I’ve been re-watching the new series of Battlestar Galactica, and damn, but it’s great. I’ve played several tactical games on the computer, but I’ve never encountered anything that has had the player in such an impotent position. You are dealing with an enemy that can increase it’s number by simply pressing the ‘more’ button on a console. I don’t think that anyone could play a game that ultimately, regardless of what you did, was unwinnable.
There are a few missions in games (such as the 10 minute survival ones in starcaft) that gave you a sense of just how hopeless it was, but they really don’t contribute to how awful it is.
There are few games that get close to this fact. Freespace 2 was one of them. It concludes with the baddies causing a supernova. It leaves us with a sense of hope. The only problem is that it, at some level, it allows us to feel that we can win.
I want an armageddon situation.
Lots of cups
Today was of course christmas dinner, but over the last few days (yesterday included) I’ve been struggling with an upgrade to SuSE linux 10. I stupidly installed the commercial version, instead of the open one. X doesn’t work correctly (swapping VTs crashed the X server – this is apparently a bug with Xorg when compiled with gcc 4.0.2 [laptop dell inspiron 500m, 855 intel graphics). fixing the missing packages took a while. The only reason I noticed was that xgettext was missing. Turns out that there’s a bunch of packages missing (ncft, gettext-devel). For someone who cares about having a decent ftp client and be able to use xgettext (I mean what the fuck are you people thinking – do you even care about the rest of the world. You pretty much can’t compile a single open source project without xgettext).
Anyway, rant over for the time being, on to the fixes. I made use of a page on the jem report, which got me a convenient set of Yast sources to add the missing packages.
A partial fix for X was to download the fairlite x drivers, the problem is that I lose 3d acceleration. Lose one thing, gain another! Frustrating to say the least.
Pictures from Tara’s Christmas party
We’ll just have to call it Tara’s party was on last weekend. I got my head out of my ass long enough to post the pictures I took with my mobile phone – I forgot my proper camera so they’re pretty crap. I had a hangover, but it was much alleviated by not drinking of the Sambuca and Mezcal that was on offer.
Aww, Pat Morita has died
Quite a few people died this week, not the least of which was Arthur (Artie) MacGrath, George Best and Pat Morita.
Given a choice of free DVDs what would you pick
I was in London last weekend, and I went shopping. I got to a store that sold movies. Interestingly enough, they only sold DVDs, which only goes to show how technology progresses – even HMV sells VHS tapes still.
Having purchased a DVD from them I was given an option to purchase a DVD at a really low price. The only two that stuck in my head were ‘The Punisher‘ and ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang‘. I had the unenviable benefit of seeing ‘The Punisher‘ once before on Sky Movies. All I can say is that it reminded me of the game ‘Far Cry‘, rather than the actual character of ‘The Punisher‘, as portrayed in the recent Garth Ennis punisher comic.
I chose ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang‘. Can you blame me? At the moment I’m enjoying it on the laptop as I type this entry.
If anyone cares, I’m using DVDidle Pro to watch the movie. It saves battery on my laptop, as well as allowing me to watch non region 2 DVDs, which is kind of important.
Happy thanksgiving folks
Just a general wave out to all those folks celebrating thanksgiving. I’m off to dinner myself later this evening.
Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann (1927 probably)
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
We need a daiko service
You’ve probably never heard of it before. It’s a japanese service called a daiko. What they do is drive you home in a taxi while the substitute taxi driver takes your car home. This means that you have the car in the morning. Kind of like the beer scooter service that was on offer about 2 years ago, but slightly different. double taxi fare would probably be the price tag, but to have the car in the morning (more like afternoon) priceless.
Where Caffeine goes to die
Well it had to happen. Energy fiend has the Caffeine Database, it features all my favourites such as Diet Coke (10mg more caffeine per bottle than regular coke!) and Penguin Mints (7mg per pill). Woot! everyone loves the caffeine.
[Listening to: Receptacle For The Respectable – Super Furry Animals – Rings Around The World (4:33)]
Toe the line
Or: Gyles Brandreth shame on you!
on the generic complaints program ‘Room 101‘ on the BBC, he claimed that phrase’s origin was from the Houses of Parliament where they have a pair of red lines separating the opposite sides of the room. The problem is that it is a slight confusion. He was mixing up the ‘Thin Red Line‘ phrase and the toeing the line definition. No-one in the houses of parliament would have been bare-footed, so they would have never ‘toed the line‘. The origin of the phrase is most likely military or naval, where people were required to line up at various times for inspection. Convention claims the navy, as most common crewmen on a boat were bare-footed.
The lines in the House of Commons themselves are actually quite thick, and are positioned two sword lengths apart from each other. The principle being that you stayed behind the line during a debate, and thus could not attack your opponent on the opposite side. Such was the animosity of the two sides during certain periods of England’s history that this principle was created, and it is still adhered to.
The origin of ‘Thin Red Line‘ is slightly different. In the mid 19th Century there was an understanding between officers and men that British Infantry would never be asked to stand and face an enemy onslaught in less than three ranks, four was more common. The retreat would be sounded rather than allowing this to happen. At the Battle of Balaclava on October 25th 1864, Colin Campbell’s 93rd Highlanders (Argyll and Sutherland) stood in just 2 ranks and faced a Russian Cavalry charge. It was here that the phrase originated.
There is a similar, but not identical phrase ‘Coming up to Scratch‘, which refers to the scratch line that bare-knuckled boxers were supposed to get to before resuming fighting once they’d been knocked down. If they didn’t come up to scratch, then they were out of the fight.
