Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

OL's eeePC

Overlord has put up a post detailing how he got his eee PC 900 set up with Ubuntu (an eee PC specific version that somehow still requires a lot of modification to work properly). Looks like a useful post, otherwise the info is scattered around in different places. He updates it as he finds things, so check back occasionally just in case =P

eee PC

So Overlord is getting an eee PC 900 before me. Grrrr... Damn my need to save money for various things I might not even need it for. Soon my pretty, soon...

Kick ass and chew gum

LyX Crashes Under Ubuntu Hardy

Application: LyX
Distribution: Ubuntu 8.04 - Hardy Heron
Problem: Crashes opening valid .lyx files

I had a problem recently where LyX was crashing every time I attempted to open a file (through both the file open dialog and double-clicking a .lyx file). After some hunting around Google I found the following solution.

It turns out that the problem was a version mismatch with another package I wouldn't have even thought of looking at. I like to have all the repositories checked in my software sources list, as do a fair few people it seems, and this was the source of the problem. In Hardy Backports is version 4.4 of the Qt libraries, and LyX does not like them at all. The problem seems to be particularly focused around the loading of eps images, which are almost every document I produce, thus the near-constant crashing. I managed to force a document open by launching in excess of 100 instances of it simultaneously, but that's so ridiculous I don't think anyone could think of it as a workaround.

Anyway, the solution is to uninstall any qt4 related packages (do a search for qt in Synaptic and they will be fairly obvious), and uncheck Hardy Backports. LyX and Skype will be removed when you do the uninstall, so put those back on afterwards and they'll bring in the correct version of the Qt4 libraries.

This also solved a problem I was having with GnuCash's icon not displaying. This was fixed on two computers via this method, so I don't think it was coincedence.


I will add some links to relevant discussion when I have a moment free.

Random IMs - Uptime

Keht> there is an ircop here on efnet that has been idle for 3 years
Ryvern> 3 yrs idle?
Ryvern> and somehow he never pinged out in 3 yrs?
Kemp-> lol, did he die and leave it switched on?
Keht> i guess
Kemp-> his relatives are going to have a huge electricity bill
Ryvern> yeah, but
Ryvern> 3 yrs without a disconnect
Ryvern> i mean
Ryvern> DAMN
Kemp-> uptime for the win though
Ryvern> no shit
Ryvern> that's defo a record
Kemp-> lol, "he may be dead, but DAMN his uptime is impressive"

Random IMs - Scone Revolution

Names removed as they were traceable to actual email accounts. Spam is bad mm'kay.

xx: my brother said to my mom that was a revolution here
me: lol, a revolution?
me: that would be pathetic in england, we'd throw scones at each other and then have afternoon tea

Silverlight FAQ Fail

I won't do a detailed post here, just an amusing aside. The Silverlight FAQ (MS's new Flash clone) doesn't seem to like any browser I have available. In summary...

IE6:
Renders completely wrong but functions as it should

Firefox 2:
Renders perfectly but doesn't work right

Who exactly were they targetting? (Yes, IE7, I know, but how hard is it to get an FAQ to render properly?)

Random IMs - Groping of Eden

Kemp: there's a painting of the garden of eden with adam trying to stop eve taking the apple from the tree. just looks like he's grabbing her breast
Overlord: "Just a bit of harmless fun"
Overlord: (drums)
Kemp: http://www.fictionwise.com/knight/titian.adam&eve.jpg
Kemp: there we go
Overlord: hahahaha
Overlord: "Let's see, grab the arm and physically stop her, or cop a feel. Hmmm"
Kemp: "we're screwed anyway, go for the breast"

Power Feature

On the morning of Saturday 16th February, work will be carried out to connect up the new mains cable. As with last night, our aim is to maintain a full IT service as far as is possible, but (as already stated) there are some attendant risks and some temporary service interruptions could be a feature.

(emphasis mine)

It does sound like the standard cry of "it's not a bug, it's a feature!" and it amused me for a moment or two. Unfortunately, the programming definition of a feature isn't the global definition. A quick Google search gives me:

• a prominent aspect of something; "the map showed roads and other features"
• have: have as a feature; "This restaurant features the most famous chefs in France"

which make more sense.

Still, I was amused.

"coerce" Brits into national ID register

Article link
Mirrored document

XP Fail

My XP install is effectively hosed. Complete failure to boot (fixed with some knowledge and a *lot* of luck), all copies of UPP considered viruses (including archived and untouched copies), failure of windows update, not to mention several long-running issues involving mysterious cpu/disk usage (not virus related afaict) and random crashes (graphics related but not app or driver version specific).

I read from the Book of Ripley: "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

Random IMs - EOD Ducks

Kemp: so tempted to slip something random into a presentation and see if I can make it seem relevant
Overlord: "This plastic duck, while seemingly irrelevent and appearing to be, on the surface, a chance to win a bet with some friends, is actually a highly integral part of the project"
Kemp: ducks, being a largely water-based animal, do not have experience defusing explosive devices. this means that the system does not need to be designed to take account of duck physiology. this narrowing of requirements was an important initial step in the project.
Kemp: irrelevant requirements, which appear useful at the beginning of a project, are often responsible for project failure
Kemp: do I do this too much?
Overlord: Yes =P
Overlord: But it was impressive enough that it took me 3 reads to realise there are plenty of LAND based animals with no experience of defusing explosives =P
Kemp: lol, kemp wins

Edit:
For those not in the know, EOD = Explosive Ordnance Disposal. And yes, LAN party post soon.

xkcd Rock Band

xkcd gets it right as always. It happened with Guitar Hero and it'll happen with Rock Band. Clue for those who say this stuff: it's fun, we have fun playing it, it's a game. Saying it's stupid because it's not like playing a real guitar is like saying UT3 is stupid because you're not really slaughtering the Necris army, or Risk is stupid because you're not really taking over the world.

Edit:
And yes, LAN party post soon. Too much writing for now.

Happy New Year

As the title says. Hope you all had a good time. LAN party post to follow, probably tonight when I'm back in Cov and have some time.