Blog Posts in Space

More guns! More! MORE! Yes, I am related to a serial killer, why do you ask?

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 05:09:23 GMT

Ivan Robert Marko Milat (born December 27, 1944 in Guildford, New South Wales) is an Australian serial killer, convicted of the murder of seven local and international hitchhikers during the 1980s and 1990s. His crimes became known as the Backpacker murders. Milat is currently serving seven life sentences in New South Wales. To this day, he still proclaims his innocence to all of the charges against him.

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Milat

LISA MILAT wants to relax gun laws, and also she does not want the TV program that conflated her political hopes and her relationship with Ivan Milat to attend the Liberty and Democracy Party's campaign launch on Thursday at the Drummoyne Sports Club.

The Liberty and Democracy Party, described as droll, eccentric, quirky and wacky, has chosen Drummoyne because, in line with its personal responsibility and small government policies, including embracing guns, suicide and the privatisation of the ABC, the club allows supporters to opt in or out of smoking, gambling or drinking and provides both "healthy and unhealthy foods".

- http://www.smh.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/ sins-of-the-brotherinlaw/2007/11/18/1195321609256.html

Summary: Lisa Milat is married to the brother of Ivan Milat, an infamous serial killer who shot at least 7 people to death. She's running for a party whose major policy is relaxing gun laws.

Interesting.

Conspiracy theories aside, the suicide bit is wacky - I don't know what that's about. Are they merely in favour of legalised euthanasia in cases of extreme suffering, or do they just think that suicide in general is a really really good idea? ("Self-inflicted genocide, dudes! Right on!")

Privatising the ABC would be an unqualified disaster. All our commercial channels suck here; the two publicly-funded TV stations, ABC and SBS, are quite literally the only half-decent free-to-air stations around. What is it with people and selling public assets just because they can?

(Answer: They want to see the ABC die a slow horrible death because they think it's a hive of rabid left-wing extremists. They're completely wrong, of course, but that doesn't stop them.)

Predictably, the rather conservative Liberal Party (who are currently in government) have directed their preferences to the LDP.

Crazy bastards, the lot of them.

Anyways. The Australian Federal Election is tomorrow. With any luck, Lazarus's reign of terror shall be ended... wish us luck!

Not everything should do something

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:54:05 GMT

I like Ubuntu. I'm really getting comfortable with working in Linux; there are less shiny games to distract me (once I uninstalled the several dozen games that come with Gnome), if I have a problem I can usually hack on it until it goes away, and the development tools actually work. Gold. Every couple of days I discover something new that I like about the system.

I only have one gripe. This may sound minor and petty, but considering how easy it is to customise the rest of the system, this is starting to get on my nerves.

If you move the mouse over the task list and scroll the mouse wheel, then the windows switch. This is annoying. Every now and then I'll be scrolling something and my mouse will slip a few pixels down and WHAM where did my window go? Cue a couple of seconds disorientation while I figure out which window I was in and click on it again. Oh, and it completely fubars the task switch order, so if I want to alt-tab back to another window I have to actually pay attention to where the window is in the queue. I do this a lot; it's very common for me to use two windows, one for coding and one for compiling for example; so this really irritates me.

The mouse wheel shouldn't do anything on the task list. That whole rectangle of screen space should be a dead zone as far as the mouse wheel is concerned.

It wouldn't be so bad if it was actually a useful feature, but it's not. At least with my mouse, it's impossible to control properly. In order to get enough traction to actually make the wheel move, I usually have to pull it so far that several wheel movements register all at once, causing windows to go flickering all over the place. Utterly, completely useless.

There's a bug report from early last year for making this behaviour optional. It's listed as a "wishlist" feature, and the upstream bug is listed as an "enhancement". I'm not holding my breath.

Nearly a High Distinction

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 03:57:16 GMT

This makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. 79% ain't bad. Heck, at the #1 Australian university, that's a Distinction grade. Even better, it's only one percentage point from a High Distinction.

I can't wait until the end of next month, when I'll have time to chip away at that remaining 21%. At the very least, I'm going to earn that extra H.

I love making games. I really do.

Sylar and Sylow

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:43:09 GMT

I'm currently using (under duress) the Sylow theorems to prove that there are only four groups of order 30. I'd much rather be discussing Sylar theorems...

Windows Explorer tip: Cmd here, because Open Command Window Here is not awesome enough

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 02:46:19 GMT

In the spirit of Explore here, here's another registry hack from yours truly: Cmd here. This hack adds a "Cmd here" option to the context menu of all files. When chosen, it opens a command-line window in the same directory as that file. And it sets the title of the window to be the directory name, because I can. (And because having half a dozen console windows open and not being able to see which is which by looking at the title gets old fast.)

It even works on shortcuts: Right-click on your Firefox icon and choose Cmd here to instantly get a command-line window with the current directory set to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox (or wherever you installed it). Smooth.

