Arrived at San Francisco…

It was a long flight, via Amsterdam, but I eventually got to San Francisco. The city is very busy. The place if full of people going to OpenWorld and this morning the streets are full of people about to start the San Francisco Marathon. If only I’d brought my trainers… 🙂

Yesterday was a long day. It started at 4:30 and with the 8 hour time difference, I ended up going to bed about 26 hours later. This morning I woke up at 5:00 local time and went to a 24 hour diner for breakfast. Life is good… 😉

The plan this morning is to go and register at OpenWorld, take a look around and decide on a plan for the day. I might check out Alcatraz. I’ve got the Oracle ACEs and Oracle Magazine Editors Choice awards dinner tonight, so whatever I do I have to be back in time for that.

I bumped into Mark Rittman and Andrew Clarke yesterday so we went out for a drink and some food. Mark insisted on taking photos on his mobile phone, so I’m sure you will soon see more pictures of me which I’ll moan about. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Memnoch The Devil…

I fear these posts are going to become a little repetitive. 🙂

I’ve just finished reading “Memnoch The Devil”, the fifth book in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. This book has loads of bad reviews and I was really hesitant about starting it, but I shouldn’t have been. It is brilliant!

It’s not really a vampire book. The whole vampire theme is kind of incidental. It’s more a book about God and the Devil and their relationship. It takes a Christian view of God and the Devil and gives it a twist. I guess views might vary depending on religious beliefs, but I thought it was totally cool.

I’m looking forward to the next book now. I’ll take a couple with me for the flight to the San Francisco.

On that score, things will be a little quiet until I return…

Cheers

Tim…

Oracle Magazine Picture…

Eddie Awad posted his Oracle magazine picture on his blog, so I thought I’d have a look for mine…

The photographer sent me some rought drafts of the shots he was going to send forward and one struck me as being the worst of the pile by a long shot. Guess which one they used? 🙂

Now I’m no oil painting, but this shot is really bad! I’m squinting so badly my eyes look like they’ve been transplanted from a 70 year old. My shirt is billowing out in the wind, making me look like I’m about 50 lbs heavier than I am, and the angle makes me look like I have some sort of tumour on the right side of my jaw. It’s nasty!

On the plus side, I’m normally deathly pale, but in this shot they’ve made me look like I’ve got some colour in my skin. Amazing what you can do with photoshop!

Please try to avoid this picture and think of me as looking like Brad Pitt! I’m so vain it’s unbelievable… 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

The Tale of the Body Thief…

I’ve recently finished reading “The Tale of the Body Thief”, the fourth book in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. This is a rather unusual affair and there is little I can say without giving the game away. It’s very different to the other books. For a start, it seems that every character Lestat comes into contact with, regardless of age or gender, is a past, present or future sexual conquest. The previous books alluded to this, but it’s a little overplayed here. There were a couple of times in the book where I got a little bored, but for the most part I really enjoyed it. The story at the heart of the book is quite nifty, and for the most part it plays out very nicely. I don’t think it’s a strong as the first three books, but it’s not half bad.

My biggest problem now is, do I continue with the rest of the chronicles, another 5 or so books, or do I knock it on the head and get a life? The answer will come in this blog… 🙂

By the way, I wrote an article on OS Authentication. I’ve been asked a number of questions on the matter over the last few weeks and it just seemed a sensible way to simplify my answers. I’ve purposely not discussed privileged connections, so it’s very basic.

Cheers

Tim…

Thoughts on OpenWorld…

I’ve got a few obligations at OpenWorld, including a few dinners, but for the most part I just intend to wander around for a few days and let my feet take me where they want to go. I’ve not planned a schedule of presentations I want to see. I’ll just go along to anything that grabs me on the day, provided the queue isn’t massive. More than anything I just want to see what it’s like, talk to people and try not to take it all too seriously. 🙂

Of course, my biggest concern at the moment is the weather in San Francisco at this time of year. What do I pack? 😉

Cheers

Tim…

The Queen of the Damned…

I’ve just finished reading “The Queen of the Damned”, the third book in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. As a mentioned previously, the film of the same name takes much of its story from the second book, rather than this book, but that’s beside the point. This is a seriously cool book.

