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The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash. Mainly for a cover song, though all the tracks are nonpareil.
Three Symphonies and Violin Concerto / Flute Concerto / Pilgrims, composed by Ned Rorem. Similar to work by Hovhaness. Excellent, and none too experimental like other modern classical composers.
Song to Fly and 23 Ji No Ongaku by Yoko Kanno. Good, though does not reach the heights of Macross Plus, Ghost in the Shell, and Cowboy BeBop.
Technorati Tags: classical
Due to another retro game rumination and the ever curious winds of nostalgia, I fired up the old Apple IIe emulator, and played some Lode Runner. The game has color, though our monitor did not growing up, so I prefer the monochrome.
Despite the limited controls (left, right, dig left, dig right, up, down, and hold), the game requires thought and strategy on harder levels. Learning the behavior of the enemies takes time, as they will in some circumstances run away, or change their approach in response to a slight change in position. The variety of levels is also interesting, some with digging puzzles, while others require constant motion to evade enemies. If possible, I trap the enemies, despite the extra time and effort required.
The TLS Protocol [RFC 2246] mandates that the Unix epoch time be used in the ClientHello handshake message. Unix epoch time (as presently implemented) will eventually reach a limit: the INT_MAX of 2147483647 defined in limits.h will occur at 2038-01-19 03:14:07 UTC. Without fixes to the time(3) subroutine, what happens? Will this affect TLS? Since this happens in 2038, will anyone care prior to, say, 2035?
OpenSSL 0.9.8d employs the following code in s3_clnt.c:
p=s->s3->client_random; Time=(unsigned long)time(NULL); /* Time */ l2n(Time,p); if (RAND_pseudo_bytes(p,SSL3_RANDOM_SIZE-4) <= 0) goto err;
C code that uses the same unsigned long cast is shown below. This code can be double checked by running perl -le 'print scalar time'.
#include <stdio.h> #include <time.h> main() { unsigned long Time; Time=(unsigned long)time(NULL); fprintf(stdout, "%u\n", Time); }
The unsigned long type offers greater range than the signed int used by time(3). Casting to this unsigned value prevents negative numbers from leaking into the ClientHello message, which indicates TLS should not be affected by the Unix epoch time problem.
Technorati Tags: coding, cryptography, Unix
However! I cannot test the exact effects by setting the clock forward, as OpenBSD prevents the clock from being set so far forward in sys/kern/kern_time.c:
/* * Don't allow the time to be set forward so far it will wrap * and become negative, thus allowing an attacker to bypass * the next check below. The cutoff is 1 year before rollover * occurs, so even if the attacker uses adjtime(2) to move * the time past the cutoff, it will take a very long time * to get to the wrap point. * * XXX: we check against INT_MAX since on 64-bit * platforms, sizeof(int) != sizeof(long) and * time_t is 32 bits even when atv.tv_sec is 64 bits. */ if (tv->tv_sec > INT_MAX - 365*24*60*60) { printf("denied attempt to set clock forward to %ld\n", tv->tv_sec); return (EPERM); }
While a good security feature, this prevents easy testing. Time to hack the kernel, or try a different flavor of Unix… (to be continued. 多分)
I use small amounts of Kale, mixed with boiled hulled barley1 (well soaked and cooked on a previous day) and some olive oil. While far less tasty than something sugary from a coffee shop, it avoids the various problems of high sugar foods, especially to start the day. I also sneak Kale into soups and other dishes, again only in small amounts.
At this usage, preserving the bundles stores sell (“no, a leaf. Can you sell just one leaf?”) is a problem—even with refrigeration—the kale goes bad before consumption. Freezing chopped kale left a mess in the container, which might be the container, or the moisture in my ancient refrigerator. Perhaps I could freeze whole leaves? Maybe parchment paper could keep the leaves from becoming kaleice blocks?
Research is duplicitous on whether coconuts should be consumed. The 92% saturated fat causes the “saturated fats are bad” camp to recommend all saturated fats not exceed 7% of the diet, while others present coconut oil more favorably. Small amounts of coconut oil mix well into morning Quinoa or Teff. Coconut water is nice during longer bicycle rides: it lacks the fat of other coconut products, but contains some sugars and electrolytes.
