On being employed by a computing pioneer: Leo Fantl …

The recent passing of computing pioneer David Caminer reminds me of Leo Fantl, one of Caminer’s original team of programmers, also deceased.

Leo Fantl, b. August 8, 1924, Teptliz Schoenau, Czechoslovakia – November 11, 2000, Johannesburg, Africa.

Leo hired me to be a salesman at LEO Computer Bureau in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the late seventies. I wanted to be a trainee computer operator/programmer but they thought I was presentable enough and insightful about solving business problems on hired computer time (few could afford a mainframe back then): They put my enthusiasm to work in sales. I did surprisingly well, making salesman of the month several times over in my novice year, but I had no passion for selling. I wanted to control the machine.

Why Firefox sometimes prints only one of many pages …

Firefox, for as long as I’ve known it, right up to version 3.0, appears to have a problem printing multiple pages where frames and tables are involved — either to the printer or to PDF on my Mac. By default it often prints only one page: Page one of many.

The problem may have to do with how it handles — or mishandles — frames. I’ve discovered that if in the print dialog box you select “Frames: The selected frame” option (the default being “Frames: As laid out on the screen”) then it’ll print all pages, to printer and to PDF.

That should be the end of this story, right? No.

Milk Tart

“Melk Tert” is the Afrikaans name of a South African custard pie, a desert typically served at a braai (barbeque) or at tea time. Milk Tart, on the other hand, is not simply the English translation of that desert. It’s a road-side concoction which bikers brew up from easily obtained ingredients from almost any convenience and bottle store on their tours around sub-saharan Africa. It’s an alcohol based drink reminiscent of Bailey’s Irish Cream, only younger, stronger and tastes like more. Sublime on the rocks (which is the hardest thing to find along the roadside, ice, not rocks) …

Recipe:
One medium can of condensed milk (approx 300g).
Half a bottle of vodka (375ml).
Pour can of sweetened condensed milk into half a bottle of vodka.
Shake up well and pour over ice.

Suggested reading Wikipedia’s entry on Bailey’s Irish Cream |
Melk Tert recipe | Mrs Kwok’s Mini Fruit Tarts