Wednesday, December 22, 1999

12/22/99 2:19:27 PM

• Hunting for trouble. The Register is running a humorous, but sad, story about Joachim Kempin, the Microsoft exec in charge of OEM issues, and his troubles with the law. (Kempin's email provided some of the prosecution's evidence in the Microsoft trial, and Kempin took the stand for Microsoft.) The Register also wonders whether some unseen force may be diddling with the content of the MSNBC site. This search on "kempin" turns up a link to an MSNBC story that ran on December 17, but now returns a 404. MSNBC does not usually retire its news stories so quickly.

  No matter, here's coverage in the Tacoma News Tribune. Kempin paid a $5000+ fine after being arrested for shooting four deer from his 4x4 in Montana and tagging them with the license numbers of his wife, his child, and an under-age family friend. The Tacoma paper also ran a plaintive letter to the editor four days after it printed the above story. The reader, a hunter, writes:

  Every time I read about some hunter who hunts illegally like this, it not only saddens me but also angers me. I go hunting in Montana every other year, and like most of the hunters, we take pride in doing it legally. Hunters throughout the country put a lot of effort in portraying a positive image. It's people like Joachim Kempin the law-abiding hunters have to thank for being denied access to hunting on private property. This Microsoft executive with his millions could go out and book a guided trip for less than he paid in fines. He stated that he was going to pay the fines because he made a mistake and regretted it. I'm sure the only reason that he regrets it is that he was caught.

  Thanks to TBTF Irregular t byfield for pointing out this story.

12/22/99 10:58:39 AM

• Last-minute and shameless about it. There is still plenty of time to order your friends and loved ones TBTF tee shirts and mugs. As for delivery in time for Christmas, well, that could be tight. Erm, all right, it's basically too late now. But it's not too late to take advantage of the tax advantages of becoming a TBTF Benefactor. (Many folks treat support of TBTF like a subscription and write it off as a necessary business expense.)

Tuesday, December 21, 1999

12/21/99 2:33:25 PM

• A fabulous dictionary resource. Robert Beard at Bucknell University has assembled a dazzling collection of links to online dictionaries for more than 225 languages. (Or if you want to learn a language, not just translate a phrase, try his list of links to grammars.) The site is pleasant on the eyes, speedy, and well-organized. And it's totally devoid of commercial messages. It's the kind of thing you used to hope to find on the Web in, say, 1994.

  Thanks to Murray Spiegel for the pointer.

12/21/99 11:54:35 AM

• Airline CEO to fly on Y2K rollover. Dan Thompson <dan at fc dot net> passed on this story about the CEO of the Belgian national airline, Sabena. (In the 80s travellers used to say that the name was an acronym for Such a bloody experience, never again.) Seems that M. Paul Reutlinger has volunteered as the only passenger on a test flight on New Year's Eve. But note that he's taking off from and landing at the same airport. Doesn't that just boost your confidence in the air-traffic control system?