02 October 2002

Roland Piquepaille found an article about an 18-yr-old named Richard Robbins in Utah trying to run as many OSes as possible on a single computer -- a project he calls the Menagerie Project (appropriate...). So far he's managed 37 operating systems, over six harddrives! He's got five different boot menus to manage them: Main, Unix, Linux, Windows, and Dos Window Managers. Asked what his favourite OS is, (or if, like children, he loved them all equally but differently), he said this:

Alas, I do share a unique type of love with each one of my beloved systems. But if I had to pick one to be crowned the birthright, I would go with BeOS. Why? Because it minds its own business, is easily pleased, and doesn't complain. If I had to pick a prodigal son, it would have to be FreeBSD, because its picky, complains a lot, and doesn't obey me.

Jaysus. I have enough trouble trying to run one.


4:40:25 PM  #   your two cents []
Edwina Currie on her affair with John Major: <<"It started because we were healthy, handsome people in very pressurised jobs," she said.>> Eeeeek! Don't even go there...
1:45:20 PM  #   your two cents []
I can hardly wait...: New Text Msg: Joe Schmoe 4 Prez. <<Coming to cell phones: political ads. Recent actions by the Federal Elections Committee could pave the way for unsolicited text messages, and even smear campaigns.>> [Wired News]
1:40:19 PM  #   your two cents []
New Gigs for Linux Wonder Boys. <<One explores remote areas by dune buggy in the dead of night. One climbs mountains. Another has become a circus ringmaster of sorts. They're the founding fathers of Linux, and here's what they're up to now.>> [Wired News]
1:38:37 PM  #   your two cents []
Building a better computer mouse. <<A new user interface--the "mouse gesture"--is slowly winning converts among software developers who hope to simplify repetitive tasks in computer applications.>> [CNET News.com]
1:34:32 PM  #   your two cents []

One of the many fascinating tidbits from the book I am slowly meandering through at the moment, Charles Sprawson's Haunts of the Black Masseur, on the history and symbolism of swimming (kind of -- this is a book that is hard to define).

Bystanders were amused when in 1726 the American Benjamin Franklin stripped and plunged into the Thames. He swam from Chelsea to Blackfriars, 'performing on the way many feats of activity both on and under the water', and was 'much flattered by the admiration of the company'. He taught many aristocratic Englishmen to swim... and came across such widespread ignorance on the subject that he considered staying on in England to make his fortune by establishing a swimming pool.

Since we only ever see that one old-man picture of Franklin, it's odd to imagine him as the virile ladies man he very definitely was, performing 'feats' in the Thames! Another thing I didn't know: in 1926 American Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel -- and also beat the existing men's record by two hours because she swam front crawl all the way, even though because of terrible weather and currents, she had to swim 35 miles at angles to do the 21 mile crossing. Up til then, men tended to swim a leisurely, high-headed breast-stroke, which was considered the proper, aristocratic stroke. Only 5 men had ever swum the channel; her record for men and women stood for 24 years. And between-the-Wars Olympic swimmer Sybil Bauer (who died at 22 from cancer) could swim a faster backstroke than any man of the time, though the record was never officially recorded. PS: What's your favourite stroke? I detest breaststroke, love backstroke, & mostly do the crawl. This is so personal for swimmers! Dependent on build, how you breathe, what feels comfortable in the H20...

 Gertrude Ederle


10:51:09 AM  #   your two cents []
Apparently the Govt Publication Office is not planning to print any more copies of the Flood Report, despite it having sold out in record time. Still some copies on CD, or you can download it here or here. Over 40,000 copies have been downloaded so far.
10:38:22 AM  #   your two cents []
Steal Your Interface: A History. <<Apple is credited with developing the graphical user interface, which Microsoft copied, but the contribution of users and small developers has been largerly overlooked.>> [Wired News]
9:56:13 AM  #   your two cents []
Absurdite du jour: Professor posts digital device hit list. <<Could singing fish novelties be hooked by a proposed law requiring anti-copying technology in digital devices? Princeton professor Ed Felten thinks so.>> [CNET News.com]
9:53:22 AM  #   your two cents []
Cape Clear eyes transaction integrity. Choreology deal adds transaction support to Web services platform [InfoWorld: Top News]
9:50:44 AM  #   your two cents []
New life for Linux news site. <<Linux news site LWN.net isn't throwing in the towel just yet. An outpouring of reader support--and money--has convinced editors to try a subscription plan.>> [CNET News.com]
9:50:05 AM  #   your two cents []
Kevin Mitnick's laptop, signed by Woz, on eBay. <<Kevin "Free Kevin" Mitnick and Steve "Woz" Wozniak co-hosted an episode of The Screen Saver on Tech TV, where Woz autographed one of the laptops that Kevin got arrested for using. Now that machine, signed by both net-celebs, is up for sale on eBay.>> Link [Boing Boing Blog]
9:48:56 AM  #   your two cents []

<<Create your very own living breathing Virtual Elvis, you can change outfits, change locales, from the White House to the Jailhouse.>> [Off the Shelves][The Shifted Librarian]


9:47:39 AM  #   your two cents []
If it's too loud, you're too French. <<The French and the iPod aren't getting along -- the iPod outputs more decibels through its headphones than are legal in La Belle France.>> Link [Boing Boing Blog]
9:45:36 AM  #   your two cents []
The geekboy/girl toy of the moment: At Hiptop debut, Danger rolls up sleeves. <<The start-up's highly anticipated inaugural product may have flown out the door at its unveiling, but the company says it is set for the challenges ahead.>> [CNET News.com]
9:44:53 AM  #   your two cents []
They just keep truckin' when everyone else is in the doldrums. Amazing... Dell Lifts 3rd Quarter View [New York Times: Technology]
9:41:11 AM  #   your two cents []
Douglas Adams. "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." [Quotes of the Day]
9:37:44 AM  #   your two cents []