Young Master has Returned

Way to go Liu Bei…I never knew you were such a caring father. I suppose it’s no wonder why Zhuge Liang would lament your son’s ineptitude when he inherits your title after your death.

By the way, if you haven’t watched this show, you really should:

Click here for just a taste…

…or click here for a huge bite

I will leave it up to you to find the rest on your own, if you are so inclined.

Inspired by this petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/let-bert-ernie-get-married-on-sesame-street

I was led to aforementioned petition by: http://jezebel.com/5829574/the-misguided-movement-to-have-bert-and-ernie-get-married-on-sesame-street

This shit makes me genuinely angry. Gender stereotypes/definitions in our society are beyond fucked-up, and it’s time to change them.

I just wish people would stop assuming that every male-male pairing in any form of media is gay. Just because two men are very close, share secrets and mutual respect, and do everything together does not make them gay. Describing this as “feminine” behaviour is insane and wrong. They are being Human Beings. Bert and Ernie may act “like an old married couple,” but they also act like lifelong friends. Why does that have to be gay? Every single show or movie that features two males working closely together is immediately a target for people calling it “gay.” It’s not gay. It should be normal. If the show/movie creators WANT it to be gay, that’s something else entirely.

Why is it that anytime two people act outside the standard narrow-minded views and have a social relationship that is neither standoffish and awkward, nor sexual, does everyone assume it’s a sexual relationship? Two guys can be the most intimate of friends and love one another deeply and place the other’s needs entirely above their own without being sexually attracted to one another. This kind of love is the highest, purest form of love, and has nothing to do with being gay.

A couple (possibly obscure) examples:

The Sherlock Holmes movie: Watson and Holmes are best friends — practically brothers. There is nothing gay there.

Farscape: Braca and Scorpius — Braca holds an absolutely godlike respect for Scorpius and would do anything for him. Everyone in the fan community insists that they’re “gay for one another.” There is nothing remotely sexual in their friendship/companionship. They are just best friends and close coworkers, maybe even soulmates. Why do soulmates have to be sexually involved? There are many kinds of love out there, and most of them are not sexual.

Why won’t the world just accept this? Love is not a line. It is a three-dimensional spectrum. Sexuality is a mostly-separate, but occasionally linked three-dimensional spectrum as well. Love and sexuality don’t have to be linked, but they don’t have to be separate. They are as complicated and unique as any other system in nature or philosophy. I really wish society would stop oversimplifying them and demanding that everyone meet such narrow-minded views about how people should act and what kinds of relationships are “normal.”

Rant over (for now). Thank you for reading.

MAC is an abbreviation. In the computing world, MAC stands for Media Access Control. Every networked device has a MAC address. Go read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAC_address.

PC is an abbreviation. In the computing world, PC stands for Personal Computer. A Personal Computer is any computer intended for personal use. That includes a laptop, a desktop, or generally anything that is not a Thin Client, Workstation, Mainframe, or Server. PC does not exclusively describe Windows computers. PC describes all Personal Computers, independent of whatever OS (Operating System) they happen to be running.

When I see somebody compare MACs and PCs, I want to break things. Every networkable PC has a MAC address. Period.

When one is referring to an Apple Macintosh computer, or any computer running Apple Mac OS, one may use the terms “Mac” (notice the capitalisation), “Macintosh”, “Macintosh PC”, “Apple PC”, or any derivative thereof; though it is generally best to specify the operating system, rather than the hardware platform, so one might go so far as to refer to Apple computers by the OS they run, such as “OS X.”

When one is referring to a computer that is running Microsoft Windows, one may use the terms “Windows”, “Windows PC”, “Microsoft PC”, or any derivative thereof.

When one is referring to a computer that is running a variety of Linux, one may use the terms “Linux”, “Linux PC”, or any derivative thereof.

In summary:
1. One should specify the operating system when comparing operating systems, not the hardware.
2. One should not use inappropriate abbreviations such as MAC or PC (since every networked device has a MAC address, and every personal computer is a PC).

Here is an example of an incorrect comparison:

“The ideal candidate should be comfortable working with MACs PCs and Linux.”

Here is an example of a correct comparison:

“The ideal candidate should be comfortable working with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, and the hardware they run on.”

Do you see the difference? A little extra work goes a loooong way. Please please please stop misusing computer acronyms and abbreviations.

Thank you.

After an Apple Store Genius seminar, my wife and I were on our way home, taking 90-94 since it was the quickest route at that time of night (21:00-21:15). We were talking about this and that, and I kind-of just stop talking and start staring really hard before me, mouth agape, completely unable to believe what I was seeing. A red Dodge Charger with an out-of-state license plate that said “MUDKIPZ.” We were about to approach it and do something lurid or silly like waving our arms out the windows, screaming, but it took the next off-ramp, and we missed our chance.

