Alas! it is delusion all: / The future cheats us from afar, / Nor can we be what we recall / Nor dare we think on what we are.

—Lord Byron

Compose tips

  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd><img><p><i><b><span><h3><h2>

  • Lines and paragraphs are automatically recognized. The <br /> line break, <p> paragraph and </p> close paragraph tags are inserted automatically. If paragraphs are not recognized simply add a couple blank lines.

  • SWF Tools Filter

    The basic syntax for embedding a flash file (.swf), flash movie (.flv) or audio file (.mp3) is:

    [swf file="filename.swf"]

    If you would like to override SWF Tools and flash player default settings, you can specify additional parameters. For example:

    [swf file="song.mp3" flashvars="backcolor=#AABBCC&&forecolor=#11AA11"]

    If you would like to output a list of files then the format is:

    [swf files="image1.jpg&&image2.jpg&&..."]
    SWF Tools Filter will accept following:
    • params : You can specify values for parameters to be passed to Flash to control the appearance of the output. Typical values are bgcolor and wmode. Example: params="wmode=true&&bgcolor="#00FF00" Alternatively you can supply each parameter individually without using params. Example wmode="true" bgcolor="#00FF00"
    • flashvars : You can specify values for output as flashvars, which become available to the Flash movie that is playing. This is often done to control a media player. Refer to the documentation of the flash player you are using to know what flashvar options are available. Example: flashvars="autostart=true&&volume=80"
    • methods : Optional information about how to display the file. The most common usage is to specify a particular media player and thus override the default specified on the settings page. Example: methods="player=onepixelout_mp3"

    WARNING: with params, flashvars and othervars, pass multiple values separated by &&.

The tale of the Trojan Horse might be apocryphal – no one knows – but it stands out as one of military history’s most famous cautionary tales about yielding to unexamined beliefs. The story goes that the Greeks, frustrated by years of waging an unsuccessful siege on the walled city of Troy, built a massive wooden horse, left it at the city gates as a parting “gift” to their putative victors, and pretended to sail home. Ignoring the naysayers (most famously, the prophet Cassandra and the priest Laocoön, both of whom warned their fellow Trojans that the gift was a trap), Troy’s leaders brought the horse inside the city walls. That night, thirty-odd soldiers who had been concealed inside crept out and opened the gates to the returned Greek army. The Greeks destroyed the city and slaughtered its citizens, thereby ending – and winning – the Trojan War.