I figured i’d look for a decent screensaver to run on the new HP Proliant ML110 that’s sitting under my desk, and ended up doing this.
I know i know, but i couldn’t resist! Who doesn’t love The Matrix screensavers?
I’ve stuck on this meagre little desk till i can find a better replacement, so i may as well have some fun!
Also on the desk:
a 16GB ipod touch, a sony ericsson k850i, a nintendo ds lite, painkillers, vitamins, juggling bags, a WD 500GB external drive, an 8GB flash drive, an ipod dock, my wallet, and the macbook pro is sitting on this book.
Archive for the ‘Meatspace’
late 90′s geekery
Tuesdays: A Case Study
My life is, for want of a less cliché word in the world of IT, dynamic.
A couple of Tuesdays ago i had to go to hospital in the morning for a seminar on “Pain Management”. I say “seminar”… only two people turned up for it. A few junior physiotherapists sat in just to make up the numbers – depressing. It was reasonable, mostly stuff i knew but a couple of interesting concepts.
After the seminar i jumped on a couple of trains, carried some bags for an English girl on her way back to university, and made it to work by lunch time.
After work i jumped on another train destined for Edinburgh, for my evening at Dorkbot.
Slumberland was calling through the dymanic stylings of drum and bass as we approached Haymarket station. As usual i considered the local sushi restaurant, and how infrequently i can sample it’s culinary delights.
“One of these days i need to go to Sushiya before i go to Dorkbot… But i’ll never have enough time… Actually i’ve got an hour… Ah, screw it!”
So yeah, i jumped off the train and headed up to Sushiya.
Inside i found just one person. Another English girl. Sushiya is about the same size as a Kinder Surprise so we ended up sitting at tables next to each other. Her American boyfriend turned up and we ended up talking about Coen brothers movies and I Am Legend after he accidentally fired an edamame bean at my chest. Yes, odd i know.
After Sushiya i ventured off into Edinburgh to discover the hardest rain i’ve experienced there in a long time. But, being the utter imbecile that i am, i decided to put my hood up and walk rather than jumping in a taxi. About half way to Dorkbot i stood on a lose paving slab and splashed about 15 litres of rain water all over my light denim jeans – that was awesome..
As usual i was the first person to turn up for dorkbot, and after about five minutes sitting quietly i found myself in the middle of a staff meeting for the cafe / community centre / hippy den we meet up in. After a while spent listening to people debate the prices of falafel and nachos my fellow geeks turned up and we got on with some projects. The most exciting being awakening a RROD’d xbox 360.
To test the 360 i went searching for a television. The search was led by a most excellent fellow called Gandalf. It was a perilous journey. It actually happened.
We could not believe it when the xbox actually booted. It had been stripped down with an ill fitting screwdriver and brute force, some of the parts had been mislaid, and was repaired using some old thermal paste and some internet-sourced bolts. But it yielded to our geekery and booted fully. Woo.
After a while discussing sterling engines and rack mounted synthesisers in the pub i caught the train home. An exciting evening completed.
Lets contrast this whole day again last tuesday.
Our server at work completely exploded.
Our backups completely exploded.
Half of the staff completely exploded. Well.. Maybe it was just my brain exploding.
I spent most of the day screaming on the phone to clueless tech support, or crying in the corner because my worst nightmare had just occurred.
It was pretty much the worst day at work i have ever experienced.. And to make things worse, i got home without the energy to play with these:
So, yeah. Tuesdays are strange.
Tags: dorkbot, hardware, lego, problems, stress, tuesdaysHiding
In my entire life there have only been two people who have properly hurt me.
A lot of people have caused damage, upset me, made me angry, or disappointed me.. But i’m talking about real, significant, lasting pain. The kind of pain you can’t just leave to evaporate, this pain needs proactive work to shed.
The latter of those two is a person who gave up on me, just gave up and walked away.
I never heard from that person again, and for all i knew death had occurred. Of course i could’ve found out, but i didn’t. I didn’t really want to face it, better to have a shield of uncertainty +3 to protect me, and it has.
Till about ten minutes ago, when i saw a familiar name arrive in the top left corner of my monitor. Just text on a screen. Just 13 point antialiased LucidaGrand. Just pixels on a screen that caused my jaw to drop a little, the way you read about in books but never truly believe happens in real life. By the time i could mouse over my hidden contact list window, that name was gone.
Not dead. Just hiding.
And that kind of sucks because really, i’m not that scary.
Tags: friend, meHow bad was my day, let me count the ways…
Today was supposed to be a quiet day. Instead..
- I had a crazy headache which i could not shift. That’s the truth most days, but today was unusually bad – and that’s saying something.
- I had a cabling nightmare on my desk, so i kept knocking things over.
- I went to get myself a new phone and found out that the o2 shop salesman had told me something untrue. I couldn’t upgrade my tariff online and then pick up my free phone, i could however buy a phone i was supposed to get for free.
- I ordered my new free phone online, a week after i would’ve if the salesman had been honest with me.
