Ubuntu and Blueray

Well, I have been boycotting BlueRay discs for some time now, however, I do get them as gifts from time-to-time and need to play them.  Nowadays I will purchase HD movies streamed online from Amazon using their media library and my Roku, but I received a few more physical BD discs that I need to decrypt this Christmas...

At this point though it is more economicalfor me to re-purchase the titles on Amazon then to spend the time getting the discs decrypted, but for those looking for a challenge:

Here are a few links of interest in playing blue-ray discs from Ubuntu 9.10

The Main Ubuntu Blueray guide:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/BluRayAndHDDVD

BDRom decryption keys by Movie title:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1293367#post1293367

DumpHD ( Open source ripping program )
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=123111

MakeMKV ( Closed Source ripping program )
http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=224

MPX (Multipointer) works in Ubuntu Lynx!

Finally, the MPX subsystem is included in the alpha version of Ubuntu 10.04.   I was able to create three separate mouse pointers on my TabletPC as a test following this guide: http://alec.mooo.com/mpx.php

Why? Because I can ;) and because this is hopefully the beginning of multi-touch support throughout the Gnome Desktop environment.

Last night my wife and I shared the laptop for a while using both the bluetooth mouse and the internal trackpoint.

Turn your child's drawing into a real doll

http://www2.shidonni.com/

My Arcade Machine

Someone asked me for pictures of my arcade machine and here are a few.

Config:
- MAME 1.31
- 4 sets of controls (8 way joystick + 7 buttons)
- Trackball
- Light Gun
- Spinner
- 4 way joystick

Mysterious Lights seen off the coast of Norway

Thousands of people saw and recorded this lightshow off the coast of Norway.

Robotic Air Jet for your entertainment.

Tiger Woods accident re-creation

New Handheld News Reader

TV Calibration

Found a link to a free Calibration tool for any TV.

http://www.xyhd.tv/slates/

Color filters are available here:
http://www.lightingelstore.com/servlet/the-257/VIDEO-CALIBRATION-PACK-%283%29/Detail
Tokyo Blue = #071 (same as the Kodak Deep Blue Tricolor #47B = AVIA = THX Glasses)
Primary Red = #106 (same as the Kodak Deep Red Tricolor #29 = AVIA = DVE)
Primary Green = #139 (same as the Kodak Deep Green Tricolor #61 = AVIA = DVE)

Impressive Fellow plays guitar with feet

Simply amazing talent!

Roku - De-activation links

In case you need to remove a channel from the new Roku firmware:

Revision3 deactivation,
http://revision3.com/account#change-preferences

Facebook deactivation,
http://www.facebook.com/editapps.php?v=allowed

Flickr deactivation,
http://www.flickr.com/services/auth/list.gne?from=extend

MediaFly deactivation,
http://www.mediafly.com/DigitalLifestyle#SelectedDevice

FrameChannel deactivation,
http://www.framechannel.com/mydevices/

Netflix deactivation,
https://www.netflix.com/Player?manage_device

Amazon deactivation,
http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/roku/ref=atv_manage_roku

Making Websites Fullscreen on WebOS / iPhone / Android browsers

Was wondering how to make web pages that go full screen  in WebKit based browsers (WebOS / iPhone / Android) .  Turns out it is as simple as adding a meta tag:

http://www.iphonemicrosites.com/articles/format-your-website-for-the-new-mobile-web/

Example (Look at these links on your WebKit browser):

No meta tag: http://www.sharpee.com/norm.html

With meta tag: http://www.sharpee.com/palm.html

10GUI - Multi-Touch UI

Appears to be an interesting perspective on Multi-Touch User Interfaces (appears to be based on a Unix system)

http://10gui.com/video/

Get started with this:

http://www.wacom.com/bamboo/bamboo_touch.php

"Keep (plucking?) that chicken!"

Ran across this today.. Too funny!

Defragmenting an Ubuntu File System / Ext3fs?

