The Nortons

Can’t Talk

thane February 7th, 2008

Apologies to everyone about not posting. I have had some stuff going on that I don’t want to blog about which is pretty much occupying my entire brain.

New Day For Data?

thane February 2nd, 2008

Much like apenwarr, I had heard about git and effectively ignored it. As he, I watched Linus’ video and was skeptical. He, however, took the time to analyze it and came to an interesting conclusion.

Git was originally not a version control system; it was designed to be the infrastructure so that someone else could build one on top. And they did; nowadays there are more than 100 git-* commands installed along with git. It’s scary and confusing and weird, but what that means is git is a platform. It’s a new set of nouns and verbs that we never had before. Having new nouns and verbs means we can invent entirely new things that we previously couldn’t do.

He then produces a litany of difficult projects that he has worked on which git makes trivial. He points out that git moves files faster than cp, and does it checksummed. That git can be used for backups, or for a distributed file system, or for package distribution, or installers, or or or. If it had been written by anyone but Linus Torvald, I would continue to be skeptical. However, he has a track record of writing quickly things that change the face of software. I am going to have to take a closer look at git.

Idle Hands

thane January 9th, 2008

from Noodlesoft

It can be annoying to get an alert about a new version when you are working. A new version is not a “drop everything and deal with this now” type of alert. With this patch, when a new update is found, it will check the user’s idle time and hold off showing the panel until a certain amount of time has elapsed. This minimizes the chance of the user being in the middle of something when the alert comes up.

This is someone who gets it. What a wonderful idea for notifying the user. Nod to Daring Fireball for the link.

Utilikilt Mocumertials

thane December 29th, 2007

How awesome is this:

http://www.utilikilts.com/?page_id=10

Biblical Law

thane December 29th, 2007

I saw this cartoon about christians, and it shows the problem with taking the bible too literally. It also gave me an idea. Anyone who wants to pass legislation founded on their reading of the Bible should have to pass the tests of Mark 16:17-18.

Passage Mark 16:17-18 (New International Version)
“¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

I am willing to forgo most of these tests, however, you must drink a glass of the following:

After you have finished the glass, if you can read the text of your bill, I will vote for it.

P.S. It should be noted that I hold no grudge against legislation inspired by the Bible (or any book). However, if you cannot back up your arguments with something stronger than “because it says so”, then I think that this rule should apply.

Republican Campain Ads

thane December 21st, 2007

If you are still trying to make up your mind in the Republican primary election, these might help.

Mad Scientist Teaches Brain in Petri Dish to Fly Plane

thane December 13th, 2007

OK. So he isn’t mad. This is, however, like something out of a bad Sci-Fi movie.

Three years ago, Florida scientists have grown [sic] a brain in a petri dish and taught it to pilot an F-22 jet simulator.

To control the simulated aircraft, the neurons first receive information from the computer about flight conditions: whether the plane is flying straight and level or is tilted to the left or to the right. The neurons then analyze the data and respond by sending signals to the plane’s controls. Those signals alter the flight path and new information is sent to the neurons, creating a feedback system.

Although the brain currently is able to control the pitch and roll of the simulated aircraft in weather conditions ranging from blue skies to stormy, hurricane-force winds, the underlying goal is a more fundamental understanding of how neurons interact as a network, DeMarse said.

How many Christians understand Jesus’ teachings?

thane December 12th, 2007

From http://lrs.moonstar.com regarding this picture:

No, the outrage is from so-called Christians themselves, people who claim to be Christian but in their quest to toss around Bible verses manage to miss the entire point of His incarnation. I found a good example of such mind-numbing idiocy at The Jawa Report:

Sorry, I aint that kind of Christian. My Jesus would use nunchucks on Osama bin Laden. Or maybe rip his still beating heart out, Temple of Doom style.

Scientists have a saying when they encounter far-fetched theories based on wildly incorrect ideas; it’s referred to as being not even wrong.