September, 3, 2003 archives

the symptom: qmail isn't delivering any outgoing mail, and is processing local mail slowly, without any indication in the logs as to why.

the problem: a version of vim compiled with the python interface is sucking up all of the cpu time after the controlling terminal (an ssh session) was disconnected. this bug exists in the version of vim packaged by red hat for 7.3, at least. the bug is explained in the vim faq.

the solution: kill the out-of-control vim.

needless to say, drawing the line between the symptoms and the solution took quite a few more zigs and zags.

i watched hannibal over the weekend, and while both julianne moore and anthony hopkins were fun to watch, i thought that the movie fell rather flat. there just wasn't much tension in the movie, and ray liotta's character seemed to serve little more purpose than a red-shirted ensign on star trek.

i wonder why imdb is missing the caron over the z in željko ivanek's first name.

others see you as a wise person.

lucky wander boy reminded me a lot of microserfs in the sense that both sort of share an overlap with own personal experiences. whereas microserfs is set in the nuttiness of a mid-90s software startup, lucky wander boy is set in the nuttiness of late-90s hollywood dotcom.

but lucky wander boy is just dripping with video game references and nostalgia (some of them, like the one the book is named for, are fictional), and has a much stronger story than microserfs (from what i remember of that book: it's been years since i read it).

some of the entries in the fictional catalogue of obsolete entertainment are just over-the-top pretentious fun.