Not sure what I find more interesting. New York Times being queried and answering an issue involving Linux or that someone would feel compelled to ask about defragmenting a Flash disk.


http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/q-a-defragmenting-a-linux-system/

Bi-Pedal Robot from Boston Dynamics

From the same folks who brought us "BigDog" comes a two legged variety:

Problems with Ubuntu sound? - Try this

Having issues with sound in Ubuntu (Pulse Audio), try this well written guide. Fortunately, most of this guide has been implemented in the latest version of Ubuntu 9.10, so wait it out until then or give this link a read.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=789578

MAME for Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope 9.04

Just thought I would jot down the steps needed to get Mame up and running on my newly upgraded arcade cabinet.

Get SDLMame Source Code (skip the bin package as that wont be compiled for your specific CPU unless you are running Amd64):
http://sdlmame.wallyweek.org/download/

Untar the source into a tmp folder:
tar zxvf sdlmame-source.tar.gz /usr/local/src

Install the following packages for ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install libsdl-dev
sudo apt-get install libgtk2.0-dev
sudo apt-get install libgconf2-dev

Compile:
cd /usr/local/src/sdlmame-1xx
make
Go watch a movie it will take quite a bit of time before it is finished

Install:
sudo make install

Kite Snowboarding

Wow. I like the part where the guy signals he is calling it quits ;)

CryEngine 3 - Amazing new gaming engine

Amazing new gaming engine:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/14/cryengine-3-released-box-of-tissues-not-included/

Use Cases for Google Wave

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/5u2DVQ_lHPI/google-waves-best-use-cases

DIY Daft Punk Helmet

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/13/daft-punk-replica-helmet/

Charlotte Meck Police Scanner - Online

Interesting to listen to from time-to-time.
http://audio2.radioreference.com/nc_mecklenburg_police

Police codes used on radio:
http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/polcodes.htm

Combine Multiple PDFs on Ubuntu

pdftk a.pdf b.pdf c.pdf cat output abc.pdf

-or-

gs -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -sOUTPUTFILE=combinedpdf.pdf -dBATCH 1.pdf 2.pdf 3.pdf

Impossible Beauty - Teenagers plight for perfection

Essentially a PSA for teenage self-esteem. A good look at what effort is needed to convey the perfect image.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1130618347958

Monroe painted with Paintballs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMSWVW9o3So

SoundSleeping - Simply a good site for sleep

http://www.soundsleeping.com/

Cow Flatuence accounts for 20% Greenhouse Gases

http://www.7gen.com/blog/20090401/25524-global-warming

Those were the days.. The original fanboys ;)

Those were the days.. The original fanboys ;)

Need to print posters? Try Rasterbator On/Offline

Ever need to print beyond 8.5x11 inch paper? Try Rasterbator On/Offline.
http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/

Street Painter Gallery

From the first time I have seen these artists while walking down Water street in Milwaukee, I am always amazed at their work.

Gallery

Imogen Heap shown on Letterman playing Monome

Imogen Heap shown on Letterman playing with a Monome. Letterman tries to play it at the end of the performance ;)

Google Reader (clean interface) hack

If your RSS needs are fulfilled by using Google Reader, you may be interested in this little tip I have learned. After using reader on my Palm Pre for many months I found that I liked reading it more on the phone than on my desktop. Apparently the less cluttered interface designed for the phone was more conducive to reading faster.

