I just noticed that Rachel Lucas had a post up about her boyfriend Rupert's dad, Joe. Looks like Joe had a nasty collision while riding his motorcycle. For those of you who pray, please add Joe to your prayer list. And if you're not the prayin' kind, at least send along your well wishes. All will be greatly appreciated.

Update: More here.

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Over at HowToForge, Falko Timme has created the installation steps required to replace Windows with Linux using Kubuntu 8.04. Excerpt:

This tutorial shows how you can set up a Kubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge. Kubuntu 8.04 LTS is derived from Ubuntu 8.04 LTS and uses the KDE desktop instead of the GNOME desktop.

I want to say first that this is not the only way of setting up such a system. There are many ways of achieving this goal but this is the way I take. I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!

He goes through the all of the steps necessary to get you going on your replacement for the Worlds Biggest Virus™.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:55 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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From the fertile mind of Jerry Pournelle comes this essay. Or rather, I should say "comes again", since he first wrote it back in 1988. Anyway, excerpt:

"I wouldn't know anything about politics," my friend said the other day. "I'm only an engineer."

He happens to be a very good engineer, but he named his profession as if he were ashamed of it. I see this a lot. The social scientists are automatically assumed to know more about society and politics than the hard scientists--even when the subject matter is something like nuclear power.

I wouldn't be so sure.
...
You can prove anything if you make up your data. You can prove nearly anything if you are allowed to select your evidence and forget embarrassing facts.

The social sciences have made an art of forgetting embarrassing facts. If a fact doesn't fit the theory, leave the fact for another discipline. Sociology has nothing to learn from anthropology, which has nothing to learn from social psychology. None of these has anything to learn from the mathematics, physics, or chemistry departments.

The solution to C. P. Snow's dilemma seems clear. Scientists must learn something of the humanities. That, I think, is done rather more often than not. Scientists do read books. I have met the maniac scientist bent on discovery no matter the harm far more often in literature than in the laboratory.

Secondly, the humanists must learn something of science. This is less common, but it does happen. It isn't necessary that the humanist become a scientist, or even learn how to do science; it is necessary that he learn the principles of scientific reasoning.

I would be far more willing to believe that the two cultures could coexist, however, were it not for the contamination of the "social sciences," which pose as sciences to the humanists, and humanities to the scientists, but which are not in fact much good as either. The poet who believes he knows something of science having taken "Sosh 103" and "Ed Stat" is far more dangerous than ever he would have been if he had remained ignorant.

Meanwhile, novelists have as much right to be called "experts" on human behavior as any social scientist, which is to say we can learn as much about our fellow humans from a good novel as from a sociological treatise; and I know which I would rather read. Similarly, the poet may find beauty in the theory of probability, and will learn something of the difference between data and evidence while studying it; "Stat for Social Scientists" teaches nothing, and is dull in the bargain.

When the social scientists are challenged as unscientific, their usual plea is that their subject matter is very complex and thus the methodology of physical science won't work. This is an interesting argument, but it would carry more weight if students of social science knew something of physical science's methodologies. Granted that the "social sciences" have an intrinsically more difficult job; is this any reason to abandon the tools of science?

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Orson Scott Card has a pretty good editorial up about the beliefs that motivate Black Racist Jesus:

more...

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Received via email. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.
=================================================

A thief in Paris planned to steal some paintings from the Louvre.

After careful planning, he got past security, stole the paintings, and made it safely to his van.

However, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of gas.

When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error, he replied,

more...

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Imagine this discussion:

"Gee, I really miss that lighthouse."

::driving down the road with a friend::

"Hey, look at the lighthouse. It looks exactly like the one that was torn down. "

"Yeah, that's interesting. Anyway, as I was saying, I really miss that old lighthouse..."

Okay, I realize that Cape Cod and California are on different coasts, but I'm still trying to figure out how this could have happened.

