2012 — 15 March: Thursday

Starting the day as you mean to continue1 I've just refreshed my secure web server access software. Although Junior continues to extol the virtues of Cyberduck (which I used from time to time back in my mad, bad old days of iMac ownership) I remain perfectly satisfied with WinSCP.

Though it still doesn't make my morning cuppa. It's 07:27 and looks unjolly misty out there.

I renewed my acquaintance with the Dude last night, having picked up a Blu-ray in Asda for a mere £7...

Blu-ray

It had a fun set of extras. Christa and I first saw it in the 'Harbour Lights' cinema2 and were both fans of the Coen brothers.

Everybody loves a banker

I'm no fan of the "Vampire Squid" — but nothing I've read so far about a mid-level executive resignation from Goldman Sachs and the 'ripples' caused has surprised me. However, this satirical response amused me. Source and snippet:

Mr. Smith comes across as a man of conscience, ideals, and high moral standards... you no doubt asked yourself this troubling question: how could Goldman have hired such a person?
At Goldman, we pride ourselves on our ability to scour the world's universities and business schools for the finest sociopaths money will buy. Once in our internship program, these youths are subjected to rigorous evaluations to root out even the slightest evidence of a soul. But, as the case of Mr. Smith shows, even the most time-tested system for detecting shreds of humanity can blow a gasket now and then. For that, we can only offer you our deepest apology and the reassurance that one good apple won't spoil the whole bunch.

Andy Borowitz in his Borowitz Report


What would the Dude say, I wonder?

I'm starving...

... so it's just as well Chris and Gill are (I hope) about to swing on to my drive to whisk me away to a lunch in Brockenhurst.

[Pause]

If Mr Postie's "While you were out" card means what I think it does, Junior's present (a Twiglet #4 Blu-ray) is now waiting for me in their depot. However, I shall delay my collection until tomorrow morning as I wish to be sure my blood alcohol level is safely back below illegal levels. It's 17:01 and the three of us had a fine meal followed by tea and a chat back here in Technology Towers. They also picked up the data files retrieved from the ailing network drive and have allowed me to keep it for autopsy and further experimentation. (I may yet be able to extract a perfectly working 1TB SATA drive from it though not any longer a network-savvy one.)

Speaking of experimentation, I've just installed the latest build...

Handbrake

... and am delighted to find it runs about 4x faster than before. Over 280 frames per second from a standard definition video source strikes me as pretty cool.

  

Footnotes

1  As good a motto as any, I guess.
2  In May 1998, the same week we saw "Gattaca" and "Martha... meet Frank (etc etc)".