3 February, 2002

Okay, so I haven't been updating this at all. This is because I've been busy, okay? But I've been...

Okay, so I haven't been updating this at all. This is because I've been busy, okay? But I've been merrily bookmarking things for your later enjoyment. So I'm not going to be systematic about this, but here's 5 from the "unsorted" folder of my favourites:
  • DiscountDomainRegistry.Com really should have a much catchier domain name, but I suppose they get what they pay for :-). Anyway, domains are cheap: US$14.95 for a .Com, including some free hosting apparently. Good deal, go get one -- you have no excuse.
  • I finally rediscovered the Helliconia series of books by Brian Aldiss. I'd read one book of the series, loved it, then managed not to remember the author's name or the title of the series for about five years. Thanks to Evil Dan for the memory work, there.
  • Arstechnica has an interesting/scary geek cookbook. Most recipes seem to involve "mac&cheese" as a staple ingredient :-)
  • Did I mention I got a Handspring Visor? Well, I did, and it's nifty. Running the PalmOS means I can download millions of random apps for it, including little drawing programs like Doodle. Ah, I remember what paying attention in lectures was like... (no, mom, I pay attention really!)
  • It recently became necessary to look up a latin root to work out what a joke was about. This Latin to English dictionary was very useful. Cave canem, etc..
  • As an extra bonus point I didn't bookmark but just remembered about, did you know that Windows Explorer is now a fairly credible FTP client? At least on fast networks it turns FTP sites into just another remote folder, which is surprisingly useful for a Microsoft product. Just ftp:// into your windows explorer bar.

    However, that's the only kudos Microsoft is getting from me for a while. Over the weekend, I attempted to fix my copy of Win2K's inability to uninstall programs. Instead of fixing the problem, the whole OS caved in and refused to reinstall under any circumstances -- it would just randomly reboot halfway through the install sequence, no matter how I installed or what media I was using. Grr. So my only option was to switch to (I refuse to say "upgrade", 'cause it isn't) to Windows Xtra Pain. AAAAAAARGH! I was right all along about the essential, unavoidable shitness of this operating system. It's noticeably slower, and every single change they've made to the interface has pissed me off (with the exception of being able to hide system tray icons; can you believe that's the only thing?).

    I also lost the last month of my mail, so if you've sent me something recently and I don't seem to be replying, it's because I have no idea what you're talking about. Do resend, there's a dear. More rants about XP will doubtless be forthcoming.