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Over at Free Geekery is a post containing ways to get free stuff online. For those of you frugal (cheap) individuals, it's definitely worth checking out. Here are some samples:

23. SourceForge: Open source software is all the rage these days with even non-tech savvy people embracing Linux operating systems like Ubuntu. Download open source programs, the majority of which are free or reasonably priced, to your heart’s content with the Web’s “largest open source software development website.”
...
40. Berklee Shares: If youÂ’ve always wanted to learn to play the guitar or keyboard, or a variety of other instruments, this site could be your chance to do so for free. Just download the lessons and you can start learning on your own and with no out of pocket expense.
...
45. Ear Training Software: For the less musically inclined, understanding pitch and being able to play things by ear is a daunting challenge. These free and open source programs can help build your skills without you having to pay for expensive software or numerous lessons.

Lots more for your reading pleasure.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:54 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Leanna Elizalde has had two surgeries for cancer. Also, she's undergone weeks of radiation treatment to help her, you know, live. Consequently, and understandably, she's fallen a bit behind in her studies and needs to take one more English class during summer school to earn her high school diploma. However, she'd like to walk with her classmates/friends during graduation ceremonies. No big deal, right? After all, a lot of colleges do that. My alma mater, VCU, would allow students within a certain- small- number of credits to participate in graduation ceremonies. Although no degree or diploma is awarded until completion of the remaining coursework, students got to enjoy wearing the cap and gown and just generally having a good time. Apparently, the dickheads at Leanna's high school just can't bring themselves to allow such a thing. I'd certainly understand the school's position if Leanna was simply a lazy student who had fallen behind due to lack of effort. But right now it looks like the school is punishing her for the inconvenience of not dying.

Elizalde's doctor, UC Davis Professor of Clinical Surgery, Robert Canter has written to the school to ask them to reconsider their decision, saying, "I strongly believe that (Leanna) should be allowed to participate in her graduation ceremony, and I think that refusal to do so would be construed as a punitive action unbefitting a pediatric cancer patient."

I guess that it's a good thing Leanna's doctor isn't an officious prick like the school principal or she might not even be in the news right now.

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A few years ago, I bought a router on sale for around $40: the Linksys WRT54G v6. It worked fine until recently when I built a computer for my kids. The router is in one corner of the house upstairs. The new computer was downstairs in the opposite corner, essentially diagonally across the the 3-D rectangular cube that is my house. Consequently, the wireless signal kept dropping on me, which was quite frustrating to my children and me. So I started looking for ways to make the signal stronger. I stumbled across WW-DRT:

DD-WRT is a third party developed firmware released under the terms of the GPL for many ieee802.11a/b/g/h/n wireless routers based on a Broadcom or Atheros chip reference design.

What happens is that you replace the firmware that came with your router and upgrade it to a Linux control platform. Sounded good to me so I check to see if my device was supported. It was, with some caveats:

In all later references we'll call these models "neutered". Why? Because they've had some crucial functionality removed by their reduced RAM and reduced flash memory.
[edit] Linksys WRT54G Neutered Models

Version 5.0 Serial number begins with: CDFB
Version 5.1 Serial number begins with: CDFC
Version 6.0 Serial number begins wtih: CDFD
[edit] Linksys WRT54GS Neutered Models

Version 5.0 Serial number begins with: CGN7
Version 5.1 Serial number begins with: CGN8
Version 6.0 Serial number begins with: CGN9

For more complete information on hardware revisions, visit Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrt54g#Hardware_revisions

On the neutered models listed above, Linksys reduced the flash memory and the RAM compared to previous versions of these models, thus the term "neutered". DD-WRT Micro is one of the only 3rd party firmwares available for these models. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FLASH ONE OF THESE WITH DD-WRT mini. Having said that, if you have one of these neutered models, you'd still be much better off selling it and getting something else that is a supported device.

Looked like selling it was out of the question, so I said what the heck and proceeded with the specific installation instructions found here.

The instructions are pretty simple and worked well, but I have a couple of comments to make so I'll reprint them here:

If you have a WRT54G Version 5 or 6...

1. Download linux_prep_wrt54g.bin

2. Go into 192.168.1.1, click "Administration". Go to "Firmware Upgrade", and select the linux_prep_wrt54g.bin file. (see here for help) Click Apply and wait a few minutes. After you're screen turns white, power cycle the router.

