PGP Corp has released a beta version of PGP Desktop 8. So far, it seems to work great, and it didn't hose the networking on my Windows XP box the way that version 7 did! It doesn't seem to like working with Enigmail, so I've switched back to using Outlook 2002 for my e-mail. I still have a lot of people ask me what that weird stuff in my e-mail is, meaning my PGP signature. I wish more people would use PGP, the world would be a better place...
The Mystery Donut didn't kill me off, at least not directly, the extra fat and calories may get me in the end, however.
If you've been wondering where I've been, I've been busy buying a house! We close on Monday, the 10th of June, and I just received loan approval today. Now I just need for the termite inspection to take place, the abstract to be approved, and I'll be a homeowner! You can view the original listing for the house here, and some photos that I took of it here.
Mark Dobie, my predecessor in this job, has a new website/weblog up at http://www.markdobie.com/ It looks pretty nice, but the hard part with weblogs isn't constructing them, it's updating them regularly!
I read The Probability Broach in 24 hours this past weekend. It was an entertaining read, but somewhat awkward and dated. Written in the late 70's, the awful fate awaiting mankind in the next 20 years was government oppression in the name of energy conservation. Obviously this never came to pass, invalidating the author's argument as to why his alternate universe (the other side of the Probability Broach) is superior.
The alternate world is strictly libertarian. George Washington was killed in that universe for proposing taxes, and the Whiskey Rebellion succeeded. Everyone wears guns, has flying cars, and the monkeys and dolphins talk and vote. It's interesting, but not particularly convincing. There's almost a complete lack of government, and no taxation, but Smith never explains where the money to pave the streets comes from, or how the fire department is funded. I can appreciate some libertarian viewpoints, but this is just a little too absurd.
The book does pay homage to Robert A. Heinlein a great deal though, in the alternate history he's an Admiral, never having caught the tuberculosis he was stricken with here in the real world. There's a "Heinlein City" in Alaska too. The most subtle homage was in the name of the mathematician who discovers the broach. Her name is "Deejay Thorens" and is an extremely thinly veiled version of "Dejah Thoras" from Heinlein's "The Number of the Beast". Unfortunately for Smith, his work doesn't hold up well against Heinlein's, on a pure storytelling level.
I walked away from my desk this morning for a few minutes, and returned to find a donut with chocolate sprinkles. It could be poisoned, or it could be fine. I have no idea who left it for me, but I'm going to eat it. If I wind up dead later today, blame the doughnut. Mmmm..... mystery donut....
Here's a handy tip I just found in a Slashdot article:
If you're using QuickTime on your machine to watch movie trailers, etc., and are tired of the little nag box that asks you to upgrade to QuickTime Pro for $30, simply set your system clock ahead 20 years before you click the button marked "Later". That sets the "Later" date for sometime in 2022, and hopefully you'll have gotten an upgrade by then! Don't forget to set your clock back afterwards!
I added some more content to our wedding web site today, primarily on the wedding party page. It's very much a work in progress, but that doesn't mean I'm going to put up a stupid "Under Construction" sign.
I've been fighting some sort of sickness for the last 4 days. I seem to manifest new symptoms every day, I'm not sure what's going on. It started with fever, and body aches, then transformed into a cough and chest congestion, now it's moved into a stuffiness in my nose, and a bit of a sore throat. Maybe it's the plague...
For my Public Opinion & Voter Behavior class, I have to call 6 random residents of Jackson, Mississippi and ask them a series of 20 questions about their opinions on many things Southern and political. I'm hoping that they'll be friendly, so I don't have to call more than 10 to get the 6 I need. I'm wondering if faking a southern drawl will increase my chances of success.