Darjeeling Oolong is an interesting tea—a decent oolong, most notable for a distinct cocoa flavor. It by no means approaches “King of the Frozen Summit” type oolongs (凍頂), but is good nonetheless (and far less expensive).
Digital photography lends itself to many photos. The result—thousands of photos—requires management. This method follows the best English grading method I’ve encountered; my other English teachers lacked this rigor, which resulted in grading misunderstandings (and, perhaps, more interest in my part for the sciences). The following four categories should be weighted equally.
The rules should complement one another: if the photo is otherwise perfect, but the focus does not agree with the subject, the photo probably should be rejected. If the rules all agree, the photo should have the initial “wow!” and stand up to systemic review.
When comparing multiple photos, ask “is there a better picture?” or “did I capture the subject (or event, or location) properly over the photo set?” This can be used to weed out rejects, or to better prepare one for the next shoot: what did you miss? If you could go back, what would you do differently? Select photos that illustrate various faults: missed focus, framing mistakes, poor subject choice. Otherwise, toss!
Use tags or sort images for future action. For example, tag images as croppable?, then review these in the future. An otherwise bad photo may be salvageable for some other purpose: goose feather pattern close-up, and the like. I also take sample shots, varying the f-number versus the exposure time, or trying different white balance options, and so on. These sets can then be studied to better memorize the effects of higher versus lower f-number†, and to learn how a camera or lens behaves under known conditions.
Try to find a local photo club, or someone willing to review photos. These can be very educational, as others will have different insight into the same photo, which in turn will improve your photo rating skills.
Recently imported my photos into Aperture, which allows me to shoot only raw, easily organize photos, perform simple corrections, and upload to Flickr. Did not have to read the Aperture manual, which is a plus. I’m avoiding extensive photo reworking, as I want to focus on learning the camera and taking better pictures, not mutating photos beyond all recognition. For now.
† Some conditions reverse expectations. On a bridge where death rollers vibrate the camera, longer exposures will result in softer images, not sharper pictures as expected.
The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics). Long, excellent, and different than any film or アニメ adaptation I have seen.
Finally clawed through the unabridged Tale of the Heike. Weed-hacking swords have illustrious parentage, the legendary くさなぎのつるぎ “grasscutter sword” named so after one Prince cut a league of field, then burned the Eastern barbarians. Those were the days!
Spook Country. I liked it, though the reviews are all over the map, depending on the reader.
“Are you really so scared of terrorists that you’ll dismantle the structures that made America what it is?” Milgrim heard himself ask this with a sense of deep wonder. He was saying these things without consciously having though them, or at least not in such succinct terms, and they seemed inarguable. (p.137)
Picked up Word Origins. Fun to browse through.
A previous post mused as to the cause of the recent sinkhole/slide in Golden Gardens. Upon inspection, and listening to the stories from people milling about—there a constant flow of people, dogs, and bicyclists—a primary cause was more likely water flowing over the roadway. This water could have washed away enough of the downhill slope to undercut the road and cause catastrophic failure.
The failure area shows three distinct regions: a central pit, a Northern cliff, and a Southern slope failure. The central pit is strikingly vertical, and stands over a level bed of sand. This reminds me of a waterfall collection pool. The Northern edge evidences a steep, near vertical slope, presumably from water spilling off the road, though does not cut as deep as the central pit. The Southern edge, in contrast, has a much milder slope, where the soil and roadway has slumped alongside and back into the central pit. Downhill, the car is jammed into a narrow funnel, and further on debris spread out over a level area. This area has a channel gouged through it.
The car? The story in circulation: apparently, due to large amounts of water on the road, the driver stopped the car and walked back uphill for help. When the driver returned, the car had been washed away.
