Random Friends from the Holidays

Most of my holidays were devoted to work on Qwicap, especially its nascent, optional-extra AJAX-based features. The work was painful (I thought Javascript was a bad idea from the moment I first encountered it, and—the success of AJAX-based web applications notwithstanding—my opinion of it hasn't improved), but those features are now working well in the Firefox and Safari browsers. I don't think the features are at the point where they can be enabled by default, but they are promising. Because I don't have convenient access to Internet Explorer (no Mac version, and even when there was a Mac version, it was too different from the Windows version to be a testing substitute), the code hasn't been tested against that. Internet Explorer being the non-standards-compliant disaster area that it is, I expect it will present problems. Given that Qwicap is 100% functional without these experimental AJAX features, or any Javascript at all, I'm not sure that supporting a non-standards-compliant browser is worth significant extra work, even if it is bundled with most of the computers in the world.

All that aside, when I wasn't working on Qwicap, I did find time during the holidays to see a number of friends, and even wound-up with a few pictures that're worth showing-off....

Old friend Susan Karasoff, who I've known for more than thirty years, models a real, next-generation ACES (advanced crew escape suit) spacesuit, intended for use in the Orion CEV (crewed exploration vehicle). She was working on the suit proposal for Harris and unexpectedly found herself with an opportunity to try on their suit. She couldn't resist, and very sensibly had photos taken. I, of course, am seriously jealous. The fact that she was in Houston in order to work on the proposal meant that we crossed-paths for the first time in years.

Other friends. From left to right, Sallie Delahoussaye, Margaret Bamberger and David Bamberger. (Margaret looks a lot healthier when she isn't motion-blurred, as she is here.) The owl is, oddly enough, a western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii), who was found injured in south Austin. Either the western screeches have expanded their range a lot, or this bird had a very strange life even before it was hit on the head with a car. (Or this isn't a western screech owl, after all.) In any case, after recovering from the head injury that had landed it in Sallie's care, she decided to find it a safer home, and the Bamberger Ranch inevitably sprang to mind. As luck would have it, a few phone calls provided us with permission to release the owl at the ranch, and an invitation to new-year's dinner with David and Margaret. (My own reason for being there was installing software updates on Margaret's Mac, but that's a lot less interesting, and photo-worthy, than the owl.) The owl was released near a creek, the dinner was delicious, and the fire and company were warm. Best new-year's day I can remember.