samantha_dega

The white elephant question.

2009-05-13T13:47:38Z

I saw X-Men origins the other day. I was amazed by the stupidity inherent in the plot, but I think they're taking their lead from the real world.

X-Men:
Stryker says "Find him [Wolverine] and cut his head off."

Nobody asks how. They just go to it. Given this is just after Wolverine got his skeleton infused with indestructible adamantium, "how" strikes me as a good question that needs answering before tackling the job.

US Government:
Obama earmarks 19bn dollars for installing equipment to process electronic health records.

Nobody asks how. Nobody asks what an electronic health record is. To me electronic health records are stuck in the limbo of stupid. They cannot be standardised in the old way until the medical industry has some form common practice to standardise. There is no common practice, because senior management do not want to buy two computer systems (one now, and one when the standards come in) so they are not developing common practice for electronic store of health records. Until they do there can be no standards based on the common practice of the industry.

I guess we'll just have to make do with standards constructed from the top down model. Market Research will decide what doctors need, and programmers will program to that specification. Statute can then be used to force doctors to use the system however much time and however many lives it costs.

RIP fravia long live fravia.com

2009-05-09T04:53:56Z

So in the few days since I heard about Fravia's death I've found myself close to tears many times. I never met the man, and never saw even a sample of his handwriting. nevertheless, he wrote text that I was able to learn from; text that told me the author wanted me to learn. It is a special thing to close the join between seeker and wiser seeker, and I regret never emailing the man to tell him that I would forward his wisdom to any person that told me they wished to learn.

He wished a viral spread of knowledge of how to manipulate the internet for your own personal ends. I support this and believe it's good for people to understand whom the servers on the internet serve. Also how those people instruct their servers. Also how those instructions can be subverted.

You too, can be Neo fae The Matrix hunting down the knowledge that you desperately need to know. Also you have the hope of finding most of it. Everything will be uploaded eventually.

Only the heat death of the universe, or more balls than we have, can turn off the internet.

Go!

2009-04-29T13:53:58Z

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/please-go/

samantha_dega @ 2007-10-23T05:21:00

2007-10-23T04:25:26Z

woohoo

Just paid off my credit card. My quest to graduate with no money is one step closer to completion.

samantha_dega @ 2007-10-18T11:39:00

2007-10-18T10:41:48Z

You Are 40% A Child of the 80s

Your 80s experience was totally bogus.
Maybe you were late to the party?

Are You a Child of an 80s?

samantha_dega @ 2007-10-18T03:19:00

2007-10-18T02:44:36Z

http://www.gatt.org/wharton.html

This annoys me.

The bit about slavery annoys me.

The blatant stupidity in thinking that anyone could privately possess a whale is ludicrous. If you want to protect whales you don't need to buy whales. You need to buy things that make life difficult for whalers. Whales are not on that list. Whalers tend to have kit to deal with whales.
Even if you did buy a whale, when a ship harpoons your whale what can you do? Take them to court? What are the chances the boat will be registered somewhere outwith the courts jurisdiction? Having such registration documents will become the price of whaling and the money invested in the whales might as well have been thrown into the sea.

samantha_dega @ 2007-10-17T16:27:00

2007-10-17T15:31:05Z

Paper-Based Exams
ExamDate Paper Variant / Standard
12-Dec-2007 F1 Accountant in Business
04-Dec-2007 F4 Corporate and Business Law GLO
10-Dec-2007 F5 Performance Management
03-Dec-2007 F6 Taxation UK

--------

yay. brains

samantha_dega @ 2007-10-16T19:11:00

2007-10-16T18:13:56Z

yay

I have enough money to book my exams. Yay!

It's Alive!

2007-09-22T09:55:57Z

Yay. Mostly completed project. Will spend today soldering the ends down and get back to study.

Hardware:
Celeron (Coppermine) 633MHz (ex-scotiva, it's still going :p )
768Mb RAM (3x256Mb)
nvidia GeForce2 (w/ S-Video TV-out)
Unbranded 5.1 soundcard
100M Ethernet
26" JVC Widescreen TV
ProSound 200 amplifier
2 x Cabinet speaker
Scratch built S-Video -> SCART cable

Software:
Debian lenny core
Debian sid (2.6.22) kernel
Debian multimedia extensions
nvidia closed source drivers
nvtv

Er
Anyone trying to do the same thing should note....

nvidia closed source drivers *much* better for video playback. WOrth the hassle for older systems. Available for sid (2.6.22) kernel but not lenny (2.6.21). Nvidia website doesn't seem to tell you this.

http://www.camp0s.com/pc_related/svideo/how_to.php
Scratch built cable guide. Follow the pinouts from wikipedia to build shop-style s-video cable. Short pins 15 & 20 in SCART connector.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/nv-tv-out/
Once cable is built use this software for nvidia cards (I've seen an equivilant ati package) Select display mode for best performance. Currently I'm getting best picture out of the 800x600 NTSC mode. I think this may be because I used audio cable instead of 75 ohm coax. All the 60Hz refresh rate modes produce better results than the 50Hz refresh rate modes. Think that might have something to do with most of the other interference generating cables in the mating frenzy at the back of the TV being 50Hz A.C.

