jbwan: WordPress’ed for time…

Methane on Mars March 29, 2004

Thanks to Ray C for this link. The spectometers have revealed the presence of methane in the Martian atmosphere. As is the composition of methane gas (CH₄) containing carbon, this now confirms both water and carbon existed on the planet. Possibly supporting life at some stage or maybe even still supporting life… source: BBC NEWS | Science/Nature

Blind Justice? March 23, 2004

Well, when Rob O’Connor sent this link onto me I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Seemingly David Blunkett is trying to claim £3K per year, from those who were wrongly imprisoned in British jails. His argument is that you shouldn’t be getting free accommodation and food!!!! #$%£%##** Somebody give this guy a cup of coffee and let him smell it. Falsely imprisioned for 25 years in a rancid jail and all I got was this lousy £80K bill for lodgings. Somehow I think his proposal will be quickly quashed. source: Sunday Herald

Fr. Ted to Return? March 23, 2004

Heard about this on the radio this morning on the way into work. Looks like Fr. Ted will be remade for American audiences. Steve Martin has been lined up for the lead role and has seemingly accepted being a fan of the original and all that (then again who wouldn’t take it when offered a rumoured $0.5M per episode). source: Supanet

First MS now ET! March 22, 2004

Co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, has just donated $13.5M to the SETI team in order to fund a new radio telescope for their research. Just when I thought that I was helping SETI out by running 3 machine with the desktop client, someone comes along and belittles my contribution with a 13.5M donation. Nice to have the money to do such things… source: The Register

I wonder do Hallmark have a card for this? March 9, 2004

On the way into work this morning, listening to the radio as usual, I heard an advertisement for “National Mortgage Week”. Indeed it makes sense; Ireland has become so money driven and internally competitive amongst it’s inhabitants that the majority of the country can no longer afford a home or qualify for a mortgage. It’s only fitting that we should have such a noted period on our calendars to highlight the ever present need in our lives to have a mortgage and to entice others to get one for you as a gift perhaps. Yeah, it’ll be the opposite of mothers/fathers day. Parents will be encouraged to remortgage their homes in order to provide their children with a chance of having their own mortgage. “Here you go son, a mortgage all for you. Now your mother and I have another mortgage too so we’ll have something to talk to you about when you come around. By the way you only qualified for this because we provided the extra cash to lessen the mortgage amount now don’t feel guilty about it, be free in the knowledge that we spent 20 years paying off our original mortgage and well, we felt like another challenge.” Me thinks that my sarcasm has reached a point of uncertainty where I am no longer sure about my sincerity, anyway… Perhaps in years to come “National Mortgage Week” will still be in existence and people will buy cards for each other to celebrate. It will be an event similar to St. Valentine’s Day. Sincere greeting cards will say “I love you so much that I want you to think about a mortgage”, humourous greetings will say “I rate you very highly”, heartfelt greetings will say “I’d risk everything I own to give you a shot at getting a mortgage”. Sadly a mortgage at that stage for most people might be as mythical as St. Valentine himself… source: Permanent TSB

Note: the link for the source will probably only display the advertisement for about 4 days after this posting

Against e-Voting March 2, 2004

Love it or hate it, the debate over e-voting will not go away for some time. This rough and ready article publicises the latest weighty protest against the system. Oh the poor minister will be sorry he didn’t stay in the dark ages. So much technological advancement and yet no trust of the underlying control. It must be remembered that the Internet is not secure but (and only for avid fans of The Last Word on Today FM) “e-Voting is not electronic voting and the two are fundamentally different”. That quote came from the minister in charge of the current situation, well I’m convinced… (is it just me or do I get more sarcastic each day? 🙂 source: Irish Times

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