31 May, 2006

miscellany: e85 for non-FFVs

Two products that will allow usage of e85 or gasoline in non-FFVs.

FlexTune
Flextek

And an article regarding aftermarket conversions at Planet e85.

Probably have an easier time with having a few barrels of ethanol in my driveway than trying to raise enough chickens and pigs to try this.

30 May, 2006

DIY: Let Jit earn her keep :)

Doing a bit of poking around for more alternative energy information- pricing preconfigured photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, and micro hydroelectric. And somehow ended up here.

So, NS, let Jit start powering stuff around the house. No reason why a small army of hamsters couldn't be responsible for running your computer and coffee maker...

All good and ill-natured ribbing aside, there are a number of homemade wind generators here.

Also found a bit from Mother Earth News about turning your motor vehicle into an emergency power plant.

And if those $3.00 a gallon gas prices have you down, why not try converting your car to wood gas or ethanol?

(There's another wood gas powered vehicle article here).

28 May, 2006

crazy: Deserts may be creeping closer to cities

crazy: Minutemen installing Ariz. border fence


The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps plans to install a combination of barbed wire, razor wire, and in some spots, steel rail barriers along the 10-mile stretch of private land in southeastern Arizona.
Why are drug runners and illegal immigrants lumped together? No one is going to question someone that wants to stop drug trafficking.

What I would really like to know is this: how many members or supporters of the Minuteman effort would be willing to take the kinds of jobs offered to illegal immigrants? And no, not at the American minimum wage of $5.15 an hour.

If the answer is none of them, then what's with all the complaining? Many people come to the USA looking to earn a decent wage, so that they can send some money back to their families. So let's look at the minimum wage in Mexico:

47.05 MXN a day, according to Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social.
Which happens to be about $4.23.

Not to mention
The blue collar work force is accustomed to a six-day, 48-hour work week, the maximum allowed by law.
Sure, I'll bet lots of people would be willing to work for $25.38 a week. And a six-day, 48 hour week at that. Most Americans spend more than that every week on coffee and newspapers.

A decent wage to someone accustomed to receiving $25.38 a week could very well be thirty bucks a week, plus free room and board with twenty other guys in the same studio apartment. That doesn't include whatever the illegal immigrant owes to whoever smuggled him/her into the country, of course.

Perhaps the Minutemen just want the expanding desert to themselves.

Anarchy Online: "Specialization is for insects."

Let's take a locksmith, a plumber, an architect, an electrician, a carpenter, a roofer, and a good old fashioned handyperson.

The locksmith won't do any house wiring.
The plumber won't be patching a leaky roof.
The architect won't be changing the cylinder in the lock.
The carpenter won't be fixing any leaky pipes.
The roofer won't be designing the house.

The good old fashioned handyperson, however, has a chance of being able to do any of those jobs. While she won't be better than any of the specialists at their given specialties, she'll certainly be more proficient than the locksmith when it comes time to wire up the circuit box, or the plumber when it's time to fix the roof. She'll also be more proficient than the architect when it comes time to put a new cylinder in the lock. Not to mention the carpenter and the roofer.

What does this have to do with Anarchy Online, you ask?

Here's a planet named Rubi-Ka. Let's populate it with a bunch of specialist classes, and one generalist class.

And there is the "overpowered" adventurer in Anarchy Online.
Can't heal better than the doctor.
Can't tank better than the enforcer or soldier.
Can't calm crowds like the bureaucrat, trader, or nanotechnician.
Can't outdamage the shade, martial artist, or soldier.
Can do a damn good job at healing, compared to a nanotechnician.
Can do a really good job at damaging things, compared to a doctor.
Can do a passably good job of tanking, compared to a bureaucrat.
Can calm crowds better than a shade, which is a hell of a lot better than nothing.

Which makes the adventurer an excellent profession to choose for soloing. While it won't surpass any of the other professions in a team at their given roles, the adventurer will be able to hold its own in a variety of situations. The adventurer isn't overpowered-- the other professions just aren't very capable when attempting to do things outside of their specialties.

