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Sure Ubuntu sounds great, but where can I buy it?

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:34:11 GMT

Yeah, weird I know. Best Buy is selling Ubuntu. I know there have been some heated discussions on the topic of selling this free software, but I think it is actually a good thing they are doing. The more people gaining access to Linux, the better.

Flickr HDR Wallpaper pool

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:30:00 GMT

I know I am a little "late to the party" on this topic, but I have recently discovered HDR (High Dynamic Range) images to use as wallpapers on my laptop. If you haven't ever heard of it, then you should definitely check it out.

high dynamic range imaging (HDRI) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of exposures (the range of values between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDRI is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to shadows.

I came across a flickr pool devoted to these HDR wallpapers. Very cool!

Here is an example of one of my favorites:

Other sources for HDR wallpaper:

Hulu opens to the public March 12th!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:46:00 GMT

In honor of Hulu.com officially opening up to the public (tomorrow), here is one of my favorite SNL clips.... PUNCHED!

Hulu.com has partnered with, among others, MGM and Sony to offer full-length television shows, clips, etc.

PCLinuxOS doesn't dissappoint

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:21:00 GMT

Just a quick shout out to PCLinuxOS from a long time Ubuntu user. Nice work!

I haven't found any reason to declare Ubuntu a clear victor over PCLOS. In fact, I am really enjoying this OS for the time being.

Here is a screenshot of my current config. (click image for fullsize)

Testing KBlogger

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 22:45:00 GMT

This post is being created in kblogger, a KDE kicker applet that supports the Blogger and Metaweblog API's. First Impressions: Very minimalisitic... No image upload support, very little wysiwyg type of options. The only options I see are 'bold', 'italic', and add a link. Only one category.... InstantSpot supports multiple categories, and tagging as well. So this is a little bit of a drawback for those who like to really categorize their posts. It might work ok for this blog though. Buggy... Or at least it seems like it is. As I hit 'enter' it seems to remove any formatting I have done to previous text. Read more about kblogger here: kblogger .pwsp .net Overall...I'm probably not going to continue using kblogger. Scribefire is very superior to this applet.

--------------

Edit:

Ok, kblogger really isn't any good whatsoever. That post above was actually nicely spaced out and somewhat formatted in my kblogger editor.

kblogger...you are getting uninstalled!

ASUS eee PC VS Everex Cloudbook

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:58:00 GMT

Asus EEE PC VS Everex Cloudbook

For some reason, I am extremely intrigued by these tiny laptops. As a developer I really couldn't make use of one in my work, the screen is too small, the storage is too limited, and out-of-the-box there just isn't enough memory.

But I can't help myself...I want one!

When ASUS announced they were going to be releasing such an affordable, linux based mini-laptop I was excited. A) because another company was rolling a machine with linux as the OS, and B) finally an ultra small laptop that was cheap!

One of the major drawbacks in my opinion was the 4GB of storage that the eee PC offered (in the $399 model). 4GB is just almost unusable in this day and age.

Everex, the makers of the gPC (the $199 desktop system with an Ubuntu derivative operating system) are about to release their competitor to the eee PC. Lets look at the Cloudbook and compare it to the eee PC.

(PRICE is $399 for each of these two laptops. )

Processor Speed

eee PC: Intel Celeron M processor with 900MHz

Cloudbook: 1.2GHz, VIA C7 -M Processor ULV

Memory (RAM)

eee PC: 512MB DDR2

Cloudbook: 512MB DDR2

Hard Drive

eee PC: 4GB flash-based SSD hard drive

Cloudbook: 30GB HDD

Display

eee PC: 7" WVGA TFT Display (800 x 480)

Cloudbook: 7" WVGA TFT Display (800 x 480)

Weight

eee PC: 2 pounds

Cloudbook: 2 pounds

As you can tell from the specs, these two machines are fairly evenly matched except in two areas, processor and storage. For the same price, you can get almost 50% more processor and over 7 times the storage. Also, in terms of case appearance the Cloudbook is more appealling to me.

