This time, I decided not to use the bridge pieces. The kids (especially Elena) always push the tracks around a bit and thus destroy the bridges. That leads to loud complaints and need parental repair jobs. So, this time: No bridges.
I ran out of switches, thus the long loop at the top.
The Windows XP installation on my laptop had suffered the usual Windows fate of accruing too much entropy over the last two years. The Lenovo tools alone are quite heavy-weight by themselves. Instead of re-installing XP, I opted for Windows 7. After all, we’re supposed to be familiar with what’s out there in the wild.
So far, Windows 7 has been quite ok, there are some issues with OpenVPN (and/or the Checkpoint VPN client) and other free software (what’s one of the reasons I’m not running the x64 version). But this one puzzles me:
I simply want to know what updates are available in “Windows Updates”. Whatever I do, the pane stays empty. WTF?
Ok, it’s clear that books for children must take liberties in terms of realism. For example, we have these nice book about a small polar bear. That he befriends a small sled-dog is par for the course for such book. All fine and dandy and it makes nice reading. But this page made me go WTF:
A polar bear who likes to swing through the jungle. Sheesh.
For me, this is like science fiction: It’s ok to make some wild assumptions, but then please be consistent. Don’t have him run races over ice on one page, and swinging like Tarzan on the next.
Translation: Due to multiple attacks by hackers we moved to www.pfarrebreitensee.at!
Yes, this is not the most elaborate track I ever built, but for a Sunday, 7 am track, this will have to do.
Recently, two mails of a conspiracy theorist sneaked past my spam-filter. Pure flashback to the heyday of the good old Usenet kooks. Consider this quote:
The Jewish nazis also continued to send ‘messages’ and ‘feedback’ to me through the media and internet and through the EBL – Electronic Brain Link – whereby, among other things, they ‘invited’and sucked me in to directing my attention and using my amazing power on images in magazines, the internet, TV and other media
I mean, if that doesn’t trigger your kook-detector, nothing will.
I always knew Bill Watterson is a genius.
(I stumbled upon the strip while re-reading my C&H books. Picture from here.)