Opera 7 Final Released
Get thee to Opera.com to download it.
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January 28, 2003
January 27, 2003
Opera7 final near release
CNet reports Opera7 will be out January 28th. No official announcement yet.
Cow Hide
Uncle Jon was helping one of his cows give birth, when he noticed his four-year-old great nephew, James, standing on the fence, wide-eyed and soaking in the whole event.
Uncle Jon thought to himself: Great, now I’m gonna have to explain the ‘birds and bees’ to him. Well, no need to jump the gun. I’ll just wait and see if he has any questions, and I’ll just answer them as best I can.
After Uncle Jon finished helping the cow with her birthing, he walked over to James and asked him: Do you have any questions about what you seen here tonight?
Just one,
the little boy whispered, eyes still wide with wonder. How fast was that calf going when he hit the cow?
January 24, 2003
Against Annoying Animated GIFs (AAAG)
I've been reading Wired every day since Wired announced their new design.
I love the site except they have the most atrocious animated GIF advertizements. This g*d-awful shaking banner ad was the last straw.
Wired is off my daily reading list for a week. I will be sending them an email to let them know. They can choose to care or not care. I am not calling for a world-wide ban of Wired. You make your own decisions. But as for me and my house, whenever I see an ad I deem to be truly over-the-top, I'm just not going back, or at least not for awhile.
I hope some day folks will realize that annoyance is not a good marketing technique. Oh, and before you grumble to think that I am against all ads, I'm not. Just annoying ones. In fact when I was looking for something online and found a non-annoying ad from a company I had never heard of (a text-ad too, actually), I immediately went and bought from them. I paid more than I had assumed I would and I skipped my usual obsessive price comparisons. Why? Because this company was supporting a site I use all the time and they saved me time by having a good ad where I could use it
To marketing folks: Please, please stop this abuse of my eyes.
January 20, 2003
Pride goeth before the fall
Molly invited me to be a part of JoinWOW.
I will be working as the Section Editor for the weekly wow learning center: markup & css.
In addition, I wrote an article art and science meet under the hood about good formatting techniques for markup and css.
Headlines from the Year 2035
Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world: California.
White minorities are still trying to have English recognized as California's third language.
Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops & livestock.
Baby conceived naturally.... Scientists stumped.
Authentic year 2000 "chad" sells at Sotheby's for $4.6 million.
Iraq still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least ten more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.
Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.
George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.
Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $7.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesday only.
35 year study: diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.
Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.
Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.
Upcoming NFL draft likely to focus on use of mutants.
Average height of NBA players now nine feet, seven inches.
Microsoft announces it has perfected its newest version of Windows so it crashes BEFORE installation is completed.
New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters, and rolled up newspapers must be registered by January 2036.
Congress authorizes direct deposit of illegal political contributions to campaign accounts.
IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75%
January 19, 2003
CSS decorative lunacy
(Alex Robinson sent the following message to css-discuss)
And on a different tip, any links to interesting things done using CSS for
purely decorative effect (even if that effect is useful)?
I know of Eric Meyer’s ‘Slantastic’ and Tantek’s polygons (which obviously
got updated to work in Mozilla at some point recently cos they didn’t work
before).
http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/css/edge/slantastic/demo.html
http://www.tantek.com/CSS/Examples/polygons.html
I had the crazy and totally useless idea of a recursive spiral while
travelling back home the other night on the London Underground in a drunken
haze
http://www.fu2k.org/alex/css/test/Spiral.mhtml
The most interesting thing to note about it is the performance of the
various browsers when it comes to displaying the spiral.
Opera 7 and 6 are quite simply the best and can’t be faulted. Opera 5 is
good at drawing the spiral but fluffs the starting position of the first
“arm” of the spiral. IE5/mac is fairly impeccable, but for some reason I
can’t work out it’s screws up the starting point quite spectacularly.
