I can do photo's too

Everyone else seems to be blogging about their photo's now days,
Not wanting to be left behind I have dutifully posted one of my own.
I have always loved photo's involving sunsets, silhouettes and Trees.

So I thought I'd have a go at creating one :) I hope you enjoy it...



Silhouetted Tree

Everyone thinks they're hiring the top 1%.

Joel on Software - Thursday, January 27, 2005 This article talks about the illusion some companies are under that they are hiring the top 0.1% or similar. When in reality they are hiring the top 0.1% of the applicants...

Its worth reading if you are a prospective employer or employee :)

Gates and communism

Bill Gates said some controversial things in a CNet Interview today:
Gates taking a seat in your den

He says:

CNET: In recent years, there's been a lot of people clamoring to reform and restrict intellectual-property rights. It started out with just a few people, but now there are a bunch of advocates saying, "We've got to look at patents, we've got to look at copyrights." What's driving this, and do you think intellectual-property laws need to be reformed?

Gates: No, I'd say that of the world's economies, there's more that believe in intellectual property today than ever. There are fewer communists in the world today than there were. There are some new modern-day sort of communists who want to get rid of the incentive for musicians and moviemakers and software makers under various guises. They don't think that those incentives should exist.And this debate will always be there. I'd be the first to say that the patent system can always be tuned--including the U.S. patent system. There are some goals to cap some reform elements. But the idea that the United States has led in creating companies, creating jobs, because we've had the best intellectual-property system--there's no doubt about that in my mind, and when people say they want to be the most competitive economy, they've got to have the incentive system. Intellectual property is the incentive system for the products of the future.

There is a lot of people commenting on these "communist" remarks (see: Slashdot)

My quick comment is that the difference between OpenSource/FreeSoftware etc. and communisim, is that Open source is based around voluntary sharing ie. Sharing is not required. People still need to be able to own software and sell it. We also need the ability for people to say I have already gained enough for myself out of this software, and I want to give it away now. This Practice makes economic sense, because everyone has the choice; To try to patent, and market this software as a product for people to buy. Or to share it with everyone, knowing I have benefited from my software, and hoping that the others will share their software as well.

I don't have time to go on about it but I just wanted to make the point that software patents and commercial software are actually upholding our freedom, Not stealing from us. So I am kind of backing up Gates, However I don't know anything about the proposed laws or patent systems, there is potential for these to restrict freedom.
If properly constructed though, these laws should actually increase freedom not reduce it.

James

How to build a better web browser

How to build a better web browser

I am sure this has been linked by a whole bunch of other people, not to mention slashdot. But who could miss the ranting of an Ex Internet Explorer Developer?

James

Jesus' Names

Jesus has a lot of names, It has always fascinated me to hear all the names, and what they all mean. Koinania house's recent newsletter had this article on Jesus names. I thought I'd share it with you:

THE NAMES OF JESUS CHRIST

Throughout the next few weeks we will be focusing on several different aspects of the Christmas season, including the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, the history of Christmas, and the origin of many of our Christmas traditions. This week we would like to take a look at the Names of Jesus Christ and their meaning.

Names have great significance in the Bible. A name was not just the label that differentiated one person from another, but often described something about the person. The name Abraham is translated "Father of a multitude", Jacob means "supplanter" and David "beloved". The most important names in the Bible, however, describe God Himself. Through His names, God expresses the reality of who He is. God does not cloak His identity and distance Himself from His creation. Instead, we have a God who desires to be known:

... But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
-Jeremiah 9:24

As we rush through the Christmas season burdened with busy schedules, may we take time to seek the man whose birth Christmas celebrates. Who is Jesus Christ? Was he simply a good man, a teacher, or a revolutionary? Through his names, the Bible gives us great insight into the identity of the baby that was born in Bethlehem in Judea over 2000 years ago;

Jesus
: >From the name Joshua, or Yehoshua, which means "Yahweh is salvation".

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins
. -Matthew 1:21

Emmanuel
: From the Hebrew words Immanu: "with us" and El "God".

