forte21xx's Xanga

Large Hadron Collider

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:09:37 GMT

You know, I realized today that I don't really care if the Earth and universe explode, get sucked into a black hole, or whatever because of the Large Hadron Collider. I'd say it's a pretty cool way to go.

work, etc

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:10:19 GMT

So I started working on Monday. Man it's tough getting up at 8:00 in the morning and working 8+ hours a day. My sleep schedule is all screwed up so I've been just crashing when I come home. I'm trying to get so I can stay up for the rest of the day, go to sleep at a reasonable time, then get enough sleep so I'm not tired at work

Well anyway, I'm getting used to it. The first day was very long, since I didn't really have much to do and I hadn't worked a shift that long since IBM.

The second day was better, I had some actual programming to do. Most of the day was spent stumbling around in the dark trying to understand how the code I was working off of worked. I had some problems with a class that used static functions with private constructors since I had never seen anything like that before. I also got teased cause linear algebra wasn't required for computer science people at Millersville (god forbid). I also got scolded for putting my files in the wrong place, but everything got cleared up.

Today was full of meetings, and I got some pointers on how to make my code better. We also went out to lunch at the bethpage golf course where they're having the US open next year. The 2 main guys already have tickets, those golf nerds. I had some problems at the end of the day with their source code management system but it got fixed and everything. I'm gonna be doing some XML designing tomorrow.

When I got back to my apartment today I tried to make an effort to only sleep 1 hour. So at 8:00 I sleep, the alarm goes off, and I guess I turned it off or something because I wake up at 11:30. At least I'm not fully awake and can probably go back to sleep at around 2 or so. I've been managing to listen to the Opie and Anthony show as much as I used to, since I spend most of the time when I'm not at work with it glued to my ears. Plus, I can listen to it on the weekends to if I have a show to catch up on.

Anyway, everyone at work is friendly and it's a great environment. A certain person can be a little bossy and nitpicky about organization, but they have good intentions and are just trying to help. We always have lunch together and everyone gets along great. It's nice to take a break like that in the middle of the day and just talk to everyone. It really makes it go faster.

My parents and sister are coming up on Saturday and we're going to the Bronx zoo, which will be awesome. I could watch those stupid monkeys for hours. Anyway, I gotta figure out how to take the train to the Bronx, since I sure as hell don't feel like driving in dumb long island traffic.

environmentalism

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:08:00 GMT

There's really no reason to protect the earth for the earth's sake. No matter what we do (within reason), our planet will bounce back if and when we die out. Plants will grow over our abandoned cars and buildings, wildlife will return to major cities, and microbes will eventually evolve to consume plastic and other non-biodegradable substances.

The real reason why we protect the environment is because of us. It's about protecting our habitat. Global warming will never destroy the planet, it has been hotter in the past. It's more about protecting our cities from being flooded and safeguarding currents that keep the places we like to live temperate.

Vegetarianism, for example, has a lot of inconsistancies. What is the difference between killing a cow and killing a corn plant? Aren't they both living creatures? You could argue that it's about not hurting animals, but what about pests? Farmers spray their crops to kill bugs, people set mice and ant traps to keep them away. Are they any less alive than a pig or a cow? I've heard the argument that it's not about not killing animals, but how badly they are mistreated. Then why not try to reform the industry instead of stopping eating meat all together. Wouldn't that make much more sense, seeing as large scale boycotts have never worked? And there's the practice of some vegetarians eating fish but not beef? How does that even make sense? Some people argue that the meat industry significantly contributes to pollution and global warming. In many ways, a farm creates as much pollution as a factory, with pesticides and other hazardous chemicals leaking into the ground water.

On the other hand though, you can go even further and use the same logic to argue about eating dogs or cats, which is something I would never do. But when it comes down to it, it's all sentimental. We protect the animals that we like having around. You don't see animal rights activists burning mouse traps or bug spray (though it would be cool!). We protect polar bears, strange kinds of owls, and forests because we think they're pretty. We conserve water because we need it to survive. I don't think fish have much of a problem with dwindling water supplies. We drive hybrid cars because we like smog-free cities, a temperate climate, and to conserve our oil supplies. It's all about protecting our habitat, and there's nothing wrong with that. Doing these things is good, and socially responsible. But people should admit that it's fundamentally about our own interests rather than spiritual gaia reasoning.
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The state of desktop linux

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:00:25 GMT

Desktop linux, particularly the Ubuntu distribution, has come a long way in the past 3 years. It has become easier to install, easier to use, and more reliable than windows. However, the areas that linux falls flat in still are speed and application support.

Speed:

Linux is a much more efficient and advanced operating system than the now 7 years old Windows XP. That being said, there is still work to be done about speed. The boot time remains significantly longer than windows. Also, the time it takes to return from hibernation is still over 30 seconds, compared to the less than 10 using windows.