Gecko-browsers suffer from glitches which get worse as the spiral gets
tighter (also depending on how the viewport is sized). IE6 is just that bit
worse, and IE5 comes in a quite erratic last.
Shockingly, I just checked OmniWeb 4.1.1. And it’s almost as good as Opera!
Anyhow, er, that is all.
New sermon
A new sermon today entitled Vision is not merely eyesight.
January 17, 2003
15 Biblical Ways to Acquire a wife
- Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she's yours. (Deuteronomy 21:11 13)
- Find a prostitute and marry her. (Hosea 1:1-3)
- Find a man with seven daughters and impress him by watering his flock. (Moses--Exodus 2:16-21)
- Purchase a piece of property and get a woman as part of the deal. (Boaz- Ruth 4:5-10)
- Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife. (Judges 21:19-25)
- Have God create a wife for you while you sleep. But be careful; it'll cost you a rib (Adam--Genesis 2:19-24)
- Agree to work seven years in exchange for a woman's hand in marriage. Get tricked into marrying the wrong woman, then work another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. That's right. Fourteen years of hard labor for a wife. (Jacob--Genesis 29:15-30)
- Cut 200 foreskins off the enemies of your future father-in law and get his daughter in exchange. (David--1 Samuel 18:27)
- Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you'll find someone. Maybe even your sister. (Cain--Genesis 4:16-17)
- Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest. (Xerxes--Esther 2:3-4)
- When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, "I have seen a woman I like. Now get her for me." If your parents question your decision, simply say, "Get her for me. She's the one for me." (Samson- Judges 14:1-3)
- Kill any husband and take his wife. (David--2 Samuel 11)
- Wait for your brother to die, then take his widow. It's not just a good idea; it's the law. (Deuteronomy and Leviticus, example of Boaz in Ruth)
- Don't be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity. (Solomon--1 Kings 11:1-3)
- A wife?...NOT! (Paul--1 Corinthians 7:32-35)
(Source: Gospelcom.net)
January 16, 2003
So long, old friend
![[Picture of Jerry asleep on the couch]](/images/beyond30/jerrywater.jpg "One of my favorite pictures of Jerry")
Well we had to bid farewell to our faithful Jerry today.
We found out at the end of October that Jerry was not doing well, and the vet basically told us to keep an eye on him and that it would be a matter of time. Since then we've had a lot of good days and bad days together, but we had another holiday as family, and he seemed to be doing OK.
This week he really started to seem to be a lot worse. We were hoping we could have the weekend together, but we realized that we were doing that more for us than for him, and it was time to let him go. His eyes told us we were right.
Tonight we went down to the vet's office and helped him on the last little way to the The Rainbow Bridge. He went in peace with us right by his side.
So until we meet again, dear friend, enjoy the warm breezes, the long runs, comfy beds on which to sleep, and all the other desires of your heart. We will miss you greatly, we loved you always, and will never forget our 5 years and 7 months together.
Winter in Massachusetts DEAR DIARY:
[Given that I grew in Massachusetts and now live in Florida I found this particularly funny - ed]
AUG. 1 Moved to our new home in Massachusetts. It is so beautiful here. The city is so picturesque. Can hardly wait to see it covered with snow. I LOVE IT HERE
OCT. 14 New England is the most beautiful place on earth. The leaves are turning all different colors. I love the shades of red and orange. Went for a ride through the hills and saw some deer. They are so graceful. Certainly they are the most peaceful animals on earth. This must be paradise. I LOVE IT HERE.
NOV. 11 Deer season will open soon. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill such an elegant creature. The very symbol of peace and tranquillity. Hope it will snow soon. I LOVE IT HERE.
DEC. 2 It snowed last night. Woke up to find everything blanketed in white. It looked like a postcard. Went outside and cleaned snow off the steps and shoveled the driveway. We had a snowball fight today (I won).When the snowplow came by we had to shovel the driveway again. What a beautiful place. Mother Nature in perfect harmony. I LOVE IT HERE.
