February 2005

Firefox 1.0.1

Submitted by Rick Eyre on February 26 2005, 9:37 am

Firefox 1.0.1, the latest version of my browser of choice, has been released. The 4.7 meg setup file for Windows can be downloaded from Mozilla.org. See the Mozillazine announcement.

If you are using Firefox 1.0 or an earlier version, upgrade now. If you are still using that internet "explorer" from the House of Gates (ie, IE), then there is no better time to convert than today!

Happy 104th birthday. Now leave the country.

Submitted by Rick Eyre on February 25 2005, 4:24 am

Mrs Cui Yu Hu turned 104, and received a letter of congratulations from the Prime Minister, John Howard, which reads:

"Janette and I are very happy to learn of your 104th birthday. We would like to join with your family and friends in extending our congratulations and best personal wishes to you on this wonderful occasion."

But the mailman also delivered a letter from the Immigration Department, refusing her an aged parent visa.

Sure sign that Michael Clarke Has Made It

Submitted by Rick Eyre on February 20 2005, 4:00 pm

It's alive. It's Flash-infested. Its stats are out of date. Michael Clarke's management company has created a slick-looking website for him called - you guessed it - www.michaelclarke.com.au. I wonder how long before they remember to take down the Number 49 wallpaper.

For all the press clippings on his website, they missed these accounts of his first-class debut (New South Wales v India, 1999-2000):

Puck off fans

Submitted by Rick Eyre on February 19 2005, 2:15 pm

The cancellation of the 2004-05 National Hockey League following an industrial dispute could well mean the death knell of the sport as a viable major league concern in North America. Will we miss it? Give me curling anyday.

Presenting the Greenbar

Submitted by Rick Eyre on February 19 2005, 2:31 am

To celebrate the enactment of the Kyoto Protocol this week I am releasing a sidebar version of the aggregated environmental newsfeed that appears on the environment page on this website.

The Greenbar contains news about the environment and related sciences aggregated from XML feeds from: AllAfrica.com, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, E-Law, Forests.org, Greenpeace, Grist, Inter Press Service, MSNBC, National Geographic, Oceana.org, Reuters, the Washington Post, Waterconserve.info, and the World Wildlife Fund.

Hunter S Thompson on Shotgun golf

Submitted by Rick Eyre on February 17 2005, 11:45 pm

Hunter S Thompson is probably best known in Australia for using the adjective "pharquing" live to air on the Don Lane Show in 1976. To the rest of us, he's just a sportswriter for the ESPN website... among one or two other things.

His first column for the Disney-owned behemoth in 2005 was posted a few hours ago: Shotgun Golf with Bill Murray (link updated 25-2-05).

John Howard tortures Australian public

Submitted by Rick Eyre on February 17 2005, 7:57 am

Our pathetic excuse for a Prime Minister - Mister Can't Do himself, John Winston Howard - can't apologise on behalf of an inept immigration department, can't sign the Kyoto Protocol even though it becomes international law today, can't cancel the foreign debt of tsunami-stricken countries, can't let the buck stop with him. He can't sack incompetent ministers either... though that may be because he'd have nobody left.