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March 3rd, 2007
08:13 pm - Now blogging at PeaceJournals
Now blogging at PeaceJournals.org:
http://leeb.peacejournals.org
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October 3rd, 2006
10:13 pm
This stuff with North Korea vs. World is looking bad.
On one hand, I (even as a proponent of non-violence) can totally understand why NK might want to have nukes right now, given that they're one of the last strongholds of a way of life (namely a form of communism), and that they're being pressured to conform by surrounding countries with totally different principles. That's enough to make any country desperate. Having nukes IS something that other countries are entitled to, so why not NK? Granted, NK isn't possessed of the most wise and noble leaders in the world, but then, the US is the only country to have actually used nukes in anger, so why can it have them, if NK can't have them to protect a way of life?
On the other hand, I think having a few basic nuclear weapons will not be the deterrent NK imagines it to be, and that they're probably going to provoke a pre-emptive attack instead. After all, it took nuclear subs etc. to discourage NATO and the USSR from going further. Does NK have nuclear subs already, and trident-like missile programs to make these few nukes a realistic threat? I think not.
I guess to my inexperienced mind, it seems what they're trying to do is just elevate their status enough to be seen as a modern power, that deserves equal respect. But, without a shitload of money to build modern armies and, more importantly, to influence economies and thereby line pockets of the rich and powerful, I fear they'll never get that respect. Which leaves them desperate. Sadly, our leaders aren't going to be wise enough to give them respect just because they're human and deserve it like the rest of us.
So... yeah, seems like bad news to me. Anyone seeing a more positive (or negative?!) side to this?
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June 7th, 2006
11:26 pm - floral barbarism
I went to a proper garden centre today, and got better soil for my bonsai. Then I removed all the soil from my Chinese Elm's roots, and discovered the worst case scenario...
Root rot. Fairly advanced root rot. Not good. I don't think I overwatered it, but it almost certainly got overwatered while outside, in hindsight. Anyway, the question now isn't what happened, but how can I help it to recover, if it can recover. Methinks it's dead.
I haven't given up though; I washed all the roots, and cut out as much root rot as I could bear too... the base of the trunk itself might have a tiny bit at the bottom around the outside edge, but I didn't touch that. The only way to fix that would have been to saw through the trunk and then plant that in soil again, which seemed like more harm than good. And it might be just a bit wet/clayish from the previous soil. So yeah, I might have wimped out there, but I don't know.
I put it in new soil, with a high percentage of grit, as instructed. Mostly grit means good drainage and less organic matter, which both mean less chance of survival for the "rot", which is actually a combination of conditions that mutually encourage each other while attacking the tree: like waterlogging, and fungal infection. I dosed it with fungicide in the first watering after repotting.
I missed a few things though... apparently, I should have disinfected the pot with jeyes fluid before putting the tree back into it, and "soil" with no organics (in other words, pure clay pebbles, like they use for hydroponics) would have been better than other soil. But, I did the best with what I knew and what I had; I really didn't want to wait around any longer when I was finally convinced that it wasn't going to recover on its own.
So. Now I wait and see. It has a chance, I guess. There's still some life in it; I know that much. The upper branches do seem to have died back though. Hehheh... I may have to put this one down to experience :)
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June 1st, 2006
12:55 am - "update"? "up...da...te"?
Hmm. Well, it seems I've fallen behind just a little with LJ updates :DD
Luckily (well, perhaps unluckily, depending on your perspective :) I've been encouraged to update by various powerful factions on the aforesaid site. You know who you are :)
OK, so... it's been a while. Let me think. I'll start with ( the course I'm doing and projects )
( Then I'll mumble about playing go and other hobbies like bonsai )
( and what post from me would be complete without daft rants )
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February 25th, 2006
06:34 pm - TV is so dead
Wow. I never realised just how far this multimedia convergence thing was going to go until today.