DEC. 12 More snow last night. I love it. The snowplow did his trick again that rascal). A winter wonderland. I LOVE IT HERE.
DEC. 19 Snowed again last night. Couldn’t get out of the driveway to get to work this time. I'm exhausted from shoveling. Damn Snowplow!
DEC. 22 More of that white sh*t fell last night. I've got blisters on my hands from shoveling. I think the snowplow hides around the corner and waits until I'm done shoveling. That *!&%!!!
DEC. 25 "White Christmas" my busted *ss. More snow. If I ever get my hands on that son-of-a-(*%)! who drives that snowplow, I swear I will c*str*te the dumb bastard. Don't know why they don't use more salt on this freaking ice.
DEC. 28 More of the same sh*t last night. Been inside since Christmas day except for when "Snowplow Harry" comes by. Can't go anywhere. The car is buried in a mountain of white sh*t. The weatherman says expect another 10 inches of this sh*t tonight. Do you know how many shovels full of snow 10 inches is?
JAN. 1 Happy freaking New Year!. The weatherman was wrong (AGAIN). We got 34 inches of snow this time. At this rate it won’t melt until the 4th of July. The snowplow got stuck down the road and sh*t for brains had the balls to come to the door and ask to borrow my shovel. I told him I broke 6 shovels already, shoveling out the sh*t he plowed into my driveway. I broke the 7th shovel over his head.
JAN. 4 Finally got out of the house today. Went to the store to get food and on the way back a deer ran out in front of the car and I hit the damn *#! deer. Did about $3,000.00 damage to the car. Wish the hunters would have killed them all last November.
MAY 3 Took the car to the garage in town today. Would you believe the body is rotting away from all the salt they keep dumping all over the roads. It really looks like a piece of sh*t.
MAY 10 Moved to Florida today. I can’t imagine why anyone in their right mind would want to live in the God forsaken State of Massachusetts.
January 14, 2003
Will Mark turn to ASCII?
Note to Mark (and others) W3C says XHTML 1.0 does not have to be sent as application/xhtml+xml.. It says should not must.
Mark comments that he has migrated back to HTML4, which has caused its own problems. Will Mark turn to ASCII?
Personally I think the whole MIME type thing is bunk. If I send XHTML as text/html it works; if I sent it as anything else, it probably breaks.
Old joke:
Patient: Doctor, it hurts when I do this
Doctor: Don't do that
New World Order:
Designer: My Website breaks when I do this
Suggestion: Don't do that
XHTML 1.0 should be sent as application/xhtml+xml the MIME type itself reveals how stupid the thought process was, and how far removed from reality/sanity by not just making it much simpler, like "text/xhtml" The spec does not say it
Just an idea. That is all ‡
Let's not overblow Safari vs Mozilla
You know, people who write headlines really ought to be expected to read the articles they are talking about
Take the recent poorly worded Apple snub stings Mozilla headline.
If you read the article, there is one person (Jamie Zawinski) who said that Apple was bad mouthing between the lines of their email about their choice of KHTML over Gecko.
There is another person (Mike Shaver) who said (paraphrased) "Yeah, you know what, they went a different way, and if I was in their shoes, I might have gone another way too."
A third person (Mitchell Baker) offered a prepared statement that talked about Gecko's cross-browser focus.
I guess "Apple's choice gains mixed reviews" wouldn't have been a catchy enough headline, although it would have been truer to the story.
Checking your site for accessibility using Opera
Accessify has a new article up: Checking your site for accessibility using Opera
(hat tip: Nick Bradbury, TopStyle creator.)
Always nice to see more people teaching the good news of browsers ;-)
Thanks to Bill Creswell
Bill Creswell tracked down the problems that Internet Explorer was having, and through the use of Microsoft Internet Conditional Comments I was able to fix the problem without mucking up too much else.
Thanks Bill and all those on CSS-Discuss who worked to solve the problem.
