• Lossy zip (aka LLZW: lossy-lempel-ziv-welch).
• 3rd-party file compression.  Automatic distribution of file chunks via a CDN, using block checksums, ala ZFS de-duplication (this might be what BitTorrent is already doing; this just uses a CDN instead of p2p)
  
  • the coolest part about 3rd-party file compression is that it could be calculated automatically and common chunks be replicated more broadly or moved to where they are most frequently used.  Actually, I think Freenet does this already.  Akamai should too.
• Windows OS fractal compression.  File compression via matching blocks in standard Windows install files.  Or in any OS.  Or in the browser itself (requires client to accurately represent browser/version/OS combo).  Ala fractal image compression.
• Shared strings compression.  Google could publish a dict of most common strings appearing on the web.  The browser would publish its version as an Accept header, and if the client/server dicts matched, the common-strings-compressed version could be delivered.  Similar to 3rd-party auto-CDN compression, but the nearest CDN is actually cached on your local computer.

• Flower imprinted images, ala laser etched fruit and Japanese apples.  Flowers would have to be etched after budding.  Longer-lived plants could be imprinted early and allowed to grow (like carving names into bark).

Handling exceptions is tricky. Opinions vary on whether you should catch and report to a central error handler, only catch exceptions you know how to recover from, or fail-fast and allow exceptions to bubble up until the program exits.

Our email management API takes a different tack:

void CEmailManagerExtension::CMDCreateMailbox()
{
    try {
        // ...do some work...
    } catch (...) {
        rCtxt.Redirect("http://www.ebay.com");
    }
}

Obviously if something goes wrong with the create-mailbox API call, the correct response is to send the client to eBay. Maybe they can buy error handling that doesn't suck.

This code has existed since 2002 - no word on whether eBay pays us a revshare for traffic.

• Vista box at work can't talk to any printers.
  
• HP printer won't print black, even though its ink cartridge is full.
  
• XP box has an endlessly-installing update.
  
• Linksys router needs to be power-cycled daily.
  
• Flash card reader lost an entire day's worth of photos
  
• MSJVM can't be installed OR uninstalled on some Vista machines. Windows 7 won't install it at all.
  
• VC6 programs can't be rebuilt under VC8 due to reliance on MFC80.dll and complexity of side-by-side Windows DLL installs
  
• Buildr VPS was wiped and reinstalled by tech support after Win2k3/ASP.NET went t*ts-up.
  

ME: Damn, I need to print a boarding pass! I guess I'll try my HP C4480 Photo Printer/Scanner at home.

HP C4480: Black is such a dreary color! I prefer bright bold vibrant colors, full of life and anticipation! Greens, reds, yellows: they are the springtime! Speak not to me of black.

ME: But I need a boarding pass.

HP C4480: If you were to paint it on a flower, I would print it for thee.

ME: I don't think the United scanners read flowers.

HP C4480: I will not compromise my art! I shall print it in a pale grey-blue, which is the color of the skeleton THAT IS ALL I SEE WHEN I LOOK AT YOUR FACE.

",".join(["a", "b"])

"a,b".split(",")   # why is this backwards?

(every? ...)
(not-every? ...)
(some ...)         ; why not 'any?'
(not-any? ...)

I felt the urge to do some math and calculate how many people are currently experiencing their finest hour. For any given hour, how many people around the world will count it as their finest?

• World population: 6,738,085,903
• Worldwide life expectancy (average): 66.12 years
• 66.12 years/life * 8,736 hrs/year = 577,624 hrs/life
• Finest hour = population / life expectancy = 11,665

11,665 people will count this hour as their finest.

Of course there are lots of caveats:

• Age is not evenly distributed.
• Population is not evenly distributed. Fewer people are awake during some hours, so the number of people likely to have their finest hour is smaller.
• "Finest hour" is a relative term. Your finest hour may not compare to someone else's. Infants who die young will find their choice of hour unfairly limited ("You lived what anybody gets, Bernie. You got a lifetime. No more. No less." --Gaiman).
• "Finest hours" are not evenly distributed over lifetime. Many older people feel that their golden years are behind them. However, this feeling might just be based on the probability of their finest hour occurring in the past vs. the time remaining.
• "Finest hours" are influenced by external events. Depending on whether you believe the world is progressing or imploding, opportunities for finest hours might be better in the future or the past. Wars, elections, the space race, etc., also bring out "finest hours" for many people at once (cf. 1938-1945).