post-dts trauma

2011-12-26T22:56:00.000-06:00

I have been struggling to set up a reliable Ubuntu-based (11.10) recording system at home using my spec'd out ThinkPad R61. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Ubuntu 11.10s libffado installation is broken (it's based on svn-1985, which has a known segfault issue), so compile libffado from source (it's painless). Visit www.ffado.org for instructions.
Ricoh IEEE1394 controllers aren't anywhere near as bad as people make them out to be. Mine can handle recording 10 tracks @ 96k for over two hours with no xruns.
HPET permissions need to be fixed (http://www.linuxmusicians.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2800).
My laptop + FP10 seems pretty stable with `jackd -ch -d firewire -D -n3 -p512 -r96000`
JACK's priority setting is broken in Ubuntu 11.10 (at the very least), as in it does nothing and reports success. It doesn't seem to matter, though, as I'm no longer getting xruns at default priority.
You don't need a realtime or lowlatency kernel ppa in order for the RT flag to work, but installing rtirq and putting rtc and firewire at the top of the list might help.
I'd already found Ubuntu's prepackaging of Ardour to be buggy and outdated. I highly suggest donating to the project (www.ardour.org), which will allow you to download pre-compiled binaries. They're very stable.

I'd taken to running jackd from the CLI (as opposed to using qjackctl), since it was always segfaulting. Now that I'm no longer using a prepackaged libffado, this shouldn't matter.

Lastly, it seems jackd killed my trackpad on one occasion. My trackpoint still worked fine. I'll have to sort that one out.

EDIT 1: Remove pulse audio. It's safe to apt-get remove the package, even if you're using GNOME instead of the default GUI. Pulse audio interfered with MIDI in funky ways, which prevented me from using Korg's nanoKONTROL with Ardour.

2011-06-22T20:11:00.000-05:00

Nerd Alert

This post is a reference for when I reload my computer.

jackd
qjackctl
ardour
rosegarden (unless I've got ardour3)
hydrogen
patchage
autotalent
zita-at1
zita-reverb
jamin
yoshimi
alsa modular synth

Finally, check https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio/PackageList for additional LADSPA plugin packages.

2011-03-31T02:22:00.000-05:00

she said where are you

he didn't answer

he was invisible

she stretched her arms out

and he was captured

so foiled by her wiles

2010-07-28T14:54:00.000-05:00

After wrestling with the Ubuntu 9.10s installation of the Eclipse IDE off and on for several days, I'm delighted to report the problem was a typo introduced by the developers.

Within the "Available Software" section, the site titled "Galileo Update Site" points to location "http://download.eclipse.org/galileo/releases/", but should point to "http://download.eclipse.org/releases/galileo/".

There you go, all fixed.

2009-12-20T15:07:00.000-06:00

Installing the (32-bit) Amazon.com MP3 Downloader in 64-bit Ubuntu 9.04 (well, probably any 64-bit version of Ubuntu)

Amazon.com's MP3 store is massive. If you're anything like me (although you probably aren't), you'd like to download full albums using the Amazon.com MP3 Downloader, but are running into one massive problem: the downloader for Ubuntu 9.04 is 32-bit, and your installation is 64-bit.

No worries! It's doable. From the command line, that is. This guide assumes a whole host of things, like that you've already downloaded the Amazon.com MP3 Downloader, are capable of utilizing command-line instructions, know how to type, know how to read, are actually in need of these instructions, etc.

First, go ahead and force the 32-bit installation (and resolve a bunch of initial dependencies) like so:

sudo dpkg -i --force-all amazonmp3.deb
sudo apt-get install ia32-libs lib32nss-mdns

Now, install the package 'getlibs-all.deb' from http://frozenfox.freehostia.com/cappy/. This script will allow you to easily install 32-bit libraries on your 64-bit system.

You'll run getlibs like so:

sudo getlibs /usr/bin/amazonmp3

The utility will install what it is able to, but return errors when it can't match certain dependencies. This is expected. Keep a list of the unmatched dependencies, as we'll sort that out next.

Right now we need to figure out how the Ubuntu developers renamed the packages we couldn't match. The naming differences are minor, for example libglademm-2.4-1 might be renamed to libglademm-2.4-1c2a. The key is to use the auto-complete functionality in apt-get to determine the new package names. Keep a list of the new package names as you find them, as we'll use getlibs to install the 32-bit versions (apt-get will install the 64-bit versions, which is useless for our purpose). If you're looking for the new version of libglademm-2.4-1, you would locate it by typing 'apt-get install libglademm-2.4-1' and tapping the Tab key several times. In this instance, you'll see that there is still a libglademm-2.4-1 package, but attempting to install it will yield a message indicating it is only a placeholder for the newer version.

When you're done, you might have a list including such (new) packages as:

libglademm-2.4-1c2a libgtkmm-2.4-1c2a libpangomm-1.4-1 libcairomm-1.0-1 libglibmm-2.4-1c2a libboost-filesystem1.34.1 libboost-regex1.34.1 libboost-date-time1.34.1 libboost-signals1.34.1 libboost-iostreams1.34.1 libboost-thread1.34.1

In order to install these, you will need to invoke the getlibs utility like so:

sudo getlibs -p libglademm-2.4-1c2a libgtkmm-2.4-1c2a libpangomm-1.4-1 libcairomm-1.0-1 libglibmm-2.4-1c2a libboost-filesystem1.34.1 libboost-regex1.34.1 libboost-date-time1.34.1 libboost-signals1.34.1 libboost-iostreams1.34.1 libboost-thread1.34.1

The -p flag tells the script that we would like to install the 32-bit packages by those names.

That's pretty much it. Once the dependencies are met, you'll need to run getlibs like we did the first time around, as there may be new dependencies which depend on the freshly resolved/installed dependencies (whew!):

sudo getlibs /usr/bin/amazonmp3

Once you know what the new dependencies are, you will follow the same installation process. I believe the final dependency is libicu38. Once getlibs tells you all dependencies have been met, you're set to run the Amazon.com MP3 Downloader from you Applications -> Internet menu.

If this has been of any use to you, please let me know in the comments!

2009-12-09T08:39:00.000-06:00

you can't stop dave
you can't stop
dave, you can't stop
dave, you can't stop dave
you can't stop

i'm killing my inhibition
i'll press fast forward
make up for lost time
i'm killing dave for the last time
i'm single and dave
single and dave

2009-12-05T02:05:00.000-06:00

Oh pagetube, if only you knew the irony.

2009-12-04T19:04:00.002-06:00

i can't read your poetry
you're speaking in tongues and it's glorious
it's pregnant by the hand of your ego
but meaningless and useless and jargon and drivel

it's time to stop messing around
it's time to abort

it's time to abort this childishness
and master making sounds with meaning
it's time to learn to harness words
moving thoughts from mind to mind with ease

so talk talk, let's have a conversation
but how can i know that you're listening?

2009-11-30T00:50:00.003-06:00

there comes a period at the end of every man's life

these words are a prelude to things to come
if it feels like hell it's because you're bound to face some

i'm a little fuzzy
so won't you please remind me
when you grabbed hands and ran
there was reasoning and rhyming
a new thought process that's bound to awe us
a brick wall built from all our missteps
a holy grudge forged of love and forgiveness

we've played cards plenty
i can call when you're bluffing
pounded heads through enough hands
to know you've got nothing

there comes a period at the end of every man's life
and that period draws closer still
there comes a period at the end of every man's life
and i hope it doesn't feel like hell
there comes a period at the end of every man's life
when rivers are birthed from crying eyes
there comes a period at the end of every man's life
and that little dot is when he wakes up and dies.

2009-11-15T22:03:00.002-06:00

Who knew MIDI over IP would be so obscure?

The problem Linnea and I will have moving forward is that we need MIDI, but we also don't want to invest in a new MIDI controller. The MIDISport 2x2 we presently use only has 32-bit Windows drivers, although full-blown 64-bit support exists in Linux.

That's where the other big problem arises. Linnea isn't about to start using Linux, and the state of audio multitracking in Linux isn't quite where it's at in Windows. I'd like to be using something like Reaper in Windows, but with the ability to send and receive MIDI data through the MIDISport. This can only be accomplished by routing MIDI traffic over the network to my laptop.

It took some searching, but I think I've got a working solution. ipMIDI was developed for Windows (at a cost), and a corresponding/interoperaple Linux variant named multiMIDIcast is available for free. ipMIDI costs $70, but the demo will run 60 minutes at a time until purchased.

Possible win?

2009-11-11T20:34:00.002-06:00

when you became a slave.

tell me, is she frigid?
you bought her.
is she frigid now?

mother, tell me how to have control
i need control
i need slaves of my own
like a dog to it's own vomit
but i don't like dogs
i'm a people person
give me slaves
give me slaves
mother, tell me how to have control

so tell me, is she frigid?
you bought her.
is she frigid now?

2009-10-24T14:36:00.002-05:00

I now have a Google Wave account. I've been given 20 "invitations" to send, but they evidently aren't real-time. I've sent out four, and they have yet to be received. Wave is very promising.

2009-10-14T19:42:00.000-05:00

I've given you a calumnious sobriquet.

2009-10-05T18:35:00.002-05:00

I was asked to apologize to someone for something that I did not feel needed an apology. Thinking that I might be a complete jerk, I sought the advice of others but found that I'm far from alone in my opinion. In fact, nobody else I'd spoken with believed an apology was in order.

However, for the sake of making peace I figured I'd give it a try. I politely asked whether the 'someone' in question had a moment to talk, and the answer was a rude -- albeit simple -- "No." If before I had felt any obligation, I now definitely feel none at all.

2009-09-29T16:21:00.002-05:00

I'm glad to find that Defying Gravity only went off-air in the US. Episodes are still airing in Canada, and kind Canuck pirates are posting them to the intertubes.

For a list of episodes, this IMdB page works quite well:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1319690/episodes

So far episode 9 (S01E09 - Eve Ate the Apple) is the only new episode since US cancellation. A torrent for this episode is available here:
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/5093371/Defying.Gravity.S01E09.HDTV.XviD-NoTV.avi

2009-08-31T02:05:00.002-05:00

You choose who you love.

I met a man in India who expressed to me that he had no desire to fall in love. "Falling in love sounds like an accident," he told me. "I want to climb up into love."

He also told me the Taj Mahal was man's largest erection for a woman.

2009-08-17T01:27:00.000-05:00

Blast, woman! Why do you hide the chocolate chips from me?!

