Topics

[indexing the internet]

(We briefly discussed this elsewhere, but I thought I'd give it its own thread.)

I recently came across YaCy. It is a decentralized peer-to-peer web search protocol. You can try it out at peer-search.net, but in pracitce it runs a client/server setup on your own machine to help spread the disease (aka expand the network). Honestly, the search results are aren't that great right now (and are possibly inappropriate). But I like the idea! (Warning: you'll get no results with NoScript enabled because it connects to dozens of clients via javascript) Since the Randomland server does almost nothing all day long, I thought it might be fun to set this up on it.

I installed it, just to see how it'd work. For whatever reason, I was getting even less relevant search results than from above-linked site. Maybe disabled Javascript, maybe firewalling, maybe just the peers I was connected to at the time. I'll try it again tonight. I did notice it being a huge memory hog as it started indexing the internet. Go figure. Supposedly there are ways to throttle it, though I actually find those settings yet.

A cool feature is that you can give it one (or more?) sites to index. We would, of course, want to index Randomland and make ourselves known. If it does a decent enough job, that could override our site-wide search, I suppose (then we could search drupal, forum, and wiki all from the same box and do it Googlelessly)p We should also index cool places, like...um...well, surely you can think of something on the internet worth indexing.

Just a thought.

I thought it would be an interesting idea to try and create a font from my own crappy handwriting. It sounds pretty lame, but I know at least one other board member who has toyed with the idea. The results are, as of now, unimpressive but I have figured out a method to do it. [It seems I'm often more interested in proof-of-concept than finished products...  ]



The process is relatively straightforward:

• 1. Create a handwriting sample ("quick brown fox" is a good start)
• 2. Scan and import into a vector-graphics editing program (Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator).
• 3. Run the raster-to-vector conversion (awesome!). Be sure to play with brightness/contrast thresholding for the optimal result.
• 4. Break out each letter into a separate SVG file
• 5. Clean up SVG paths, eliminating unwanted "holes" (I haven't done this yet, as it seems tedious, especially with a laptop trackpad!)
• 6. Install FontForge (warning: Linux only*)
• 7. Import and construct your font, one letter at a time from the SVG files

I'll probably keep playing with it. At least until I have all lower-case letters completed. Yeah, it's dorky, but it's fun

* VirtualBox + seamless mode is your friend

I picked up the new Wii Goldeneye game for Eve this Christmas. If anyone else got it too, I'm sure she'd love to shoot [the virtual representation of] you! You can even play online and get shot from the comfort of your own home. I tried, and suck, but it's pretty fun.

Eve wanted to get me a new pocket camera for Christmas. My 4 year old Canon Powershot Elph has seen a lot of good use, but ultimately it is showing the same signs of age as my first Elph (lens gearing wear and incredibly dusty on the lens/CCD).

So, I'm getting a new camera! I've resolved that it must be "dustproof" rated. That has been the (slow, but undeniable) death of my previous cameras.

The available options are sadly few. I've narrowed it down to Olympus Tough, Panasonic Lumix, or Sony TX5. I will update with links and more later...

So, I was sitting around at work when I happened upon a particularly inspiring story about a crap car. It got me thinking about how we need to slap together some crap-vehicles and take them for a spin. Nick mentioned a little Blazer canibalization, this seems like a good start!

Ultimately, I think it would be cool to have two running crap vehicles which we could "race" wherever we can find a spare 600ft of gravel. I've heard it said that "speed is a by product of racing." I like this quote because I'm not really interested in going fast, but in learning how to control vehicles in motion and repair broken stuff. And we would, of course, spend 80+% of our time, money, and effort in maintenance, which is fine with me.

My mom still has that old BMW (nearly considered a classic by some) that we might be able to fix and abuse. It needs an engine though, amongst other things. Either way, I miss the crap-car days of old and think it'd be fun to do again.

I was putzing 'round the internets last night when I remembered Boxee. I installed it and tossed it on over to my TV through an DVI->HDMI cable [not so] elegantly taped across my hallway floor.

I didn't get a chance to really sit down and watch anything, but I got it connected to my Netflix queue and it seems to work pretty good. They also have YouTube, Flickr, Pandora, and about a brazillion other different channels/app/whateveryouwanttocallems. Even cooler, there is an iOS remote app, which connects through WiFi. It mostly acts as a D-pad but pulls up the keyboard when needed. It was super-responsive and feels so twenty-ninety-five¹. But boy-howdy do non-tactile remotes suck.

