m. c. de marco

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This isn’t really writing related; it’s another adventure with my new Mac. I use a very old genealogy program called LifeLines, and last week I finally got around to updating it with MacPorts for Snow Leopard. But when I went to open my ancestor database, it complained: “keyfile is wrong alignment.”

What you will get if you google that phrase is translations of it into all the languages LifeLines has been translated into, and nothing else. Apparently no one has experienced the error before.

Via John Gruber: screenwriter John August compares running your own blogging software to baking your own bread.

Over the weekend, there was a lot of uproar about a worm attack on WordPress installations that wrecked some notable blogs. Amid the sometimes-smug observations by the unaffected, I found one point that needs to be elevated to basic principle:

Most people shouldn’t be running their own blogging software.

Due to the unfortunate demise of my old hard drive, I have upgraded to a MacBook Pro and Leopard. I’m still not fully moved into the new mac, so I haven’t been blogging much. I may post the full hard- and software saga at some point, but for now I’ll just say the multitouch trackpad is the best part.

You can always follow me on Twitter for more timely (if more lightweight) updates.

Via Futurismic: Jonah Lehrer at seed’s science blogs discusses research into mutant taste-impaired mice who still prefer sugar and other indications of our basic drive for calories.

This is a troubling idea, since it reveals the very deep biological roots underlying the obesity epidemic.

At Technovelgy: the Guardian reports on solving the Hamiltonian path problem with E. coli.

Programming such a computer is no easy task, however. The researchers coded a simplified version of the problem, using just three cities, by modifying the DNA of Escherichia coli bacteria.

Via Daring Fireball: the future comes to an iPhone near you with a virtual reality-style app for finding subway stations. Watch the movie.