Saturday, December 27, 2008

Ubuntu has the strongest chance to take Linux mainstream

Interview with Samba's Jeremy Alliso

"Jeremy Allison's contributions to the free software world are legion, and yet the project he's best known for continues to be Samba, the open implementation of some of Microsoft's most important networking protocols.

Linux Format magazine asked him about KDE, NAS, LSB, DCs and other acronyms, and now his answers are here for your TLA titillation…"



Read it here.

Friday, December 26, 2008

SIDE ORDERS #8

For this edition of the video roundup I call SIDE ORDERS, I've again fallen back on my love for the marriage of movies and music:The single best trailer this year was for Michael Haneke's stunning shot-by-shot remake of his 1990s classic Funny Games. This has the drive and flavor of a trailer for one of Kubrick's movies, right down to the choice of music, graphics, and shots. Alone, by itself,

SIDE ORDERS #8

For this edition of the video roundup I call SIDE ORDERS, I've again fallen back on my love for the marriage of movies and music:The single best trailer this year was for Michael Haneke's stunning shot-by-shot remake of his 1990s classic Funny Games. This has the drive and flavor of a trailer for one of Kubrick's movies, right down to the choice of music, graphics, and shots. Alone, by itself,

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Film #99: A Charlie Brown Christmas

The 99th film I'm profiling isn't at all a theatrical product--it was made for CBS in 1965. It has been repeated every Xmas for over 40 years, and must surely rank as one of the most watched (and treasured) examples of animation art ever produced. Thus I think it deserves to be ranked as one of my favorite films of all time.

A Charlie Brown Christmas, based of course on Charles Schulz's

Film #99: A Charlie Brown Christmas

The 99th film I'm profiling isn't at all a theatrical product--it was made for CBS in 1965. It has been repeated every Xmas for over 40 years, and must surely rank as one of the most watched (and treasured) examples of animation art ever produced. Thus I think it deserves to be ranked as one of my favorite films of all time.

A Charlie Brown Christmas, based of course on Charles Schulz's

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Film #98: Little Women (1994)

It being Christmas Eve, 2008, I figured I'd offer up a recommendation for a holiday movie everyone should enjoy, but relatively few movie lovers ever site in this manner. Australian director Gillian Anderson delivered quite a lovely screen version of Louisa May Alcott's perennial classic Little Women in 1994, and though it's not a Christmas movie per se, it sure feels like one. In fact,

Film #98: Little Women (1994)

It being Christmas Eve, 2008, I figured I'd offer up a recommendation for a holiday movie everyone should enjoy, but relatively few movie lovers ever site in this manner. Australian director Gillian Anderson delivered quite a lovely screen version of Louisa May Alcott's perennial classic Little Women in 1994, and though it's not a Christmas movie per se, it sure feels like one. In fact,

Year End Viewing

During 2008 I have found myself captivated by close groupings of the inner planets (Mercury and Venus) with other planets and the Moon. This is a fortunate thing because just about every month there is something to look forward to. The next few days will bring about this happy circumstance as Mercury makes an evening appearance swinging by Jupiter, and Venus grows in brilliance in the sunset sky as it moves through Capricorn. The diagram shows some beautiful configurations that you can see in the coming days. The Moon will be near Venus on the 30th and 31st, closing out 2008 high in the southwest after sunset.

NO SEX TONIGHT!

[Christmas Post]
[Credit goes to the original writer]

I never quite figured out why the sexual urge of men and women differ so
much. And I never have figured out the whole Venus and Mars thing. I have
never figured out why men think with their head and women with their heart.

FOR EXAMPLE: One evening last week, my girlfriend and I were getting into
bed.

Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says "I don't feel
like it, I just want you to hold me."

I said "WHAT??!! What was that?!"

So she says the words that every boyfriend on the planet dreads to hear...
"You're just not in touch with my emotional needs as a woman enough for me
to satisfy your physical needs as a man." She responded to my puzzled look
by saying, "Can't you just love me for who I am and not what I do for you in
the bedroom?"

