Monday 2 June 2003

Shocking scare So here I am, Monday afternoon, with almost 5000 words to write before 9am tomorrow. Doable but only just. And then what happens? The electricity goes off. All my notes are on the computer so I can't longhand and then type in later. I could take my computer over to my parents' place and work there but I can't get out of the complex becuase the gates are electrically driven. Then 30 mintues later the power comes back on. Saved. 5:06:26 PM    comment []  Google It!

roel pieper stabbed Adam Curry reports on a very worrying development: Dutch venture capitalist Roel Pieper (formerly a big cheese at Compaq and Phillips) and his wife were attacked and stabbed in their Aerdenhout home saturday morning. Details are still a bit sketchy, but the 42 year old assailant is in custody. The couple's 20 year old son apprehended the suspect. Roel is ok, but his wife is still in a critical yet stable condition. Although there has been no official statement, the dutch press is already labeling this as an attack against "top managers who are rich". That's a greeting card from holland if I ever heard one. [Adam Curry: Adam Curry's Weblog] 12:54:23 PM    comment []  Google It!

iTunes can the success continue From the Taipei Times via Geeknews and Lockergnome: Apple's decision to close a loophole in it's Rendezvous feature last week may ultimately doom the service. With the decision to restrict Rendezvous they will more than likely have to close any loophole that hackers may find. The feature had obviously helped sell records. For everyones information apparently hackers have found a way to trick the software to share again, so we will see if Apple makes further changes or do away with it all together. (geeknews) [Lockergnome's Bits and Bytes] 12:48:23 PM    comment []  Google It!

Gecko inspires sticky tape Scientists have come up with a way to give regular human beings the ability of climbing up walls without having to be bitten by a radioactive spider. This BBC story recounts how Professor Andre Geim and his team at the University of Manchester have developed a sticky tape with remarkale adhesive properties. They based the tape on work done by researchers in California on how Gecko lizards are able to suspend themselves from practically any surface, including polished glass. It all comes down to Van Der Waals forces apparently. These are very weak electrostatic forces that arise from the fact that the static forces of the electrons and protons do not always balance out at a localised level. Although weak, these same force are vital as they help to hold DNA in its characteristic helical shape. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition] 12:41:31 PM    comment []  Google It!

© Copyright 2003 David Stewart. Last update: 01/07/2003; 17:49:41.