Skype is altering my code

This morning as I opened my Firefox windows, I was greeted with the Add-ons window (twice in a row, irritating in itself). The new add-on was from Skype. No problems in that, I think it can be a good tool for some, in particular those who've stopped using land line.

But then as I go through my tabs and have a look at my (temporary) website, I find Skype has messed up with my code! And they got the number wrong too. Had to go through all pages and rewrite my contact number, which wasn't exactly straight-forward - the text refused to be deleted first, and now Skype is showing the number properly.

Now, if the Skype facility works on any phone number, why mess with the code?!!

Bad play, Skype. That's copy-infringement. The following code blocks it in IE:
META NAME="SKYPE_TOOLBAR" CONTENT="SKYPE_TOOLBAR_PARSER_COMPATIBLE" /
(add < >)

Another look, and the faulty code is back! Arrrrrgh! If only Skype could get it right!

If I remove the Skype add-on on my computer, the Skype button will still appear on other computers where the add-on is installed. This could alter the web design of websites considerably and mess up with the layout.

There is a code for the Skype button, so I really can't see why they take it upon themselves to alter codes without the consent of the website authors.

The GTD System

For my own reference:

The GTD System by David Allen

The ground breaking system developed from his international bestseller, Getting Things Done

Some Wise Words

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost
When health is lost, something is lost
When character is lost, everything is lost”

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until good is better and better is best”

"Don’t trouble Trouble
Until Trouble troubles you
For if you trouble Trouble
Trouble will trouble you"

Punctuation is powerful

An English professor wrote the words:
"A woman without her man is nothing"
on the chalkboard and asked his students
to punctuate it correctly.

All of the males in the class wrote:
"A woman, without her man, is nothing."

All the females in the class wrote:
"A woman: without her, man is nothing."
Punctuation is powerful

Spell checkers and homonyms

This funny poem shows how badly spell checkers deal with homonyms. It was sent in by a fellow VA to the VAIG e-list (VA International Group). There are no apostrophes either.

SPELL CHECKER (author unknown, but hats off to them!)

Eye halve a spelling checker;
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marks four my revue,
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word,
And weight four it two say,
Weather eye am wrong oar write;
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid,
It nose bee fore two long.
And eye can put the error rite;
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it;
I am shore your pleased two no,
Its letter perfect awl the weigh.
My spell checker tolled me sew!

We're getting better at internet security

According to vnunet.com internet users are getting savvier about IT security. A few years ago the Love Bug and others were thought to ruin the entire internet!

The hackers have 'raised their onslaught', but people are not as worried anymore. News reports tell about the dangers of the recent Storm worm, but the damage is predicted to be on a low scale. It's true that the Storm worm and its mutants are very infectious and well spread. But as IT users are more aware of the dangers inherent with the internet, and protect themselves by taking the right precautions, malware are no longer as feared as three or four years ago. Commentators no longer predict the doom of the internet, but report objectively about the worms tactics and estimated spread.

Links:
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/e27r0L2yn30X120DhR30A5
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/storm.asp
http://www.webuser.co.uk/news/107009.html
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=7808&pagtype=all
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39285565,00.htm?r=1

Grammar Rules

This was seen on a writers' forum. The author is unknown.

1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat).
6. Always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also, too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments. No comma splices, run-ons are bad too.
11. Contractions aren't helpful and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should never generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing is like water on the back of a duck.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is probably not the best way to propose earth-shattering ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a million times worse than understatement.
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
35. The spell chequer is knot always write.