Realizing that nothing was going to happen that night, I went to sleep.

The very next day I opted to take the day off of work to spend time with
her. We went out to a nice lunch and then went shopping at a big, big
unnamed department store. I walked around with her while she tried on
several different very expensive outfits. She couldn't decide which one to
take so I told her we'd just buy them all. She wanted new shoes to
compliment her new clothes, so I said lets get a pair for each outfit. We
went onto the jewelry department where she picked out a pair of diamond
earrings. Let me tell you...she was so excited. She must have thought I was
one wave short of a shipwreck. I started to think she was testing me because
she asked for a tennis bracelet when she doesn't even know how to play
tennis. I think I threw her for a loop when I said, "That's fine, honey."
She was almost nearing sexual satisfaction from all of the excitement.
Smiling with excited anticipation she finally said, "I think this is all
dear, let's go to the cashier."

I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, "No honey, I don't feel
like it."

Her face just went completely blank as her jaw dropped with a baffled
WHAT?"

I then said "honey! I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while. You're
just not in touch with my financial needs as a man enough for me to satisfy
your shopping needs as a woman." And just when she had this look like she
was going to kill me, I added, "Why can't you just love me for who I am and
not for the things I buy you?"

Apparently I'm not having sex tonight either.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Film #97: Napoleon Dynamite

A reprint here of the interview Dark City Dame (of Noirish City fame) conducted with me in November regarding one of my favorite movies of the 2000s!DarkCityDame: Let me start off by asking you this question: why did you select the film Napoleon Dynamite to be #23 on your list of the top 30 films from this decade? Dean: It's really quite simple: no movie of the 2000s has made me laugh harder. I

Film #97: Napoleon Dynamite

A reprint here of the interview Dark City Dame (of Noirish City fame) conducted with me in November regarding one of my favorite movies of the 2000s!DarkCityDame: Let me start off by asking you this question: why did you select the film Napoleon Dynamite to be #23 on your list of the top 30 films from this decade? Dean: It's really quite simple: no movie of the 2000s has made me laugh harder. I

Sunday, December 21, 2008

What About The Honorary Awards?

As a ridiculously devout follower of the Oscars, I pay attention to the details. That means that I wonder, every annum, who's gonna win the Honorary Oscars AS WELL as them Golden Boys we all expect to be handed out year after year.

To wit: In 2004, I was surprised, but then really not so much so, when I predicted the winner of that year's Honorary Oscar to be the reliable producer/director/

What About The Honorary Awards?

As a ridiculously devout follower of the Oscars, I pay attention to the details. That means that I wonder, every annum, who's gonna win the Honorary Oscars AS WELL as them Golden Boys we all expect to be handed out year after year.

To wit: In 2004, I was surprised, but then really not so much so, when I predicted the winner of that year's Honorary Oscar to be the reliable producer/director/

The "I'm Linux" Video Contest

Yes you read it right.

After I'm Mac and I'm Pc now there is going to be I'm Linux.
"While the Linux Foundation would love to spend millions promoting Linux on TV, it's simply not our style (or in our budget). Even more importantly, Linux isn't a top-down, commercially controlled operating system. It's a grassroots product of mass collaboration. That's why we're sponsoring a community contest to create a Linux video that showcases just what Linux means to those who use it, and hopefully inspires many to try it."

"The winner will receive a free trip to Tokyo, Japan to participate in the Linux Foundation Japan Linux Symposium in October 2009."

http://video.linuxfoundation.org/category/video-category/-linux-foundation-video-contest

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Film #96: Oh How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning!

Max and Dave Fleischer were sibling animators who made film history with their long series of Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman cartoons, and with their groundbreaking full-length 1939 movie Gulliver's Travels (the first non-Disney animated feature and the first film to use a process of animation called rotoscoping, based on tracings of live action images, later popularized further by 70s/80s-era

Film #96: Oh How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning!