The generalist will almost always hold an advantage over the specialist, unless competing in the specialist's given domain.

27 May, 2006

webweaving: I wouldn't sign up for this if I were you...

What happens when you mix multilevel marketing and zombie PCs? AllAdvantage had nothing on this...
No need to be "Actively" surfing
No need to "Click" banners
No limit to how many hours
Just build your downline and watch for checks in your mailbox!!!
Just Get Paid to delivery email messages and ads

From the Terms of Service:
By registering
for the Service, Member authorizes and grants GHC explicit and express permission
to: (1) contact Member with important information about Members' accounts and
updates to our services, policies and business practices, (2) share and disclose
to third parties Member Information, (3) access and use the Installed Computer(s)
for relaying permission based (opt-in) email for GHC and/or third parties,
(4) to access and use the Installed Computer(s) for domain name resolution, and
(5) data aggregation activities, all without further notice to or permission from
Member.

In other words,
  1. You agree to let us spam you.
  2. You agree to let us give your member information to others.
  3. You agree to let us use your computer to send e-mail for ourselves and others.
  4. You agree to let us use your computer instead of a DNS server of our own.
  5. You agree to let us collect information from your computer without us asking, at any time. Thanks, bitch!

Not giving a link out to the main site, but if this is the same company, it doesn't sound very promising.

miscellany: Scientists Take First Steps Toward Invisibility

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New materials that can change the way light and other forms of radiation bend around an object may provide a way to make objects invisible, researchers said on Thursday.


Full article here.

And for Ghost in the Shell style optical cloaking, there's always Projects of Tachi Lab.
(There's a sample movie here.)

Anarchy Online: Lost Eden Q&A #1

Sounds like it'll be fun :)

I wonder if there will be a cap on how much xp a player can park into research. Or a limit to the number of alien ship missions that can be run in a given time period. Might possibly be able to get a few more AI levels.

Article at Funcom's site here.

crazy: caffeine and nicotine and sleep...

Tired doesn't begin to come close. Everything vibrates, a horrid shift of colors. Had a bit of a nap, some food, and a few kreteks and some coffee, which thankfully has dampened things down a bit. So now it only feels like my body is on fire. Be glad for small favors.

At the very least, I don't feel like taking both my kneecaps off with a screwdriver (if only my hands could hold one) , like I did this afternoon. Flat would be just fine, thanks.

26 May, 2006

Anarchy Online: a minor victory :)

Finally got the damn Key to the Garden of Dalja. No more falling off of Adonis for me tonight, boyee!

Well, until I start the Sanctuary key quest. :|

Missioning on Rubi-Ka for credits is a lot simpler... at least I don't have to worry about falling off the edge of the playfield.

crazy: For Wiccan Nev. soldier, death brings fight

From AP News. The least that could be done for this man's family would be to let them have a pentacle on his memorial.

Stewart, of Fernley, who was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the
Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize....
The Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration allows only approved emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones. Over the years, it has approved more than 30, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, United Moravian Church and Sikhs. There's also an emblem for atheists — but none for Wiccans.
Full text here.

And remember, folks-
Gov. GEORGE W. BUSH (R), Texas (23 June, 1999)
"I don’t think witchcraft is a religion. I would hope the military officials would take a second look at the decision they made."
. Annoyingly enough, ABC News no longer hosts the transcript for this show, which used to be http://abcnews.go.com/onair/goodmorningamerica/transcripts/gma990624_wiccans_trans.html.
It's now only available through some company named Transcripts.tv. The show is Good Morning America, date 24 June, 1999.

25 May, 2006

crazy: why the news websites are not for casual perusal

Mom Whose Young Son is Accused of Murder Sentenced to 5 to 9 Years
from WWLP.

The 12 year old "was baby-sitting the boy while his mother traveled to Puerto Rico."

Archived articles on WWLP.

