http://hourann.com Hourann’s illogical blog Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:46:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://hourann.com/blog/2007/08/15/the-verandah-pork-barrelling-and-syndication http://hourann.com/blog/2007/08/15/the-verandah-pork-barrelling-and-syndication#comments Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:14:36 +0000 azza-bazoo http://hourann.com/blog/2007/08/15/the-verandah-pork-barrelling-and-syndication

I haven’t seen much comment about yesterday’s announcement from the new director of PIAF to dump the Beck’s Verandah and replace it with a “Music Box” on the Esplanade (presumably using the much-vaunted but really not that great stage built there by the City of Perth). I admire the goals of bringing the music closer to the city centre and strengthening the new urban axis along the underground line … but wasn’t a lit-up Concert Hall half the appeal?

Team Howard is going to drop two hundred million in the pockets of Internet filtering vendors to automate the task of supervising kids with Internet connections. Putting the politics aside (at least this is an opt-in policy), someone should tell them how the modern Internet renders such software useless. Many filters still use the old blacklisting method, which might have worked with old-school porn sites, but what about an XMLHttpRequest from Gmail with porn spam? And the vendors have only recently figured out how to monitor BitTorrent clients, nevermind the minefield of MySpace (block it to create a huge incentive to disable your software, or allow it and try to distinguish between innocent messages and porn spam friend requests …).

An anecdote: during a recent unexpected visit, a member of my extended family made a passing remark that “at least the Federal conservatives aren’t spending up big like Labor would” — and do, apparently, in the State. But I’m reminded of the striking similarities in both tiers’ budgets from May: no shortage of vote-buying, but at least both were responsible enough to not touch funds allocated to basic services. That is, assuming you don’t think those services need extra funding. (If ever I doubted the second-year lecturer who said class is a minor factor in Australian elections, I need only look at my family — it’s almost entirely working-class, but hosts quite a few Liberal supporters.)

Finally, for the LiveJournal users in the audience: ever wanted to read this blog from your friends page? Courtesy of Alex, now you can!

]]> http://hourann.com/blog/2007/08/15/the-verandah-pork-barrelling-and-syndication/feed 2 http://hourann.com/blog/2006/08/27/little-random-list http://hourann.com/blog/2006/08/27/little-random-list#comments Sun, 27 Aug 2006 06:01:27 +0000 azza-bazoo http://hourann.com/blog/2006/08/27/just-a-little-random-list

Is Rupert Murdoch demanding all his papers give extra publicity to his new cash cow? Today’s STM features a big, gushing article about MySpace. Then again, the article regularly quotes Tama, so it’s not all bad …
Update 12.50am: Dr T says “I think the piece was pretty balanced”. Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I sensed a subtext of “you should join MySpace NOW!” in the first few paragraphs

Weird Al Yankovic, LOL! If you haven’t already, go download his song. Now.

The local Slashdot Meetup last Thursday was heaps cool, ye local Linux nerds (and non-Linux nerds) should all come! What most amused me was that except for the two public servants, everyone there had job offers to pass on from their employers …

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised so little media attention has gone to Terrence Tao, the former Adelaide kid and now UCLA professor who won the Fields Medal. A few sources overseas are chattering about the Russian dude who turned it down, but that’s just because he so neatly fits the ‘eccentric maths professor’ stereotype.

And finally, if (like me) you had trouble accessing this blog yesterday, blame your ISP’s upstream providers. Something got ugly between Global Crossing, AsiaNetCom, AT&T, and their link at the Infomart in Dallas, making it impossible for Optus or iiNet customers (among others) to access anything co-hosted at The Planet all day. (Complex? of course not!)
Thing is, The Planet are huge — so the fault caught this blog, Kitta, Ask A Ninja, and quite a few others. Most other providers (particularly MCI) were able to route around the problem, leaving Feedeye unaffected even though it lives in the same building.

]]> http://hourann.com/blog/2006/08/27/little-random-list/feed 3