Redesign
We’re redesigning. That should be clear. Why? Because I haven’t liked the design for some time now and wanted to try and do something more with it. (If that sounds like “Because I can” then so be it....)
Right now this page is becoming. When I find something that I like, I will adapt the templates that render the rest of the site and life will go on.
Feedback is welcome via the contact us link. (Netscape 4 users: your browser is old & outdated and crashes when presented with valid Cascading Style Sheets. Therefore you get a plain text version of this site.)
January 13, 2003
XHTML 2.0 is the 802.11a of web standards
Mark is right... But it's worse than he thinks.
Mark wrote: acronym, cite, and q tags are all gone, leaving us, respectively, with abbr, nothing, and nothing. The acronym/abbr thing just means a global search and replace
Of course it's a bit worse than that, as some browser by the name of IE 6/win can't even understand ABBR so even if they just dropped ACRONYM for ABBR you lose all your CSS stylings for IE 6/Win.
At last week's Apple conference, Steve talked about 802.11a as being "doomed" because it wasn't compatible with 802.11b. 802.11g offers the speed increase of 802.11a with compatibility to 802.11b....
One can only hope that W3C comes out with an XHTML 3.0 that is compatible with XHTML 1.x
January 10, 2003
thinking: box: outside
I've thought to myself on several occasions that the usage of pay phones must have dramatically decreased as cell phones became nearly as ubituitous as body piercings on a street in any major city in California.
Kudos to these folks for a very cool solution to this new reality.
January 09, 2003
Real World Navigation Woes
![[A very confusing navigation sign]](/opera/beyond30/images/naviconfusion.jpg)
This is the sign that greets you when you step off the elevator ("lift" for our friends across the pond) at the hotel where I am currently staying.
On one level it is clear.... if you examine it closely you can figure out where your room is by looking at this sign. But on another level it isn't very good at all.... Bad design. On the plus side, at least they have a clear navigation guide, as they would otherwise no doubt lose customers (and I do mean lose them, as they wander through the halls). But wow, just looking at that the first thing I want to do is find a way to organize it better.
Another note: definite sign I'm getting older: I looked at the the font size on the name tags and said "That's just too small"... and to make matters worse they used a serif font of some kind, which makes it harder to read. Oh well.... at least they spelled my name right ;-)
January 08, 2003
Hooters 2003 Calendar
2003 Hooters Calendar (link opens new window) has been released.
January 07, 2003
Safari, UA Sniffing, and HTTP_ACCEPT
Mark Pilgrim reports that the new Safari web browser for Mac reports its User Agent (UA) string to be this:
Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/48 (like Gecko) Safari/48
I have already written about the evil twisted path of UA sniffing but let me summarize again, because clearly some people still don't get it.
UA sniffing is a bad idea.
Don't believe me? WebStandards.org: Dear Web Developers: Browser Sniffing is Stupid
Why is sniffing stupid?
Short answer: Browsers lie.
Medium Answer: Web designers made bad decisions by starting to UA sniff a long time ago and that made web browser programmers determine that they had to lie.
Long answer: Read my link above.
Once again, here is Opera 7's default UA string on Windows XP:
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; MSIE 5.5; Windows NT 5.1) Opera 7.0 [en]
Reading from right to left that says: Hey, this is Opera 7 pretending to be Internet Explorer 5.5 or Internet Explorer 6.0 (some dumbos sniff for MSIE 5.5 and block MSIE 6.0 and tell you to upgrade your browser!) or Mozilla 4.0. Mozilla is Netscape's name for Netscape. Except now there is a browser called Mozilla, but it isn't called Mozilla in the UA string, well it is, but it's really called Gecko because EVERYONE presends to be Mozilla.
ARGH!
Stop the insanity!
Stop UA Sniffing!
Support web standards!
Some folks who ought to know better (including Mark Pilgrim, who almost always knows better) were caught by Safari because it uses the word "Gecko" in the UA string. Everyone assumed that "Gecko" would be sacrosanct in the UA string to mean "This really is a Gecko based browser."
