Life's Little Irritations

I'm reading this sswug.org article on the plaugienss of date time data in SQL server, and the article is RIFE with language errors. It's not one of those articles written by someone whose primary language is something other than English. Obviously, this author undestands the English idiom. But he doesn't get the rule about when you use a [some noun] or an [some noun], and there are lots of little typos, missing words, incorrect words. It's really irritating.

Online File Storage - Don't Jump yet!

There seems to be this bandwagon for online file storage. I guess Amazon A3 is the most prominent. But you know what? Back in the bubble days of 2000 or so, there were a bunch of online file storage companies, X-Drive being one. I used it, they went belly up, and all my files went with them. They were zip archives for my versioning of my then current novel. [Insert frowny-face here]Let's apply some logic to this: What's the goal? To have certain files available from any location (provided you have a computer and access to the net, and let's be realistic, that's broadband access which I don't have). And/Or to have an archive of files for historical/ regulatory reasons. In the first case, the huge huge risk is that the 3rd party with my sensitive files (sensitive to me, anyway) goes belly up. Voila. My files are gone. That hurts. And who is protecting my information from intrusion/snooping? Nobody. And you know what? That applies to the second case, too. Just say no thanks. I bought a 1 GB thumb drive for $50 bucks. My files are on my desktop, my laptop and the thumb. If someone wants them, they have to come to my house or my car and steal them. Or get a subpoena (well, at least I hope they have to get a subpoena).Stay away from this bandwagon. It's the same flawed idea as before.

Treating Moms' Depression May Help Kids - Yahoo! News

The latest in Doh headlines.

Read more at news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...

Why?

Why on earth would bloglines suddenly stop showing the number of subscribers to a blog? It's not like that's supersecret information. It was interesting to know that TechDirt had 20,000 subscribers while Tech.memerdandum had something like 6K. Or that MissSnark was slowly but steadily increasing, or that someone subscribed or unsubscribed to one of mine. Put it back!

Also, I liked reading the blogs where I was the ONLY subscriber. Why take away that I'm special feeling?

I'm home with cold and so am crabby on account of that.

isolatr beta

Perfect for the naturally crabby. Very funny!Read more at isolatr.com/

TechCrunch - TrustedID

OK, I love TechCrunch etc. Great blog. But this announcement really frosts me. I don't blame the company. Honest. But I should NOT have to pay to protect my personal data from being stolen and/or used for nefarious purposes. The companies who have my data should protect it. And if they don't, they should reimburse me for my damages and make it right. End of story.

Read more at www.techcrunch.com/2006...

Space tourism companies reaching for the stars - Yahoo! News

Sure, I can see there's a big difference betwee $22 million and $6,000. But I can't afford a $6,000 vacation. So Pfft to you moonies. Besides, it's totally stupid to even talk about those economies yet. And besides again, who wants to sit in economy-class all the way to outer space? And besides one more time, once you get there, what is there to see except all the junk they left behind before? "Ooh, look, there's what's left of INTELSAT! Honey, take a pciture!"

Read more at news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20...

BoA Bill Pay now offers "deliver by" date - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals)

Somebody, somewhere got a clue! I have no desire ever again to have a BofA account, but can the other online bill payers be far behind? This is such a no-brainer! Make it so.Read more at 37signals.com/svn/archi...

Men's Rights Group Eyes Child Support Stay - Yahoo! News

Yeah, I have an idea. Take responsibility for the birth control, how about that? Look, accidents happen even when precautions are taken, that's the risk of having sex. Funny how this fellow seem to be saying, I had my fun, but I don't want the consequences. Too freaking bad. Fact: a woman carries the pregnancy and no amoung of whining is going to change that fact. If you didn't want a baby, then it's up to YOU take the precautions, not her.

Read more at news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...

Dumbest Spam Ever

I thought the whole point of spam was to look like something that, when someone saw it in their email, said someone would actually open. In which case, what idiot thought a subject line of Could This Be the One? from some chick at abcarpetcleaners.com would trick anyone into thinking Prince Charming was on the inside? Is he going to come clean my carpets? I didn't open it, so I guess I'm doomed to a life of never knowing. Mr. Charming, you're invited. But if you don't look an awful lot like Adrian Paul, I'm not letting you in.

Sheesh.

Other than that, I'm not too crabby today. Don't know why. Seems kind of odd.

P.S. I know how spam works, it just wants to be there, spamming out my important emails from A Word A Day and my mom, hoping it gets lucky and there will be a preview pane open or else it'll just get opened by accident. But my way is more fun. If you're crab. Which I'm not today. Go figure.

WSJ.com - Portals

I feel like I should be disappointed, I guess I am, but certainly not surprised. Sure, Google started as a Search Engine (all we do is sipeder and index!) but the minute you put ads on it, money comes first. That's a no-brainer. Don't pretend to be surprised.

Read more at online.wsj.com/public/a...

Schneier on Security: DNA Surveillance in the UK

So who thought of this first, that sherrif in Texas or these guys in the UK? I think they've been swapping notes. This UK gentleman is, in effect, saying the same thing as our lovely Texan. If you're innocent, you won't mind giving it up.

Read more at www.schneier.com/blog/a...