Author: cdwan

Pictures here

Stolen from slashdot (I assume the author stole it from some other source, I just hadn’t heard it before):

Richard M. Stallman, Linus Torvalds, and Donald E. Knuth engage in a discussion on whose impact on Computer Science was the greatest.

Stallman: “God told me I have programmed the best editor in the world!”

Torvalds: “Well, God told *me* that I have programmed the best operating system in the world!”

Knuth: “Wait, wait – I never said that.”

While leaving the house tonight, we saw a mammal by the house. It was not one of the neighborhood cats, nor was it the local skunk. It was the size of a terrier, low slung, with a white face, cylindrical body, and hairless rat-tail. Yes, it was a possum. I drove it away with snowballs, but I think probably lives under my porch.

We’re going to need bigger mousetraps.

Home again. Ungh. Back to back trips take it out of me. There are several factors there. First off, I bust ass really hard at customer sites. Then there’s eating unfamiliar and rich food, generally with alcohol if the host has decided that we’re going out on the town. Then I spend weird hours on the airplane getting dehydrated. The final factor is that I’m used to sitting quietly at home all day. Over-stimulation is exhausting. Sort of like going to the mall, or to a casino. Too many blinking lights and gonging bells keep me in a state of nervous excitement.

But after an unexpected but totally blissful two hour nap from 11am to 1pm today, I feel great.

There was a historian on the radio the other day who commented that malpractice lawsuits really got off the ground early in the 20th century. It was people whose bones had healed improperly after having them set by a physician who got the ball rolling. Prior to that, state of the art was amputation, and not many people sued over a botched one, for obvious reasons.

Now I’m ogling new computers on the web. My trusty powerbook is doing fine, but a 60% speed boost to the processor sounds really good right about now.

We apparently had a mouse.

Jen discovered the other day that the thumbs had been chewed out of our oven mitts, and there were little mouse turds in kitchen-towel drawer. So, with much yuppie hand wringing and “but I’m a vegetarian” temporizing, we purchased spring-loaded mousetraps. Set one yesterday in the drawer which had formerly held the towels (towels are in the washing machine).

This morning, victory. Dead mouse. Trap reloaded, replaced.

This isn’t even close to sporting.

I’m going back to new jersey tomorrow.

For the first time in my life, last week I escaped NJ without a speeding ticket. Now I’m sent back into the jaws of despair. Fortunately, this time I know the way. Plus, there’s no snow emergency on the weather channel for the morning of my departure.

Update: My brother comments:

They say that a true shaolin master does not fear excessive rain, temperature, or physical harm. Hopefully, that should apply to being in New Jersey too.

I suppose that I must try to be more masterful in my attitudes.

New beer in the fermenter. This one is a truly freaky style, featured recently in “Brew Your Own” magazine. It’s a “gose” beer, which includes a little bit of salt and an infusion of coriander. We’ll see how it goes. It smelled like an ordinary wheat beer, but the wort was definitely spicy and a bit salty. Sort of a seaside tasting drink. Not sure if I’ll like it or not, but I’m making this one because I’m *sure* that I’ll never find this particular variant in any store around here.

CNN is reporting voter turnouts in the mid 70% range. That exceeds turnout in the most recent US presidential election by a solid 25%. Seems that if they hate something, it’s not democracy. They’re fine with democracy. In fact, they may be better at it than us.

I deeply, deeply hope that the new Iraqi government demands an immediate withdrawal of the majority of the US forces from Iraq. There are some valuable, peaceful missions for which we might be able to provide help. Rebuilding industrial capacity, fixing power stations, etc. It’s the only dignified (and sure-fire) was to get most of our troops out of harms way and start the healing process. If Iraq’s new government has to exist under occupation for the next decade, it will *never* be legitimate in the eyes of the Iraqis.

The first drink of the day. Beer and monkeys. What’s not to love?

Star wars parody

Claude Shannon’s juggling machine

Whatever.

The Wine list grows by one:

Beringer Merlot. Year unknown

Ick, ick, ick! Harsh and medicinal. A solid kick in the face from Southwest Airline’s default “red wine.” The plastic cup didn’t help either. CMD: January 28, 2005