moving

moved back to www.hird.net/stuff

Best Muppet poster ever

Via Warren Ellis flickr photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/warrenellis/459219571/

Reading list tab dump 4. Big Web Architecture

Distributed databases and other fancy stuff people like Google and Amazon are using to scale.

A whole collection of slideshows about scaling websites

Sam Ruby: Information access patterns

Amazon job description: senior researcher for distributed systems

Hibernate Shards - distributing data across dbs

Megadata - new big data stores

Hadoop - Apache map/reduce

Running Hadoop on Amazons EC2 and S3

Reading list tab dump 3. Python

Closures in python

Thread Synchronization Mechanisms in Python

Code Like a Pythonista: Idiomatic Python

Python testing tools

Why LXML?

pysvn programming guide

Readinglist tab dump 2. Javascript

Some revision, some tutorials, some new stuff. Lotsajavascript

A re-introduction to JavaScript

Understanding Scope and Binding in JavaScript

Simplify Ajax development with jQuery

Douglas Crockford

Private Members in JavaScript

New is bad


Googlegears and GWT

Gearpad - a googlegears notepad

GWT in action book

Community Response to Gears

Reading list tab collections 1. erlang and haskell

Everyone is getting the erlang love thing....

Sam Ruby:
http://intertwingly.net/blog/2007/08/09/Erlang-First-Impressions

http://www.erlang.org/


And Haskell. Yeah its not the same thing...

Three part OReilly series...

http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2007/05/21/an-introduction-to-haskell---part-1-why-haskell.html

Google Linux apt repository

Apt repository for google software:

http://www.google.com/linuxrepositories/index.html

Andrew Hem - artist

I really like this guys style.



http://www.andrewhem.com/

Living Homes

Extremely expensive eco-friendly modular homes. The flash animated internal view is pretty nice (showing the light passing through the house as the sun rises and sets).



http://www.livinghomes.net/primer.html

Huf Haus

http://www.huf-haus.com/gb/intro.html as seen on Grand Designs. German modular homes.

Modular Dwellings

Modular dwellings make prefab modular "buildings" (really rooms).



http://www.modulardwellings.com/flash_content.html



Another silly flash only site.



Ready Made magazine had instructions on how to make one of their "modules" though - the MD-100.







http://readymademag.com/printarchive/article?id=429



and blueprints! http://readymademag.com/store/#byomd

A deck house for around $25000

Website is one big flash app, ah well. But it's pretty nice



http://www.noekdesign.com/index2.html

And another load of NAS

http://www.mydigitalhome.com.au/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=47&Itemid=99&vmcchk=1&Itemid=99

True Names - Vernor Vinge

http://home.comcast.net/~kngjon/truename/truename.html

A/V Receivers

Yamaha RX-V861 in JB-Hifi



http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=822161&page=1&pp=30



http://www.avperfection.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=656



http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/product/av/products/ht/rxv661.html



Yamaha RX-V861: 7.1 Channel XM-Ready Digital Home Theater with XM HD Surround - Orbitcast.com

More pc cases

Midi Towers: You've Come a Long Way, Baby | Tom's Hardware



Computers Products of store



http://www.pccasegear.com.au/category30_1.htm

PC Server Cases

PC Cases





Lian Li V2000



$430.00

• Dimensions: 210 x 617 x 625mm (WxHxD)
  
• Drive bays: 7 x 5.25", 12 x 3.5" internal
  
• Fans: 2 x 120mm ball bearing fans included
  
• M/B type: EXT ATX & Pentium 4 (MAX  SIZE: 12"x13")
  
• Front Ports: 1 x IEEE 1394, USB 2.0 x 2, MIC x 1, EAR x 1
  
• Slot: PCI Slot x 7

Antec Titan 650 Case with 650W



$279.00

• Removable front bezel for easy installation
  
• Double hinge door design: open the door up to 270
  
• Ultra-quiet cooling system:
  
  - 1 rear 120mm standard fan with TriCool 3-speed switch
  
  - 2 front (optional) 92mm case fan mounts
  
• 10 Drive Bays
  
  - External 4 x 5.25" (one with 5.25" to 3.5" adapter)
  
  - Internal 6 x 3.5"
  
• • Front ports: 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire, i.Link), Audio In and Out.
  