I figured out how to get the same (iPhone ish) experience on my desktop browser. Use the following link to login to reader:

http://www.google.com/reader/i

Make a Mario Mushroom Power-up from a radish

Make a Mario Mushroom Power-up from a radish

Emergency charging device, with Radio, Solar Panel, Dynamo, and Flashlight

Emergency cellphone / battery charging device, with Radio, Solar Panel, Dynamo, and Flashlight. If you power goes out for a couple of days due to a Hurricane / Ice Storm and have a hard time calling relatives or 911, you may be thanking yourself for having one.

http://dvice.com/archives/2009/09/multi-function.php

Browser for the Better - Microsoft will donate up to $2.30 to starving Americans

Microsoft will donate up to $2.30 to help starving Americans for every browser upgrade to IE 8.0. Glad to see marketing campaigns like this whereupon someone else can benefit.

http://browserforthebetter.com

Tired of dealing with traffic in Charlotte? Get Involved at the MUMPO

Do you have ideas on which roads should be built / expanded next? Let your voice be heard and participate in the Meck / Uniion Municipality Planning Organization (MUMPO) meetings. Check their site for times and locations.

http://www.mumpo.org/

Greater Charlotte Area Photographer

In case you are in need of an excellent and very creative photographer in the Charlotte metro area, check out:

http://www.photographybyheatheranne.com/

Work around the Pandora 40 hour limit

Essentially on Ubuntu:

rm ~/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects/xxxxxx/pandora.com/*
*where xxxxx = some random foldername

Idea from:
http://dualcoremusic.com/nerdcore/634/pandora/

How Infrared Motion Detectors Work

Use a lot of these in home automation and its nice to read up on just how they work.

http://www.glolab.com/pirparts/infrared.html

Highly Dexterous Robotic Hand

http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/08/03/high-speed-robot-hand-demonstrates-dexterity-and-skillful-manipulation

Pakistani Engineering Student vs Door

No sure what he is trying to do or prove here. Interesting to watch just the same.

Go-FAST-cart!

Go-cart powered by a Honda CBR900rr (125 HP) engine!

Impressive Waterslide Jump

Could be fake but impressive work none-the-less.

http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2009/08/05

Apple rejects Google Voice app from App Store

Mysteriously Apple has rejected the Google Voice apps from their App Store.  Apple's newfound control over content and platform reminds me of a certain add campaign started by Apple in 1984.

[caption id="attachment_174" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Apple (2009) 1984 - Photo Orig: PodBrix  http://podbrix.com/massmail-07-31.htm"][/caption]

Credit Crisis Explained for the masses

A really good five minute video explaining the credit cresis with easy to follow visuals.

http://vimeo.com/3261363

Credit Crisis Explained

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Smartphone wallpapers

A website devoted to wallpapers for smartphones.  The link is branded as a Palm Pre site, however, any phone supporting portrait 320x480 resolution can share.

http://idesignpre.com/

Apple declares Jailbroken iPhone a threat to national security

While debating whether Jailbroken iPhones are legal, Apple has declared that a compromised iPhone could crash the cellular network.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/07/jailbreak/

Vaccine for Colon Cancer

Great news was released a few days ago that a drug in trial right now is showing promise as a vaccine for colon and a few other types of cancer.  Trials are being held right now with a hopeful closure in 2011.

http://chattahbox.com/health/2009/07/27/new-colon-cancer-vaccine-attacks-emerging-tumors/

Linus Torvalds asked about Microsoft's latest code for Linux

Great article / interview with Linus about his comments on Microsoft's latest release of Opensourced code for Linux. In this interview he touches on some great points about feelings towards Microsoft and why people write opensource to begin with.

http://www.linux-mag.com/cache/7439/1.html

Apples new interface: Macbook Wheel

I know its old, but just saw it for the first time ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Gzq-QEt0s

"Ill buy almost anything if its shiny and made by Apple"

"The babbling baby asked the aardvark for some absinthe"

SpaceX successfully launches satellite into space!

Not exactly sure why I didnt see any press coverage in mainstream media or blogs, however, upon checking their website I noticed that they had successfully launched a satellite into space on July 13th!  As far as I know this is the first private company to launch a satellite and is very exciting news.  Congrats SpaceX!!

http://www.spacex.com/press.php?page=20090715

Very cool pictures of the launch shown here:

http://www.spacex.com/launch_updates.php

Cure for Radiation Sickness - Treatment for cancer?

