Latah

Google won't allow the co-inventor of Unix and the C language to check-in code, because he won't take the mandatory language test.

Between 1969 and 1973, Ken Thompson implemented a version of the Multics system at Bell, called Unix, with Dennis Ritchie. At the same time he also developed the C language. The speed and simplicity of C helped Unix spread widely. Both have subsequently become quite popular.

Google hired Thompson to create a new language, Go. But Google also requires all of its recruits to pass a language test. According to Thompson, he hasn't quite got round to it yet - and so can't submit code.

The (unquoted) next paragraph is pretty awesome. So go read it.

In Appreciation of Elizabeth Montgomery

FU NC DoR

To you and yours.

Coming this summer, Kelsey Grammer shits on his legacy^* with the launch of his new network: RIGHTNETWORK.

As the show previews on this site make clear, this network is going to be a full-time celebration of reactionary Republicanism; a.k.a. 25% GOP cheerleading and 75% bad jokes about the evil liberals. For example, in the "Politics & Poker" trailer, manly men are playing poker and talking politics ("I like the Tea Party movement because it makes liberals crazy!" hah!), TV wife comes in with snacks and helpfully points out that the snacks on the right are pigs in blankets, while the snacks on the left are "tofu in sleeping bags". Zing!

And lest you be fooled by the promises of "open-minded" discussion sprinkled throughout the trailers, here's what you get when you click the "About" link:

RIGHTNETWORK, an independently-owned media company, launches on television, web and mobile in 2010. Our mission is clear: to entertain, engage, and enlighten Americans who are looking for content that reflects and reinforces their perspective and worldview. RIGHTNETWORK will consistently impact the political and cultural discussions of Americans.
Accessible anywhere, anytime, from every device.

[my bold]

Seems like open minds are the last thing you'll encounter when your explicitly-stated mission is to tell people that what they already think is correct. Though I'm open to the idea that my mind is perhaps just too closed to the marvels of "conservative" thought to understand ...

* - OK, "his legacy" might be too grand. How about "...shits on sitcom lover's memories of charmingly-pompous Frasier Crane, and the murderous clown, Sideshow Bob...".

Hundreds of Sunni men disappeared for months into a secret Baghdad prison under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's military office, where many were routinely tortured until the country's Human Rights Ministry gained access to the facility, Iraqi officials say.

We must invade Iraq to drive out this inhuman monster and all those who support him!

Freedom is on the march, baby!

(via)

Woke up Wednesday. fed the cats, turned on my computer to check email... instead of the expected whirrrRRR!!!! of the Raptor spinning up, I heard the dread Click Of Death.

Dead C drive.

Luckily, all my development files are on the D drive; the C drive only holds installed applications and my email data files. And, besides I have two different backup sets (bi-weekly incremental and monthly full). Even better, I just happened to make an image of that C drive, back in January. I am prepared!

So, I pulled the Raptor, dropped in the image and booted to a perfectly functional (if not 100% up to date) system. Ta-da!

Next, to grab Tuesday night's email backups off the NAS and put the whole incident out of mind.

Except... the backup program says the latest email files it has are from... 2008. "Fuck you," I say. "Rebuild your index, re-catalog your thingy, figure out what you have!" "OK," says the program, "That will take four hours." "Whatever. Do it!" I shout. It chugs away while I go to work.

When I return home, it has rebuilt its catalog. "What say you?" I demand.

It replies, "The latest email files I have are from... 2008."

"Fuck you," I say.

So I bring home the full backup set, which I keep on a USB drive that lives in my desk at work. "Fetch me the files I require!" I say to the backup program. "I must rebuild the catalog files for this backup set," it says. "That will take another five hours."

"Fine! Do it!" I command. While it works, I drink a lot of wine. And some Glenlivet.

It whirs and chugs for five hours, then replies "OK, the latest email files I have are from... 2008."

"FUCK YOU!" I say, to the backup program.

"FUCK YOU!" I say to the universe.

"FUCK! YOU!"

DougJ is astounded:

Holy shit, the Corner started making Al Gore jokes about this hours ago.

About what were the conservative dweebs at the Corner making Al Gore jokes? Well, about effects of the recent Icelandic volcano eruption. If you don't see an connection between that and Al Gore don't fret: there isn't one. Really, the subject is irrelevant; it could have been anything. Because, to some people, "Al Gore" is an inherently funny word (er, name) - it is funny all on its own, regardless of context. Just saying "Al Gore" to the right people is bound to get a laugh, and if you can pair it with a mention of weather or climate (or the internet!), no matter how tenuous, it's comedy gold.

Let's watch as German Homer and Krusty demonstrate the concept of the Inherently Funny Word:

I hope you noticed that the German language is inherently funny, too!

The Pickle Back