To install Cmd here, simply download this .reg file and double-click it to merge the contents into your registry. It's plain-text, so if you're interested to see how it works you can open it up.

Or, you can look here. Check out this monster of a command!

cmd /S /k "for /f "delims=" %%i in ("%1") do @title %~di%~pi"

Admittedly most of it is completely unnecessary; cmd /k will do the job just fine (or even cmd if you don't mind having Microsoft's copyright notice in your face all the time), just without the window title being changed. But hey, I need to make sure my l33t batch file skilz don't go to waste somehow.

This probably only works on reasonably recent Windows versions; it's been tested on XP, and should work on NT 4.0 and 2000 as well. But if you're still using 98, give it up already. ;-)

Why did I make this? Well, I have the Open Command Window Here extension installed, and it works fine. But I kept wanting to open a command window in the same directory as my Explorer window, without having to show the Folders pane or go up a folder. Now I just need to right-click on a file instead of a folder, and away I go.

Total waste of time, since I hardly ever visit Windows anyway these days and will thus hardly ever use this... but I can't resist a spot of registry hacking.

Spreading the MUmeme

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 19:15:56 GMT

The following is a copy of the first chapter of the online story Tales of MU, posted here by invitation of the author. Please note that while this teaser is safe for all ages, the rest of the story is intended for adults. If you enjoy this chapter, the address to read more is http://www.talesofmu.com ... and please spread the word by sharing the link or copying this entire message to your own journal, blog, forum, or personal webpage! Permission is given to post the first chapter only, without any cuts or edits, and with this entire message attached.

TALES OF MU 1: Welcome to MU
"In Which We Meet Mackenzie"
by Alexandra Erin

Despite the presence of cardboard signs trimmed with crepe paper and balloons, I completely missed the front door of Harlowe Hall and instead ended up in a big spartan lobby/hallway that linked three different residential buildings. I thought that�s where the sign had been pointing... later, I�d find out that Harlowe�s entrance was actually below the ground level, off a sort of sunken patio that was screened from view by the shrubbery I�d walked past. Nobody ever wandered into it by accident. The lobby was full of people, bustling among the front and rear entrances and the three large hallways branching off from it in every combination of to-and-from. Most of them were carrying at least a suitcase. Some of them were trundling luggage trolleys, often with a mini fridge and/or TV.

I stared around blankly, hoping for a sign of where I was supposed to be. Luckily, somebody spotted me and took pity on me.

"Hey, frosh!" a sharp, but not hostile, voice said. I spun around and saw a preppy-looking guy without any baggage. "What you looking for?"

"Harlowe," I said.

I caught a look that was a mixture of surprise, disgust, and fear, but he hid it pretty fast. He pointed to a set of double-doors leading to one of the hallways.

"Thanks," I said, keeping my voice as neutral as I could. He had helped me, after all.

I lugged my suitcase, backpack, and duffel bag down the hall. The staircase was easy to find, and it took me down to a big glass-fronted common room that was positively packed with people. Surprisingly little sunlight reached in through the windows. Most of the people there were sitting around in the second-hand sofas and chairs, or just milling around. It looked like most of them had already checked in. There were three lines of people leading up to the long reception desk, but the longest one only had four students in it and they were all moving quickly.

Fragments of conversation reached me over the general murmur and buzz as I got in line.

"I�m actually taking nineteen hours of classes this semester. That seems like a lot. Does that seem like a lot to you?"

"You know, this was my safety school."

"Can you believe they don�t even let us have candles in our dorm? How are we supposed to..."

"Did you see the weapon policy? They�re pretty strict."

"Name?" the woman asked me when I got up to the counter. She had a nametag which read "Gwendolyn Rodrigues - Resident Advisor."

"Mackenzie Blaise," I said.

"Is Mackenzie your first name or your last?" she asked me, turning away from me to a table against the back wall, covered with large envelopes.

"First," I said, adding unnecessarily, "Blaise is my last name." What can I say? It was my first day at college, and I�d already made what felt like one giant blunder, even if nobody knew about it. I was the tiniest bit nervous.

She found the packet labeled "Blaise, Mackenzie" and handed it to me.

"This is a copy of your class schedule, a calendar of events, coupons for the student union, and emergency phone numbers," she said. "Now, you�ll need to read and sign this statement about compliance with the university�s weapons policy." Even though she was obviously a student and only a few years older than me, she already had the voice and facial expression of an officious bureaucrat. I could tell that being an R.A. was only one step in what would doubtless be a very fulfilling career for her in the field of interfering with others� lives.

"Of course," I said, barely glancing at the slip of paper before signing it.

"And, of course, I have to see the weapon you�ll be using."

I reached into my coat and pulled out the knife, the twisted bronze hilt protruding from a lambskin sheath, and laid it down on the counter.

