augustin preda

Summoning Wars 0.5.5 released

2011-11-07T09:16:00.002+02:00

Finally: release day for version 0.5.5. Hurray! Get it here.
This is the first one I have contributed to. Hopefully, many more to come!
In case you missed my previous post and you did not check the game out, Summoning Wars is an open source diablo-like RPG (role playing game).

Summoning Wars

2011-10-29T10:12:00.001+03:00

Wow, it sure has been a long time since my last posting...
More than 1 year down the road, I finally got back in the mood for coding. And it seems that Serpents will be left somewhat behind... I've tried so many times to start it anew, each time discovering new stuff to add. But I've always managed to lose interest in it halfway through. I hope things will change now, as I've started contributing to an open-source project: Summoning Wars.

I've monitored the project for about a month now. It looks like a clone of Diablo at first (and in many aspects, it is), but it has a fine touch of humor, giving it a distinct feel.

It's a joy to rediscover coding, after a slower time at work, where most of my activities relate to documentation. And what is really amazing is the fact that I seem to fill a missing spot on the team thus far, so this should be mutually beneficial. I've already started getting a better understanding of things I couldn't get a handle on initially.
We (the rest of the team and I) hope to make a new release soon. The current release is Summoning Wars 0.5.4; the next one (0.5.5) should bring quite a few bug-fixes and a bunch of new features.

Hack and slash mobs of baddies

Keep an eye out for the game :)

PVSS as service (automated scripts) - part 3

2010-10-19T01:31:00.002+03:00

This is part 3 of a tutorial.
(...for the first part of the tutorial, go here)

(...for the second part of the tutorial, go here)

No UI from the console
Okay, so you have your project running as a service. While it may be a service, so it will provide some background functionality, it doesn't always mean that you won't need to do some engineering on it. And in order to do some engineering, you will need a UI. And for that, you may get off with connecting from a workstation directly to the server you automated. But some servers will only be seen by other servers, not workstation. So you will need other tools to access the internal data of PVSS. The most often used tool would be (of course) the PARA tool (para being short for parametrization... or para-metering... whichever you fancy more). However, if you are used to starting the para or the gedi tools from the PVSS console, you may notice that it's not possible to start them in the classic way anymore if the PMON is started as a network service. When starting a UI manager, it will run, the console will show it in green (working status), but you won't see any window with the actual UI.

So what can you do? Well, you could use the command line and call the PVSS00ui.exe, having a look at how the tools are called internally. For instance, this is how you would call the para tool.

PVSS00ui.exe -m para -proj YOUR_PROJECT_NAME

As a result, you will notice that the PARA is started, because its window should become visible. But it will not be related to the para you may have in your project's configuration. So, no status correlation between the PARA in the PVSS console and the PARA running in the window behind it.

It would be nice to have a shortcut on the desktop if you are going to use this often. And while you're at it, consider adding a more distinguishable icon for the tool you are providing. Keep in mind that you need to repeat the process for each separate tool and also for each separate project you are using. So if you're going to create shortcuts, make sure you know which shortcut leads to which project.

Fun with the features
In the end, here's an idea for having fun, just like you used to in ~~8th~~ 5th grade, but it only works for server systems, where several users can be logged in at the same time (locally, or remotely). And it only works if you do not install the project as a service. Say your buddy is opening a PVSS console and starts the project. You can log in using a different user account on the same Windows Server machine by Remote Desktop and open your own console. Now, because he opened it first, he has the handle to the PMON that opened all the ports, so any UI you will start, will be opened on his account. Just imagine the fun you can have. As a result, I'm still not sure whether this is a bug or a feature :-)

PVSS as service (automated scripts) - part 2

2010-10-17T10:38:00.007+03:00

    (...for the first part of the tutorial, go here)
(Note: this is an improved and simplified version of the tutorial. The first version was also Vb-script to update the Windows Registry. If you run into any issues running the new one, please let me know.)

    Automate it
    Now that you have come to the conclusion that scripting is the way to go, you may want to download these files and start using them directly if you are in a hurry, and read on if you are interested in what's happening in the background. After you download the files, place them in the "bin" folder of your project:

You can get them from Google Docs:

Alternatively, for those working for companies where Google Docs is blocked (cough, Siemens, cough), you will have to copy the code from here and create your own files:

    Edit install_svc.bat and uninstall_svc.bat and replace PMON_PROJECT0 with your project's name. If you have several PVSS projects running on the same machine, and they all have to be ran as services, replace the last parameter with 1, 2, or another number up to 9. Each project needs its own number. One of them can use 0 for the number.
    Now, from the bin folder, run install_svc.bat to install the service, and uninstall_svc.bat to uninstall it. You still need to start the service yourself. I may add a new parameter to control the start in the future, but for now this will do.

    Behind the scenes
Here's what's happening when you double-click the install_svc batch file. That file is just a placeholder for what you should type from the command line when you want to install the service. The same goes for uninstall_svc.bat when you want to uninstall a service. This simply allows you to have the commands stored somewhere, so that if at any point you want to know how the service was installed (with which parameters), you can check these files.
    On to install_svcSolo.bat. This file tries to register the project using the PVSS00pmon.exe tool, supplying all parameters that are forwarded by install_svc.bat or taken from the context of the current directory. That is why it is important to have the batch files run from the bin folder of your project. You could place them in a different folder of course, but you may need to adapt the scripts because of that. There is one extra thing that the install_svcSolo.bat does and that is to call the reg.exe tool and set up the process to use the Local System account and also interact with the desktop.
    The uninstall utility, uninstall_svcSolo.bat works in a similar manner, calling PVSS00pmon.exe with the right parameters.

    In part 3 of the tutorial, we'll go into the issue of starting the UI managers of a PVSS project that is configured to run as a service.

    Possible questions you may have
1. Why use the Network service instead of the Local System directly when setting up the PMON command? Wouldn't this work?
    PVSS00pmon.exe -install -name PMON_SERVICE_1 -set d:\work\pvss\MYPROJECT\config\config 1 -user "Local System"
    Yes, it would, but you would need to enter the local system password. That would require user input and slow things down.

PVSS as service (automated scripts) - part 1

2010-10-16T21:48:00.015+03:00

PVSS is a system and framework meant to handle a lot of things in the business of energy and industry. One of the most often used scenarios is having several interconnected machines running PVSS projects in a redundancy mode (think of it as RAID for software instead of hardware), each of them doing... well... something. During a PVSS training you may learn how to build a project, how to set up a redundant and/or a distributed system, but all of these using the same log in credentials: your own. In order for any project to start, you would need to log in first, not just into PVSS but your OS too.

In a production environment, the used servers should be configured to start whenever there is (electrical) power available. Of course, you can't expect someone to be around whenever a power outage takes place to start the machines and log in to the OS. The whole point of a service is to allow automation and to not require a user presence or even a user log in to occur. And this is something that you won't find in the basic to medium level PVSS trainings: how to prepare a project to run as a service.

    Luckily, there is a PVSS help entry on the topic. Just search for the word service and you'll find what you're searching for. While the quite arcane and not very intuitive CHM help is used, the amount of information it provides is sufficient to help you be on your way to setting up the service.
   The following example will only show you how to set up services for the Windows family of operating systems.

    Before you start, here's what you need:
    - a project. This tutorial will show you how to make a project run as a service, not how to make a project :-). Make sure that the project is not running, so you may start it using the service. Make sure no other projects that use the same port(s) are running. Also close the any PVSS Console found open.
    - a correctly installed version of PVSS (I'll use 3.9, but other versions should behave similarly). Oh, and correctly installed also means you did not mess with the environment variables... so make sure PVSS00pmon.exe is in a folder located in your PATH.

    The simple mechanism

Basically, you need to use a PVSS tool (PVSS00pmon.exe), and you can create a Windows service called PMON_SERVICE_1 (you can change the name), for your already existing project named MYPROJECT, located in [d:\work\pvss] (again, you can change these) by running this command from the command line:

PVSS00pmon.exe -install -name PMON_SERVICE_1 -set d:\work\pvss\MYPROJECT\config\config 1 -user "NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService"

Then, you must open the services console (Start Menu -> Run -> "services.msc" for Windows XP), find your process according to the used name, open its properties, go to the "Log On" tab, set to use the Local System account and allow it to interact with the desktop. (Note: here's an interesting post about this setting, but from what I've noticed, it hasn't been removed.)

    Now you may start the service (e.g. right click PMON_SERVICE_1 -> "Start").

    Possible issues
    If it doesn't start, you may have forgotten a PVSS project or console opened.

After the project is started, you may open the console and check the status of the project. If you omit setting the service to interact with the desktop, you may notice that your project won't start, hanging at the Database Manager start-up sequence. If that's the case, just stop the service, apply the setting and start it again.

Okay, so that's it, you have a running service. Why -oh why- would you need to automate something as short as that? Well... you don't really need to, but it sure pays off if you do when you need to do this for large systems. Imagine just starting a batch file as opposed to do the previous steps. Do it for one machine... not much of a difference. Do it for 20 machines? You'll feel the difference.

In part 2, I will present a simple approach to automating most of this.

