Aurlog

Da Vinci judge writes his own code

The BBC reports that the judge of the recent Dan Brown/Holy Blood Holy Grail (HBHG) plaigarism trial apparently left his own code in the judgement on the case. There are letters in italics which seem to spell out some words. Good stuff. He has apparently agreed to confirm it if anyone cracks it.

This makes sense of why the judgement took so long to come out. Interestingly I noticed that the judgement also admits that he had read HBHG several times over the last twenty years. Oh dear.


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A.D. V KAL. MAI. MMVI

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CILIP debates

Tom Roper links to a couple of interesting online debates concerning CILIP and its purpose, particular one on Freepint.

I'm playing with weblog setup, in particular tags, so if this post keeps reappearing and changing I apologise.


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Happy Easter

Easter, the time when we celebrate the death and alleged resurrection of the founder of the Merovingian dynasty by eating chocolate is almost upon us and the famously secular college for whom I work are good enough to give us a week off while they are closed. As I blog mostly on work computers, I will say Happy Easter and see you next week. To keep you going, a short guide to Easter:Tomorrow is Monday Thursday. Friday is Good because of Hot Cross Buns, which are on a perpetual buy one get one free offer. Sunday is Easter as also is Monday.

You see, I need the week off.


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Da verdict

The Da Vinci Code trial ended last Friday with the judge finding in favour of Mr Brown. I think this was the only realistic verdict. As George MacDonald Fraser said in the Telegraph at the weekend:

They've got to lose that case ... If they win it's going to make writing historical fiction very difficult. Anyway, as I understand it, there's no copyright in ideas.

However, it would have been far more entertaining had the the verdict gone the other way. I don't know quite how these things work, whether it would have come down to enormous damages or cessation of Da The Vinci Code's sale, but it would certainly have thrown a spanner in the works of the forthcoming film (tagline Seek the truth). As it is, the conspiracy of the Templars (the Temple in London is still linked to the law in England!), masons (everyone knows all judges are masons!), and the Priory of Sion (a secret society, which is why they weren't overtly connected to the trial, although they surely must have been!) won after all and Baigent and Leigh are effectively ruined. Anyway, there is a trailer for the film on Google Video. I have my suspicions the film will be better than the book.

Aside from the news page linked above, the BBC offer a number of interesting pages on the trial:

  • Extracts from the judge's ruling, including the following, which contradicts the assumption that the case was won on the idea that a novel can't be found to infringe the copyright of a 'history' book: There is nothing for example in this case, which if decided in the claimants' favour, would stultify creative endeavour, obtain a monopoly on ideas or historical information or create a precedent which extends the boundaries of copyright protection in sphere of literary works. The complete text of the ruling is available and I intend to try and at least skim through it if I get the chance.
  • Reactions of the protagonists to the verdict, including the following quote from Richard Leigh: I think by its very nature, this case entailed a conflict between the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. We lost on the letter of the law, I think we won on the spirit of the law, and to that extent we feel vindicated. No, you lost, and I can't see how the judge's ruling in any way vindicated the plaintiffs. As I said above, I mean to give the ruling more of a read. If I can be bothered.
  • Would you buy a second-hand car from one of these?. That's not what the story says, of course, but it does give pictures, and does beg the question. If I had to purchase a second-hand Ford Escort from any of them, I have to admit I would go for Dan Brown, providing his wife didn't do the research on the car's history. I would have serious reservations about approaching Richard Leigh on a dark night. I'm sure they're all lovely really.

Roll on the film this Christmas on ITV!


Comments (51)

G. wrote

There's one thing I don't understand about this case (apart from the fact that it ever got to court). Brown claimed not to have read Da Holy Blud, yet the villain's name in his novel is an anagram of Baigent. That seems a trifle coincidental to me.

Tom wrote

I think he claimed that he read other sources first, came up with the basic plot, then read HBHG. As the judge wrote: "What is extraordinary about Mr Brown's evidence is that he appears to have acquired all of the books that cover this area apart from the one that is described [in the book Templar Revelations which Mr Brown did consult] as essential reading" (ruling, para 203).

order here wrote

I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. Not much on my mind to speak of. Not that it matters. More or less nothing seems important. Zod Scenki wrote

There are a few men in opera who don't mind doing beefcake. Friends and I used to joke that Samuel Ramey had a clause in his contracts mandating him baring his furry chest at some point.

Bob Dannon wrote

Not much on my mind. Oh well. Basically not much notable going on today.

Zod Scenki wrote

I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. Not much on my mind to speak of. Not that it matters. More or less nothing seems important.

