Android XBMC Remote Mock-Up

I might try to make this one.


Credits:
android-xbmcremote
IMDb: Aliens (1986)
App Inventor


Further Info:
XBMC Skin Mock-Up: "Pred"
Desktop Mock-Up (First Try)

T-Shirts &/Or Android Apps I'd Like to See

REGION FREE

KDE 4.4 ≠ Gnome 2.3

CONTAINS ACCELEROMETER :)

小皇帝

R.I.P. MIX. BURN.

WE'RE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT

Try fewer keywords, dude

204 ERROR

PSEUDORANDOM PANDA

Who said...

"Who's doing what with huh?"

"Donald where's your trousers?"

"I know what that word means."
"And yet you still won't tell me!"

"Because one egg is un oeuf!"

"It all makes sense, in the comics you know who the arch villain is going to be. He's the exact opposite of the hero! And most time's they're friends like you, and me."

"Oh, we got both kinds, country AND western!"

"An angel doesn't make love. An angel is love."

"It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible!"

"Can everybody just notice how much fire I'm not on?"

"Hi, my name's Plenty"

"You just shot at your imaginary friend next to a truck full of 400lbs of nitroglycerine!"

"I'm a mean hm... hm... servant of God."

"No, the towels you can keep."

"I could stand to hear a little more."

"Or the fact that you steal my clothes?"

"Miggs is dead."

"Oh yes! A bolt of lightning into a huge copper conductor. I thought you lived at a school?"

"I'm not locked in here with you! You're locked in here with ME!"

"Bite my shiny metal ass!"

Windows XP Starter Kit

I can sense another imminent failure of our crappy Dell Inspiron 5150, so I'm setting out a list of software installed on this 'computer' to help with future re-installs:

• Windows XP (have the install DVD!)
• Dell drivers (Sigmatel C-Major Audo, Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller, Dell Wireless 1450 WLAN - R61603 R89437 R151517)
• NVidia drivers (Geforce GX Go5200)
• AVG Anti-Virus Free
• Google Chrome
• Adobe Flash
• Adobe Reader
• Microsoft Office (have the install DVD!)
• 7-zip
• BurnAware Free
• K-Lite Codec Pack
• Windows Media Player 11
• Zune Desktop Theme (darker themes use less power!)
• Internode Monthly Usage Meter

Alternatively, I may just give up on Microsoft and give Kubuntu 10.04 a try.  Or on the other hand, maybe it's time to put the second child to work.

Further Info:

CNet's Windows Starter Kit

Baby News

RKHTPC

Eva's Useful Guide To Ubuntu 9.10

Watching You Like A...

Watch live streaming video from nytnestcam at livestream.com

Instant Classic (just add furry mammal)

Large Hadron Rap (The World Didn't End Yet)

Who said...

"IT MEANS HE GETS RESULTS, YOU STUPID CHIEF!!"

"Did any of them manage to miss you?"

"That's not strictly true. You still have your teeth."

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster by your side, kid."

"I aim to misbehave."

"Inconceivable!"

"I'm no punk bitch!"

"The details of my life are quite inconsequential."

"Protection from who? Zee Germans?"

"Get away from her you BITCH!"

"Don't even think about it. I'm better off on my own."

"It's not a tumor!"

"He doesn't know about the three seashells!"

"I'm sorry my responses are limited."

"I'll go. I'll go. I'll go. I'll go. I'll go."

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say, 'huh?'"

"Live every week like it's SHARK WEEK!"

NYE2009 Menu

Finger Food:

• San choi bao (veg)
• Chicken drumlets in honey & soy
• Steamed dumplings (veg)
• Cha siu rolls
• Bok choy salad (veg)
• Assorted chips/snacks

Dessert

• Summer berry sorbet
• Fresh fruit

Who said...

"One ping only."


"It's spelled LUXURY YACHT but its pronounced Throat-Warbler Mangrove"


"That was irrational of you. Not to mention unsportsmanlike."


"In China, you'd be dead already."


"What did you do?"
"Knocked out two of his teeth."
"Would you like some champagne?"


"See, you are what you are in this world, that’s either one of two things: Either you're somebody ... or you’re nobody. I'll be right back."


"Tell me, is there any scientific or forensic insight likely to be gained by spying on this woman in the shower?"
"Shanti, we're trying to make sure the woman's clean."


"Good job."


"If they're big and you're little, then you're mobile and they're slow. You're hidden and they're exposed. You fight only the battles you know you can win."


"No, no, no, NO!! Dad! Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
"Yeah, I am. You're not getting a Porsche!"