That all said, I haven't actually had the opportunity to get my hands on either one so all I can to is admire them both from afar. But if I had to choose, I'd order the Cloudbook.

Meat Cake day at work

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:37:23 GMT

Today we were very fortunate... a co-worker was generous enough to bake us a meat cake! Yes that is mashed potato icing, with red and green bellpepper decorations. Very festive.

Just in case you were wondering, meat cake is very tasty and quite satisfying. :)

Two legged dog that walks like a human

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:59:00 GMT

Wow, this dog is awesome! But, I think I would have to do a some laughing if I ever saw this pooch in person.

[youtube qLXHvBFG-CI]

PAINFUL Broken leg video. OUCH!!!

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:27:31 GMT

Wow, this one is a stomach turner... If you want to skip ahead in the video, its about 3/4 of the way through...watch for the kid in the black shirt and black shorts.

[youtube KAQPSvVPO74]

More fun(ny) with Synthol

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:11:06 GMT

lol at all of this

Awesome floating ATV thing...the Cherburator

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:02:25 GMT

Ok, this thing looks fun! The music really helps add something too, so be sure to turn up the speakers.

[youtube DbtJIq3SRcg]

Get rid of those huge fonts in Fluxbox

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:39:30 GMT

One of the things that has plagued previous installs of Fluxbox, is that some of the fonts, unless specifically over-ridden in the style settings, are HUGE. After a lot of configuration tweaking, gnome-settings-daemon running, etc. I finally found the root of the problem. It was nvidia's fault!

Previously, I have often noticed, and been slightly annoyed, that the font for my username/password in the GDM was pretty over-sized. But, since that was just a temporary screen I just kinda let it slip. What I found was a little thing called "EDID" that was sensing my resolution, and among other things, assigning a DPI value.

The EDID includes manufacturer name, product type, phosphor or filter type, timings supported by the display, display size, luminance data and (for digital displays only) pixel mapping data.

There is an xorg option to totally ignore the EDID: Option “IgnoreEDID” “true”

But I opted to just bypass the DPI settings...

Here is my device section from my xorg.conf: (notice the UseEDIDDpi option right before the closing section)

Section "Device"
    Identifier    "nVidia Corporation G72M [Quadro NVS 110M/GeForce Go 7300]"
    Driver        "nvidia"
    Busid        "PCI:1:0:0"
    Option        "AddARGBVisuals"    "True"
    Option        "AddARGBGLXVisuals"    "True"
    Option        "NoLogo"    "True"
    Option        "UseEDIDDpi" "FALSE"
EndSection

Voila, no more huge fonts in the GDM, or in Fluxbox!

Very nice Mac OSX'ish Fluxbox theme

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:55:37 GMT

Quick shout out to let people know about a very nice Fluxbox theme called "LintherBrushed"

This is one of the nicest ones I have ever used...

LintherBrushed is a brushed metal theme that looks like OS X Panther's Aqua theme. It requires that you use the development branch of Fluxbox for the pixmaps to work.

(go get it here http://themes.freshmeat.net/projects/lintherbrushed/ )

Side effects of Aspartame (namely Diet Coke)

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:45:32 GMT

I have been a big time Diet Coke drinker for a long long time. I mean, multiple Diet Cokes per day every day for as long as I can remember. Until recently, I have always just brushed off all of the fear-mongering about Aspartame/Nutrasweet as just that...fear. Well, I might be a believer in the making.

Just the other day, I decided to cut way back on the Diet Coke consumption, maybe even stop drinking entirely. As of right now, I have had only one 12oz can in over 48 hrs and I THINK I am feeling the difference already.

A little history on me...In my past I was a powerlifter/lifting enthusiast and have experienced my fair share of joint damage. So, I always just attributed my painful knees to all the heavy squats, my aching elbows to all the curls/bench-pressing, etc. I also am a big eater! And I always just wondered what was so different about me that made me so painfully hungry all the time, when other people seemed to be sated.

Now, I am not gullible enough to think that what I have begun to experience might not just be a "good day" for me, but to state it plainly...I feel different

I feel different enough actually, that today I wondered what the side-effects of Aspartame were. Was there a list of these somewhere that I could use to "compare notes" so to speak?

