Interesting thread on MoFi about the Challenger shuttle disaster – 20 years ago today.
UPDATE: This morning MetaFilter has one too.
Stain Me
Tonight I had the months-delayed pleasure of booting up a new computer; well before the move, planning to be as broke as I am, I had grabbed a refurbished Mac Mini with the intent of building it from scratch to be my internet services machine once we landed here. It’s neat, specifically due to that tiny size and dense specific gravity. I did not opt for the firewire transfer setup – I made so many mistakes when I set up the first ancestor of Bellerophon that it would be a mistake to dump all the cruft onto the new machine.
The first OS X incarnation of Bellerophon was a Mac 9500 with a G3 card upgrade running OS X via Other World Computing’s XPostFacto. Prior to that I served pre-blog content from, variously, that 9500, a 4500, and a Power Computing desktop unit, all using a beautiful, Mac-first web server the name of which sadly escapes me. It was not a Tenon product or WebStar or MacHTTP, but some orphanware that dated back to at least OS 8. Boy was it easy to configure, but man was it hard to get it to do modern things such as includes.
Thanks to the Old Apple Web Server Directory, I can more or less guess that it was Netpresenz, but I’m not totally certain of that. zWait a moment; on reflection, I don’t think it was. Hm. I bet the app is still on the 9500; I might have to boot it up to see!
UPDATE: the web server application was Quid Pro Quo, but not that version, this one.
At any rate, the next two weeks will find me busily pursuing paid writing tasks and therefore events have conspired to prompt me to set up my new den area in the basement, where the soon-to-be server will provide hours of procrastinating productivity.
Suitsat
Suitsat.org will track the progress of an empty Russian space suit as it orbits Earth for a few days, beginning in early February. To date, reports that the onboard radio will broadcast David Bowie’s “Major Tom” have remained unconfirmed.
Macintsall
Spence points out a webservices toolkit installer for Mac OS X, something I’ll be needing shortly.
Matt's going back
Matt Uhlmannn, who moved away from a decade-plus stint as a doctor of the cool in New Orleans to Philly a couple months before Katrina, is headed back to the Crescent City for a gig. I’m a bit concerned for him; he was obviously depressed and out of sorts after the move and adding insult to injury, was inbound to the city when the hurricane came. I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. Matt’s hoping he finds her alive. It’s not out of the question, and Bart and XY have been busting ass to save the beautiful woman. But what will Matt find?
Shop smart
The Greatest Bus Driver in the World on the subject of Whole Foods. Happily, the man shops Safeway, like me.
Mars
The NYT previews an IMAX film, in 3D, about the odds-beating Mars Rover program. Space and 3D: two great tastes that would go great together, if there was any way to actually experience depth perception beyond 100 yards in a vaccuum.
Spencer and Viv and I had the pleasure of viewing the Ron Howard / Tom Hanks jernt aboot ye Luna, which is also a space-themed 3D IMAX film, and I think that Spence and I also screened “Space Station 3D” chez IMAX. Seriously, it’s the best.
Oh Thingummy
Things is particularly tasty today. I’d buy them/him/her a pint at the local, if i could. Where the smegging hell is Web 3.0 when you need it?
Licatamania!
Seattle swoons over Sweet Nick Licata’s trumpsh as City Council Prez today. What? There’s some sort of sporting swindle distracting folks from this good news for the paroletariat?
Shocking.
Savage Ball
Dan Savage is liveblogging the Seahawks game. He’s amusing, unsurprisingly:
UPDATE IV: Miller Light. Coors. Budweiser. What, no commericals for Lillet, l’aperitif de Bordeaux? Am I the only man in America drinking a chilled glass of Lillet during the game?
Now, where are the Pioneer Square webcams at?