2009-08-16T17:42:00.002-05:00

Following an argument with my wife several years ago, I ended up printing off a list of quotes regarding maturity. It was a rather cathartic activity, and the product is something I look back to from time to time as a reminder. Lately there has been discussion about what it means to be an adult, and I find it to be sidestepping the issue; adulthood and maturity are two entirely separate things.

We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice -- that is, until we stop saying "It got lost," and say "I lost it." Sydney J. Harris

The rate at which a person can mature is directly proportional to the embarrassment he can tolerate Douglas Engalbart

Maturity is: The ability to stick with a job until it's finished; The ability to do a job without being supervised; The ability to carry money without spending it; and The ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even. Abigail Van Buren

Maturity of mind is the capacity to endure uncertainty. John Finley

To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity. William Arthur Ward

The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. Willhelm Stekel

Maturity is the ability to think, speak, and act your feelings within the boundaries of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations. Samuel Ullman

I would say that the surest measure of a man's or a woman's maturity is the harmony, style, joy, and dignity he creates in his marriage, and the pleasure and inspiration he provides for his spouse. Benjamin Spock

Maturity is achieved when a person accepts life as full of tension. Joshua Loth Liebman

I think part of maturity is knowing who you are. If people don't like it, it is not going to affect how I feel. Rob Lowe

How often I have found that we grow to maturity not by doing what we like, but by doing what we should. How true it is that not every "should" is compulsion, and not every "like" is a high morality and true freedom. Karl Rahner

Character...is a habit, the daily choice of right over wrong; it is a moral quality which grows to maturity in peace and is not suddenly developed on the outbreak of war. Charles Wilson

One stops being a child when one realizes that telling one's trouble does not make it better. Cesare Pavese

In positive terms, we can state that psychological maturity entails finding greater satisfaction in giving than in receiving; having the capacity to form satisfying and permanent loyalties; being primarily a creative, contributing person; having learned to profit from experience; having a freedom from fear (anxiety) with a resulting true serenity and not a pseudo absence of tension; and accepting and making the most of unchangeable reality when it confronts one. William C. Menninger

To recognize causes is to think, and through thought alone feelings become knowledge and are not lost, but become real and begin to mature. Hermann Hesse

Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything. Frank Yerby

2009-08-15T02:57:00.002-05:00

I just rescued a set of powered 4.1 (dual stereo + sub) Klipsch speakers from a trashy fate. Win on three counts:

One less thing in a landfill.
Powered speakers for the apartment!
Amp has enough juice to power additional speakers I had been keeping around!

In all I spent about 1 hour documenting pin-outs and wiring for the proprietary molded connector which had broken, 1 hour soldering new wires directly to the PCB to work around the connector, and another 30 minutes installing everything. I may have just made those numbers up.

Today, I rocked out to Animal Collective, Doomtree, Ratatat, Girl Talk, Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Portishead... well, lots of things. The neighbors have yet to complain. I'll keep turning the volume up until they do.

2009-07-04T17:28:00.000-05:00

We are like two little binary numbers that happen to have ended up next to each other. But if we weren't the entire code would be different.

-Linnea Barton

2009-05-30T21:54:00.002-05:00

I get Google Wave and am excited for when I will be able to use it, but I fear that adoption will either occur too slowly or not at all.

2009-05-20T18:19:00.002-05:00

For my next trick...

I'm looking into the feasibility of permanently installing a DVB-T antenna in/on the Beetle. Using an inexpensive device, we would be able to watch digital TV broadcasts on the road. How sweet would that be?

2009-05-13T23:01:00.003-05:00

Him: Sounds like you need a tune-up!
Me: It's a diesel.
Him: You did what?
Me: I said it's a diesel. This is how they sound.

2009-04-17T18:27:00.002-05:00

Ad Nauseum.

It is likely I will never stop playing with my facial hair.
So she informs me she will never stop yelling.

If I had set out to play a game, I would continue: I will not even consider having children with you until you stop yelling.
And she would continue, as well: I will not have sex with you unless you stop playing with your facial hair.

But I never set out to play a game, nor did I set out to argue. An involuntary action is precisely what it sounds to be: involuntary. Involuntary implies a lack of intention. Playing this game would be quite voluntary.

I accept that my wife does not shave her legs or armpits. I accept that she often does not finish eating what is on her plate or drinking what is in her glass, even if portions are adjusted accordingly. I accept that she bats her eyelashes rapidly and inhales sharply through her teeth when she is nervous. I accept she is absolutely terrible at talking on the phone. I accept that she goes shopping when she is upset with me. I accept that she makes purchases with the disclaimer "I will return it if that is what you want" instead of speaking with me about it beforehand. I accept that she works on 20 projects at once and rarely finishes a single one. I accept that she complains about my breathing on her and complains when I am not close enough.

The list of quirks - even just the quirks that irritate me - is long. Yet, as much as they grate my nerves, I cannot bring myself to tell her to change. I cannot even bring myself to point these behaviors out more than once because of the response it provokes.

But maybe I have been going about this all wrong. Surely the world would be better if I were telling my wife once a day she was doing something I found to be a nuisance! If not the world, at least our marriage.

So the experiment begins.

2009-01-09T22:14:00.002-06:00

Verizon completed their merger with Alltel today. As part of their agreement with the FCC, FTC, and other regulatory bodies, the new and improved Verizon+Alltel was to divest properties in 105 markets across the US in which they would have had the appearance of monopoly.

Grand Forks, ND is one of those markets.

So, today I did not become a Verizon customer. It turns out I'm still an Alltel customer, but that would be old Alltel, not new Alltel. Old Alltel will continue to operate until all 105 properties are divested.

The only likely players for purchasing the Grand Forks, ND market are Sprint/Nextel and Unicel. I sure hope it ends up being the former.

2009-01-02T19:32:00.002-06:00

On January 9th, Alltel will officially be a Verizon-owned property. I'm not sure how long the re-branding will take, but if Alltel's acquisition of Cellular One West is any indicator then we won't be waiting long to reap the benefits of in-network calling.

One of my concerns is that Verizon will force My Circle users to switch to a different rate plan in order to take advantage of in-network calling to existing Verizon customers. We'll see how this pans out.

Now all that's left is for the Open Handset Alliance to bring to fruition a CDMA phone running Android. Oh yeah, and for Verizon to offer a better all-you-can-eat data plan.

2008-12-24T08:02:00.001-06:00

I had been entirely unaware the winter solstice passed on December 21st. The days are only longer from here!

2008-11-04T17:57:00.002-06:00

The FCC has approved Verizon Wireless' purchase of Alltel.

The deal will turn Verizon into the largest mobile carrier in the U.S., and something like the 8th largest in the world.

2008-11-04T08:21:00.002-06:00

On October 31st the DoJ approved a Verizon/Alltel merger. All that is left is an approval by the FCC, which will involve an agreement through which Verizon must divest certain assets in 100 markets where Verizon and Alltel had overlapping operations. More on that here.

The FCC is expected to vote on the merger today (November 4th).

I'd been thinking about jumping ship to Sprint, but now I have good reasons not to: because Linnea and I still have free Internet access with our phones (due to a totally awesome loophole!) which we would lose through a switch, and because I get something like 25% off Verizon plans and devices as an employee of FedEx.

Even more enticing is Verizon's promise to allow any device from any technology-compatible (CDMA) carrier to be used on their network "in the near future." This is likely the only way you'll see a Google Android-based phone on Verizon, as Verizon opted for exclusive participation in LiMo (the Linux Mobile Foundation, proponents of the LiMo Foundation Platform) instead of the OHA (Open Handset Alliance, proponents of Google's Android).

All that said, I like to keep my options open. Linnea and I haven't been under contract for quite some time now, and the plan is to keep things that way. At least then we can jump ship on a moments notice. We'll bring our own devices, thank you very much!

2008-10-06T02:53:00.001-05:00

Wow.

Why Mean Cheat

It's too bad he was on Oprah.

2008-10-06T02:36:00.002-05:00

Let me break this down simply:

You act like a child, you get treated like a child. You act like an adult, you get treated like an adult.

The problem with demanding respect is that you come to the table assuming you deserve it. Come to the table assuming you deserve nothing. Come to the table assuming you must earn everything you desire. Come to the table assuming you won't always get what you want.

At least then you can be pleasantly surprised.

For Christians it is much simpler: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Am I a jerk, or do I just not put up with bullshit? I hope everyone calls me out on my bullshit my entire life. And so I call others out on theirs.

2008-09-29T00:25:00.002-05:00

During my high school years I participated in competitive speech. Initially this was because my dad was the coach and I had no real choice. Over time I came to enjoy it, and remained because it pleased me.

Every now and again something pops into my head from those days. Maybe a line from a speech, maybe a joke someone told, maybe just something funny or stupid the team did at a meet.

The latest to come to mind (and to forcibly remain) goes a little something like this:

"Her buns were crammed into her jeans like two big scoops of vanilla ice cream."

At the time I had thought the simile was over the top. Now I'm not so sure. Every day while on my way to class I spot some girl, or more specifically her butt, and think "two big scoops".

If I can't shake a simile with the passage of 10+ years, it must be good.

2008-09-28T23:55:00.002-05:00

Maintenance Man

He slowly pushed the recycling bin on its wheels across the parking lot between two of the school's buildings. There was an entire fleet of like bins lined up on the other side of the parking lot. He pushed his payload into their ranks.

Slowly, almost with the appearance of purpose, he systematically flipped the lids of each bin open and closed as if to take an inventory. Paper, check. Plastic, check. Cardboard, check. More paper, check. He likely reasoned nobody would notice the lack of any work being accomplished unless they stopped to observe him, and surely nobody would stop to observe while they rushed between classes.

Occasionally a student would stroll past and he would nod a friendly hello to them, then move to the next bin and flip the lid open and then closed. One hand drifted to his shirt pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Another lid is opened, then closed.

He glanced around as the stream of students slowed to a trickle. It was time. He placed a cigarette in his mouth and made quickly to light it, cupping his hand over the flame to ward off the strong draft between the buildings. He opened another lid, and then closed it.

He continued in this pattern: Open lid, draw from cigarette, close lid, exhale. It continued for a while, yet not likely long enough for him. The cigarette had run it's course. He threw it to the ground, placed his foot on it, and did the twist.

He was triumphant. Nobody had caught on to his ruse. Slowly, he turned and shuffled back into the building.

"Poor guy," I muttered to myself, "he really does think he's invisible."

I took another sip of my tea and turned to walk away from the third story window.

2008-09-26T18:13:00.002-05:00

Hooray, Apple! You suck!

The OSX 10.5.5 update breaks network account functionality when connecting to OSX Server 10.4.11. If you are lucky enough to be able to log in using a network account, you cannot access the local Applications or Library folders.