3. Download linux_upgrade_wrt54g.bin

4. Go back to 192.168.1.1. You are now in Management Mode. Select the linux_upgrade_wrt54g.bin file and upgrade.

5. Again, power cycle the router. When restarted, the Power LED should be flashing.

6. Download tftp.exe

7. Download dd-wrt.v23_micro_generic.bin

8. Open the TFTP client (Enter IP: 192.168.1.245 or 192.168.1.1) and upload "dd-wrt.v23.micro_generic.bin"

9. The router should restart. Wait a moment and than go to 192.168.1.1. If all went well, you should be running DD-WRT Micro.
10. Enjoy your new Linux router and have a Cold Beverage!

Be sure to check out the FAQ as your browser will likely lose its built in IP address. Follow the steps in the FAQ and you'll be fine, with one exception:

I Can't Connect to the Router!
You've simply lost your IP address. You need to manually set these values.
Windows XP:
Control Panel>
Network Connections>
Right Click > Local Area Connection>
Scroll > Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)>
Properties>
Select > Use the following IP Address:>
IP: 192.168.1.99
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1

I recommend using IP 192.168.1.101 instead. I had problems with the "99" at the end; I don't know why. Anyway, some additions to the 10 steps above:

2) ...After you're screen turns white, power cycle the router

What happens using IE [***warning: do not use Firefox to do this upgrade***] is that the upgrade progresses and then the browser moves to a "page not found" sort of page, which is a white page with text. "Power cycling" means unplugging the router and then plugging it back in a few seconds later. CLOSE THE BROWSER, reopen and go to 192.168.1.1 to see the Management Mode screen.

8. Open the TFTP client (Enter IP: 192.168.1.245 or 192.168.1.1) and upload "dd-wrt.v23.micro_generic.bin"

If the micro_generic.bin fails to load on 3 tries, be sure to follow the steps listed in the FAQ to reset the IP address of your router.

9. The router should restart.

The router didn't restart for me and I waited a few minutes for it to happen. Eventually, I power cycled it and reopened IE, typed in 192.168.1.1 and lo and behold I saw the DD-WRT router configuration screen. YAY!

Final steps:

1) You will have to rename your router's SSID as it's been returned to default values.

2) Re-enable your WEP or WPA keys that wireless computers in your household are using so that nothing will have to be changed on their ends.

3) Go to Wireless--> Advanced settings and look for the Xmit power. The factory default is 28 mW. In theory, you can go over 250 mW, but it's like overclocking your PC's CPU: you'll fry it pretty quickly. I boosted the output signal to 70 then 90 mW to get the output I needed for the computer downstairs. My work was done.

For those of you hardcore gamers or downloading demons, you can also set up priorities for actions, software and computers (I'm not certain about the last one) to make your wireless network work how you want it to. As for me, I simply got more and better use out of my crappy little RAM-challenged router, which saves me the money for a new, more powerful one. If my tweak ends up shortening the life a little, so be it. I've gotten 2-3 years out of it already so I'll come out ahead.

WARNING!!! The actions you take might brick your router. There are numerous methods listed to unbrick them, but it's possible that you might have to run down to the computer store to buy a new one. Just an FYI, so don't blame me if it fails.
My update worked fine, but YMMV.

Good luck and happy routing.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 09:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Gerard Van Der Leun types a post - and a recipe-that brings back memories for me. Memories of pies cooling on the windowsill, or licking the bowl after the dough/batter had been used to make its special creation. Ahh. In fact, eating those tasty treats is what encouraged me to learn how to cook. After all, my mother typically worked 2-3 jobs to keep a roof over our heads; someone had to bake the sweets because it sure as shootin' wasn't going to be her.

Anyway. My mother is still thankfully alive and well and living in Paris with Jaques Brel nearby. However, I surpassed her baking skills years ago, so I'm the one who typically makes the cookies. But I invite my mother over to share one or three with me. It seems like the right thing to do. If you'd like to share such a moment with your mother, father, or someone else close to you, and you've never tried to make cookies before, give Gerard's mother's recipe a try. I'm sure that that special someone will appreciate it. So will you.

