Archive for July, 2006
What If?
What if websites could learn? Obviously they’d become insufferable smart-arses almost immediately which is the problem with most Artificial Intelligence. They’d have to learn in the same way that people learn. Painfully and slowly.
So how do we learn? Through pain. Ask someone to relate a childhood accident which caused a scar and they’ll tell you [...]
Finding the RIGHT people is the key
Well, the valley’s interweb has been fixed. Some tubby french workman had fallen asleep sitting on a cable and chewed through it when he woke up hungry. No, not really, but it seems like that sometimes.
The office is still sans telephone line, but I’ve brought out the big guns. I met a lady called Wendy [...]
Telecoms nightmares
France Telecom is a nationalized monopoly and one of the best reasons I’ve come across for NOT having nationalized monopolies.
Merde.
Over two weeks ago I ordered a phone line to be switched on for the office. It was really difficult to even get to that point, because frankly - no one who works for France telecom [...]
Going smurfing
I’ve been getting a bit snowed under with work recently. It’s not likely to clam down for another month or so either, so to cheer myself up I’m planning to go surfing in August. There’s plenty of really good surf on the France’s atlantic coast, so I’m going to chuck tents and stuff in the [...]
fête de la Bureau
Err… yeh. Office party last night. It went off, but hopefully the fireworks weren’t a step too far. Pascal did warn me that I’d get into trouble for that. And the lady who had a go at me through the window this morning about the noise was non too pleased either.
Still, you’ve got to go [...]
Adapt or die. A man after my own heart.
“What we are seeing today is the beginning of programmers/developers being empowered. Many of these programmers have spent the last few years mastering the art of making money. With all that skill and knowledge they have gained they are now going out and trying to take over any market where traction [...]
David Mamet. Bitch.
I have been reading a book of essays by David Mamet. He’s the screenplay writer behind some of my favourite films; Glengarry Glen Ross, Wag the Dog, and State and Main.
I’ve never come across his prose before, and this series of short essays is making me laugh out loud. Here’s an extract from an essay [...]
Space
I met Gaby this morning to sign a contract on my new place. She’s lovely, and hopefully she feels like I’m trustworthy enough to be her tenant. She obviously loves her place in the Alps and has put a lot of time and effort into making it nice. It takes up a lot of time [...]
I’m a criminal
I’m sorry officer, I knew it was a crime but I did it anyway. Because I’m a criminal.
I made an invite for the office party and have been going round town trying to find a printer that will ignore the fact that scanning, amending and printing bank-notes is illegal. None would.
See the big picture
So now [...]
World Cup Gambling
The combination of accessible betting for all via the internet and the football world cup has made Fifa 2006 the most gambled on sporting event in history. The amount of money bet on each match is truly staggering.
I’ve been working in the internet gambling field for years now, from dodgy little Gibraltar based casinos to [...]
