During the last 4 days, I didn't read Planet. So I started an interesting
exercise and wanted to comment very briefly on a few entries I just read
quickly to catch up. My Planet premium, so to say..
- (not Planet related...I read that on NASA mailing lists...some of which I'm subscribed since 1988) NASA's Phoenix lander successfully landed on Mars. This is actually the first successful soft landing on Mars since 1976 (recent landings were hard ones, with airbags....or failures). This stunning picture shows the spacecraft with its parachute during its descent on Mars. It was taken by the HiRISE camera of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The very first time a spacecraft photographs another one while it's landing. Amazing, right?
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Marga
and the Spanish keymap: I can't disagree with your comments, Marga.
Still, that's a though issue: changing the behaviour of a keymap that's used
by millions of users is not a trivial change. OTOH, you're right and that
tilde should be dead, indeed. I think there is barely no other option than a
fork, here: have both keymaps, one with asciitilde and another one with
dead_tilde on the same key combination and let users choose. That keymap
should be named "es-standard" to avoid changing the existing "es".
-
John
Goerzen biking to work: John is among the people I never met but who I
know I share ideas and vision of life with. So, seeing him comment on
alternative ways to commute to/back work is a pleasure for me (alternative
transportation systems with the goal of abandoning the heresy of individual
cars is part of my hobbies....while I still don't always apply these
principles myself). And, well, seeing someone writing that this is still
possible in the flat MidWest of the country that contributes the most to
climate change is a relief for me: change can happen.
-
Joey reads USENET again. Long time since I last read news... In the past I used to have my own feed, through UUCP. I still receive a lot of my mails by UUCP, though (bubulle@kheops.frmug.org comes this way)
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Pollocks were in Europe. Andrew is another of these people I feel like having connections with while we never met. Next time, plan a stop in Bubulle Hotel and visit Paris, Andrew.
- Dirk mentioned Bike the Drive, which I assume to be a bike-related event in Chicago... Yet another occasion to see there's still some hope for alternatives to cars in the US of A...
- Kartik is back home in Mumbai after some months working in Bangalore (and not enjoying it). I'm happy for him that he can be again with his family.
- Ganneff also bikes. Of course, he does it the geek way. Would you have guessed? Joerg, are you ready for the DebConf daily running tour which I plan to do in Mar del Plata?
- Manoj is the last Emacs user, along with /me
- Jaldhar who I have much respect for in the project, still supports the US republican party, the most conservative party in the so-called western world. It is still completely out of my understanding how FLOSS "spirit" can fit with this (the same stands for the political stance of Eric "Gun" Raymond, indeed). Mysteries...
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Lucas wonders how to find cheap flights. Voyages SNCF (aka Expedia), the online travel agency of the French railway company, always gets my preference. Yes, French *railway*.
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MJ also posts about biking. I have to mention that easy bike-on-demande systems in cities are one of the best ways to develop this. Barcelona's system seems pretty cool. Paris' Velib is amazing and so is the system in Lyon (who initiated the movement in France). All this is something I personnally follow pretty closely (I'm a addicted reader of the French professionnal magazine named "Ville et Transport", "Town and Transportation") in the hope it also develops in my Suburbia.
- Too many technical issues on Planet. I can't follow..:-)
