Castles made of sand…

Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
- Ernest Hemingway

via Quotes of the Day

Over the mountains and the sea,
Your river runs with love for me,
and I will open up my heart
and let the Healer set me free.
I’m happy to be in the truth,
and I will daily lift my hands:
for I will always sing of when
Your love came down.

Delirious?

History’s Worst Software Bugs
This one was published earlier this month, but I still think its worth a read. It lists the top 10 worst software bugs. One of NASA’s probes made the list. There is also European rocket on the list too.

Ignoring useless information aids memory: study
Not much information given in this article, but it suggests that you should ignore your teachers. Okay, it doesn’t _really_ say that, but that’s what I got out of it. The next two years of schooling will be mostly useless information.

Microsoft Seeks to Standardize Office Format
Now this is BIG news. Microsoft going open source? It is a few years off but a standardize office format may allow other applications to surface that could compete with Office directly, or at least applications that get rid of all the clutter with office but still allow you to use the office formats. I suspect OpenOffice would quickly adopt the specification, and its free. But OpenOffice hasn’t proven its worth in industry yet, but Google is on it.

Thanksgiving in Space Could Look Different
The article tells about what will be done for food on trips to Mars, which would be a long trip. Not really new news, but a quote of it was funny. Its out of context, so you can read the article:

“Some crew members are leery of turning urine into drinking water. But Kloeris noted that water-treatment systems on Earth do that already.

“So in real life you are drinking somebody else’s urine instead of your own,” she said. “So I’m not sure psychologically which is worse. I think I’d rather drink my own.”

Browser Makers Band Together Against Phishers
This meeting actually took place last week or weekend. But this is good news for consumers really. All of the major browsers are working together together to establish better ways to identify secure sites. This will require some cooperation from Certificate Authorities (the companies that issue sign certificates that sites use to identify them as secure), but should make a dent in phishers. I wonder how long it will take to see the full effects of this meeting… some of the points were not finalize there so maybe this will spring up in the news again soon. Oh, and this article just gives the overview of what happened, the detailed stuff has posted in blogs by those that were at the meeting.

Harry Potter casts his spell in space
The two guys in the International Space Station got to see the new Harry Potter movie. Interesting.

So I had to work today. And on the way into work I saw what I would never expect to see: Staples with a full parking lot at 6:15 AM. So that’s what this shopping thing is all about… get up early AND there’s still lines.

Work was quiet. There were a few people there. And I kept busy for most of the day. I listened to some CDs and Christmas Music drown out the silence. And on the way back to my apartment I saw the Dolphins in the river. I don’t think I’ve talked about the dolphins before… There are dolphins in the Indian River. I don’t need to go to Sea World… just 5 minutes away to the river. Would be cool to have a boat and just sit out there and watch them.

Man Spends $100,000 On Virtual Space Station In Online Game

Geez, and he’s even going to make money off of it. That is what you call Virtual Real Estate.

Study Says There Is More Sex on TV

Ever wonder whats wrong with the world? Lets just blame it on TV. No, really. TV is the source/influence of three things that are polluting our young minds: violence, sex, and politics.

Okay, maybe it can’t be limited to just TV. But blaming it on the entertainment industry just about covers all the bases.

Generation Y: They’ve arrived at work with a new attitude
This was an interesting read. It talks about the impacts that youth are having in the workplace. This really strikes me as odd, but true: “The survey found more than 70% of older employees are dismissive of younger workers” abilities. And nearly half of employers say that younger employees are dismissive of the abilities of their older co-workers.”

Older employees are probably thinking they don’t have the experience to make the decisions needed, but how else will we learn but from our mistakes? The younger generation is more tech savvy, so we are typically up on the technically side of things more so than the older gen and typically creative. The key here is that if you put experience with fresh ideas, you end up with a better product / solution / situation than before. Just got to break that barrier.

Coffee Might Help Women’s Blood Pressure
This article talks about the long-term affects of caffeine from soda and caffeine. Essentially coffee is better than soda for women in the long-term. Well that’s good to know, but how about men?

5 days left of summer school…
17 days until I leave for Florida…
19 days until I start back at KSC…
many days until I return…

Sometimes you just can’t win…

and sometimes you can’t be any more ambiguous.

Even the rain can’t keep this day down… I saw a bumper sticker that said “I-4 SUCKS”. Very true.

Tornado Warnings are interesting too.