"That�s your main weapon?" she asked me, eyebrows raised.

"It�s the only one I�ve got," I said, with a silly grin.

"Only it�s not very big, is it?"

"I�ve never been much impressed with size," I told her.

"It�s barely enchanted," she observed. I wondered if she could tell that at a glance, or if there was something under the counter telling her that.

"The policy I read just said a magical weapon, it didn�t specify how magical it had to be," I pointed out. I�d been expecting this reaction, but it didn�t make it any less irksome.

"It�s just... life on campus can get dangerous..."

"I�ve never needed anything bigger," I said testily.

For a few moments, she looked at me like she wanted to say something... like she was going to invoke some little-known rule to throw me out until I came back with one of those absurdly huge broadswords or big spiky maces, but finally she just said, "All right. But there�s a nice little weapon store in town, if you change your mind."

"I�ll remember that," I said.

She held out a small manila envelope slightly larger than a business card.

"Here�s your room key and a pass card to get in and out of the building after dark," she said. "Though it�s best not to wander around campus too much at night. Stick to the lighted paths, and travel with a friend as much as possible. It�s all in your campus security pamphlet."

"Yes, thank you, I�ve read it," I said, reaching for the packet. She still looked doubtful, but she finally handed it to me.

"You�ll be needing this back, too," she said, handing me my knife, hilt-first.

"I�m actually hoping I won�t."

"Oh, yes, of course," she said. "Welcome to Magisterius University, Ms. Blaise."

READ THE REST OF THE STORY AT http://www.talesofmu.com !

Linux Intergalactic

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:56:15 GMT

Calling all Linux users! Mayhem Intergalactic now has a Linux version, and I need your help to test it. Get your free demo here.

Mostly I just need people to test it on various distros, to make sure it works on systems apart from Ubuntu "Feisty Fawn" (which is what I use). Other bug reports are welcomed too of course.

This is version 1.0.3, which will shortly be available for Windows as well.

Enjoy!

Truth and bash scripting

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:35:07 GMT

(Aside: I'm still looking for opinions on my previous post.)

As programmers, we are used to the concept that non-zero numbers are true, and the number zero (that celebrated, deplored, curiosity-inspiring singularity squatting in the centre of an uncountably infinite line of numbers stretching forever in both directions, and then some) is false. Indeed, in C programming, 1 is so often synonymous with truth and 0 with falsehood that truth and falsehood are often literally defined as being equal to those numbers:

#define TRUE 1
#define FALSE 0

This has a few odd mathematical consequences, such as the number 2 being doubly true (TRUE+TRUE). More interestingly, if you try to divide TRUE into equal parts, the result will be rounded down to FALSE. I think there's something in that for all of us.

But let us diverge from the topic of C programming, and once again speak more generally of the convention that all non-zero numbers are equally true.

However! This universally-accepted convention is not, in fact, as universally-accepted as all that. In fact, in bash scripting, the world of truth and falsehood is turned on its head, zero becoming true and non-zero becoming false! You may gasp in shock and horror, but I assure you that this is indeed TRUE, no matter which value you assign to TRUE!

What is this foul fiction? you cry! Alas, alack, have the Biblical revisionists finally taken over? Quick, somebody check if pi is equal to three!

Don't panic; your transcendental numbers are safe. Except from the terrorists. (This interjection is brought to you by the US government.) Indeed, on reflection I must admit there is some strange, strange elegance in this strange, strange concept.

For example, division by false is now routine. And is it not so that falsehoods cannot help but repeatedly divide us?

Furthermore, falsehoods are dirty, common things; no more remarkable in our lives than the mathematical properties of the number 14. But the number 0; aah, now there is a strange and wondrous thing, as truth is a strange and wondrous thing!

If my ramblings have not yet convinced you, consider this closing thought. If all non-zero numbers are true, then there are infinitely many truths and only one falsehood. However, as any man or woman may see, there exists more than one falsehood in the world. This leads one to suggest that the opposing scheme, containing but one truth and infinitely many falsehoods, is closer to reality.

Graphics Intergalactic

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:07:45 GMT

Before: Screenshot-Mayhem Intergalactic-1.jpeg

After? Screenshot-Mayhem Intergalactic-2.jpeg

Different after? Screenshot-Mayhem Intergalactic-3.jpeg

What do you think?

Shameless self-promotion is the name of the game

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:18:12 GMT

You know Mayhem Intergalactic is awesome, right? Of course you do! (If you don't, check out the video below.)

But most of the rest of the world doesn't! So if you think MI is awesome (and really, who wouldn't?) do them all a favour and digg it. Your contribution to the groupthink mind of digg will be much appreciated. ;-)

If you're an extra special fan, maybe you could even sneak it onto your blog as well... but please no spamming, of course. =)

Thanks to Worldweaver for posting this on digg.