• Power Supply included: TruePower 2.0 650W ATX12V v2.0 and EPS12V compatible
  
• 7 Expansion Slots
  
• 1.0mm cold rolled steel for durability
  
• Motherboard: up to Extended ATX including CEB specification motherboard (30,5 x 33 cm)
  
• Size: 44.6cm (H) x 20.5cm (W) x 58.4cm (D)
  
• Net Weight : 14 kg

CRS-9008 Server Case



$179.00

• Providing flexibility, reliability and duration under the strict condition of server.
  
• Multifunction: Server Case, 19" rack mount, Storage Enclosure
  
• Easy to change to 5U 19" rack mount server case ( hand holder and rail are optional. )
  
• Front door with key lock
  
• Side plate with pad lock to meet SAF-TE certification
  
• Ventilated by 120mm double ball bearing fan
  
• PCI card holder for Add-On cards
  
• Modulized Back Plane or Mobile Rack ready.
  
• Standard case holder or Optional wheels
  
• LED Display: Power, Fail, 6x HDD without opening door
  
• Dimensions: 223mm(W) x 430mm(H) x 590mm(D)
  
• Motherboard: 12"x13" Full size ATX
  
• No power supply included

Computer Parts, PC Components, Desktop Computers, Laptops, Notebooks - Misco.co.uk




Enlight 8950 5u server case

Acting as a pedestal server or a rack-mountable chassis, the Enlight
8950 5U server case comes with nine 5.25" drive bays and a single 3.5"
drive bay, as well as 7 PCI slots for a high range of expansion. Backed
with an array of LED indicators to display PSW, fan, errors, HDD
activity and LAN status, you can be informed of activity and operation
at a glance. Securely lockable with two mechanical front-bezel-based
locks and a padlock loop, there's also two intrusion detectors on the
front and rear panels, making this a substantial investment for your
business.



http://www.synnex.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=27&search=true&text=&brand=ENLIT&category=&advmode=M&stype=product&export=False

http://www.myshopping.com.au/PR--1280_AOpen_H700A_Full_Tower_Computer_Case



Price Range: $170 - $171 at 1 store

Computers Products of store





Supports 12”(305mm)x9.6”(244mm) ATX motherboard

Patented rail and screw 5.25” drive bays

Patented screwless front bezel

Front USB, Audio, 1394 support (option)

Better Expansion - 7 slots and a maximum of 6* 5.25-inch and 7*3.5-inch drive bays

Complies with FCC Class B, DoC, and CE

Support 550W,350W(ATX 12V) all safety power supply

Nifflas Games

Free simple little PC games:



http://nifflas.ni2.se/index.php?main=01Home

vi implemented in javascript

Silly but cool.

http://gpl.internetconnection.net/vi/

Calvin and Hobbes goodness

An Italian students final exam piece, animated Calvin and Hobbes. Fantastic:



http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=4302



And 25 great strips:



http://www.progressiveboink.com/archive/calvinhobbes.htm

The Last Stand

The Last Stand. Zombie killing flash game. It's pretty easy to finish, but still fun.



http://www.armorgames.com/games/thelaststand_popup.html

Neuros OSD

Media center built on top of linux and they want people to extend it.



http://www.neurostechnology.com/

Ziova CS505 upscaling Divx network streamer

Understands a bunch of video and sound formats, can stream from different types of network shares. And it upscales.



http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/review/ziova-cs505-upscaling-divxdvd-network-streamer-hands+on-our-favorite-player-yet-255947.php

How the CIA used a fake science fiction film to sneak six Americans out of revolutionary Iran.

