Linux apps…

@rabbidavid on Twitter asked “What are your must have linux (Ubuntu) apps? #linux“.  I figured this would not be answerable in 140 characters or less, so here I am blogging about it.

Ok, let’s start with the basics: I’ll assume you are running at least Ubuntu 8.10, with X and Gnome.

My Most Used App Evar Award goes to: gnome-terminal.  Hands-down, my most used tool when I’m using X.

On to system tools:

If your CPU supports CPU frequency scaling: Switch to cpufreqd.  (normally another CPU frequency scaling tool is installed by default that is less flexible and customizeable.  cpufreqd allows for some nifty things like scaling CPU speed based on A/C status (plugged in or on battery).  Now that’s nice and all, but this is where it gets nifty: cpufreqd allows you to scale up (or down, but why would you do that?) the CPU speed when running certain apps. IE: when playing a movie via mplayer, ramp up the CPU speed to max so you decode the video at full frame rate.)

Which brings me to my next items: lm_sensors, hddtemp, Sensors-Applet, System Monitor, CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor.  These let you see temps, fan speeds, CPU throttle speeds, and monitor loads on your system.  Very useful to make sure your computer is doing what you think it should be.

Now to apps:

Browser: Firefox.  With Adblock-Plus and NoScript extensions.  Further, I have the latest Sun Java JRE and Flash installed.  (Those both kinda require manual installation still, but it’s WAY easier than it used to be)  NOTE: I do not use an email client, as I use GMail for just about everything these days.

Chat Client: I’ve been using Empathy, (a front-end for the Telepathy communication suite), latest version.  Pidgin is nice, but eats RAM, which I hate.  (note that the latest packages are not necessarily as new as if compiled from source.)

I personally do not use any Twitter clients aside from the web interface.  The convenience of TweetDeck is nice, but it plus Adobe AIR eats my system resources, which are “just enough” as it is.

Media player: mplayer. Plays _EVERYTHING_ you can possibly think of and more, so long as you install the w32codecs and all that jazz.  It’s console-based, or there’s mplayer-gui for those that have consolephobia.  There’s other options out there such as Banshee or Rhythmbox which give more eye-candy, but I’ve always liked running things from console.  Plus mplayer lets you output via aalib :p

Editors: OpenOffice is great for an office suite, but I still like to use VIM for most text-editing.

PDA Sync tools: JPilot, latest version. There’s also cell phone stuff like MultiSync, Moto4Lin, etc…

Entertainment: One word: NetHack.  If you want to waste more time, try Fortune.  There’s also a bazillion other games too.  BZFlag is pretty nice if you want an odd simple yet addictive game that runs on just about anything.

There’s a lot more, but that covers some basics.  I may consider re-doing this blog post later to fill in the bolded app names with links to websites.  Bug me in the comments and I might just do that.

-Kodin-

[insert blog post here]

Not a cloud in the sky... ^_^

I realize I haven’t blogged for a while, so here’s some space filler.

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Ok, now on to the blog.

The sun is out! It’s nice! I feel happy! I seriously can’t wait for it to be summer though.  Further, as soon as I have a little savings available for adventures, I intend to pick a fair-weathered weekend and go driving with friends somewheres.  Like the beach.  Been wanting to do that for the last month or so, just haven’t had opportunity due to weather and other conflicting events.

Hmm, not sure what my purpose is for this blog post, but I’m trying to get into writing more often than I have been.  I guess I’ll leave it at that, and work on improving my entertainment value in forthcoming blog posts.

Guns, cops, and robbers…

So I watched 44 minutes tonight. Basically it was a reenactment of an incident where two criminals robbed a bank with fully automatic weapons and body armor. They engaged the LAPD in a firefight that lasted 44 minutes., and injured tons of policemen/women and civilians.  I would assume hundreds of rounds were used on both sides.

Now think about that: Aside from all the bullets that hit their targets, where did all the OTHER bullets go?

This is where I find myself wondering. What are the requirements for a cop to be able to carry a gun and use it in the line of duty? Are there accuracy standards? limitations to caliber of weapon used? What size of bullet really is necessary to “do the job” anyways?

In regards to the caliber of weapon cops carry, I believe that smaller is better. very rarely, IF AT ALL, must a cop use deadly force. Even if they are required to use their firearms to protect the public, (remember, protect and serve), killing someone is not always necessary. Deadly force should be a last-ditch option in extreme emergencies, not the norm. The same goes for fully automatic weapons. A fully automatic weapon used in full-auto mode, (as I understand it,) decreases it’s accuracy as the range increases versus single shots. The lower the accuracy, the higher the chances of a stray bullet going where it doesn’t belong.