Immediately following this, I saw an instance of Rule 34, clear as night, right before us: a stack of semi-tractors mounting one another. As an example of what I mean, please view this photo: http://s1.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/247169/Rule+34+Moving+Vehicles/. The example I saw, though, involved four semi trucks, not just two, so I think it might have jumped from X-rated to XXX-rated. Good thing the real-world doesn’t have filters or other censorship (yet), or I might not have been privileged to witness this fine reminder of how badly Internet culture had embedded itself in my subconscious.

Thank you, Internet, and more specifically 4Chan for ruining my brain. :D

Pic related:

One of the missing bits of functionality we lamented with X-Lite was the fact that the buttons on the headset module itself did not interact with X-Lite at all.

After some tiresome digging through the massive information-overload that is the modern Internet, we finally managed to dig out a possible solution: PerSonoCall (available on the Plantronics PerSonoCall CD that accompanied the Plantronics CS50 USB headset) or PerSono Suite (available from the Plantronics website) allows the headset to interact seamlessly with many popular VOIP clients. Even though X-Lite was not on the list of specifically-compatible VoIP software, we gave it a try. Lo and behold, it worked — on Windows XP. On my Windows 7 box, I was unable to get satisfactory results (READ: ANY ACTIVITY) from the buttons on the headset.

Well, today I had an epiphany: the CS50 sends the button state information over TCP on port 444. Windows 7 is more of a security freak than Windows XP. I should add a Windows Firewall exception for incoming and outgoing communication on TCP port 444 and see if that fixes the problem. There’s nothing to lose; if it doesn’t work, I just delete my custom Windows Firewall exceptions, and I’m back where I started.

So I did. It worked. PerSono Suite receives the button state information from my headset on port 444 and forwards the information to the standard headset input in X-Lite. The pickup/hangup button works. The mute button works. It’s perfect.

Take these steps in Windows 7 to alleviate the problem of communication between the Plantronics CS50 USB headset and your preferred VoIP client:

Plug in your Plantronics CS50 USB headset.

Under the Start menu, navigate to the Control Panel.
Locate the “Windows Firewall” panel.
Under the left-side menu in Windows Firewall settings, choose “Advanced settings.”

Under the left-side menu in Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, select “Inbound Rules.”
On the right side of the window, select “New Rule…”
For the Rule Type, choose “Port” and press “Next>.”
Verify that “TCP” and “Specific local ports” are marked.
In the blank text box next to Specific local ports, enter 444
Press “Next>.”
Verify “Allow the connection” is marked.
Press “Next>.”
Verify the “Domain,” “Private,” and “Public,” boxes are checked.
Press “Next>.”
Name your Inbound Rule.
Press “Finish.”

Under the left-side menu in Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, select “Outbound Rules.”
On the right side of the window, select “New Rule…”
For the Rule Type, choose “Port” and press “Next>.”
Verify that “TCP” and “Specific local ports” are marked.
In the blank text box next to Specific local ports, enter 444
Press “Next>.”
Mark “Allow the connection.”
Press “Next>.”
Verify the “Domain,” “Private,” and “Public,” boxes are checked.
Press “Next>.”
Name your Outbound Rule.
Press “Finish.”

Close out of all control panel windows.

Install and configure PerSono Suite, available from the Plantronics website if you have not done so already: http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/support/softwaredownloads/personosuite.jsp

Install and configure your VoIP client of choice, if you have not done so already.

Congratulations, the buttons on your Plantronics CS50 USB headset should work with the functions in your VoIP client, provided it offers standard headset support, and allows for the use of a remote answer/hang-up button and a remote mute button.

If you have any questions, concerns, ideas, gripes, etc., feel free to leave a comment; though the most effective repository for them wold probably be the Plantronics or CounterPath forums, as there are several threads dealing with the issue.

This fix might work for Windows Vista, but as I skipped Vista entirely, I really can’t make any promises, and I shouldn’t be making suggestions either.

Best Regards,

Adrian

I waited for three-and-a-half hours.

It was okay, though, for I had a wholly enjoyable book, some music, and some people to watch.

The place? Wicker Park, outside 6 Corners, inside my car, in the driver’s seat. (Prepositions. I like them.)

The wholly enjoyable book? Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. (Douglas Adams. I can’t get enough of him).

The music? Various CDs of mixed music. Mixed by me. Not half-bad, if I may say so myself. (Electronic music. I can’t get enough of it.)

I arrived at 0105, to pick up my SO from her job at 6 Corners in Wicker Park. She was due to be finished, but the place was very busy, and there were these two drunk guys who had a ridiculous number of wings to eat, and still wanted more. (The number was something like 86 between the two of them, though I don’t know how much the “more” was.)

She arrived at around 0335.

We drove home. More appropriately, I drove home, because I was sitting in the driver’s seat.

We arrived home around 0400. After some time awake at home, and a brownie for each of us, we went to bed around 0430.

I awoke.