I found this out a tad too late, by which I mean "after I updated all 18 of the computers in the Mac lab at the art department."

(explitives deleted)

There is no way to downgrade to OSX 10.5.4 (unless, possibly, I had Time Machine enabled, which I did not). I have confirmation the problem does not exist in 10.5.4, and only rears its head when you upgrade to 10.5.5.

This kind of bug is what is called a "show stopper", and should never, ever, ever, ever, nevernevernevernevernevereverevereverever be allowed in an official release. Apple should be testing for these things. A LOT. They should be testing so much that all of their employees' bodies ache without ceasing.

It may be a lot to ask that 10.5.5 play nice with 10.2.x, but we're talking about a difference of one major revision which maintained backwards compatibility up until this point.

In summary (expletive deleted) you, Apple. You (expletive deleted) suck. It's time to grow up and learn how software is developed in the real world, not in your (expletive deleted) screwed up universe where only (expletive deleted) aesthetics matter.

(expletive deleted)

2008-09-15T16:28:00.002-05:00

Burn, economy, burn!

Crash, market, crash!

If I were American, I might care.

Alas, I am Christian. We rejoice in all things.

2008-09-13T11:24:00.002-05:00

This post was getting way to long until I Ctrl-A Deleted it down a notch.

In summation of what you missed out on, the best part about using Pidgin for IM is being able to see whether or not certain MSN users still have you on their contact list. It might be possible to determine this in other clients, and possibly in MSN Messenger itself, but when I began using Pidgin (then called GAIM) it was one-of-a-kind.

It really helps in pruning my contact list.

2008-09-07T22:13:00.002-05:00

We are officially online at home.

Dusty and Gary had an unused rig from InvisiMax on the roof of the house they had bought, and were more than willing to give it up. It consisted of a parabolic antenna for the 2.1-2.7GHz wireless range and a gutted LinkSys WRT54Gv3 running a custom firmware.

They had severed one end of the Ethernet cable running to the unit when they had removed it from their roof, but that didn't pose much of a problem. InvisiMax had been using the two unused pairs from the Ethernet cable to run power to the WRT54G. I used my trusty multimeter to sort out the polarity of the end and a replacement power adapter, and moments later had powered on the unit. I was also able to terminate the Ethernet cable with a female jack, allowing for the InvisiMax rig to be closed permanently.

With my laptop jacked into the WRT54G, I could see InvisiMax had been using a custom firmware. It took some guesswork for the password, but I was able to obtain access and subsequently upgraded to a new firmware. My first choice had been DD-WRT, but a friend had informed me of a more graceful firmware by the name of Tomato. Within minutes I had it installed and was ready to begin fishing for an external wireless access point (WAP) to which I could bridge.

I chose a nearby WAP, fine-tuned the antenna position, and within moments was online.

After bridging the connection, I set up a second WAP running DD-WRT (this WAP is not able to run Tomato) which provides our Internet access at home.

It will take a few days to sort out the kinks, I'm sure. DD-WRT can be finicky, or so I hear. When I made a small mount for the antenna, it ended up repositioned. This will need to be fine-tuned again. Ideally, the antenna would be mounted on the roof instead of sitting in our living room.

My setup is not optimal, but I will not complain since our Internet access is presently free.

The whole experience has been enlightening. I haven't even touched on the topics of cracking WEP or wardriving, both of which occurred. Since those are on the questionable side of legality, I'll save those stories to tell in person.

2008-09-04T23:30:00.002-05:00

Linnea and I could save $30+/month by changing to the cheapest plan Alltel offers and routing our incoming calls through our Google Grand Central accounts.

What are the hurdles?

1) We would have to ignore most (mainly non-network) incoming calls not coming through our Grand Central account
2) We would have to give up text messaging
3) We would have to limit ourselves to 500 total minutes of non-network calls per month (post-merger, Alltel calls to Verizon will be mobile-to-mobile; Grand Central calls are within Alltel's "My Circle")

What are the benefits?

1) All incoming calls could be automatically screened
2) All incoming calls could be automatically routed
3) Every other feature Grand Central brings to the table
4) No more text messaging
5) We would be in a position to switch providers at any time without needing to inform anyone of our phone number changes
6) Money saved ($360+/year)
7) One step closer to freedom from cell phones

So, Linnea, what do you say? I could call Alltel and have this done in 10 minutes.

2008-08-21T17:11:00.002-05:00

The only thing worse than a smug person such as myself is an Apple fan-boy.

Many G4 (formerly TechTV) hosts and hostesses can be described as such. They've got it so bad that in a recent segment regarding the Google Android software platform for mobile devices the host named Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry as "dominating" the smartphone market.

This is news to me. Last I checked, Symbian was dominating that market by a massive margin. So massive, in fact (65% worldwide*), that one wonders whether the iPhone (7%) or Blackberry (11%) are really worth mentioning. If we're considering their size of market share to be "dominating", then I guess even Linux (5%) is dressed in tight leather and whipping your shackled body while Microsoft's Windows Mobile (12%) puts cigarettes out on the bottom of your feet.

That kind of glaring ommission is initially confusing. After a while it becomes laughable. Give it a few more moments (and possibly take the time to repeat the ludicrous claim) and your credibility has vanished. Congratulations, you are officially a fan-boy.

What erks me most is the hosts inability to present any new information regarding Google Android. Neither new video footage, new specifications, nor new application information. Nill, nada, nothing, zilch. What a douchebag. What a waste of space.

* market share data are from Canalys report "Worldwide smart mobile device market, Canalys Q4 2007"

2008-08-14T08:58:00.002-05:00

A business by the name of Old 52 General Store in Sabin, MN sells "original recipe" sugarcane-based beverages (sodas, colas, pops, etc.), and appears to have a fairly decent selection.

It took a little bit of digging to obtain their contact information, but if there is a sugarcane-based beverage you are interested in you can call 218.789.7852. Their address is:

Old 52 General Store
23 Main St.
Sabin, MN

I know for certain they have Mountain Dew and Dublin Dr. Pepper. I just assume the Mountain Dew is from West Jefferson Bottling Company. From the ad which had sparked my interest (and which I had unfortunately lost) it appeared they had a very respectable selection.

I'll be asking Linnea to stop there on her way back from Iowa. If they can be convinced to ship, I might start drinking pop again!

2008-08-13T17:13:00.002-05:00

http://www.hulu.com/wallace-and-gromit-cracking-contraptions

Now get out there and consume!

2008-08-10T21:52:00.002-05:00

If ever I were to own a motorcycle, which is not entirely out of the question, it would be diesel powered. Some of my reasons are rational, some are irrational:

Diesel engines are more fuel efficient
Diesel engines require far less maintenance
Diesel engines provide higher torque to displacement
Diesel smells nice
Diesel engines sound better
Diesel engines run cooler
Diesel motorcycles are almost non-existant
Diesel vehicles are plainly and simply awesome

Without further ado, links and a video.

Wikipedia: Diesel Motorcycles
The NEANDER (turbo-diesel motorcycle)

2008-07-24T19:43:00.001-05:00

The Unknown Citizen
by W.H. Auden

(To JS/07/M/378 This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State)
He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be
One against whom there was no official complaint,
And all the reports on his conduct agree
That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint
For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.
Except for the War till the day he retired
He worked in a factory and never got fired,
But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.
Yet he wasn't a scab or odd in his views,
For his Union reports that he paid his dues,
(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)
And our Social Psychology workers found
That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.
The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day
And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.
Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,
And his Health-card shows he was once in the hospital but left it cured.
Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare
He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Installment Plan
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers into Public Opinion are content
That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;
When there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, he went.
He was married and added five children to the population,
Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation,
And our teachers report that he never interfered with their education.
Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:
Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.

2008-07-14T04:28:00.002-05:00

Watched "Across the Universe" the other night.

This film has nothing to do with The Beatles, aside from slaughtering their music and attempting to use the lyrical content of select songs to drive the "plot" of an otherwise empty movie. It wouldn't be that bad if the covers were halfway decent, but they aren't. Consider them to be more like "interpretations" by a generation of artists who grew up listening to something other than The Beatles.

The visuals were great, but that's not how you rate a movie. If it were, I could say something entirely useless like, "It ranks right up there with Star Wars Episode I!" The dialog is disjointed, the characters are shallow, but the plot is existant albeit extremely thin. If this were an attempt to emulate The Beatles' music videos like "Help!", it was a miserable failure. They would have done themselves a favor by completely stripping out any attempts at plot.

The pinnacle of retardation came during the scene when Max and friends are attempting to lure Prudence out of her room. They may as well have tossed in a slide whistle, followed up with circus music. I felt dirty, like when a worshiper leader at a church says "Oh Lord, dear God in Heaven! God, Lord, Jesus, God, please, God, OPEN THE EYES, God, OF OUR HEARTS, Lord God Jesus!" and launches into a bruising rendition of - GASP - "Open the Eyes of My Heart."* As if it weren't obvious enough that Prudence has locked herself in her room, her friends must crowd around her door and beg her to come out... "Prudence! Why won't you come out?! Prudence, come out! Dear Prudence, she's gone and locked herself in her room!" I wonder what they're going to sing next?!

Of course, this movie has done and will continue to do well. To paraphrase one reviewer, this film basically attempts to condense The Beatles and the American 60s down to film size for the cell-phone-ring-tone generation - and they are eating it up. Now I must forever endure spotting this movie on lists of personal favorites written by quasi-sophisticates**, or hearing people say things like, "I love The Beatles! Have you seen Across the Universe?!"

Yes, I have. It really wasn't that great.

* If it is not painfully obvious to the reader, I am Christian. If this example makes no sense to you, consider a radio DJ making a terrible segue into a new song by reciting some obvious permutation of the lyrics.

** Please note that it is not the inclusion of this movie on a list that makes someone a quasi-sophisticate. Rather, it is the writing of the list. Nobody cares what your favorite movies are, unless they're trying to have sex with you. Comparing favorite movies is as useless a measure of compatibility as comparing favorite brand names, therefore creating such a list is useless.

2008-07-03T02:45:00.002-05:00

My sister-in-law has been using my bike to get to and from work at Taco Johns.

Today the bike was stolen while she was working. She looked out one moment and a drunkard was sitting next to it trying to smoke a cigarette. She looked out a little while later and the bike was gone.

In a panic, she called Jewell. Jewell took off on her bike to check the path running behind Taco Johns, while I took off in the Audi to check along Gateway Drive. On my way, I called the Grand Forks Police Department to report a stolen bicycle and to give a description of it. While I was on the phone, I passed the guy who had taken it! He was sitting in the parking lot of a store on Gateway Drive, trying to fix the derailer!