Some researchers have conducted trials on monkeys demonstrating a drug that can be injected to counter-act radiation sickness.  Interestingly enough this may also lead to a very effective treatment for all types of cancer, by dosing a patient with lethal amounts of radiation to kill a tumor, then immediately administrating this drug.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3748014,00.html

TDMA - Stop email spoofing

Was getting a bunch of spam emails being forged from valid accounts on my own domain.  This was obviously being whitelisted as they are trusted sender on my email account.   Heres how to block spammers from spoofing emails.

From: http://tmda.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/moin.cgi/TmdaTipsAndTricks

On Ubuntu 9.04, open the /etc/exim4/exim4.conf.template file as Superuser.  Find the "acl_check_rcpt:" string and add the following rule.

# ACL Section:

acl_check_rcpt:

# Block spoofed addresses

  deny  condition       = ${if eq {$sender_address_domain}{$domain}{yes}{no}}
        hosts           = !+relay_from_hosts
        message         = Spammers not welcome - go away.
        log_message     = Spam from sender $sender_address at $sender_fullhost

Save the file and run the following command: dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config

PreBrewFarts - It was inevitable....

After some interesting "discussions" on the internet about the merits of creating such a program, it was put into code by someone.    PreBrewFarts...

http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pre/192379-prebrewfarts-v0-1-5-no-rooting-required.html

RC Airplane Fireworks - An unexpected pleasing combination!

Definitely will have to try this out myself someday.  RC plane armed with fireworks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBn1h0x-37E

Quest for Graphics within Palm Pre - WebOS

I started thinking about how to find a way to allow native linux application to display within WebOS.  Most of the graphic intensive applications on the Pre use a Webkit Netscape Plugin to get a native drawable on the phone (Camera, Media Player, Palm Emulator, etc).

So why not create yet another Webkit plugin to provide a FrameBuffer device on the os.  The challenge will be to determine what native drawable is presented to the plugin (doubt its going to be X11)

Here is some links of interest:

Pre Dev Wiki research:
http://predev.wikidot.com/browser-plugins

Mozilla's documentation on drawing within a plugin:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Gecko_Plugin_API_Reference/Drawing_and_Event_Handling#The_NPWindow_Structure

Simply drawing example
http://multimedia.cx/diamondx/

Ubuntu Jaunty latest NVidia driver PPA

Just found out how to get the latest versions of the NVidia graphics driver on Jaunty.

Add the ppa to apt

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates/ubuntu jaunty main

Import the public key

apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys AF1CDFA9

The "Peter Principle"

I was talking with a few colleagues at a professional meeting and the term "Peter Principle" came up.   Its a simple principle that postulates an employee of a company will be promoted to their point of incompetency and there they will remain until let go.

Just thought I'd share this thought of the day :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle

Compiling a custom kernel for Ubuntu

I found out during my 4th of July server upgrade that the Moxa serial driver is broken in the 9.04 distribution 2.6.28 kernel.    After several futile attempts to backport and downstream the newer / older version into the stock kernel, I am now just going to upgrade to the latest kernel version entirely to 2.6.30.1.   If this still doesnt work at least I will be on the latest kernel version so I can begin working with the LKML on fixing it.

Found this resource for compiling a kernel

http://easylinuxcds.com/blog/?p=3244

I found out there is currently a bug with the installation of the .deb process.  Do the following after the preceding instructions.

From Mike Stroyan:

This is not actually a defect in nvidia-common. It is a defect in dkms.
The /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms script is sending messages to stdout.
That script is run under /usr/share/debconf/frontend, which expects that stdout will only be used for messages to it.
The actual response to the output does not occur while /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms is running.
The error message is deferred until the /etc/kernel/postinst.d/nvidia-common script runs.
That second script tries to send debconf requests to stdout.
That triggers the debconf error message in response to the junk that dkms wrote earlier.