Sunny october in Karlsruhe

2010-10-11T22:40:00.003+03:00

I've been in Karlsruhe for some time now. I had the time to take some pictures in the inner city: clean, nice, a blend of old and new, your typical west-german city. But what I found interesting about Karlsruhe is the edge of the city, near the place I'm staying. It's a quiet area and I guess this is how your typical suburb looks like in this country: small to average sized houses, nicely painted, combining into a colorful painting. Ok, so maybe it's not like that everyday, but that is what it was like this weekend.

So, the area looks nice; no news there, right? I mean, who wouldn't expect that? But here's something that I really did not expect... I went walking... (I guess for about 5 Km) alongside a water stream and after passing by a cemetery, which still looks like being in the city, and after 1 Km or so, I was basically in the countryside. Corn was growing on the side of the road, people were not just out jogging and biking but also riding horses. Well... the evidence for that could have been a picture of manure, but I thought I should skip that. Still, you were reminded you were not exactly in the countryside by the highways crossing high above the ground. You couldn't see any cars, but you could most definitely hear them.

What made my day though was finding what looked to be an ex-orchard. It had apples, some just recently fallen. I had an apple, wasn't poisonous or anything... though it had some vermin on one side. And I remembered that there is a difference in taste between the stuff you get at the supermarket and the stuff that grows by itself in real life. Either that or maybe I was just hungry, but man, that apple was really good.

Shiny new toy

2010-10-11T01:18:00.001+03:00

It's a Lenovo Y560. It's pretty standard in the hardware department: 15" display, mainstream CPU (Core I5-430M), 4 GB RAM, 320GB hard-disk (as opposed to SSDs), with the notable exception of a Mobility Radeon 5730 GPU, combined with the integrated intel GPU. Well, with the initial excitement having faded, I guess I can have clear picture of what I got. It was the cheapest option available, so I expected some issues to balance that out. But I am not planning on using this more than the desktop I have at home; this is just for those short periods away from home.

Shiny new toy

    The option to use both a stand-alone and an integrated GPU, switching between them based on your needs sure sound nice on paper. But in practice, I don't use the feature very often. And I'm not sure about this, but I suspect this hybrid solution to be the cause for which I'm stuck with a VGA and a HDMI output only; no DVI. And, again... I'm not sure whether that is the cause, but when using the stand-along GPU, I see some disturbance in the image in the upper side of the screen. In some shades of gray, the pixels aren't stable on a specific color. It reminds me of the days of bad TV signal. But this can be ignored most of the time. You won't notice it while gaming or watching a clip. It seems I'm not the only one noticing this.

    The noise level is decent while idle. The laptop weighs only 2.7 Kgs, so, as you would expect, moving to a high load results in a considerable amount of noise. So far, everything as expected.

    The Multi-touch Touchpad was something which I hoped would be a bit more interesting. I was expecting a magic iPod pinch functionality available at my fingertips. It's the same if you open a picture in a browser; except that you can't rotate it. Other than that, not even close. I guess application support for this kind of devices is basically 0 at this point.

    The Keyboard feels nice to the touch. But it uses one of the new crappy layouts that places the Fn key in the corner, and the Ctrl to its right. I saw it on Asus notebooks previously and stayed away from them. Somehow, I forgot to check this when looking at the notebook initially.
Now, although there is a slim chance (through complicated mathematics I came up with 3.91%) that some people would actually find that placement better, I consider it just a method of screwing with the majority of users. These would be: all the users that used a PC before, all users that used a notebook before, all users that actually use shortcuts (instead of right clicking, selecting "edit" and then "copy", from a popup menu ... you know... like 5yr olds), but most of all, people (like me) who are smug enough to use more than one machine. If I happen to do that, it's obvious that I'm willing to learn to deal with multiple keyboard layouts, so I should rewire my brain to handle shortcuts I now do without any effort.
I was hoping that, like some models of the ThinkPad, Lenovo would enable the change from a BIOS setting.

Fn in the corner... why?

Crap-ware: plenty of it. Most annoying was the Lenovo Veriface. I had to get rid of it the hard way, going into the registry and removing references to the process and file names. Gotta love crap-ware.

Bottom line: It can handle what's important: Starcraft 2. I believe I received what I paid for in all aspects, except for the keyboard. I got screwed sideways on that.

Doubtful Fishy

2010-10-06T22:46:00.005+03:00

Douglas Adams' trilogy of five, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is the last thing I had the time to reading. While the first 5 parts (and the only official ones) went by fast, as I enjoyed the unusual type of humor, I really had trouble finding the time and mood for devouring the final one. And when I finally found the time I was disappointed.

Quite thick, considering...

    This is the "Salmon of Doubt". It should be made clear from the start that this is not really part of the series and it was never finished. Adams was not happy with the ending he used for the 5th part, "Mostly Harmless". He had some ideas set aside, that he thought he could fit into a Hitchhiker's setting. He wrote some drafts that were sent to his editor, and they were combined after his death into... this... thing that came out.


    So what felt wrong about this book? Well, quite a couple of things. First of all, the novel itself is very short. It ends just when the things are starting to warm up. To make up for that, a short story is added, "Young Zaphod plays it safe", along with a plethora of interviews and various writings of Adams'. Oh, and I must mention that 13 pages are left blank at the end. That, coupled with the lack of a table of contents, in which one would have seen exactly how short the novel really is) leaves the impression of a poor product, which the publishers had to twist a bit, in order to trick the reader into buying it.

    And just like the paragraphs in this article, the cohesion of the various chapters in the novel is weaker than expected.

    OK, so enough with the negative issues, because there were also things I liked in this book. The articles reproduced in the book are enjoyable... well most of them. I liked the view Adams held on technology. I liked even more the view he held on the perspectives on the masses.

The interview he had with American Atheists was also interesting, and had a nice ending.
AMERICAN ATHEISTS: "What message would you like to send to your Atheist fans?
DOUGLAS ADAMS: "Hello! How are you?"

But the thing I liked most was a scene in the novel. But few will find it as amusing as I did.

Yes, Gusty Winds may exist

To make the history of the series even weirder than they already were, there is also an official 6th part in the Hitchhiker's series, written by Eoin Colfer. It received some mixed reviews according to Wikipedia. Maybe I'll have the time to read that one... hopefully I won't be disappointed.

Internet Explorer 6 and Mozilla

2010-08-18T15:14:00.001+03:00

I just wrote a dummy server trying out the asio library from boost, and tried to access it using Firefox and Internet Explorer 6. I thought there was some sort of caching, as whenever I was accessing the server using Explorer, the log was showing me the User Agent String of Internet Explorer as:

GET /sciport HTTP/1.1

Accept: image/gif, image/x-xbitmap, image/jpeg, image/pjpeg, application/vnd.ms-excel, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint, ...

Accept-Language: ro

Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate

User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; ...

However, it seems that it is kept so for historical reasons, although it wasn't mentioned exactly what these reasons are.
(update) After some searching I came across this explanation: http://webaim.org/blog/user-agent-string-history/. I recommend it; it's a very funny read :-)

e-MAG pickup and return is actually ok

2010-08-09T14:36:00.000+03:00

If you need servicing for products you bought from www.emag.ro, using the pickup and return service option is actually quite pleasant.

I recently had a Samsung T220 sent to the service, as it was no longer correctly detecting the video input, DVI or analog, constantly switching between them. So I would get half a second of an image, then a half a second mode switch then a second and a half of no input detected on the other input option, then a switch again. The funny thing is the problems went away when the temperature was high. So when the temp was above 27-28° C, it was working fine. Auto-manual mode selection change did not fix anything. And it also seems this problem is not unique to me, but is quite known for the model:
- http://www.fixya.com/support/t1904640-syncmaster_t220_switches_back_fourth
- http://www.wirelessforums.org/alt-comp-hardware/monitor-issue-60925.html
- http://forums.cnet.com/5208-13973_102-0.html?threadID=342135

So If you encounter this issue, there seems to be no other solution than service. In my case, the display is working again the way it's supposed to.

Total Commander 7.55a released

2010-07-23T17:40:00.000+03:00

If you are a power user and really appreciate all the little speed-ups you can get, you most likely appreciate Total Commander. I just noticed the new release from the 8th of July. It finally fixes a very annoying problem with Total Commander: using the (default) space bar to find out how much disk space a folder is taking up would be done synchronously instead of asynchronously. This meant that if you wanted to find out how much a 6GB+ folder had, you could do nothing during this. Now it seems the calculation is done in a separate thread, just like for Windows Explorer. While the calculation is taking place, a question mark is set for the size, and the last folder has a different icon.

The best kind of advertising

2010-07-23T15:06:00.001+03:00

Is not doing it yourself.

I subscribed to the Savage Chickens web comics.

Today, I came across the Inception comic. I had no idea what it was about, so searching for it, I came to the Inception page on imdb. The trailer is impressive. The fact that the movie is already at position #3 in IMDB's top 250 is quite a feat. Factori in the fact that I also want to understand the comic and you'll reach the conclusion that I will see this movie as soon as it's available.