I quickly turned in by the parking lot, informing the woman at the police department where I was. I gave a description of the man (mid to late 40s, black baseball hat, gray jacket). She asked me to remain in the car until officers arrived, and within seconds three squad cars arrived to deal with him.

An officer walked over to my car and briefly chatted with me, confirming I was the caller and owner of the bike. He asked me what I wanted them to do with the guy. I told them I didn't want to ask for anything they didn't want to do, so he suggested I just request they arrest him, "process" him, and release him. Sounded fine to me! But why were they asking me what they should do?

The officer proceeded to pull out a form labeled "Grand Forks Police Department: Citizen's Arrest". Now I got it! I could have chosen to let the guy go, I guess... But far be it from me to tell an officer how to do his job!

The officer needed my personal information, as well as a signature confirming I had "apprehended" the man in question. I was then asked to go with another officer to complete a statement in his car. Exhilarating! I wrote out the sequence of events (phone call, headed out in car, spotted man with bicycle, etc.), then signed and dated it.

That was it! I sent a guy "downtown" today. I can't say it felt totally awesome, but it sure was exciting. The guy looked out at me from the back of a squad car with big, stupid, intoxicated puppy dog eyes. I stared him down butt-good with my furrowed brow of disapproval. It was great.

Some additional details came out before the officers took off:

They'd picked the same guy up yesterday for stealing another bicycle
He was drunk, and had a bag containing more booze
He told the officers I had asked him to fix my bike (ha!)
One of the officers had confronted him only 15 minutes prior - sans bicycle!

It seems that a good reason to steal a bike would be to get somewhere faster, so if the bike breaks it doesn't seem intelligent to sit down to attempt to fix it. It seems more reasonable to trash it and keep moving.

Dusty summed it up best: "What a dumbass!"

2008-06-29T03:50:00.003-05:00

At a critical point in my thought life, a man with whom I attended the same church campaigned for a local government office. This came at the time I had finally accepted it was simply impossible to be a rung in the political hierarchy and also be subject to Jesus the Christ alone.

I wonder if anyone had the heart to tell him it must not have been "God's will" when he lost. I would never have been able to, as I'm sure a slip of the Freudian persuasion would be more likely:

"Aren't Christians supposed to seek God's will beforehand as opposed to observing it afterwards?"

I am rereading Jacques Ellul's Anarchy and Christianity for the third time, but it feels like the first time. It has been a great help to read it on paper rather than on the computer screen. It is engrossing. It makes me desire to pour over the Christian and Hebrew scriptures for hours on end.

I found someone in the Netherlands who had an old interview with Jacques Ellul on DVD. They sent a copy to me in the mail free of charge.

Upon a first viewing I am most drawn in by his proposition that, in the technological society, reflection has been usurped by reflex. But do we want to risk finding ourselves far along the wrong road or guarantee only a short distance of travel down the right one?

Right now my mind is boiling over with new thoughts and ideas. I'm reading poetry. I'm reading prose. I'm looking and seeing. I'm listening and hearing.

I have found the Pole Star of my thought.

2008-06-27T18:32:00.002-05:00

Living alone was one of the most enlightening periods of my life. I became aware of myself in a way that is not possible when living with others. It wasn't simply a matter of learning how to take care of myself; it was much more.

You see, when you live alone you have nobody to blame when there is a mess.
If the dishes are dirty, then you didn't wash them.
If the door wasn't locked when you came home, then you forgot to lock it.
If there's a stain on the carpet, then you spilled something.
If the trash is full, then you filled it.
If the roll of toilet paper is empty, then you neglected to replace it.
If the stereo was left on, then you forgot to turn it off.
If the car is out of fuel, then you used it all.
If there is nothing to eat, then you ate all the food.
If the toilet hasn't been flushed, then you didn't flush it.
If the lid is up, then you didn't put it down.
If the plants die, then you didn't water them.
If something is missing, then you lost it.

I could go on all day like this, but you likely see the pattern.

When you live alone, you become acutely aware of how terrible a roommate you are. If you never live alone, you could live the rest of your life under the delusion that nobody takes note of the little things.

The curse is that once you live with others again, you are better able to spot anything out of place. You remember the condition you left things in so well, that anyone else's mucking about with things is immediately evident.

Usually when Linnea is gone for more than a day, I'll do a little cleaning. I've come to think this is because I believe, subconsciously, that everything is messy because of me. I know this isn't true, but it is much more difficult to point the finger when there is nobody to point at.

2008-06-20T05:03:00.002-05:00

I decided to take my Google Android RSS craving one step further today. Instead of just pulling a feed from YouTube, I've used Yahoo Pipes to create a "Google Android News Feed" drawing from the Google Android Developers' Blog, Gizmodo, YouTube, and Engadget as sources.

The end result is accessible from this page, and the resulting RSS feed can be added quite easily to Google Reader.

2008-06-18T16:27:00.002-05:00

Every so often I visit YouTube looking for new videos related to Google's Android operating system for mobile phones. In a moment of brilliance I realized there is likely some way to turn my search into an RSS feed, which would allow me to view the search results in Google Reader as new videos go online.

The RSS page link for YouTube directs to this page, which provides information on accessing feeds for a specific user or tag. However, it fails to note that you can use more than one tag in the creation of an RSS feed.

The example from the above link shows that in order to create an RSS feed for the tag 'monkey', the link would be 'feed://www.youtube.com/rss/tag/monkey.rss'. What the information page doesn't tell you is that for more than one tag, the link is modified to be something like 'feed://www.youtube.com/rss/tag/tag1+tag2+...+tagN.rss'. Tags can be single words only.

The search feed I am using for Google Android videos is 'feed://www.youtube.com/rss/tag/google+android.rss'.

2008-06-12T03:35:00.002-05:00

Thanks to the wonders of Linux, it has never been a difficult matter for me to download MP3s from MySpace which were not explicitly provided for download. Now you can circumvent listen-protection, as well!

http://file2hd.com

This link also works for downloading videos from Youtube and such.

2008-06-09T21:31:00.002-05:00

If we simply add up the numbers from the prior post we find there are 2,206,800 pro-Obama results and 1,059,067 pro-Mccain results.

There are alternate explanations for results being skewed, however. Obama may have a larger Internet presence than John Mccain, and the extent of his presence may be tied to the prolonged race for the Democratic Party's nomination. Additionally, Hillary Clinton's loss may have resulted in pro-Mccain or anti-Obama backlash.

However, it is worth noting that if the size of Obama's Internet presence is tied to the prolonged race, Hillary's presence would likely be of a similar size. A quick set of searches gives us the following results:

"clinton for president": 543,000
"will vote for clinton": 46,700
"will vote for hillary clinton": 11,200

The 600,900:2,141,000 Clinton/Obama ratio for these three search terms seems to indicate otherwise. Even Ron Paul has better search stats than Hillary Clinton. It is more likely that Obama appeals to a significantly higher amount of Internet users than Mccain.

Hillary Clinton's Internet/Reality ratio (percentage of search results to percentage of official primary popular votes) is something in the neighborhood of 22/48, whereas Obama's Internet/Reality ratio is more like 78/48. This basically means Clinton's online presence is/was ~50% what her real-world presence is/was, and that Obama's online presence is ~170% what his real-world presence is/was.

Given current polls (as of 6/9/2008), Obama is leading Mccain 47 points to 45 points. This would mean Mccain's Internet/Reality ratio is something like 32/45 if polling is an accurate portrayal of public opinion. This would also place Obama's Internet/Reality ratio at 68/47. Current polling would suggest that pro-Mccain backlash from the Hillary Clinton camp is not very significant.

RealClearPolitics.com has collected statistical data which suggests Internet users favor Obama over Mccain 62.9:35.4.

Now here's the stretch. I will assume RealClearPolitics.com has done limited polling, and assume the search result data to be representative of wider polling. I will also assume current non-Internet polling is limited. Now we can extrapolate what wider non-Internet polling might look like.

Obama
62.9/47 = 68/(?)

Mccain
35.4/45 = 32/(?)

The results would indicate an Obama win of 50.8 points to 40.7 points in the general election.

Now, I'm no statistician. I'm also prone to overlooking very significant details. Don't take any of this as authoritative, as I'm likely to be wrong. But you have to admit... It would be really cool if I'm right.

2008-06-07T20:22:00.002-05:00

Quick non-scientific follow-up:

Search results (possibly) favoring Obama:
"obama for president": 1,970,000
"will vote for obama": 153,000
"will vote for barack obama": 18,000
"will not vote for mccain": 24,900
"will not vote for john mccain": 40,900

Search results (possibly) favoring Mccain:
"mccain for president": 367,000
"will vote for mccain": 207,000
"will vote for john mccain": 43,200
"will not vote for obama": 441,000
"will not vote for barack obama": 867

Simple statistical analysis to follow...

2008-06-05T23:32:00.002-05:00

This is not a scientific measure of popular opinion, but I think it is worth noting:

Search results favoring Obama:
"when (barack|obama) (is|becomes) president": 19,700
"when barack obama (is|becomes) president": 1,919
"when (barack|obama) is elected president": 7,490
"when barack obama is elected president": 338
Total: 29,447

Search results favoring McCain:
"when (john|mccain) (is|becomes) president": 416
"when john mccain (is|becomes) president": 274
"when (john|mccain) is elected president": 37
"when john mccain is elected president": 357
Total: 1,084

There are some other searches of interest, but these are the only I completed this evening. Looks like either not many people who support McCain are savvy enough to do it online, or possibly they really don't think it likely he'll be elected.

2008-05-27T02:24:00.002-05:00

In the field of computer science Donald Knuth is highly respected.

Until recently I had been keenly unaware of his profession of Christianity. He gave a series of lectures titled God and Computers: Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About, which was eventually compiled and published as a single book. Much time is spent expounding upon the things he learned - both as a Christian and as a computer scientist - while authoring another book, 3:16.

Recordings of the lecture series had originally been available through TechNetCast, but that archive has fallen into terrible disrepair. Much searching brought me to contact a stranger who had posted to his blog that he had kept these recordings. He replied the same day with a link to a "fake" RSS feed he had set up for the lecture series. You can find those recordings here. Be aware this is more than 10 hours worth of audio.

If the above link no longer works for you, e-mail me for copies of these recordings.

2008-05-16T04:54:00.002-05:00

I've added a small (and inexpensive) project to my list: restoring a small 70s guitar amplifier. The amp in question is a Marlboro Sound Works GA2.

I've gone over all the electronics and it looks like I may need to replace a few components, but nothing major. The total cost for replacement components should be no more than $10.

