Knowing the Path

Often the question I get asked is really just asking, "What do I say next to win the debate."

To date my answer has been along the lines of, "There is no spoon", an answer calculated to infuriate Orlando, but really directed towards rejecting the premise of the question in the hope of providing a purpose at the same time as providing a tool.

What do we mean by "winning"? Is it the journey? Will we only know once we get there? (In which case, yes, it's the journey thing).

Further Info:
"Eight ways to get exactly what you want" by Dan Jones and Alison Motluk, NewScientist, Issue 2655, 7 May 2008
"Digital billboards get a little creepier" by Alana Semuels, LA Times, 27 October 2008
"More Reflections on Bobby Fischer" by Patrick J Lyons, The New York Times, 18 January 2008
"The Behavioral Revolution" by David Brooks, NYtimes.com, 27 October 2008

[Solved] Ubuntu HDMI Audio (GeForce 8200)

After a LiveCD install of Intrepid there's no sound! Sigh... Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get a terminal.

Step 1 - Kill Pulse Audio & Install ALSA
Install the following packages:

% sudo apt-get install alsa-oss
% sudo apt-get install libasound2
% sudo apt-get install libasound2-plugins
% sudo apt-get install sysv-rc-conf

Move Pulse Audio (to the home folder) and then turn it off:

% sudo mv /etc/Xll/Xsession.d/70pulseaudio ~/
% gconftool-2 -s -t bool /apps/gnome_settings_daemon/plugins/sound/active
% asoundconf unset-pulseadio

Remove Pulse Audio from runlevel:

% sudo sysv-rc-conf
(page down until you find "pulseaudio" then uncheck all the boxes, save and exit)

Configure ALSA to use your sound card:

% asoundconf list
Names of available sound cards:
[card name]
% asoundconf set-default-card [card name]

And ensure that libao.conf is using ALSA:

% sudo nano /etc/liabo.conf
default_driver=alsa

Step 2 - Install nVidia & ALSA Drivers
First, kill the GUI (you can restart it using gdm):

% sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

Uninstall the proprietary drivers if you installed them (Ubuntu will probably recommend you get proprietary driver version 173 or 177 when you first install).

% sudo apt-get remove nvidia-glx

Now download the latest nVidia drivers from here (I'm using Linux IA32 version 177.82) and install:

% sudo sh [NVIDIA-Linux-x86-177.82.pkg1.run]
(Follow the prompts... Yes, Agree, OK, Next, Yes)

Reboot the computer and download the latest ALSA drivers from here (I'm using "alsa-driver-1.0.18a.tar.bz2"). You'll then need to decompress the file, go to the directory it creates and install:

% bunzip2 -c [alsa-driver-1.0.18a.tar.bz2]
% cd [~/directory name]
% ./configure
% make
% sudo make install

Reboot the computer again, then see what you have:

% aplay -l

Hopefully you have a device with "HDMI" in it. If not, try looking here.

Now navigate to System->Preferences->Sound and turn everything from "auto-detect" to the HDMI device (and disable ESD if it is enabled).

Open up the volume control (double click on the speaker icon or gnome-volume-control) and change "Device" to the HDMI device.

Then select "Preferences" and check anything with "IEC958" in it (also, in "Playback" make sure the IEC958 device is not muted!)

Further info:
RKHTPC

RKHTPC

Origen AE S16V Enclosure

Corsair 520W Modular PSU

Zalman CNPS7500AlCu Cooler

nVidia 780a Chipset

AMD Phenom 9750 2.4GHz Quad Core

Integrated GeForce 8200 HDMI/VGA -> Sony Bravia 42XBR

2x2GB DDR2 SDRAM

64GB SSD

2x1TB HDD

Pioneer BD-202 Blu-ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
Wireless-G 802.11b/g PCI 54Mbps

Media Center Remote

Further info:

Enspire Digital

Origen AE

Sony

Ubuntu

The Pursuit of Happyness

Wasssuuuuppp

Then...

...and now

Carp struggling upstream
Did someone lose their nice pet?
He’s looking for peace.

This is a deeply personal poem, with two layers of meaning.

After our visit to Hiroshima on 6 August I went running in Machida and saw a large orange carp swimming in the concrete stream next to the running track.

To an Australian it was surprising to see a carp swimming in a stream in the middle of Tokyo. My first concern was that the carp had escaped from someone’s private pond and it was suffering.

But on closer inspection I noticed that the carp was merely staying still and happily feeding on the bottom of the stream. Masako explained to me that carp are very common in streams in Japan.

This is the literal meaning of the poem.

The second meaning of the poem relates to the city of Hiroshima. Hiroshima’s baseball team is the Carp, so the carp in the poem is a metaphor for the people of Hiroshima.

The people of Hiroshima suffered and continue to suffer great loss after 6 August 1945. The people of Hiroshima continue to strive for world peace and a world free of nuclear weapons.

Thank you for listening to my poem.