Patching /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms to redirect stdout fixes the problem.
Adding "1>&2" to the invocation of /etc/init.d/dkms_autoinstaller keeps stdout clean.

London Stock Exchange ditches Microsoft Trading platform

Microsoft has relied on the London Stock Exchange project as a key piece of their marketing for the "Get The Facts" campaign..

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/getthefacts/lse.mspx

It was recently announced by the London Stock Exchange that this solution is a failure.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/london_stock_exchange_to_abandon_failed_windows_platform

Amazing Space Station footage of volcano eruption on Russian Island

Amazingly co-incidental picture from the space station of a volcano eruption on a remote Russian Island.  The item that impresses me the most is the shockwave of the explosion is pushing the clouds away!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1195215/Stunning-pictures-hole-clouds-astronauts-witness-volcano-eruption-International-Space-Station.html

Palm stumbles onto the magic bullet?

Whether it was conceived in grand strategic plans or purely accidental, Palm's choice to build a phone upon Linux without hardware DRM is, in my opinion, the magic bullet to the Smartphone wars.

They havent pulled the trigger yet, however, when the GSM version of WebOS shows up on the scene, this may be the dawn of a new era of smartphones.   Given the momentum and activity of the "homebrew" community behind this already (and its only limited to Sprint customers in the US) I believe once this hits GSM, the homebrew community will explode.

It isnt necessarily the Phone hardware,  the WebOS UI, or the fact that it runs Linux.  Its the combination of those three elements coupled with the lack of the draconion DRM that is making this a slow hit.

Apple's on-stage joke this week about the 18 apps for the Palm may have been funny at the time, however, running a single slimed down OpenOffice app is worth thousands of "Fad Apps"

The destiny is not in the stars however as Palm has not officially come out with a policy regarding the homebrew efforts.  I would only hope they will take their time and make a wise decision.

Dynamic Multitouch Tactile Displays

Quite a title, eh?  Just a little glimpse of what CMU is up to with providing a tactile touchscreen display.  Very cool stuff that Im sure we will see "innovated" by a larger company in the near future.

 http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/prototype-display-combines-touchscreen-morphing-buttons/

Mars rover Opportunity experiencing drive problems

It would appear the end is somewhat closer for both Spirit and Opportunity mars rovers.  Spirit is still stuck in the sand and now Opportunity is experiencing problem with the right front wheel.   This is not the first time a rover has been stuck or had a wheel problem, however, the significance of these events seems to be far greater than the last time.  JPL is being very cautious with the simulation of extraction of Spirit and hopefully that effort will pay off.   Good luck!

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html#opportunity

Find a location on Google Maps by Lat and Long

http://www.gorissen.info/Pierre/maps/googleMapLocation.php

Analysis of the internals of the Palm Pre

http://www.advogato.org/person/mjg59/diary.html?start=207

Pre Dev Wiki

http://predev.wikidot.com/backdoor

Palm Pre Tips

Screenshot

"You can take a screenshot of whatever is on screen by pressing orange key + shift + P all at the same time. It creates a screenshots folder in Photos and saves the image. Also you find the image in the USB partition when you hook up Pre as a USB drive."

Timed and Hard Pause in Dial String

t = 1 sec

p = hard pause (select next sequence to dial)

Call forwarding

Just dial *72NPANXXNNNN (Area Code, Exchange, Number) to start forwarding; *720 to stop.

ex. *727045551212

Palm Pre Accessories

Stylus

http://www.tenonedesign.com/stylus.php

Skin

 http://www.bodyguardz.com/Palm_Pre_p/palmpre.htm
http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/palm-pre-cases-screen-protectors-covers-skins-shields.php

David Pogue - Reviews Palm Pre

David Pogue from the New York Times, weighs in on the latest Palm phone ( Funny and informative :) )

http://palmwebos.org/2009/06/05/david-pogue-does-palm-pre-video-review/

JPL's Mars Rover, Spirit, is stuck in the dirt

The JPL Mars Rover named "Spirit" has been stuck in the dirt for about a month now.   JPL is trying to determine the best way to drive the rover out of its rut by using a duplicate Rover here on Earth with a soil that is consistent with that of Mars.  Hopefully Spirit will be back on its way again some time soon!

