Monthly Archives: July 2002

Bizarre viruses

Posted on 31 July 2002 by meta

I just got e-mail from a random AOL account containing nothing but a small JPG of a woman giving some guy a blow job. Looking at the raw text, it claimed to be a .WAV file, but had a .SCR … Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off

If the postal service owned e-mail (PRESTEL)

Posted on 31 July 2002 by meta

MIT Technology review has an interesting article on “How the Postman Almost Owned E-Mail“. I find it interesting—but not for the historical reasons. Rather, it illustrates the kind of delusional state people enter when they work too long in law … Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Blue Monday

Posted on 30 July 2002 by meta

IBM just purchased Monday. Or to put it another way: PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consulting, who had just gone through the incredibly stupid exercise of renaming themselves Monday, are being acquired by IBM. Obviously there’s a New Order at PwC Consulting now. It’ll … Continue reading →

Tagged , , | Comments Off

Damn you, Amazon!

Posted on 30 July 2002 by meta

Amazon have a really evil new feature. If you’re logged in and visit their site, you eventually notice a little gold treasure chest sitting in the top right corner. You click on it, and discover your “Gold Box”… The deal … Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off

Philip K. Dick

Posted on 29 July 2002 by meta

John Johnson has forwarded me a pointer to a Washington Post article on Philip K. Dick which explains why everyone—even people who don’t think of themselves as SF fans—should read his work.

Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Corporate scandal checklist

Posted on 29 July 2002 by meta

Enron Global Crossing WorldCom Xerox Qwest Who’s next? Google predicts Winstar and Broadwing. Contributions to Republicans: Worldcom: $4 million Enron: $4 million Andersen: $2.6 million Qwest: $210,000 Let’s see who gets led away in handcuffs. Today’s conspiracy theory: There are … Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Impostor

Posted on 29 July 2002 by meta

I watched Impostor last night. It’s a pretty authentic adaptation of the Philip K. Dick story, right down to making the “bug” ships look and work the way Dick described them. Production values are high, with some impressive sets that … Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Dreams in a blender

Posted on 28 July 2002 by meta

Last night’s dream fragments, in no particular order: Pilot episode for a satirical sitcom: Republicans decide to create the ultimate Presidential candidate by creating a clone using DNA from all their previous successful candidates. He is to be the ultimate … Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Autistic kid

Posted on 26 July 2002 by meta

There was a boy on the subway just now who looked to be about 14 years old. He was with his father. I think the kid was autistic, because his behavior was very like Raymond in Rain Man. He even … Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Is that Vivaldi?

Posted on 26 July 2002 by meta

Someone called my mobile phone and left me some classical music on my voicemail. It’s not a number I recognize. Odd.

Tagged , , , | Comments Off