"Get some rest, Pam. You look tired."


"Excuse me, Jack, tell me one thing in life that is absolutely for certain."


"First I'm gonna use you as a human shield, then I'm gonna kill this guard over there, with the Patterson trocar on the table. Then I was thinking about breaking your neck."


"What should I tell your men when they realize you're gone?"
"I'll be back."


"My Pussy Wagon died on me."


"Janie, today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go fVck himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus."


"No, I'm not talking about that. I beat the sh!t out of some kids today. But it was for a purpose. It made me feel good about myself. It was like I did something constructive with my life or something, I dunno, like I accomplished something."


"Sorry. I, uh … I ate a lot of sugar today."


"Tell me Miss Trench, do you play any other games?"


"'Fat' seems to be a word people most connected with him. 'Terribly rude' also rang a lot of bells."


"I think my mouth is too big."
"It’s just the right size... for me, that is."

An important piece

2nd Baby Arrived (father doing well)

AOpen MP45-BDR purchased through various suppliers and self-assembled to be used as the bedroom media centre.

• 165(W) x 50(H) x 165(D)mm
• T9600 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.80GHz CPU
• 4GB RAM
• 500GB/7200 HDD

Running Windows 7 (primarily for WAF)

Further Info:
Baby News
RKHTPC

An important transitional piece

Astonishing (see 5:00)

[Solved] Wi-Fi Extender

Some time ago I set up the laptop in the study, but wireless reception was intermittent and the signal strength was weak.
At first I looked at software issues - updating drivers helped get a more accurate bar read - but the problem was the signal strength.

Then I looked at technical solutions - new wireless routers, extra antennae, signal boosters.  I also looked at ethernet over powerline solutions.

Finally, after much exploration, I settled on a home-made solution: I cut an empty Pringles can in half and placed this around the router antenna.

Problem solved!

Further Info:
[Unsolved] Connect Mini HTPC to TV
http://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/

Easter Egg Meme

Many years ago I placed this video inside a profitability reporting spreadsheet I set up. Whenever we made more than $100k in a day, this would pop up and play.

  

Only now, with the series of tubes, could I find it again, and also give due credit to the creators:

 

Flat Eric for President!

Let's Recap

Further Info:
http://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_does_mathemagic.html

Who said...

"WORST ... RESCUE ... EVER!!!"

"So whether you agree with me or not, GET ME AUTHORIZED!"

"Pilot, identify yourself."
"It's me!"

"What's it thinking, Colonel?"
"It's afraid!"

"I was invincible in Chinatown!"

"I used to carry around those awful mace things. Now... I zap any bastard that screws with me. I tried it on my little dog. Poor thing limped for a week."

"I really will slug you so hard!"
"Oh it's the 'meek'! 'Blessed are the meek.' Oh that's nice, isn't it?"

"How was your lamb?"
"Skewered."

"Can we have it back?"

"Well, I have the only seat belt here. You know, safety first?"

"For if knowledge is power then a god ... AM ... I!
Was that over the top? I can never tell."

"1.21 GIGAWATTS?!!"

"I just got one question for you. How can you leave me in the middle of a gunfight... to get the car?"
"You have got to shut up and let him drive!"

"There's a difference between disliking him... and not caring when some dumb Irish flat foot drops him out a window."

"Yeah sure. He's probably blond with big dimples"
"How did you know that, sarge?"

"Hey, don't talk like that about pigs! They're usually much nicer than people."
...
"As a matter of fact, right now I have one in my kitchen that's very clean and smells very nice."
...
"Piggy? Piggy? Where are you? Ah! There you are!"

"You get the headaches? ... I get such bad headaches."

"Because of the tension."
"What tension?"

Hans Rosling shows the best stats you've ever seen

Further Info:
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html

Good Memes Never Die (they just get more selected)

Further Info:
"Scientists discover immortal jellyfish" by Lech Mintowt-Czyz, Times Online, 27 January 2009
"Kazaa to return as subscription service" by Greg Sandoval, cnet news, 17 July 2009
"Ahoy! Pirate Party gets berth in European Parliament" by Mats lewan, cnet news, 8 June
2009

[UNSOLVED] Connect Mini HTPC to TV

Background
Display1: Wall-mounted Samsung LA32R71WDX (1080i via HDMI)
Display2: Panasonic PT-AX100 (720p via HDMI)
Source: Mini HTPC running XBMC on Ubuntu Jaunty (DVI)

Problem
In-wall cabling to Display1 = RF Coax WTF??