I didn't understand this when it happened, and I don't understand it now. "Family emergency" or not, I can't imagine leaving my kids with anyone but my wife, my mother, or one of a few very, very, close friends... none of whom are 12.

Who the hell leaves a 3 year old in the care of a 12 year old? Especially if


"The centerpiece of the allegations against the defendant was she was aware of the fact there been assaults on the child during this time. She left the child in custody of juvenile, there were serious assaults and despite that continued to leave child unsupervised with juvenile," stated District Attorney William Bennett.

Anarchy Online: procrastination...

OK, I've successfully avoided logging into Rimor, since I don't really feel like running off of Adonis again. Waiting to rezz so I can cast parrot over and over and over again makes killing mechdogs for shoulderpad parts a fun time by comparison.

On the good side, if I happen to run through Biomare with NS and one of the alts, we shouldn't have to worry about being massively outdamaged by level 200+ characters.

I spent about a week camping the Lab Director last summer. That is, between spawns that didn't happen, didn't drop a CDR, or where a giant TL 7 ODfest happened. Otherwise known as "bleh, might as well log out and try again later" ;)

Anarchy Online: Keeper and Shade nanocrystal listings for Clicksaver

Copy and paste.

** Anarchy Online
** Keeper nanos.
** I didn't sort out nanos that can't be missioned. Sue me, I'm lazy.
** copy and paste into the ::ItemWatch:: section of your LastSettings.cs
"Ambient Invigoration"
"Tone of Bliss"
"Ambient Renaissance"
"Tone of Serenity"
"Tone of Unity"
"Ambient Revitalization"
"Ambient Amelioration"
"Tone of Benevolence"
"Ambient Regeneration"
"Tone of Rapport"
"Ambient Convalescence"
"Tone of Harmony"
"Ambient Rejuvenation"
"Tone of Tranquility"
"Ambient Rehabilitation"
"Tone of Purity"
"Ambient Alleviation"
"Tone of Accord"
"Tone of Clarity"
"Ambient Restoration"
"Warden Ward"
"Sentinel Ward"
"Barrier of the Righteous"
"Barrier of the Resolute"
"Guardian Ward"
"Barrier of the Veracious"
"Barrier of the Devoted"
"Barrier of the Staunch"
"Benevolent Ward"
"Barrier of the Loyal"
Ward
"Imminence of Carnage"
"Imminence of Slaughter"
"Imminence of Bloodshed"
"Imminence of Warfare"
"Imminence of Havoc"
"Imminence of Battle"
"Imminence of Conflict"
"Imminence of Scrimmage"
"Colossus of Swords"
"Finality's Edge"
"The Adjudicator's Blade"
"Judgement Bringer"
"Decision Maker"
"Impartiality of the Blade"
"Keeper's Edge"
"Discipline of the Vindicator"
"Grace of the Samurai"
"Guardian's Balance"
"Warden's Resolve"
"Defender's Poise"
"Fervor of the Zealot"
"Fervor of the Fanatic"
"Fervor of the Disciple"
"Fervor of the Minion"
"Fervor of the Devotee"
"Fervor of the Henchman"
"Guardian of Might"
"A Keeper's Physique"
"Transfuse Vigor"
"Elude Pain"
"Sharpen Instincts"
"Quicken Reflexes"
Sidestep
Fury
"Divine Sanctifier"
"Sainted Sanctifier"
"Evangelical Reaper"
"Pious Sanctifier"
"Fanatic Reaper"
"Crusader Reaper"
"Reverential Sanctifier"
"Carnage Reaper"
"Venerated Sanctifier"
"Havoc Reaper"
"Glorious Sanctifier"
"Exalted Sanctifier"
Reaper
"Honored Sanctifier"
Sanctifier
"Vengeance of the Immaculate"
"Vengeance of the Pure"
"Enervate Imprisonment"
"Vengeance of the Holy"
"Enervate Bindings"
"Vengeance of the Blessed"
"Enervate Shackles"
"Vengeance of the Virtuous"
"Enervate Impediments"
"Vengeance of the Resolute"
"Enervate Constraints"
"Enervate Bonds"
"Vengeance of the Steadfast"
"Vengeance of the Loyal"
** Shade nanos.
Prowler
Scrounger
Mugger
Sneak
Backstabber
"Shuffle of the Rogue"
Backpiercer
"Dagger in the Back"
"Silent Dagger"
"Footpad Apprentice"
"Kiss of the Vampire"
"Voice of the Banshee"
"Touch of the Specter"
"Hand of the Shadow"
"Kick of the Phantom"
"Knock of the Poltergeist"
"Slap of the Zombie"
"Duplex Wall"
"Double Fence"
"Twice the Shield"
"Double Cover"
"Dual Defender"
"Puncture of the Tarasque"
"Master Piercer"
"Probe of Death"
"Piercing Gash"
"Piercing Tooth"
"Sharpen Dagger"
"Whetstone Effect"
"Quintessence of Stupefication"
"Depravation of Celerity"
"Ceremonial Embrace"
"Chthonic Dissipation"
"Depravation of Legerity"
"Ceremonial Caress"
"Primal Dissipation"
"Quintessence of Transfixion"
"Ceremonial Grasp"
"Depravation of Alacrity"
"Sacrificial Embrace"
"Quintessence of Petrification"
"Primordial Dissipation"
"Degeneration of Celerity"
"Sacrificial Caress"
"Sacrificial Grasp"
"Elemental Dissipation"
"Sacrificial Blow"
"Degeneration of Legerity"
"Quintessence of Paralyzation"
"Intrinsic Dissipation"
"Sacrificial Touch"
"Ritualistic Embrace"
"Degeneration of Alacrity"
"Primitive Dissipation"
"Ritualistic Caress"
"Quintessence of Incapacitation"
"Degeneration of Rapidity"
"Ritualistic Grasp"
"Rudimentary Dissipation"
"Ritualistic Blow"
"Ritualistic Touch"