What I found was pretty enlightening, and has prompted me to call an end to my Diet Coke drinking days.

NOTE: My research into this topic is very cursory, and almost entirely depends on one article I found on the topic (read it here). I think that the way I feel is enough to convince me to stop drinking Diet Coke, even if other research refutes the effects stated in the linked article.)

The reactions to Aspartame as listed in the linked article:

(I bolded ones I experienced personally. I don't know if they are truly related to Aspartame or not, but they are things I experience nonetheless):

Abdominal Pain
Anxiety attacks
arthritis
asthma
Asthmatic Reactions
Bloating, Edema (Fluid Retention)
Blood Sugar Control Problems (Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia)
Brain Cancer (Pre-approval studies in animals)
Breathing difficulties
burning eyes or throat
Burning Urination
can't think straight
Chest Pains
chronic cough
Chronic Fatigue
Confusion
Death
Depression
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Excessive Thirst or Hunger
fatigue
feel unreal
flushing of face
Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair
Headaches/Migraines dizziness
Hearing Loss
Heart palpitations
Hives (Urticaria)
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Impotency and Sexual Problems
inability to concentrate
Infection Susceptibility
Insomnia
Irritability
Itching
Joint Pains
laryngitis
"like thinking in a fog"
Marked Personality Changes
Memory loss
Menstrual Problems or Changes
Migraines and Severe Headaches (Trigger or Cause From Chronic Intake)
Muscle spasms
Nausea or Vomiting
Numbness or Tingling of Extremities
Other Allergic-Like Reactions
Panic Attacks
Phobias
poor memory
Rapid Heart Beat
Rashes
Seizures and Convulsions
Slurring of Speech
Swallowing Pain
Tachycardia
Tremors
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Vision Loss
Weight gain

My Readers Love Synthol

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:47:22 GMT

So, apparently (judging by my recent traffic statistics) my readers love Synthol!!!

For those of you who don't know what Synthol is, here is the wikipedia entry on it:

Site Enhancement Oil (SEO) is a liquid substance, usually a mixture of oils, used by a few bodybuilders to increase the apparent size of some muscles. The effects of SEO are purely and solely cosmetic. It is injected either under the skin or between the muscle fibers.

Many doctors advise that use of SEOs is extremely dangerous, if not potentially fatal, as injection into a major blood vessel can cause embolism, leading to heart strokes, respiratory crisis and/or permanent brain damage if SEO traces find their way into cerebral vessels.

SEOs work by filling the muscle up with an oil substance. It is site injected, that is, it is injected directly into the muscle whose size is to be increased.

SEO is usually really only used to 'top up' a muscle that is not quite up to standard with the rest of the body, and once the use of SEO is stopped, all gains are lost, because the oil is soaked up into the muscle.

SEO is not an androgen, and does not contain steroids, It is an oil that will remain in circulation for years in the body and it will tend to damage and scar the actual muscles. It is simply a cosmetic that creates scar tissue within the muscle to make it look like it has been trained hard.

A quick search on google yields a little more technical definition of the material itself: (from Bodybuilding.com)

Synthol is composed of 85% medium-chain triglyceride oils (a fatty acid), 7.5% lidocaine (painkiller), and 7.5 5 benzyl alcohol. The preparation is injected deep into the muscle where it is encapsulated between the fascicles (bundles of muscle fibers) .

With repeated injections, a larger volume of oil builds up inside the muscle, expanding its size like a balloon filling up with air. About 30% of what is injected is metabolized by the body. The other 70% remains lodged in the muscle where it breaks down very slowly over three to five years. There seems to be some issue of debate among bodybuilders as to whether or not Synthol actually lasts this long, and some believe it is even longer.

Chris Clark, its inventor, is convinced that it somehow leads to permanent muscle growth in the effected areas, though even he is unsure of the mechanisms that would make this possible. Synthol users report amazing pumps while training, though this could be a result of the extra pressure of the accumulated oil.

