Dec
28
2007
Apparently being kicked around by 50,000 angry petition-signing users, privacy advocates, and bloggers didn’t bother the company too much because Facebook is back at it again:Â Six weeks after Facebook launched a controversial advertising program that tracked its members around the Internet, the Palo Alto company is quietly testing a new system that slips links to [...]
Dec
27
2007
Interesting piece in the NYT which gives a cautious thumbs up to blogging for little firms. Some of them — a small ‘some’ — anyway. But some companies are suited to blogging. The most obvious candidates, said Aliza Sherman Risdahl, author of “The Everything Blogging Book†(Adams Media 2006), are consultants. “They are experts in [...]
Dec
24
2007
I know it began quite some time ago for most, but it is never really Christmas season for me til I make the Vinartarte (sometimes spelled vinerterte). This is an Icelandic cake with some of my favourite flavours– cardamom, vanilla, almond, cinnamon… and the secret ingredient (which no one can ever figure out) is prunes.The [...]
Dec
23
2007
Celine Dion and Anastacia do AC/DC. I kid you not. As one person comments: “This actually hurts my soul.”
Dec
22
2007
Gotta have it. AÂ chicken foot USB drive.Â
Dec
22
2007
Heritage Ireland did a streaming webcast this morning from Newgrange, catching the moment when a beam of sunlight on the shortest day of the year penetrates the lightbox and slowly ascends the passageway into the heart of the great stone structure and illuminates the innermost chamber. To be one of the very few that are [...]
Dec
20
2007
I finally finished the last of my writing assignments for a couple of publications this morning, meaning I have a break now for about two weeks. So, much relief here at the chance to kick up my heels — except that as soon as I hung up hat one, I took down and put on [...]
Dec
19
2007
Engineers Ireland launched a website today for their February “week of wonder” events designed to get schoolkids interested in engineering. It’s nice and bright and features a robot — always an attention-grabber for kids… erm, and more than a few adults. I like the idea of the robot workshops — will be interested to read more when [...]
Dec
17
2007
The Merc blogs – GMSV and Takahashi – have quite a bit today on Ribbit, a very interesting sounding Valley company that has created a software switch that integrates all kinds of communications apps, allowing one type to connect to another (eg landline to instant messaging to VoIP to WiFi) and enables voice applications of all sorts to be embedded [...]
Dec
17
2007
Sky News website’s home page currently features this link: “December’s Top Theatre: Thesbian highlights, including Ewan McGregor in Othello”. I guess Mr McGregor has a special appeal to Sapphic theatre lovers?
Dec
16
2007
I missed this article last month but Bruce Schneier links to it in the current Crypto-gram. Colossus lived at the legendary Bletchley Park and decoded German high command messages during WWII. It took 14 years to rebuild the lorry-sized, 2,000 valve computer (particularly hard to do because the 10 known Colossi were all broken apart post WWII). For [...]
Dec
09
2007
I really adore these ornaments made from old circuit boards and CDs. From Nigel’s Ecostore. Great for decorating a package! The green of the circuit boards might kind of disappear on a green tree, but then — huzzah! — the gold and silver circuits and sauters will make them shine and stand out.