Zone Alarm Pro

I just got Zone Alarm Pro for my Windows machine, not that I really needed it, I’m already behind a router so not a whole lot gets through anyway but ZA Pro has some good ad and pop-up blocking features and email protection.

Update: the ad and pop-up blocking is nice but Zone Alarm is past its prime. It’s ok as a firewall but if you want/need that just get the free version .

Comments and Updates

Updated the blog to pMachine Pro. Not a lot of readily obvious new features, just a lot of stuff I haven’t figured out how to use yet. I did change the comment system so that anybody can post comments, no registration required, never liked that anyway. In other news my main clown infozo has moved his blog and and switched to using blosxom. Interesting that you can get that much out of CGI, but I like PHP and MySQL.

Wild animals as librarians

“You see, I don’t believe that libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence, and that’s been the main reason for our policy of employing wild animals as librarians.”

-Monty Phython

I read in the Johnson City (TN) Press that a bear got into the old library at ETSU. I wonder if the bear got lost inside like I used to as a history undergrad. Now I get lost in Hodges Library at the University of Tennessee while studying for my Ph. D. I’m sensing a pattern…

Bless me father, I ate a lizard

Just thought I would post of few comments on one of my favorite books and the inspiration for the name Library Monk. Canticle tells the story of a post nuclear war world. People have turned against science and learning and life as reverted to a medieval existance. And as they did in the Middle Ages, Roman Catholic monks preserve what scraps of knowledge remain.

This book is not an light read as evidenced by this study guide. But it is a one of a kind work and a enjoyable read, especially for those with an interest in religion.

I’m not dead yet!

Marc Andreessen was quoted Tuesday as saying ?There hasn?t been any innovation on the browser in the last five years. And five years from now there won?t be any changes.?

I think that estimate is a bit early but there is little doubt that web browsers are stagnant. However I do agree with Web Standards Project that if browser innovation is dead now would be a good time to make sure the current browsers work.

Power Outage

There was a power outage (I was gone) and my computers did not get assigned IP numbers in the correct order. As a result Library Monk was down for a while. But now all is well

NASCAR goes high tech

Proving that information technology is everywhere, it was announced today that the NASCAR Winston Cup Series will be called the Nextel Cup Series. That’s quite a big jump to go from a tobacco company to a wireless company. Maybe it will mean free wireless networking and/or cell phones at the tracks.

iTunes or “The Musical Apple”

Just ran across this video about the iTunes Music store. Describes iTunes well and has Bono in it which is very cool. I’ve bought quite a bit of stuff from the store including Elvis, U2 and the Clash. I have to say I like purchasing the music better than using P2P software, because you know what you are getting and you support the artist. Although what the artist gets is largely dependent on their label and I think recording companies are mostly evil, but that’s another story.