- I found out my phone was out of stock.
- I tried to cancel my old gym membership, but was told i had to send it in writing and would still be charged for another month.
- I tried to buy some t-shirts from threadless.com but realised i had to activate my new credit card first.
- I ended up taking out card protection for the aforementioned credit card, which was a smart idea but even more outgoing cash.
- I realised that i have two or three preorders coming into fruition this month, which is even more money.
- I preordered Leopard which is superb but cost more than i thought it would.
- My new Skullcandy headphones turned up – but they weren’t the way i expected them to look.
- I got abandoned for lunch, again, so i ended up getting really lousy food – which i can still kind of taste, and is still kind of making me feel sick.
So yeah. It’s not been great. My head still hurts.
Edit:
Just incase today wasn’t bad enough.. I just bit my lip really badly, blood and everything. Go me!
Tags: blood, headache, leopard, me, osx, phone, rantDoor to door disaster
It’s not common for people to call at my house. I don’t get many unexpected visitors and it’s too small a town for most salespeople. However, every once in a while one does show up.
I answer the door to find a woman wrapped in one of those corporate branded outdoor shellsuit jackets, the ones that look like they would burst into flames if you walked past a radiator. She was trying to sell some kind of house exterior work, i didn’t catch the specifics and that’s no big loss.
She tells me that the company is doing some work nearby, and asks if i’m interested in a quotation. I’m body language go away but say i’ll take a leaflet. She umms and ahhs, then explains that it would be a better idea to phone me with a quote. At this stage i want rid of her, so i just say okay.
She asks for a name, and i repeat one a few times before she gets it right. By the fourth iteration i’m just flat out laughing at her, not in a cruel way.. it just didn’t seem to be working out. After the name she asks for my address.. Hang on a second.. “My address? You came to my house! Surely you know it!“, she replies that she’s just canvassing the street, and didn’t notice the number.. “It’s right there, in big black numbers” i say, pointing at the sign next to the door. She writes down the number, and then asks what street. My laughter has not subsided.. “Are you joking? You came down the street! You said you’re doing work nearby!“.
After pointing out the street name signs sitting not far away and explaining that i’m not going to give her a contact telephone number, she leaves… she leaves me with a terrible impression of her company.
I’m of the belief that if i do want work carried out, i’ll do the groundwork myself. Find a company, look for positive reviews, ask around, whatever. I’m hardly going to have structural work done to my house just because of a random salesperson standing at the door. Consulting a pile of leaflets is what i do when i want to pick which takeaway i’ll order dinner from, not when i’m looking to spend thousands of pounds.
If you’re going to cold call people in person, why not try something like this:
Hi, I’m from Acme Building Company. We’re doing some work for one of your neighbours. It’s our policy to inform all the nearby residents just incase you have any questions, and to make you aware of the building work going on. What we’re going to be doing is [insert task here], it’ll take [insert timeframe here] and shouldn’t inconvenience you in any way. If you’d like i can give you our card which has a contact telephone number for any questions you might have.
That way you’re impressing people by treating them with a little bit of consideration.. and if those people decide to get some work done they might well call up “that nice lady who left her card”.
Tags: rant, salespersonGaming in the military
I watched an episode of the superb documentary series Future Weapons last night, which was showcasing some technology from the American Military’s Future Combat Systems program.
The whole series is really just an extension of the Shock and Awe principal, also known as Rapid Dominance (which, by the way, has a lot of parallels with my own personality). Showing technology to the masses is an obvious show of strength, it increases Americans faith in their military and instils fear in the enemy – look how potent our weapons are!!.
Future Combat Systems is the “future of warfare”, basically stocking out the battlefield with “intelligent” systems which can communicate with each other. No reason why the battlefield shouldn’t also enjoy the advent of ubiquitous computing. Gamers especially will be familiar with elements of the FCS program, such as the currently cancelled/suspended Land Warrior concept. Which is basically a soldier jacked into an intelligent battlefield.
As i’ve discussed with some of you in the past, the military actively pursues gamers. Evidenced by the America’s Army video game, and the recruitment of young gamers as pilots. Young people who already manifest some of the basic skills and training necessary. Who clearly demonstrate the ambition and interest. But that’s really a given, i’m interested in a slight aside.
I read an article some time ago about the development of an automated weapon system. When soldiers were asked their opinions on a control method – they responded that they’d most prefer a console joypad. I can’t entirely remember which particular brand but i believe it was a dual shock pad.
It makes sense because it’s a control medium that they’re very familiar with. Both from experiences before joining the forces, and their barracks/backhome game time. Aiming a missile remotely with a video monitor? Sure! I’ve done that loads of times on my Xbox.
You can see from the screengrab that this is exactly what i observed being used by the military. Specifically it’s a wired Xbox 360 controller.
It’s being used to control an iRobot FCS SUGV. The SUGV is a reconnaissance robot, which is controlled remotely by a soldier (with a joypad, apparently) and used to explore and investigate locations that may be unsafe for the soldier and his group to enter. It’s a tracked vehicle with a camera platform that can be raised and lowered.
