vegan-sausage-anyone

Vegan sausage, anyone?

This week is National Vegan Week in Britain. Also, British Sausage Week. The sausage side have chosen Margaret Thatcher's daughter, of all people, as their spokesperson, and the event is sponsored by the British Pig Executive - wonderful mental image, there.

Also: "It's current concern, however, is to get soya milk on to planes after the security clampdown in liquids in hand luggage." Note that the BBC made a grammar blunder!

Bonus silly picture: found while searching for 'pig executive'.

iraq-war

Iraq War

In a BBC poll, 84% of voters support an inquiry into the Iraq War. It may happen; the Tory party is apparently considering voting with opposition parties and Labour rebels.

in-my-day

In My Day....

Someone from college just added me as a friend on Facebook (like Bebo, but slightly sadder, even). Everyone in his friends except me has a graduation date of 2010. (I'll graduate in 2007). This makes me feel very, very old.

america-number-one

America Number One!

From an article on trans fats:

In 2003, Denmark became the first country to control trans fats within their food industries by banning the hydrogenated oils that produce them. Following this and detailed research by scientists, physicians and medical researchers, other countries have looked to follow. Although America usually sets the standards for the rest of the world, it is behind in its legislation to regulate trans fats.

Now, America may be the leader in some things, but it certainly doesn't set food safety standards for the rest of the world, and hasn't for some decades. American food safety law is in fact worryingly lax by European standards. Americans are almost always terribly surprised by this.

better-bribes

Better Bribes

An African businessman is offering African leaders a cash prize plus a pension on leaving office. What do they have to do? Give him tax incentives? Award him government monopolies? Well, no. The prize is for how well they govern their countries, based on performance in economy, education, health, and so on. The percieved problem is that leaders often accept bribes so that they'll be able to continue to live as they've become accustomed to after they leave office. The prize would give them an incentive for behaving well, instead. This actually strikes me as being a very good idea, and I hope it works out. In an age where we see brown envelope scandal after brown envelope scandal, maybe a European analogue wouldn't go amiss, either.

debatable

Debatable

Last night, I went to a debate on gay marriage hosted by the Phil in college. (The Phil and Hist, or Philosophical and Historical societies, are the debating societies in Trinity. They are, for all intents and purposes, interchangeable). The topic was "This house believes that gay marriage would do Ireland no harm".

Now, I don't go to these debates often, even though I quite like debating and debates. The thing is, many people involved with the two societies are horribly up themselves. Really ridiculously. I was at a Law society debate with an actual high court judge and everything a while ago, and everyone there was far more down-to-earth than the Hist/Phil people. There was one particularly dreadful specimen last night; in the rather over-crowded room I was sitting right behind the society president, and I would swear that at one point the president reached over to restrain the dreadful specimen. Some of the people in these societies get funny ideas...

The proposition had the USI LGBT rights officer, Stephen Conlon (no comment), Senator David Norris and the head of the Dublin gay theatre festival. Norris was, as always, wonderful, and the theatre festival person was also very articulate. There were also a few random students speaking.

The problem with debates on this particular subject is always finding a credible opposition, and so it was last night. First, there was Richard Waghorne (who I'd heard of before, from his blog, which is notable in that it employs CSS to change the cursor into something silly when above a link. I have no idea why. The blog itself is very good, however). He is also, apparently, the political commentator for the Irish Daily Mail; I had no idea that such a paper existed before yesterday. Anyway, he was actually very convincing, although I disagreed with some of his premises.

The next opposition speaker was of the opinion that civil marriage should be abolished completely. There's always one of these at gay marriage debates.

