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RIP Ursula Le Guin
I was saddened to see in today's newspaper that Ursula Le Guin died on the 22nd. She was a great writer, indeed you could make a good case for her having been the best living writer of SF and fantasy fiction and perhaps even the best ever. As well as being a fine story-teller, she also wrote beautiful prose. Her books were often relatively short, ( Read more... ) -
"Would you let a robot conduct your funeral?"
That is a question being asked on the BBC's web site. Short of rising from the dead, I don't see how I'd be able to prevent it. -
How worried should I be?
I pulled out the shelf of my computer desk this morning, on which the keyboard sits, and a screw fell out upon the floor. I can't determine where it came from. How worried should I be? There seems no obvious change i the stability of anything. I suppose that if the shelf was to fall to the floor, it wouldn't matter too much, as all that would ( Read more... ) -
Countries I've Visited
This seems to be going round currently, so here's my own "countries visited" map. It's a little misleading for the US (I've never been to Alaska, for one thing) and Russia.
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New User Agreement
What have I just signed up to? In particular, what does User shall be responsible for the security (guessing attacks resistance) of the Authentication Details and its confidentiality even mean? "Guessing attacks resistance"? Actually I think I've just figured it out as meaning "(guessing attacks) resistance" rather than "guessing (attacks ( Read more... ) -
RIP, Maggie Roche
RIP, Maggie Roche. The Roches were a favourite act of mine, ever since a friend played their first album to me back in the 1980s, and Maggie's songwriting and singing was a major part of what made them special. If you've never heard their music, I recommend seeking them out on YouTube. -
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas - or midwinter festival of your choice - everyone! -
Quiz question
I find these song lyrics rather scary:
He knows when you are sleeping.
He knows when you're awake.
He knows if you've been naughty,
So be good for goodness sake.
Were these lines written about:
a. J. Edgar Hoover
b. Joseph Stalin
c. Adolf Hitler
d. Oliver Cromwell
e. Big Brother
f. The creepy protagonist in the Police song "Every Breath You Take ( Read more... ) -
Is Necromancy Involved?
According to a newspaper advertisement for a concert that I spotted today: "Judy Garland: Live in Concert".