November 2008

There were 84 posts published in November 2008 (this is page 1 of 9).

Myth clue?

I thought to do a watch -d 'ls -l' on the file MythTV was creating when it was recording a show this evening and what I saw was very revealing. There seemed to be gaps of about 5 to 10 seconds where the file size did not change.

I’m using the XFS file system for my MythTV recordings, as it is better suited to the large files common to digital video. I did upgrade the system’s kernel, which may have somehow broken the XFS driver.

I have another partition formatted in EXT3. My next test will be to send the files to that partition and see if they continue to miss frames.

Bullet Motorsports Scam

Got this scam email today. I suppose it fools many people.

I’ve highlighted the interesting parts below.

From: “Bullet Motorsports Speedlab” Stratton_2492@arkansas.net
To: markt@ blah blah blah.net
Subject: part time job for you
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:22:53 -0400

BMS, Bullet Motorsports Speedlab, was originally founded to turn “ordinary” BMWs into the fastest race cars possible. BMS race cars have won numerous national championships over the past four years and BMS continues to promote club racing through its driver development program. From their intimate knowledge of the inner workings of BMWs, and countless hours of track time testing products in a high-stress environment, BMS technicians are highly skilled in tuning BMWs and Minis for street applications. There are many misconceptions in the aftermarket tuning industry. Our job is to separate the truth from the hype, for the benefit of our customers. Of course, tuning by itself is insufficient without full knowledge of servicing not only BMW components, but also the full range of aftermarket equipment from superchargers to stereos. There is nothing on your BMW or Mini that BMS can’t fix – or if you desire, improve.
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Gas prices

Here in Richmond I saw the lowest price for gas I’ve seen in years. It was $1.57 a gallon at a station in north Richmond. Its amazing how far prices have fallen since October.

I wish I had the money now to resume my flight training. It would be a great time to get back into the cockpit. That’ll have to wait for a while, alas.

Thought for the day

Never work for a German company. Ever. Its just not worth the trouble. It’ll drive you batshit insane.

Why blazing guns might not be the best approach

While hunting down Kelly’s letter to the editor, I came across this recent, chest-pounding N&O editorial, chiding the “maritime world” for hand-wringing and praising the Indian Navy for sinking a pirate “mother ship.”

Here’s to India’s navy. While much of the maritime world wrings its hands over the annoying pirates of Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, an Indian frigate takes decisive action. On Tuesday the INS Tabar blasted a pirate “mother ship” out of the water.
[…]
Some well-placed rounds of shellfire, not endless rounds of ransom-paying, might persuade these waterborne robbers to reverse course.

Wouldn’t you know it, word comes today that the Indian Navy didn’t fire on a pirate “mother ship” after all: it sunk an innocent fishing trawler that had been captured by pirates. Fourteen Thai sailors are now missing.

In one action, the Indian Navy killed more captured sailors than the pirates ever have. To the Rambos writing the N&O editorials: do you see why going in with guns blazing might not be the best approach?
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The joyful shoveler

Kelly’s letter about a highlight of Saturday’s Christmas parade got printed in today’s N&O:

There were lots of highlights to Raleigh’s Christmas parade Nov. 22, but for me the best part came early — and from an unexpected quarter. Behind each group of horseback riders walked someone responsible for cleaning up after the horses. Following Raleigh’s mounted police officers was their clean-up crew — a man in an orange safety vest carrying an enormous shovel. He marched all morning, in front of thousands of people, to clean up horse poop.

This gentleman made the most of his morning. He hammed it up. He played to the crowd. His shovel became a microphone, a guitar, a dance partner. He took an unpleasant job and turned it into a stage from which to entertain thousands.
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Daylight again

Amazing what a good night of sleep can do for you. I fell asleep before 9:30 last night and woke up feeling much better. I think I’ve turned a corner on this head cold.

Now if I could only get some callbacks for these jobs to which I’ve applied everything would be good.