Solutions
RF Modulator

• A$40
• 576i
• Resolution sucks

Attach Mini HTPC onto back of TV

• $42+shipping
• 1080i
• Can’t use HTPC for Display2

Wireless AV Sender

• A$89+shipping
• 576i
• Can link other displays
• Resolution sucks

Get electrician to install HDMI cable

• A$59+labour
• 1080i
• Capital improvement

HDMI over Powerline (Acoustic Research HDP100)

• US$272+shipping
• 1080i
• Elegant but expensive
• Wrong voltage

Wireless Media Extender (Zyxel DMA100P)

• A$386+shipping
• 1080i Elegant (powerline)
• Proprietary interface (c.f. HTPC)
• Good but limited codec support

HDMI over IP (Just Add Power IP HDMI) +
Ethernet over Powerline (TP-Link TL-PA201)

• US$450+shipping
• A$166+shipping
• 1080i
• Not elegant, but provides wider options
• Wrong voltage
• Possibly won’t work
• Expensive
• Low WAF

Wireless HDMI Extender (Atlona AT-WHD200)

• US$600+shipping
• 1080i
• Elegant but expensive
• Wrong voltage

Wireless DLNA TV (Samsung LA32B650)

• A$1,494
• 1080p?
• Display1 can become Display3
• Fiddly, unproven with Ubuntu

Wireless HD TV (Sony KDL40EX1)

• A$4,295
• 1080p
• Very elegant and expensive
• Display1 can become Display3
• Matches the room (white)

int puppet(x);

Further Info
Angel 5x14
Lakers' Blog

No One Thinks Disco of You

That was then:



This is now:




(Disclaimer: Made by - and featuring - some good friends).

Baby News

AOpen DE945CD purchased 2nd hand on ebay to be used as the media centre in Lorne.

• 166(W) x 48(H) x 157(D)mm
• T5600 Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz CPU
• 2GB RAM
• 120GB/5400 HDD

Running Ubuntu 9.04 and boxee.

Further Info:
RKHTPC

XBMC Skin Mock-Up: Pred

Credits:
XBMC
Desktop Mock-up (first try)
IMDb: Predator (1987)

New Math

Desktop Mock-up (first try)

• Taskbar and windows are transparent but not shiny (darker things use less power!) over a naturey background.
• Windows have the usual close, maximise and minimise buttons as well as "left half" and "right half" screens (i.e. to replicate Snap from Windows 7)
• We only use the desktop for some basic productivity functions, web surfing, listening to music and maybe watching some movies.

Credits:
http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://www.deshow.net/flowers/bamboo-pictures-454.html#pic
http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=iconset:futurosoft_icons
http://mostlysid.com/google-chrome-for-mac-is-now-available
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IEC5010_On_Off_Symbol.svg
http://www.aeonproject.com/
http://www.zim.ly/
http://www.iconspedia.com/icon/usb-drive-1572.html

Have you ever wondered...

I was thinking about an economics syllabus for "average" school students, because I've done ones for top students and for uni students several times.

I haven't worked out the answers but I was thinking of just asking the following questions:

1. Why is this year's TV bigger, better and cheaper than last year's?
2. Why is food cheaper in Asia?
3. Why is Bill Gates the world's richest man?
4. Who pays for pollution?
5. How much is information worth?

Further Info:
There's No Such Thing as a Free Market
Sad Guys on Trading Floors
"How Many Currencies?" by Paul Krugman, The New York Times, 23 Feb 2010
Balassa-Samuelson Effect
"Copyright laws threaten our online freedom" by Christian Engstrom, FT.Com, 7 July 2009

Who said...

"I think you've been down here too long."

"Why do you have to label people? I hate labels."

"Give me the whip!"
"Throw me the idol!"

"What do you mean, 'I'm funny'? ... You mean the way I talk?"

"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."

"What was the middle bit?"

"I didn't"
"No. No. You ate yours."

"'Deserve's' got nothing to do with it."

"Where you at, Desmondo?"

"I'll just walk around some more and see if I can get into a pick-up meeting."

"" (hint: Buffy)

"Get some rest, Pam. You look tired."

"Pop quiz, hotshots!"

"You never really know someone... until you fight them."

"And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all."

"Blink and you're dead!"

"And for what? For a little bit of money."

"Do you think we need one more?... You think we need one more... All right. We'll get one more."

Popular Mechanics' 2008 Round-up

Excerpts from the "Top 10 Most Brilliant Gadgets of the Year" by Logan Ward and the Editors of Popular Mechanics, November 2008. Follow the links to see the videos:

1.

2.

6.

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