But they saved the best for last, oh yes. A Baptist preacher. Which, in itself, didn't guarantee disaster. But oh, what a Baptist preacher. His points included that legalising gay marriage would lead to population decline (because people, given the option, would prefer to be gay, presumably, but only if they could be respectably married), and, amazingly, that it would be the end of friendship. Because you couldn't have male friends, you see, in case people thought you were going to gay-marry them. Or something. Now, I'm a homosexual, and yet I have male friends, both homosexual and heterosexual. I would assume that people don't think that secretly I'm having sex with them, and if gay marriage was legalised tomorrow I highly doubt that I would marry them all. And, of course, he rolled out the heterophobia card. The gays will take over the world, you see! The whole speech seemed like something that might have a place in one of the more sensationalistic right-wing tabloids, or possibly on Sky News. It was not, though, really suitable for people who could tie their own shoelaces, and there was hysterical laughter throughout. Whether he misjudged his audience or he actually believed the nonsense he was spouting I don't know.

Afterwards, there was a drinks reception. I must say, the Phil/Hist, by dint of their superior funding, are able to outdo most other societies on this! Brand name beer (Tiger)! Imagine! (For reasons unclear to me, everyone starting college joins both and never goes to anything. This guarantees them a ready revenue stream without the obligation to actually spend much). I ended up talking to exactly the same people I always talk to when I go to these things (they're not even people I regularly meet elsewhere, really).

And then, when I got to the DART station, I remembered another reason I don't go to many debates. They seem to be timed to end during a period of nearly an hour in which there is no DART to Sutton. Grr.

server-move

Server Move

Okay, so I'm moving from a Hosting365 server in Dublin to a Hetzner server in Nuremburg, Germany (the home of Nazi rallies, the trials of many people who went to Nazi rallies, and the only known medieval Iron Maiden; Iron Maidens are a bit like Tyrannosaurus Rexes in this respect).

The reason? Cost, really. The new server costs thirty euro a month, less than half what the old one costs. It'd be nice to be able to support local business, but really it's a huge price gap.

So far, all seems well. The extra latency isn't really noticeable. DNS resolution is VERY slow, but now that I'm using this (a DNS caching thing) I don't really notice. The server is very similar to the old one; it's an Athlon XP instead of some form of P4 Celeron, but the differences end there.

You may not see this for a while, as Feedburner hasn't noticed the DNS change yet...

test-article-on-hetzner-serve

Test Article on Hetzner Server

If you can see this, it means my server move has worked.

bloody-liebermann-again

Bloody Liebermann Again

Eccentric alleged computer manufacturer Liebermann, which vanished a while back, has returned, and is looking for money and listing on stock exchanges and such. Notice the laptop ad. Look familiar? Look at Apple's website. Look familiar now? Mind you, it used to be worse. Just like last time, they're making big claims, though they haven't really provided a deadline on acting on them.

more-search-results-fun

More Search Results Fun

A search for 'jew' no longer brings up a strange anti-semitic organisation as the first link; it brings up the Wikipedia article on the topic. Google still has a little "are you concerned about this search result? so are we" ad at the top, though. Oops.

yet-more-on-the-whole-thinkho

Yet more on the whole Thinkhouse thing

First, Damien posted the DPC ruling. Which is in a 'silly children, but they know not to do it now that kindly Uncle DPC has had a chat' theme. Hmm.

Edit: More on Google response.

Also, an apparent response from Google! Not one which I find particularly convincing, I must say. The blog in question is one of the most popular in the country, and the post in question was amply linked to by a number of similarly influential blogs. I'm pretty sure Damien doesn't indulge in 'SEO' naughtiness, either. The idea that the post would suddenly drop out of the index entirely is an odd one. That said, Google is known for not censoring; just search for 'miserable failure'. (I was going to use 'jew' as an example, but it appears that the crazy NAZI site that used to come up has been demoted a bit). All a bit of a mystery, really.

bad-pr

Bad PR

In reference to the whole Thinkhouse PR thing, from here:

Quote the first:

ps- the DAta Protection AGency has reverted to THPR on the matter to which you refer. THey have confirmed that no further action will be taken against THinkhouse. They also apologied for having to follow the complaint up.

Clear nonsense; it is the DPA's job to follow complaints up.

Quote the second:

I would like to clarify a point. The Data Protection Commissioner's Office, in response to a complaint made to it about Thinkhouse, did not apologise for having to follow the complaint up. It confirmed that no further action would be taken against Thinkhouse on this complaint following procedural changes introduced by Thinkhouse to prevent a recurrence.