How the CIA used a fake science fiction film to sneak six Americans out of revolutionary Iran.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.05/feat_cia.html

Apple TV hacks

http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/wiki/Main_Page

TV settop boxes for streaming TV from a media centre

There's going to be a ton of these and probably none of them will do what I want, but here's two:



http://netgear.com/Home/Products/Entertainment/DigitalMediaPlayers/EVA8000.aspx



http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/linksys-announces-kiss-1600-network-media-player-244539.php



Not sure if they're worth getting to replace my xbox. Although they look nicer.

Oracle locks

Some useful links describing how Oracle locks work and how you can work out who is locking what, and who is blocking who:



who is blocking who: http://orafaq.com/node/854



http://www.adp-gmbh.ch/ora/concepts/lock.html





show locks for more than 2 mins: http://www.psoug.org/reference/locks.html



who is locking what: http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_locked_rows_user_locks.htm

One day I may have ADSL2

But not any time soon. Maybe next quarter: http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/viewexchange.php?Exchange=SNDM

Beatbox!

A French guy on the french version of Pop/Australian/American Idol: http://www.top10virals.com/viralvideos/french-beatbox.html



and Shlomo in a duet doing Roni Size: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE_XQBb_oQg

greatpockets.com

Wow, what a great idea. Big pockets to stick all your gadgets in. Make sure you say "No Thanks" to get the punchline:



http://www.greatpockets.com/

OMG: Nappy research

The mind bogglingly complex world of nappies.



Flushable nappies: The pretty US website http://www.gdiapers.com/



and the "functional" Australian website: http://www.eenee.com.au/



The ABC parenting in pictures site has some info: http://www.abc.net.au/parents/parenting_in_pictures/default.htm



Good article on how eco-friendly various types of nappies are: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2465/is_3_31/ai_73040732/pg_1



and: http://www.sheffieldgreenparty.org.uk/press/2007/napp.html which has a bunch of links off to various "real" nappy websites (i.e. not disposable)



And more: http://www.spiritofnature.co.uk/acatalog/nappy_guide.html

Alantico solid wood furniture designs

Some really beautiful solid wood furniture designs. http://www.atlantico-usa.com/

E Text Editor. Textmate for Windows

Windows editor which supports Textmate command and snippets: http://www.e-texteditor.com/

Choosing a builder

A bunch of useful tips and guides to picking a builder, what to ask them, what to check and how to make sure things happen relatively smoothly.

Doujin Shmups

A quick look at the Japanese shoot-em-up scene, "Doujin Shmups". Lots of clones of old scrolling shooters.

3G-324M video calling

Information about protocols and products associated with Video calling:



Overview: http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/Oct06/mobilevideo.aspx



Activity group: http://www.imtc.org/activity_groups/act_3g324m/home.asp



Dilithium networks overviews and products: http://www.dilithiumnetworks.com/technology/whitepapers.htm



The wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G-324M



Understanding the spec: http://www.commsdesign.com/design_corner/OEG20030121S0009



Radvisions tools: http://www.radvision.com/Products/Developer/Protocol/

Commodore 64 emulator links

Some emulators:



VICE, the current standard: http://www.viceteam.org/vice_toc.html



Frodo, old and doesn't appear to be maintained: http://frodo.cebix.net/



CCS64, current versions are Windows only but support multiplayer network gaming: http://www.computerbrains.com/ccs64/



Games:



C64 Blast collection, 340 140k zip files: http://www.theoldcomputer.com/Libarary's/Emulation/C64/Roms/Blast/C64_roms_summary.htm



Gamebase 64: A list of all games with reviews: http://www.gb64.com/ current download site include ftp://ftp.elysium.pl/