As of today, that assumption no longer holds water.
The Netscape/Mozilla folks really ought to be pleased with themselves, they have created not one, but two UA strings that everyone wanted to pretend to be... first it was Mozilla because Netscape supported tables before IE did (so when IE supported it, they found they were locked out of some sites because looked at the UA string for the word "Mozilla", and now Gecko because everyone considers it to be the premier rendering engine.
Some folks who ought to know better, folks who support web standards and want to get away from hacks, were tripped up by this, because they were UA sniffing to serve pages as application/xhtml+xml. This is wrong, wrong, wrong!!! If you want to sniff for something, use the HTTP_ACCEPT.
There is no reason for any browser to lie in the HTTP_ACCEPT header, and it is there to tell you what it can handle.
Want to be able to set the MIME type using HTTP_ACCEPT and PHP?
<?php
$ACCEPT = $_SERVER["HTTP_ACCEPT"];
if (strstr($ACCEPT,'application/xhtml')) {
header("Content-type: application/xhtml+xml");
}
?>
Use that and you will not have to go back and check the UA string for every new browser that comes out... sort of like writing to web standards and not having to worry about checking your HTML in every browser that comes out.
I would like to THANK Apple for doing this, because it helps to expose (again) what a really really bad idea it is to depend on the UA string for anything!!!
Are you ready to admit your UA sniffing addiction and pledge to try and quit cold turkey? If so, add a comment to this post... maybe we'll start a support group.
January 06, 2003
Another Microsoft product that shouldn't be trusted
An article at Wired.com tells an interesting tale. Excerpts below.
Mulder said the firm's HR team was using Microsoft's FrontPage Web publishing software to post job listings, and the program embedded "unwanted code, creating that loophole."
What loophole is that, you ask? Oh, just the administrative password protecting internal documents, including customer databases owned by two of the company's biggest clients, Porsche and American Standard.
Carmichael Lynch spokeswoman Sara Mulder said the company has no evidence that unauthorized visitors took advantage of the security lapse.
Yeah... and these guys clearly know what they are talking about when it comes to security since the loophole may have existed undetected for more than six months
.
Hrm... Microsoft software and security breaches.... where have I heard that before?
January 04, 2003
Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
Scale: 9/10
Should you see it? YES
How's the writing? GOOD
Any gaping holes in the plot? NO
What stands out? A sequel that is every bit as good as the original
See it in the theater or wait to rent? WORTH THE THEATER
The only problem with seeing this movie is that I'll have to wait until December to see the next one.
I bought "The Fellowship of the Ring" and watched it right before seeing The Two Towers, and I recommend this for anyone who didn't obsessively watch the original movie, as it will help to refresh your memory of the characters and the plot thus far.
The movie was excellent, the writing was excellent, the sets were amazing (so good that you didn't notice them, and they seemed like the whole thing was filmed on location in Middle Earth).
The bit with the Tree Shepherds (or whatever they were called) kept interrupting the flow of the movie, but it was necessary for the development of the story overall.... The frustration I felt with the interruptions was probably a good technique to help us to feel the frustrations the characters were experiencing.
Dog Diary vs Cat Diary
EXCERPTS FROM A DOG'S DIARY
Day number 180
8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 pm OH BOY! THE GARDEN! MY FAVORITE!
4:00 pm - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!
Day number 181
8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 pm OH BOY! THE GARDEN! MY FAVORITE!
4:00 pm - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!
Day number 182
8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 pm OH BOY! THE GARDEN! MY FAVORITE!
4:00 pm - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!
EXCERPTS FROM A CAT'S DIARY
DAY 752
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant.
DAY 761
Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded, must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair...must try this on their bed.
DAY 765
Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was...Hmmm. Not working according to plan.
