random($foo) is the occassionally still updated blog of Leonard Lin. My pics are on Flickr, code is on Github. @lhl on Twitter. More »
Simon just put up an article on Rounded Corners with CSS and JavaScript that’s very similar to a round corner technique I was playing around with last summer.
List of rounded corner techniques: How do I get rounded corners on my box/DIV using CSS and no tables?.
HT03 Complete List of Papers – I was going to submit a short paper for HT04, but am short of time. If I get started now, I should have something ready for next year. It may be good to start writing out more of my thoughts/ideas in short paper formats.
Perl variable funkiness: default package scoping ($main::, $::) doesn’t play nice w/ strict (‘vars’). Lexically scoped variables don’t cross files, even if they should be within the same block (ie, if you use require() — doesn’t work the same as includes in PHP). This took longer than it should have to figure out what was going on. I’ve gotten too used to sane languages. 😉
We only need to keep Saddam in power for a few years — till the rest of the world’s oil production “peaks” … It seems reasonable to assume that global production will soon be unable to keep up with surging worldwide demand, and that global oil production must peak by the year 2005.
SPECULATION
Once global oil peaks, and we NEED to start pumping Saddam’s oil, I expect Americans to invade and OCCUPY Iraq … Obviously, once oil production peaks in a couple of years, the public will throw their total support behind an invasion of Iraq. There is simply no other way we can guarantee access to the oil patch.
Over the weekend, I read Connie Willis’ 1992 novel Doomsday Book, which won both a Hugo and Nebula award. Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t worth reading, and it did keep me up, but it did have me flipping to front flap to check the copyright date. I wasn’t bothered by the thin explanation of the time-travelling device (the novel traces the parallel stories of a historian sent back to the middle ages and the near future from whence she came), but I was surprised how many of the obstacles were based on miscommunication contrivances that seem enormously obtuse today (phone lines being jammed, phones themselves being in short supply, phone messages being taken and lost, etc.). I’ve read a lot of older sci-fi and I’m not usually bothered by anachronisms, but it really is mind-bending that even as late as a decade ago, there was still a class of people that viewed our future as not being completely connected at all times (no mobile phones, pagers, answering machines, laptops/PDAs, Internet of any sort — well, some of it I can understand, some of that just seems lazy). In comparison: True Names (1981), Neuromancer (1984), Snow Crash (1992)
A lot of annoying (read: dumb) characters and plotting, false tensions, not-funny diversions, and regularly belabored/melodramatic/repetitive (there shouldn’t be a single plot “twist” you don’t see coming at least a dozen or more pages in advance once you get that yes, it is this obvious). Actually, I shouldn’t start critiquing because I think I could keep going on, but I do think it was worth reading, if only for the line of thoughts it sets your mind on. (apparently, the historical aspects were fairly well researched, as well) Umm, yeah, so this won a Hugo and a Nebula? I guess looking back on this after writing this… well, it’s no Dune, that’s for sure.
Snow Patrol (AMG) was in town a few weeks ago and recorded a Morning Becomes Eclectic session that I caught the other day. Their new album, Final Straw is amazingly catchy, with addictively crunchy chords; an interesting cross of indie electronic/britpop with a strong (pleasantly nostalgic) indie/altrock sound.
Here’s a song that sounds sorta like a Notwist/Sebadoh cross:
Does anyone know of a lightweight system for publishing/distributing free software? My requirements are basically a simple way to post/list/link summary, release information and docs for a bunch of software projects (task tracking integration might be good, but not necessary). GForge should work in theory, but it has a kajillion dependencies. Trying to apt-get it threatened to destroy my debian box. any suggestions?
Possible projects:
Related links:
If I put it on my to-write list. Requirements:
Hmm, this wouldn’t really take long to do if need be. It’s pretty generic too except for the CVS (and eventually issue tracking) integration. Eventually could be generalized. [xref w/ clearinghouse, kb]
Pimp Juice – hmm, I’m going to have to track down a can of this. The number of energy drinks in the market is truly astounding. So far, the only energy drink I’ve found to be better than Red Bull is SoBe Adrenaline Rush.
The past few weeks I’ve been cutting that all out along w/ trying to get back to a regular sleeping/eating schedule. It’s one of those post-school “getting back to being somewhat healthy” things. The other day I had one of my coworkers pluck out a rather obnoxious white hair. Turned out that the root part of it was black, so I’m assuming the destressing is working.
I have this great hope that things are going to change. I want to make sure if I do nothing else for the rest of this year that those who died in Iraq have not died in vain.