http://www.getdemocracy.com/
+
http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/link_211.htm
+
Bittorrent site feeds
= Internet TV :)
For anyone who's still a bit lost, the podcasting thing has been spreading to video for a while. But it's always been just a little too awkward, until now. But Democracy Player changes all that. Just install the app, and start choosing programs you'd like to watch, and channels you'd like to subscribe to (free of course). It'll download episodes for you from all over the net -- of actual TV shows on bittorrent sites, or just from hundreds (so far) of independent producers on the web. It takes some time to download them but you just pick them, and forget about it, and it tells you when they're done. After a while, unless you choose to save them, it'll remove them again to save space. It's a lot like a TIVO or other PVR (Sky+ anyone?), but free, and much bigger in terms of potential.
The only problem is that the player is still a bit flakey, and it's not compatible with every feed out there, but it's still very usable, and judging from their site, it looks like it'll keep improving.
Now, maybe it's just me, but it looks a lot like the top-down TV and movie industries are really going to go the same way as the music industry is beginning to go. So maybe someday we'll finally reach that stage where the music and video industries are true meritocracies, with only popularity and quality determining which feeds are the most successful.
This is fascinating stuff. I'd recommend having a good play with this, even if you don't think you'll use it for real until it matures some :)
*sigh* if only Smallville wasn't postponed ;(
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January 21st, 2006
10:31 pm - not alone?
Hmm. There's a theory going around that Sol (i.e., our sun) has a companion star. Interesting stuff.
Current Mood: rss-tastic
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November 29th, 2005
November 27th, 2005
09:54 am
Some of you wanted to know when this was open to the public. It still needs lots of work -- infrastructure and a much better design as well as content and community and ease of use and all. We are kind of opening it up a bit now though, to see what will happen and what directions it might take, so:
PeaceForge
It's nowhere near as user-friendly as I'd like so far. I'd really like people to be able to find information quickly on different conflicts they might be struggling with, and to see immediately what patterns they're involved in, and ways to escape them.
Thoughts and comments welcome though :) The site itself also has a place for comments and ideas and stuff, if you check out the Meta pages.
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October 31st, 2005
01:32 pm - Smart-ass laptops
Linux kernel 2.6.14 came out recently, so I've been reading through the changelogs. One of the new features is built-in support for the accelerometer in IBM Thinkpads, which detects when they're falling, and protects the harddrive by parking its heads.
But there's a small debate going on now, about why Linux has to do this, when it's supposed to be a feature of the laptop/drive itself. Theoretically, if this was done inside a chip in the drive of the laptop, it'd probably work much faster and more reliably.
So, part of the discussion (on LWN.net) about doing it in software took a Jab at how windows asks you silly questions:
Why is this level of software support needed?
This is needed by the windows driver, it has to displays a popup:
Falling laptop wizard
Exclusive "hard drive active protection system" technology
is detecting that your laptop is falling.
Do you want Windows stop the hard disks ?
[YES] [NO] [HELP]
(Posted Oct 21, 2005 11:44 UTC (Fri) by guest tushar@mwti.net) (Post reply)
So u expect to press yes when it falls from table? If u can press yes that why not to hold it properly.
(Posted Oct 28, 2005 6:10 UTC (Fri) by guest turpie) (Post reply)
If you're confused as to how that popup dialog operates try reading this article for more information.