0x6A5401B0

news 24

2007-09-18T11:07:14Z

samantha_dega @ 2007-09-14T12:33:00

2007-09-14T11:41:24Z

Go to CareerCruising. user nycareers pass landmark.
Do the career matchmaker quiz. Dump ~10 results :p

1. Optical / Ophthalmic Lab Technician
2. Sheet Metal Worker
3. Automotive Painter
4. Pet Groomer
5. Autobody Repairer
6. Glazier
7. Venture Capitalist
8. Dental Lab Tech
9. Electrician
10. Commercial Diver
11. Arborist
12. Explosives Specialist

samantha_dega @ 2007-09-14T02:23:00

2007-09-14T01:33:40Z

WX64U 0.11
JX02C 1.09
FJ41U 1.29
N06FR 4.99
--------
total 7.48

samantha_dega @ 2007-09-11T05:54:00

2007-09-11T04:50:58Z

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/%7Epgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

Scary stuff....

Meeow!!

2007-09-06T16:38:42Z

Totally lost da bloggyng habyt fur a whyle. Thynk Y've found a new way ta meowke thys bloggyng thyng fun.

Not *catnap break!* doyng so bad attall. Eyeball deep yn furms, but my name ys rroot agayn. Feels rreal good 'n ys thanx ynna larrge purrt ta Max. Seldom have Y have such a good byrrthday purresent. lyfe yssa meowch *meow!* betterr wyf a computerr ta pummeowl ynto submyssyon.

RIP

2007-01-19T03:35:52Z

Praise Bob.

HE AHD

samantha_dega @ 2006-12-12T12:29:00

2006-12-12T12:32:13Z

Which Positive Quality Are You? Your Result: Peace You are Peace. Peace is the opposite of anger and destruction. Peace is calm. It tears down barriers; it brings us together. Peace is a noble goal sought by the good of heart. "May peace prevail on earth."
Love
Friendship
Charity
Courage
Faith
Which Positive Quality Are You?

Where scotiva leads, I follow.

2006-11-21T15:50:40Z

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of
intoxication with success

The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

</td>

Cultural Creative

88%

Existentialist

81%

Postmodernist

75%

Materialist

69%

Idealist

69%

Romanticist

44%

Fundamentalist

31%

Modernist

19%

What is Your World View?
created with QuizFarm.com

samantha_dega @ 2006-10-28T20:22:00

2006-10-28T19:23:58Z

You Are 24% Sociopath

From time to time, you may be a bit troubled and a bit too charming for your own good.
It's likely that you're not a sociopath... just quite smart and a bit out of the mainstream!

Are You A Sociopath?

meme

2006-10-27T11:48:25Z

1. I’ll respond with something random about you.
2. I’ll challenge you to try something.
3. I’ll pick a color that I associate with you.
4. I’ll tell you something I like about you.
5. I’ll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I’ll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I’ll ask you something I’ve always wanted to ask you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on yours.

samantha_dega @ 2006-10-10T14:08:00

2006-10-10T13:09:06Z

waaa!

Just when things couldn't get any stranger, I get random hugs from strange faeries.

waaa!

samantha_dega @ 2006-10-09T11:21:00

2006-10-09T10:30:53Z

Waaa!

moment of extreme strange. I stumbled accross an old reputation of mine. There was a girl I was friendly with in a proto-intimate early teenage kinda way in '92. Went to a party on Friday and found her little brother who informed me that this girl is now getting married. Several of the party contingient remember this girl from school, and the idea that she'd been near me was a bit strange to them.
Waaa!

It seems like more girls than I can count have belonged to me. I've belonged to a comparatively small amount. Similar in fact to the number of rings I wear. Unless you count the Goddess. Which I do, sometimes. This seems to be one of those times.

Waaa!

Life is strange at the best of times.

samantha_dega @ 2006-10-02T16:10:00

2006-10-02T15:11:04Z

If you founded a religion...
Created by EvilAuthor on Memegen.net

The Knights of the New Republic

Your followers are a cloistered population,

who seldom speak to outsiders,

who would step over their own grandmother for a buck,

who live in the present, and will try anything (and I mean anything) once or twice,

and who do not obsess overmuch about their beliefs.

Your followers wear whatever they want.

Your followers are

growing in numbers (over 10 thousand),

and they don't interfere with the beliefs of outsiders.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

samantha_dega @ 2006-09-30T14:21:00

2006-09-30T13:22:21Z

Your Dosha is Vata

Creative and restless, you take in all of life's pleasures (maybe a little too much!).
You're quick witted and very talkative, but you also tend to have a spotty memory.
You tend to get very into ideas, people, and lifestyles... but only for a short time.
It's difficult to hold your attention, and you sometimes feel with what life has to offer.

With friends: You are very uncomfortable in new situations or with new people

In love: You fall in and out of love very easily

To achieve more balance: Live in a warm climate and spend some quiet time in nature

What's Your Dosha?

samantha_dega @ 2006-09-30T12:41:00

2006-09-30T11:53:30Z

Wow, just burned off all my credit talking to scotiva. It was kinda refreshing to have a girl to talk to who knows how to ask the right questions.

Devout and dogmatic atheists are as annoying as devout and dogmatic theists. Almost certianly just as wrong too. Who needs all the answers before they start living their life? I don't believe there's any certainty of time to miss this life once one has left it.

Making the most of the time we have surely isn't too much effort.

Oh.

It probably is.

We have to like.... bomb some countries or something. Cos like, blowing stuff up is so cool. Hey, maybe someone will blow up the entire planet just to show people how they should have been living their lives.

I never thought scorched earth policy was a terribly good way to prove a point though.

samantha_dega @ 2006-09-29T05:48:00

2006-09-29T11:50:32Z

What type of Fae are you?

Dammit, I bet they don't even have a result for carpet faerie.