Hams Delavera wrote

Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. My mind is like a void. So it goes. What can I say? I haven't gotten anything done today, but maybe tomorrow. Eh.

Zod Scenki wrote

I've more or less been doing nothing to speak of. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but it's not important. Whatever

Uma Turman wrote

I can't be bothered with anything. Pretty much nothing seems worth bothering with, but I don't care. I just don't have anything to say right now. Not much on my mind these days, but I guess it doesn't bother me. My life's been really bland these days, but whatever.

Bob Dannon wrote

I feel like a complete blank. Eh. I haven't gotten anything done these days. More or less nothing seems worth bothering with. Not much on my mind lately. Shrug.

Dan Glober wrote

Very informative and well designed website. I'm sure, you will be successful with it, have a nice day!

Kirill Abdula wrote

Lorsque la main d'un homme effleure la main d'une femme, tous deux touchent a l'eternite.

Zod Scenki wrote

More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I guess it doesn't bother me. I just don't have much to say right now. My life's been completely bland lately.

Andy Lione wrote

My mind is like a bunch of nothing. My life's been really unremarkable , but it's not important. I can't be bothered with anything these days. I just don't have anything to say lately.

Kirill Abdula wrote

I feel like a complete blank. Eh. I haven't gotten anything done these days. More or less nothing seems worth bothering with. Not much on my mind lately. Shrug.

Ben Desant wrote

I just don't have anything to say lately. Pfft. Maybe tomorrow. I don't care. That's how it is.

Max Frei wrote

I've just been letting everything happen without me lately, but oh well. I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a complete loss. Shrug. More or less nothing seems important, but such is life.

Mick Fright wrote

I've more or less been doing nothing , but oh well. Basically nothing seems worth thinking about, but such is life. I don't care. I haven't been up to much.

Aaron Serdel wrote

I've posted the series over on my education blog, so commenting is open.

Bob Dannon wrote

I pray for world peace where all people can live free and happy.

Max Frei wrote

I just don't have anything to say lately. Pfft. Maybe tomorrow. I don't care. That's how it is.

Uma Turman wrote

I've just been letting everything wash over me recently, but pfft. Shrug. I feel like a bunch of nothing. Whatever. Basically nothing noteworthy going on right now, but I guess it doesn't bother me.

Kirill Abdula wrote

These are all great comments and suggestions (and more are welcome). Thanks. I will follow up as soon as I can.

Mick Simon wrote

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Mick Fright wrote

I haven't gotten anything done , but whatever. Today was a loss. So it goes. I've just been sitting around not getting anything done. I can't be bothered with anything these days, but I don't care.

Zod Scenki wrote

I've more or less been doing nothing , but oh well. Basically nothing seems worth thinking about, but such is life. I don't care. I haven't been up to much.

Dan Glober wrote

I haven't been up to anything , not that it matters. Basically nothing seems important, but I guess it doesn't bother me. Not much on my mind to speak of. Today was a loss, but maybe tomorrow.

Aaron Serdel wrote

I feel like a complete blank. Eh. I haven't gotten anything done these days. More or less nothing seems worth bothering with. Not much on my mind lately. Shrug.

Mick Simon wrote

I haven't gotten anything done lately, but maybe tomorrow. I guess it doesn't bother me. Pretty much nothing seems worth doing, but oh well.

Andy Lione wrote

I just don't have much to say. I haven't gotten much done today. Eh. Maybe tomorrow. I can't be bothered with anything recently, but I guess it doesn't bother me.

Bob Dannon wrote

Washington - The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show.

Hams Delavera wrote

I haven't been up to much recently. I've just been letting everything happen without me lately. I feel like a bunch of nothing.

Andy Lione wrote

As someone who does see stagflation lite on the horizon, perhaps even the near-term horizon, i would like to know why greenspan thinks it "doesn't" seem that we are entering a period of stagflation.

reviews site wrote

My life's been pretty unremarkable lately, but pfft. Oh well. My mind is like a void. I haven't gotten much done.

Zod Scenki wrote

I just don't have anything to say lately. Pfft. Maybe tomorrow. I don't care. That's how it is.

Kirill Abdula wrote

The best site ever!Thank's.Your site is great.I just happened to have a moment to surf the net and came across it.Thanks 4 the good information I have found on your site.

Kirill Abdula wrote

I've just been letting everything happen without me lately, but oh well. I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a complete loss. Shrug. More or less nothing seems important, but such is life.

Dan Glober wrote

My mind is like a bunch of nothing. My life's been really unremarkable , but it's not important. I can't be bothered with anything these days. I just don't have anything to say lately.