The first book was very much an autobiography of the vampire Louis. The second book was an autobiography of the vampire Lestat. This book continues from the second book, telling the story of Akasha, queen of the damned. Lestat talks of his own experiences and those of his friends, as told to him. As a result, you get multiple angles on the same story. Lots of minor variations, which all build up into the big picture. It’s kind of like a Quentin Tarantino film, the focus and timeline constantly shifts, but at the end is all comes into focus.

Anyway, it was a good investment of time. On to the fourth book…

Cheers

Tim…

PS. I’ve remembered again why I don’t read. First, I’m a really slow reader. Second, I give up practically everything in my life to get the book finished. I really should learn to do things in moderation… 🙂

Karate Grading and The Departed…

I failed my 3rd Dan Karate grading at the weekend. There’s lots I could say, but it is all irrelevant. Never mind. I’ll try again and pass it in 6 months.

On a lighter note, I went to see The Departed last night. It is a totally awesome film!!! I highly recommend it to anyone. I’ve never understood the appeal of Leonardo DiCaprio until now. He is a fantastic actor, sure to be one of the greats. Matt Damon is cool and of course Jack Nicholson is superb, as always. Although not a major role, Mark Wahlberg’s character is very funny and certainly adds a lot to the film. The film is full of violence and expletivies, so it’s not for the faint hearted. Go and see it!

Cheers

Tim…

The Vampire Lestat…

I’ve just finished the second book (The Vampire Lestat) in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. In the first book (Interview with the Vampire) the Lestat character seems cold and heartless, while in this book you discover his history and see the reasons behind this facade. It really turns the whole character around in a quite unexpected way. There were a couple of sections of the book that seemed to drag a little, but I guess that was because I was impatient to know the outcome of some events.

I’ve now started the third book (Queen of the Damned), which should prove rather interesting.

Regarding the films, I think Interview with the Vampire was quite true to the story in the book, but the Queen of the Damned film seems to take most of its story from the second book, The Vampire Lestat, rather than from the book of the same name. This is a little confusing, but I guess films often do that sort of thing. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

A trip down (computer) memory lane…

I was feeling a little nostalgic yesterday when I came across old-computers.com. This prompted me to rediscover some computers from my past:

  • ZX81 – My first computer, complete with 16K RAM pack. Typing in programs from magazines, saving and loading programs to an old tape recorder. You gotta love it…
  • BBC Model B – Colour graphics, sound and 32K of memory. What more could anyone ask for?
  • Amstrad CPC 464 – I don’t really know why I bought this computer. OK, it had a bit more memory than the BBC Model B, but I can’t remember doing a great deal with it.
  • Amstrad PCW 8512 – I needed a word processor in the final year of my undergraduate degree and this fitted the bill nicely. It was cool being able to submit projects that were typed up neatly, without having to fight over computers in the shared computer room.

Also worth a mention are some of the computers I longed to own, but never did:

  • TI 99/4A – I spent hours looking at pictures of this and the ATARI 800 in magazines. I needed one, but never got one.
  • ATARI 800 – I looked longingly at the display model in Dixons on a weekly basis, but I never owned one.
  • Video Genie 1 – I tried desperately to become friends with an older kid at school because I heard he had one of these. Eventually he invited me to his house, but he had lent the computer to one of his friends. I was totally gutted! The harder you chase something, the more elusive it becomes. 🙂
  • ATARI ST – This seemed so modern and happening at the time. My love affair with computers was over when this was released, but I liked what it represented.

Of course, there were many other brief infatuations, but those are to numerous to mention. Those were the days… 🙂

Cheers

Tim…