I wonder if they’ll still be using the 360 pad when it’s deployed in the field, or if it was simply being used as an early test. Although it’s a superb controller, i’d hardly call it rugged.
In the same episode they cover a vehicle called the Crusher which is an all terrain vehicle (for want of a stronger term). It too is controlled by a remote soldier, and also uses hardware familiar to the gamer.
A steering wheel, complete with pedals. Now that may well be a piece of bespoke hardware, i’m not familiar with steering wheel controllers, but the size and colour scheme say video game peripheral to me.
I can imagine that it’s difficult for the average Joe to wrap his head around controlling something that isn’t there. Using only a tiny screen for display, and relying on controls that always feel like there’s something missing (where’s the rest of the car gone??). But that’s everyday play to a gamer.
We’re used to taking a concept, and applying a physical control to it. Making a skateboarder move his feet by using the motion of a pair of small joysticks, or flying a plane using a few keys on a keyboard. For a gamer the relationship between physical action and desired result is a strong one, so no wonder the military wants us.
Now as soon as they apply the hack-and-slash game mechanic to real warfare, i’m in!
Tags: gamers, military, weapons, xboxPersonalities of blogging
My “return” to blogging has been a long time coming. But the concept has been plaguing my mind lately.
I consider blogs, in part, biographies of the less-than-famous. Written by people who are, generally speaking, out of the public eye. These people aren’t interviewed by journalists or featured in documentaries, so the way for the average Joe to learn about them is simply to read their own words. Read their blog.
One of the hard parts about having, lets say “unusual” interests is that it’s difficult to find people who share them with your, or people who are vaguely interested enough to listen when you go on and on about them. The internet makes this considerably easier. No matter what your interest are, you can inevitably find a community focussed on it if you look hard enough. Of course, this is also one of the ever present dangers of the internet, but that’s another story.
Having a blog, i think, is a good excuse to pretend you’ve found similarly focussed individuals. You know that google et al will pick up on the keywords you include, and will increase the flow of relevant traffic in your direction. You hope that this will bring in the like minded people, and you sit back waiting for them to contact you.
The problem is, if you primarily write for a desired (but potentially fictional) demographic, how do you also write for the people you know? The real life inhabitants of meatspace that read your blog because they know your domain name, or because they have your business card, or because they work with you.
As a human, or at least a close approximation, i act differently to the multitude of folks i meet and liaise with. To some people i’m Geeky, to others Weird, some might call me Emotional. Some people consider me a bit of a Joker, but a few people consider me Serious. Some know not that i won’t suffer their crap, but one or two know they can make fun of me without the risk of offence. To some i’m Philosophic, others think i’m simple minded and easily amused. I’ve been called Sociopathic, Relaxed, Aggressive, Cruel, Cold, Warm, Moody, Generous. Some people consider me some kind of Tech Support, to some people i’m their Emotional Tampon and others consider me Artistic. I’ve been called a Mans Man, and i’ve been called a Womaniser. I’ve even been called a lot worse than that!
I don’t know which of these are true and i don’t much care, but what i certainly do care about is the evident truth that people make their own judgements, and formulate their own opinions based on your differing actions.
The way i joke with my friend Shaun for example cannot translate into my friendly banter with Elliott, and vice versa. The effort i put into enunciation around English people is greater than it is around my fellow countrymen, especially those inhabitants of the armpit of Scotland that i call home. These changes in speaking style give me reason to second guess my writing style. Am i being too formal? Too informal? Too niche? Is my use of slang appropriate?
Too many people in my opinion, are guilty of trying to become the latest undiscovered writer. They write as if the world is reading, when the truth is it’s just a few random Googlers and your aunt Sarah. There’s no need to stress over your grammar and print out the blog post so you can proof read it later. The truth is that the people reading want to learn about you, and the person you are. They want to see shadows of you in the words you type.
Which brings me to my real concern. If everyone sees a different part of me, which parts to i let spill out onto my blog? Do i type this so Shaun appreciates it? Add some discussion about exciting death techniques or tell that i want to drill a small hole in his skull, tie a starving woodpecker to his nose and watch as it feasts on his living brain? Well i could do that, but the truth is that Shaun probably didn’t get much past the first paragraph, it’s not like i’m writing about southpaw video game controls or anything.
I know other people read my posts, i can tell because it taints our conversations. But they don’t comment. So should i write specifically for people whose only evidence of readership comes from Google Analytics and the scattered hint in conversation. Should i flavour my blog entries with things they’ll find familiar and comfortable? Perhaps i should leave them out of it entirely. Should my tone and attitude differ from post to post, suiting the subject matter?
It’s hard to formulate an opinion, and it’s somewhat scary to consider that friends of mine may find my writing unfamiliar, but on the other hand people that don’t know me may get a better impression of who i am.
Where’s the middle ground?
Tags: blogging, me, personality