Linkfest

2010-07-22T11:34:00.001+03:00

This is what I've been reading these days:

Reason for not getting a job:
- http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/07/10-reasons-you-should-never-get-a-job/
Sure, having some money to start your own business wouldn't hurt.

Maybe these clients are also part of the reason the previous guy doesn't want a job.
- http://clientsfromhell.net/

I'm thinking of starting a new game as a hobby. Too bad Starcraft 2 is launching on july 27, in digital format also, yay (http://eu.battle.neten/info/digital-purchase)... Basically it will fill up any free time for at least a month or so :-) . I'm still not sure about the genre. Maybe a Bomberman clone?

Atomic Bomberman didn't get a proper sequel on the PC at least... or if it did, I didn't receive the notifice. I looked around searching for any 3D open source versions.
I tried out Atominsa: http://sourceforge.net/projects/atominsa/files/
It has many of the same features
Youtube knows of a java version though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNdWiUfhIZA&feature=related
The graphics from this classic Bomberman remake do look nicer though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIGoCqcsqyU&feature=related

But I think this time I would like to collaborate on the game, instead of writing the code, doing the 3D modeling, 2D GUI, the textures, sounds, installer and every other little effin' aspect of the game by myself.

Funny drunk guy (ro)

2010-07-05T23:41:00.000+03:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mthS6N_MH-M

I'm on fire

2010-06-12T21:55:00.000+03:00

Here's what sucks about living in an old communist style block of flats, on the last god-damned floor.

Because of a heatwave, it's been hot today in Brașov... well, it's been hot in most of Europe. But it's evening now; it's supposed to cool off. However, living under a roof made of tar (really, the architect or building engineer must have played a prank on the people living here) means I get the benefit of feeling the heat for the entire night, because tar isn't the fastest heat conductor, but it's good at keeping it. (The top temperature in the city was officially 33°C, but that was around noon). As I'm writing this, at 21:51, the temperature went up to 31.2 already.
And I only had one friend with to keep me cool, Mr. Ciucas:

Update from hell (@1:00 AM):

Luckily, a cool morning:

farewell PA/CIS

2010-06-12T08:52:00.000+03:00

I recently finished my part in the project. After almost 3 years, it's time to close a work chapter in my life. It was interesting, and for the first time in my life, I felt like my job was actually useful, providing a benefit (or better said, giving me the possibility to provide a benefit) to many people through my work.
The team has a nice tradition that when someone leaves the project, he or she receives a diploma and a medal. Here are mine :-)

I'm already starting a new project though. The first thing Google found while searching for its name was this: http://www.health-e-child.org/about/grid-enabled-platform-for-simulations-in-paediatric-cardiology-towards-the-personalized-virtual-child-heart . So I think this will also be something rewarding in terms of utility.

Another virtual drive for XP

2010-06-06T08:28:00.000+03:00

Nero Image Drive? Daemon Tools? Why bother when you can use something as simple as "winxpvirtualcdcontrolpanel" ? Ok, maybe because of the long name. But if you can put up with it, you could use this little tool for mounting ISO files onto a virtual drive. And unlike other software, this shouldn't conflict with a company's status when it comes to licensing, meaning it's free both at home and at work.

Is there a catch? Well, yes: you need Windows XP. If you want to try the tool out, read this article over at tech-recipes: http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/620/xp_small_free_way_to_use_and_mount_images_iso_files_without_burning_them/

WTF Facebook?

2010-05-30T20:54:00.000+03:00

I used to have all kinds of ads on Facebook.

And then I changed my relationship status to single, to try it out, you know...
And then the ads changed to this thing you see right here. As I'm on the market again, facebook offers its pimping services.

Come on facebook... wtf?

My First PC Configuration

2010-05-30T15:33:00.000+03:00

I was cleaning up my room, and went into greater detail in the "Bills" folder. I came across the configuration of my 1st PC. This right here is a piece of history. I mean: just take a look at the hardware and how much it used to cost. The "SAGO" shop went out of business many years ago. But with this little piece of paper, it's still in my memory. It's about time to get rid of the paper, so I'll save this memory in an electronic format.

1998... I salute you!

Rediscovering Romania

2010-05-26T23:16:00.000+03:00

My job has taken me to Austria for the last few years. So I was mostly only for short time periods in the home country, that having a direct effect on the level of my interactions with other people. This past weekend I went to a friend's wedding. And boy... was it an interesting weekend. I can't believe what variety of people I met along the way.

My friend from college held his wedding in "Gura Humorului", in the northern part of the country. I went together with other friends from my native Brasov on the trip, which was a bit over 5 hours drive. I met the bride, the family, other guests, old acquaintances... interesting people.

As soon as I arrived, I was greeted by the usual hospitality that is floating around such special events. I was invited to a table and a delicious stew and a large plate of meat was placed in front of me. A wine carafe made its way to the table also, and somehow it got refilled no matter how much the people were drinking. I had a blast. And it wasn't just the wine. I got to remember what I really liked about being "back home": that with the right crowd, I can turn basically any normal sentence and make it somewhat funny. I don't have that kind of knowledge of German. It was easier to make jokes, connect with other people. I missed that. I got to discuss politics also, which is a hot topic in the country nowadays. I was intrigued by the fact that some young people believe that the only way the country can leave the crysis is through a dictatorship. And their background wasn't typical for such oppinions. But seeing as how we came for a wedding, politics were put aside, and drinking became the primary activity.

The night went on with me going to bed around 3 AM along with two guys that could not brag enough about how much they were banging, after a bit too much of that good wine. Second day: a hangover. I thought it would be much, much worse. But the most important effect was simply the lack of an apetite at the wedding.
And as for the wedding itself, it was carried out in the usual 3 acts:
- Act 1: Mayor's office. This time, it was around 18:00, which is rather late.
- Act 2: Church. I think the families must have been really important, seeing as the wedding ceremony was handled by 6 priests and 4 pairs of godfathers (and godmothers :-)). And no, that's not usual. One of each should suffice. This took an entire hour.
ACT 3: Party. Started around 19:30, went on to around 05:00, with plenty of food and drinking going on for the 200+ guests. The dance floor was a bit overcrowded, the music was mostly traditional, but overall, nice. I met more people there. Quite a few came from outside the country.

The morning after, I had to leave already for my home in Brasov, as a car was expecting me on Monday morning, 05:00 to carry me to Vienna. Since I was the only one that had to go, I went by train. Got into a train for the city of Suceava at 09:44, reached the destination at 11:03. In the same compartment, there were several people. They really contrasted with the middle/upper class from the party. A woman was working for the state for a minimum wage, expecting cuts. She seemed to accept the 25% cuts announced by the government with contempt. Her daughter seemed like a typical 12yr old kid: dressed a bit slutty, well actually that is how 12 yr olds dress nowadays, to the displeasure of the father. I'm not sure whether he was still employed or not. But he was regretting the old days when you were becoming something after 12 years of school. This means he was a working man that finished a specialized school, so after the 12th grade he was skilled at a factory job. I didn't figure out whether he was employed or not. But he seemed very dissatisfied. Another woman was also working for the state. The CFR conductor asked for our tickets. Everyone had one; he saw I had a long ride in front of me and wished a good trip.

In Suceava I got onto another train. It left the station at 11:15. Another CFR conductor asked for the tickets, rushing impatiently through the papers of everyone in the compartment with an angry look. It looked like she just wanted to go home and if these fucking passengers would have hurried, maybe the train would have also reached the fucking destination faster. My first interaction was with an old man, living in the town of Roman. He was dissatisfied with the announced 15% cuts for pensions. He was receiving 1200 RON, which is about twice the minimum wage. He was also one of the people that thinks that it was better with Ceausescu, because "at least he built something". I think that communism build something obscene in the country: a non-functional society. But you can't convince a retired old man to change his mind about something... about anything... it's too late. The company of the old man ended when we arrived in Roman at 12:34. I noticed that I wasn't sleepy, although I had slept only 2 hours prior to the trip.

After that, a family composed of a middle aged couple and 3 kids joined the compartment up to Adjud. I noticed some things about them. One: they smelled. I mean, if the smell of sweat would be the force, these guys would be Jedi Masters. And it was a hot day. Two: they had 4 kids actually, 3 girls and one boy and the eldest daughter was on the hallway, taking care of the bags. The younger girls were 5 and 6 years old. They played constantly, singing, nagging, hitting each other... kids. They seemed not to care about the crisis, well... the kids at least. I'm sure any parents with 4 kids must feel some pressure when the economy takes a downturn. The same CFR employee comes again to check for the tickets, just as friendly as the first time. They were expecting someone who was driving from Brasov to meet them in Adjud.

Adjud, a long stop from 14:02 to 14:36. The Stinkies got off, a single mother with 2 kids, one of which was autistic joined the compartment. Their grandparents (the kids') were also there until the train departed to try to make the little girl stop crying. She was crying because she didn't want to leave and would miss her granny. I realized I forgot that there was a time when I also was happy staying with my grandparents in a worry free life. I felt old trying to remember those times. The train departed, the grandparents left... not in that exact order.

