Shamus discusses why Linux sucks as a personal computing environment. I agree with everything he says, though in the course of his post he does mention that Linux is more stable and more secure than Windows. Now, the fact that Linux is stable and secure is obviously not a matter of contention. However, the implication that windows is neither is one I take issue with.
Month: December 2006
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Word to the (un)Wiise
A victim of its own success, indeed: Nintendo has some advice:
Do not let go of the remote during game play. For example, in a game like Wii Sports bowling, the ball is thrown by simply releasing the B button on the remote, not by letting go of the remote! Hold the remote securely and avoid excessive motion during game play. If your hands become moist, stop and dry your hands. Excessive motion may cause you to let go of the remote and may break the wrist strap.
I fully expect Wiimote tossing to replace the discuss at the next Olympic games. In related news, WalMart had Wiis for about ten seconds this morning. I didn’t even try.
UPDATE:
[In] Wii Sports bowling, the ball is thrown by simply releasing the B Button on the remote, not by letting go of the remote!”
ROFLMAO
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Kino: life goes on (fansub)
I have finished the Kino series, and my overall thoughts are that it was a fascinating and evocative story. I wasn’t bothered by the episodic format and actually feel like I did come to know Hermes and Kino by journey’s end. I think that rewatchability in my case is probably high, especially given the near-mythic quality to some of the episodes (three men on a rail line comes to mind).
I also took Don’s and astro’s advice and watched the fansub of “Life Goes On”, a brief Kino story that fills part of the gap between “Land of Adults” and the rest of the series. In general, I agree with the concensus that the story was mediocre, though still essential.
Some thoughts on Life Goes on below the fold… (more…)
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There are those who believe that life here began out there
Thus went the opening narration to the original Battlestar Galactica TV series. Those words always sent a thrill down my spine – even though Star Trek was way cooler, Galactica was simply more epic, based on those simple words above. Later, in college I added an Astronomy major to my Physics and Math degrees (like shopping at K-Mart – buy two get one free – due to the coursework overlap) and learned in a nutshell that the entire Solar System was nothing more than “scum” waste product of supernova explosions, and that all the elements of which we and our planet were made were birthed in the cosmos. It turns out that the biosphere on earth is also “scum” from the formation of the earth, but that’s another story.
At any rate, it’s precisely the intrusion of the cosmically macroscopic into the mundane fact that we exist that has long fascinated me and captivated my imagination. Which is why this story really resonates with me – how the galactic baby boom influenced the origins of life on earth:
Some 2.4 billion years ago when the Milky Way started upping its star production, cosmic rays—high-speed atomic particles—started pouring onto our planet, causing instability within the living. Populations of bacteria and algae repeatedly soared and crashed in the oceans.
The researchers counted the amount of carbon-13 within sedimentary rocks, the most common rocks exposed on the Earth’s surface. When algae and bacteria were growing in the oceans, they took in carbon-12, so the ocean had an abundance of carbon-13.
Many sea creatures use carbon-13 to make their shells. If there is a lot of carbon-13 stored in rocks, it means life, the origin of which is still unknown, was booming. Therefore, variations in carbon-13 are a good indicator of the productivity of life on Earth.
The researchers found that the biggest fluctuation in productivity coincided with star formation, which had an affect on Earth’s climate and therefore on the productivity of life on our planet.
This sort of stuff really serves to cement my faith and underline how awesome, literally, is Creation.
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super-super-rational
There’s a new entry at SuperRational blog by new contributor (and genius brother-in-law) Sourat. He does the math.
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Wii indeed
Ars Technica has an extensive review of the Nintendo Wii
. According to Wiiseeker, various Wal-Mart and Target stores get a new shipment on Sunday (I am sure Toys R Us is getting shipments too, but buyer beware).
For that matter, player beware. Notice to couch potato gamers: the Nintendo Wii involves using muscles in your body other than your thumbs. This may result in unfamiliar strain. Fear not – there are safety instructions.