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us
. - Matthew 1:22,23

The Word
: Logos in the Greek - God's living, breathing message of who He is, by whom He created all things.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made -John 1:1,3

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
- John 1:14

Son of David
: The Messiah the King, the rightful heir to the throne.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
-Isaiah 9:7

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
- Luke 1:32

And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
- Matthew 21:9

The Lamb of God
: Innocent and pure, and sent to die in our place.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world
. - John 1:29

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world...
- 1 Peter 1:19,20a

I AM
: The very name of the God of Moses, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator:

Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
- Exodus 3:14

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am.
- John 8:58

He is the Son of Man and the Son of God. He is the Rock, The Good Shepherd, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. May God be blessed for his goodness toward us, for "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17)

That is who Jesus is.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace
. -Isaiah 9:6

'My King' - Koinoinia House

No More PDF's

I used to hate PDF files, more recently I have started to appreciate them a little bit more. Mainly as we now tend to have faster internet, and computers that can display the files with out too much delay. It's interesting to see that others still have issues with PDF's too.
Contentious - No PDF Press Releases


Another Surprising issue that I have come across is the number of people who don't know what a PDF is, and don't even realize that the Acrobat (aka PDF) file they read inside their web browser is any different to the other webpages they have viewed. I'll bet this is great for Adobe, but because of its wide spread use, every windows user is forced to install Acrobat reader on their computers! This does not give us much freedom of choice.

James

Where do car names come from?

Heres a excerpt from todays AWAD:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The very first car I owned was a black hatchback Volkswagen Scirocco.
Before I plonked down my hard-earned graduate-school allowance for this secondhand (euphemistically also called pre-owned or pre-loved) automobile, I made sure its air-conditioning was A-OK. With a name like Scirocco (hot, dry wind), I felt I just had to.

How do automakers come up with names for their cars? Some christen their models with feminine sounding names (Ford Festiva, Chevrolet Lumina), probably following the traditional way of naming boats, while others go for macho names (Mitsubishi Galant, Nissan Armada).

Some prefer animal names, as a way of ascribing those qualities to their cars (Mercury Cougar, Dodge Viper, Ford Bronco). Others name their cars after cities (Dodge Daytona, Chevrolet Corsica, GMC Yukon). Still others take the easy way out and use what appears to be a jumble of letters and numbers though these often indicate engine capacity or some such characteristics.

Here are some interesting auto tidbits:

o Camry is an anagram of "My car".
o "A TOYOTA" is a palindrome, and forms a mirror image.
o Chevrolet named a car Nova. In Spanish "No va" means "It doesn't go."
o Then there was the unreliable Yugo which earned the nickname "You no go."
o Saab is an acronym for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft
Company Ltd); BMW is Bayerische Motoren-Werke (Bavarian Motor Works).
---------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought it might make interesting Reading (and I haven't posted in a while :)

Have a great week,

James

Linguistic Articles

Hi Everyone,
I stumbled across a couple of articles that might be of interest to you all :

Changing Places

This article talks about the "black" language in that US of A. I don't profess to know much of the cultural issues around this, but I think it is interesting our own indigenous people, the Maori, also have dialect to themselves. As with all such languages there are some white who speak "Maori" and many Maori who's accent is the same as mine...

Political Slang

This article might be usefull to figure out what all those politicians are going on about in the US right now :)

And finally...

Reflections

Reflections on "Engineering Expressiveness". Does all our new technology really help us to be come more effective communicators, or do will we just fall into uniformity?

James

First Site I am Hosting

JAMBE has just started hosting websites, the first being, Good Samaritan Inn (from tonga)

If you want to host a website, just email us and we will give you a free quote.

English in anyone's Language

Heres another article worth reading (especially if you understand australian)
Humorously highlighting the diversity of the English language:

English in anyone's language

James

A bit of linguistics for your day?

TIME Europe - On language changes in Germany

I found this article very interesting, its talking about how the German government has changed its spelling system, hoping to provide a system that is easier to learn...
Already countries like Switzerland have attempted similar changes, It basically means that everyone needs to learn two languages. The current "proper" Spellings and the old style so that you can still communicate with everyone...

Anyway read the article,

James

John The Baptists Cave?

I thought this was an interesting discovery, even John the Baptist never went their, it is interesting that the Biblical Stories of John the Baptist are depicted on the walls...

Cave linked to John the Baptist

Google + Nutch Blogs

As the Blog revolution continues to expand, we are starting to see both companies and individuals, blogging about their work. Athough this is probably just an attempt to show how smart they are, It can make informative reading :)
Here are two blogs I have enjoyed reading:

Google Blog
- Google is a Search engine (you might have heard of it?). Their Blog seems to feature various examples of their cleverness, as well as other "Google Life" commentary.

Nutch Blog
- Nutch is an Open Source Project that is developing Search Software that aims to equal to google in quality. The Blog is written by Doug Cutting Nutch's Lead Developer.

AWAW Begins

For a while I have been thinking about starting "A Word A Week" email. Although there are many good "A Word A Day" emails, Recieving an email every day if often too much for a busy Schedule. I also want to focus my attention of useful words, but ones that aren't used very often.

I have started A new blog for this venture, go check it out at http://awaw.blogspot.com

Updated Gmail Program Policies

I just finished writing the short article (below) about gmail when I noticed the they had updated the Program Policies.
The change is very small just a few added words, that don't affect me.