Despite the autistic kid that couldn't stand still, I managed to doze off for maybe 30 minutes. When I woke up, there was another young woman in the compartment. She was looking at the boy playing with his sister with a smile on her face. I thought she simply liked kids at first, but later on, she said she also has a brother who's autistic. It seems that there is a special center in Sfantu Gheorghe, and that seems to change peoples' lives. The people in my compartment changed their lives because of it. They had to come live closer to it. I wondered what would happen if I would have such a child. How would I handle it? Not a happy trail of thoughts... I quickly focused on other topics. It wasn't hard, as our favourite train conductor came again to check for the tickets. Same face, same attitude. Yup, that's not going to change for her... ever.

Back to the passengers, the young woman was working as a pharmacist. She didn't seem to affected about the 25% paycuts. Sure, she wasn't happy about them, but she wasn't going to fight it. And she told me this with a smile on her face that I did not expect. Contempt again. She got off at Miercurea Ciuc. The small girl seemed to have forgotten all about granny and started showing me all the books her mother bought her for kindergarten. The mother with the 2 kids got off at Sfantu Gheorghe. We made smalltalk but I didn't ask her how she handled the money. It was obviously not easy.

I reached Brasov at 19:50. The train was right on time. Right on time... which is ... acceptable maybe? After a whole day's ride, the only consolation I got was that ... it was a day in a weekend I wouldn't forget very soon.

PVSS C++ Extensions, Part 3

2010-04-28T12:11:00.000+03:00

So what could possibly go wrong? Well, the most likely problem is that the included PVSS version will be wrong by the time you follow this example. For instance, in the following picture, you may notice that I compiled the component with an older version. I used the following version initially (preprocessor definition):

PVSS_VERS_DLL=\"307000.304\"

This worked for PVSS II 3.7, but it won't work for 3.8.

You may not know immediately what version number you should use, but simply looking at the error message in the log viewer will quickly give you the expected version. Copy and paste the newer version (if required), rebuild the project and you're done.

PVSS C++ Extensions, Part 2

2010-04-26T19:49:00.000+03:00

It is best to also set up the PVSS side of the project so that you may test things quickly. You will need to create a PVSS project, or simply use an existing one. This could be a different tutorial in its own article, but there's no need for such a thing. The PVSS online help should help you go easily through all steps. Just search for "Create project" and you will quickly find what you need.

I will use an existing project for this example. Just add a new manager to the existing project, select it to be a "Control Manager" in order to run a PVSS control script, set it to manual start and give it a name (e.g. "example.ctl").

Create a new file in the project's scripts folder and name it as in the control manager:

Now, it's about time to start coding. Back to the C++ project.
Create an "ExampleExt.cpp" file in the "src" sub-folder and an "ExampleExt.h" in the "include" sub-folder. Copy and paste the following code in the header file : ExampleExt.h. Copy and paste the following code in the source file: ExampleExt.cpp.
Build the project (F7). The project should build with some warnings, but no errors. Copy the output file ("ExampleExt.dll") in the "bin" folder of the PVSS project.

An optimization step would be to automate the copy operation. Let's say that the pvss project is stored in "C:\work\pvss\projects\workstation". The bin folder would be "C:\work\pvss\projects\workstation\bin". In Visual Studio, go to the project properties, then under "Configuration Properties" -> "Build Events" -> "Post-Build Event" set the "Command Line" to "copy .\build\ExampleExt.dll C:\work\pvss\projects\workstation\bin\ExampleExt.dll". Now, you're free of manual copy operations.

Back in the PVSS area, use a modern text editor (Notepad++, PsPad, UltraEdit, etc... for this example, Notepad will also suffice), open the file "example.ctl" you created at the beginning of this article and copy and paste the following code into it: Example.ctl.
In the PVSS console for your project, try starting the Control Manager that contains example.ctl. Make sure that the log viewer is opened for the project. You should see something similar to the following picture in the log:

PVSS C++ Extensions, Part 1

2010-04-26T19:06:00.000+03:00

Setting up. What will you need to write a PVSS extension?

A C++ compiler. I will use an IDE (Microsoft Visual Studio 2005).
PVSS
the PVSS C++ API.

Ok, so you will need the PVSS C++ API. You will most likely have a distribution that includes it. It should be found in the "api" folder under the PVSS installation path. For example, I have it installed in the following location. C:\Share\ETM\PVSS2\3.8\API. So please take notice and replace this path with whatever is your installation directory.

You will want to create an environment variable pointing to this location, unless there is one already. I've had PVSS installed for so long on my system that I don't remember anymore if I really created the environment variable, or it came with the installation. Create a variable named "API_ROOT" and make it point to your api folder:

Next, you need to make the headers and libraries known to your compiler. For Visual Studio 2005, complete the following steps. Create a new project (Win32 Project), give it a name (like ExampleExt, actually I will use the ExampleExt for the remaining of this tutorial), select to make it a DLL, and I would also recommend making it an empty project. I will assume that all source files will be stored in a "src" sub-folder, and that all header files will be in an "include" sub-folder. Then go to the properties for the project (right click -> go to "Properties") and add the API additional include directories. This will be under "Configuration Properties" -> "C/C++" -> "General". It should look similar to the following picture:

Next go to the Linker dependencies ("Configuration Properties" -> "Linker" -> "Input") and add all required libraries. For our example, only 3 are needed: libManager.lib, libBasics.lib, libCtrl.lib. Do the same for all build configurations. The image may only show the Debug configuration, but the same should be done for Release as well (or simply select "All Configurations" and do the configuration just once). The window should look similar to the following picture:

Also configure the "Output Directory" and "Intermediate Directory" to be ".\build" instead of the default "$(SolutionDir)$(ConfigurationName)". You can configure these under "Configuration Properties" -> "General". You may want to configure the output file as well. Go to "Configuration Properties" -> "Linker" -> "General" and set the "Output File" to ".\build\ExampleExt.dll".
And one more miscellaneous operation will be to define the PVSS version to use the DLL from. For this, a preprocessor definition should be done. Go to "Configuration Properties" -> "C/C++" -> "Preprocessor" and at "Preprocessor Definitions" add one entry after all the existing ones:

PVSS_VERS_DLL=\"308000.319\"

Having a wrong version here will cause the DLL to be unusable. We'll get back to this one later on.

That's the basic C++ side of the configuration.

HRmageddon

2010-03-27T17:14:00.000+02:00

There are many flash games nowadays, and they keep getting better. They also keep getting more diverse. A nice one I played recently is called HRmageddon, and it's a turn based strategy game. You can play it on Adult Swim.

Independent Online Cinema

2010-03-27T16:35:00.000+02:00

I'm amazed about the things some people can do out of passion. Independent Online Cinema is an example of people which are obviously passionate about movie making. Their independent film "The Hunt for Gollum" is intended to be a 35 minutes prequel to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

As you may imagine, there is a significant budget difference between the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and this fan-made motion picture, which one can notice in the image quality and special effects. But it looks quite good, the acting is decent and the fight scenes are not that exaggerated. The only reason you can't compare it on equal grounds with one of the recent Lord of the Rings incarnations is that Peter Jackson's movies had budgets of around 93 mil.$ each. And the next one (The Hobbit) is expected to use 300 million $ for a two part official prequel. The independent film had... passionate fans.

Screenshots

2010-03-19T08:52:00.000+02:00

When you make an application, you will generally advertise it in a positive light, make sure the screen-shots look nice etc. Maybe catch some UI inconsistencies... When someone else does it, there's nothing you can fix. I was recently having a look over what could come up on a search for "Gusty's Serpents". Softpedia also offers a download to a previous version of the game, but the thing that stands out are the screenshots:

Softpedia: http://games.softpedia.com/progScreenshots/Gusty-s-Serpents-Screenshot-34144.html
Sourceforge: http://gustysserpents.sourceforge.net/

For some reason, they are missing the textures. The version is old, I don't even remember what could possibly be the cause for this. And at this point I'm not sure I'll get in the mood to work on Serpents anytime soon. But if I do, I'll use an existing game engine (not just 3D engine), like NeoAxis.

Gelu

2010-03-18T13:32:00.000+02:00

A very funny story, fully in Romanian however, so you won't enjoy it much if you don't speak the language, as most automatic translation services are not able to handle all the subtleties that make it funny.

Story omissions and evolutions

2010-02-24T12:21:00.000+02:00

Is this little drawing about Pinocchio funny?

Well, I think it is funny. But it's also nitpicking. One could probably come up with a whole set of Boolean Algebra based paradoxes this way. And not just about Pinocchio, but about any fiction story ever written. And most holes are usually in the science-fiction, which generally tend to ignore the science part and focus on the make-belief instead.

Most stories are written by authors which look at one side of the picture and describe only the interesting parts. I just finished reading the pentalogy (or trilogy of five) of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. In one of the 5 books... I think in the 4th, he presents some aspects of the main character of the series not seen in the other books. It is here that the author says that while he doesn't describe every little detail of what the character does, it doesn't mean there's nothing happening. For Douglas it was easy to omit things; he wrote comedy. But omitting while writing science fiction is simply sinful. In this case things are not omitted because they are not interesting, but because the author didn't think things through.