And another, even better part of the discussion:
IMHO subsystems like this (including other things like fan controllers and CPU temperature sensors should not depend on the host CPU at all. The host CPU is busy doing other things, thank you very much, and may not always be able to respond to a whiny little sensor nobody has ever heard of
Hehhehheh :)
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October 29th, 2005
12:56 pm - update
Hehh, I guess I should probably update this thing :)
Well, I applied for a course about a year ago, almost immediately after hearing about it. Basically, it gives professional IT certifications that would really help my CV. So I called 'em a few times, making sure they knew I was interested, but they didn't have the schedule worked out for the next year etc. yet, so I just had to leave my details and hope for the best. Eventually, I figured it wasn't happening, and forgot all about it. Then, about six weeks ago, they called me for an interview. Went, but they thought other people needed the course more. They put me on a reserve list anyway. And then, after a week, three people had dropped out, so I was in :)
Four weeks later, I've just finished an MCP exam, with really good marks, and I'm expecting to do OK in the next four exams as well. If I do, it'll really boost my employability, and earning potential. Even just this first one has been great for four week's work :)
So it's a full time course. Next week I'm off for halloween, and really looking forward to the break after all that intensive studying :)
My dad's in hospital right now, with heart problems. He's having an angioplasty (where they insert a little balloon into the blood vessels around the heart to widen them) soon, but that's a fairly common and safe procedure these days, from what I gather :)
Anyways. Since I have some time off, I'm looking forward to some modelling in blender this week :) For now, I'm trying to figure out how lofting works in blender, for a sailboat I want to model, and since I can't get terragen to load, this blender-only landscape tutorial looks like something I want to try too:
http://www.linuxgraphic.org/section3d/blender/pages/didacticiels/paysages/index-ang.html
Maybe my boat will fit nicely in a scene like that when (if!) I'm finally done :)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/dwaggins/cool.gif) relaxed
Current Music: Bob Seger - Give me the Beat Boys
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September 23rd, 2005
07:40 pm
Hmm... I get to be the chip on Gorbachev's shoulder :) The proximity to vader is a bit worrying, though :D Also worrying is the proximity of republicans to fascists. But I guess I knew that :)
( political stance quiz )
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September 19th, 2005
08:25 pm - worst rain ever
Been playin' with blender again :) This is far from done, even by my crappy standards -- all I'm really happy with is the table surface, and the curves of the surface. Table legs need work, lamp needs work, window needs glass, curtains, etc. A book or parchment on the table would be nice too, maybe along with a pen or a quill.
But... I might actually be starting to get the hang of materials and lighting a little in blender :) It's a little worrying that it takes so long though, since I was more comfortable in 3DSMax, and it happened much more quickly, with less reading. But this is definite progress :D
Current Mood: somewhere between accomplished and embarrassed
Current Music: My 10 year-old niece singing Livin' on a Prayer in the other room
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September 11th, 2005
06:26 pm - fly-bys
Warning: if you're not really soppy like me, this could make you sick ;)
A little fly just landed on my hand. Normally, I would have gently shooed it away, and got on with what I was doing, but this time I was at a "natural break" as they say, so I just let him be, figuring he'd fly off in a moment. Instead, I got to watch this marvellous ritual, as he sat and cleaned himself. I've seen flys crossing their front legs, and cleaning their heads between those front legs before, of course. But I never realised it was actually a cleaning process -- I guess I figured they were just twitchy little things :) But no... they rub their legs together for a while, probably getting some sort of fluid built up, and then they sit and wash themselves with their legs.
And who knew...? They actually sit and clean their wings, too, getting their hind legs up over their backs, and brushing down the top of their wings. I always figured their wings were probably their main focus besides their eatin' gear. They seem to have more control over those back legs than their wings though, since the wings were getting pushed up, and foreward, and it was struggling to get the legs in front of them, and over the top to brush 'em down each time. Then, it started cleaning the underside of its wings, too. Eventually, it was done, and so it settled down for a while, content with itself.
Finally, I figured I'd get back to work, and gently blew on it 'till it flew off. But I never quite expected such a complex personal grooming ritual from a fly. I'm so glad I wasn't rushing to do something just then, and had the time to really look :)
Current Mood: humbled
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September 9th, 2005
01:58 pm
Hehhehhh...
This Shrub quote was brought to you by ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) aphroditelives, by the word days, and by the number too damn many.
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August 28th, 2005
01:08 am
From wikipedia:Approximately the size of a golf ball, the sulfur lamp consists of a quartz bulb containing non-toxic sulfur and inert argon gas at the end of a thin glass spindle. A microwave magnetron energy source of 2.45 GHz bombards the lamp. The microwave energy excites the gas, which in turn heats the sulfur to an extreme degree, forming a brightly-glowing plasma capable of illuminating great areas.