Under The Wire: Cops and Robbers

After reading lots of raving reviews about the HBO series, 'The Wire', I finally got myself a copy of the first season. I'm not even at the end yet, (trying, without too much discipline, to pace myself!) but I can say it's one of the best tv shows I've seen.

Apparently Barack Obama's favourite show (maybe another reason I decided to get on board?), The Wire is set in the mean streets of Baltimore, featuring a predominantly mixed-race cast.

The viewer can see both sides of the story, so to speak, from the perspectives of the cops and the drug runners. But it's not nearly as clear cut as Law and Order or other cop shows of the genre. For one thing, it's really difficult to judge (and at times, to warm to) any of the characters - no one's good; no one's bad. Not necessarily a revelation, you might say, but in this case, it actually adds to the charm of the characterisation.

For another, the issue of race is broached with considerable nuance and insight. And the dialogue is so well-written - for once I feel like I'm a fly on the wall, and in a move that reminds me of the West Wing, have to remind myself that these people are actors.

I'm also really interested that this is, in fact, another cops and robbers show. I'm not normally drawn to these (although I did enjoy Underbelly recently) and wonder how the genre may keep iterating as audiences get savvier and better clued in to guess the narrative tricks.

Any new* shows that have caught your eye?

*When I say 'new', there are actually five seasons of The Wire out - great news for first-time watchers!

if(x=hacked,??,false)

I think this question has to get asked by all policy makers and choice architects when implementing just about anything.

Further Info:
"Scientists breed cows that give skimmed milk" by Jonathan Leake, Sunday Times, 27 May 2007
"The rice with human genes" by Sean Poulter, Mailonline, 6 March 2007
"The Memory Hacker" by Stephen Handelman, Popsci.com.au, 3 April 2007
"How to use math to choose a wife" by Chris Matyszczyk, cnet news, 13 August 2009
"Be More Than You Can Be" by Noah Schachtman, WIRED Magazine, Issue 15.03 March 2007

Who said...

"Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss."

"Mooltipass!"

"You know I hate that mongoloid voice!"

"After you get where you're going, take off your shoes and your socks then walk around on the rug bare foot and make fists with your toes."

"Hey! It's me."
"Prove it."
"You're a dick."
"Okay."

"Two weeks."

"Well I might"

"Tortoise? What's that?"

"No. Last season's losers."

"I'll be a lap dog of Satan."

"What do you mean, 'They cut the power'? How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!"

"Oh stewardess? I speak jive."

"The world you live in is just a sugar-coated topping!"

"Well I figured it out. Death is my gift."

"I'm just gonna talk."

"Whoa. Deja vu."

"If it bleeds. We can kill it."

Further Info:
IMDB quotes

"He had a bunch of keys"

[1978] 2 Lloyd's Rep. 172 at 173:

Lord DENNING, M.R.:

It was a factory at Gillingham in Kent. A firm called Photo Production Ltd. made Christmas cards there, and such like. There was a lot of paper and cardboard about which would burn easily. The factory was shut up for the night, locked and secure. No one was supposed to go in except a man on night patrol. He came from a security firm called Securicor. He had a bunch of keys. His duty was to go through the factory and see that all was safe and secure. No burglars and no fire.

On the night of Oct. 18/19, 1973, the patrolman was George Musgrove. He was a young man only 23 years old, unmarried. He came of a respectable family and had satisfactory references. He had been with Securicor for some three months. Securicor cannot be blamed for employing him on the job.

At the dead of night--10 minutes before midnight--Musgrove went to the factory. He unlocked the front door and went through the factory, switching on the lights as he went. Then he lit a match and threw it onto a cardboard box. It burst into flames. He says that he only meant it to be a very small fire and intended to put it out within a minute or two. But it got beyond his control. He was terrified and dialled 999 for the fire brigade. He tried to stop it spreading. He lost his glasses and false teeth. His right hand and arm were burnt. He staggered out of the factory through the smoke and flames. By that time the firemen and police were there. They had answered the call with great promptitude. They were at the factory at three minutes past midnight. But they could not save it. There was already a wall of flame across the building. Flames were coming through the roof. The place was gutted. The damage to the building and stock was put at £400,000. The loss of business at £250,000. Musgrove was afterwards charged with arson. He pleaded guilty to malicious damage and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

The occupiers of the factory claim damages *174* from Securicor for this loss. The Judge has held that Securicor are exempted from liability by an exception clause in the contract. The factory occupiers appeal to this Court.

Further Info:
Photo Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd [1980] AC 827
More Lord Denning quotes at LegalHumour.com
"The Law Explored: Lord Denning" by Gary Slapper, TimesOnline, 29 August 2007

Paris in the the Spring

I find this really funny. I don't know why...

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/05/opinion/oe-kenney5

A Red Spot Ate My Baby

Fascinating.

Fractally like a lava lamp.

It's My Party

I know this is an example of sh*t she would not have to put up with if she was a man and I hesitate to buy in to the media pile on. However in the wake of New Hampshire it's still worth asking the question: was this a brilliant piece of campaigning?

I tend to think it was. Maybe that's just sour grapes. I'm for Obama.