But a general tendency of the past years has been to make stories ever more complex. You know the 80's and 90's action flicks? B-movies? Good americans vs evil russians? (well, the Hollywood versions at least). Or evil genius set out to destroy the world? They never really had a real reason, they were simply "evil" and that was that. Now, stories begin to present more details... "why is that guy a terrorist? what drives him? he's just plain crazy? pff... that's so 60's"; the audience demands some background, some vivid and realistic characters. That means that there is a lower option to omit things.

This is also happening in the newest story telling environment: video games. "Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun" is a fine example of the B-movie story. (The "Red Alert" series could be a C-movie at best). The sequel, "Command & Conquer 3", features a much better story already (somewhere at the border of A and B types); the latest installment, Command & Conquer 4 seems to bring a story full of details.

So, if you feel like playing through a B-movie, you may play "Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun", it's freely downloadable here.

Starcraft 2 - musical themes

2010-02-19T08:25:00.000+02:00

The StarCraft 2 Beta, as you probably know, has begun. Some lucky fans, like the ones writing for sc2blog are already using the new battle.net service.

Other fans are also sharing the new musical themes on YouTube. I liked most of the original StarCraft score. I'm having mixed feelings about the new one, except for the Terran theme, which is definitely more uplifting than before.

Terran theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcghLSIpZlM
Zerg theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ivYHY8V-XA
Protoss theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuh96ogWoAc
Menu theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVNyU-BF9wg

Matrix-like screensaver

2010-02-18T12:07:00.000+02:00

The Xmatrix screensaver is a really nice one for Linux. There is also a Windows port, called Matrix32.

I was worried at first, going from XP 32 bit to Windows7-64 bit about compatibility issues, but there were none for this screensaver.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevin1024/ / CC BY 2.0

Get it here .

Technical Difficulties

2010-02-17T08:36:00.000+02:00

A great piece.

Going to win7

2010-02-16T08:33:00.000+02:00

Having tried Ubuntu, I reached the conclusion that it is a very good operating system, offering a great bang for buck if you consider the only cost to be of financial nature (division by zero would mean infinity). But it still has its limitations. One of them became apparent only after doing a video card upgrade.
(More about that soon)

While upgrading the video card, I also had to unplug some hard drive SATA cables that were in the way... and I'm not sure that I plugged them back in in the exact same slots. Long story short, Ubuntu 9.10 was no longer booting up, dying with a kernel panic and some error about the file system. All Windows XP said was that it had to be reactivated.

That and the fact that I want to play games, most of which are designed for Windows, made me stick to the Windows family of operating systems. Because it is the better option for me. And since Windows 7 is the next iteration, I am jumping on it. The most striking thing about it though is... well... the cost. It's really expensive. I mean... I thought it was expensive having seen the US prices: and the Ultimate version was 319$. What I forgot was that trying to buy the thing from the US store didn't go as I would have liked (pay, download, use), instead being redirected to the european store... where is was also costing 319... but euros. Now I know that the cost in the US doesn't include a bunch of taxes, while the ones in the euro-zone must include VAT, but still... That's a big difference considering the currency parity of 1 EUR = 1.43 USD, valid at the time this article was written.

The US Store

The European store

But then I remembered a very interesting post by Jeff Atwood related to using different prices for different customers: It's a marketing scheme! Damn those weasels! Oh well, here's another lee-hee-heetle detail: the cost is the same as in a regular store, so the age where a version you download yourself (legally I mean) is cheaper than one found at a retailer is simply not yet here. Luckily, it does have some features: you can choose from 4 versions of ultimate (32 and 64 bits, ISO and direct system download). I went the classical route: take the ISO, burn it to a DVD, reboot and do a clean install.

I know it's in German

The usual Microsoft Download Manager

As you may have noticed, this switch to Windows 7 isn't very recent; it's been more than 2 weeks since the install process finished and I started fighting the usual OS switch issues: drivers. It's just that I couldn't really find the time to (15 minutes) to finish this post. Laziness...

Gusty out.

Status Anxiety

2010-02-15T09:03:00.000+02:00

Quite some time ago, I saw a very interesting speech on TED. It was about something called "Status Anxiety", a short version of a documentary with the same name. I immediately bookmarked it, having found it on Youtube. I had this bookmark for about 4 months now and, finally, managed to view the complete thing.

It tries to explain the source of many psychological problems in today's societies. So if that kind of things interests you, have a look over the links. They take about 10 minutes each, so it may require some time.

Part 1
Sub-part 1
Sub-part 2
Sub-part 3
Sub-part 4
Sub-part 5
Part 2
Sub-part 1
Sub-part 2
Sub-part 3
Sub-part 4
Sub-part 5

Global Warming proven FAKE!

2010-02-12T08:50:00.000+02:00

The Daily Show has a segment where it proves once and for all that global warming is just a hoax, a conspiracy of all those liberal and socialist propaganda agencies, wanting to destroy the honest oil companies. It's a cold winter in the northern hemisphere. All those melted glaciers? They're back... and to full size. All the lakes that were drying out? Also back. Problems solved... All it took was a cold winter.

What do you have to say now, all of you out there that bought into this kind of crap? Oh, I see: now, you're after the sun.

P.S. Sarcasm.

The nightmares of PARA

2010-02-12T08:17:00.000+02:00

It's that time of the project at work... still that time of the project.

I had to work overtime the entire week. I think I spent way too much time in front of the monitor for around 3 days in a row, having a hard time to even get some rest. For 3 days, I had the kind of nightmares only someone working in the IT field could get.
- In one of the nightmare instances, I was making the project's 20 minute build process to fail because of not checking some of my changes.
- In another one, I was looking for an error and I couldn't find the damned thing. The funny thing is that in my dream, I was dealing with a recurrence, spinning in a circle to find the problem.
- In the 3rd nightmare of the week, I wasn't dreaming any particular problem solving action, but kept seeing the image of one tool we use at work, that being a PVSS Para.

Luckily I managed to get some rest eventually, dreaming all the usual deranged stuff about a train derailing, me floating in the air, and some guy with a knife knocking at my door. Man, after that one, I woke up rested.

Good, better...part two

2010-02-05T08:36:00.000+02:00

Part one layed out the general idea of how better is something subjective. Now for part 2.

How does this impact the field of computers?

We see that an Intel Pentium II processor is better than an AMD K6-III processor at doing video compression, so we generalize that Pentium II is better than K6-III and that Intel is better than AMD, period. We established that. We can't go back and re-analyze the fact simply because AMD put out a new CPU. That takes time, and we don't have it. We know that Intel is better and it will take a lot of people saying the contrary for us to give up this belief. So until we give it up we do the following. Whenever someone comes up with the preposterous idea that brands don't really matter, that we forgot that we shouldn't care about AMD or Intel but about which product does better what we want to do (and that is video compression), we tell them they're stupid. And wait for a fanboy of the other team to show up (in this case AMD), a fanboy who's as close-minded as we are, to start a flame war and call him retarded for even considering those things CPUs.

Let's take another example, the classical flame war of the major operating systems:

- John is an amateur painter. He uses a computer to mainly process and create digital pictures, which he uploads to his deviantart account. He uses a Mac and is quite satisfied with it. It has a nice and friendly user interface and does everything he needs. He always used a Mac and is very proficient with it. Money's not an issue for him.
- Jim is a fanatic gamer. He also bought a Mac, an iMac, because it was a hip thing to do. He soon discovered though that not all the games he wanted were available for OSX and the hardware wasn't up to the task of playing the latest games smoothly when emulating the Windows environment.
- Jack uses an old PC. It's quite weak from the hardware point of view, but it's enough for Jack. He only needs it to check his mail, browse a bit and chat with his friends via IM. Jack is a bit strapped for cash, so he downloaded a pirated copy of Windows Vista (let's say this was before Windows 7). But now his PC is quite slow. He needs to wait about 5 minutes just for his PC to boot and start the web browser.
- Joe is a student, known for being flat broke most of the time. He managed to get some used components from various sources and assembled a PC with less than 200$ spent. He installed Ubuntu on it, which runs smoothly. He's been needing a PC for his homework assignments.

- John did OK. He filled his needs.
- Jim did wrong getting a iMac. Just because the "I'm a Mac vs. I'm a PC" commercials made PCs look as fit only for Excel charts and Macs good at everything else... (and somehow transformed PC from "Personal Computer" to "Computer running Windows") doesn't mean they are.
- Jack, besides doing something illegal, also did something wrong. He could have used a Linux distro.
- Joe did OK.

Regardless of how they did, they're all trolling the fanboy forums, poking at the other camps for being uptight, nerds or retards. And they're all missing the point. They're religulous, with their own God Question.

We should go on and pursue our needs and desires, but we tend to forget them, and are too lazy to go back and reanalyze the situation. We forget that we need something to browse safely and go into flame wars about things like which browser is better, failing to understand that what's best for us isn't best for everyone. Some need security, some need speed, some need convenience, ease of use. Sure, like operating systems, all browser makers say they deliver the best of each, but we know (or should) that it's not true. You can't be the best at everything.

