Random Ramblings

- Information South East London

Dentist

Time to cut waffle and tackle terror, Blunkett tells EU

Joining forces with the Commission, Mr Blunkett backed proposals for a fingerprint data base of all EU citizens and tougher measures to tackle terrorist funding. So far, the EU has frozen just £1.1 million belonging to terrorist front groups since September 2001.

More madness. Fingerprints will lose their ability to be used as evidence in court cases.

In a book keeping system its standard to have an assertion or constraint for transactions. The assertion is that the sum of all entries is zero. (Given that a transaction is for one product). In other words there is conservation of product.

I think this isn't the whole story. In practice, there are accounting rules such as assets = liabilities + equity. If we consider double entry only then there are 6 possible postings. The debit and credit go into

asset and liability
asset and equity
liability and equity

The next three are

asset and asset
liability and liability
equity and equity

There are no other possibilities. If the accounting rule is enforced then by default so is the conservation rule. The exception being the accounting rule is incorrectly specfiied. Its the last point that means its still a good idea to keep the conservation assertion.

All posting rules must conform to accounting rules. The problem is when they don't. Personal experience tells me it is very hard to work out posting rules. It would be considerably easier if posting rules can be symbolically checked against accounting rules so that they can be run in the knowledge that the books were not going to be corrupted.

The rules need to be enforced against the chart of accounts.

PestPatrol - detect and remove spyware and adware, free scan

Check it out and see what it comes up with for intrusive cookies.

Sensors - September 2000-Measuring Inclination for Instrumented Parachute Drops A WORK IN PROGRESS: "The search is on for a way to accurately determine the orientation in space of a person or an object as it parachutes to Earth. The object is to further ensure the safety of military personnel and materiel."

More interesting as an article on sensors.

The Register: "NO! No, the company signed up to a sustainability and reduced ecological impact initiative a couple of years back, and this is one of the outcomes!

How?

Simple. For the past two years we've been sending our effluent to one of those biodome things as a raw product for their planting system.

We've been giving them crap? the PFY asks.

For want of better wording, yes.

So does that mean we're giving our clients a break? I ask, rhetorically.

AND THE OUTCOME OF THIS, the Boss continues, ignoring me, is fruit and veg, free for the taking, in the cafeteria!

So let me get this straight, I ask You've been giving my excrement away to people.

It's crap! the boss responds.

It's MY crap, and I work long and hard choosing the products to eat to make it high yield fertiliser.

It would've got sent to the bloody sewer system anyway, the Boss replies.

If I so choose to release my products to the public domain, so be it. However, if you take something which is mine, which I created, and give it to another well that's theft! "

....

More in the article. Very funny

PRIPYAT ghost town (1970-1986)

Details on Chernobyl as it is now. Interesting to see how quickly human settlements decay. 20 years on and lots is disappearing.

SecurityFocus HOME Infocus: Anti-Spam Solutions and Security: "The problem has grown to the point where nearly 50% of the world's email is spam [ref 2], yet only a few hundred groups are responsible. "

Given such a small number are a problem, its sad the rest suffer increased costs from the spam, and from fixing the mail system.

Surely its cheaper to go after the spammers using laws and give large jail sentences.

National Theatre : Production Seasons : His Dark Materials

I think I have to book this. There is a revival this year so it should be possible to get to see both parts.

This morning, for the first time I landed at Heathrow from the west. The sun was just coming up, and the view of Windsor castle and Eton college was absolutely stunning.