Portland delivers on “friendly for biking” promises, unlike Seattle. Bicycling in downtown Seattle is harrowing, with many cars ignorant of the law and passing recommendations. Add to this the noise and stench from the hordes of SOV, and now, a dangerous street car line:
“Portland's preliminary streetcar experience was initially very similar to Seattle's. Under pressure, Portland installed their first tracks on the right hand side of the road. In the first year, before warning signs were added, the city saw a huge spike in cyclist injuries along the tracks. Since then, Portland's streetcar guidelines put tracks in the center of the road or on dedicated paths separated from other traffic and as a result their cyclist injury rate has fallen.”
“Despite Portland's experience and many cyclist injuries along Westlake before the trolley has even begun to run, Seattle Department of Transportation has responded to concerned cyclists only to inform them that a bike lane is to be installed on 9th Ave N in late 2008 or 2009. Seattle Department of Transportation has no plans at this time to fill the gap, mark the road with sharrows to indicate safe positioning for cyclists, or add caution signs at major intersections where cyclists commonly intersect with Westlake.”
Source: Seattle Likes Bikes event ride e-mail.
Findings regarding a partially intact dino mummy:
“With the aid of a giant CT scanner provided by the Boeing Company, technology usually reserved for testing aircraft and spacecraft parts for NASA, the team also attempted to peer inside Dakota's preserved body and tail. The scan of the 3,600-kilogram body was of the one of the largest CT scans ever undertaken.”
Then, the dino mummy ran off with the qr/hero(?:ine)?/†, and, working for the Nazis—secretly as a double agent of the British Library—quested to find Agarttha and unmask the evil clone of Maitreya.
†Regex neatly sidestep the issue of the respective sexes (or lack thereof) of the mummy and protagonist and their respective orientations (or, again, lack thereof) and their respective feelings one way or the other and any discrimination—implied or inherit—in the above prose.
Mudslide Spills Across Westlake Avenue, Golden Gardens sinkhole/slide, and other events. This is normal.
The simplistic infinite slope equation indicates that for a given hillside to remain stable under twice the water column the slope must be halved. (Or one can dump lots of concrete† to attempt to stabilize the slope.)
The Golden Gardens sinkhole/slide looks interesting, as the various pictures indicate a combination of sinkhole (the pit the car is in) and slide (the channel heading downhill). Perhaps the dry soil of the road’s shadow were undercut by a deeper water flow? That would account for both features of the picture. Will have to swing by the park for a better view.
2007-12-08 Update: Visited site, took photos. Probably a waterfall and landslide, instead of a sinkhole.
† Mining for and production of cement creates greenhouse gasses, and thus is one of my three Cs of wanton overdevelopment: Concrete, Cars, and Condos.
For Your Food Only is the recently launched blog of Thierry Rautureau, chef-owner of Rover’s. Hopefully, more entries will be added…
The folks at MSG150 are making a survey of the International District lunch spots, a risky venture given the “sketchy and … marginal health code reputations”† of some eateries. Their assessment of Szechuan Noodle Bowl is spot on. Also informative is whether the restaurant uses MSG, among other metadata.
With the sun setting well before 17:00, nighttime photography is a great distraction. Tips:
Bring a flashlight. This will help with focus on poorly lit subjects. A head light is ideal, allowing hands-free operation.
Wear grubby, but visible clothes. And something warm!
My kit 18-70mm lens seems too wide for night time shots in a city. I spent most time at 70mm, trying to crop out light sources, edges of buildings, power lines, and so forth.
Power lines—otherwise nearly invisible—stand out in long exposures. Grrr.
Check for debris around the subject. Scattered leaves and random branches may detract from a photo, or add a nice touch. Lacking a flashlight my first night out, I missed the leaves that detract from this photo:
Tripod, and a remote or bulb trigger. The electronic remotes of today seem cheap and gimmicky compared to traditional cable triggers.
Interesting shots can be made without tripod. For example, shoot a tree with a light source behind it, coupled with lit clouds:
In contrast to a shot taken by tripod:
Still need more practice, as my framing is still off, and I don’t think I’m getting the best possible exposures. Discovered a photo club at work, where photos by members are exhibited and commented on by the group. Thick skin required, but otherwise a great educational experience.