Good, better...part one

2010-02-04T08:11:00.000+02:00

Gut, besser, Gosser was one of the catch phrases of a TV commercial I was seeing in my early college years. I don't quite agree with the affirmation, considering that, while Gosser isn't bad, there are other finer beers. Everyone seems to understand though and nobody (so far at least) said to me something like: "You don't like that beer? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you mentally disabled? People like you should just be lynched in the street as a lesson to all the freaks!". But food and drinks are something people are more tolerant of. Religion must be the one thing at the very opposite end of toleration. Everything else lies somewhere in-between.

Some really smart guy is credited to have said that "Everything is relative". I don't know if he said it or not... but that's besides the point. The point being that, it is a simple truth, and acknowledging it means to acknowledge that you shouldn't make any assumptions about other people based simply on your likes and dislikes. Be tolerant. I know, it's hard, specially in this day and age, where the apparent anonymity given by the internet allows anyone to let out their inner child. And children, contrary to popular belief are not innocent angels. Quite the opposite: most often children are noisy, egocentric, impulse driven little creatures, who have yet to realize that they are an insignificant entity on an ever more crowded planet.

So what I'm asking of you is: don't be a kid. Be aware that right now there are about 7 billion people on this planet. The odds tat you know what people you are talking with on the internet have as their wants and needs are dim. The odds that there is something you know best are basically zer0. The odds for you to know better than the one you are arguing with are about 50-50. This doesn't mean that there are no stupid people. Hell, no... there are plenty of us! Have you ever seen people admitting on the internet that they were arguing with someone, and then the other person came with some very good and reasonable arguments and they managed to see the fallacy of their previous concepts. If you did... how often was that? Once? I bet most often things looked like this, via zoso.

Let's explore the concept a bit more...

So what do I mean by better being something relative?
Is a $10.000 Fiat better than a $1.700.000 Veyron? For me, yes. Just like real women are better than photoshopped women, or special effects in movies are better than special effects in a cartoon: because they are (or feel) real! I can't afford a Veyron, but I can afford a Fiat. And that matters to me.
Is a red Ferrari better than a white one? Not for me (I don't care about color, I'm not a racist) :-), but yes for many others.
Is a Trabant better than a ... I don't know... a car? It is to some. Because what it lacks in functions it makes up for in sentimental value. Some don't remember the communist life it represented. Some just remembered one thing: they were young when they got it.

Why is though a Veyron a better car for most people? It's because we are simple creatures in a very complex world, which we could not possibly comprehend in its full form, so we simplify, we abstract, we generalize to cope with existence. Life changes faster than we can adapt to it. A Veyron is a better car for most people simply because it encompasses many things which they consider of quality: shiny exterior, fancy interior, a monster engine and a status that goes with the car. A status that says "I'm so rich, that when buying a car, I just picked one at random from a top 10 of the most expensive". It doesn't mean that if someone would win $1.5 million overnight it will blow it all on the Veyron. But if someone wins $10.000 overnight, he/she may blow it all on a Fiat. Because it wouldn't be such a big thing.

(will be continued)

Turbo Post

2010-02-03T11:18:00.000+02:00

I can't believe what I ran into today... A picture of one of the symbols of my childhood

...no, it's not the car.

Resisting the change

2010-02-01T08:32:00.000+02:00

Updating Firefox to the latest version is something which I do out of the force of habit. Most of the time I am confronted with the usual incompatibility of one or two extensions. I can live without them for one or two weeks.

In the latest version (3.6) I had to say good bye to the "Utopia FFSE White" theme. That wasn't that hard, having replaced the theme with a Persona. Now that there are plenty of Personas available, some of them are really good. I for one fancy "Gato Cinza" which stands for "gray cat".

What was hard getting used to was the major tab behavior change in Firefox. Opening a new tab now places it after the current one by default. I'm always looking in the wrong place for new ones. Luckily, there is a way to switch back to the previous behavior, by going to the "about:config" page (type about:config in the Firefox address bar), and searching for "browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent" and setting it to "false".

Of course, you should know that you have just voided your warranty!

Logitech G11 on Windows 7 - 64 bits

2010-01-31T19:20:00.000+02:00

The Logitech 3.04 lgps (drivers and utility app) drivers seem to be known to be broken. I don't understand why are they found on the main page then? Why do I need to find this kind of information on other forums?

Anyway, long story short: don't use the Logitech G11/G15 drivers with the version 3.04, since they are pretty much useless. The 3.03 version does seem to work: http://logitech-louk.navisite.net/web/ftp/pub/techsupport/keyboards/lgps303_x64.exe

Funny evolution

2010-01-29T08:24:00.001+02:00

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oMswu8JrRmA/R80joMYes9I/AAAAAAAAABQ/FQouFHTrqqM/s1600-h/evolution_chain.jpg

Haiti

2010-01-22T11:16:00.000+02:00

Haiti has been making headlines in the recent days. But the earthquakes seem to be just one of the issues the island is facing.

I came across the following article on Times Online:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6281614.ece

It certainly is a disturbing read. But important problems, like sustainability, environmental and social impact can be seen coming together, often, one as a direct result of another. The biggest problem is overpopulation, as that is easily the root of all other problems: "population growth is rising. Haiti was considered unsustainably overcrowded in the 1950s, when the population was 3m. Now it is 9m". So keep that in mind. It's not just that the population is rising, but rising at a faster rate. Estimated for 2009: 1.838% growth. Doesn't seem much, but a rate like that for 6 consecutive years would mean a population of 10 million.

The CIA World Factbook has this to say on Haiti's natural hazards:
"lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts"
And this on the environmental issues:
"extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water".

Now, that doesn't sound very optimistic for the future of food production in Haiti. And is already depending on foreign aid to feed its people. Just sending food there is just a way of postponing the uncomfortable auto-balancing of nature: if there are 10 million people but food just for 5 million people, many will starve to death. And if the food prices will go up again, this will very likely happen.

Here's my list of questions:
- (hypothetically speaking)... do you think it's more moral to allow 5 million people to die let's say 6 years from now than 4 million people today?
- is it more moral to keep let's say 6 million vs 2 million people alive by supplying them with food? Do numbers matter?
- is it better to have a country of 9 million people, most of which are a burden to the rest of the world (regardless of how external factors are responsible for the current situation) than 1-2-3 million that can live at a sufficiently good level to allow its people to become contributors to the world's economy, science or art development? Do numbers matter now?
- does it make sense to help people build their lives in a hurricane exposed, environmentally abuse area?

A proposed solution was mass emigration from the island. Right... who will take in millions of immigrants, half of which are illiterate?

Gusty out.

NY Subway Displays

2010-01-19T19:46:00.000+02:00

I was forwarded this link of some working CIS (Customer Information Service) Devices. Well... this is what I've been working on for the last 3 years. I know what you're asking yourself:
- "Is that all that thing does? Display the train information while some voice tells you a train is approaching?"
- "Yes?"
- "... 3 years? Really?"
- "Well... 2.5"
- "... and you were by yourself, working part-time?"
- "Full time, but it was just me and some other... let's say... 40+ people. Really."

Most of the project takes place hidden from the passenger's eyes, but it's nice to see that some part of the thing I've been working on is put to use. And I hope to be able to see it live someday, but man... it's a long way swimming to New York.

I don't know about you, but working on something that didn't seem to go that well was sure getting me down. This gave me a burst of excitement. I'm just wondering how long it will last. Regardless, I hope that the next project I'll be working on will be something of a smaller scale.

BTW, I like what a passenger says: "They're beautiful". It reminds me of a line in Stephen King's Carrie. What's your opinion?

Gusty out.

Scythe Kama Stay + Antec Solo = NOT Love

2010-01-18T22:36:00.000+02:00

I bought the Scythe Kama Stay to help cool my otherwise passively cooled video card, a Radeon 3870 from PowerColor. The video card would stay in the upper 80° Celsius range while loaded with Folding@Home. And while the card is meant to operate up to 100 degrees, it didn't make me feel that this was a good ideea keeping the card 24/7 close to this temperature. So I got the Kama Stay for about 15 EUR. I thought it was a good deal.

Unfortunately it simply doesn't fit into the Antec Solo. The Kama Stay is a bit too tall and a bit too long. So I took it apart. First I removed the top side. I managed to get the Kama inside the case, but the HDD chasis of the Antec would block it from connecting it properly to the case. Maybe a saw could fix this problem :-), but I had none at my disposal.
Fortunately, the Kama Stay is modular, so I could take just the fan and the fan controller apart. I tied the fan with some wires to the video card, set it to minimum speed and now I have no increase in noise level, but a 30° C drop in temperature under load.

How much did I overpay though?
Considering that the fan is about 10 EUR and a fan controller around 4, I'd say 1 EUR tops :-) .
Still... it would have been nice to be able to use the Kama Stay as a 2.5" HDD rack. In a world where things are becoming smaller and more compact, the Kama Stay required a lot of space. Otherwise, it's a good product idea: a great addition to any silent PC.

Avatar

2010-01-05T16:21:00.000+02:00

I am happy to announce that I went to see Avatar and it wasn't just hype.