Now here’s a hot topic: regulation of guns to the public.
In my opinion, guns are merely tools. Give an uneducated person a tool, and they can hurt themselves or others in using it incorrectly. Educate the person on how to use the tool BEFORE letting them have free use of it, and things end up much better. In the case of potentially deadly items, that education must go further; etiquette and safety training are required. By etiquette, I mean teach people how to think about guns. I think that will make the biggest difference. It won’t solve everything, or even most of the issues surrounding guns and, in my opinion improper use of them, (using a gun to affect people would be improper use) but it would make a difference.

Now some things are pretty much common sense. Outlaw fully automatic weapons and impose harsh penalties for being in possession of one. NO ONE needs a fully automatic weapon to hunt, and why would you use one for target practice? Furthermore, I would venture to suggest going a step further; guns that can be modified to be fully automatic? impose regular inspections on them to ensure that they stay unmodified. Maybe it’s a little extreme, but whatever; people will learn to deal with it. And yes, I’m aware that someone can make replacement parts and swap them in/out to meet inspection requirements. It’s more to give those more than casually considering modification a moment’s pause, and some discouragement.

As far as how cops should deal with absolute-worst-case-scenario events such as the tragedy reenacted by 44 minutes, I say give cops training in the use of rifles, and make sure that they are accurate with them at reasonable range.  I mean every cop; First-responders are rarely going to be SWAT members with fully-stocked equipment.  A bullet doesn’t need to be high caliber to be deadly either, and in the case of an armored foe where deadly force is most likely the only option, (assuming sleep agents/tranquilizers or something are unavailable/won’t work), a .22 long rifle can do the job just fine, aiming for the head.

This brings me to another possibility: Instead of investing in bigger and more deadly weapons for cops, why not invest in effective, nonlethal options that can and will be deployed to all active police officers? Tasers, teargas, or various other options to stun, incapacitate, or disorient a person to provide an opportunity to stop them. I am unsure, but I would assume shot taser electrodes can be designed to penetrate even kevlar fibers, and further, devices can be made to be deployed from range, if they don’t already exist.

Let’s go a step further into possible fantasy land. net launchers? adhesive shells? …”bear-hug” robots? I kind of wish there was an X-prize to develop effective nonlethal devices to restrain, disarm, or otherwise stop hostile people. Even lethal means can be unconventional actually; drive a car into them. fly some sort of object into them, say a model airplane. (they can be pocket sized, made of fiberglass, and reach 100 mph). There’s all sorts of ways to stop a madman that have lower chances of hitting or ricocheting into bystanders than bullets.

Ok, I realize that I’m deviating from my original thought processes, so I’ll end this blog for now. Please give me any feedback you have on my ideas, good, bad, or ugly. I’d hate to not know I’m totally wrong.

What I DON'T want to see happen

Springtime and Sinatra

Been having a pretty good last two days. Been somewhat productive, and had a ton of energy. I don’t know where it comes from all of a sudden. Maybe it’s the full moon, maybe it’s that springtime is getting close. Whatever it is, I feel more motivated and energetic to do stuff. I like it. I’ve also been listening to Sinatra lately trying to memorize lyrics so I can kareoke them. Also, Sinatra just kicks ass, so I don’t really need an excuse to listen to him. I’m probably gonna be single for Valentines, but you know what? I could care less. Maybe I’ll hang with some friends, but I doubt I’ll feel lonely just because of the holiday of “love”. Hope you all stay happy and content.

Situation Escalation

I’ve been finding myself getting into situations where I dig myself into a hole in a social or personal setting, and by trying to help the situation, I make it worse.  I just need to learn to shut up sometimes I guess and let time smooth things over.

[note to self: insert picture of foot in mouth here]

Masks…

I’ve come to reflect tonight upon the masks that I wear in social situations.  I dress a certain way around certain people that may or may not be how I normally dress.  I act a certain way.  I talk a certain way.  It’s all masks I wear when around certain people or in certain situations.

I’m not good at interacting in a social situation with new people, but I go at it with a gusto.  In fact, too much many times; enough to make me come off as less than genuine.  It’s strange, because I feel unsure of how I should act, so I try to mirror how other people are in some cases.  From their accent, to their confidence level, to the content of their conversation.  If someone is acting all big boss like, I try to do the same.  Anyone who knows me knows I’m no badass, and I’m usually not a convincing liar either.

