Which File Extension Are You?
The George Bush Conspiracy Generator
According to my research, "George W. Bush gave Iraq reconstruction contracts to his friends so that SUV owners could offend Michael Moore."
Good for a laugh.
Microsoft tries to recruit Eric Raymond
You're probably asking "Who is this Eric Raymond fellow?" - unless you are a geek, in which case you are laughing uproariously as you read this.
I'll let the man describe himself…
I am the guy who responded to Craig Mundie's "Who are you?" with "I'm your worst nightmare", and that I've in fact been something pretty close to your company's worst nightmare since about 1997. You've maybe heard about this "open source" thing? You get one guess who wrote most of the theory and propaganda for it and talked IBM and Wall Street and the Fortune 500 into buying in. But don't think I'm trying to destroy your company. Oh, no; I'd be just as determined to do in any other proprietary-software monopoly, and the community I helped found is well on its way to accomplishing that goal.
Someone at MS must have been smoking the wacky baccy whey they asked this dude to come aboard.
Are you a cell phone Junkie?
Take this simple quiz and find out.
- Your personal monthly cellphone bill is:
- <$20.
- $20-40.
- $40-70.
- $70+.
- You go over your minutes…
- Never.
- Occasionally.
- Sometimes.
- Always.
- You find yourself with nothing to do. Do you:
- Relax.
- Look for something to do.
- Wonder if there’s someone you can call.
- Pull out your phone and go through the address book.
- Your phone runs out of juice and dies: Do you:
- Rejoice at the prospect of a distraction-free day.
- Shrug your shoulders and get on with your life.
- Look for the nearest charger or grab your spare battery.
- Panic.
- Your phone goes off in a public place. You don’t recognize the number. You…
- Hit the mute button and let them leave a message.
- Ignore it and let them leave a message.
- Answer it while leaving the room.
- Answer it - it might be important.
- You use your phone while driving…
- Never.
- Rarely, and keep the calls brief.
- Often.
- All the time - that’s what it’s for!
- How many people are in your phone’s address book?
- <10.
- 10-20.
- 20-30.
- 30+.
Scoring: Add up the numbers of your answers and grade yourself as follows:
- Less than 10: You are a paragon of discipline and self-control
- 11-16: You are reasonably well-behaved.
- 17-20: You are a heavy user, but you are not addicted… yet.
- 21+: You are a fully-fledged cellphone junkie - seek professional help.
Wally of the week
Once on a while I stumble across an opinion that is so badly misinformed that it makes me want to pillory the miscreant in public.
The piece in question is called Top 10 reasons mothers, church don't know squat about video games. Here is my reply; the top 10 reasons I think that the author does not know what he is talking about.
- No feedback or comments link. Apparently the website does not want to hear any dissenting opinions.
- No e-mail link to the Author. Apparently he does not want to hear how wrong he is.
- No mention of the author's qualifications to be an authority on this subject.
- No link to author's blog or his body of work.
- No references to any supporting documentation.
- Author attempts to portray anyone who disagrees with his mindset as hysterical, judgmental and closed-minded…
- …with a piece that that is hysterical, judgmental and closed-minded.
- Missing the point, part 1: It's not the indiscriminate killing of aliens that is the point, it is the indiscriminate killing that is the point.
- Missing the point, part 2: It is not the playing of such games that is the problem, it is the making available of those games to children who are too young to be playing them.
- Missing the point, part 3: "You are what you eat". Feed yourself a diet of blood and gore for long enough and you will become desensitized to it. Armies everywhere know this. While adults are able to distinguish between fantasy and reality and "walk away from the game", children are not able to do this so easily.
In short, what a wally.
