An open-source sql tutorial application using sqlite and tables of galactic star data - GlaXQL. Working through it now to try and pick up a little SQL.

A blog dedicated to tracing instances where SCIGen (an application which will generate fake journal papers) has been used to present papers at Comp Sci conferences. Nothing new since July 05 though but still amusing nonetheless.

Some nice OS X freeware from - Lobotomo. Particularly the VPN client and the Lotus Notes exporter.

Useful - Software Raids: Surviving an Audit. Software license compliance is a serious PITA. Generally as long as you show some kind of purchase tracking / installation tracking methodology most auditors will go away happy(ish).

Blades look to have matured into a serious server room solution - Battle of the Blades.

Via Ed Brill - three posts on why Lotus Notes sucks / doesn't suck - I love Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes Sucks, Lotus Notes Sucks ?

I have to admit to being a Notes fan - as per one of the links - at the end of the day its just a tool - you just learn to live with it and get on with the job. On a more positive note if you spare a thought for the IT groups supporting Notes/Domino you'll find the tools provided to them are light years ahead of those available on other groupware platforms (unless you spend lots of extra $$$ on additional software) - clustering, security and backup in particular are much simpler, more robust and more reliable than Outlook. Not to mention the free extras in terms of serving web-enabled applications (Document Libraries, Team Rooms etc).

Some CES goodies - Celestron Skyscout, Lego Mindstorm NXT - comes with Bluetooth and can be controlled via LabView, Onthegolive - stream live TV audio (how long before it does video?) to your phone.

Excellent family action/adventure with a bit of heart - a type of film not seen since Indiana Jones - King Kong. Bit of a weepy at the end, drags a little in places (a Peter Jackson hallmark) and of course it stays true to the cheesiness of the 1933 original.

Great Aussie drama chock full of Kiwi actors - Little Fish. Can be a little depressing but that tends to be the nature of movies about addicts (see also Requiem for a Dream).

A fairly untypical Bill Murray movie - Broken Flowers. Pretty enjoyable road-trip type movie but the ending may be a little unsatisfying for some. Although if you're a Jim Jarmusch fan then its probably a must see.

A feel-good xmas movie about the brief 1914 truce - Joyeux Noel. Not bad but a little twee.

Probably the best Kiwi movie I've seen since Whale Rider (which some might argue is overly sentimental) - In My Fathers Den. Excellent drama/mystery which shows its not all sweetness and light in small-town NZ.