The short list of things to be done:

replace fuse: 120/250VAC @ >~77mA & holder (?)
clean potentiometers
new power cable, grounded this time
transistors are suspect. maybe replace?
capacitance test, replace leaky capacitors
replace bad resistors
replace power toggle

The whole operation should go fairly quick. I'll keep you posted.

2008-04-23T15:42:00.002-05:00

I'd like to call this post "How 1and1 Shot From the Top of My List to the Bottom", but I think I'll stick with a simpler, more raw "Why 1and1 Sucks."

I have an account with the hosting provider 1and1 communications. That account contains two packages. Both packages are billed using the same credit card information.

Some time in December of 2007, my credit card was no longer able to physically scan through machines. I stopped by the bank and requested a new one. The old one was immediately canceled. When the new one arrived in the mail several days later, I scrambled to update accounts online which depended upon it.

I missed one account: 1and1. My credit card was declined that billing cycle, and I received an e-mail notice about it. I immediately logged into my 1and1 account and updated my credit card information, assuring myself that every website doing business online has a system in place to retry credit card information.

Not the case with 1and1. After several months of only one of my packages working properly and the other registering as "locked", I finally gave 1and1 a call.

My account had been sent to collections. In December. They assured me it wasn't a limitation of their system, but rather that I must not have been able to foot the bill. I pointed out that my other package worked just dandy, so they were very much mistaken.

1and1 customer service is an oxymoron. There simply is no such thing. Don't bother with 1and1, get your hosting elsewhere. Heck, even people in India are considerate, and probably less likely to send an account to collections just because a credit card failed to process on one single attempt.

2008-04-21T18:09:00.003-05:00

Those whom have known me long are well aware of my distaste for Apple's branding efforts. One of their successes over the years has been creating an artificial rift between "Macs" and "PCs".

Now, if there are only two options and a "personal computer" is one of them, what is the alternative?

That would be either an "impersonal computer" or perhaps a "community computer", but somehow Apple has succeeded in convincing many throughout the world to respond with, "Well, duh, it's a MAC!"

Every single time I hear someone draw a distinction between the two - especially someone from the technologically elite - I want to murder innocent children. More specifically, I want to murder their innocent children, so as to prevent a legacy of idiocy from taking root.

2008-04-12T17:49:00.002-05:00

When you get right down to it, telling someone to "stop talking" is just another way of saying "shut up."

In the mind of the one speaking those words they evidently don't mean the same thing. "Shut up" is one of those phrases which is never to be uttered. It's like the hypocrites who denounce "swearing" yet still "shoot-cuss."

Crap, darn, shoot, dag-nabbit... Stop talking, you son of a gun!

2008-04-07T05:23:00.002-05:00

I have been inspired lately to record what I can with the few resources I have and to not worry about the quality of the final product. What I'm coming to realize is that it is entirely possible to make great recordings with my low-budget resources so long as I thoroughly understand and can apply the fundamental ideas.

This video is another example that further supports this notion. While it is so much simpler to have nice gear, most of the time it doesn't make much of a difference.

2008-03-28T17:11:00.002-05:00

If you have not yet done so, visit the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party website to request your free ticket to Barack Obama's speech at the Alerus in Grand Forks, ND on April 4th.

Even those who do not support him can agree he is an amazing public speaker, and as such this will be a significant event.

If I had a spare $100, I'd be signing up for the reception with Barack Obama earlier in the day. I would much rather see a realistic presidential hopeful with a smaller audience.

I am almost done with the book "Assassination Vacation" by Sarah Vowell, and one of the things which has struck me the most is how candidates in years gone by viewed the campaign "trail" as a cheap, insincere tactic. Candidates in the 1800s would literally open their homes to anyone who desired to meet them. How things have changed...

2008-03-17T16:17:00.001-05:00

Living Sacrifice is back together and playing shows. A new album is forthcoming.

2008-03-12T00:53:00.002-05:00

Straw Man

I have re-written this post several times now, and this is what I will leave:

Modern Christian movements seem to be steeped in the notion that Christians, in general, are not doing what Jesus would opt to do. The general problem I foresee with this notion lies within the assumption we know what Jesus would opt to do. Time after time it is demonstrated that even those immediately in Jesus' vicinity had no idea what he would do. Even his own disciples. And so he would take an opportunity here and there to expound upon the topic of the Kingdom of Heaven.

When we talk about living more like Jesus or living more like the early church, I see a tendency to avoid discussion about fasting and being tempted in the desert, healing the sick, spreading the good news in public forum, caring for orphans and widows, not having a place to lay our heads, raising the dead, praying until we bleed, barging into houses of worship and flipping over merchandise tables, having everything in common, etc.

Well, some of the time there is talk of having everything in common - which is mostly good. However, even after coupling that with growing organic food, making your own clothing, reducing your carbon footprint, DIY ethic, and any other lifestyle choices which can be dreamt up and just as easily lived by non-Christians, you still come up a hair short of resembling Jesus or the early church. So you are a hippie. So what? I'm much more interested in being Christian.

Perhaps we get in the pattern of thinking that if X, Y, and Z were as such, then A, B, and C would be different or better. What I am getting at is the notion that if we pursue certain lifestyles, we will naturally grow closer to God. I really think this is bad logic, as we are plainly told what to seek first, upon which all other things will be added. Said seeking can be accomplished in the present. No modifications to circumstance necessary.

I have been speaking with a friend about diets and workout regimes, and how there is so much conflicting information. Something works for one group of people, but not for another. Something that seems inherently unhealthy may yield surprising results, and some healthy-sounding plans may have disastrous effects.

This seems analogous to the modern church. Each new movement has a plan to fast-track you to spiritual success, and this time they're totally way more Christian (and "with the times") than the other guys! But as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, it won't work for everyone. And with the same surety, a new plan will arrive and people will flock to it.

I propose to you there is something guaranteed to work for everyone, without exception. I assure you it isn't a "movement". It's kind of old-hat, really. It's no secret, but I will admit that, despite being readily available within the contents of a world-wide best-seller, it gets ignored from time to time - even by me. Oh yeah, and it isn't always easy.

P.S. - With 2008 being an election year and all, it seems appropriate to ask, "For whom would Jesus vote?" I would note there is a foregone conclusion that Jesus would vote at all. While much of Christianity is busy asking the former, I challenge you to think on the latter. I challenge you to consider what kind of government Jesus might endorse and why. I challenge you to consider the kind of person Jesus might look for as a leader.

P.P.S. - When the vote season comes around, I challenge those of you who subscribe to Moral Government Theory to exhibit your trust in God's ability to place his candidate in power by simply not voting. For those of you who do not subscribe to MGT, I challenge you to post (or e-mail me) as many scriptural refutations to the theory as you can come up with as a fun exercise in God's politics.

P.P.P.S. - Get my attention by reading Jacques Ellul's "The Politics of God and the Politics of Man" & "Anarchy and Christianity" and e-mailing me your impressions. Extra credit if you can read them in French. I sure can't.

2008-03-02T06:01:00.002-06:00

My computer has locked up several more times since I replaced the aging copper tape inside the case. Granted, it is locking up far less frequently and under seemingly more random circumstances.

I ran MemTest86+ and have concluded my RAM is bad. I have tested four RAM modules, and only the two I was using failed any tests. In fact, they failed the tests so badly that MemTest86+ locked up as a result. That should be a Big Red Flag (TM).

Now the question is whether I would like to replace the memory and hope nothing else is wrong or give up and get a new laptop. It all depends on the prices for old memory.

2008-02-28T03:47:00.002-06:00

I seem to have solved my Linux lock-up issue, which turned out to not be a Linux issue at all. As the story goes, the acrylic adhesive used on copper tape goes bad over time. This resulted in the grounding strips in my laptop no longer doing what they should. As a result, static electricity would build up at some point on the system board and *poof* all of my unsaved work would vanish.

I bought a new roll of conductive copper tape (36 yards!) and used about 5-7 inches of it to replace the grounding strips. I went ahead and created some new ones, as well. As such, my computer has not locked up at all since. Maybe this computer will last me a full ten years after all!

Now, what to do with all this shiny copper tape...

2008-02-23T04:35:00.003-06:00

It is hard to believe I have been on Blogger since November 2001. Just over six years. Two ninths of my life. What a nerd I am.

Top 10 things I will likely never tell you in person:

At the end of January in 2003, I cried almost the entire drive home from Lakeside, Montana. That was nearly a 17 hour drive.
I went back out to visit that November, and cried almost all the way there. The return trip was more of the same.
I peed my pants during a class party in 3rd grade. My teacher realized what had happened and told the other students I had spilled my pop.
I peed my pants after a Sevendust concert in Duluth when I was 19. I had been drinking huge glasses of water the entire show to stay hydrated, and neglected to take this into account when I stepped outside into freezing cold weather wearing shants and a hoodie.
I have only been in one fistfight - in 4th grade, and I still am unclear as to who won. A person I had thought was my friend punched me repeatedly in the gut until I punched him twice in the face. I was never angry at him for punching me, but to this day I feel bad for punching him.
In 2nd grade we were placed into reading groups based upon a reading comprehension test. When I was placed in the smallest group, I thought I and the others must be dumb. When I found out we were the five smartest kids in our grade, I felt worse.
I often cried myself to sleep during high school because of how a handful of students treated me for having a terrible overbite. It was the most drastic overbite my orthodontist had ever seen. I am having the final remnants of my orthodontic work removed in the coming weeks.
I used to invite friends to church, but stopped after my pastor gave a sermon titled "I want to be like Phil." I have never been good at accepting complements or commendation.
When I got my first piercing, it was for a specific reason. My next two were for fun. Their removal was intentional, not consequential, but I miss them to this very day. I would have at least one more if I had not married.
I "lettered" in Speech five times. I had the jacket, but felt too self-conscious to wear it. I know I am a good public speaker, but I have never felt like I have something worth saying.

Thus ends my self-disclosure. Realize that you have just combed through details which some of my closest friends do not even know.

So are they secrets? Possibly. Perhaps at some unconscious level I have desired to keep them secret, but at a conscious level it does not bother me to list them for anyone to read. Maybe there is something to the allure of anonymity the Internet provides, but let us be honest: I know at least a handful of people who read this. I am not just dumping water into the sea.

I vaguely remember a quote about how when others know us, we know ourselves better. To some degree I concur.

As for intentional secrets, I do keep a few. Not for much longer, though.

2008-02-19T03:07:00.002-06:00

It has just come to my attention that Fidel Castro was 27 when he headed his first attempted revolution against Batista. More importantly, Castro pursued legal means to oust the corrupt Batista before turning to a violent overthrow. It was six more years until he rose to power.