The integrated graphics display drivers need some work. This is especially apparent using Firefox and trying to scroll through a page full of images. It lags a lot. Tweaking the settings makes things better, but still nothing compared to how well it works in Windows XP

Applications:

While linux has a huge library of applications, there are still three applications without proper linux versions: iTunes, Photoshop, Office 2007

There are lots of linux-based ipod management software suites, but they are definitley no replacement for iTunes itself. Forget about GIMP, Photoshop is a necessity. While it is now possible to install Photoshop using wine, it's still slow due to an extra layer of abstraction. When will adobe make a version for linux? Who knows. Office 2007, a seriously awesome upgrade to Office 2003, is pretty damn irreplacable. Especially since OpenOffice decided to not follow Office's lead, making it a lot less relevant.

Linux is already an excellent desktop os, and it's thiiis close to being a no excuses windows xp replacement. Maybe I'll give it another shot in a few years.

New Computer

Tue, 06 May 2008 07:06:18 GMT

Well, I was considering building a new computer once I move into my new place. Because, well, you know, games. But take one look at the games that have been released this year so far, and the top games on gamerankings.com. I had no idea that PC gaming was this much in a rut. It's pretty much World of Warcraft and Orange Box. That's about it. I guess that plan is out the window for a few more years.

But then again, why am I surprised? PC gaming comes in waves. It was pretty popular once PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube began to show their age. You could get state of the art graphics on your computer instead of 5 - 6 year old blah looking stuff on your consoles. Plus, you were playing it on a computer monitor, which meant HD graphics. Right now though, the consoles are way too new. The previous advantage of PC gaming having online play is out the window, with the consoles offering sometimes superior online setups (except for wii) to that of many PC games. Plus, more and more people have HDTVs, so why would you want to play on a tiny little computer monitor? Besides MMOs, the only real advantage PC gaming has left right now is modding. Oh yeah, and easy piracy.

Everyone these days is quick to call PC gaming dead for the above reasons, but give it another few years.

Realistic Super Mario Brothers

Sun, 04 May 2008 07:17:57 GMT

Imagine if Nintendo gave the same treatment to Super Mario Brothers as Rockstar gave to GTA4. Here's what would be different.

1) Gamers now have the pleasure of controlling a fully realized and lifelike Mario! Gone are the stupid and unrealistic jumping and running of silly old Mario games. Watch mario cough and wease as he barely jogs 4 miles per hour and jumps 1 foot off the ground! It's like you're watching a real person run and jump! Wow! Isn't this so much better than the unrealistic old Mario?

2) Instead of a silly and unrealistic powerup system, Mario now has to make intelligent dietary decisions while clumsily trudging through the tattered streets of the new Mushroom Kingdom. Will Mario eat a mushroom, or a flower? You decide! Open ended gameplay! Not there's any effect on gameplay because a stats system is way too silly for such a realistic game.

3) Those pipes are way too small for a mario sized pumber to fit through. What were they thinking?

4) Mario now has to secure a fireworks permit in order to beat a stage with 1, 3, or 6 seconds left in the time. Otherwise, he will be arrested by the MKPD and placed in jail. Watch in awe as you and Mario wait out your jail sentence in real time! Dynamic lighting!

5) Silly gamers, people can't fly! Watch as the ragdoll physics take over as mario dons a cape, jumps off a cliff, and falls into the valley below. Kersplat! Blast processing!

6) When not playing this super realistic life sim, you can watch up to 30 hours of in game content right on mario's tv, on your tv. Because that's so much better than just watching a movie or something.

7) After playing for so many hours, Luigi dies of old age. Silly Luigi, everyone knows that clones don't live as long as the original. What?

8) When not aimlessly trudging through the new and more realistic Mushroom Kingdom, Mario needs to pay for his morgage by sewing Nike sneakers in Waluigi's sweatshop, making 10 coins per week!

10/10! much more realistic = better game! Best game ever made!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:10:10 GMT

I HATE MINIVANS! I had to drive my mom's piece of shit probably is made out of old refrigerator parts minivan to long island for a job interview today. In bumper to bumper traffic, it's pretty much tap the gas SLAM ON THE BREAKS or else the out of control steel behemoth of doom will plow into the tiny car in front of me like a freight train hitting a squishy human pedestrian. Not to mention the fucking air conditioning doesn't turn on unless you put it on MAX. Oh yea, and the right mirror is broken, there's shit flying through the car anytime it moves since people like to use it as god damn storage for some reason. It's like driving a yacht in a swimming pool.

job search

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:10:03 GMT

I got 3 phone interviews. One on either Wednesday or Thursday, one on Friday, and another one on Monday. I'd say that the job search is going well!

mythology paper

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:08:44 GMT

I'm in the library working on my mythology paper. I'm going through the Odyssey looking for relevant passages about religion, gods, and rituals. I've gone through about half the book so far. It's also probably the first time I've ever really had to use note cards in years. They're pretty good for "research" projects like this.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:38:08 GMT

Pepper's gone. He died a half hour ago or so. He hasn't been doing that well for the past few months, and especially this weekend. He went for a walk today, and I guess that was it. We all knew it was coming, he was 15 years old. Katie's pretty sad, since we've had him since she was 2. They were inseparable when she was little. We're not sure yet what he died from. Poor Mr. Pepper...

Pepper Lyga

1993-2008