A good story, superb special effects in an IMAX experience and a great attention to detail make this film one of the great ones. This may be the "Star Wars" of the decade, something people will remember for around... 5 years. But I still hope there won't be any sequels, since they will just hurt the story.

The story is a nice blend of good ideas. It lacks somewhat in originality, as one can easily find resemblance to various movies and games, such as "Dances With Wolves", "The Matrix" , "The Lord of the Rings", "Sid Meyer's Alpha Centauri", which probably borrowed ideas from other less known works of art. But the mix is well put together.

If you got the chance to see it at an IMAX, go for it. You won't see another movie like this one this year.

P.S. I also saw "Paranormal Activity", which is just crap. You know the scares that the trailer/teaser has? Well those are all the scares in the movie. I don't know what some people find so scary about it.

Flagfox

2009-12-15T09:21:00.000+02:00

Flagfox is a Firefox extension that allows you to see the (country) location of the server you are visiting.

You can get the extension here.

This is an extension that doesn't bring any vital functionality. I often wonder why I use it myself. I guess it's just geek curiosity; normal people shouldn't need this extension.

The Dark Side of Dubai

2009-12-14T08:59:00.001+02:00

Relatively recently, Dubai was announced to have some financial problems. I also came across a very interesting article about the much less known problems that the people living there are facing.

It is a very long read. The comments also add quite a lot of text to the article.

Nina Hagen - Naturträne

2009-12-06T20:14:00.000+02:00

I received a link on messenger a short while back. A quite interesting video:

This definitely qualifies as art. However, as known, not all art is good. This is something quite unusual though.

Proun

2009-11-24T11:18:00.000+02:00

I recently tried an interesting game, having found out about it from the Ogre forums.

The game isn't finished yet, but it is already very interesting in regards of game-play. There is also a video up on youtube where you can see it in action.

The name of the game seems to come from El Lissitzky's art works, and if you happen to read the Wikipedia entry for Proun and also play the game, you should reach the conclusion that the game does look like an abstract painting.

The game lacks in 2 areas at the moment:
- there is only one map, which is quite limited. Luckily, there is an option to create your own tracks, albeit requiring 3DStudio Max.
- there is no AI, regardless of what the game menu says :-)

Gusty out.

Flash in 64 bit Linux

2009-10-30T11:59:00.000+02:00

I just installed Ubuntu 9.10 as a secondary boot option to my XP SP3 system.

As soon as it was installed, which didn't take very much really, I wanted to see if anything was changed regarding the use of flash. It's not shipped by default, since it's not open source software, but Abobe's site doesn't provide a proper installation for 64 bit systems. When it gives you the option to download the deb package, what it doesn't say is that it expects the x86 architecture to be in use. Luckily, with some browsing, you can come to the right solution, but if you don't have the time to search for them, here's one that worked for me.

http://queleimporta.com/en/finally-adobe-releases-native-64-bit-flash-10-for-linux/

in short, download the package, open a terminal and navigate to the download folder, then run the mentioned commands.

Tools of editing

2009-09-01T12:29:00.000+03:00

There are 2 text editors out there that I use and consider to be really good editors to allow you to replace the Notepad and Wordpad applications that are delivered usually with Windows, because let's face it: those default applications are just for very basic operations. If you want productivity, you need to look at something else. There are many, many editors, and I only looked at the ones for the MS Windows OS family, having a special interess in startup speed (this is important when using a replacement for the Total Commander viewer plugin), running speed, ease of use, features (translating into productivity gain), cost. I reviewed very shortly editors that require to pay for a licence. I found no real gain in using them.
Also, speaking of the Linux variants... I saw emacs being used by one of my colleagues at work. Didn't seem very productive with it, could be because he was running it on Windows. I know there's a real cult built around emacs... but I can't really figure out why though. Maybe an emacs afficionado can enlighten me.
And maybe about vi also. I remember using a version that looked like 1983 or something in school. So I'm sure no one is using that vi.

The 2 editors I found myself using the most are:
- Notepad++: an open source text editor.
- PsPad: a closed source text editor.
Other editors I looked into are:
- ConText: seems very fast. But also very lightweight, so limited functionality. Became open source in 2009, so maybe it will grow into something more powerful. Could be a very good substitute to the Total Commander viewer and editor.
- UltraEdit

There are many similarities that make both applications very useful. A plethora of syntax highlighting definitions, custom definitions are also possible, document history, and many tools for text conversion. So it will be much easier simply analysing the differences.

Speed: PsPad starts faster. The fact that it remains resident in memory helps with this. It feels faster for regular use also. But it's slow when working with long lines.

File search: both products have an exellent search. Notepad++ has however an annoying small dialog it uses. You can't really see what previous searches you made if you are using long paths.

File contents monitoring: in PsPad, if 10 files that you have opened changed, you have the option to reload all with a single click; in Notepad++ you must click 10 times! Is it really so hard to implement a "Yes to all" feature?

File comparison: PsPad has an incredibly simple interface to compare 2 opened files: compare between tabs. A recent release (4.5.4) also sports an improved file comparison. Notepad++ isn't as intuitive. I guess it's simply a matter of getting used to it.

Syntax highlighting: I found the PsPad highlighter to have some issues. For instance, you can define both FALSE and false, and depending on the order, only one of them will be displayed; also, the bracket matching doesn't always display on the first click on a location. No problems found with Notepad++ yet.
A somewhat similar feature is to highlight all matching occurences of a word. Notepad++ does this quite well. PsPad doesn't at all. (You could use bookmarks, but it's not nearly as productive). The PsPad developers claim it's due to the underlying component used for the editor, but as a user, I can't say I really care as to why it is possible or not; it still is one of the major drawbacks of PsPad not having a simple to use word matching highlighter.

Handling large files: PsPad is slower in this scenario than Notepad++. Also slower than Ultraedit. And it's not just large files in general. Long lines is the Achiles' heel for PsPad.

Encoding: unfortunately there are many encoding options. PsPad tries to pick up the encoding automatically, not always the best however. Notepad++ fares somewhat better.

Defaults: the power of defaults shouldn't be underestimated. The default environment for PsPad looks more like a visual studio IDE than a simple text-editor. And I heard people complain because of the way it looks initially. There are a lot of toolbars and panels shown initially. But looks can be deceiving. After you configure it, there's a lot of space for editing. Notepad++ comes with a focus on text editing as the default. Also, in case of PsPad, the default shortcuts could be improved to be more general, to mirror other applications. (E.g. Notepad++ uses CTRL+SHIFT+F to search in files, just like some IDEs, notably MS Visual Studio. You can make both programs use any shortcuts you want... but it takes some time setting everything up).

Licensing: PsPad is free. If you don't like something about it, there is a limited interface you could use to extend the application with a plugin. Notepad++ is open source. Whatever you don't like, you can change. And plugins are also available.

Currently I am using PsPad for my day to day problems, although the feature list tends to favor Notepad++. I also use Notepad++ in parallel, but only when I encounter large files or run into problems with the encoding. I think it's because of the file comparison which I use very much. Maybe I will make the switch to Notepad++ sometime in the future if the file comparison interface becomes better. :-)

Links:
http://www.pspad.com/
http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm
http://www.contexteditor.org/

Time in psychology

2009-07-08T14:21:00.000+03:00

After having watched a short version on TED, I was intrigued and found (with the help of some comments on the TED page) a longer talk on the issue.

http://fora.tv/2008/11/12/Philip_Zimbardo_The_Time_Paradox

about girls...

2009-06-17T23:13:00.000+03:00

A nice video about life :-)

link: http://www.snotr.com/video/2734

Cavalerism (ro)

2009-05-31T13:40:00.000+03:00

Un tip ajunge la portile Raiului, in fata lui Sf. Petru.Acesta il intreaba:
- Ai facut ceva deosebit in viata ta care sa merite sa intri in Rai ?
- Da, ma pot gandi la un singur lucru. Odata, cand faceam un drum in Black Hill in Dakota, am dat peste un grup de motociclisti duri si mari si rai care maltratau o tanara. M-am dus direct la ei si le-am cerut sa o lase in pace dar ei nu m-au ascultat. Asa ca m-am dus la cel mai mare, cel mai tatuat si i-am tras una in cap, i-am rasturnat motocicleta, i-am smuls cercelul din nas si l-am aruncat la pamant. Apoi am tipat :
- Acum, inapoi baieteilor sau veti avea de-a face cu mine !
Sf. Petru a fost impresionat.
- Cand s-a intamplat asta ?
- Acum cateva minute...

Glume cu liniile aeriene (ro)

2009-05-31T13:39:00.000+03:00

Tower: 'Pentru a evita poluarea sonora, virati 45 grade spre dreapta'
Pilotul: 'Ce poluare sonora putem produce la 7.000m altitudine?'
Tower : 'Cea rezultata din coliziunea voastra cu 727-le care vine spre voi!'

Tower : 'Sunteti un Airbus 320 sau 340?
Pilot: 'Un A 340, desigur!''
Tower : 'Sunteti in acest caz amabil ca inaintea startului sa porniti si celelalte doua motoare?