Mayhaps I am still able to do useful things at this age.

2008-02-19T02:42:00.002-06:00

Fidel Castro has officially retired. Farewell, good man. I hope to visit Cuba before his death. Will his successor(s) destroy Cuba much as Kim Jong-Il has done with North Korea following the death of his father, Kim Il-Sung? Find out in the next episode!

If you can name the following lyric without the aid of Google, you earn several nerd points:

in the days of the caveman
and mammoths
and glaciers
bugs and trees were your food then
no pajamas
or doctors

Stumped? Okay, you're allowed to Google it.

2008-02-17T18:19:00.002-06:00

I'm not scrambling to find a new place to live for the same reasons I wasn't scrambling to find a new place to live while we were at our last apartment.

However, I would like to note that my wife agreed to allow me to choose the next place of residence when I told her she could make the decision to move last time.

2008-02-14T04:34:00.001-06:00

If you have not yet filed your claim, hop on over to www.ccfsettlement.com.

In my case, I'm estimating 85 days spent out of country during the time period listed. I have no idea how large of a claim this will result in.

2008-02-10T22:39:00.000-06:00

Farecast was recently updated with support for select international destinations. Huzzah!

I'm intend to explore the possibility of traveling to London (with friends) to meet Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame. It would be totally rad. I suppose being in my ancestors' homeland would be fairly worth it, as well.

2008-01-28T00:25:00.000-06:00

This is my new problem in Linux:

Jan 28 00:16:31 othniel kernel: [ 144.320000] usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 2
Jan 28 00:16:31 othniel kernel: [ 144.488000] usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Jan 28 00:16:31 othniel kernel: [ 144.784000] usbcore: registered new interface driver libusual
Jan 28 00:16:31 othniel kernel: [ 144.876000] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
Jan 28 00:16:31 othniel kernel: [ 144.876000] scsi0 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Jan 28 00:16:31 othniel kernel: [ 144.876000] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
Jan 28 00:16:31 othniel kernel: [ 144.876000] USB Mass Storage support registered.
Jan 28 00:16:36 othniel kernel: [ 149.880000] scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access USB 2.0 Flash Disk 1100 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0 CCS
Jan 28 00:16:36 othniel kernel: [ 149.968000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 3962880 512-byte hardware sectors (2029 MB)
Jan 28 00:16:36 othniel kernel: [ 149.972000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
Jan 28 00:16:36 othniel kernel: [ 149.984000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 3962880 512-byte hardware sectors (2029 MB)
Jan 28 00:16:36 othniel kernel: [ 149.984000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
Jan 28 00:16:36 othniel kernel: [ 149.984000] sda: sda1
Jan 28 00:16:36 othniel kernel: [ 150.060000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk
Jan 28 00:18:33 othniel syslogd 1.4.1#21ubuntu3: restart.

Basically, my computer is physically locking up when I attach certain USB devices. Hard locks are not common within Linux, especially when the hard lock disables even magic keys (Alt-SysRq, R, E, I, S, U, B).

I could be having a hardware problem. We'll see what I can find!

2007-12-17T03:58:00.000-06:00

This is what I want for Christmas!

2007-11-30T17:12:00.000-06:00

It is possible the music you listen to affects your perception of the wine you drink.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16372623#guide

I've got to try this for myself!

2007-11-24T03:24:00.001-06:00

Despite the gratification which comes with receiving a "No misspellings found" message from the spell-checker two posts in a row, I have no confidence in my writing. This primarily comes from my lack of confidence in my ability to properly use commas, semicolons, colons, parentheses, "i.e."s, "ex."s, dashes, hyphens, ellipses, et ceteras, etc.

Oh, and I am humbled after the spellcheck catches my misspelling "primarily" as "primarilly". When will I learn? I routinely make that mistake.

I have made attempts at reducing the usage of contractions from my writing, albeit unnecessary. I'm not a purist of any sort. Also, I have been paying close attention to how I use the words "this" and "that" - mostly the latter. In many instances "that" can be removed without affecting the grammar of a sentence, and in many other instances can be replaced for clarity.

Examples:
"Did I tell you that I went to the store with Nick?"
"Did I tell you I went to the store with Nick?"

"I like the one that has the red stripes."
"I like the one which has the red stripes."

"I believe that this is the only way to live." (Oh God, save us from this grammar!)
"I believe that/this is the only way to live." (Depends upon where/when the description of "the only way to live" occurred.)

I don't think there is anything wrong with the first two examples, but the alternatives are far more pleasing to the eyes & ears. The third is simply disgusting, and I am guilty of using that (proper usage!) construct in conversation.

Forgive me. I have hit the point at which I can no longer think straight. At this (proper usage!) point I should really go to bed. Goodnight.

2007-11-24T03:12:00.001-06:00

Forget all this talk of dieting; I have come up with a simpler plan.

I will no longer eat fast food, I will have no more than one 'snack' per day, I will exercise daily and during free time, and I will drink as much water as possible.

This is a plan I know I can stick to, and I won't have to jump through hoops to do so. I want to look good and feel good for Linnea's sake and for my own. I might even pick up some whey protein in order to bulk up in areas other than my belly.

I find it important to note I do not consider myself fat, nor do I have a negative self-image. I simply desire to live healthier and to make better and consistent decisions for my long-term well-being. If I did have a negative self-image I would be a slave to my body; it is vastly more important for my body to be a slave to my will.

2007-11-24T02:49:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine has set for himself the very achievable goal of no longer owning a car. In his estimation he only leaves town at most twice per month, and can easily walk, bike, or ride the bus/taxi to run his daily errands.

Cost of owning a car:
Fuel - $50-100/month
Insurance - $50-$100/month (depending up marital status, driving history, type of insurance, age, etc.)
Maintenance - $0-$300/month

Taking a guess for the median, the average monthly cost of car ownership, assuming the car has been paid for in full, is ~$200-$300.

Cost of using alternative transportation and renting when needed:
Fuel - $0-$50/month (refueling rental vehicle given my friend's driving habits)
Insurance - $0/month
Car rental - $0-100/month
Bus - $0/month (students ride for free, but the cost for non-students isn't exactly high)
Taxi - $10-$30/month (students ride for $1-$2 depending upon time of day)
Bike - $0/month
Walking - $0/month

Once again, taking a guess for the median, the average monthly cost of alternative transportation for a student is ~$95/month. I imagine it is in the range of ~$150-$200 for non-students.

That's a ~$100-$200 gap for students, which further widens if the car has not been paid for in full (required full coverage insurance plus monthly car payment). In a single year, that is $1200-$2400. That's a free vacation to the exotic location of your choice.

In Linnea's and my case this simply is not possible: Linnea commutes 60+ miles round-trip every weekday, and if we moved closer to her work I would need to commute every day to school. However, this is a goal worth working towards. In the mean time I'm doing what I can to head off the maintenance costs by performing repairs on my own. We will also be reducing the coverage on the vehicle from full coverage to liability, which should result in significant savings. Linnea is also doing what she can by hooking up with other people for ride-sharing, which helps cover some fuel and maintenance costs.

I strongly encourage everyone to do the math with their driving habits, and to consider the benefits of a less car-dependent lifestyle. We haven't even discussed the environmental, physical, and social benefits, but even the weakest of imaginations should be able to explore the idea further without prompting.

2007-11-20T00:49:00.000-06:00

I've begun a new experiment at http://cardumb.blogspot.com.

The idea is this: I'm basically stupid when it comes to cars. I've never changed my own oil, and the most significant thing I've ever done is to swap a blown tire for a spare.

All of that is changing. The rules go like this: I have to fix the problem so long as the tools cost less than the labor to have someone else do it, factoring in my ability to locate replacement parts for lesser cost than the shop charges.

The goal is simple. I intend to learn more about the function of an engine, and the systems which keep a car running smoothly. I also intend to save a metric ton of money on the cost of repairs with the trade-off being my time. Since the knowledge I gain will be of use in the future, the time spent now is well worth it in the long run.

I doubt the blog will ever be popular, but this is not the intent. That would be to document the learning process; to show how simple or difficult it is for a car dunce like myself to become an adequate mechanic, and to determine what resources are helpful as part of that process.

2007-10-27T03:29:00.000-05:00

Not much inspires me, but when I find something which does I pay very close attention to it in order to see what I can learn.

Right now, I have my ears trained on Animal Collective, and more specifically the live show recently posted to the NPR All Songs Considered Live Concert Series. There are only a handful of songs within this show that really grab my hair with one hand and punch my face with the other - but they punch hard. If you have never listened to Animal Collective, do yourself a favor by at least downloading the show at http://www.npr.org/liveconcerts (or, more specifically, at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14564305).

If songs like "House" (formerly "Material Things") and "Leaf House" don't rattle your brain into a highly energized state, I can't even begin to guess what might possibly do the trick for you.

2007-10-24T00:21:00.000-05:00

Evidently J.K. Rowling has stated the "Dumbledore" character from her book series is gay. She is calling it a "prolonged argument for tolerance."

I would like to note that I have neither read any of her books, nor do I intend to read them, nor do I think they will be remembered in 100 years as great literature. Now, let's think critically about her announcement:

If nobody picked up on the evidently completely lacking subtext that Dumbledore is gay, can it possibly matter?
If his being gay is not a plot point, what function does announcing this *outside* the context of character development serve? Does she need some explanation for a totally shocking and out-of-character gay orgy in her next novel?
Since Dumbledore is a fictional character, why would anyone care whether or not he is gay? If Bambi is a transsexual deer, does it matter?
How is this supposed to teach people who disagree with a gay sexual lifestyle tolerance? I'm especially thinking of the Christian right, who might pose an argument like, "If you don't find out that someone is a murderer until you've known and liked them for a long time, does it unmake them guilty of murder?"
If being gay is part of his character, wouldn't it have been helpful for the actor who plays Dumbledore to know this before making the movies that have been made? Ponder this phrase: "What's my motivation?" This leads me to believe the author is just pulling things out of a sunless crevice in order to stay within the media spotlight.

No matter how many pop books or astonishingly yawn-able character developments she hacks, she will never be remembered like Tolkien.