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html#spirit

Thru-You: Israeli DJ mixes up YouTube clips to your delight

Kutiel, an Isreali DJ, has taken various clips from YouTube and re-mixed them into a wonderful audio/visual delight.  Check out the various styles of music he has come up with at his site "Thru-You"

http://thru-you.com

My personal favorite is "07 - Just a Lady".  The lead singer is 25-year-old World Bank administrative assistant, Leslie Harris of Washington, who taped herself singing in her apartment.

Backup / Restore Ubuntu System drives

From the files of "Not so obvious":  How do you backup / restore a Ubuntu system drive?

Well I found this handy article online that explains the procedure.  Essentially, use the Ubuntu LiveCD to use 'partimage'

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/partimage

Installing FreeNX Server on Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty)

Got around to finally installing the FreeNX server on my Ubuntu server.  Following this guide https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FreeNX got me most of the way there with one caveat, Authentication.   In the last step of the guide where you run the nxsetup -install program, I got a problem where it claimed that the authentication wasnt working.  Upon closer examination I discovered that the key file produced by the NX installer is not configured in SSH.

To allow NX to autheticate do the following in addition to the aforementioned guide.

"Hi", a real Human Interface

A different take on the "Human Interface" .  Very well done little chill video

http://vimeo.com/4697849?pg=embed&sec=

Man arrested for taking picture of ATM machine

As the title states, someone walks into an REI, takes a picture of two security officers servicing an ATM, and winds up being arrested.  Im interested to see how this turns up.

http://iamshane.com/2009/05/09/of-atms-iphones-and-911/

Star Trek fans complain about how entertaining the new film is

Gotta love The Onion ;)

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/trekkies_bash_new_star_trek_film

ATI RadeonHD Video drivers in Ubuntu Jaunty 9.04

Want XVideo support for playing movies on Ubuntu with a RadeonHD card?  Add the following repos for the latest GIT packages.

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/tormodvolden/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/tormodvolden/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

Add public key

ATI releases new ASCII Accelerated video card

http://bbspot.com/News/2003/02/ati_ascii.html

Do you have Robot Insurance?

"For when the metal ones come for you!"

http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/49f683185a0a9991/49f638247116125d/62ddab94

Auto-Tune (Perfect Pitch) device applied to the news

My Fav part starts at 1:20 "very thin ice" ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBb4cjjj1gI

Saw the Google Streetview Vehicle today

Hopefully I will be seeing myself shortly at this intersection.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=4421+stuart+andrew+blvd,+charlotte,+nc&sll=34.470335,-83.254395&sspn=13.296958,28.564453&ie=UTF8&ll=35.205496,-80.869535&spn=0.006443,0.013947&z=17&layer=c&cbll=35.205588,-80.869459&panoid=YC3d-vE01sQA3vm1YJLRmw&cbp=12,214.2342789354001,,0,8.876923076923072

Ubuntu 9.04 Wacom Tablet driver fix

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1038949&highlight=rorate+wacom

Household Hacker

http://householdhacker.com

Speedfit - Mobile Treadmill

Love your treadmill, but wish you could get outside more?  Well, enjoy both with the Speedfit - mobile treadmill.   Probably from the makers of the 'Solar Powered Flashlight'  :)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUuwEq98ByM

Runlevels in Ubuntu

Was looking for a way to control runlevels in Ubuntu as with a standard INIT SYSV based system.  I found this document that explains how to make this happen:

http://caulfield.info/emmet/2008/03/add-a-textonly-runlevel-to-ubu.html

Seamless Windows RDP integration

Just ran across this today and didnt realize there was a way to have just an application appear in an RDP session.  Appears to use a client installed in windows to do this called appropriately, Seamless RDP. http://www.cendio.com/seamlessrdp/seamlessrdp.zip

