Tap-tap. This thing still on?

If Misty can start blogging again, so can I.

I won!

I play bridge. I'm not very good. But I came first out of 37 in tonight's competition once my handicap was counted. And I was 6th overall. A very good result.

Still kicking!

Been busy working for the NHS for not much money. Got an interview next week.

Job update

Got an interview on the 27th. No news from the Shetlands.

Haiku

Still unemployed
Six months of stress and worry
My life sucks right now

"Bother", said Q

as he failed to get the job.

I had an interview on Thursday which proved to be unsuccessful. One of the interviewers has very kindly agreed to give me a post-mortem later this week.

Not dead yet!

Bridge last night totally sucked. I just played awfully.

The Ugly Duckling

This one's for Misty!

Oh look, a lottery scam!

I've just received a letter - not an email but an actual letter, complete with hand-affixed stamp - from the 'International Lottery Commission' saying I've won a shedload of money in a Spanish lottery run by 'La Primitiva'.

Trouble is, I never entered a Spanish lottery.

Trouble is, they're using the U.K. National Lottery logo.

Trouble is, the offices are in Madrid, but the letter's been sent from Malaga.

Trouble is, I plugged the names into my usual search engine and, well, was less than surprised to learn that it's a scam.

Well, it's a break from the usual Nigerian scams.

"Bother", said Quartz

as he didn't get the job because his security clearance has fully lapsed.

Confounded weather!

I play Bridge and this evening's session has been cancelled because of the weather.

And I have another interview tomorrow

It's looking very hopeful. I've learned the lessons of last time.

I just hope that I don't get stuck on the way there.

And so I have an interview

Things are finally looking up. I've been asked to not say where, but it's a company with a very interesting range of products and services and I'm a good fit for them.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmastide greetings to all. May you have fabulous times with friends and family over the festive period.

Brothel ad mistaken for poem

I think this is worthy of a double snigger.

The Ultimate Answer

Yes, I'm 42 today. Happy Birthday to me.

It's off out this evening to celebrate at the  pub.

Howl, wail, whimper

And another of the blogging greats retires. Farewell, Kim du Toit. But I hope to see him over here in 2012 for the Olympics.

So don't bring the children!

Grrr... Apparently a 400 year old ceremony is being cancelled because it might scare the children. Does it not occur to these silly parents to not bring children who will be scared? Does it not occur to the Deputy Mayor to perhaps forewarn potential visitors that children might get scared?

Score one for the gun-fearing weenies.

Happy Birthday!

Kim du Toit is 54 today. Happy birthday, mate!

But vastly more importantly (sorry, Kim), my niece is two. Happy birthday, Georgina.

Bother! Said Quartz

As his current contract is not expected to be renewed.

Busy, busy

I'm back in work. It's not very well paid, but at least it is paid work.

Prince William to be a SAR pilot

BBC story here. He's utterly nuts and very brave. Good for you, your Highness.

F1 Monza

Top race. Plenty of thrills and spills while only one crash - very good indeed. Lots of battles and overtaking. A perfect performance by Vettel; Hamilton almost rescued it but was let down by poor tyre choice.

F1: Spa

I could not resist a snigger at Hamilton. What a twonk! But well done Vettel.

It should be a great race tomorrow. I wonder if Hamilton will try the three-stop strategy that almost worked the last time he was so badly placed?

Not good news.

My father had a stroke yesterday morning. I got there just in time to follow the ambulance to hospital. Fortunately, it appears to be a minor stroke and not a precursor to a serious one.

Fingers thoroughly crossed!

Useful computer info

Corsair have put up a page of really useful info. Hat tip to Fudzilla for this.

You're stranded on a Desert Island

1. What one person would you wish was stranded there with you?

Someone who's really good at telling tales. Like Misty or Kim.

2. What one tool would you want to have?

A machete.

3. Of which one food do you wish you would have an unlimited supply?

This depends upon what's actually available on the island, but top contenders would be eggs and milk. Or a good red Burgundy.

4. What one luxury item would you wish for?

I suppose a solar powered PC with an unlimited internet connection is asking too much? Oh well, in that case, I'll have a solar powered icemaker.

5. What one book would you want to have with you to read and re-read?

The complete works of Shakespeare.

6. You have one piece of paper, a pencil and one bottle - to whom is the message going to be written?

My brother - to tell him and his family how much I love them.

7. What skill would serve you best while on the island? A close one here: being idle versus cooking.

8. How long do you think you could last before needing rescue?

No idea.

9. What one island animal would become your pet?

Hopefully there's a goat or two that I can milk.

10. Your island is unknown to you, and you need to give it a name - what would it be?

I'll let it remain unnamed.

11. What would you do to pass the weeks, days, and hours?

Gaze at the stars. Not a lot else to do at night, anyway.

12. You've been rescued! What is the first thing you're going to do when you get back home?

Put the kettle on!

Looking backwards to predict Windows 7.

A lot of people are hoping that Windows 7 will be a revolutionary product, much like the Mac OS/X was. However, I don't think so. Microsoft has a history of spit-and-polish when it comes to OSs. There was Windows 3.0 then Windows 3.1. Then there was Windows 95 followed by Windows 98, and Window NT 3 followed by NT 4. Then there was Windows 2000 followed by Windows XP. And now we have Vista, which I expect to be followed by Windows 7, with the revolutionary product to follow 3 or so years later.

A comparison might be drawn with Intel, who have a similar policy with their CPUs: an inital release followed by a die-shrink.

So, Windows 7 will be a polish of Vista. What can we expect to see? A significant reform of Aero and UAC - making them much faster, for a start. With the introduction of Windows Home Server, I see an opportunity for MS to rationalise the SKUs. Instead of the plethora of products we have to day, I hope we'll return to just the one, Windows Workstation. Connect it to a Home Server and it becomes a home client; connect it to an Active Directory and it becomes a Business Client. There will be extra polish with DX 11 and physics, of course.

With Windows 7, matters are complicated further because Vista is a transition product for moving from 32 bit to 64 bit, and ISVs aren't following suit. As yet, there's no 64 bit Flash, no 64 bit Acrobat Reader. Indeed, 64 bit utilities are only just beginning to appear. I'd like to see Windows 7 being purely 64 bit - it would save Microsoft a lot of work to ditch the 32 bit versions - but with the amount of 32 bit software around, I just don't see that happenning, and the 32 bit / 64 bit dichotomy will confuse many users.

More later.

Jobhunting!

I'm now seeking gainful employment in IT. A team leader or junior management role by preference. I've 20 years experience of Microsoft - client and server - support, from DOS to Vista. So gissajob!

Duke Nukem 3D

Steven den Beste reminisces about Duke Nukem 3D. I have many happy memories of that game, particularly of the multiplayer modes. Lying in wait with a pipebomb, zooming around with the jetpack and the rocket launcher or the devastator. It was fun! And there was fun within the game itself. These days, they all take themselves so seriously: not so Duke.

Nature can be so cruel

A child that's lost its mother is always distressing. And whales are usually such gentle giants - to humans, that is.

Quantum Porn

This made me laugh.