Both from the same person (Jane McDaid of the poor English skills, mentioned in the last post; a Jane McDaid is the MD of Thinkhouse), a day apart. Hmm. I mean it doesn't give a good impression, it really doesn't. Possibly they need to hire a PR firm :)

Update: The DPC have made it clear that there was no apology, over on Damien's blog.

more-dartvertisement

More DARTvertisement

"Eggs; they won't actually kill you if you don't eat too many." Similar to mercury, then. Considering that food board ads are more often of the "Beef cures cancer" or "Parsnips for precognition" variety, this is amusing.


No, indeed; it's being extended to Wales! (Actually, it's an accountancy ad.)


This is an ad for a funeral home. Brand building for when your relatives die, I suppose. Still, yuk.


Another attempt at the sign with the mad typography. It's in a bad position.


This hoarding is out of order. Please try again later.

Bonus, from a Trinity CS lab:

What on Earth? I mean, what was the clip-art designer thinking?

glasses-again

Glasses Again

These are my new glasses:


I quite like them.

dart-advertising

DART Advertising

Do you want to advertise, but can't afford the space rental? Why not try the DART? I was on it last night, and, as I was bored, I had a quick look. It is clear that people who advertise on the DART, by and large, cannot afford the same class of advertising company that people who advertise on, say, billboards use.

We see a few groups of ads. First, lowish-budget corporate:


No software! Indeed not! Simply apply your tongue to the antenna wire and feel the internet! Also, "Get ON to Clearwire before you get OFF"? Filth! And note the dubious capitalisation.


Sadly, you can't really see that in my poor photo, but it's an elderly couple with new shoes and the caption 'Get rid of the OLD PAIR' (old pair referring to either the shoes or the old people, you see). It's something to do with Dublin Waste. Now, I can sort of see what they're getting at, but the image that emerges is really a bit weird.


Next, an ad for a channel that nobody watches. Bit boring, but it's the first evidence I've seen in six months that they're still broadcasting, so that's something.


Again, a little unreadable. The text said "Authentic Asian cuisine with New Yoik attitude". Yes, New Yoik. Urgh.


Interesting in that, when this ad first turned up, it just had the two at the front. So they must be doing well. Good for them. Showing your entire staff on the ad is an interesting idea, certainly... Also, slightly mad capitalisation.

Then there are public service ads:



Not really too interesting. There was one better with about the logos of about ten organisations on it (for some reason, multiple government bodies often like to claim responsibility for these things). There seems to be a blood pressure hotline, though.

And then there's CIE's own advertising; there are special, differently-shaped slots reserved for this:


No, I don't know either.

Sometimes, they have random poetry in a few of these slots, but my carriage was mercifully free of such things.

And then there are the stations:



You can barely see that, but it's part of an ad for a pantomime. Interesting for two reasons; first, it contains the line "starring BEBO the dog" (presumably he stalks people), and second because it has quite the maddest collection of typography I've ever had the privilege of viewing. I'd say that there are at least twenty or thirty typefaces represented, all of them dreadful and all of them clashing.

But what if you're not convinced by the cheap advertising to stressed commuters route? Well, the sensible thing to do would be:


to coat a van in moss. Obviously. It's real moss, by the way. Note the hubcap. Note also the missing hubcap; I'm sure that puzzled whoever found it by the road. I'd assume the van has to be recoated from time to time, and presumably it does fall off and cause accidents at high speed, but it is innovative!

vanishment-of-the-blogs

Vanishment of the Blogs

The novelty seems to be wearing off. A lot of blogs that I've subscribed to for years are slowing down, haven't been updated for months, or are simply vanishing. Not just random rambling like this one, either; good, interesting, entertaining blogs!

I wonder how long I'll hold out?

oh-i-prefer-brand-name-childr

Oh, I prefer brand name children myself!

The photo in this BBC article has the caption/alt tag 'Children (generic)'. I wonder are they Tesco Value?

