WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?

Talk Like Jack Bauer Day, January 15.

Tired of XML?

If, like me, you're tired of trying to use XML as a one-size-fits-all RPC mechanism, you might want to take a look at this article from Simon Willison about JSON.

Holiday Log is Rated TV-G

The Eastern Syndicate

OK, I will finally mention why this blog has this name, since it's seasonally appropriate.

"Look Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know."

-Lucy to Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Christmas

Of course that's not the end of the story. Merry Christmas.

Mark's 2006 Year in Review, part II

I think I'm going to send him my mountain bike as a get-well gift.

Schwarzenegger breaks leg while skiing

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke his leg while skiing with his family Saturday morning in Sun Valley, Idaho, a spokesman said.

Schwarzenegger, 59, was taken to a hospital for X-rays and was discharged with a fracture to his right femur, said Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications.

(more at Yahoo)

So do we

We Practice the Old Religion of Egypt, Sir

White mom calling seven-year-old girl: Isis, come back over here! Don't wander off - stay where I can see you!
Black man: Woman, you name me 'Isis,' and I wander as far away from you as I can get. I don't blame that girl. Isis! What kind of name is that for a little white girl? Damn! Now I know white people crazy.

--Central Park

via Overheard in New York, Dec 22, 2006

Mark's 2006 Year in Review, part I

marriedtothesea.com

Christmas Greetings from...

... Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran.

This is great. Now if I could just get him to support Safari on his web site :-)

Merry Christmas to everyone! 2006/12/21

In the Name of Almighty God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate


Merry Christmas to everyone!
My sincere congratulations to everyone for the Glorious and Auspicious Birthday of Divine Prophet - confirmed and authenticated by Gabriel, the angel of Divine revelation - the Obedient of Almighty God,
Jesus Christ, the Messiah (peace be upon Him)

He was a messenger of peace, devotion and love based upon monotheism and justice. He was raised in His Mother’s hand – Virgin Mary (peace be upon her) – that Almighty God stood her as impeccable and exalted her above the women of the world. The Mother and the Son that in the Divine Sight are reputable and prestigious. And they are positioned by God – The All Wise- at a sublime level.

There’s no doubt, after God – the Peerless Creator, the Beneficent, the Merciful – created the human beings, did not forsake them on their own. By sending and assigning the emissaries – prophets and messengers - along with the righteous individuals, and on top of that, by providing and utilizing the mankind with the gifts of intellect and human nature, they are guided in the right path – in order to achieve the complete perfection. The human generations – one after another – were not created to live in anguish, intimidation, skirmish, aggression, oppression, and misery. And without enjoying an amity and fraternity atmosphere - replete of love and justice – depart this life and leave it for the next generations.

The philosophy of human creation is: reaching the pinnacle of bliss, construction of immaculate life, efflorescence of all potentialities and talents, implementation of justice and devotion across the world amongst all human beings. This is one of the definite Divine promises that when the world is filled with oppression and enmity by the tyrants and oppressors, it will become full of justice by the reappearance of the promised Savior. All the Divine Prophets have clearly anounced this fact.

Unfortunately during the history, some egoistic and tyrant individuals have existed that stood against the convocations and the sermons of the Divine Prophets. And these tyrants and oppressors were the causation of all the adversities and the originator of all wars and animosities.

Today’s status quo of the world is obvious of everyone. In occupied Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and South America and even in Europe and North America, due to the interests of despotic dominant rulers’ parties and clans and also for filling up their pockets, the dignity, benevolence, peace and tranquility of the human beings have been taken to abattoir and slaughtered. And then, lie and deception are positioned for honesty and truth.

Many peoples are exasperated from the present situation of the world. And they have come to the conclusion that the existed procedure, method and technique can not provide tranquilly and peace to the mankind.

Frankly, if Jesus Christ – the Messiah (peace be upon Him) was present today, how would He react? And whom would He stand with and against?

If Jesus Christ (peace be upon Him) was present today, he would order an encounter against those who would propagate corruption, obscenity and perversion, and try to nullify and exterminate the merits and the rights of women and diminish their position – a position that virgin Mary (peace be upon Her) – is their role model and sample.

If Jesus Christ (peace be upon Him) was present today, He would order a contention against those who try to discharge the world from morality, spirituality, intellectuality, justice, and peace. And accordingly, the true followers of the Divine Prophets would follow their steps in regard to strengthening the morality, intellectuality, spirituality, peace and justice in the world.

Although last year was accompanied with many injustices, aggressions, and many violation of rights, but the calls and outcries of begging and imploring from God and demanding justice were louder. Day by day, nations would realize the power of faith and godliness. They would go for peace and justice more than before and give a positive answer to the Divine prophets’ sermons and would tell to their Creator – Almighty God “Here am I!” Praise the Lord!

