Very well, the electrons haven't even dried on the last entry and we have a new winner available in full for the meager sum of £50.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the fine tradition of the Sibilla Cumana who used to cunningly move the comma in ibis redibis non morieris in bello, we have now been told that, as predicted by fine research, hackers take Christmas off and party on New Year's Eve. Next will be the news that SMS messages on New Year's Eve hit the all-time high (for the US folks, this is more GSM-only cool stuff).
For those who don't know the story or, alternatively, don't read much Latin it goes something like this: before you went off for a war you'd pop in to see the oracle and ask what would be of you. So she would say the fabled words which, depending on the position of the comma, would translate to "you shall go, you shall not return and die in war" or, alternatively, "you shall go, you shall return and not die in war". Why does it work in Latin? Simple: "ibis, redibis non, morieris in bello" gives you the bad news whereas "ibis, redibis, non morieris in bello" means you get to keep your hide. Also known as a self-fulfilling prophecy although you could suggest that the press releases are simply tautologies.
Posted by arrigo at January 9, 2003 02:13 PM