Idea obtained from this handy article:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SeamlessVirtualization

Tesla Downunder

A 'geek out' website containing all sorts of experiments / pictures with High Voltage / Lasers / and other impressive physical properties.

http://tesladownunder.com/index.html

Linux Community Commercials

The future is open

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwNQPairZEM&feature=channel_page

The origin....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1GYHQhqtbU&feature=channel_page

What does it mean to be free?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWEIQIv8zvY&feature=player_embedded

Challenges at the office

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwmfyeHBFlM&feature=channel_page

Linux Pub

http://video.linuxfoundation.org/video/1154

$2,000 Car - The Brand New Tata Nano

Seems like for $2k its not a bad piece of machinery.   Wonder about the reliability of it though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sZitve3SUw&feature=related

Bluetooth Bracelet - Ring / Proximity

http://www.mobileplace.co.uk/product/2468.html?frgl

Multi-Screen Wallpapers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mandolux/

Cam mounted on RC car does an amazing backflip

Impressive little video clip of an RC car doing a backflip off of a jump and landing it perfectly (although a bit hard!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O2qJblce2E

Simulation of US 1549 landing in the Hudson river

Amazing to hear / see the take-off and subsequent crash landing of US 1549 into the Hudson.  The captain remains level headed with a scrambling tower crew.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5181354/hudson-crash-simulation-with-faa-voice-recordings-shows-captains-nerves-of-steel

Windows Mobile 6.5 - Preview

Whats new in Windows Mobile 6.5.  BTW: I have already heard they have ditched the honeycomb idea, but the icons are generally laid out the same.

http://micromiel.com/2009/02/16/whats-new-in-windows-mobile-65/

US Smartphone Comparison - Take 2

Updated my Smartphone comparison chart to include both Palm Pre and iPhone OS 3.0 changes.

http://www.sharpee.com/cellphonecompare.html

Must have iPhone accessory - Urban McHugly

Turn your iPhone into you new best friend.. ;)

http://www.urbantool.com/hq/prod-urban-mchugly-details

Google Street view interesting pictures

Ran across this blog today that shows interesting pics available on Google Street View.   Good for a couple of moments of voyeuristic entertainment.

http://www.streetviewfun.com

Google car racing!

http://www.streetviewfun.com/2009/mazda-raceway-laguna-seca/

Proof that ghosts exist?

http://www.streetviewfun.com/2009/the-floating-old-man/

A1 Mini Storage

704-784-2900

CPCC AutoRepair Shop

The Autobody Repair program is in the Transport Systems Technologies Division. For more information, call 704.330.4122, or call the Program Chair at 704.330.4158.

http://www3.cpcc.edu/programsofstudy/detail.asp?cd=D60100

Mini-ITX resources

Just gathered a few links on Mini-ITX motherboard and case related sites.  If anyone else has one that they would like to share I'd be interested.

 http://www.mini-itx.com

http://www.mini-box.com

http://robotics.cs.brown.edu/projects/smurv/

HTC Touch Pro 2 coming out this summer

Just when I thought the Palm Pre was my next phone, HTC ups the stakes with the new HTC Touch Pro 2.    My wife and I desperately need a new phone, so it will probably come down to which phone is available first.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5154108/htc-touch-diamond-pro-grow-up-with-bigger-screens-better-battery-life

Amazing Guitar Hero Performance over 850K points

Over 850,000 points on Guitar Hero with a near perfect performance.   Personally, I dont play the game much but it is impressive to see someone crank out the patterns that quick.

http://www.youtube.com/user/GuitarHeroPhenom

Can the Palm Pre survive an Apple iPhone patent assault?