At a minute past 0900, I heaved myself out of bed, as though I weighed several pounds more than I actually do (I am wholly convinced that cushions of any kind are designed to make one weigh more than one actually does, though I am not sure of why).

I enter the bathroom and grab a pill. I enter the kitchen and grab some water (in a container, of course. I do not often take part in fundamentally futile activities). I deliver the pill and the glass of water to my SO. She sits up, takes them, does the appropriate things with them, hands me the glass, and goes back to sleep. I put the glass in the kitchen, return to the bedroom, and do the same (go back to sleep).

I awoke. Again.

At around ten past 1100, my SO tiptoed into the room — though how she got out of the room was beyond me at the time — and said “special delivery!” I roll over to face her and see what it is she was talking about, just in time to witness an elbow knock a brownie off a plate, and onto my blanketed chest. In fact, I believe it was my elbow that did the deed, but I’ve no way of being sure.

“Why do you always hit me with your elbows?” She said, slightly amused as I scrambled to restore the brownie to its former position of glory and graciously accept her gift of ‘it’s time for you to be awake now.’

It’s true, though. I do often hit her with my elbows, usually in a painful way. My elbows are always getting me into trouble. They are hard, they are pointy, and they like to hit things — usually my SO, and usually either in the face (in bed), somewhere else near the face (in bed), or her knees, elbows, or other parts of her extremities (in and out of bed).

I guess my elbows must be the heaviest part of my body, for they are always sticking out or moving when I attempt to translate my body through any space. They are, apparently, my primary means of locomotion. I thought my legs were in charge of that, but I am apparently wrong. I remarked, in reply to her question, “I have repulsor-beams in my elbows, and they help me move around.” In this way, I likened myself to a Starfleet ship with warp nacelles. My elbows are warp nacelles. They are my primary means of motion through three-dimensional space, therefore they must be warp nacelles, and I must be an analogue to a Starfleet ship.

I accepted her gift, and tried to get up a few times. I remarked “I’ll be up in a minute.” She left the room.

I rolled over. I placed the brownie in front of my face to help remind myself why I was trying to be awake. My plan was not quite but almost entirely unsuccessful. That is to say it was successful enough that after a few more minutes of squabbling, I managed to get up and come write this article.

I am now awake.

Aren’t you lucky?

I am a big fan of SparkFun’s work and products. I wish I lived in Colorado so I could attend their classes. I am prepared to go to battle for them, if necessary, to maintain the lines between what is acceptable use of the law and what is not.

The hacker/DIY/electronics engineering community has slowly become aware of the situation and the level of protest is high. In fact, the sole author of this blog accepted SparkFun’s invitation to write to SPARC by email.

Here is a copy of the original cease-and-desist letter from SPARC to SparkFun.

Here is a copy of the response I sent them.

I doubt anything much will come of this threat from SPARC, but if it should come to a lawsuit, I am prepared to be on the defensive to protect small companies from being abused by larger companies and their expansive legal departments. Cisco can do what it wants to Apple, no matter how much of a fanboy I may be, but this is crossing a line. Under no circumstances should this hacking of the legal system be allowed.

Original Source – SparkFun
Secondary Source – Hack-a-Day

Not that anyone is going to take stock in what I have to say, but I absolutely love my MDR-V700s. I’ve taken them literally everywhere with me. The protective bag that came with them died after maybe a month, but the headphones were not bothered by the months upon years (I’ve had and used the same pair often for over 4 years now) of being beaten up, banged around, and generally mistreated in my man-bag. They’ve had a laptop pressing on them, a Rubik’s Cube, grapefruit spoon, pens and pencils, forks, knives, and just about anything else I’ve ever kept in my bag rubbed against them, and they still work, and no part of them is broken. My only beef with them is the lack of an easily-replaceable cord…and I hate the curly-cord. A lot. Especially when it starts twisting the wrong way at random locations along the cord and I can’t get it to go back to the original twist direction. Nonetheless, they still work, they’re comfortable (if a little heavy), and the cord is thick enough that the couple of tiny nicks it has aren’t enough to get through all the insulation and actually expose the wire. I also really love the screw-on adapter that goes on the end. I have never lost it, thanks to the screw-on property Sony was so intelligent as to include. My headphones are just about the only Sony product I like enough to purchase. I’m glad I made the $120 investment (that’s how much they ran when I bought them 4-5 years ago.

I don’t exactly beat the crap out of my phones, but I hardly baby them, either. I’ve dropped them, sat on them, crushed them…you name it, it’s probably happened to them. They have character, and they still work as well as the first day I got them, even though my ears don’t.

So I’ve not tried any other phones, since I really don’t need to spend money to replace something that works just fine. The sound quality is good enough for me, and my only problems with them are the weight (but lighter means more fragile) and the curly cord (I want a straight cord).

Does anybody have any solutions or suggestions, by the way, to my tangled cord problem? Any opinions you’d like to express?