2007-10-23T03:44:00.000-05:00

First the serious (nerdy) bits:

The firmware loading for the DWL-650 Rev P1 can (and should) be pulled out of the /etc/network/interfaces file and made into a udev rule. This is the preferred way to load firmware. With the firmware loading pulled out of the interfaces file, you are free to configure your adapter using Network Manager without hosing your network configuration. In my case, my udev file is

/etc/udev/rules.d/85-hostap-firmware.rules

# 85-hostap-firmware.rules - udev rules for loading firmware for hostap-driven network adapters

# DWL-650 Rev. P1
PROGRAM="/bin/uname -r"

KERNEL=="wlan0", SUBSYSTEM=="net", ATTRS{modalias}=="pcmcia:m000Bc7110f06fn00pfn00pa1A424A1Cpb6EA57632pcDD97A26Bpd56B21F52", \
RUN+="/usr/sbin/prism2_srec -gs wlan0 /lib/firmware/$result/prism2-pm010102.hex"
KERNEL=="wlan0", SUBSYSTEM=="net", ATTRS{modalias}=="pcmcia:m000Bc7110f06fn00pfn00pa1A424A1Cpb6EA57632pcDD97A26Bpd56B21F52", \
RUN+="/usr/sbin/prism2_srec -gp wlan0 /lib/firmware/$result/prism2-pm010102.hex"
KERNEL=="wlan0", SUBSYSTEM=="net", ATTRS{modalias}=="pcmcia:m000Bc7110f06fn00pfn00pa1A424A1Cpb6EA57632pcDD97A26Bpd56B21F52", \
RUN+="/usr/sbin/prism2_srec -rp wlan0 /lib/firmware/$result/prism2-rf010804.hex"

As you will hopefully note, the firmware files should be placed in /lib/firmware/(kernel version)/, and in my case are renamed to prism2-pm010102.hex and prism2-010804.hex. The files can be named anything, so long as the udev rule points to the correct files. You will need to remember to copy these firmware files to the new directory created every time a kernel upgrade comes down the pipe. I have a feature request in to include this udev rule and the firmware as part of the restricted drivers package, and have had correspondence regarding this.

Now, on to less serious (but not exactly less nerdy) topics:

HOLY CRAP, the B-52s songs are LOADED with sexual innuendo! I was listening to the "Cosmic Thing" album way back in '89-'91 and was far too young to pick up what most of the lyrics were actually saying. Here's an example (from "Bushfire"):

On the horizon, the landscape's burning red
Bushfire---smoke in your eyes... smoke in your eyes
If you feel something, that makes you warm all over
If you got a fire and you can't put it out---got a bushfire

Rolling through a field of molten flowers
Burning in a field of molten flowers
There's a bushfire---there's a bushfire burning---yeah

Bushfire! Bushfire! Bushfire!

My mind's been going places without me lately
I need your arms to take me down, take me to the ground
But I hold back! Get away from the heat
Hold back! In my field of vision
Hold back! Baby burning---fire

Fire in a field of molten flowers,
Fire in a field of molten flowers
There's a bushfire burning---yeah.
You better hold back! Hold back!

Bushfire! Bushfire! Bushfire!

Well I'm movin' to the beat of a big bushfire
I'm dancin' to the beat of a big bushfire
And the flames are warm and getting brighter

Well everybody loves to dance around the heat and fire
Oh lightnin' strike twice
Hey everybody bask in the afterglow---Bushfire
Naked light shining over my bed, been lying here too long
I need your arms to take me down, take me to the ground

But I hold back---get away from the heat!
Hold back! In my field of vision
Hold back! I see smoke---smoke in your eyes

Bushfire! Bushfire! Bushfire!
The landscape's burning, red hot

If that isn't about hot sex, I don't know what is.

-sin613

P.S. - The "Cosmic Thing" album is one of my favorite albums. Some day I will cover "Deadbeat Club" and everyone will love it... but only an elite few will know it wasn't an original tune.

2007-10-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

To the kind Russian gent who thinks he is me: I most assuredly did not forget my password.

Thank you.

2007-09-16T02:13:00.000-05:00

For anyone out there with an Audiovox 8910 who wish they could run J2ME MIDlets: there is (potentially) hope.

For those familiar with this phone, you already know that it's not an amazing device. It's actually quite the opposite: a very drab, boring, feature poor phone. But there are some nice things about it: you don't need to worry about it being stolen, some models run J2ME MIDlets, the camera is decent, and they're so cheap they aren't worth stealing.

Oh yeah, and because they were so popular, there is quite a bit of information to be found out there on thems intarwebs.

Now, on to the J2ME stuffs: I'm hard at work extracting the firmware from a Bell Mobility branded 8910, which supports MIDP 1.0 MIDlets.

I have the phone in question working on Alltel's phone network with one exception: WAP. Unlike most other models of this phone, the Bell Mobility model does not allow WAP username/password changes through use of ##20022002(END). To complicate matters further, none of the /nvm/nvm/ files can be replaced with either QPST (Qualcomm Product Support Tool) or BitPim. Neither can the CUPST (Curitel Product Support Tool) be used to change the username/password: the tool locks up when you try.

I saw a glimmer of hope when I found that QXDM (Qualcomm eXtensible Diagnostics Monitor?) was capable of displaying - and evidently allowing direct edits to - the firmware. Now remember that username/password settings should be stored in NVRAM, not the firmware, *but* settings to restore to a "default" state could potentially exist in the firmware.

The current problem that I have is QXDM's inability to display more than 256 bytes of the phone's memory at a time. That brings us to our next piece of software: CDMA Workshop. It's going to take ~7 hours to dump the full 16MB (128Mb) of phone memory, but it should be a perfect copy of Bell Mobility's firmware - a firmware I had previously not been able to find anywhere on the Internet, and one of two firmwares (Virgin Mobile's being the other) capable of running J2ME MIDlets. I will put this somewhere online and post a link ASAP.

If I am correct regarding the storage of a default username/password, I should be
able to locate the correct memory location and make the appropriate edit directly to the phone's memory using QXDM. I will keep you updated on that, as well.

A final note: one with a trained eye may spot the firmware size and say "16MB? All other firmwares are 9MB or less!" Yes, you are correct, but all 8910s have 16MB of memory. I am being thorough, even if it isn't needed.

2007-09-07T04:48:00.000-05:00

Smooth move, Swiffer.

There is a Swiffer(tm) commercial which takes place in a courtroom. Here is the best I can muster for dialog re-creation:

Woman: I walked into the kitchen and the evidence was everywhere!
Lawyer: Can you please point to the defendant?
Woman: Yes! (points at a broom "sitting" at the defense table)

Think about this for a second: "Can you please point to the defendant?" I would hope that anyone in a court of law would be capable of pointing to the defendant.

Swiffer, I hope you didn't pay much for that commercial.

2007-08-30T18:17:00.000-05:00

Stephanie Peterson.

In my dreams, location plays a prominent role. Architecture is significant, the lay of the land sticks out in my mind. On occasion, though, the place neither matters nor sticks out in my memory. It is in these dreams that feelings tend to play a more crucial role. Last night I had one of these few-and-far-between dreams.

REALITY: In 7th grade (or grade 7, if you're from up north) I sat next to Stephanie Peterson in Algebra I. This was the 'advanced placement' class for those of us that didn't suck at math. Neither Stephanie nor I really had any friends in the class with us, so when students paired up for checking work or collectively solving problems we tended to end up together. She was quiet and very reserved - I could never really tell what she thought of me. But I liked her. Not romantically, though - I liked who she was. We were never really 'friends', not even 'acquaintances' by any stretch of the imagination. I don't believe I have ever had a real conversation with her, mainly because there was nothing to talk about and she wasn't one for small talk. A year or two after high school was the last time I saw her. I have heard since then she's living communally, growing organic foods and such. I really have no idea whether that is true.

DREAM: I won't dwell on details, but the gist is that Stephanie Peterson was the primary person I was interacting with. We had a real conversation, closed with an embrace. When I woke up, I had the sense that I just had a very important conversation with a long-lost friend. The embrace left me with a strong sense of closure and in a very comforted state of mind.

Stephanie Peterson is not a name that crosses my mind very often, so now I am curious as to whether there is a reason for her showing up in a dream.

Presently on my mind: math, chess, purchasing books for school.

2007-08-15T16:57:00.000-05:00

This post will likely bore you to death, so unless that's the kind of thing you are into you might want to skip it.

Personal reinstall procedure:
1. Install firmware and hostap-utils for wireless adapter and configure for use with AP
2. Install midisport firmware package (automatically installs fxload)
3. Install Rosegarden (import studio configuration), VLC, DeVeDe, Audacity, and 'Restricted Extras'
4. Install BitPim, Wine, ntfs-3g and ntfs-utils
5. Enable System Monitor applet
6. Install BRWC200
7. Setup printer
8. Test instruction set for enabling DRI for Mach64
9. Set home pages in Firefox: gmail.com | reader.google.com
10. Import Pidgin settings OR regroup contacts
11. Enable additional repositories (Google's Linux repo, mainly)
12. Install atitvout package & test
13. ?

TODO from prior backup:
1. Import bookmarks
2. Restructure home folder
3. ?

2007-08-15T02:11:00.000-05:00

apathy. make believe enemies.
i concede there's more than me.
please, body, do something.

2007-08-09T02:12:00.000-05:00

Ape 17 is in constant danger.

Many years ago, 17 apes were plucked from their mothers' arms for diabolic experimentation in the laboratory of the seemingly evil, yet seemingly good-natured white-coat, Dr. Strem.

For years these caged animals fought against their captors through every manner of biting hands and flinging whatever flingables on which they could lay their hands. With the passage of time, some of the apes began to disappear. There was speculation they were being systematically biologically tampered with for some seemingly evil purpose, but no solid proof. But one thing was certain: the apes were dying.

Rest assured, though, that ape 17 stays quite alive for the duration of our story. However, quite to our dismay, apes 1-16 must pass before ape 17 is able to make his daring escape.

2007-07-21T01:52:00.000-05:00

just answer the question.

and stop stomping around and slamming doors.

i don't care if you're on the rag, you're an adult.

2007-07-07T03:59:00.000-05:00

I hadn't even noticed that I was staring while she took our order.

"I remember someone who smiled like that," I thought to myself, "she's not smiling for tips, but because she really is cheerful. Shana?"

Shana Jensen was one of the few people from high school years that I could never forget, and not due to having had a hormone-induced interest in her. She really was nice, in the largest sense of the word. I imagined her strolling through the forest singing to the birds landing on her fingers and arms, with every wild creature gathering around her in eager anticipation for what she would do or say next. I had convinced myself that, had she stopped smiling, the earth itself would not be able to avoid feeling what sadness she must be feeling. She had no enemies, and I couldn't fathom anyone disliking her. She was graceful. She was amazing. I was convinced that it was all because of her smile.

She left the table.

I noted to Dan that our waitress looked very much like she could very well be related to the Jensens in Crookston, to which he agreed. Jarrod and Nick confessed that they had not even looked at her while she took our order. I began to speculate that perhaps she was a younger sister or cousin to Shana.