I don't know if it was the picture/music scanning or what, but it did crash on me a couple of times. Assuming it doesn't do this routinely, it might be a nice way to stream the 'flix to the TV. For a while now, Eve and I have been using the Xbox which has that nice standalone and  "not quite a computer" feel and is only about half as loud as vacuuming. They're coming out with a unit (Boxee Box) which looks slightly appealing for the same aforementioned reasons we've been using the Xbox instead of the computer. But I wouldn't get one (I'm not the early adopter type).

That's all.

I decided it would be handy to create a simple, collapsible target stand. Without going into unnecessarily boring explanations, this is what I've decided to make.



Collapsed, it will measure about 36"x27"x1.5". Upright, the center of the target will be at about 2ft from the ground. So it'll be short; but shorter is safer (and probably makes little difference once you're past a stone's throw distance). If this proves to be a workable design, I can make a more and stack 'em up in the trunk. The center board (with the crappily modeled target) fits in a channel and is about 21"x21". The idea is that you can just slide a new sheet of wood in there when needed.

Time to go finish the project. And take pictures, of course.

[anyone]

Last week, Eve and I bought two small caliber rifles. We visited her grandparents last weekend and were able to test them out. It was good fun and I made sure that we cleaned up after ourselves. I don't have any particularly brag-worthy targets to show, yet, but I'll work on it

I now own the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22, a semi-automatic 22 caliber long rifle. Ruger 10/22 is to 22 rifle as Chevy 350 is to V8 -- millions made for nearly half a century and aftermarket parts galore. Ammunition is incredibly cheap compared to higher caliber rifles (and 17s, see next paragraph). So, as long as I can find a safe, isolated chunk of dirt and time, I think I might have a new pastime. Don't worry squirrels, you're safe as long as you stay out of the engines (but I know you want in).

Eve got a Savage 93R17, a 17 (HMR) caliber, bolt action rifle. Though technically a smaller caliber (as in diameter of the casing), that thing has a more satisfying crack, when fired. Internets have it that this round is designed to go far and flat. 22s are said to be inaccurate over 100 yards, but it sounds like 17 HMR will do twice that, easily. Eve was doing quite well. And with a little practice, I bet she could do it.

Because "without pictures, it never happened," here you go:

Eve's forte, as of last weekend, was shooting the 17 from a sitting position.	Eve's grandpa takes a shot with the Savage 17
_
Eve with 17, from a standing position	I take a few slouched shots from the cheater's (scope adjustment) table.
_
Eve tries the plain-Jane Ruger from a standing position

Anyway, the point of this thread is: dude, let's go projectiling! Target practice with bows, rifles, ballistic pickles -- you name it -- we should try it. I'd be happy to let anyone* use what I have. So, yeah. Now we have a thread for this topic

* anyone -- as in, any person whom with I am acquainted and feel confident in their physical and mental capacity to effectively handle a weapon, sharp object, heavy rock, etc.

Last weekend, I acquired an old floor-standing safe. It's about 30" tall and delightfully well used. I believe it belonged to my Grandpa Christensen before my dad "inherited" it. As you might be able to see (below), it's old, full of cobwebs, and a bit dinged up.

I don't have any lofty goals of trickin' out my safe, yo, but I figure it could use a fresh set of paint. It has a single metal shelf which is a bit bent up. If I'm feeling crafty, I might like see if I can fashion a suitable replacement from wood or a straight piece of sheet metal.

Any ideas or suggestions? Cody said use spraypaint -- metal specific spray paint.

Now...what to load it up with... 

It's not much to look at -- nor should it be.
It'll live in the corner of a closet indefinitely.
And by the way, it's still in my trunk because it's too
heavy/cumbersome to move more than a few
times by one's self.

Somewhere in the greater Salem area lies a hard drive full of magical and revolutionary photographs of the past 8 years of my life. But it's not just for my photos -- oh no no! Copy what you want from it, load it up pictures of your own, the pass it along.

It's just a noisy of PATA drive wrapped up in a shiny blue external enclosure. It's only 40 or 80 gigs so it can't hold everyone's photos. Feel free to wipe it once you've copied what you want from it. I not looking to get it back, at least not with my own pictures still on it. Instead, this is more just the official announcement that it exists.

Last I heard, Nick had it. And he was going to compress his videos before loading it up with his pictures.