DAY 768
I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time however it included a burning foamy chemical called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent such a liquid?! My only consolation is the piece of thumb still stuck between my teeth.
DAY 771
There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the foul odor of the glass tubes they call "beer.." More importantly I overheard that my confinement was due to MY power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.
DAY 774
I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The bird on the other hand has got to be an informant, and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room his safety is assured.
But I can wait, it is only a matter of time...
Star Trek: Nemesis
Scale: 9/10
Should you see it? YES
How's the writing? GOOD
Any gaping holes in the plot? NO
What stands out? This movie shows you why ST: TNG was the best of the Star Trek shows
See it in the theater or wait to rent? DEFINITELY THEATER
Why was ST:Nemesis so good? Because it gave you want Star Trek fans want: Action, good plot (plausible enough to get you into the movie), some clever villans, and (most importantly) a generous helping of stuff getting blown up.
These were the same qualities that the TV series had that made it better then Deep Space Nine ("Deep Sleep Nigh"), or Voyager ("Bon Voyager, go away now") and even Enterprise (which I keep trying to watch, but it just doesn't engage me.
The cast of ST:TNG was a strong collection of characters, each of whom was developed well in the series. This lets the movies focus on action rather than character development, which is, after all, a lot more fun.
While I'm sad so see this generation pass (apparently this will be the last movie with the crew from The Next Generation), it's time... Deanna's eyes are starting to look heavy, as did Data's (who knew androids could develop eye wrinkles?).
(By the way, can someone tell me how Janeway ever got to be an Admiral? She got her entire crew lost on their first mission? Ugh.... political correctness hits Star Trek....)
Harry Potter / Chamber of Secrets
Scale: 8/10
Should you see it? YES
How's the writing? GOOD
Any gaping holes in the plot? NO
What stands out? A sequel that is every bit as good as the original
See it in the theater or wait to rent? WORTH THE THEATER
I have to admit that I'm one of the 12 people on the planet who hasn't read the Harry Potter books, but then again I haven't read the Lord of the Rings either.
So, that said, I have to say that I really enjoyed Harry Potter 2... there was enough mystery and suspense to keep it going, enough action to keep it enjoyable, and enough magic to make it a fun time.
In fact I happened to see it twice, and enjoyed it both times. The casting of Kenneth Branagh was clearly brilliant (confirmed by my wife, who has read the books, and thought he was the perfect choice). He takes a step back and pokes a little fun at himself with this role.
Those who have and those who haven't read the book will enjoy this movie, and those who wondered if the sequel would be as good as the original need not worry, it is an excellent followup.
Die Another Day
(Wow, I haven't updated this for awhile)
Scale: 8/10
Should you see it? YES
How's the writing? GOOD
Any gaping holes in the plot? NO
What stands out? Great Bond flick
See it in the theater or wait to rent? WORTH THE THEATER
Die Another Day was amazingly enjoyable. The last few Bond films have left me feeling a bit like the series was getting a bit dull, but for reasons I can't immediately explain, this one was much better in my eyes.
There were still a few places where the writing was a bit stilted, and there's still plenty of need to suspend your disbelief, but after all, it is a Bond film.
The action sequences were classic, the ice chase was especially enjoyable.
Not sure what else to say, if you like Bond, you'll love this one
January 03, 2003
For those of you using MS Outlook
MS Outlook is a virus-spreader waiting to happen. I don't use it myself anymore, however there are many people who do, either because they don't know any better or they need it for work or whatever. There are a lot of tools out there which only work for Outlook (Palm mail sync for one) which may lead you to decide to use it.
One of the biggest problems with Outlook is the extremely broken way that it formats replies. I came across a freeware program called Outlook Quotefix which will automatically fix Outlook's broken quoting.
(Personally I love Opera's M2 mail program far too much to ever use anything else. M2 can import mail from Outlook Express... for Outlook you have to first import into something like Mozilla mail and then import it from Mozilla into M2... hopefully this will be fixed in a later release.)