Nous sommes tous des assassins

Many years ago I saw Nous sommes tous des assassins (1952)
which was about the horror of using the portable guillotine

And in England a man was hung because an accomplice in a crime shot someone but as he was underage he lived.

Capital punishment is not good

HTML editors - some thoughts on WYSIWYG tools

Research in Feb 2007

I am thinking of future and whether I will go Linux/Ubuntu etc or MacBook

Currently my web sites are written with Frontpage 2000

Sorry purists I want WYSIWYG

This is very sophisticated - I will use to check my html - HTML-Kit - http://www.chami.com/html-kit/

This is helpful
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_WYSIWYG_HTML_editors>

some of these look quite powerful but Html only

AceHTML, a Free HTML Editor
http://software.visicommedia.com/en/products/acehtmlfreeware/?id=51

openbexi - very much Beta - strange looking colours - maybe if they
release a working version

http://geniisoft.com/showcase.nsf/WebEditors
well worth exploring - lists many editors I have not checked yet

http://www.openwebware.com/products/openwysiwyg/
- hard to install meant for experts in CMS and Java

And I am bookmarking these for future thoughts
http://quanta.kdewebdev.org/bugs.php
http://aptana.com/
http://tinymce.moxiecode.com/documentation.php

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/
I tried- bit lost as why it has email etc when Mozilla has TB and FP
Now I worked out NVU is a development from it so I am uninstalling

Xstandard - the free lite version does not enough features - the Pro for
example has Split Table Cell - but why buy

Dynamic HTML Editor
http://www.dynamic-html-editor.com/en_download.asp#dhefree
I tried the 1.9 version - appears to be rubbish
would not open an Html file appears to want some file of its invention
to me that is Goodbye

Tried trial version of Adobe Contribute - it appears to have a special
group network purpose and restrictions such as Template comes from
Dreamweaver - you might as well pay the extra for Dreamweaver

This is for MAC - so if I go MacBook I will have iWeb but if not quite
for my major webs - I might try this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RapidWeaver

So I'll keep looking at NVU - no recent release but seems to work.
Kompozer is supposed to be NVU with some bug fixes

Does allow Template - but I have to learn how to use - currently I use
include page in FP

Does not have image mapping tool for hotspots like FP but does allow
insert of the code - and in image properties has a Image Map remove
button - strange way to do things.
So I need Image mapping - Gimp is supposed to do it - Xnview has a help
page but nothing clear on how to do

November 2007 Some new stuff I will look at
Writing this away from home so not yet downloading

http://www.aptana.com/products/studio_community.php sounds very functional - except HTML editor only not WYSIWYG

http://www.sitestudio.tk/ - no longer developed but write up sounds good and there are downloads - however no help to explain - nothing intuitive about it - Don't bother with it

http://www.karelia.com/ SANDVOX - has try it

http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/
iWeb is not a major tool - its really just Apple's interface to .MAC .
You could use it to create another web site but you cannot import already created web pages.
and you need to backup the Domain file else if you move machines etc you will not be able to use iWeb to edit the old pages.
This is an excellent summary Practicalmadness by David Demaree | Regarding iWeb

http://www.softpress.com they have a Freeway XLE free to try and discounts - I got a Serial number for XLE but where is download - so I set a note asking - and it looks like it is a fresh web site - you cannot import - well I have asked that too

http://www.panic.com/coda/ I think there is a free trial - HTML editor only

http://www.virtualmechanics.com/downloads/index.html

Pakistan and What is a Terrorist

Imran Khan faces terror charges after Islamist rivals halt protest

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2872356.ece

The news from Pakistan is most disturbing. USA ally can't find Osama BUT can flood the streets with baton wielding police.

Musharraf was speaking about people "trying to upset govenment" - well of course when its someone desparately hanging on to power. And now the great cricketter is arrested.

I have not been to Pakistan but I have been to Bangladesh and the Pakistan generals tried everything to keep control there until India said LEAVE. Who is going to tell Musharraf to leave. Come on George.