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Make that bodies. Bikini clad, scifi starlets showing off their figures. Me likey. A lot.

I'll preempt Harvey here. ::hands Tricia a sandwich::

One final thought: over at Rachel Lucas' site, the lovely and talented blogmistress said this:

...and I had a serious problem with the idea that Apollo would ever find Starbuck sexually appealing.

Really? Ever? I present to you the following photographic evidence of why I, a person who dislikes coffee intensely, lust after Starbuck. In my heart, of course, much like our former bunny-chased president, only without all the anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism. more...

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Or maybe not

Looks like the Goreacle and his disciples are ready to punish the apostates who refuse to worship at their church. Maybe punish isn't the right word, though. Perhaps I should have said run around shrieking like whiny children who aren't getting their way. From Joe's Blog:

The global warmers are becoming increasingly desperate to prop up their failing prophesy in every way possible. Behaving just as Leon Festinger predicted in When Prophecies Fail. As the earth shows no net warming in a decade and cooling into its 7th year, as new models suggest cooling may continue because of natural ocean cycles, as the sun stays quiet now 12 years since the last solar minimum, usually a signal of cooling, as more and more peer review calls into question the importance of CO2 and of the the accuracy of the models and the entire greenhouse theory because of the failure of fingerprinting, the alarmists begin a frantic effort to save their failing theory. You see so many have won the lottery and want to ensure the annuity checks keep coming.

As we indicated in an earlier blog, they are now busy reinventing old data. NASA and NOAA continually revises old data and makes gross assumptions that always result in more warming. The old reliable radiosonde weather balloon data gets challenged because it (and the satellite derived data) do not show the warming the models and theory predict for the high tropical atmophere. A legitimate scientist would trust the data and assume the models are in error (as models so often are) but to these agenda driven alarmists, the models must be right and the data wrong.

This is science? My degrees must be worthless because this in no way resembles what I was taught.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:35 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Congratulations to Cassy Fiano, as she will join the Stop the ACLU blogging team.

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Okay, everyone, get ready for Carbon Belch Day.

June 12 looks like a good day for a cookout. For the entire neighborhood.

Update: I see that Ace has some of the same reading habits that I do.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:19 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Assuming you've moved onto Linux, you're probably complaining a bit about the dearth of games to play. Oh sure, you've waded into Wine territory to discover the 57 convoluted steps that, if taken properly while holding your breath and rubbing your stomach, will allow you to play a Windows game from within Linux. However, assuming that you'd like to play some native to Linux games, here's a list of 42 such games for your consideration:

To demonstrate the level of sophistication available, we have put together a list of 42 high quality Linux games that all have the virtue of being free to play. To ensure that there is something of interest here for every type of gamer, we have covered a wide variety of computer game genres, including the ever popular First Person Shooters (FPS), Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG), as well as arcade games, board/puzzle games and more.

To be eligible for inclusion in this list each game needed to meet the following requirements:

• Free to play (no download charge, no monthly charge)
  
• Does not require Wine to run. Wine is a compatibility layer for running Windows software.
  
• Not in the early stages of development
  

The only sort of exception we made was to include the game OpenTTD, a personal favorite which we could not see miss the list. OpenTTD needs the MS Windows or DOS version of Transport Tycoon Deluxe. But assuming you already have the game, OpenTTD lets you play it for free natively under Linux.

Our three requirements automatically excluded a whole raft of high quality games that run under Linux. There are a collection of titles where a no-charge client is available for download, but where the game requires a small monthly subscription to play online. Notables examples of games which fall into this category include EVE (a massive multiplayer online game set in a science-fiction based world), Vendetta (a massively multiplayer online role-playing game), and Savage 2 (a fantasy and science-fiction themed game that combines elements of the first-person shooter, real-time strategy, and action role-playing game genres). Subscription based Linux games will be covered in a future article.

