Month: September 2003

Music rules.

I was listening to KMFA on my way to the grocery store tonight, and I heard something that blew me away. It was the UT Saxophone ensemble playing an arrangement of Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in d minor. Now, that’s one of the most impressive pipe organ pieces that I can think of, and it was being played by a bunch of saxophonists. Wow. if you can find a recording of this, I encourage you to listen to it, and be amazed.

Stupid people

Robert Heinlein (he’s got a new book coming out, you know) once said

The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: “Of course it is none of my business but–” is to place a period after the word “but.” Don’t use excessive force in supplying such moron with a period. Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about.

I feel that there needs to be an extention to that rule for people who start sentences with “I know we have freedom of speech but–“. BUT WHAT, ASSHOLE?

I’ve talked to too many people who think that freedom of speech is a good thing, unless it’s something they don’t like. It’s like that quote which is very often mis-attributed to Voltaire: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Just because you don’t like something you’ve heard doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve to be said.

iPAQ Post

I’m really just doing this because it’s funny. I’m sitting here at work, bored out of my skull. I just finished reading The Makeshift miracle (a bargain at 99 cents through bitpass), and I thought “hey, it’d be funny if I started up the handheld and made a post.

Especially since I’m sitting 3 inches from a desktop machine that’d be 3 million times faster.

So here’s that post.

Which I wrote on (and posted from) my iPAQ.

Self-referential articles are funny.

Windows mail server

I know that at least one person who reads this page has considered running a mail server on his system. Now, here’s the problem; there’s basically two ways to do it. You can:

  • Run the mail server on your main system, and hope you don’t have to shut down that often, or
  • Run the mail server on a dedicated machine that just stays on all the time.

Now, I endorse method 2, since that’s what I do. But many people don’t have an extra computer lying around, so method 1 is better for them.

I found a web site (while I was looking for a TFTP server for windows, but that’s a long story) that recommended Argosoft Mail Server as an affordable solution on windows for mail-servering. And boy, is it affordable. I’d even go as far as saying it’s free. Which it is.

So if you use Windows, download that software, and check it out. I’ll even help configure the MX records on your DNS if you want…

new bookmark server

I’ve got a new bookmark server. Ol’Bookmarks was OK, but it really didn’t act the way I wanted it to. So I’m trying out b. Yes, that period is part of the name. Pretentious, but still pretty cool. It’s all written in perl, and the bookmarks are stored in XML (well, XBEL) format.

The only drawback to switching to a new bookmark server is that irritating part where you have to get all of your old bookmarks into the new system. Let me tell you, I don’ think I’ll be switching bookmark servers again any time soon, unless the new one will accepts imports in XBEL format. It’s just too much work.