Keys Corner

If you are running Windows, it is time to back up your MS-Office documents and ZIP files. Deadline for completion: 2006-02-03.

Some time ago, we hooked up an iPod to the stereo, with the goal of moving the CDs into storage in the cellar and freeing up some space for the increasing number of DVDs that we seem to be acquiring. The CDs are in fact still in the lounge, although mainly because we haven’t cleared space to store them elsewhere.

However, whether the iPod is a viable alternative depends on your listening habits. I like to have background music on when I’m doing other things, so I use playlists a lot, which works well for me. Ruth likes to be able to pick a particular album to listen to. So Ruth wasn’t completely convinced that the iPod is the right way to go – you can wear your finger out on the scroll wheel before you can hear a piece by Yo-Yo-Ma.

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The postman delivered this (picture above) today. It gets its music directly from this, without the need to have any computers running:

More at the weekend, when I have more time. My first impression is … impressive device.

Nachdem die Firma Lands’ End 1998 vom Oberlandesgericht Saarbrücken verboten wurde, mit einer zeitlich unbegrenzten Garantie zu werben, trifft die deutsche Gesetzgebung dieses Mal eine Firma die Aluminiumdächer herstellt:

Das Unternehmen sei aus rechtlichen Gründen gar nicht in der Lage, eine derart lange Garantieverpflichtung einzugehen, so das Gericht. Denn laut Bürgerlichem Gesetzbuch darf die Verjährung nicht länger als 30 Jahre ausgeschlossen werden (Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt, Az.: 6 U 198/04).

The law’s an ass, isn’t it?

In the case of Nicholas Feltron, you don’t have to ask how his 2005 was – he’s published his annual report. Take a look at the rest of his site too; there are quite a few pictures of his travels and a collection of postcards to browse through.

(via Hubber on the West Coast)

I have been reading one book since Christmas. I have just finished it now. I normally read a thick novel in a couple of days to a week or so, so you might suspect that the book isn’t really interesting me. Nothing could be further from the truth. The book, The Loom of Language by Frederick Bodmer, is one of the classic textbooks for linguistic students. It was published in 1944 and is still in print.

It’s a fascinating look at how the European languages have evolved over the last one or two thousand years comparing their grammar and vocabulary to each other as well as to Latin, Greek, and Chinese. The European languages are grouped into two main groups – the Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese) and the Teutonic languages (English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch), which Bodmer analyses and compares. English has been heavily influenced by French, as a result of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, so in fact it straddles both groups. He also takes a look at their ancestors: Old English (which is very close to modern Icelandic), Middle High German, Latin and Greek; and contrasts them with other languages such as Finnish, Chinese, and Russian. He also looks at the strengths and weaknesses of some of the artificial languages that have been proposed in the past, such as Esperanto, Interlingua or Novial.

Bodmer also looks at how the different aspects of a language make it easier or more difficult to learn. And points out that many textbooks (even today, over 60 years later) don’t make learning easy, by focusing on details of grammar and vocabulary that really are not necessary to master if you only want to be able to communicate effectively. For example, he includes word lists of about 1000 words for each language, which if learnt, will cover the essential vocabulary to allow one to express most ideas – the lists include as few synonyms as possible and the words necessary to allow you to explain the words you don’t know! I’m intending to have a close look at the Spanish list, and try to the learn those words I haven’t come across yet.

It’s not light reading, which is why it’s taken me so long to read, but if you are interested in languages, it is a “must” to read. What does make the book so enjoyable to read, is that Bodmer has a dry sense of humour which shines through often. For example, he is of the opinion that Russian is horribly complex and irregular, so:

...It is therefore impossible to give the reader who wishes to learn Russian any good advice except to take the precaution of being born and brought up in Russia…

Ruth and the structured quilt, hanging in the stairwell
(click to see more pictures of it being made)
We had a very quiet Christmas and New Year because I strained my Achilles tendon and couldn’t hobble very far. So among other things, Ruth used the opportunity to make some progress with her quilts. One of them is now a wall-hanging between our ground floor and first floor.

You just need the right idea to make money.

After reading about the student who made his first million by charging a dollar per pixel to advertise on his 1000×1000 pixel web site, I see that Selfridges are charging £65 for a 40 minute session teaching rich non-techies how to use their iPods.

If you are fed up with listening to the fans in your PC the whole time it’s running, it’s time for drastic measures. Take 30 litres of cooking oil, a well-sealed plexiglas case and remove all the fans to get a completely silent PC...

I have just updated to WordPress 2.0, which should only affect things going on in the background, and not the appearance of the blog.

One improvement in the user-interface: the comments screen now remembers who you are again (I found the source of that problem in the process of upgrading). Vowe – that should please you

Let me know (keys at pobox dot com) if you have any problems commenting as I have made some changes in that area. (I have disabled comment-previews for now, as that was where the problem with the author fields occured).