Max and Dave Fleischer were sibling animators who made film history with their long series of Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman cartoons, and with their groundbreaking full-length 1939 movie Gulliver's Travels (the first non-Disney animated feature and the first film to use a process of animation called rotoscoping, based on tracings of live action images, later popularized further by 70s/80s-era

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Circumpolar Stars

Circumpolar stars are those stars that are nearest the north star Polaris. These stars are in a special category because they are always visible every night and rather than rise in the east and set in the west like most of the stars in the sky (and the moon and planets), instead they circumscribe Polaris every 24 hours, hence the designation circumpolar.

From our latitude in San Francisco, 38 degrees north of the equator, we see Polaris 38 degrees up above the horizon due north. Although it is a celebrated star because of its unique location, Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky - that honor goes to Sirius in Canis Major. However, being at the point in the sky where Earth's north pole projects into space means that Polaris does not move over the course of a day or even over the course of a year, a truly unique star!

The "circumpolar region" of the sky is a circle that stretches from Polaris 38 degrees down to the horizon and 38 degrees in every other direction around it. Everything that you can see in this zone remain above the horizon every night. All the stars and constellations move in a counter-clockwise direction around Polaris, much as you might imagine a pinwheel that is anchored to a center point but the body of the wheel can spin in a circle. The same is true of the constellations that are within that 38 degree circle.

Today I was at the San Francisco Waldorf School talking with the sixth grade class about Circumpolar Stars and many other topics of interest for the young astronomer. The students in this class had been creating a number of illustrations of star patterns including the zodiac and the circumpolar stars. The illustration is taken from the workbook of one of the students (Sophia) and is a fine illustration of the circumpolar stars as seen this time of year shortly after sunset. Polaris is the star at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper and the other constellations show are all within the 38 degree circle around Polaris. As mentioned, over the course of 24 hours these stars will all move in a very large circle in a counter-clockwise direction. Thus in the early evening Cassiopeia is near the top of its path looking like an "M" but over the course of the night it will swing around to the left of Polaris eventually moving down low on the horizon by morning. In contrast to this, the Big Dipper is low on the horizon at nightfall but by early morning will have swept around to the right of Polaris and will be high in the sky at sunrise.

For those wishing for a more advanced lesson on circumpolar stars, you'll be interested to know that as you move north from San Francisco, Polaris appears higher in the sky and the circumpolar region becomes larger. What happens if you move south toward the equator? It's a fun thing to ponder.

Linux is for your wife

I read couple of blogs claiming Linux is ready because his/her wife or old granny was able to use it without any problem.

Here is my view on this.

First of all, what are the general work your wife or old granny do on the computer?

1. Surf net
2. Chat
3. Listen Music
4. Maybe little of word processing

So you say Linux is ready because it can do above mentioned work nicely?

Linux was able to do such work since last decade. Instead of judging the maturity of Linux with less tech savvy wife and granny, it should be compared with technocrats who wants his/her computer to do everything, try new gadgets, always play with new software and so.

Does your new printer or you ipod work with Linux?
Does your brand new laptop behave well?
Is you printer recognized and you can use free wifi?
Can you name few games you have played on your Linux box?
.
.
.
.
and the list can go on.

So is the Linux ready?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

My 20 Favorite Actresses

In taking Tony Dayoub of Cinema Viewfinder up on his invitation for me to join the 20 Favorite Actresses meme started by Nathaniel at Film Experience, I tried hard to balance my love of these ladies' acting ability equally with my adoration of their feminine wiles. I also attempted to make my list an appreciation of actresses from all different eras--from the 1920s to now. I think I've done

My 20 Favorite Actresses

In taking Tony Dayoub of Cinema Viewfinder up on his invitation for me to join the 20 Favorite Actresses meme started by Nathaniel at Film Experience, I tried hard to balance my love of these ladies' acting ability equally with my adoration of their feminine wiles. I also attempted to make my list an appreciation of actresses from all different eras--from the 1920s to now. I think I've done

My 2009 Academy Award Predictions: round one

NOTE: I originally had THE DARK KNIGHT as a winner of 10 noms, including Best Picture, but I have recently vascillated back to my pre-awards season conviction that it's not yet time for a superhero movie to win a best pic nod (this got me into a lot of hot water with some of the more vociferous lovers of the Batman, who often confuse fan favoritism with award-worthiness). I was once convinced by

My 2009 Academy Award Predictions: round one

NOTE: I originally had THE DARK KNIGHT as a winner of 10 noms, including Best Picture, but I have recently vascillated back to my pre-awards season conviction that it's not yet time for a superhero movie to win a best pic nod (this got me into a lot of hot water with some of the more vociferous lovers of the Batman, who often confuse fan favoritism with award-worthiness). I was once convinced by

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Brightness reversed?

