[Hedda]'s diary

1071731  Link to this entry 
Written about Monday 2009-03-23
Written: (5549 days ago)

I just saw the last episode of Battlestar Galactica (There shouldn't be any spoilers here, but stop reading if you're übersensitive!).

I saw the behind the scenes movie where they promised that we should be so surprise, so I was kind of expecting a lot of twists. But the only thing that really surprised me was that it was so boring. They tried too hard to make it a grand finale, but it it just become a long long funeral. The fighting scenes were too long, the flash-back scenes were too long, the emotional scenes were too long... It was too long!

Some surprises here and there though. But not as totally shocking end as I would have made. And some things just didn't make sense.

Well, now it's over. I'll miss #6, but not so much the rest.

1071681  Link to this entry 
Written about Monday 2009-03-23
Written: (5550 days ago)

Australians saved for now:
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0%2C27574%2C25228031-15306%2C00.html
IiNet Pulls Out of Australian Censorship Trial
(IiNet is Australia's third-largest ISP)

Stephen Conroy is still alive though, so Internet access is still far from safe in Australia.

For more sad news: Obama is helping RIAA destroy the economy, destroy innocent people's lives and enrich the lawyers: 
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/22/184221
And this he can't blame on Bush. Bush even prepared some nice resort camps where Obama could send the RIAA-people...

I watched Obama on Jay Leno this morning, and he's giving all the right answers to everything. But he isn't asked why the shrinking US-economy should keep enforcing intellectual monopoly laws that only benefit a few people and a huge number of lawyers. If you didn't have to pay for (even indirectly by higher prices) lawyers, you could easily afford new houses and cars without borrowing over 13% of GNP.

1071220  Link to this entry 
Written about Thursday 2009-03-19
Written: (5554 days ago)
Next in thread: 1071223

So far, Elftown isn't on Australia's black-list:

elftown.eu/stuff/acma-secret-blacklist-aug-2008.txt

But there is a lot of other legal sites there that are. By the way: Linking to that blacklist if enough reason to get blocked. What should happed is that the evil people behind this regulation should be put behind bars for destroying free speech. But that will not happen until we make them block every site out there so that their voters start to see what they really are.

More background:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/18/2313232

1070684  Link to this entry 
Written about Sunday 2009-03-15
Written: (5557 days ago)

Best ever!

I was watching the Swedish final for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was so and so, but this, which unfortunately wasn't a contest entry, was great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhvMKEGJoiI
Skip the first 3 minutes if you don't understand Swedish.

1070598  Link to this entry 
Written about Saturday 2009-03-14
Written: (5558 days ago)
Next in thread: 1070618, 1070645

Fantasy Art vs Lolcats

http://www.google.com/trends?q=fantasy+art%2Clolcats&;ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0

Lolcats is apparently beating the crap out of fantasy art.

I've thought for a while to make some sort of viewer-moderated image listing. Not only fun images, but in a few other categories too. We'll see if I can come up with some good and simple design.

1069818  Link to this entry 
Written about Monday 2009-03-09
Written: (5564 days ago)

Feeling a little better today.

Unfortunately I woke up at 05:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I guess it's time for breakfast and then a nap instead.

1069480  Link to this entry 
Written about Friday 2009-03-06
Written: (5566 days ago)
Next in thread: 1069483

Blärgh!

I suddenly got sick before going to bed last night. Now I've slept all day, but I'm still not feeling well. It feels like a desert with a sandstorm in my throat. I guess I'm OK otherwise so it isn't that bad. But it's highly annoying.

1068423  Link to this entry 
Written about Friday 2009-02-27
Written: (5573 days ago)

It's amazing to see how right-down stupid publishers are about file-sharing. It's time for them to realize that they sell books, not a story.

Anyhow, a fantasy and science fiction publisher got it right:
http://www.baen.com/
http://www.baen.com/library/

I hope that this stops being science fiction and more publishers start to get this. So far it seems like Baen is doing quite well so let's hope the money starts talking the language of freedom like it eventually does despite constant local setbacks.

1068421  Link to this entry 
Written about Friday 2009-02-27
Written: (5573 days ago)

This is so me!

