Rumour has it that the deal to bring Leeds goalie Paul Robinson to Villa Park has collapsed due to his wage demands. And depending on where you get your news from, it would appear that Deadly Doug, yet again, is refusing to sanction the deal due to the players wage demands. Typical.
Have you heard Windows Media Audio (WMA) at 64 kbps? It's pretty impressive stuff - the quality of the audio packed into such a small file is astounding. I'll be ripping my CDs to my hard disk in this format from now on! On a related note, the RIAA are planning to sue music swappers. It'll never work, trust me.
Things are looking good for Tim Henman at Wimbledon. He should breeze into the final sixteen today without any problems. I'm not too sure why everyone is getting so excited about it, though - he's on course to meet Andre Agassi between now and the final - and we all know what'll happen then, don't we?
And speaking of Tennis, check out BBC Sport's Tardis Tennis game - it's pretty addictive! Now it's time for a touch of humour - a friend e-mailed me this picture a few weeks ago - I think it's superb! Finally, if the female species was officially classified as hazardous material, this is what the data sheet would look like!
I know that there are people a lot worse off than I am, but I simply can't live on the pittance that this place pays me any more. I immensely dislike having no money. It's my own fault, though - if I'd been more proactive in finding a "proper" job, then I probably wouldn't be in this situation right now!
What a crazy morning I've had. I got on the wrong bus, ended up in the wrong business park (and got lost in it trying to find my way out), walked for what felt like miles until I found the right business park, and arrived for my interview with only minutes left! All I can do now is wait and hope for the best!
In sports news, my favourite MLS team, D.C. United, only managed a 1-1 draw with New England on Saturday night. And in the 2003 NHL Draft over the weekend in Nashville, USA, the Caps drafted five new players. Finally, for now at least, it looks like the Jagr trade isn't going to happen - woohoo!
Remember I said I had an interview coming up? Well, it's tomorrow morning. I need to catch two buses in order to get there, so I'll have to leave home very early in order to make it on time - I really do wish I'd learnt to drive sooner! Other than that, I'm actually feeling rather confident. Wish me luck.
For those of you who are wondering where the June 2003 version of my Anti-Spam Protection File is - don't worry - it will be available later today. I'm actually still working on it at this moment in time. But believe me, when it's done, it'll be my best file ever with fewer false positives and more spam blocked.
According to this article in the Washington Post, the Caps could trade their star, Jaromir Jagr, to the Rangers today. I've said it before and I'll say it again - trading your best players is no way to go about creating a successful hockey team. I dearly hope this crazy trade doesn't happen.
The full 2003/2004 Premiership fixtures were published yesterday. Villa have quite a tough start to the season. I'm looking forward to two particular games on October 18th and February 21st - that's when Villa will (hopefully!) get their revenge for two humiliating defeats last season.
The owner of that repulsive team across the city reckons that they should ground share with my beloved Aston Villa. Over my dead body - I wouldn't share a packet of crisps with them. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the upgrade to Movable Type v2.64 went as planned on Tuesday.
Microsoft is taking legal action against fifteen alleged spammers. Whilst this is encouraging news, I agree with the people in this article, who say that what's really needed is a global solution. Unfortunately, I don't ever see a global solution happening, and if it does happen, it won't be any time soon.
Because Monday's driving lesson was cancelled, I'm having it tomorrow afternoon instead. So, if you see someone repeatedly stalling a Ford Focus near you, it'll most likely be me! My Theory Test is booked for July 1st, and considering it cost me £18, I'm currently studying the book so I pass it first time!
A U.S. Senator endorses creating technology that would twice warn computer users about illegal online behaviour (i.e. downloading MP3 files), "then destroy their computer". What a really stupid idea. It's the record companies that are killing the music industry - not the people downloading MP3 files.
Have you heard Lost Without You by Delta Goodrem? If not, I demand you go out and buy a copy right now! It's a beautiful ballad by a very talented woman. The album, Innocent Eyes, is out June 30th, and I'm going to purchase it based on the strength of this one single - I can't wait to hear it!
I have this really cool idea for an anti-spam program that works similar to Cloudmark's SpamNet. I've had the idea floating around in my head for quite a while now, so once my copy of Visual Basic arrives, I'm actually going to sit down and program it. I'll keep you informed of my progress.
A new version of Movable Type was released a few weeks ago. I'm going to upgrade this site to the new version (v2.64) tomorrow. You, however, won't notice any difference unless I screw it up! Having said that, the upgrade process looks pretty straight forward, so I envisage no problems.
Woohoo! D.C. United beat the Columbus Crew 3-0 at home on Saturday night to get their second win of the season and the all important two points. It was also their third game in a row without conceding a goal. United host New England this Saturday, and that again will be another tough game.
Yikes! I now have over 400 e-mails waiting for me to download them - that's 4.5Mb of assorted personal e-mail and spam! I'll download that as soon as I've done this. On a totally unrelated note, Microsoft are planning to release a virus scanner - I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't use it.
After being turned down for two jobs due to lack of experience, I applied for another job - and this morning I got a letter inviting me for an interview in ten days time! I'm pretty pleased I've got an interview instead of a rejection letter for once! Now all I have to do is impress at the interview and hope for the best!