CNET.com.au has FREE music

I subscribe to Cnet through Bloglines - very good for Aussie reviews of technical stuff

and today they start FREE Mp3 downloads

and it is all sorts of music including Classical with Opera and Hip Hop

Get free MP3s in our Music Centre - News - Music Software

Watch your download usage numbers - I am on peak period with Optus so 12 midnite to 12 noon

Curse of the Golden Flower

Curse of the Golden Flower - in Chinese
Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (2006)

is an interesting film.
I watched a few minutes of a daft martial arts the other day. The monks had a fighting sticks and managed to get the bad ones to bite the sticks so hard their teeth were stuck in the stick. Yuk!

Anyhow I saw Golden Flower on library shelf and was passing by but it looked different and it is. This is more like real history. The plot is not  actual rulers but as maker Ziang Yimou says it tries to show what feudal China was like. The plot is a combination of King Lear and Hamlet as described by Chow Yun-Fa who plays the Emperor

Ziang mentions a proverb "Gold and jade on the outside, rot and decay on the inside." So the film is very opulent - lots of gold and bright colours. Yet very dark deeds going on in the background. The Palace is presented magnificently just as I imagine the Forbidden City might have been like at the heights of its splendour. Although the film is set before it was built. I remember looking into the great hall and my amazement that it would have been filled with all these women and their own sleeping "area". Golden Flower is full of scenes showing how all these people might have operated. The

The battle scenes are not utterly realistic  although they say they were trying to be .  The weapons do kill though and  you can see they are not using those silly flying routines. There is something like a Roman Turtle - a group of men surrounded with shields.

The main courtyard is covered with chrysanthemum as that festival is taking place. Just see what happens to the flowers in the battle and then afterwards.

The Acting is very good.  None of those silly looks of the  martial arts films - these people are real. Well worth seeing

The Apocalypse of Ahmadinejad

This is further to my post: Iran - Ahmadinejad - Nukes

The Apocalypse of Ahmadinejad Book

He stands only five foot four and smiles incessantly. But behind that charismatic persona beats the heart of a genocidal terrorist. In his provocative, well-researched expose' of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, prophecy expert Mark Hitchcock unveils the insidious agenda behind this radical Shiite's regime: Ahmadinejad plans to hasten the return of the Islamic messiah by ushering in his vision of the apocalypse.
His ultimate goal is to bring the Mahdi, or Twelfth Imam, out of hiding. And he plans to do so by arming his country with nuclear weapons, then exporting the Iranian revolution to the world by destroying Israel and the United States.
But there's a bizarre twist to Ahmadinejad's nightmarish intentions: This ardent zealot may well be part of God's plan to set the stage for a scenario prophesied more than 2,500 years ago.
Mark Hitchcock presents compelling evidence that Ahmadinejad's actions, including his alliances with Russia and many of Iran's neighbors, have placed his nation -- and the world -- on a collision course toward the war of Gog and Magog. (208 pages)

I just love the "well researched" - REALLY - more like a lot of imagination at play from that synopsis.
I did know that Shia belief included the return of the Iman and that Ahmadinejad appeared to believe in this also
from Shi'a: The Hidden Imam

Imam Mahdi will return at the head of the forces of righteousness and do battle with the forces of evil in one, final, apocalyptic battle. When evil has been defeated once and for all, the Imam Mahdi will rule the world for several years under a perfect government and bring about a perfect spirituality among the peoples of the world. After the Imam Mahdi has reigned for several years, Jesus Christ will return (raj'a ), as will Husayn and others. It is the return of the dead that falls under the Doctrine of Return; the Mahdi will only appear to humanity.

Note Jesus is included in this - but this is the Jesus of Islam - not to be confused with the expectations that Christians have for the Jesus of the Holy Bible. Why does Shia belief so correspond to Christian Second Coming of Jesus?

I do not think that Iran is part of the Bible's End Times prophecies. This whole book smacks of Nostradamus who was supposed to had a remarkable vision that there would be "trouble in Persia". There has always been trouble in Persia - it is placed at such a crossroad in the Middle East.

