What’s in a name?

broderic on January 19, 2007

With the acquisition of the big ass hard drive and of Margaux’s new Mac Book, it’s time to think about computer naming conventions.

You just can’t let the hardware use the default name, because it’ll look funny on the network. For instance, I have named the big ass hard drive Gondolin. As you can tell (or can’t) this is a name from Tolkien. Yes it’s geeky. Doubly so.

All the computers that I have owned have names derived from Tolkien. Let’s see. My PowerBook 190 was Luthien. My Win95 box was Beren. My wifi network is Nargothrond. The MacMini PPC is Dorthonion. The TiBook is Doriath. The Airport Express is Finrod. My shuffle is even named Tinuviel. They’re all from Tolkien, the First Age, and The Silmarillion. Told ya it was geeky.

Anyway, the only issue is how to name these computing equipment. I had tried to stick with place names for most of my Apple computers. The older stuff though took the names of my favorite characters from the Silmarillion. I should standardize it where computers are places and peripherals people, but it’s so far served me good. But at least sticking within in this naming scheme I won’t run out of names to use and it evokes some rather cool imagery of my network.

I should just name all my computers after the 12 dwarf companions of Bilbo from The Hobbit.

More Room Than All My Drives Combined

broderic on January 18, 2007

Looking for storage solutions for my computers at home, I settled on this external hard drive. 500 GB of space! Like the title suggests, this drive is more space than all the computers sitting in my house currently have combined!

What to do?

Partition it? Should I break it down into smaller logical spaces? Most of my computers are already partitioned. I’m afraid that I may need to save a 300 GB file.

Start back ups? Eh. I’m not too worried about losing data. Yet.

Re-install Tiger, 10.4? Booting off the fire wire would be cool. But why?

It’s a lot, but I really would’ve liked to put this on the network as a network drive. The solution to that would be this, but that’s another expense. I tried looking at this, but it would’ve forced me to use a weird PC file system. Complicated.

Freedom Writers

broderic on January 14, 2007

Freedom Writers is an inspirational movie. Aren’t they all? You could’ve probably guessed the plot for this one. Take one beleagured teacher. In this case Hilary Swank is the new teacher in town who has to salvage a school in the throes of integration after the LA riots. Add in an underachieving class. The freshmen english Swank has to teach is filled with the bused in kids from the projects. Get them to perform past their capabilities. The class writes to the lady who hid Anne Francke and she visits to inspire them. Don’t forget the indifferent school administration. And the struggle on the home front for the teacher.

Yeah, you could’ve written it. Although it does inspire you. Plus some early 90s hip-hop. Good and solid.

3 of 5 stars.

15-6

broderic on January 14, 2007

That’s the first time I have ever seen a Raven lay an egg. What a pathetic performance!

When I had walked into work on Friday, people were accosting me about why I wasn’t wearing purple. Now the Ravens are not my first team. I’ll support them because they are the home team. Yet, the level of haughtiness shown by assuming that this wold’ve been a win was unpleasant.

Distopia

broderic on January 10, 2007

I have recently seen two movies that portray the future of mankind as bleak, Children of Men and Idiocracy. The first is the film adaptation of PD James’s novel, and the latter is from the mind of Mike Judge who brought us Beavis and Butthead and Office Space. Their tones are so much different the one a high-falutin’ angsty expression the other downright absurd comedy, but they point to the fact that mankind’s future is not so bright. I liked the comdey, but the drama in Children of Men held some problems.

Several minutes into Children of Men, you are left to ponder how, scientifically, the world’s human females could not produce children. In science fiction, usually that question doesn’t have to be answered. You should let the story unfold. You should settle in and feel what the movie should be telling you.

Except with this movie you get doubts. Why? How does the world devolve into a state of chaos after the realization that the human race cannot reproduce? Wouldn’t it be that human life has become more valuable?

It is missing the backstory. Not that every distopian future needs a backstory, but it needs to be believable that this could happen. I needed an explanation for why it was the female humans could not have babies. So that the lady with the baby becomes even more fantastic. A miracle of sorts. Without the scientific explanation, I couldn’t buy into the story.

Several minutes into Idiocracy, you feel that this is the future if we don’t wise up. The people are stupid because only the stupid are making babies. It points out that our worship of stupid will get us into some trouble in the future. It’s stupid and funny, but downright scary and sad. “So basically it says here you’re fucked up, you sound like a fag, and your shit’s all retarded.”

3 of 5 stars. Children of Men
4 of 5 stars. Idiocracy

iPod/iPhone

broderic on January 9, 2007

Looks as if the rumors are true. Amazing thing is that it runs a scaled
down version of OS X! If it sells as well as the music iPod, OS X will
be the platform to develop for in the next couple of years. Start up
your compilers.

A New You

broderic on January 9, 2007

While most of my blogging buddies have be quiet this year, a new addition has quietly picked up the baton and written a slew of posts this year. So if you’re tired of not reading much from me, here’s Margeaux with her rants about life.