I had my second driving lesson on Wednesday, and I'm finally starting to get the hang of this clutch control thing now, which is good new for everyone concerned - me, the drivers behind me, and the car! My next lesson is Monday afternoon, so remember to stay off the roads around that time!
I have over 300 e-mails waiting for me to download them. I'm not too sure why I haven't done so already. But anyway, the reason for me mentioning that is to lead into talking about this disturbing article regarding spam and viruses in e-mail. I'm sure I've linked to a similar article before, but read that one anyway.
Following on from that, and staying on the same subject, a Labour MP has called for the UK to ban spam. That article was written on the same day a Symantec survey was published suggesting that four out of five children receive inappropriate spam e-mails - read the full article here.
D.C. United got back to their old ways yet again on Wednesday night by chalking up another 0-0 tie with Colorado. They desperately need someone to start scoring goals on a regular basis. They face Columbus Crew at home tomorrow night, and that's going to be a very difficult game indeed.
The New Jersey Devils are the 2003 Stanley Cup champions after beating the Mighty Ducks 3-0 last night. I didn't get to bed until 4am, but it was definitely a game worth staying up for. New Jersey was the better team on the night though, and they thoroughly deserved to win their third Stanley Cup in nine years.
Who's going to win the Stanley Cup then? The Devils or the Ducks? The series is tied 3-3 after six games, and the final game is tonight in New Jersey. The face off isn't until 1am UK time, but I'm staying up to watch the game live on Channel 5. It's going to be one hell of a game - may the best team win!
Woohoo! D.C. United have won a game at last! They beat Chicago Fire 2-0 at home on Saturday night to take all two points. United's next opponents are the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night in Colorado. They then face a difficult home game against the Columbus Crew on Saturday night.
Looks like I was right when I said the new Bugbear variant wouldn't go away without a fight. According to this BBC News article, in only 24 hours, W32.Bugbear.B@MM has already achieved what it took the first variant three days to do. If you've been infected, Symantec has created a fix tool.
I had my first driving lesson today! Well, technically it wasn't my first, but it was my first for quite a while. Personally, I think I did quite well, but if I'm going to accomplish my aim of getting my licence by the end of the summer, I really need to get my clutch control sorted out - stalling at a busy junction isn't fun!
Remember Bugbear? Well, it's back - a new variant was discovered yesterday. It's called W32.Bugbear.B@MM, and it has been given a Category 3 rating by Symantec. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as the last one, but it's a clever virus, so don't count on it going away without a fight.
Along with Spooks and Dragnet, one of the best shows on British TV at the moment is Crossing Jordan. The first two episodes have been superb. It's on at 11pm every Tuesday night on ITV, and I insist that you watch it (even if it's only to see the gorgeous Jill Hennessy in action).
According to this article in the Washington Post (you'll need to register to read the article), the Caps are looking to trade their superstar winger Jaromir Jagr. If that happens I can see them struggling to even make the playoffs next season - trading your best players is no way to go about bringing success.
I can understand the Caps wanting to trim their wage bill (and Jagr earns $11 million a season by the way), but there simply must be other ways of doing it. Trading Jagr would drastically reduce the wage bill, but if I were in charge, I'd try and build a team around Jagr - not without him.
It's no secret that he didn't perform as well this season as he's done in the past for Pittsburgh, but he was still the Caps' top scorer. Besides, he spent most of the season with at least two defensemen constantly on his back - he's not superhuman for crying out loud - he doesn't need trading, he needs some help!
Those Mighty Ducks have done it again - they sunk the New Jersey Devils 1-0 in overtime, and in doing so, evened the series 2-2. I thought New Jersey would win the Stanley Cup easily after taking a 2-0 lead in the series, but now I'm not so sure. Game 5 is at New Jersey on Thursday night.
Look out - there's yet another e-mail virus spreading widely across the Internet. It's called W32.Sobig.C@MM, and it's the second virus that pretends to come from a genuine Microsoft e-mail address. If your system has been infected, the always reliable Symantec have created a fix tool.
The University of Calgary is offering a course in writing computer viruses and malware. Now at first this sounds like a very bad idea, but if it helps to develop the next generation of computer professionals - who will be proactive in stopping computer viruses - is it really such a bad idea? I'm undecided.
There have been three games played so far in the Stanley Cup Finals, and the New Jersey Devils have a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series. It's a good job the Mighty Ducks won last night or it could have been curtains for them! They'll also want to win Game Four, which is on Monday night at Anaheim.
An injury hit D.C. United again failed to get their first win of the season last night. They lost 3-2 to Dallas Burn. I feel sorry for United coach Ray Hudson, though - due to injuries and suspensions, he's had to field seven different line-ups in seven different games so far this season.
According to this article, half of all e-mails are now spam. And whilst I'm on the subject of spam, this new spam filter I'm trialling is rather good - it's detecting almost 100% of the spam I receive! But the problem with probability-based filters like this one is that they generate far too many false positives.
I recently installed Outlook 2003 Beta 2. It has some excellent new features, but the spam filter leaves a lot to be desired, so I've uninstalled it. Hopefully, the final release, due sometime in the second half of 2003, will be better. If so, I might be tempted to upgrade, but for now, I'll stick with Outlook 2000.
