Building a 3 TB Backup Server Using FreeNAS.
July 6, 2008My computer videos are the most popular thing that I do online for fun. Here is my latest.
Friday Night Party Line Episode 30.
July 4, 2008Lisa Bettany (www.mostlylisa.com) is our special guest on FNPL! Ray, Viga and Thaed are the regulars in the lineup. Here are the topics:
–Esperanto related comments from the last show.
Does having children make you happy? Not all of us have kids yet, but this article (as found by Scott Rubin) seems pretty bleak. What do you think?
–According to this article, new software can quantify how many people are at a given place by identifying the number of cell phones present at a location by tying the information to GPS data. Thus, if a person wants to know where the crowd is on a given night, all he or she would have to do is check online. Is this good or bad? What other things could this technology be used for?
–Video editing. What is the best software for editing video for YouTube and home use? Which hardware is best for editing videos? Mac or PC (yes, I want to go there).
–While I think this blogger might not have been serious, what do you think about this concept of a Transhuman Olympics? So long as everyone knows what’s going on, would people watch? Is this desirable? Would it help science?
–Here’s an article about scientists who were killed or seriously injured in the line of duty. Beyond the risks that everyone must face every day by virtue of getting out of bed, would you risk terrible injury or death for your job?
–You have $5000.00 to spend. You can’t save it, you must spend it. What do you buy?
–What are you reading this summer? Plus, Ray creates an image in our minds.
Site where you can find more information about Viga:
http://vigatheotagal.blogspot.com/
Follow Thaed on Twitter
Email Thaed at thaed@cox.net
Direct download: FNPL_29_final.mp3
FNPL 29 with Grammar Girl!
June 21, 2008Grammar Girl a.k.a Mignon Fogarty is our special guest! Our regulars this show are Ray (who joins us midway) Scott, Rym and Thaed. Check out Ms. Fogarty’s new book: Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.
Here are the topics:
–Nature v. Nurture objectively speaking. What dictates human behavior more?
–Klingon, Leet Speak, Nerdish and Esperanto. If we can agree what constitutes a language, are these languages? Should people bother trying to create artificial human languages? Is the goal of a universal lingua franca a meaningful goal? Why or why not?
–Shakespeare v. Marlowe v. everyone else. Do you think Shakespeare was a real person? Do you think he stole from other playwrights? Which of the plays is your favorite and why?
–Oak Trees that grow as fast as bamboo; corn cobs full of gasoline. Think of at least two things that could be genetically engineered to make the world better if ethics were no obstacle.
Site where you can find more information about Scott and Rym Thaed:
Email Thaed at thaed@cox.net
Follow Thaed on Twitter.
Direct download: FNPL_29_final.mp3
Pencil Drawing and Motivation.
June 14, 2008I like to do pencil drawings. It is especially fun when I draw with my kids. We’ll all pick a picture and talk about what we’re drawing. I’m self taught so I try to teach them what I know about shading and drawing what you see. The point is to spend time together doing something creative.
As far as talent is concerned, I have none. I am not able to draw a scene from my mind. I am only able to draw exactly what I see. I have no illusions about this.
I did this from a picture of a dragonfly.
I did this from a book on drawing dragons (which is an awesome book that I will shamelessly plug on Amazon)
DragonArt
The amount of focus and energy it takes for me to divert my mind to drawing is immense. Of course it might be like trying to run when you’re out of shape (like I’m also doing now). I might be able to work faster if I draw more. With everything else, it is a question of competing interests. If I draw more, I’ll play games less or I’ll work less or I’ll do something else less.
Remember how I said that I draw with my kids? That is a real motivator to draw more. Plus, I need to get it through my thick head that drawing is better than gaming because you’re left with something you can enjoy forever. I’ve been playing with pencils for a dozen years. It is great to go back and look at how I’ve made progress (even if it is meager). You can’t do that with a video game.
My latest project is a famous artist’s self portrait. It is one of the most ambitious pencil drawings I’ve undertaken. It is going to take weeks to finish at my pace.
Friday Night Party Line #28.
June 7, 2008With a decidedly economic focus, Scott, Rym Howard and I chewed through an hour or so of podcasting scenery. Here are the topics:
–What is the nature of sociometry? How much does attractiveness play a role? How does this translate to the internet?
–Dependency on oil will stop when:
a) we get a new president
b) the price of gasoline gets high enough
c) inevitably over time
d) it doesn’t matter because an asteroid will hit the earth and kill us all.
e) other.
–In a world where information wants to be free, why are lawyers so expensive?
–With cable tv, FM and satellite radio, IP TV, podcasts and god knows what else fragmenting media, what does this media fragmentation mean for content providers and for media companies themselves?