…where am I going with this…  Oh yeah…

so I put on these masks in my clothing or the way I present myself and I don’t know why.  I like to make people happy and please them, because happy people are nice people.  I don’t think that’s my real motivation though.  Maybe it’s more that I’m not very social and that I want to be connected with other people in a social situation so much that I masquerade like I do.  This is what I’m reflecting on tonight, and I find myself wondering what stops me, (mentally or subconsciously maybe?), from just pulling off the mask and being myself sometimes.  Now that I’m a little bit more aware of it, (having thought about it for a while,) it may be easier to understand my motivation and to be just who I am.

The Best of Youth

I watched a movie over the course of the last two days that I think was absolutely amazing.  An Italian film, The Best of Youth. Everyone should go out and rent it right now.  The reasons why are numerous.

First off, be prepared for a long movie.  And by “a long movie”, I mean a movie of epic proportions; it’s two DVD’s, spanning just over 6 hours long.  Don’t be put off however, as they needed that amount of time to cover everything in the plot.  It didn’t have any of the annoyances (well, stuff I’m annoyed by,) that seem to be in most movies these days.  The music supported the film, and came in where appropriate.  It didn’t try to force certain emotions on you during various scenes; instead, the skill of the actors was used to convey emotion.

There were lots of historical references as well, and jokes that were never explained, which is also nice.  You get from the movie what you get, and they don’t try to play catch-up with the audience.

It also has a main character who falls into tragedy.  That’s something somewhat rare to see these days.

Finally, they don’t tie up all the loose threads.  There are coincidental characters who appear throughout the entire movie, but eventually move on, and you never see them again.  Sometimes this is best, because seeing how everyone’s life turns out seems kind of fake sometimes.  Some people move on and you never see them again.

Finally, the ending was both fitting and well done.  All in all, this was an excellent film, and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it already.

-Kodin-

Closet Space

Last night I found a very large mold infestation all over the carpet and sheetrock of my closet.  We had had a pretty bad leak in the pipes that run along the back wall of my closet a couple years ago, and although we dried everything properly, we never removed the cheap melamine closet organizers to protect them from the moisture and allow the surfaces they were in contact with to dry.  Upon rifling through my closet last night, I discovered a black line, which turned out to be about 8 square feet of mold, hidden and covering wherever the organizers touched the walls, and some on the carpet in my closet.  There’s only one thing to do in this sort of situation.  Swear profusely, then empty the closet, and remove everything that contains mold.  Including the affected carpet, carpet padding, closet organizers, and sheetrock.

I proceeded to remove everything from my closet, so that I can start carving up the walls and removing the affected bits and pieces.  For those that know me, they know I am not the most organized individual.  However, I didn’t realize just how weird things would be when I started pulling things out of my closet.  Apparently I am the worlds biggest packrat.  Here’s some of the random things I pulled out of my closet over the past 12 hours or so:

• Shirts and pants I haven’t worn since junior high (I’m 23 now) in various states of ripped-up.
• Nice clothes I haven’t worn since junior high, that still fit me just fine.
• Sentimental stuff like a boarding pass to Israel from when I last saw my grandfather alive in person.
• Sugar packets.
• Karate sparring gloves.
• Several old pairs of swimming shorts.
• A dot-matrix printer.
• A full-sized SCSI page scanner.
• A drafting digitizer board (precursor to those wacom tablets all you artists use these days.  You and your freakin’ pressure sensitivity…).
• Swimming fins.  (Seriously, WTF?! I didn’t even know I HAD those!)

Found these in my closet. WTF?!

• ~30 videogame CDs/DVDs, most of which I haven’t touched in at least a year.
• Old high school report cards.
• A few pairs of bicycle gloves.
• Several boxes worth of electronics and robot parts.
• A box filled with wax bars in a variety of colors.
• An unread pornographic magazine, on top of an unread bible.
• An MIT shirt, with tag still attached, as well as an awesome shot glass from Massachusetts.
• A gag arrow-through-the-head thingey:

To sum it up, a crapload of stuff, most of which I’ve not touched in years and forgot about.  It’s been an interesting process, and once my closet is rebuilt, I’ll be getting rid of a lot of my crap.  This collection of stuff took me years to accumulate, but I see that no normal person would keep so many pairs of pants…

-Kodin-