Aaron Serdel wrote

My life's been pretty unremarkable lately, but pfft. Oh well. My mind is like a void. I haven't gotten much done.

Uma Turman wrote

I agree with RSA. This could work, but a simple bulletted list on a homepage will not suffice. If you don't know about this service already:

Max Frei wrote

I haven't been up to much recently. I've just been letting everything happen without me lately. I feel like a bunch of nothing.

Kirill Abdula wrote

Regarding the open-source "rules", have you considered releasing the models under a Creative Commons license?

Andy Lione wrote

I haven't been up to much recently. I've just been letting everything happen without me lately. I feel like a bunch of nothing.

Ben Desant wrote

The best site ever!Thank's.Your site is great.I just happened to have a moment to surf the net and came across it.Thanks 4 the good information I have found on your site.

Andy Lione wrote

More buyers required means a lower price will have to be charged.

Dan Glober wrote

More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I guess it doesn't bother me. I just don't have much to say right now. My life's been completely bland lately.

Aaron Serdel wrote

I just don't have much to say. I haven't gotten much done today. Eh. Maybe tomorrow. I can't be bothered with anything recently, but I guess it doesn't bother me.

Mick Simon wrote

There are tantalizing hints that improvement can be more dramatic when diversity is eliminated, such as single gender classes, blacks performing better when reinforced by their own successes.

Hams Delavera wrote

There are a few men in opera who don't mind doing beefcake. Friends and I used to joke that Samuel Ramey had a clause in his contracts mandating him baring his furry chest at some point.

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A.D. IV ID. APR. MMVI

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Backgammon luck

Sil, who has for some time refused to play backgammon with me after a series of (admittedly often close) thrashings may find some comfort in the following, which I found on Wikipedia. It concerns one of the earliest backgammon playing computers, BKG 9.8:

by July 1979, BKG 9.8 was ready to play against then current world champion Luigi Villa. It won the match, 7-1, becoming the first computer program to defeat a world champion in any game, although this was mostly a matter of luck, as the computer happened to get better dice rolls than its opponent in that match.

On a related note, Cowthello has now been de-XHTML'd so should work properly again. One day I mean to programme a 3-ply version using the alpha-beta algorithm without tying myself in knots. Until then, you'll have to make do with this.


Comments (2)

sil wrote

Nice. Note that I just played Cowthello against http://www.freegames.ws/games/boardgames/othello/othello.htm and it kicked your cow's arses, so the three-ply version is clearly now a priority.

Tom wrote

I bet it still beat you though.

NON. APR. MMVI

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Brutal ice cream

Ben and Jerry are bringing out the following new flavour of ice cream (via Crooked Timber):

Ben and Jerry Black and Tan ice cream

I thought this might be an April Fool, but it seems to be persisting in a convincing manner at the Ben and Jerry website. There is apparently a popular drink in the US called Black and Tan which I confess to never having heard of. However, as Crooked Timber put it, how will they marketing this in Ireland? I can't believe the scores of highly paid corporate advertisers missed this one. To be honest, I can't imagine it tasting too good either, but I'm willing to give it a go.


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NON. APR. MMVI

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New train company

There is now a new train company running through Sandy: First Capital Connect. This is rather a rubbish, overlong, and ambiguous if innocuous name. By my reckoning, First operate 6 services 'connecting' to the capital in some way. Still, it's amusing to hear the announcers at King's Cross stumbling over the name. I expect they were glad when the old franchisees, WAGN (West Anglia Great Northern) initially lost the West Anglian bit of their franchise, forcing announcers to say WAGN as a word or initials to prevent the name being a nonsence. They're not laughing now. When I set up my own train operating company, I'm going to call it Red Lorry Yellow Lorry Rail or some such.

No dramatic changes yet. Although I notice that they were very quick to get their staff in new uniforms and the automated announcements (not used at Kings Cross) changed immediately. Either they dug that man who's been doing the announcements across the south east for the last fifty years out of retirement or they've got some flashy voice sampling system going. The WAGN website has also disappeared very quickly. I wonder if FCC, as those of us in the know will no doubt start calling them, will change the livery of the trains and the stations as quickly. It took WAGN ages to do the latter, although I prefer their purple to FCC's blue (you could have guessed that). As for the trains, the old ones have changed a lot, but the networkers are still mostly in British Rail Network Southeast colours.

Most importantly, I missed out on the FCC goodie bags yesterday as I came in late and my train came into platform one at King's Cross. Damn.


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PRID. NON. APR. MMVI

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Tom