Can the Palm Pre survive an Apple iPhone patent assault? It would appear that both sides have the an equivalance of nukes in a cold war.   The following link contains some brief legal discussion of the details.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/28/apple-vs-palm-the-in-depth-analysis/

Antibiotics - General Listing of common problems and their effective antibiotic

From: http://www.ddponline.org/medkit.htm
Penicillin 500 mg Give 500 mg qid for Streptococcal, pneumococcal infections, anaerobic infections "above the diaphragm" such as abscessed teeth. Although its spectrum is limited, this drug is relatively cheap and causes fewer side effects such as diarrhea and vaginitis. Unfortunately, streptococci and pneumococci are increasingly resistant.

Amoxicillin / Ampicillin 250 mg Give 250 to 500 mg id for urinary, middle ear, and lower respiratory infection. This is a broader spectrum penicillin. Staphylococci are usually resistant.

Erythromycin 400 mg Give two tablets bid for pneumonia or Streptococcal sore throat. The drug is also of some benefit in Staphylococcal skin infections.

Tetracycline 250 mg Give 250-500 mg qid for plague and various other insect-born infections; urinary infections; bronchitis; infected animal bites; some venereal diseases; Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Avoid this class of drug in pregnant women and young children, if possible.

Doxycycline 100 mg, which is given once daily (twice for severe infections). Doxycycline has fewer gastrointestinal side effects and is better absorbed than tetracycline with food in the stomach, but is more likely to sensitize the skin to sunlight.

Metronidazole 250 mg The usual dose is 500 mg tid, higher for some infections (e.g. amebiasis). The drug is effective against certain protozoans including amoebae and Giardia, and for anaerobic bacteria such as those that normally inhabit the bowel and the female genital tract. It can be extremely useful in intraabdominal , pelvic, and wound infections caused by such bacteria.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole Give one double strength (DS) tablet bid for urinary infections and some types of bacterial diarrhea, or as a back-up drug for sinusitis, bronchitis, ear infections (for resistant organisms or allergic patients).

How to tell if Abios go bad? http://www.ddponline.org/doxytest.pdf

Microsoft's Confidential Executive discussion on Intel's use of Linux

Here is a confidential email exchange between the executive team at Microsoft that occurred in 2002 and has recently been made publicly available due to another case (* Note Bill Gate's use of the term Jihad ).  I will try to keep my personal comments out of this one. :) YMMV

http://boycottnovell.com.nyud.net:8080/2009/01/12/bill-gates-jihad-vs-linux/

"Because we dont have a potato sack."

I had a good laugh today.  There are those few rare times when your children say something that is completely unexpected and oddly funny.

When I came downstairs I found my daughter was jumping around the kitchen inside of a garbage bag making all sorts of noise.  Slightly annoyed that she helped herself to a garbage bag, I sternley asked "Why are you destroying a garbage bag?"  She replied "Because we dont have a potato sack."

Cant argue with that... ;)

Did Apple iPhone invent the Multi-Touch UI? Think different!

We know who took the spotlight, but who envisioned this really? According to the 'pedia Bell Labs and documented further here.  However, these folks have a quite impressive display of it back in 2006.  Check the video to the right for a multimedia "experience" ;)

http://www.cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/index.html

This site has some really neat projects on it, besides just multi-touch.  Worth a few minutes of life to explore it a bit.

 http://www.cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/

Bullet Proof Fasion

Miguel in Columbia creates bullet proof fashion clothing.   Supposedly Obama was sporting one of his creations during the inauguration.

http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1125865361

My next phone - Palm Pre

Finally a smartphone that focuses on Personal Information Management with the elegance of a touch based UI, Palm presents its new flagship product the Palm Pre.   Follow the video to get all of the details (an hour or so viewing).   Im guessing that the magnet / induction power will find more uses than just simple charging (think backpack powered accesories)

http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/palm-pre-ces.html

Best of all, it runs Linux ;)