Mick The Glass

Paddy's Day

2007-03-15T09:54:41Z

I'm doing my usual pub wander on St. Pat's

Anyone's welcome to join this seasonal migration, and I'm open to suggestions for venues - but my plan so far is to start in the East and head West for a big finish.

11-ish Durty Nellys, Paddingtion

12-ish PJ O'Brien's (I think) on King St., CBD

13-sh Hero of Waterloo, The Rocks

(option: Australian. not an option: The Orient)

15-ish Porterhouse, Surry Hills (food stop?)

17-ish Trinity Bar, Surry Hills

19-ish Scruffy Murphys or Bridie O'Reilly's (or whatever it's called now)
Might give this a miss or just not stay long - both will be manky with bastards

20-ish The Rose, Cleveland St.

22-ish The Union, Newtown

Options: Kitty O'Sheas, Paddingtion; Kelly's (I think), Newtown;

I'm, Rob P., bitch!

2007-01-14T13:08:11Z

Happy Birthday, dude. :)

Drivel

2006-12-26T05:58:45Z

Yet another blogging tool.
Drivel has more features than the other two, so I think this will be the winner. A big bonus for this program is the ability to use keyboard shortcuts; I won't have to take my fingers off the keyboard much while I'm creating a post. Drivel uses the Atom API (I think), and LJ's support for it seems to be more feature-rich.

Gnome Blog

2006-12-26T05:51:53Z

Test of another desktop blogging tool: gnome-blog.

This one allows me to enter a title, but I can only use bold and italics on text, and add links. Simple and quick, though.

mefcon1 @ 2006-12-26T14:37:00

2006-12-26T04:37:19Z

I have discovered BloGTK. This allows me to blog to LJ from my Linux (FC6) desktop, instead of having to go through the web-client. The added convenience has made me think about blogging to LJ again. The technical stuff is still at bitwise, but I'd like to put personal stuff here still.

Agata's computer up for sale

2006-05-26T04:35:11Z

Agata says, "Due to the awesomeness of my iBook, the desktop of love is no longer needed.".
Price: $800 o.n.o.

Specs as follows:
Antec Sonata II case (black)
AMD64 CPU (socket 754) 3000+
Dual-layer DVD burner (Pioneer DVR109 16x DVD-R/+R, 6x DVD-R/+R DL)
Creative Extigy with Dolby 5.1 & remote
Giga-byte K8VT800-R2 motherboard
512 MB RAM
15" LCD monitor (black)

HDD 80GB SATA (Maxtor 6Y080M0)
Video Card Leadtek Winfast A340 Nvidia FX 5200 128MB (not sure what specific model yet)

Black keyboard + mouse

Contact me through the usual channels, or leave a reply if you're interested.

EDIT: Updated the specs for CPU, video card, DVD-burner, HDD

Trip to the Auld Sod

2006-03-12T02:59:42Z

Off to Ireland for a month. See you when I get back.
As per usual, orders for "authentic" Irish stuff will be accepted along with all major credit cards.

Stay well. See you soon :)

(BTW. For WoW'ers: Juna just hit 60. *Now* what do I do?!)

mefcon1 @ 2006-01-27T15:57:00

2006-01-27T05:01:17Z

Appropriated from Mike Elgan's "Mike's List" newsletter - a gallery of "When Things Go Wrong At Mines"

http://psychogoat.com/gallery/miningpics?page=1

Mostly the same kind of pictures over and over, but some interesting ones like "Coalfire", "Big Rock in Truck", and "Oxy Bottle Safety"

WoW and the curious case of the Chinese Gold Charmer

2006-01-23T07:21:40Z

There I was, playing with an alt on my server. He's a lowly level 12 undead warlock that I'm using to get to know the class and also farm leather and metal for my main Horde character. I was hanging around the outskirts of Brill, trying to decide what to do, when a huge level 60 Tauren warrior bounds over the hill to where I am. I notice his name "Yanghua", and I think "uh oh". There's been a bit of chat recently about Chinese Gold Farmers. Slashdot had a post about it, and although there were some interesting points from both sides, I was feeling a bit apprehensive.

Keeping an open mind, I say "ni shi zhong guo ren ma?" <are you chinese?> He replies "shi a" <yep!>

He then invites me to join him in a party. I think "what the?", but accept the invitation. He then proceeds to absolutely murder everything around us. Then he starts jogging north east, all the while he continues to hammer out a trail of death in his wake. He keeps beckoning "zou a" <come!>

Well, I was getting good money, okay drops from all the stuff he was killing. I was also getting reasonable amounts of leather when I could stop long enough to skin stuff. Still he continued North-East, and eventually we reached Scarlet Monastery. Ahhh, I thought, he's up here to farm SM. SM's a nasty little place with hair-trigger bad guys inside and a recommended level range of 35-45, I think. So, I'm guessing that this is where we part ways.

