J. Random Updates

1. Two programming issues got resolved. Both were the result of annoyingly easily overlooked and even more annoyingly "dumb" errors. The gadget at work now is working, at least it works for me so I've passed it to someone else for further testing. Let's see if he can break it. And the mIRC script, while still not doing much actually useful, is at least doing what it ought to be so far. Snarfing the away information will likely take me a while. I did look at one script that claimed to do what I wanted, but it just looked for 'away' or 'brb' as part of the nick, so as far I'm concerned, it doesn't really work. The idea is to indicate all cases, not just the announced ones.

2.a. With the recent snowfalls, and the last couple times being more than just a dusting, it's actually looking like winter now, and not just on the lakes. It had been cold enough that the ice fishing types are out on the lakes. The ice is rather thick and can be driven on. It is a bit eerie to hear the low creaking groaning that results from that weight moving on the ice. I went out on the ice myself (just walked out, thanks) and took a few pictures, including a couple of where I stand on shore for other pictures.

2.b. The other pictures are weekly photos I'm taking of Hall Lake. The plan is to get three pictures (to get the whole lake, or as much as reasonably possible) each week this year. Having started a week r two late I might go a couple weeks into next year. Yep, a long project, but at the end I should have a nice set of photos of the lake and surroundings as the seasons change.

3. Used shan (older laptop) again Tuesday night after telling it about changes in the network. Irksome, but not too bad. Used it so I could be online while watching/listening to the state of the union speech. A few points made, if not agreed to (just read any paper/web site...) My two gripes are the overdone invocation of God, which is I suppose to be expected, but everyone who believes in any God is convinced God agrees with them. The other is the non-word "nucular" which is rather distracting. Really, since many (not all) seem to have trouble with pronouncing "nuclear" maybe we should go back to using the good old term "atomic" for such things. My summary: Next Wednesday's events will be covered even more than Tuesday night was covered.

4. If my current weight trend continues I might have to revise my objective for February. But still plan to keep things relatively mild. A 5 lb. drop in a month seems reasonable. More would be nice, but I think I'd risk "burning out" and chucking things if I pushed it. And patience helps. This year is improvement, next year is improved or something.

5. A usage that bugs me: "Will you borrow me $2?" The right term is "lend" in that case. There are two ways to express that question correctly, and both sound better. "Will you lend me $2?" or "Can I borrow $2 from you?"

6. Another thing that bugs. The proof is not in the pudding. Well, if something strange is going it could be, but it'd be the stuff of odd spy stories. The real phrase is "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Pudding could look good, but you have to taste it if you want to know if it really is any good.

7. Is it just me, or does the term "Homeland Security" sound rather annoyingly British? I half expect to hear about it as the Ministry of Homeland Security and that it is headed by the Home Secretary or something. I know it has a 1950s feel to it, but I'd feel much better with a name we were already using: Civil Defense. That things were done in a silly way for Civil Defense might also help as reminder not to commit inanities in the name of security. Actual security is good, but anything that reduces freedom does not buy security, it invites disaster.