Year: 2006

Coffee break

[…] Java SE is a perquisite for other packages like NetBeans […]

No, it isn’t. Java is a prerequisite for NetBeans et al: it is a necessary condition that Java be present in order to use software that depends on it. A perquisite is colloquially known as a perk: a fringe benefit, or a privilege, or an exclusive right.

The other sort of java (that is, coffee) is commonly made by perking, but in that case it’s short for percolate.

Believe it!

Default Programs was designed to help users make choices about their default behaviors. A large part of this is that defaults in Vista and beyond will be primarily controlled at the Per User level instead of the Per Machine level. This allows much more flexibility for the multi user computer environment that we believe is going to become the standard.

Lenni in London

To misquote Randy Newman: I love LJ!

Had one of those once-in-a-lifetime evenings on Friday, thanks to Harmony Trowbridge, Adam Walters and Miss Lenni Jabour.

Oh, and their concert at the London Music Club was great too: new songs all round that I already can’t wait to hear again, two lovely reminiscences about New York, an outfit to die for (because it’s all about the outfits, darlings) and a wacky sidestep into Outkast territory. If you were there, you know.

Curious

For some reason the previous post doesn’t appear to be showing up in any of my feeds. Wonder if there’s something about it specifically or if it’s always the most recent post that’s missing….

Somehow it had been marked as private the last time I edited it. No problem.

Bryenton’s

Thanks to the wonderful, expert help of Nichole Coolledge at Bryenton’s Furniture over the last week, I will soon be taking delivery of a Tempur mattress. Nichole is the kind of person I love to deal with: knowledgeable about what she’s selling, informative without being pushy, friendly, understanding and sympathetic, and above all genuine.

I’ve also dealt with owner Bob Bryenton several times over the last ten or fifteen years and have always been impressed with his willingness to take time—sometimes a couple of hours at a stretch—to listen to what I’m looking for and explain the relative merits of his products. When I walked in today, probably three years after the last time I saw him, he immediately knew who I was, and we talked for a bit as if I’d been there just yesterday.

Nichole and Bob are the reason that more than half of the furniture in my condo is from Bryenton’s, a store that’s 100 kilometres and more than an hour’s drive away. It seems about time to recommend them, and I do so highly and with many thanks.

Sincere apologies

To Mindy at Robinson Hall: I’m sorry. I’m disgusted by the abuse you were subjected to tonight by the group of former friends I was with, and I hope my belated apology was passed along to you by the woman who took the message.

To Vimmy, Christine, Marsha, Lenni, Alex, Harmony, Kristin, Stephanie, Nancy, Amber, Lydia, and every one of the other female friends and acquaintances I respect and cherish: I’m sorry for not standing up for you (collectively) when I had the chance.

To one of the women above in particular: I’m sorry for venting. You’ve been nothing but kind and generous since the first day we met, and recently I’ve done nothing but complain to you. I’m honoured to count you as a close friend, and I’ll try to do better to hold up my end of that friendship… even, and especially, if it means holding my tongue about certain matters.