Burglar Alarm

Recently I've been using a new test dial-up network and have had totally unlimited access. The network has been great and I've been able to dial up and stay connected for 3 - 4 days straight. I'm also running a ftp server of my home PC, and yesterday I was recording a CD and ftping the files home while I was at work - kinda handy.

Anyway, about 6.30pm my connection dropped dead. So I dialled the line the modem is on and got a ring, which meant the burglars hadn't stolen the modem yet. Next I dialled my flatmates number to check the answering machine. It rang off, so I decided it was time to go home and check what was up. Half way home, stuck in unusually bad traffic I noticed a column of smoke in the direction of my block...

I started thinking about what this meant...
I had no insurance...
I'd have to call my flatmate (presently in India where his mother is very ill) and tell him the house was burnt...
Had I left the iron on...?

A road I usually took was closed. The traffic the other way was very very slow. So slow slow.

At the end of that road I saw the fire engines, the electrical substation was on fire. So I drove another 50 meters, parked the car and walked down to The Sushi Train.

Attempted Ripoff

I was in the market for a new HDD and video card recently, so on Friday I compiled my usual list of quotations. I picked the cheapest guy who was open on weekends, and headed for his store. When I got there, it was "it's on it's way here now..." and "how much did I quote you for the HDD?"

I hate that.

"$290?" I stabbed.

"Ok."

grrrr. So while the delivery arrived in the car park I wandered over to the hole-in-the-wall to get my cash, and remembered... I uploaded the quote list before I left work on Friday... it was still live. So I walked back into his store and said, "do you have a net connection I can borrow for a couple of minutes?" He had one dialled up and ready to go, so I type the full address straight into netscape (it's great to have a short url) and up pops excel with the full price list.

$260.

Sweeeet.

Jamie Zawinski

I ran across a definition of "easter eggs" the other day, and I thought I'd look into some of them. I found a site on netscape easter eggs and went to about:jwz (netscape only) and read all about Jamie Zawinski, Netscape's 20th employee. He's got a really remarkable web site, full of stores that could have come out of he died with a felafel in his hand and even gossip about MS vs DoJ.

So?

Well, it was inspirational, and I recommend it.
(Zawinksi for IE users)

HONDA

I took David's advice and took my car to the Honda dealer for a service, and service I got!

Not just the exceedingly polite doorman taking my keys, or the gorgeous half-japanese receptionist, you could feel the way these people felt about their work. Nobody there was simply working, they were each craftsmen striving to perfect their craft. A serenity and determination to perform that struck me as uniquely Japanese.

MOTHS

An hour later I came back to the bathroom and switched the light on. Suddenly theres bats flying straight at my face, screaming as they come.

Next time I'll just use poison