But how do I know you say?
What I really thought was worth noteing is the "view changes" button Which just puts a line through and colors red things that have been deleted, and underlines in green text that has been added.
I assume that it is automated, and I like the simplicity of it.
Some thing to "borrow" for your own web site :)

See : Gmail Program Policies

Gmail, Tips and Suggestions

Gmail

I thought I'd wait a little bit before talking about Gmail.
As a lot of bloggers got free Gmail accounts they all talked about it at once. So I thought I'd wait :)

I have been using gmail for a while now, and really really like it. I don't even notice the ads, and I don't talk about anything sensitive enough
That I really care about google analyzing it. The best features are labels, and searching.

Labels

Labels are a little bit like folders, they help you sort and categorize your email. The advantage of labels is that the same email can have more than one label.
Labels work very well with Gmail's archive feature. They way I have been using them is to apply labels to emails I might want to find again, and then archiving them.
The emails stay under the label, and are very easy to find. If you were a very busy user who had enough email that you wanted to remove things from under you label, but still be able to find them, It would be good to be able to archive with label attached. Perhaps an archive from label button...

Searching

Normally when you want to search for an email it takes ages for the program sort through the data, but as Gmail indexes all your emails, It can instantly recall anything you want.
Also it searches all your email an once, no longer do you have to rerun searches in different folders to find the right thing. Of course you can restrict your searches to certain labels, and to key words in the subject vs. the body etc.
I have heard people talk about a theoretical filesystem where you don't store files in directories you just attach meta data, and search for it.
Having seen gmail, I not only think that it is possible I really wish to had it.

Suggestions

Although I love Gmail, I do have some Ideas for improvements.
I have submitted most of these to the gmail team so It will be interesting to see if any show up soon.

1) Spam/Not Spam marking in filters. If Gmail's spam filter decides an email is spam, it puts it in the spam folder.
Emails in the spam folder can have labels attached, but they don't show up under the label buttons. The spam folder doesn't give you any indication
that you have received any new spam, therefore if a message is misclassified it might go unnoticed. I think the best way to get around this problem would
be to allow filters to mark email as Spam, or as not spam. Thus you could make sure the important emails didn't get missed.
An indication somewhere of how many new "spam" messages have arrived (since last login?) would be useful.

2) I am sure everyone has talked about this, and the gmail team is working on it, but it would be nice to be able to merge conversations that gmail has missed.
They could also use this information to improve the automatic conversation merging feature.

3) Altogether the search function is brilliant, I often find my search results are cluttered up with emails that I have sent. It would be nice to be able to search just the received mail.
In the meantime, you can get around this by typing in your gmail address in to field, as all the received email comes to you :) However your email might have been in the cc or bcc fields, and you will get any emails that you sent your self. (yes I do send my self emails :)

4) Even though gmail focuses on searching not sorting, sometimes its good to be able to sort search results. You might like to reverse sort the arrival time, or sort by senders name so that you can easily access the different emails from that person. You could add that person's name to your search, but it's easier to just click 1 button. And if you are anything like you probably can't spell their name.

5) If gmail could add in a google style spell checker to the search it would be helpful.

Try it out

I still have a couple of gmail invitations if you want to try it out. Just send an email to james.brunskill@gmail.com and ask for one. First come first served...
Well I just published my gmail address on the net, so It should be interesting to see how the spam checker holds out :)

I am still using my other email address to most of my mail, so if you want to ask me a question, make a suggestion, or anything else please send it to james@jambe.cjb.net.


James

Picsearch: map isreal

I guess a lot of you will know about google's image search, but I just found out that they have competitor, picsearch.
Example search : Picsearch: map isreal

It seems to be very fast (probably due to low load :) and very accurate. It has built in family friendly features which is a bonus.

James

UPDATE: lots of people seem to be finding this page when searching for "map isreal", just so you know the correct spelling is 'Israel'.

Best of Crypto Gram

As usual I have been reading cryptogram, and found some stories you might like to read...

Penetration Testing Using Social Engineering (Part 1) | Lineman.Net

Why Windows is a security Nightmare

Rebuilding a 1960 code breaking machine

All worth reading...

Search: avg grisoft.com

MSN Search: avg grisoft.com
I just saw in my logs that someone visited my site from that site.
Suprisingly my site is number 2, for a search avg grisoft.com!

I wonder if I could get avg to sponser me...

James

WorldNetDaily: Sustainable oil?

WorldNetDaily: Sustainable oil?

This is an Interesting Article suggesting an alternative to the current theory of where oil came from.

This is in contrast to the latest National Geographic,
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0406/index_19.html
which predicts a shortage of oil soon...

James