More games, including most popular 300 games: http://www.c64games.com/



General sites with lots of links:



http://www.commodore.ca/default.htm



http://www.c64.org/



http://www.lemon64.com/



http://www.c64.cc/

Verdon Gorge, France

Beautiful views of the Verdon Gorge in France (or The Gorge du Verdon)



http://www.flickr.com/photos/themightyjimbo/sets/1274946/



http://www.france4families.com/Provence/RegionsProvenceMountainsVerdonGorge.htm

Tomato Firmware for Linksys WRT54G

Tomato is a small, lean and simple replacement firmware for Linksys' WRT54G/GL/GS and Buffalo WHR-G54S/WHR-HP-G54 routers.



http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

store your stem cells

Two groups of people who store umbilical cord blood (i.e. embryonic stem cells) after birth:



http://cordblood.cryosite.com/ , http://www.biocellaustralia.com/index.html

Ronaldinho vs Zidane

Video showing of the skills of Zidane and Ronaldinho side by side:



http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1actv_football-ronaldinho-vs-zidane

Joe Hewitt Firebug power user demo

A video of Joe Hewitt presenting some of the more advanced features of firebug at Yahoo.



http://ajaxian.com/archives/joe-hewitt-firebug-power-user-demo

Ethical Homes

Links to articles about creating "ethical" (green sustainable) homes:



http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/building_the_et.php

Mac OSX Icons

A bunch of articles, blog entries and bits of software for making Icons for OSX:



Creating folder icons in Photoshop: http://www.psdesignzone.com/photoshop-tutorials/smooth-folder-icon-in-photo-shop-cs.html



More Photoshop icon: http://lloydi.com/blog/2006/10/02/how-to-create-and-edit-icons-in-mac-os-x/



Random tools: http://interfacelift.com/icons-mac/software.php



Convert img files to icon files: http://www.shinyfrog.net/it/software/img2icns/



Easily setup icons: http://www.filewell.com/micon/

Green Vehicle Guide

The Green Vehicle Guide: Ratings for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and more:



http://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/gvgpublicui/ApplicationFirstStartTaskWebForm.aspx

Workhack

A(nother) AJAX task management tool. I like the very simplistic interface, and no sign up required.



http://workhack.com/

Flippin' Flapjacks: The Thurop Van Orman Interview

From Frederator:



http://www.frederatorblogs.com/post/3260



I love the artwork. The whale is great!

Florence Knoll interior design sketch of Hans Knoll's office,

From "Treasures from the archives of American art":



Florence Knoll interior design sketch:



http://artarchives.si.edu/exhibits/pastexhibits/treasures/0012.htm

Braving the wrath of latte man

AUTHOR and journalist Nick Cohen should be a darling of the Left. He regularly contributes to the New Statesman and The Observer in Britain and made a name for himself as a longstanding critic from the Left attacking Tony Blair's triumph of style over substance...



What's Left? How Liberals Lost Their Way, which denounces as moral bankruptcy the tendency of some in the liberal-Left to end up as apologists for fascist governments and movements. Cohen's ambition is to show how the Left of the 20th century ended up supporting the far Right of the 21st century



http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21237861-28737,00.html

Designing Shutdown

From Moishe Lettvihs personal blog, Arnos personal blog:



First Moishe Lettvih talks about the process involved in designing and implmenting the shutdown menu in Windows Vista. Be amazed at the source code tree.



http://moishelettvin.blogspot.com/2006/11/windows-shutdown-crapfest.html



http://moishelettvin.blogspot.com/2006/11/brief-followup-to-yesterdays-post.html



Then Arno talks about the implementation in Mac OSX



http://arno.org/blog/2006/11/design-of-mac-os-x-shutdown-feature.html

Reach for the skies

From The Guardian:



Barcelona
is celebrated as one of Europe's finest cultural treasures, but until
recently we knew little about its heritage. Robert Hughes on how a
group of architects - in particular Gaudí - created a uniquely Catalan
city that combined the myths of a glorious past with progress and
innovation



http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/architecture/story/0,,2009708,00.html

Three Hypotheses of Human Interface Design

From Tanteks blog:
"a few rules of human interface design that I'm fairly certain I came up with"
http://tantek.com/log/2007/02.html#d19t1813