He keeps killing things. Occasionally, because of my what must be _gigantic_ aggro radius in this area, I get flattened by the odd monk that's respawned or hasn't yet been eviscerated by the Yanghua Harvesting machine. I keep coming back, wondering when he's going to say "zai jian" <goodbye> and head off into the instances. But he continues to beckon all the way into SM, upto the instances. Holy Jesus - he's going to bring me through them!

Now, I have a 50+ mage that I would like to take through SM for the drops. I got my current staff from there and it kicks ass. To bring my level TWELVE warlock through, would be a w00t-dream come true. So of course I jump right into the instance... and nothing happens. I try again, and realise that there's a message on the screen saying "For level 20 or higher". There is no emote for the Darth Vader-like "Nooooooooo" that I screamed.

I explain with broken Mandarin and numeric formulae that I'm too low level. There's a pause, and once again, the expectation that he'll wave goodbye and head off into the instance. Nope - he's runs back out of SM and back towards Brill. I don't know if I'm supposed to follow or what. I keep trying to ask where he's going and whether he still wants me around, but it's a bit hard when your vocabulary consists of "yes", "no", "where's the toilet?". Also, I was on amaterasu_sama's iBook, and wasn't able to swap out to look up a proper Mandarin phrase to use. So, I just treated it like a bit of an adventure and followed.

Eventually we get to the dirigible port and we board one that's just arrived and is bound for Orgrimmar. This character hasn't even *been* to Oggi yet, so it'll be cool just to do that. When we get there, there's more running and running as I follow Yangers. He stops every-so-often and looks around. I'm really getting the impression that I'm not supposed to be here and that he's just on his way somewhere else. But then he runs on, and I follow.

We go up and all around the back of Oggi and into the Cleft of Shadow. Yangers drops off a level, and I jump down too. Now I'm confronted with an instance entrance that I didn't even know existed: Ragefire Chasm. He wants to take me into Ragefire Chasm. I have no idea what level this thing is or what it's like. But the level 60 Tauren stomped off into it and there was no way I was going to turn that offer down. My jawless, emaciated warlock launched his sorry carcass in after him.

The Yang-man scythed his way through the opponents lurking in the dark, turning what would've been a daunting and difficult instance run into barely more than a tourist's stroll through a rather nightmarish theme park. He would run ahead into the more open areas that were obviously meant to really hinder a parties progress because they were filled with troggs or goblins (I can't remember coz I didn't see too much of them) and weird grub-like things, and then run around to gather up as many of the little bastards as he could around him. Then a few seconds later they would _all_ be dead and I would have arrived just in time to start collecting the money and items. Then the cycle would repeat as we sauntered through the levels.

I had real trouble figuring out what to keep. I had throw away all the crap, and was now throwing away good stuff like leather in order to make slots for all the green items that were dropping. I think I even learned the Mandarin for "drop" from comments he made. I think it's "shang". He tried telling me to put some of it on, but I was even too low level to put the items on yet.

Eventually, we reached the boss. I only know he was the boss because he seemed to have slightly more attitude than the rest of the inhabitants before he hit the floor. He also dropped a rather nice item; not blue, but still nice. And that was it. Yangers turned on his heal after we cleaned up, and headed out.

Outside, we met another low level undead, who asked if we'd go in with him. I was really tired by now, as it was about 1am. Yanghua asked what the guy wanted, and I managed to convey that he wanted to go into the instance with us (well him, of course). Sure enough, Yangers invites him in and we go through the whole instance all over again. I couldn't say no. Well, not in a way that I didn't think would offend this guy. So, I came to do Ragefire Chasm twice in one night. This time around, the end-of-level bad ass barely had time to clear his throat before it had an axe through it.

Unfortunately, the rogue we'd partied with was a bit of a dick. As soon as he has the big drop, he said "Seeya!" and was gone. No thanks, no nothing. Pathetic.
I followed Y all the way out and thanked him many times over, but also tried to stress that I was really tired. So I said goodnight and told him that he was a friend ("peng you"), or perhaps I told him he was a tent weasel, considering my fatigue and poor Chinese. But he called me that back, so at least we're even.

I wished him good night, waved, and hearthed. The next day, I practically only had to fart on a rabbit before I hit the next level, I had gained so much XP from the previous night. I distributed the items to various alts for using, sharding, selling or keeping until I was high enough level to use them.

I dunno why this guy did all that for a complete stranger that wasn't in his guild. I suspect it might have something to do with all the bad publicity that the Chinese WoW players have received of late. When I checked out what his name meant, I thought it might have been a clue, but I'm not sure. Yanghua, means "Westernised".

Quittin' Time

2006-01-18T04:19:44Z

I've formally resigned from Telstra, and should be finishing up in four weeks time.

Happy B'Day, Zenker!

2006-01-04T03:58:49Z

have a good one!

New Year's Party

2006-01-03T00:55:54Z

Just a quick note to say thanks to everyone that turned up for the party. I know it was pretty much red_kat's gig, but I feel the need to thank people too.