By the way that book is AUD$16.95 at WORD Bookstore Australia - I will not be buying

George Orwell - (Eric Blair) 1903-1950

Neil has just blogged on: George Orwell exposed!
Mainly that conservtives often quote Eric and how he changed from being a communist whereas he may have rejected dictators like Stalin but he did remain a Socialist and supporter of the Labour Party.

Do read George Orwell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am pleased to say I own at least one first edition of something and it is:
George Orwell: The English People. Publisher: 'Collins'. GB, London. 1947
A wonderful short essay on the English as he saw them.

A quote follows

during the Jubilee (George V) the rather servile slogan "Poor but Loyal." Other
slogans, however, coupled loyalty to the King with hostility to the landlord,
such as "Long Live the King. Down With the Landlord," or more often,
"No Landlords Wanted" or "Landlords Keep Away." It is too early to say
whether royalist sentiment was killed outright by the Abdication (1936) , but
unquestionably the Abdication dealt it a serious blow. Over the past four
hundred years it has waxed or waned according to circumstances. Queen
Victoria, for instance, was decidedly unpopular during part of her reign,
and in the first quarter of the nineteenth century public interest in the
Royal Family was not nearly as strong as it was a hundred years later. At
this moment the mass of the English people are probably mildly republican.
But it may well be that another long reign, similar to that of George V,
would revive royalist feeling and make it-as it was between roughly 1880
and 1936-an appreciable factor in politics

George wrote that in 1943 I suppose as surely by 1947 it was clear that George VI had revived royalist feeling with his two lovely daughters and the way the family behaved in WW2. And here we are 60 years after the book with a Queen who has reigned 54 years. I wonder what George would say now about republican position in England.

His great book was Nineteen Eighty-Four which in many ways was set in the dismal England of 1948 under rationing and with a Labour government . Recently we had a discussion on Movies and Neil and I both set Brazil (film) high on our lists. Made by Terry Gilliam in 1985 and obviously based on Eric's 1984 even though Terry says he never read the book. The office computers are modeled on 1948 Television sets and even show black and white cowboy films. An enormous romp of a film. See it. And perhaps first read the book and the Richard Burton film of

I got to the book through television the 1954 TV programme in which Peter Cushing was brilliant as Winston Smith - alas then Peter went on to a career as vampire killer.

The other well known book from George is Animal Farm- well worth reading - don't bother with the cartoon film. In this parody of Stalin and what happened to the Russian revolution Eric shows what changed his attitude to politics.

Of course Eric died at age 46 - at that age I myself was still supporting the ALP - if he had lived would Eric have changed?

On Neil's comment "The Road to Wigan Pier" is mentioned that and other books are on line from that link

On-the-spot fines for minor offences

From Keeping a Watch on the NSW Government

Minor Offences ? We ain't talking jay walking.

Poll shows only 70% of Germans are sane

Just as Neil was discussing at One Salient Oversight: Hitler was not an Atheist
up comes this terrible poll
Nazis not all bad, 25% of Germans say - World - smh.com.au
"Those who grew up directly after World War II, now aged 45 to 59, were the least enthusiastic about the Nazi era, with only 15 per cent responding "yes"." But that's still 1 in 6.!!!

It seems it all started because some "a popular talk show host was sacked for praising Nazi Germany's attitude towards motherhood."
That is unless she was Jewish or a Gypsy or a Slav or anyone else the Nazi hated.
Hitler decided to show high regard for "traditional" values so people could say stupid things like "but he loves motherhood".

Don't young Germans understand what happened back then.
A year ago just to remind myself of what it must have been like. I read
The Third Reich in Power, 1933-1939 - Richard Evans - Penguin UK

'Do you know what fear is?' an elderly worker asked an interviewer some years after it was all over: 'No. The Third Reich was fear.' Yet terrorism was only one of the Third Reich's techniques of rule. For the Nazis did not just seek to batter the population into passive, sullen acquiescence. They also wanted to rouse it into positive, enthusiastic endorsement of their ideals and their policies, to change people's minds and spirits and to create a new German culture that would reflect their values alone.

It seems many people are still deluded.

ImgBurn - burn CDs and DVD

The Official ImgBurn Website

ImgBurn is a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit!