Wine has reached a level of maturity that it lets you play a wide range of commercial Windows games. This enables gamers to enjoy classics such as World of Warcraft, the king of the Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (which has over 11 million subscribers), Half-Life 2, Silkroad Online, Planescape, Day of Defeat: Source Steam, Call of Duty 2 etc etc. We'll also cover the world that Wine opens up in a separate article together with commercial native Linux games too.

Anyway, I'll let you check out the list for yourself. If by chance you don't play computer games because they're silly and juvenile, let me state for the record that I pity you. Sure, I didn't know the touch of a woman growing up, but I did figure out to get by the damned Green Dragon in Adventure:

Kill dragon.

With what? You bare hands?

Yes.

Congratulations. You've just killed a fierce green dragon with your bare hands. Amazing, isn't it?

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:00 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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If you're interested in such things, you might want to check out the website Beer Suggest. From their "About" page:

Beer Suggest is a niche community for beer lovers. The goal of Beer Suggest is to provide the most informative beer site on the net. This is a quite a hefty task, which is why we look to you, the user to help build this website.

Beer Suggest compiles beer reviews, brewery info and a list of beer related events. You might want to check it out. Register for free and start rating/reviewing your favorite brews.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:25 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I see that Jonathan Hawkins has finally decided that, tartar sauce or no tartar sauce, he won't be voting for the shit sandwich Republicans this year, embodied, of course, by the one and only John McCain.

I think it's sweet that he believed McCain on the comprehensive piece of shit "secure the borders first" promise, but I'm glad that he woke up before the election.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 05:26 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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From Linux Opinion comes this little Point-Counterpoint (Jane, you ignorant slut!):

There are two opposing ways to see Linux, and both are true.

The Negative View:

• Linux has lots of geeky technical issues.
  
• Linux geeks are having fun. They don't care about us.
  
• Freedom is next to Godliness - let chaos reign!
  
• Documentation is boring and only for wimps.
  
• Linux is for the high priests and Windows is for the masses.
  
• Linux has thousands of great projects - and no management.
  
• Linux market share is 1%.
  

The Positive View:

• Linux is a fine operating system with a rich set of capable applications.
  
• All this is completely free and can be modified as you please.
  
• The geek community understands the problems and is rapidly improving.
  
• Ubuntu is the new 600 pound gorilla and is setting standards.
  
• Major PC vendors are starting to offer pre-installed Linux (Dell, WallMart).
  
• Microsoft: quality, security and ethics issues are sending users to Linux (and Mac).
  
• Linux market share has doubled in the last year.
  

I think that the Negative list is missing an item:

• Linux geeks may never know the touch of a woman
  

Then again, that might just be me.

Update: Yep, it's just me.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:52 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Via Hot Air comes this court ruling: "U.S. currency is discriminatory towards the blind."

Wow. No one saw that coming.

I can't say that I'm surprised. Ever since I saw Braille drive-up ATMs, I've known that common sense and reason had decided to take a permanent vacation. Also, since websites have been sued under this stupid fucking vague-ass on purpose law for not being blind accessible, I've merely been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Update: Via Gabriel Major comes this link to Hans Bader. Money quote:

The appeals court wrongly gave short shrift to the burden imposed on third parties, suggesting that it did not even need to be considered, even though other federal court rulings recognize that an institution is not required to accommodate a disability or religious practice if doing so would unduly burden third parties. ...As Judge Randolph noted in dissent, “There are approximately 7,000,000 food and beverage vending machines in the United States; by one estimate, it would cost $3.5 billion to retool or replace these machines.”

I'm gonna sue the estate of Gary Gygax for making me like Kryptonite to women. D&D is discriminatory against social misfits and losers because, well, I'll simply ask the clowns in the 9th Circuit to make up some shit for me. It's what they do and they're good at it.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:28 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Via Ken and CalTech Girl comes a quiz on which, pathetically, I scored 100%. I'll admit that there were two skin diseases I wasn't sure about, but I knew for a fact that they weren't D&D monsters. Anyway, here is the result in all of its pathetic glory:

Cal Tech Girl has nothing to be ashamed of because gaming girls, while rare, were a much sought commodity among us basement dwellers. For the record though, I don't quite believe Ken when he says that he knows "doodly" about D&D.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:50 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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