<img:http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/music_drm.png>

But then I don't see why I should pay for music when active artists want to give it away for free to make me come to their concerts. And non-active ones I don't give a shit about and I'm more leaning towards paying to make anti-cultural anti-democratic monsters like Lars Ulrich pay.

1068335  Link to this entry 
Written about Friday 2009-02-27
Written: (5573 days ago)
Next in thread: 1068792

Time for crosswords!


    1   2   3   4 
A |___|___|___|___|
B |___|___|___|___|
C |___|___|___|___|
D |___|___|___|___|
 

A) Comic
B) Te with grey
C) Municipality in Antwerp
D) Warhol

1) Renamed Eris
2) Legacy of game series
3) Respect slang
4) Clone without O


Enjoy! It isn't that easy, but not that hard either, I hope.
1067642  Link to this entry 
Written about Monday 2009-02-23
Written: (5578 days ago)
Next in thread: 1067672
1067413  Link to this entry 
Written about Friday 2009-02-20
Written: (5580 days ago)
Next in thread: 1067460

They are having a course about Elftown!


Well, about social networking and Elftown is listed there:
http://edweb.cesjds.org/~technology7/Social_Networking.html

I had to read the stuff here where they have projects about online safety, which is a very good thing to learn, but it could have been more about reality and less about "Don't do it!" crap: 
http://edweb.cesjds.org/~technology7/Student_Projects.htm
It's spelled "Internet", not "internet"! I'll only point out the errors here, not the correct stuff because I'm not their morality booster, I just want to correct these common misunderstandings: 

Alex's slides basically say that Internet will kill you and that you never should provide any information nor ever speak to anyone you don't know. So what's the point then? It's like only use a photo when you can see the other person, because otherwise misunderstandings might happen more frequently.

It also gives a very naive view of "adults". They aren't heroes or predators, but most of them are just old children morons. I guess students don't feel comfortable to put truths like that in their papers... And I really hate this sickness about that pretending like all parents are great if you just give them a chance. No advices what so ever to kids with crappy parents! And those are the ones who really need advice.

Eitan goes on in a little more sane way, but in the same style. (parents have to) "be able to save your children from technology you yourself don't understand.". And then goes on to say that the children should obey the morons that know nothing about Internet. Sorry parents: It doesn't work that way. Most people, kids included, will and should not follow orders from people who don't know what they are talking about. If you want to help your kid on the Internet, you better learn how it works. If you will not do that, let someone else take care of that part of the upbringing instead of behaving like a drunk elephant in a pottery shop.

Jonathan starts with a common misunderstanding "Change your password a lot". Sorry, but that isn't the #1 tip! What you should do is to avoid common words, names and keyboard patterns. And never use the same password on different places! Put all your password in a book or in a file that you keep both secure and backed up. Change passwords if you suspect a leak (like if you logged in from a cyber-cafe or other unsafe computer), but otherwise it will give almost no extra security. And KRESV?!? Come on! That's an academic waste-product. Emails might contain viruses even if they look like they come from a friend: Don't open attachments from anyone unless you've asked about it! No need for an pointless short.

Ilana makes the password change mistake again.

Gavi goes on about the crappy KRESV test. That crap is hard to remember and doesn't make people careful. Tell them how a mail-worm works instead! And COPPA doesn't make you safe! The only thing that keep people safe on the Internet is knowledge. Which you'll get from Internet-addicts, not from people yelling that Internet is dangerous.

Josh things that the children should talk to their parents about downloading stuff. Works fine only if the parents know a shit. Talk to someone who knows something instead! Then Josh does an uncommonly good thing by telling how to meet people you've met on the Internet instead of saying that you shouldn't.

Martin goes on about that pointless KRESV test. They he explains how fun it is to cyberbullying by writing "DON'T DO IT!" in huge letters. You can't "fight" cyberbullying. You have to make the ones doing it feel ignored because they do it. Otherwise they will go on and even more if they feel that people really hate it and suffer from it.

Aviad should learn from Josh instead of just saying "Don't ever meet anyone from the Internet!". And then it's that story about that "parents always know the best thing for you". I don't know what the point with this is, but saying such things to kids who feel that they are being oppressed by their parents doesn't help at all, regardless if they are hiding that they are talking to boys or doing drugs. They need to know that there are other people and the entire Internet out there to guide them where their parents have failed.

