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6/4/08
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So, I was supposed to have mangonel pictures today.  That didn’t happen.  Besides having a few issues with getting it working to a level with which I am satisfied, there’ve been a number of other distractions that have prevented the pictures.  Things like my car getting broken into.  So hopefully you’ll forgive me for not having them now, they will be up as soon as I get it all figured out.<P>

But good news on the comic front is that I have 3 comics drawn up and ready to upload as we speak.  This pretty much guarantees that I won’t be missing any updates this month, so there’s something to look forward to.  Also, I’d like to ask you all again to try to rate the comics (the stars on the right side just below the comic).  It takes all of 2 seconds and helps me greatly in know what you like and what you don’t.  Both the rating, as well as the number of votes are considered in the algorithm that makes the top rated list (and a minimum of 6 votes are required for a comic to show up there at all), so rating a comic is useful, even if the comic already has a number of ratings from other people.
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6/1/08
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So, I wanted to have a comic up Wednesday, but that clearly didn't happen.  Seems I got distracted with building a <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangonel" TARGET="blank">mangonel</A>.  On the bright side, next update should have pictures and an analysis of its performance.  I've worked out the optimum release angle at 58.21 degrees (a physics background is as much a curse as a blessing, really), so once I get a good protractor and set that up I suspect some excellent range.<P>

Today's comic is inspired by the numerous offers I have by friends who want me to get drunk.  I seriously have, at this point, enough standing offers to buy my first drink, that if I timed it right, I could get drunk every night for at least a week free of charge.  I have no idea exactly why it is that people want to see me drunk, but I can only guess that they have horribly sinister motivations behind it.<P>

Finally, I wanted to share with you the following conversation I had with a friend the other day.  I think it is the single geekiest conversation I've ever had, and that's competing with such conversations as the two hour debate on the merits of a Borg sphere versus the cube design (spheres are clearly superior in every way).  Anyway, without further ado, here's the conversation:<P>

<FONT FACE="Courier">
Mike: know what'd be awesome?<BR>
Mike: zombie packets<BR>
Mike: packets that just wander the tubes, eating the checksums of other packets, and turning them into zombie packets<BR>
Don: &nbsp;this seems like it would cause problems<BR>
Mike: yeah<BR>
Mike: eventually the entire network would be a zombie network<BR>
Don: &nbsp;which is the concern with all zombie outbreaks<BR>
Mike: but for a ragtag band of packets which have barracaded themselves behind a firewall of an otherwise abandoned server<BR>
Don: &nbsp;unless of course the normal TTL applies<BR>
Mike: but it wouldn't for the zombie packets<BR>
Don: &nbsp;regular zombies degrade and die after some time<BR>
Mike: fine<BR>
Mike: the act of becoming a zombie sets the packet's TTL to 255<BR>
Don: &nbsp;very well<BR>
Mike: virtually guaranteeing that it will outlive any other non-zombie packets<BR>
Don: &nbsp;unless the filters trap for that<BR>
Mike: that would only prevent new zombies from leaving the server<BR>
Mike: by the time a zombie packet got to a server its TTL will have fallen below 255<BR>
Mike: you'd have to filter for all high TTLs, and even that wouldn't be foolproof<BR></FONT>
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5/25/08
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Today's comic is all in German.  You shouldn't need to understand the language to get it, but if you need a translation, I've put it in the comments thread over there. -->  Hopefully I got all the German in here right.  I don't speak it well (took two semesters and promptly forgot most of it), so there's bound to be an error or two, beyond the intentional one.  If you speak the language better than I and have suggestions to improve the dialog, please let me know.  Also note that I realize that I am missing a number of umlauts.  The font I use doesn't have them.<P>

I was supposed to be observing at the <A HREF="http://james.as.arizona.edu/~psmith/61inch/">61 inch telescope</A> tonight.  Unfortunately, I am greatly hated by the fates.  It is cloudy, which means I can't get a good picture of the target.  It was hailing, which means we can't open the dome.  No fewer than three parts of the telescope were broken (the autoguider, the dry air blower, and the telcom server).  Oh, and a power line had fallen, so the whole site was running off a generator.  So no observing for me, but on the bright side that means that I have a comic for you tonight.<P>

With school finished and everything in order again, I should have no problem giving you guys 6 comics in June, plus some long overdue wallpapers.  I also hope to get a buffer setup to last through some summer excitingness that may occur.  So keep checking and I'll keep drawing.  Oh, and click on some of the ads on the right.  Some very kind people are paying way too much for ads right now, and I'd love if they'd get their money's worth.
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5/3/08
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I'm back!  Well, mostly.  After over two weeks, Cox still hasn't fixed my internet connection.  At this point I have multiple customer service people emailing the managers of the technicians.  When will it be all fixed?  They are now saying May 12th.  In the meantime, let's just say that I "managed to obtain internet access" and leave it at that.<P>

And with the good news comes some bad.  Next Sunday is right in the middle of final's week (and also in the middle of the week in which I have to observe every third night).  This means I'm going to be over stressed and under timed.  I'm going to do my damndest to get an update up Sunday, but I can't guarantee that I won't miss another update.  I can promise that the Sunday after (the 18th) I will be back in action for good, and I have a few ideas for new wallpapers for then.  So stick around, I promise I'll do my best to make it worth your while.
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