The same way that Jesus Christ (peace be upon Him) invited the people to goodness and perfection, and also avoid them from evil, atrocity and aggression, His true followers do the same. With the belief in God and the Hereafter, they are frontiers in righteousness.

Certainly, the implementation of the Divine Prophets’ commands and directions would reform and improve our lives in this world and would safeguard a satisfying afterlife conjunctionally.

We believe that the beloved Jesus Christ – the Messiah (peace be upon Him and His Mother) would also reappear for the fulfillment of the promises of all the Divine prophets. And together – accompanying the invited of the nations – would bring all the beauties and goodness for humanity of the world. And we are getting close to that date.

While commemorating the birthday of the Prophet of amity, love and devotion – Jesus Christ, the Messiah (peace be upon Him and His beloved Mother) and congratulating the new year, I beg God – the Merciful, the All-Wise – a year of bliss, and health and a year replete of blessing, abundance, success, and affection for everyone, specially the Christian of Iran and the world.

What have the Hittites done for us lately?

Built us a dam that's back in use after 3246 years, that's what. (Yahoo)

Shortest post ever

Christmas green.

Always a good idea

Microsoft suggests that users "do not open or save Word files," even those that arrive unexpectedly from trusted sources. "As a best practice, users should always exercise extreme caution when opening unsolicited attachments from both known and unknown sources," the company said.

(eWeek, via Daring Fireball)

Egyptian exhibit

Exhibit shows Egypt's sunken treasures

The great port of Alexandria was a bustling trade hub, a transit point for merchandise from throughout the ancient world — until much of it vanished into the Mediterranean Sea.

Treasure hunters have long scoured the Egyptian coast for vestiges of the port, thought to have disappeared about 13 centuries ago. Now an exhibit at Paris' Grand Palais brings together 500 ancient artifacts recovered from the area by underwater archeologists using sophisticated nuclear technology.

"Egypt's Sunken Treasures" features colossuses of pink granite, a 17.6-ton slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, a phalanx of crouching sphinx, pottery, amulets and gold coins and jewelry — all painstakingly fished out of the Mediterranean. Some of the oldest artifacts are estimated to have spent 2,000 years underwater.

The show, which runs through mid-March, spans more than 1,500 years of Egyptian history and traces the decline of the Pharaohs and occupations by Greeks, Romans and Byzantines.

(Yahoo)

Nox Rays

So I went to the doctor, and he gave me a clean bill of health, which is nice. I even brought the camera, thinking that I would get a snapshot of the X-rays. But I decided against it.

I did find out that I had also broken my scapula (one of the new X-rays showed it pretty clearly) but it's all healed up now. Funny that I would go for five and a half months without knowing it.

Not worth it

I'm reading Plutarch's Life of Marius.

There is testimony both to the temperance of Marius, and also to his fortitude, of which his behaviour under a surgical operation is a proof. He was afflicted in both legs, as it would appear, with varicose veins, and as he disliked the deformity, he resolved to put himself into the physician's hands. Refusing to be bound, he presented to him one leg, and then, without a motion or a groan, but with a steadfast countenance and in silence, endured incredible pain under the knife. When, however, the physician was proceeding to treat the other leg, Marius should suffer him no further, declaring that he saw the cure to be not worth the pain.

Little Foot

Ancient ape ruled out of man's ancestral line

Ancient remains, once thought to be a key link in the evolution of mankind, have now been shown to be 400,000 years too young to be a part of man’s family tree.

The remains of the apeman, dubbed Little Foot, were discovered in a cave complex at Sterkfontein by a local South African team in 1997. Its bones preserved in sediment layers, it is the most complete hominid fossil skeleton ever found.

Little Foot is of the genus Australopithecus, thought by some to be part of the ancestral line which led directly to man. But research by Dr Jo Walker and Dr Bob Cliff of the University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment, with Dr Alf Latham of Liverpool University's School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, shows the remains are more than a million years younger than earlier estimates.

The team used uranium lead chronology to date the remains. Working on extracts of stalagmite deposits from immediately above and below the body, they dated the skeleton at around 2.2 million years old.

Their findings, published in the American journal Science, are controversial. Earlier estimates had put the age of Little Foot at three to four million years old placing it potentially on a direct line to humans.

The first recognisable stone tools appeared in Africa around 2.6 million years ago, but they were not made by Australopiths. Rather it is thought the first tool maker was Homo habilis, whose evolution is believed to have led directly to man. Rather than being older than Homo habilis – and a possible direct ancestor – Little Foot is more likely a distant cousin.