1067024  Link to this entry 
Written about Tuesday 2009-02-17
Written: (5583 days ago)

Ehum, sorry about my last posting.

You can get a great "Windows 7": http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=12694 <img:http://elfpack.com/stuff/smiley-lol.gif>

1067022  Link to this entry 
Written about Tuesday 2009-02-17
Written: (5583 days ago)

So you thought that Vista was bad?


Well, don't worry! Windows 7 is on the way. It's great! It will steal your right to use your own files:
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/02/16/2259257

As the computer is getting more and more important in people's lives, this is getting really serious. You basically have to beg to Microsoft (Or Apple!) to get access to your beloved photos, art and other files! It might work now, but suddenly the company you buy from is having financial problems, updates your computer and demands that you pay up (or they just go bankrupt and you can't access the files for all the money you have).

Normal people and non-tech companies have to start realizing that when they give away control, they are making themselves slaves.

The alternative is to use an open operating system like Linux. It works great for my mother and for me. There's still some issues for the people in between, but these issues will be solved, while Microsoft and Apple will keep making worse and worse DRM until you practically don't own your computer or anything on it anymore.

Don't through out your old systems right away, but think about this when upgrading! You don't want to spend your life learning another system that is bound lose significance.

Linux has about 1% market-share among private desktop users now, and it's growing at a rate about 30% per year and have done so for quite some time. That means 13% market-share in 10 years and 169% in 20 years... Unless the Linux company screws it up... Oh, wait, there is no such company! It doesn't matter if 90% of the Linux companies screw up because there are 10% left and it's still Linux. And if you put it on your computer, you own your computer and it will always be possible to upgrade.
1066033  Link to this entry 
Written about Monday 2009-02-09
Written: (5592 days ago)

Three week Global media-boycott: [@fe51460545473]

The name is a little wrong: It's a boycott of:
* No purchases of CD's.
* No purchases of films.
* No purchases of computer games.
* No visits to movie theaters.
* No movie rentals.
So no boycott of watching movies, TV, reading newspapers or magazines, going to concerts, using Elftown or playing WoW.

Yay! Feels good to be able to go out and throw some rocks at people who are trying to steal my Internet! Hit them were it hurts!

1065541  Link to this entry 
Written about Wednesday 2009-02-04
Written: (5596 days ago)
Next in thread: 1065578, 1065587, 1065612

Don't mess with these jellyfishes! Immortal, regenerating, morphing seriously bad-asses that you basically can cut into pieces and they will re-shape and they don't bother about starvation either:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/03/jellyfish_gone_wilder/

1065353  Link to this entry 
Written about Monday 2009-02-02
Written: (5598 days ago)

You should go and watch News Feeds! <img:stuff/dand-gif.gif>

1065182  Link to this entry 
Written about Sunday 2009-02-01
Written: (5600 days ago)
Next in thread: 1065183, 1065185

*sigh*

I've been trying to get something done all day and failed. I started closing a contest and read some other stuff on Elftown, but that's about everything.

What I was planning to do is to make it possible to set up a homepage on Elftown. I think it would be useful for a few Elftowners and give some good advertising back to Elftown. Eventually it will be possible to have your own domain, but I haven't decided on how yet.

1064568  Link to this entry 
Written about Tuesday 2009-01-27
Written: (5604 days ago)
Next in thread: 1064593, 1064602, 1064658

So you think you're an artist?


Well... A Swedish student did a "master-piece" as a part of a graduation exam. She pretended to try to take her own life, be psychotic, hit and tried to bite the staff that took care of her and was generally very aggressive. Her institution (Not the one she was targeting with her "art", but the one she studies in) was fully informed about it too. The institution is called Konstfack (pronounced like Const-Fuck) and apparently stealing psychiatry resources from people who really need them is just as OK as stealing normal tax-payers' money to do crap.

She's charged with false alarm, assault, assault attempt, harassment, assaulting official, violent resist and offensive behavior.

Swedish: http://www.svd.se/ego/mainColumn1_s185/http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_2382713.svd

I hope she isn't registered on Elftown, because I don't want her to upload any of her "art" here as I suspect the "art" to be something like messaging 1000 people "Haha, your art sucks! You're ugly!".
1064521  Link to this entry 
Written about Tuesday 2009-01-27
Written: (5605 days ago)
 The logged in version 

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