Pilot: 'Buna dimineata, Bratislava.'
Tower: Buna dimineata. Pentru informatia dvs.: Aici e Viena.'
Pilot: 'Dar eu aterizez in acest moment la Bratislava.'
Tower: 'Aici e intr-adevar Viena.'
Pilot: ' Viena?'
Tower: 'Da.'
Pilot: 'Dar de ce? Doar voiam sa mergem la Bratislava.'
Tower: 'Okay. In acest caz degajati si zburati spre stanga.'

Tower catre un pilot, care a efectuat o aterizare deosebit de dificila: 'O aterizare nu trebuie sa fie un mister. Pasagerii trebuie sa stie cand au aterizat.'
Pilot: 'Nu-i nimic, ca oricum aplauda!'

Pilotul unui zbor Alitalia, caruia un fulger i-a stricat jumatate din instrumentele din cockpit: 'Am ramas fara instrumente! Nimic nu mai functioneaza! Pana si altimetrul a renuntat sa mai indice ceva........'Dupa circa 5 minute de lamentari se aude comentariul unui pilot de pe un alt aparat: 'Taca-ti gura si mori ca un barbat!'
Pilot: 'S-a aprins o lampa indicatoare!'
Tower: 'Pai speram ca sunt mai multe aprinse.'
Pilot: 'Da, dar numai asta scoate asa mult fum!'

Pilot: 'Mai avem foarte putin combustibil. Asteptam urgent instructiuni.'
T Tower: 'Care va este pozitia? Nu va pot vedea pe ecran.'
Pilot: 'Stationam pe pista 2 si asteptam cisterna de o eternitate!'

Tower: 'Aveti probleme?'
Pilot: 'Am pierdut busola.'
Tower: 'Dupa cum zburati, credeam ca ati pierdut toate instrumentele.'

Tower: 'Dupa aterizare, mergeti spre Taxiway Alpha 7, Alpha 5, Whiskey 2, Delta 1si Oscar 2.'
Pilot: 'Unde e asta? Noi nu cunoastem organizarea aeroportului.'
Tower: 'Nu-i nimic. Si eu sunt doar de doua zile aici.'

Pilot: 'Rog sa ne permiteti decolarea.'
Tower: 'Regretam, N-avem planul vostru de zbor. Incotro zburati?'
Pilot: 'Spre Salzburg, ca in fiecare luni.'
Tower: 'Da, dar azi e marti!'
Pilot: 'Cum? Pai in cazul asta avem liber.'

Pilot: 'Aici nu exista un Follow-me car?'
Tower: 'Negativ. Aveti grija cum ajungeti singur la poarta.'

Tower: 'Inaltimea si pozitia?'
Pilot: '1.80m si stau asezat pe scaunul din stanga-fata.'

Tower catre pilotul amator: 'Cine e la bord?'
Pilot: 'Pilot, doi pasageri si un caine.'
Tower, dupa aterizarea 'jumulita' a pilotului amator: 'Si totusi,de ce ati lasat cainele la comenzi?'

Tower: 'Aveti sau nu aveti destul combustibil?'
Pilot: 'Da!'
Tower: 'Da, ce?'
Pilot: 'Da, Sir!!!'

Tower: 'Comunicati ETA-ul (estimated time of arrival).'
Pilot: 'Hmmmm... Marti mi-ar conveni cel mai mult.'

Bad for both "querty" and worse for "quertz"

2009-05-31T13:29:00.000+03:00

Man, my penis is so big if I laid it out on a keyboard it'd go all the way from A to Z
wait, shit

Manele story (ro)

2009-05-31T13:28:00.001+03:00

O mini-serie de 5 episoade care te invata cum sa reusesti in viata ca manelist :-)

partea 1: http://www.220.ro/Cum_sa_devii_manelist_1-44257.html
partea 2: http://www.220.ro/Cum_sa_devii_manelist_2-44258.html
partea 3: http://www.220.ro/Cum_sa_devii_manelist_partea_a_3_a-44255.html
partea 4: http://www.220.ro/Hai_sictir_sictir_pufos-44256.html
partea 5: http://www.piticu.ro/2008/01/09/making-of-cum-sa-fii-manelist/index.html

3d audio using just a pair of headsets

2009-05-31T13:26:00.000+03:00

http://fulgerica.com/2007/05/18/senzatii-unice/

Banc cu Napoleon

2009-05-31T13:18:00.000+03:00

Napoleon se trezeste dimineata si iese din cort pe campul de lupta strigand cat putea de tare : " Aduceti-mi calul imediat !!!", slujitorii nimic, il priveau mirati. Napoleon : " Aduceti-mi calul imediat !!! ", slujitorii nimic, tot mirati. Scoate Napoleon sabia si o pune la gatul unui slujitor, tipand : " Aduceti-mi calul imediat sau ii tai capul ". Slujitorul speriat ii raspunde : " Monsieur, vous parlez roumain ! "

Mircea, cel Batran (ro)

2009-05-31T13:17:00.000+03:00

Doua blonde calatoresc cu trenul. In compartiment cu ele calatoreste un barbat оn vвrsta si cu barba.
Una dintre ele ii sopteste celeilalte: Uita-te! Asta-i Mircea cel Batrвn...
- Esti proasta. Mircea e mort de vreo 5 - 600 de ani.
In acel moment un alt barbat intra in compartiment, si-l saluta pe barbos:
- Salut Mircea, ce faci, batrane! nu te-am mai vazut de sute de ani.
Prima blonda: - Na fa, cine-i proasta?

Listen to your heart

2009-05-31T13:06:00.000+03:00

link to original: http://www.explosm.net/comics/1377/

Crash Course (ro)

2009-05-31T13:05:00.001+03:00

Chris Martenson a produs o serie f. buna de lectii privind dezvoltarea economiei pana in punctul curent. Nu stiu cat de reale sunt datele, deoarece nu am apucat sa verific cele prezentate, dar spre deosebire de multe cazuri in care se urla "conspiratie", in documentarul asta se face distinctia de catre autor intre fapte si pareri, macar partial. Iar lucrurile prezentate chiar au logica si sunt prezentate in suficient detaliu.
link : http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse
Cursul este interesant, si sunt f. interesat sa aflu daca previziunile lui se vor indeplini

froglogic squish fail

2009-05-26T16:20:00.000+03:00

Has it ever happened to you to use squish without problems... and then out of a sudden, the server log shows this:

Debug: Client thread created, sock: 1368
Debug: Client thread destroyed, sock: 1460
Debug: Client thread destroyed, sock: 1488
Debug: Connection established to 127.0.0.1
Debug: Client thread created, sock: 1468
Debug: Connection established to 127.0.0.1
Debug: Qt Warning: IPC::sendData: couldn't write to socket, the peer closed the connection

No configured application starts any longer! What gives?
My initial answer (and very emotional one considering I wasted more than one hour with this) is that "Squish sux!!!!"

But that's not the information I want to share with you. What fixed the problem for me was going into the [C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\froglogic\Squish\ver1\] folder and edit the ide.ini file. It's a simple ini file.
It seems that a line that looks like this appears out of nowhere:
Data = 37

(You should find it in the neighourhood of:
ControlBarWidth = 571
ControlBarX = 1074
ControlBarY = 451
Data = 37
DebugLogOptions = ""
DefaultLanguage = "JavaScript")

Just remove the evil red line and it should work again.

cinematic effects

2009-05-05T21:56:00.000+03:00

http://beta.stinkdigital.tv/work/carousel

Universal chargers for cell-phones

2009-03-16T14:47:00.000+02:00

An older piece of information, but important nonetheless:

Xbitlabs has a news article about the future of phone chargers. The future does sound better in light of this news. I must confess I always found the various phone producers' decision to have hordes of different charger models quite distasteful. Sure, they could use an additional source of income, but it was utterly wasteful from an ecological point of view, very unfriendly from the user's point of view ...and I'm not sure how profitable it really was, if the companies actually agreed to this change.

I wonder if the provided dates will be maintained. At least I hope that my next phone will be able to use one of these universal chargers. In case the link to the article doesn't work, here's the most important piece of the news:

The GSM Association and 17 leading mobile operators and manufacturers today (note: 02/17/2009) announced that they are committed to implementing a cross-industry standard for a universal charger for new mobile phones. The aim of the initiative, led by the GSMA, is to ensure that the mobile industry adopts a common format for mobile phone charger connections and energy-efficient chargers resulting in an estimated 50% reduction in standby energy consumption, the potential elimination of up to 51 thousand tonnes of duplicate chargers and the enhancement of the customer experience by simplifying the charging of mobile phones.

The group has set an ambitious target that by 2012 a universal charging solution (UCS) will be widely available in the market worldwide and will use micro-USB as the common universal charging interface. The group agreed that by the 1^st January 2012, the majority of all new mobile phone models available will support a universal charging connector and the majority of chargers shipped will meet the high efficiency targets set out by the OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform), the industry body who developed the technical requirements behind UCS.

A universal charger will make life much simpler for the consumer, who will be able to use the same charger for future handsets, as well as being able to charge their mobile phone anywhere from any available charger.

First post

2009-03-16T14:09:00.000+02:00

So it begins... march 16th 2009.
...yet again, a blog.