They are not joking

ImgBurn supports all the Windows OS's - Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, 2003 and Vista (including all the 64-bit versions). If you use Wine, it should also run on Linux and other x86-based Unixes.

Who needs Spies anyway

Desktop naval gazers know a sub when they see one

Mind boggling what Google can do

I remember Hugh Trevor Roper (he was one of guys duped by Kim Philby) saying "you don't need spies just read their newspapers". Of course as well as being wrong about Philby he also authenticated the Fake Hitler Diaries but I think he had something about reading what the other side puts into print. Mind you an SIS officer in that part of the organisation penetrated by communists has to be a worry - they were always shoving him on TV as an expert. The whole affair just astounded me. Ian Richardson made a good Anthony Blunt. It showed what a mess "security" was. Didn't they know that the earlier runaways had these guys as friends.

Just amazing google even knows where I live

View Larger Map

Israel and scripture

Israel And Scripture In Correct Context « Matthew Manchester

GTD getting things done - MAC focus

Basics4Mac - Using Exposé to Located Your Hidden Windows

Basics4Mac - GTD Makeover for Your Desktop

Audio - my old LPs and Cassettes

Linux.com :: Digitizing records and tapes with Audacity

It works well - 2008 and I have a record plater hooked in and I am away

Play Dough Recipe

2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
4 tablespoons cream of Tartar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cups water
colouring

Mix together
Cook stirring all the time
cool slightly and kneed until smooth
add a drop of oil of cloves or peppermint

store in airtight container in fridge

a plastic rolling pin

a large plastic knife

anything they can use

This has served us well for years

and there are more suggestions here

Play Dough Options | Recipe Index

Free Burma

We were in North Thailand in 1998 with a day trip across a bridge into Burma. It seemed to me as poor as some parts of India. So what are these generals doing?

MAC possible software to install

Synium Software


includes MacFamily Tree

Needful Things: Services from DEVONtechnologies

They have some useful looking programs and "addons" I am now evaluating

Firefox Running Slow?

Firefox Running Slow? Make It Fast Again Without Re-Installation at Digital Inspiration - Software Reviews, Internet and Technology Guide

Something to Install or use on net ?

WebRunner - MozillaWiki

Kwoff - an Australian social news aggregator | Lifehacker Australia

Localise settings for NetStumbler | Lifehacker Australia

Share a Printer on Your Home Network | Lifehacker Australia

Create No-Code Mashups with Yahoo! Pipes - 4. Check It Out!

Send Snail Mail via Email with Postful | Lifehacker Australia

Twitter

Guns and Rifles

Neil Cameron has just published a good comparison on

M16 vs AK-47

Back in the 1950s I fired as well as The .303 Lee Enfield Rifle watch the kick - whoops a shoulder blade.
The WW2 Bren light machine gun a delight no kick - could wander sideways as only a bipod But I could get small groups by firing shorts bursts. (the USA had the BAR - Browning Machinegun).

Also the Sten a very low cost sub machine gun - it really drifted to the side - I used it like a hose - spray the bullets around. Wiki has a picture of Churchill firing from the shoulder - Winnie was a soldier but that was probably a propoganda picture - best I found was holding it at the waist tucked well in. So many WW2 movies (I remember Alan Ladd in the Red Berets) showed people holding the magazine at the end with left hand. NO NO! That would cause a jam.

Talking about recoil and how to hold - Ak47 I see being fired from shoulder - held very well and also from the waist. Then watching some films of training the Iraqis in entering eneny buildings, they have the butt up high on the shoulder like USA weapons. I don't think that is sound practice. Ak47 is not that stable.

yes the AK47 is a WMD - I saw designer recently saying he does not worry and still sleeps nights not his fault how wide spread the gun is.

Big thing with M16 they said on Discovery was the way the butt goes straight from the barrel - avoiding the curved stock stops the tendency to jerk the gun when firing. So point and shoot and it goes straight.

However as you say the AK47 is a more robust field weapon

I see a range of weapons in use by US in Iraq - as well as M16. Blokes lugging around M249 Squad Automatic Weapon the fire power must be good.
I wonder if the CQBR - Close Quarters Battle Receiver is working out.