A very special thanks to anothertwilight and red_kat for the effort they put into preparations for the party. The house hasn't looked as good in the five odd years that I've been living there. I helped, of course, but I don't think I did quite as much as those two.

Other special thanks go to amaterasu_sama for helping me with the cleaning-up in the morning after :) You rock.

So...

2005-12-01T03:54:23Z

Just in case anybody didn't realise, amaterasu_sama rocks for many reasons. Some of these include making my birthday very happy indeed from very early on (I got an incredible breakfast made for me!), and buying me an awesome birthday gift.

Further amazement will come in the form of dinner at Atelier in Glebe, and a viewing of Goblet of Fire afterwards. :)

Edited to fix Atelier's name.

Firefox 1.5

2005-11-29T23:56:26Z

Firefox 1.5 has been released. There's not a lot to see in terms of changes, but it's technically better.
I grabbed my installer from here.
The mirrors for Australia don't seem to have updated yet.

Firefox usage is only 8-10% according to some sources. It should be higher. Get it and remain Free.

I, Audio

2005-11-15T03:51:08Z

Just received my iAudio 5 Digital Audio Player. It's no longer PC to say MP3 player ;P
The nice people at mp3direct.com.au delivered my unit the day after I ordered it from them. Sweet!

Of course, the main reason I chose this thing is because of its compatibility with Linux and the fact that it will play OGG files, not just MP3s. Sure enough, I've been able to just connect it via USB to my Linux (Fedora Core 4) laptop, then drag & drop a folder of OGGs onto it (it presents itself as USB-attached storage).

The design's a little clunky, but not enough that it's a problem or even annoying. It has 1GB of storage, runs on one AAA battery, and even has an FM tuner :)

Still trying to work out how to update the firmware via Linux, and hoping that that's not something that dropped through the cracks.

Cat 5. Network 0

2005-11-01T02:30:19Z

Gwendo the cat has a really bad habit of tearing around the house and bashing into things. Unfortunately, this includes the network infrastructure I've setup in at home. I was logged into one of the servers remotely from work and wondering why I was getting really crap response. When I got home, the wireless access point was on the ground and upside-down. :)

Torchwood

2005-10-19T02:21:35Z

For those who've yet to hear of it (this is only seconds old for me), I inveigled this from /.

BBC Announces Adult Doctor Who Spin-Off
http://slashdot.org/articles/05/10/18/189211.shtml?tid=129&tid=214

Shrinking ozone hole

2005-10-19T01:01:22Z

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1485373.htm

AMD64 Linux & WoW

2005-10-13T02:41:23Z

Finally worked out what options I needed to change to stop the agpgart module from being compiled into the Linux kernel. I now have a kernel (2.6.13-noagp) that works properly with the ATI driver. When I use the fglrxinfo command, I get info about the X800 card instead of generic Mesa driver details.

For people that might be Googling. I had to disable the IOMMU option in the Processor options, and _then_ I was able to enable the AGPGART option in the Character Devices section. The depmod stuff seemed to happen automagically when I did a "make modules_install", but I could be wrong.

I also had to grab the source RPM from Livna for the ATI driver. There are instructions on the rpm.livna.org site on how to build/rebuild an RPM and there are notes for the extra options (kernel & ksrc, I think) that you need to add if you're compiling for a different kernel to the one you're running on.

I'm still not getting the full 256MB of VRAM recognised in the Xorg.0.log, so there maybe more to do.
Also had to add "alias ati fglrx" into modules.conf as per http://myzope.kedai.com.my/blogs/kedai/34

With the new kernel in place, I'm getting upto 90-odd FPS on World of Warcraft using Cedega 4.4.2 on top of Fedora Core 4 GNU/Linux. I should compare with the unchanged kernel, I don't think there's that much difference. I'm still quite amazed that this game works so well when convinced to run on GNU/Linux.

Outstanding! "Creative MP3 Players Ship With Virus"

2005-09-02T01:31:00Z

http://it.slashdot.org/it/05/09/01/1312233.shtml?tid=220&tid=218

Moog dies

2005-08-25T06:06:07Z

Sympathies to jujulilianan

http://www.moogmusic.com/?cat_id=83

Scotty Beamed Up

2005-07-21T02:26:34Z

James Doohan died last night, according to Slashdot. :(

Multipass!

2005-07-19T01:36:00Z

Slashdot has an article about the next generation of hyperlinking. There's also a page on Wikipedia that demonstrates how it works. Firefox is the only browser that fully supports it, so far... of course ;)

EDIT: Apparently this is a load of shit according to some of the comments. Ignore my over-enthusiatic post and blame it on a caffeine-rush ;P The technology works, but it's not a new HTML tag that implements it, but clever use of existing tagging. Oh well. Hopefully something like this will be added in the future.

Funny: PowerBook scam revenge

2005-07-08T08:01:52Z

Another "scamming the scammers" incident. Courtesy of my friend Yoki.

http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/index.html

Apologies if someone has already posted this.

Astrologist sues NASA over comet crash

2005-07-06T00:30:07Z

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1407736.htm