"Well, I think I will just ask her if she is related and that will be that. She just looks too much like a Jensen," I stated.

She returned to the table with our drinks and that same pleasant smile.

"Excuse me," I blurted, "but are you by any chance related to the Jensens from Crookston?"

In a way most indescribable, her wide and sincere smile became even wider and more sincere.

"I am Shana Jensen!" she laughed. "I didn't know whether or not you had recognized me!"

Unbelievable. It really is possible to have an unforgettable smile.

2007-06-24T11:40:00.000-05:00

The final verdict on support for the D-Link DWL-650 Rev. P1 in Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon" Tribe 1 is in. Everything works like a charm.

There are a couple things you will need to do in order to have your card fully functional. First, you *will* need the firmware available at http://www.red-bean.com/~proski/firmware/ (just download latest-prism.tar.bz2 and extract pm010102.hex and rf010804.hex). I would recommend putting the files in /lib/firmware (in my case, I've put them in /lib/firmware/dwl-650).

With the firmware in place, edit /etc/network/interfaces like so:

...
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
fw_primary /lib/firmware/dwl-650/pm010102.hex
fw_secondary /lib/firmware/dwl-650/rf010804.hex
...

The final yet very important step is to install hostap-utils. From a terminal type:

sudo apt-get install hostap-utils

That should be it! Now reboot, and your card should light on up. Networks should appear in the Network Manager, assuming there are some to connect to.

If you have any problems, first check to make sure hostap_cs is loading by running lsmod, then check to make sure your card is being recognized by running lspcmcia. If everything seems okay, try blacklisting the orinoco_cs module.

2007-06-24T03:11:00.000-05:00

Tonight I am upgrading to Ubuntu 7.10a1, better known as Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 1.

The very first thing to note is that the D-Link DWL-650 Rev. P1 works. Now, I'm being careful with my wording here because it doesn't "just work", it just "works". Catch that? I will still need to download the firmware mentioned in a prior post and do some other configuration, but the hostap_cs.ko module in Linux kernel 2.6.22 does not need to be edited to support this card. It works.

Second thing to note is that the installer is taking forever to do its thing. Yay, Live CD! I had thought about doing an upgrade install, but a full install is just so "clean", not to mention much faster.

Once I've got this upgrade performed I will be eliminating a desktop I've had set up for quite some time and parting it out with the help of Google Products & Checkout. As an aside, I would recommend checking those services out since they will eventually replace EBay. I'm not joking.

More will follow the upgrade.

2007-03-26T19:52:00.000-05:00

the verbs:

hey kid, broken jaw
never did anything for ya
hey man, broken gun
still stuck practicing a failed religion

it's a - 12 more to miles city
another 320 to dodge
10 more jobs and 3 more ladies
gettin' paid and gettin' laid
it's a - back down, you forget
that those footprints there are mine
the verbs, man, the verbs
showin' some self respect
no more doin' time

hey man, wealth in hand
never did anything for ya
hey man, a means to an end
10 alone while the protest's rollin'

it's a - bang! bang! you crossed my tracks
american dream, flag burnin' supreme
i got my peace, the verbs, i'll show ya
it's a - no fuzz, we put 'em down
put ourselves up on the soap now
you bow down to the bullhorn sound
i'm the law, i'm the law, i'll show ya

it's a - 4 more to miles city
another 312 to dodge
it's a - process man, a process
slowly the verbs replace the law

hey kid
hey kid
hey kid

-single

2007-02-26T11:27:00.000-06:00

i win again.

i am presently online via wireless using a DWL-650 Rev P in Ubuntu Linux 7.04 Feisty Fawn Herd 4 (isn't that a mouthful).

first and foremost, hostap_cs.ko needs to be modified as per my previous post. this can be fixed via source, but if you're lazy like me you'd prefer a thirty second hex edit over recompilation.

second, you need to ensure that hostap and hostap_cs are being loaded via your /etc/modules file.

third, you need to ensure that orinoco_cs is blacklisted in /etc/modprobe.conf/blacklist.

and onto the good stuff...

getting the firmware to load is a trick, really. i copied the firmware files from http://www.red-bean.com/~proski/firmware/ into the directory /etc/firmware (if you don't have one, it doesn't hurt to make it) and changed their permissions:

chmod 644 /etc/firmware/*

in my case, i'm using the files pm010102.hex and rf010802.hex. i edited my /etc/network/interfaces file as follows:

...
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
fw_primary /etc/firmware/pm010102.hex
fw_secondary /etc/firmware/rf010802.hex
wireless-essid
wireless-key
...

then i just rebooted. well, when i say "just" i am not quite telling the truth. it seems that everything works fine and dandy up until firmware loading. following the reboot (which was absolutely necessary), your card still won't be usable. just eject it and put it back in. assuming your ESSID and key are correct, you should (fairly quickly) be connected to your wireless network.

problem #1: you can't scan for networks. don't ask me why, but i'm working on it.

problem #2: you won't see your wireless connection displayed by gnome-network-manager. once again, don't ask me why.

in my tinkering during the past 24 hours, i've seen both problems resolved but had no idea how and couldn't reproduce it... so they're fixable.

for now, courage.

2007-02-26T01:03:00.000-06:00

i win.

it's been a tough night of avoiding studying for my classes, but i have officially won.

it turns out that there is a bug in the module hostap_cs.ko that is presently shipping with feisty fawn. it is supposed to be looking for the D-Link DWL-650 Rev P1 PCMCIA card with a manufacturers ID of 000B and a card ID of 7110, but the card ID was 7100 instead. i didn't have what i needed to recompile the modules, so i just used a hex editor and massaged them to my liking. that is, i first searched for the (text) string "m000Bc7100" and changed it to "m000Bc7110", then searched for the hex string "0B000071" and changed it to "0B001071". after modprobing hostap and hostap_cs, lspcmcia -vvv now shows that hostap_cs is being used for my DWL-650 Rev P1.

there is still one hurdle, and that is loading the firmware via prism2_srev. the utility dies with this error:

Downloading to volatile memory (RAM).
ioctl[PRISM2_IOCTL_DOWNLOAD]: Input/output error

i'm sure i'll be able to figure it out. one step at a time.

2006-12-14T05:35:00.000-06:00

i read my life.

once there was a starry-eyed child so eager to succeed. he never failed, but he never bloomed.

twice upon a time i regained consciousness of the situation. it has done me no good, i assure you.

knocking upon the doors - even knocking myself upon the head - has yielded few advances.

you see, we die.

you are going to die. i won't be there. i can't be there.

in that hour do we fail and bloom all at once?

i read my list. i am not done. i will never be done, will i?

i checked the clock. i listen for my pulse. i feel for it.

it will go away on its own.

i will fail. i will bloom.

2006-09-08T00:54:00.000-05:00

To Save an Atlas. (a noble cause, a humble title)

There is a forest and within a stump
upon which decisions hesitate and rest;
and thinkers sit to whittle down the
thoughts they've all but done.

The thinkers do and the doers don't -
this is the difference between -
and stumps aren't so when left alone
by doers evil deeds.

To think upon that done-in stump
or stump the one who does;
the thinker knows the who and what -
the forest from the trees - and stumps.

2006-08-23T01:42:00.000-05:00

the clock on his heart, not on his wall

find for me one good reason to allow this passage.
find for me one scrap, one shred of worth.
i find none. we know me, and there is none.

i'm winding down. i know you, i am.
i'm winding down, and without any scraps to show.
like a grandfather clock or a top -
i'm winding down, but with much less fanfare.

i should burn brightly, so brightly!
but i couldn't stand still for the lighter...
so what is there for me?
i'm not fit for living, and less fit for burning.
why fit for keeping?
find for me one scrap, one shred of worth.
i find none. we know me, and there is none.

2006-07-22T04:17:00.000-05:00

i was digging through some old files looking for some specific things, and i seem to have found them. without further ado, here they are. enjoy.

what is the process for removal, the process for amputation, for something carried so long that it has become part of you? how long is the procedure, or is there one at all? disposal was so easy before awareness came to life: reduce, reuse, recycle; litter kills the earth; save the rain forest. reduce the difficulty or complexity of life, just carry an addiction so the withdrawl pangs leave you be. for some this may make sense, but for others it's a simple cop-out. run far, run fast and avoid the issue: avoid the luggage at all cost, you won't need it where you're going.

----------

rally rally
this radicalism
this idealism
the war's been fought before
but something makes it new now?
the argument has been heard
the sides have been presented
but still the sides remain, like the sides of a pail
cilindrical logic
keep your mind off what matters
keep your mind in the bucket
with its empty contents

----------

all i know is i was waiting to die
and all i could hear were muffled tears
watered eyes were trying to mask fears
and you arrived along with a calm
and dieing didn't seem too bad
because calmness lasts much longer
than any fate
for fate is fate which is not an eternity
but the depth of a calm is immeasurable
as is the measure of death
but calmness in the face of death
travels beyond immeasurable
approaching incomprehensible...
no better fitting mood for a martyr

i honestly wouldn't be able to tell you how long ago i wrote these things. i do know that they were written during a post-2000 summer. that's about it.

-sin613

2006-07-22T02:43:00.000-05:00

All things are full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.

that about sums it up.

old habits die young

let's find a middle ground
between the topsoil and the bedrock
nice and dark, with just the right amount of moisture
we can wait there a long lonely time, maybe even an eternity

some rainy day, when the water trickles down to feed the spring
i will spring to life
and we will teach you a lesson, we will
because old habits don't die young!
no, they rarely die at all

a short nap. as long as is necessary.
i wake to find you weak and i am all the stronger
for this time i have roots, and such deep roots they are!

set aside your fears, we are not at odds...
we grow upon your property
and properly you seem to meet our needs
by feeding us every now and then with such delicious water
oh that sweet, putrid water...

but some day. some day.
some day you will find a middle ground
you may not be a habit, but you are habit food
i do believe you'll fit in, yes you will
right snug between the roots, the worms, and the hell that awaits you.

yes, we'll make you cozy.

p.s. the pronouns change intentionally.

2006-07-19T04:44:00.000-05:00

a close friend dies a good death

farewell the day complete - maybe a whisper, maybe a scream
maybe signs of passing time wasted, yet a scream of time to come
farewell the day approaching
farewell, farewell.

the lids of eyes and jars open. ajar.
a jar to keep the vitals, a jar to keep the eyes
a container for the organs, since you can't contain yourself

the embalmer is on the line
he bids you to be bold. or italic. or underlined.
he bids you to be, as today you are not.
farewell the day replete - maybe bliss, maybe a dream.