Status-Q

Yesterday I wrote that it is only a belief in an afterlife that can give any comfort to those involved in the tragedy. John Naughton referred me to Richard Dawkins' article, which points out that belief in the afterlife caused the tragedy in the first place.

Jenny McCartney is rightly cynical about the condolences from Gerry Adams.

On a cheerier note, this can't be true, but it's a great story. Apparently the Advertising Standards Authority have told Möben Kitchens to remove the umlaut from their name, because customers might be fooled into thinking it's a German company and that the products are therefore of a higher quality than is actually the case.

The web address of www.moben.co.uk is a dead giveaway. They should have registered www.moben.de. It's still available...

Few events have demonstrated the power of modern media more than those on Tuesday. We're used to receiving entertainment, sport and even news events from the far side of the world, but on Tuesday a tidal wave of shock and grief was transmitted around the globe. In the past, one would read about such events in the newspapers, several days after they happened, possibly accompanied by a black and white photograph or two. Now, we sit mesmerised by multiple repetitions of high-quality colour footage from all angles only minutes after the tragedy. We've even actually heard people's final phone calls. Many of us walked around in an unbelieving half-dazed state for several days.

Is the world better as a result of this huge multiplication of grief? Of course, it also generates a huge multiplication of sympathy and support - I'm very proud of the way my country and others have stood side by side with America in so many symbolic ways - but since there's very little practical action that even people right on the doorstep in NY can take, there's nothing but a multiplication of frustration for the rest of us. Yes, we can donate money, but, frankly, that's not what they need.

Perhaps the greatest good that can come from the media coverage is this: What was probably intended as an attack on America is being interpreted as an attack on the whole civilised world. That might just be more than the perpetrators, and others of their kind, had bargained for.

Lauren Sandler - "This rain is proof that there is no God".

These are tough times for any religion to justify itself. My upbringing tells me that it is only the belief in heaven, in the fact that this life is just a temporary waiting room for better things to come, that can provide any real comfort for those involved.

Still, can we pick and choose like that? There have been a large number of church services over the last few days, and many sermons preached. I haven't heard much reference to loving your enemies, praying for those who persecute you, and especially not turning the other cheek.

There's nothing I can really say that hasn't been said about yesterday, the most infamously historic day of my lifetime. 'Infamous' is an appalling description. There aren't even any suitable adjectives left. But I love the defiance of this amazing photo from the NY Daily News.

Nicholas Petreley always writes pretty good stuff, and his recent articles about the dangers of .NET (part1, part2) are particularly good. He's started a web site at www.varlinux.org which should be worth watching for anyone interested in Linux.

Remember how hands-free kits for mobile phones were meant to reduce the radiation going into your brain, but were then discovered to be just as dangerous as holding the phone to your ear, if not more so?

Drs James Luck and Ata Khalid have come up with a solution which is definitely from the "Now why didn't I think of that?" department. For some reason I have more admiration for inventions which are rather obvious, but which nobody else considered. They show greater lateral thinking on the part of the inventors. Perhaps I find Edison's famous statement about genius being 1% inpiration and 99% perspiration a little depressing, so I feel cheerier when an invention appears which helps to redress the balance!

There are some benefits to having an unusual name. If I type 'quentin' into Google, I'm on the first page! I come a little below Quentin Tarantino and Quentin Crisp, though. I know my place.

Embeddded Linux goes from strength to strength. An article pointing out that one thing giving it the edge over some other operating systems is its support for IPv6, soon to be very important in devices like phones and home appliances.