Woah. We don't have a thread on here about disc golfing yet?! Well, now we do.

Today, Eve and I went over to Champeog State Park. They have a nice 15 hole setup. Being a state park, and the year being 2010, it'll cost you $5, but there are much lesser causes to throw your money at. But I disgress. I'd say the course is comparable to the Cascade Gateway Park course in Salem.

It's a bit of a drive and was rather crowded on a nice day like today. Most people were friendly and all but one seemed well on their ways to not being drunk gooberfaces. So, it was a nice afternoon trip and we'll probably end up going there again at some point. Maybe next time we'll bring some charcoal and hamburger patties

I hijacked Brad's old "hey I got an iPod" thread a while ago and started talking about my cracked iPhone glass. I figured I should make a new place to talk about this stuff.

So, post up your Apple device woes here!

I somehow ended up creating a project for myself at work. It involves making a simple Firefox extension. It's a bit wacky, but there are some cool things you can do. And despite other browsers being faster and managing memory better, Firefox still beats them out in terms of extensibilty.

So, since I now how like 5 days of experience in writing Mozilla extensions, is there anything you can think of that you want? Perhaps anything Randomland-centric?

Hearkening the occasional suggestion, I figure we should at least make a list of emoticons we should plop into this forum. Sure, we could spend 13 seconds on Google Images and find ones someone has already made, but where is the originality in that?

I'll start it off, and you can reply and/or edit this post. Hopefully we get a few:

• Brad's awesomes*
• Black helicopters*
• Crickets (aka, no one is saying anything)*
• Swamp diving
• Pie-in-the-sky

Post your favorite photos you've taken. If possible, upload them to Randomland using the image uploader. They can be altered (post-processed) or not. The only rule is that you, the poster, are the author.

Post away!

Fill in the blank:

"Ya know there's got to be a decent ________ program out there for Linux, right?"

I was doing some Linux server config ("playing" around). I pretty much despise gedit so I asked Google what's out there. Well, I came across Geany. It seems on-par with Notepad++, though I've only used it briefly. In the Linux world (and after midnight), that's actually exciting.

Check it out if you're ever in the mood to do non-commandline text editing in Linux. We'll see if I still like it in 20 minutes

Edit: holy crap, it even added a context menu item in Gnome's window manager! Oh yeah, and you can apt-get it. (None of this compile from source manually after setting 16 environment variables and installing 3 concurrent versions of some JDK.)

My Five Iron Frenzy DVD came today! Well, it's probably been sitting in the mailbox for a while, but I do have it now. ShadyMan came through! In a hand-addressed, manila envelop came by DVD and a poster printed on medium weight paper (like twice as thick as normal paper, but not super thick).

I tried uploading pictures to Randomland. And randomly(?), I get Flash error Error #2044: Unhandled IOErrorEvent:. text=Error #2038: File I/O Error.

Stank.

Let's just hotlink to Facebook. No one cares anyway!

(Sorry, the last one's a little blurry)

So, after Brad's semi-recommendation a few weeks ago, I decided to give Picasa another try. I'll admit it, I'm impressed. The addition of the facial recognition is pretty much all I need to forfeit all development efforts and bow down to the Mighty Google Machine.

It's going to take a long, long time just to tag the faces in the photos. It'll take even longer to tag the other remaining items in my nearly 100,000 photos. But I have to give credit where credit it due. I can't compete with this. So I'll use it.

Since starting my new adventures in employment, I have been working to modify the open-source Bookworm ebook reader. It is built on top of a content management framework called Django. It is written entirely in Python, of which I had never touched (except maybe for a week in some class at school, but I don't think so).

Anyway, it's interesting. But even after a couple of weeks, I'm still not totally on top of it.

Today, I wrote a GIMP script. It simply took a directory of PNG files and saved them to a more compresed format (indexed instead RGB or something). It took me a while to figure out how to do stuff because it's not the hottest topic on the internets. But with a few good examples, some LISP background (oh yes indeed), and a few hours of learning, I got it figured out.

There are a lot of bad things one could say about the GIMP (including its name). But the scripting can be ridiculously powerful. You could author an entire image from script...if you actually wanted to. Any schmoe (ie me) can pick it off a interbranch and start writing automated image manipulation routines without spending a penny. I know Photoshop has some very cool macros it can do, too...but how much does it cost again? With this, I didn't even have to bother someone to find a copy of Photoshop for me (plus the requested settings were tested in GIMP).