Hehheh... that sounds like so much fun. Maybe I should buy one, find a wooded area near lots of houses, and fake a UFO landing... ;D
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August 9th, 2005
12:41 pm - Debian Project mourns the loss of Jens Schmalzig
The Debian Project has lost another member of its community. Jens
Schmalzig (jensen) died on July 30th in a tragic accident at his
workplace in Munich.
Jens was involved in Debian as a maintainer of several packages, as
supporter of the PowerPC port, as a member of the kernel team, and was
instrumental in taking the PowerPC kernel package to version 2.6. He
also maintained the Mac-on-Linux emulator and its kernel modules,
helped with the installer and with local Munich activities. The
kernel team dedicates the 2.6.12-2 release to him.
The Debian Project honours his good work and strong dedication to
Debian and Free Software. The contribution of Jens will not be
forgotten, and other developers will continue his work.
Jens will be missed. He left behind a wife and three children, who
have our sympathy.
*sigh*. Didn't know the guy... I'm sure I've had a conversation or two with him over bugs or something, but I can't track them down now. I use and appreciate the fruits of his work every day though, and I'm sure I'll notice the gap left behind :(
Hope his family are doing OK :(
I also hope his name goes on a memorial someday, as one of the people who made a stand against the loss of software freedom. I really do consider these guys heroes in a sense -- not in the big sense of a lone crusader, but they're all really trying, in their own small way, to make the world better for us all. Judging from what he was involved with, Jens was one of the brighter lights among them :)
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August 7th, 2005
11:10 pm - what's so civil about war anyway?
Jeez... watched a documentary about the nukes dropped on Japan tonight. Cried about four times, and just stared in horror for a lot of the rest. Words completely fail me :(
I had been reconsidering my stance on non-violence a LITTLE recently; thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to learn something like Aikido (the supposedly "non-violent" martial art, purely for defense). Watching that documentary knocked any such silly ideas right out of me, thankfully.
So I found a free Yoga video online instead; something else I've been considering lately. I do need to start regular exercise again, just to keep myself in shape, and I didn't want to resume the martial arts exercises that I learnt in the past, even if only doing the warm-up parts of that practice. So yoga will hopefully be a nice alternative, and much more interesting to me, too :)
I finally took the plunge, and have been watching the new Stargate SG1 Season 9 and Atlantis Season 2 (also a tiny bit of BSG Season 2). All going in interesting new directions, which holds lots of promise for entertainment value :)
I applied for a course recently... one I inquired about over a year ago, and just got contacted about last week. That would give me four different qualifications -- Microsoft administration and such -- in one go, so if they think I qualify, it'll be pretty handy. Also, it's in the same area as my local meditation centre, which I hadn't managed to prioritise for its own sake, so being in the area anyway would help there :)
Work-wise, I've been happily working with Python again, doing more work on my plugin for Inkscape. I also have a basically functional Jabber-based Livehelp client, which I'm working on building into a full livehelp webapp.
Oh, gotta go get my car's battery off charge, before it's too dark to see out there.
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06:57 pm - distinct lack of elephantine quality
An example of my terrible memory. I was just sitting here trying to remember what I had for lunch. Then I remembered something: a really big clue that would help to re-construct the scene:
My lunch... it was something... on a plate.
*sigh* And I took that clue so seriously, for a moment there :)
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July 19th, 2005
July 18th, 2005
11:58 pm - this'll be fun...
Hrrm.. I knew I shouldn't have cooked up those slightly-thawed veggie burgers from the freezer for lunch today. Now I get to stay up for the next few hours, running back and forward to the bathroom ;/ *sigh*
Still, life has gotta hammer these lessons home, I guess ;D
Anyways. Still working on peaceforge. Did some mockups today -- one a terrible looking, quick thing, but with a nice idea behind it, the other a really generic and mostly meaningless thing, that probably looks nice. But I'll probably do more before anyone settles on a final choice.
Yep. Times up.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/dwaggins/sick.gif) sick
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