white noise » Technology

Running with the big dogs …

Diann — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:55:20 +0000

I am at once awed and spooked by Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robot, BigDog. If one looks past the fact that it sounds like a thousand steroid-popping hornets and walks — for the most part — like two drunken college students, one sees the unlimited possibilities of technology such as this. I find BigDog’s ability to compensate, both on ice and when shoved, eerie in depth and magnitude as I find myself thinking, That is a MACHINE. As far as animals go, it’s a mess; the anatomy is just so wrong. The front legs are backwards, giving it a deer/flea hybrid sort of appearance, which in itself is creepy. Nor does it help that the thing is headless. Still, the technology amazes me.

Test Driving Mailman, take two

Diann — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:23:35 +0000

Oooh, lookit: Lists @ Everwild

Creating discussion lists is a lot easier on DreamHost. It’s still Mailman, which I used on LeHost, but set-up with DH was point-n-click, no guesswork at all. I started a Little Art Club, now I might have to start a Little Geek Club and perhaps a Little Poetry Club!

Who Invented the Trackback?

Diann — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:21:17 +0000

I’d like to kick his or her ass as a thank you for all the spam it generates. Rawr!

Moving to Linux

Diann — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 17:01:19 +0000

Well, the day has finally arrived. I have fancy new Dell Dimension E521 with an AMD dual core processor and Windows XP Home edition included. I started with Kubuntu on my laptop about 4 months ago and although I have a looooong way to go, I feel confident enough to call it my default OS. It’s a start. I’ll keep XP Home on the new desktop as long as it’s supported and possibly longer. However, because I find Microsoft’s philosophy and business practices truly abhorrent any more, I can’t say I’m willing to buy another Windows OS. If I can’t make it on Linux, I’ll buy a friggin Mac.

I’ve also found OpenOffice.org to be a delightful replacement for the Microsoft Office suite. Unlike changing operating systems, replacing MS Office with OpenOffice.org is fairly simple. There are subtle changes to some features, but otherwise, they’re very similar in look and feel. Again, instead of paying $200 to $500 for software you can’t use how you wish, you can help support projects like OOo with donations or your time. That time you give may be as simple as letting your friends and family know it’s a great program and that they should try it. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool!

Yes, I’d like everyone to abandon Microsoft. You know the addage: Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. There are alternatives to surrendering the freedom to choose. Some are more difficult than others. We didn’t like what the Republicans have been up to and so we let them know by voting in the Democrats. David beat Goliath.

We could win, too.

alterations

Diann — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:37:22 +0000

Hmmm. Yes, I’m quite pleased with the new blog theme. I had to translate the Bulgarian stuff out and add the search (which I borrowed from the WordPress classic theme).

Also, check out the pretty rainbow graphic Jon modified for me. I’m a gimp when it comes to Photoshop, but I’m learning how to be a graphics designer, too (albeit slowly). Big, thankful smooches to my sweety for all the help!

Geeking up a Storm

Diann — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 04:02:23 +0000

Ooooh yeah. Check out my homepage for Everwild. I’m not completely satisfied with the layout, but I finally fixed it for liquid css layout AND for content-first accessibility (which pickles me tink). I still have a long way to go before I really understand how to manipulate the layout with divs, but I learned a lot from this excursion into the wild unknowns.

In other news, Jon turned me on to Notepad++ and if you’re determined (like me) to code css, php, or html in a text editor, you reallyreallyREALLY need to try this one. It’s the cat’s meow! And I do mean meow! I’ve only been using it for the last four days, but I just adore it. The syntax highlighting makes flow so easy to follow and while the option for preferences is a bit obscure, you can choose your own colors.

(Jon says I need to thank Ron for pointing us to this little gem of a proggie, so thanks Ron!)

Geekin!

Diann — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 21:54:35 +0000

I have a new project and I’m so excited I canna stand it! I get to GEEK! *squirm* Oooh, Marni’s SO gonna need a short leash now. lol

She’s coordinating a Teen Writers’ Group and I volunteered to put the website together and POOF, I get to put together the website now. *bounce* I get to put all my leet newbie skills into action. Look out world, I am the itty bitty geek, hear me roar.

WOOF!

okay, fooocus. ‘Nuff said. For now.