If your brightness function keys are reversed then here is the simplest solution you could possibly have.

Go to
  • System, Preferences, Power Management
  • Set "Set Display brightness to:" to zero (0)
That's it.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Film #95: The Brown Bunny

2003's The Brown Bunny, written and directed by the inimitable Vincent Gallo, is an even more significant achievement that his late-90s cult-hit debut Buffalo '66, which left many viewers stricken with its quiet yet demanding quirkiness. Like The Brown Bunny, it too told a lonely, needy story. But Gallo's newest and more resplendent work engraves into our subconcious the overcast feeling of a

Film #95: The Brown Bunny

2003's The Brown Bunny, written and directed by the inimitable Vincent Gallo, is an even more significant achievement that his late-90s cult-hit debut Buffalo '66, which left many viewers stricken with its quiet yet demanding quirkiness. Like The Brown Bunny, it too told a lonely, needy story. But Gallo's newest and more resplendent work engraves into our subconcious the overcast feeling of a

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Film #94: Grizzly Man

Werner Herzog’s 2005 documentary Grizzly Man somehow wasn't even nominated for the Academy Award taken home that year by another nature-centric movie called March of the Penguins. While I like them tuxedoed, flightless, Morgan Freeman-endorsed birds as much as the average bear, it doesn’t take a film expert to clue you in that Grizzly Man is the far more complex and superior movie. Yeah, man,

Film #94: Grizzly Man

Werner Herzog’s 2005 documentary Grizzly Man somehow wasn't even nominated for the Academy Award taken home that year by another nature-centric movie called March of the Penguins. While I like them tuxedoed, flightless, Morgan Freeman-endorsed birds as much as the average bear, it doesn’t take a film expert to clue you in that Grizzly Man is the far more complex and superior movie. Yeah, man,

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Exit status code and Meanings

Exit Code NumberMeaningExampleComments
1Catchall for general errorslet "var1 = 1/0"Miscellaneous errors, such as "divide by zero" and other impermissible operations
2Misuse of shell builtins (according to Bash documentation)empty_function() {}Seldom seen, usually defaults to exit code 1
126Command invoked cannot execute
Permission problem or command is not an executable
127"command not found"illegal_commandPossible problem with $PATH or a typo
128Invalid argument to exit
exit 3.14159exit takes only integer args in the range 0 - 255 (see first footnote)
128+nFatal error signal "n"kill -9 $PPID of script$? returns 137 (128 + 9)
130Script terminated by Control-C
Control-C is fatal error signal 2, (130 = 128 + 2, see above)
255*Exit status out of rangeexit -1exit takes only integer args in the range 0 - 255

Source and more reading: http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/exitcodes.html

Monday, December 1, 2008

Film #93: Vera Drake

I’ve been a fan of the UK’s Mike Leigh ever since he delivered an incisive look at a working class love affair with High Hopes, back in the late 1980s. (I would consider that film his US breakthrough, even though he’d been making films in Britain since 1971’s Bleak Moments.) His is a unique voice on the world film scene, since he has almost exclusively focused his camera on Britain’s

Film #93: Vera Drake

I’ve been a fan of the UK’s Mike Leigh ever since he delivered an incisive look at a working class love affair with High Hopes, back in the late 1980s. (I would consider that film his US breakthrough, even though he’d been making films in Britain since 1971’s Bleak Moments.) His is a unique voice on the world film scene, since he has almost exclusively focused his camera on Britain’s