[youtube Tj29BktIBkI]

Now, personally...I can't see what the hell could drive somebody to use Synthol. It seems extremely dangerous and often ends up looking ridiculous, at least in the specimens I have seen on the internet. Even the inventor of the stuff doesn't know what implications its use can have. (Seriously?!)

Read a more in depth look on Synthol here : http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ronharris8.htm

Synthol freaks: Talk about extreme body modification!

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:48:36 GMT

Back when I used to be way into body building I remember seeing pics/reading about Gregg Valentino and his insanely huge biceps. Gregg acheived these "guns" by a little hard work, and a LOT of Synthol.

Today, for some reason I wanted to see if there were any youtube videos of when his arm "exploded" and of course, I did find some. But, what I didn't expect to find was an even more extreme and ridiculous example of over-synthol'ing... Klaus Döring.

OMG this dude looks absolutely ridiculous to me!

Anyways, enjoy the videos...you might not see anything like them for quite some time.

Gregg Valentino:

[youtube sj3De6s3ZjQ]

Klaus Döring:

[youtube uc-qPqkxCsU]

Manfred (Something):

Synthol or Site Enhancement Oil (SEO) is a liquid substance, usually a mixture of oils, used by a few bodybuilders to increase the apparent size of some muscles. The effects of SEO are purely and solely cosmetic. It is injected either under the skin or between the muscle fibers. (from wikipedia )

Funny custom made Linux machine

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:32:43 GMT

HA! I stumbled across these pics on digg. I like how he keeps his screwdrivers inside the case.

[slideshow 125]

Fluxbox + Ubuntu + Cool Wallpaper = Win

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:31:26 GMT

I love Ubuntu, I am starting to love Fluxbox, and I always enjoy changing the look of my desktop.

I set all of my Fluxbox menu's and stuff to be transparent, so any wallpaper I choose, my menu's take on the color of that wallpaper.

Here is a pic of my most recent wallpaper selection (click for bigger pic):

See more Fluxbox stuff in some previous posts on my other blog: (Fluxbox: My new favorite window manager and More Fluxbox, another pic of my desktop)

MythTV Update

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:04:16 GMT

It has been a while since I have posted any news on my MythTV journey. The truth of the matter is that I ran in to a couple problems after working so long getting it all together that I decided to take a break from MythTV'ing.

Problems:

Display looks cruddy, I am using an Nvidia card and an S-Video out. There is a black border around the entire picture, and it is somewhat grainy.

Channel surfing would only take me through the network channels (4-13 ish).

I decided I would take 15 minutes yesterday and do a little more work (baby steps!) and I had a general idea what #2 might be caused by. You know how, on some TV's, you have to select which type of source your TV is utilizing. (Antenna, Cable, etc). Well I never saw a mention of this in the HOW TO's for setting up MythTV with a PVR 150. It turns out this was the case for my set up as well.

Fix for #2:

Exit out of MythTV and open up a terminal.

Run mythtv-setup

Step through the screens for setup until you see the section related to TV formats (like NTSC, PAL, etc). On that screen you will see the choice to change it from us-broad, us-cable. I made that change, "next"'d out of there and had to restart MythTV for it to work.

AHHH glorious cable channels (and with my on-screen display even working right)!

The fix for #1 is in the pipes, I ultimately want to run DVI-HDMI cable from the MythTV machine to my television so I am going to find one of those cables before I spend too much time troubleshooting the S-VIDEO connection.

Thomas and a Dragon...wow

Tue, 29 May 2007 13:50:54 GMT

So there I was, reading a book to my 2 year old when lo and behold, I discover one of the funniest pictures I have seen in quite some time.

The book: Thomas And A Dragon. A story about Thomas the tank engine, and his friends. Thomas delivers a paper dragon to a carnival...and apparently, he picks himself up a little treat of his own.

The picture: I saw this, started cracking up and knew I had to capture this for the world to see. I have not doctored this image in anyway. The profane "thing" that seems to be frightening Thomas is a little guy's hand. His very uncomortable looking hand.