wiredfool

Local man drives truck onto the
roof of a house.

Yes, he said, he had been drinking beer “before, during and after” the stunt.

Why does this not surprise me.

From CryptoGram

Against all of these systems — disappearing e-mail, rights management for music and videos, fair game playing — there are two types of attackers: the average user and the skilled attacker. Against the average user anything works; there’s no need for complex security software. Against the skilled attacker nothing works. And even worse, most systems need to be secure against the smartest attacker.

I now quote Philip Greenspun, quoting Churchill.

“Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.”

It’s out, in a soft launch. PR blitz to come.

Sometimes, if the wind is going just the right way, and you get into the pocket of air behind a screaming eighteen-wheeler, you don’t even have to poon it. The vacuum, like a mighty hoover, just sucks you in. You can stay there all day. But if you screw up, you suddenly find yourself alone and powerless in the left lane of a highway with a convoy of semis right behind you. Just as bad, if you give in to its power, it will suck you right into its mudflaps, you will become axle dressing, and no one will ever know. This is called the Magic Hoover Poon. It reminds Y.T. of the way her life has been since that fateful night of the Hiro Protagonist pizza adventure.     From Snow Crash — Neal Stephenson

It’s the way my life has been since I started seriously programming. And now, I’m so far into a project that I can’t think about anything else till it ships. 4 days. (I hope)

Do not conquer the world with force,
For force only causes resistance.
Thorns spring up where an army passes.
Years of misery follow a great victory,
Do only what needs to be done,
Without using violence.     Tao Te Ching, as translated by Benjamin Hoff

Perhaps this explains the Microsoft verdict.

High winds do not blow all morning;
Heavy rain does not fall all day.
Are these not made of heaven and earth?
It the power of heaven and earth
Cannot make violent activity last,
How can you?    
Tao Te Ching, as translated by Benjamin Hoff

Perhaps this explains how Seattle gets 9 months of rain yet no thunderstorms. Perhaps it also explains todays lows.