Watchmen Review

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Michael

So I finally got around to watching Watchmen. I’ve read and appreciated the graphic novel.

Like many other book/movie adaptations, I feel that the attempt to stay rigidly true to the source material hurt the movie. When I read the book, I was into the character development, background, and side stories. But when I watched the movie, a lot of it felt plodding.

Watchmen (either version) is basically a three-page big reveal writ long. I felt the movie could have cut more.

The movie was very graphic, wasn’t afraid to be bloody or brutal. It worked well.

I felt the film’s Rorschach was more tangible and interesting than I remember the book’s being.

I also especially liked the opening credit sequence. It’s artistic style and method of conveying the alternate Earth’s important events in short scenes were very well done.

Good soundtrack.

Lost: Minimum Requirements Script

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Michael

A couple years ago, I remember reading about a script that would scan a source tree and tell you the minimum required version of GTK+ based on the symbols used. I can’t find it anymore. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?

I assume it could be rewritten these days using sexy gobject introspection and thus apply to more than just GTK+. But I’d be happy with the older, basic script.

In exchange for clues about the script, here’s a neat bash tip: I discovered that if you put a space before a command you type on the console, it doesn’t show up in the bash history. It’s not in the output of history and doesn’t show up when you scroll up through your commands with the up arrow.

I’m not sure what the non-malicious uses of that trick are, but there you go.

When Is ö Less than o?

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Michael

I love the UCA (Unicode Collation Algorithm). It’s all about how to sort words in any given language. Some languages have intriguingly different rules (most of that page is pretty dry, but it does have interesting tidbits like: German dictionaries and German telephone directories have different sort orders).

Ode to Playing Cards

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Michael

♣ So old that the delightfully symbolic is comfortably familiar, ♠
♦ Playing cards are the Everyman’s Everygame. ♥
♥ Cerebral, twitchy, or drunken; amassed or singular; ♦
♠ All you need to start a game is a name! ♣

In all seriousness, I’ve renewed my appreciation of playing cards. But surprisingly, I’ve been having little success aggressively pushing a game of Canasta on my friends at every opportunity.

Also surprisingly, many of you don’t even own packs of cards. You fuckers are getting care packages.

Quote of the Day

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Michael

From The Butler Did It by P. G. Wodehouse:

There was rather a lot of Roscoe Bunyan. … Most of his acquaintances would have preferred far less of this singularly unattractive young man, but he had insisted on giving full measure, bulging freely in all directions. His face was red, the back of his neck overflowed his collar, and there had recently been published a second edition of his chin. It is not surprising, therefore, that such passers-by as had a love for the beautiful should have removed their gaze from him after a brief glance and transferred it to the girl who was standing beside him.

October Trip

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Michael

Just an FYI, Elaine and I will be heading over to San Diego for a vacation in early October (1st to the 8th), back just in time for John and Amber’s wedding!

Let me know if you want me to bring you back some fish tacos! (apparently a local specialty) Also let me know if you’d like to adopt an adorable cat for a week.

Death Note

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Michael

I’ve begun watching the anime show Death Note, after seeing my brother Pete watching it.

I’m only halfway through, but I like it so far. In particular, I like its anime-typical story arc that is designed from the start. The anime lasts 37 episodes but no more. Like a long-form movie.

Second, it makes you root for the evil protagonist, which is kinda cute. It follows the action from his point of view. The show presents challenges for him, and you are thinking, “How is he going to get out of this? Oh no, he’s in trouble now!” You find yourself hoping he escapes so that the episode ends in equilibrium again.

Lastly, it reminds me of a long-term 2-player game of mafia. The protagonist and his pursuer come in frequent contact and suspect each other. The pursuer keeps trying to test him to see if he’ll reveal himself as the killer.

Déjà Dup News

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Michael

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about Déjà Dup. Actually, looking back in my archives, I haven’t blogged specifically about Déjà Dup since it’s first 1.0 release. As it’s now on it’s tenth feature release, I guess it’s fitting to give some news.

Since 1.0, Déjà Dup has continued to rock. Here are some of the new features:

Scheduled backups
All sorts of crazy backends, like SSH, FTP, WebDav, or samba(!)
Restoring from any given point in time
A nautilus extension to restore files with a right click
Sexy awesome backup and restore wizards that guide a user through setting up a backup
All sorts of usability tweaks, bug fixes, and minor improvements

Anyway, the point is, I have not been idle.

And the project is definitely looking for help. If you can translate or write code, please let me know!

Phone Found PSA

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Michael

BTW, the reports of my phone’s demise are exaggerated. I may still call you from an unfamiliar number because I bought minutes for our spare phone. But calls to my ‘real’ number will reach me.

Lazypalooza

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Michael

Just a heads up, I’m going to be gone this weekend. Elaine and I are going to Maryland for a BBQ and to see Lazy, a friend of Elaine’s, off before he leaves on deployment across the ocean.

If anyone wants a bobble head Obama while I’m in the DC area, let me know.