Edit: From a linked article, "Youth, face pixillated"(sic). Clearly, whoever does the BBC's photos isn't up to the high standards I've come to expect from the BBC News site.

ie7

IE7

3.14% of people visiting my reverse lyrics search engine who are using some version of Internet Explorer are using IE7. Make of that what you will. I'm surprised it isn't higher, really; I believe that the update can be performed automatically by Windows.

panty-parson

Panty Parson

From the BBC:

A New Zealand clergyman has been dubbed the "knicker-vicar" for coming to the aid of women in his town who found themselves with a brief problem.

Rev Husband said the scheme was open to all, regardless of faith.

Enough said, really.

glasses

Glasses!

I just got new glasses yesterday. I needed a bit of help from a friend choosing the frames, but I quite like them. As I got them from SpecSavers, I also got a free pair, which was nice. It's quite amazing to be able to see again; every time I look into the distance it's sensory overload, a bit.

musical-weirdness

Musical Weirdness

In House 6 in Trinity today, someone was playing "God Save the Queen", veryamateurishly, on a trumpet. Lovely.

eclipse-grr

Eclipse - Grr

For the first half of our compiler design course in college, we're using a Java based lexer/parser generator called Coco/R (there are versions for various other languages), I think because it produces recursive descent parsers. Now, it's quite nice, really, but it has horrific syntax, so an editor mode is called for. There doesn't seem to be an Emacs one, so I had to resort to Eclipse.

Eclipse is odd. Since I last used it (a year or so ago) the interface has become considerably more cluttered and weirder. I think if I was coming to it new it'd take me quite a long time to learn it, whereas when I started using it four years ago it was quite intuitive. Also, the first time you do anything, it's bloody slow. Once you've done it once, it gets faster; I suspect this is something to do with Just In Time compilation. That's not really the point, though; the first time gives you a general impression that Eclipse is slow, and that impression doesn't go away easily afterwards. No way to avoid this, I suppose, but it's a shame.

margaret-thats-margaret

Margaret. That's MARGARET.

I was out last night, at the George. I was waiting around a bit for people I actually knew to turn up, and in the interim somebody discovered that I was a computer science student. Leading, of course, to "Oh, my computer's broken, [insert incredibly vague problem description]". When questioned further, repeat same incredibly vague problem description.

Now, the person asking was doing a postgrad in social work, specifically probation. I don't think they'd think it at all reasonable if I said to them "I have a problem with a criminal. Her name's Margaret. [ask for more details] Her name is Margaret".

I can't even, at this point, remember what was wrong with the computer. Possibly it wasn't even called Margaret. This is where doing something more obscure and less practical in college could have come in handy. Demonology, say. Though with my luck, I'd still have got "Oh, there's something odd in my kitchen, and the "Spitting Image" crew won't leave" or similar.

(It's interesting to note that while if asked to name a (UK) Labour politician, most people will say Tony Blair, if asked for a Tory one, they will probably say Margaret Thatcher. They will rarely, if ever, name the current head of the Tory party, Heckity Carbide)

george-strangeness

George Strangeness

Last night I was in the George. Now, this isn't so very unusual for a Wednesday night; I often go with the Trinity LGBT soc. (I foolishly drank alcohol without also drinking water, which lead to horrible dehydration this morning, but that's another story). So, business as usual so far. I spent most of the time in the smoking area 'cause that's the only place you can really talk.

Now, weirdness. About twenty minutes before I had to leave for the bus, some guy (quite an attractive guy, actually, which was highly odd in itself), came over to me, started talking to me and hugging me and such. Then he suddenly says, "Oh, I have a boyfriend" and left. Bizarre. Anyone know what this was about? Answers on a postcode only.

trinity-computer-configuratio

Trinity Computer Configuration Issues

All of the Linux machines in one of Trinity's computer science labs are now using non-native resolution for their flat panels. And it can't be changed by the user. Grr. My eyes hurt.

body-image-oddities

Body Image Oddities

I've been told before that I have body image oddities. Today, in the optician (I need new glasses) I noticed a guy randomly and thought, sort of, 'he's sorta cute'. Then I noticed that it was me, in one of those odd mirrors they have in opticians on the sides of walls to allow one to see what glasses look like side on. When I noticed this, I amended the image to look like what I normally think of myself as looking like. Hmm. I may have a problem.

future-richard-dawkins

Future Richard Dawkins?