–What will the effect of the pull back in the credit markets be on the private equity world? Does it matter to consumers?
New Episode of Over 40 Gamer?!
May 26, 2008Can it be?! After 5 months of nothing, could this podcast unpodfade? Yes. Yes, it can.
David from Friday Night Party Line joins me as we talk about Travian and Fate. With David’s help OFG rejoins teh internets.
Edit: I was trying desperately to remember Hellgate London, fyi.
Email me at over40gamer@gmail.com.
Toshiba Satellite u305-s2816: A review.
May 25, 2008Toshiba Satellite U305-S2816 13.3″ Laptop (Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T8100 Processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium) Onyx Blue
I’ve had my Toshiba for a couple of months now. I really could not be happier. I bought two so my wife and I could each have the same laptop. This helps me with computer support as any quirk one machine has, the other one probably has it too. Another reason I wanted two of these machines is because they have built in cameras. When I travel, my wife and I can have video conferences. We have done several of these on Skype and it’s been wonderful.
The first thing I did when I first started working with the laptops was to remove the crap-ware. In place of the stuff that was on the machine, I put Zone Alarm on and AVG. After removing the crap-ware, the machines were noticeably faster. Both machines run Vista Home Premium. I have found that on laptops, Vista generally behaves itself.
I’ve used a lot of laptops over the years. I’m old. I’ve had laptops from almost every brand available for business and for fun. What I like about these little Toshibas far outweighs what I don’t. The 13.3” screens fit quite nicely on airplane table trays. I went from never using my laptop on the plane to using it all the time. Plus the battery life is a real 4 hours. I use the laptop in battery mode all the time. Very satisfying.
The graphics are good enough to play decent games. I’ve been playing a cheap dungeon crawler called Fate. It’s a Diablo II clone that runs without difficulty on the laptop. I haven’t tried anything heavier, but I suspect there would be passing game performance for most games, Crysis notwithstanding.
This laptop has become the center of my universe. It’s light enough to take everywhere and I do.
As far as cons, I don’t like the fans. They must be computer controlled because they constantly cycle up and down. If I am in a quiet room, it’s noticeable. Of course, I have big ears and very sensitive hearing. Other than that, I’ve had one or two blue screens over the course of several months of use. Not bad. These laptops were cheaper than Mac Book Pros and in my opinion, a much better deal.
We actually did buy these from Amazon, by the way.
Scott Johnson on Friday Night Party Line Episode 27.
May 24, 2008Scott Johnson from Extra Life Radio and The Instance is our special guest tonight. Our regular hosts are David, Viga and Thaed. Here are the topics:
–Take a look at at this New Yorker article
Are the distinctions made between invention and creation valid?
–In Monday’s WSJ, there is an article entitled: “The Digital Future of Books.” With the advent of the Kindle, and really even the web itself, how many years does print media have before it disappears entirely. What other issues come into play here such as can people even tolerate longer reading nowadays?
–What web comics do you you read? How difficult is it today for an artist to create a successful web comic?
–There were some changes suggested recently concerning orphan copyright procedure. If you could could change the copyright and patent system in the U.S., what would you do to it?
–Given higher gas prices, isn’t it time to do less traveling and more telecommuting? How much more can be done with telecommuting? Will more employers support it now? How high does gas have to go before more people see the value in virtual interaction? Are gas prices even a factor at all?
–Let’s comment on this article on 5 things humans no longer need.
What are some other things that humans no longer need?
–Ask the Economist
Site where you can find more information about Viga.
http://vigatheotagal.blogspot.com/
Subscribe via iTunes.
Follow Thaed on Twitter
Email Thaed at thaed@cox.net
Grandiosity versus the low profile.
May 20, 2008It occurs to me that some people put a lot of effort into leaving comments on blogs, posts in forums and even idle chatter in IRC (if you have enough windows open). It seems to me that this is low profile effort. If instead, someone took that time and effort and did his or her own blog or podcast, the result would reach more people. I have nothing against comments, posts or chats. I do all three. However, it’s not my primary internet thing. I get a lot more return for the blogging and podcasting that I do from being someone else’s minion. Yet, perhaps there is room to be both a minion in one instance and a star in another.
Some new business models are entirely dependent on getting people to comment/post/chat. In other words, the goal is to get advertising to pay for access to these folks. Perhaps some people don’t realize that? Also, if your goal is to reach out to the internet famous person at the top of the particular new media stack, sitting in the IRC for the show might not be the best way. Certainly, it’s not if you want to actually have a conversation.
This is something I’m thinking a lot about as I expand my own internet hobby ventures. For me, it is solely about the fun.
