Barry John Williams' Blog

This is quite a useful site for generating secure passwords. You specify the length and what the password should contain (numbers, punctuation, capitals, etc). Then you select how many passwords you want so you can either choose or distribute them.

Link to pctools.com Password Generator

On January 25th Palm OS was renamed to Garnet OS. I'm an avid Palm OS user and have used those devices for years right back from my very first (and still working) Palmpilot Pro! Unfortunately, over the last 2 years or so there hasn't been any real progress with the OS, especially when compared with Windows Mobile. I still prefer my Treo 680 over all the WM devices I've seen!

However, on reading this article on Palm InfoCenter about the name change, I thought the day's tear-off Dilbert cartoon was particularly apt!

Labels: humour

Spotted this article on Boing Boing where Mass Tram America Inc. are planning to use decommisioned aircraft to create a 'highway in the sky' by suspending them from overhead tracks. Mass Tram America do state on their 'about us' page that none of the technology is new and indeed, it isn't as this was trialled once right here in Glasgow (well just outside anyway).

George Bennie announced similar plans in 1921 and actually built a working prototype in 1929. You can read about this in Wikipedia's Bennie Railplane article.



This image was taken from Rampant Scotland's Bennie Railplane article.

Labels: coolstuff, travel

This video took up 12 valuable minutes of my time and quite frankly I'd like those back... However, it was compulsive viewing.

Basically it's about a company needing to get a document out ASAP and one of the workers uses Windows/386 to get the job done with retorts from her colleagues 'that's not OS/2' and 'but that looks like 1-2-3'... It's all pretty horrid stuff.

I've got 4 applications running each with it's own 8086 machine with 640K memory.

Try that with Vista!

Watch the Windows 386 Promotional Video on Google Video

Labels: humour, video

Why on earth do they put these types of graphics on a toy??? Basically a Chinese company has produced what looks like quite a good toy, but the instructions on the box and the graphics are quite funny.

My favourite is the "Don't hit yourself for not buying something else" guess when baffled with an icon instruction.

Post on BoingBoing
Original Article

Labels: coolstuff, humour

Just discovered that Blogger now supports custom domains. At the moment I can use my 'bjw.me.uk' domain name by having Blogger publish my blog to my hosting provider... But now blogger will host my blog for me - and allow me to use my custom domain. This will mean I'll get some of the newer 'Blogger 2' features such as labels being displayed on my homepage. Not sure what other extras are available though...

Labels: blogger

I think this whole 'racism' issue in the Big Brother house has gotten completely out of control. Wikipedia are running an article which outlines exactly what comments have been made in the Celebrity Big Brother House.

Last I checked there was a black person in the BB house as well as an indian (I don't know all of their names so I won't use any), yet all the attention is focused around the indian. Why? Surely if they are all being racist it would be across the board - perhaps they are just bullying the indian girl because she is annoying - like that guy you know.

The comments I've heard are - calling the indian girl, "the indian girl" - Guess that includes me then. The second comment was about the Londoner not wanting to touch the food because they didn't know where the Indian's had been. I don't want to eat food unless I know where the preparers hands have been either.

Just think of this: How many times has an English person called people up her the 'f**cking scottish'? Perhaps me - the 'bl**dy irish'. Jeez, I'm blonde too...

People should grow up and realise - yes it is bullying, but it isn't racist bullying. As soon as people call it racist, then become racist.

This is no more derogatory than an Edinbugger calling a Glaswegian a 'weegie' or a weegie calling someone from Edinburgh an 'Edinbugger'...

Please move along - there isn't anything to see here.

Labels: grumble

Today marks the 300th Anniversary of the Acts of Union 1707 (Wikipedia Article) between Scotland and England.

Apparently there are lot's of celebrations up and down the UK celebrating this day - I haven't heard about any around around Glasgow however... Glasgow City Council certainly doesn't advertise any related events.

Perhaps England choose to celebrate this more than those in Scotland?

This all reminds me of a joke I like:

A man decided to write a book about churches around the UK. He started by flying to London, and started working from there.

Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign which read "£1,000 a minute."

Seeking out the vicar he asked about the phone and the sign. The vicar answered that this golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to God. The man thanked the vicar and continued on his way.

As he continued to visit churches in Kent, Surrey, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland, and all around the UK, he found more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each vicar.

Finally, he arrived in Scotland. Upon entering a church in Glasgow, behold, he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign read: "Calls: 10p."

Fascinated, he asked to talk to the vicar. "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but, in England the cost is £1,000 a minute - your charge is only 10p. How can this be?"

The vicar, smiling benignly, replied, "Son, you're in Scotland now... it's a local call".

Link to What's on in Glasgow

Labels: humour

I find this linked BoingBoing article quite amusing and constructive of the Royal Mail to be able to deliver a christmas card in nine days using only a sketched map and a name!

Labels: humour