I'm told that I sound like Richard Dawkins (that is, my voice is like his). Eep.

silly-phone-keyboard

Silly Phone-Keyboard

Look! A keyboard with a phone in it! Not one of those wonderful old 80s ones with a red phone, but a silly laptop keyboard for the desktop. I saw one in a shop while looking for a USB->PS/2 connector to plug in my nice IBM clicky keyboard.

trinity-starbucksoid

Trinity Starbucksoid

Trinity has gained two coffee shops operated by Starbucks clone 'Java City', one in the Buttery, and the other where the College Catering outlet in the genetics/pharmacy building used to be. I just visited the latter, as I used to go to the old one relatively often.

Upside: Better coffee at the same price. Oddly cheap for a fake Starbucks, really.

Downside: The old place had lots of nice Andy Warhol art. The new one has lots of coffee-related posters. Sacrilege! Inexplicable couches. Staff revel in the name 'barista'. Wireless (college supplied) signal has inexplicably deteriorated.

Found in said coffee shop:


Note that the author gets it right once, much like a person taking a no-negative-marking multiple choice test.

Bonus corporate revoltingness:


And now I must away to my first proper lecture of the day.

go-1phpjpeg

go-1.php.jpeg

politically-correct-wrongness

Politically Correct Incorrectness

Seen on a disabled toilet in Trinity Arts Block:


"Enabled Toilet". This isn't politeness, this is just wrong. It's enough to cause depression happy-happy disease (THIS POST AMENDED BY MINITRUE).

Ironically, it's beside the Student Disability Service.

gophpjpeg

go.php.jpeg

freshers-week-mostly-personal

Freshers' Week - Mostly Personal Babble

So, Freshers' week (the week in which new Trinity students register, join societies, imbibe vast quantities of alcohol and so forth) is over. It was quite a bit of fun.

I'm treasurer, these days, for a faintly ridiculous three societies; Netsoc, Computer Science, and LGBT. I spent most of my time this freshers' week with LGBT, as we were putting on lots of organised events. I fell a little behind with accounting last year, so this year I've decided to be obsessively organised, with spreadsheets, monthly reports and such. Lots of annoying bank stuff, to be continued next week.

So, I ended up going out the Saturday night before, every night during the week, and this Saturday night, spending 20 euro on NiteLink tickets (Wednesday and Saturday nights were spent on friends' couches). A drop in the bucket, really, of course, but still, shocking. It was nice to catch up with friends who'd been in dreadful places like Waterford and Monaghan for the summer, and to meet various interesting new people. I also drank a lot and refrained from eating enough.

On Friday, I did a radio show (only Trinity Radio, not a proper channel) with two other people, for the LGBT soc. I was terribly nervous initially, but after a while it gets quite fun. It may become a regular feature. Expect to see a podcast here at some point.

So, anyway, back to college tomorrow. Should be fun. I only have about 10 hours of class a week this year! I also have a large final year project, of course...

dreadful-tshirt-idea

Dreadful Tshirt Idea

To celebrate America's recent 'moral' ban on internet gambling:

A tshirt with "God says: Naughty" in the style of those "Frankie says: Relax" tshirts.

You're welcome.

bad-naughty-acrobat-get-off-s

Bad, naughty Acrobat! Get OFF Safari!

When you install Acrobat Reader on MacOS X (regrettably necessary for the odd awkward pdf) it will take over from Preview in Safari, opening pdfs clicked on on the web for you. Which would be fine, except that it takes about a minute to start up and looks totally wrong in Safari. It turns out that this unpleasant, anti-social behaviour can be remedied; open the real Acrobat Reader, go to preferences, and uncheck the 'open in browser' thing. Then restart Safari.

Really, Adobe would have been better not to have it do this in the first place. I can't imagine anyone wanting this behaviour; Preview is better in almost every case. I'd say it's earned them a fair bit of ill-will, and I doubt many people have figured out how to disable it.