His remains are cemented in hard mineral deposits in the Sterkfontein cave complex which has yielded a number of other ancient finds. It is thought he either fell down a shaft or somehow got trapped in the cave and died there to be covered by the sediment layers from which he is now being slowly extracted. These sediments are themselves sandwiched between stalagmite layers which provided the materials for the dating process.

Australopithecus walked on two legs, but stood just 130cm tall and had a brain comparable in size with a modern chimpanzee. As Dr Walker explained: “In many of these finds, the smallest bones have disintegrated, but here the feet and hands are well preserved - and these could enable researchers to show how well adapted this early primate was to walking on two feet.”

But the sediment encasing Little Foot is harder than the bone – making extracting him a painstaking process for the South African team.

And Drs Latham and Cliff have now turned their own attention to further Australopith findings at Makapansgat, also in South Africa, where other specimens of Australopithecus have been found.

I need one of those appliances

But It Did Kill That Spam

Spam is heavy at this mortgage company, so a consultant is brought in. He reviews six months of accumulated spam, designs a filter and sets up an antispam appliance that should kill 98% of the junk. Everyone’s happy. Then it goes live. (Continued at Computerworld Shark Tank)

redchilimerchandise Sale Time!

Please take a look at my items for sale here at redchilimerchandise -- it's end of year sale time for me and everything must go! These are books which I ended up with and either didn't use them or they got very light usage -- they're all in great shape, but they are taking up space in my office that they really shouldn't be, and they'd like a home where they're more likely to be read. Thanks for listening to my little sales pitch.

(P.S. - if you have any other questions about the items, or would like to see photos of the ones that Amazon doesn't have on file, please contact me here (or at my email address if you know it) and I'll be glad to help.)

we Pod

I have had an iPod shuffle for a couple of years, and it's been great for playing music (particularly randomly arranged music), which is its strong point and what it was designed for. But I listen to a lot of audiobooks and recorded lectures too, where it's important to play the files in order, and more importantly, to be able to look at the user interface to see where you are if you screw up and accidentally skip a section or whatever. Not so great, using the Shuffle that way.

I have a couple of days of driving ahead of me and decided that yes, I'll want to listen to some lectures as well as music, and no, it will probably be too painful to contemplate using the Shuffle for that. So I stopped by Valley Fair and picked up a 30 gig white iPod. Was originally thinking about the 4 or 8 gig Nano, but the price was right on the full size one -- and I got the color, white, that I wanted. Not that I typically buy products based on color, but... anyway.



Also picked up another kludge to hook the iPod up to the radio in my car (I have one of these for the Shuffle -- it works reasonably well, but has a USB connector instead of the new proprietary connector.)



I paid list price at the Apple Store because I was in a hurry (traveling this Friday) -- the links I've provided above, at Amazon, are pretty damn good prices if I do say so myself, and significantly less than what I paid. And Amazon ships pretty fast.

Probably a while longer

I haven't been posting a lot of my own content here, have I? There are a number of things going on, none of which I'm going to talk about right now, but that day's coming soon enough.

In the meantime I can post more gross X-rays of myself! Actually that reminds me, I am getting some X-rays taken in a couple of weeks. The doctor recommended that I should just take my digital camera to the appointment if I want a copy. I'll do that, if I actually remember the camera, that is.

Also I will be in San Diego this weekend and somewhat into next week. Don't know if I'll post from there yet, we'll see...

Insignia of Emperor Maxentius unearthed

Archaeologists have unearthed what they say are the only existing imperial insignia belonging to Emperor Maxentius — precious objects that were buried to preserve them and keep them from enemies when he was defeated by his rival Constantine.

Excavation under Rome's Palatine Hill near the Colosseum turned up items including three lances and four javelins that experts said are striking for their completeness — digs usually turn up only fragments — and the fact that they are the only known artifacts of their kind.

Some of the objects, which accompanied the emperor during his public appearances, are believed to be the base for the emperor's standards — rectangular or triangular flags, officials said.

An imperial scepter with a carved flower and a globe, and a number of glass spheres, believed to be a symbolic representation of the earth, also were discovered.

The discovery was announced Wednesday by Italy's Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli during a visit to New York.

(more at Yahoo)

Do I know this kid?

Look Who's Talking, Mr. Wets-the-Bed

Seven-year-old boy to his three-month-old sister: You have no intellect!

--Uptown F train

Overheard by: Sam

via Overheard in New York, Dec 2, 2006

Should have happened in my high school Part II

toothpastefordinner.com

I wish I'd done this in high school

Of course I wish they'd had YouTube in high school too.

(from Dean Esmay)