Author: F C

Ctrl-Alt-Del Inventor To Retire From IBM (Slashdot)

Dr. David Bradley, leader of the original IBM PC engineering team and creator of the “CTRL-ALT-DEL” interrupt key combo, is retiring from IBM to teach. He didn’t really place much importance to CTRL-ALT-DEL, thinking that only programmers would have any real need to use it. Little did he know that it would become ubiquious (for better or worse) in operating Microsoft products. It’s used for getting out of stuck or “blue screen” situations, logging into a multiple users system, and showing active programs and CPU usage. The technical and historical reasons for the key combo’s versatility are at this web site, but basically it’s the only keypress that can’t be paused or interrupted by something else the computer’s doing (although in practice, I’ve managed some real doozies ).

I’m in a writing funk, but here are some pics of me standing in the middle of the next 5 inches of snow:

Corner of Court and Atlantic

Light and Trees

Atlantic Avenue facing east

The Anti-Diva (New York Times Magazine)

Deep into the end of the article, the writer mentions that Nora Jones is the out-of-wedlock daughter of Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar. Who knew? Other fan websites actually say that Jones and Shankar have a good relationship, but they prefer to keep it private. I think that it is a good thing that she doesn’t make a big deal about that connection. I agree with her that it doesn’t matter about one’s family background or connections, but that one’s work has to stand on its own.

You have to be a lawyer to figure out how to actually cash in on American Airlines’ buy 2 get 1 free offer. The deal is: fly twice to California or Florida from New York or Boston before April 15, and get one ticket anywhere AA flies. There are plenty of catches, though: you have to be an AA member, register before making the flights on their website, make sure the flight is a non-stop flight, fly on a published fare, and that the flight returns to the same airport that the flight originated (well, it says “same co-terminal”; I don’t know what that means). The award ticket has blackout dates, is in class “T”, which is bottom basement Economy, is non-upgradable, has a $100 penalty for changes, and must be used by April 15, 2005. That being said, it’s not a bad deal. I’m going to try to do it with P–.

The Lunar New Year begins very early this year — January 22. Chinese, Vietnamese and Koreans celebrate with even more gusto than in Times Square; definately with more food. There is a certain arbitrary way in which the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one is celebrated: the date of Western Civilization’s new year has ranged from January 1 to March 15. Some of the reason that new year celebrations go on for a week I think has to do with the possibility of not exactly knowing whether which day is truly the new moon. I can tell you outside is really dark!

Let’s have more Monkey business this year! Gung Hei Fat Choy!

I am almost caught up with my recordings of the DNA series on PBS. Really great stuff, although I have to say I question a practice that I first saw in the PBS series on Time Travel, both imported from England. It’s the whole idea of having the real people participate in video reenactments, enhanced with computer graphics. In one sense, it’s mesmerizing and is sure to get the attention of the attention deficit crowd, but in another, it is a little dishonest in that it lends to dramatizing real life. Like the two old codgers hanging out at that Cambridge bar who then go fishing and model the double helix, or the atomic bomb guy running around King’s College sneaking peeks at the x-rays of the helix. Or in the Time Travel series where the virtual 23rd century Asian schoolteacher and her little charges have a conversation with that (real 21st century) scientist who is being credited as the father of time travel, when he hasn’t exactly done it yet (from our 2004 perspective). Really cool, but makes you say, “Hummmh”.

CBS Orders Two More ‘Survivor’ Challenges (New York Times)

Reuters reports some interesting CBS news snuck into an article about Survivor. CBS is renewing Survivor for 2 seasons, Joan of Arcadia is renewed for next season, and CSI: New York will start in the fall. Everyone Loves Raymond is iffy. CBS President Leslie Moonves, while in the middle of a divorce, is dating Big Brother’s Julie Chen.

Andrea Strong, Food Critic

I don’t really know her, but she went to my law school, she writes well, and she loves food. What more needs to be said?

Soundtrack: Take Me Away (Wendy Ip, MP3 ). [Reviewers say Ip’s like Gwen Stefani singing Elvis Costello, and they’re right. She does everything: writes, composes, plays piano/keyboards and guitar. Bought her self-produced CD from the Union Square Virgin Megastore.]

Take me away from this small tired place
Take me away cause I need it
Show me the way, how can I find more space
How can I try to beat it

P– has spent several sessions over my apartment doing more than a gang of Queer Eyes could. She’s been doing her best to turn a pig’s sty into something resembling a liveable space: new tiles and shower curtains in the bathroom, a revamped kitchen, tons of stuff thrown out. Apparently, it’s too little, too late. The City of New York has come down like a stack of bricks on my (lack of) interior design.

There was a letter posted next to the mailboxes in the lobby. One of my neighbors was staring at it totally befuddled. “… This would allow the City to acquire the captioned property through a condemnation proceeding”. I know that is legal-ese for “the government is going to knock down the building and give it to some real estate developer”. Apparently, the entire block received the notice stating that it was in the path of the “Brooklyn Center Revitalization Plan”.

My landlord actually was kind of non-plussed about it. “Well, it will take years and dozens of hearings before that happens. Look at what they have been trying to do with the Brooklyn Bridge Park. It’s been 15 years and nothing’s happened. Besides, the person that wrote the letter just quit.” Actually, I’m putting my money on 12-15 months.

It’s probably a blessing in disguise: I’ve been thinking about buying property, but this is probably going to be the thing that gets me over my inertia. Maybe it’s borrowed time, but I’m still going to miss this place, though.

Consumer Webwatch, the Internet arm of Consumers Union, spent $38,000 buying air, car and hotel reservations to see if choose your own price sites Priceline and Hotwire actually beat what can be found on regular travel sites. The answer is yes; in Priceline’s case 47% of the time. However, Orbitz placed a close second, and you didn’t have to fly blind. The only caveat is that the trained bettor knew what the going price of that reservation was going to be by looking it up in Sabre, the travel agents reservation network. Most people bet on Priceline without a clue of what would be the lowest price that would be accepted. You can read the report online.