick also died, apparently stripping gears. It gave us three years of very faithful service and made the perfect purees for the kids, as well as chopped garlic and almonds and just about anything else. It's absolutely essential for making waffles, too, as trying to fluff eggs without it is a nightmarish task. We immediately went out and replaced it at Bed, Bath & Beyond, which wants as much as Amazon and didn't have either a wait time or shipping fees.
And now it looks like the laptop is having a bad week. First, the battery life has become noticeably shortened-- down from two hours to about an hour and a half. The Thinkpad 600's are notorious for having terrible battery lifespans-- about a year on average, and mine's now over a year and a half old, but I've been practicing radical battery discipline, popping it out of its cage when it's at 100% and never discharging it very far if I can afford it. And now one of the power cords has died, or at least is untrustworthy. It's a good thing I have two, but the spare cord needs replacing immediately and the battery will probably need a replacement by January.
In what may be the most bizarre tactic yet, a group of Egyptian lawyers has announced it's intention to sue "the Jews" for the wealth stolen from Egypt during Exodus. "We estimate that, according to their own documents, the Jews claimed to have escaped with a half-kilogram of gold for every man woman and child. The Torah claims that 600,00 people left during Exodus, so that's 300,000 kilograms of gold. We intend to sue for that much, with interest."
Good: Boy's Death at Church Ruled a Homicide. Nail those bastards.
It's nice to see Eric Raymond going after Darl McBride's claim that all of the "anti-SCO" rhetoric was being orchestrated behind the scenes by IBM's ninjas. McBride can only dream. Although in the early 90's I survived for a couple of months programming on SCO, I've come to loathe SCO for the litigous, unreasonable, absurd bastards that they are.
But, Eric, Eric. Mad scientists don't call them "Orbital mind-control lasers." Get it right. They're orbital brain lasers when they're Linux compatible.
But I love this bit:
Oh, and if you want more giggles, check out IBM vs. SCO, The Princess Bride version.
"If this is fiction, then it goes too far." So says Assistant District Attorney Richard Sitzman, who is prosecuting Brian Robertson. Robertson wrote a short story about a Columbine-like assault on a high-school, and when the story was found he was suspended for his senior year, denied the right to attend graduation, and ultimately arrested for violating a law that makes it a felony to "plan, attempt, conspire or endeavor to perform an act of violence involving or intended to involve serious bodily harm or death of another person."
"I didn't know I could be charged with a felony for writing a story," Robertson said.
No, and you shouldn't be, either.
Apparently, there aren't enough assault rifles or ammunition to go around the U.S. troops in Iraq, so the tank battalions, which normally aren't issued assault rifles, have taken to using AK-47 when they have to leave their vehicles. Apparently, the guns are also more reliable and there's a whole lot more ammunition avaiable.
But it's a scandal if our troops are relying on the enemy's weapons because we don't have enough of our own.
Then I learn that the last donut shop in my area is closing down. It was a Dunkin' about two years ago, but Dunkin' pulled out of Washington, citing an "environment hostile to business," and other interests have claimed their stores. Apparently the local one wasn't making money. That'll leave Lucky Donuts about a half mile further away, with a terrible selection and only-game-in-town prices. It's not like we went there often-- once a month, according to Quicken. But still, it was a treat, and now we can't do it.
Our Braun Multiquick also died, apparently stripping gears. It gave us three years of very faithful service and made the perfect purees for the kids, as well as chopped garlic and almonds and just about anything else. It's absolutely essential for making waffles, too, as trying to fluff eggs without it is a nightmarish task. We immediately went out and replaced it at Bed, Bath & Beyond, which wants as much as Amazon and didn't have either a wait time or shipping fees.
And now it looks like the laptop is having a bad week. First, the battery life has become noticeably shortened-- down from two hours to about an hour and a half. The Thinkpad 600's are notorious for having terrible battery lifespans-- about a year on average, and mine's now over a year and a half old, but I've been practicing radical battery discipline, popping it out of its cage when it's at 100% and never discharging it very far if I can afford it. And now one of the power cords has died, or at least is untrustworthy. It's a good thing I have two, but the spare cord needs replacing immediately and the battery will probably need a replacement by January.
In what may be the most bizarre tactic yet, a group of Egyptian lawyers has announced it's intention to sue "the Jews" for the wealth stolen from Egypt during Exodus. "We estimate that, according to their own documents, the Jews claimed to have escaped with a half-kilogram of gold for every man woman and child. The Torah claims that 600,00 people left during Exodus, so that's 300,000 kilograms of gold. We intend to sue for that much, with interest."
Good: Boy's Death at Church Ruled a Homicide. Nail those bastards.
It's nice to see Eric Raymond going after Darl McBride's claim that all of the "anti-SCO" rhetoric was being orchestrated behind the scenes by IBM's ninjas. McBride can only dream. Although in the early 90's I survived for a couple of months programming on SCO, I've come to loathe SCO for the litigous, unreasonable, absurd bastards that they are.
But, Eric, Eric. Mad scientists don't call them "Orbital mind-control lasers." Get it right. They're orbital brain lasers when they're Linux compatible.
But I love this bit:
Tell me, Darl: is this what you wanted out of life, to end up imitating the doomed villain in a cheesy B movie? Tell me, does that dark helmet fit comfortably? Are all the minions cringing in proper form? "No, Mr. Torvalds, I expect you to die!" I'd ask if you'd found the right sort of isolated wasteland for your citadel of dread yet, but that would be a silly question; you're in Utah, after all.
Oh, and if you want more giggles, check out IBM vs. SCO, The Princess Bride version.
"If this is fiction, then it goes too far." So says Assistant District Attorney Richard Sitzman, who is prosecuting Brian Robertson. Robertson wrote a short story about a Columbine-like assault on a high-school, and when the story was found he was suspended for his senior year, denied the right to attend graduation, and ultimately arrested for violating a law that makes it a felony to "plan, attempt, conspire or endeavor to perform an act of violence involving or intended to involve serious bodily harm or death of another person."
"I didn't know I could be charged with a felony for writing a story," Robertson said.
No, and you shouldn't be, either.
Apparently, there aren't enough assault rifles or ammunition to go around the U.S. troops in Iraq, so the tank battalions, which normally aren't issued assault rifles, have taken to using AK-47 when they have to leave their vehicles. Apparently, the guns are also more reliable and there's a whole lot more ammunition avaiable.
But it's a scandal if our troops are relying on the enemy's weapons because we don't have enough of our own.