And yes, it was more fun to copy the nano listings off of Auno than it would be to fall off of Adonis some more. ;)

DIY: the hamster in my brain runs round and round, round and round, round and round...

Since I've already bothered my poor beleaguered spouse with more crazed do it yourself information than she can tolerate, and we don't have any land upon which to build yet, file these under investigate at a later time.

For the construction of Ewok Village 2000, we'll need some solid wall yurts from Source for Affordable Yurts, SmilingWoods Yurts (metal roof kits!), or Oregon Yurtworks.

Next, we'll need some greenhouse domes from Shelter Systems.

Never mind the composting toilets or photovoltaic cells or wind power generators or microhydro or earth-berming ;)

Or, there's the simpler castle set up, if we have access to a whole bunch of steel containers, welding/cutting equipment, and something to help hoist everything in place.

And there's always the rustic log cabin, should all technology fail us. Better print it on acid-free archival quality paper, ha ha ha.

Then, we could always get a diesel fuel bus and copy this family. Of course, we'd spend our time in some Road Warrioresque driving from restaurant to restaurant in search of used vegetable oil to convert to biodiesel... and it's way more work than I could do at this moment. Walls of Doom and plumbing fixes aside, Mr. Fixit Fox can't do much along those lines.

Anarchy Online: time to fall off of Adonis some more...

One of the generals decided to walk me through Penumbra, and when I told him I hadn't completed any further garden or Ergo rings than Scheol, got me started on the Adonis garden key.

I've managed to run off of Adonis two or three times trying to follow him. And then spent the following night running off Adonis, ending up in Wailing Wastes. So, /terminate, rezz, and repeat, along with a bit of time getting stuck underwater since I couldn't find my way back out of the Abyss.

Did I mention that I really can't stand playing in the Shadowlands?

NS would disagree with me- he prefers the SL setting (more fantasy-based), while I prefer Rubi-Ka. More sci-fi, less lag (unless you're near a player city). Hurray for Anarchy Online.