Superficially stylish.
ArchivePage 2 of 15
A few months ago I set it up so I could run all the programs I commonly use from the Run command in Windows XP. Let me tell you, it’s awesome. It was something I’d been meaning to do for a while and now I could hardly live without it. Best of all, it’s very simple to do. Here’s my process:
- Make a directory somewhere; I used “C:\run\”.
- Fill the directory with shortcuts for evey program you want quick access to.
- You now have to make Windows look in that directory when you try to Run something. Go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Environment Variables. In the ‘System variables’ section, find the PATH variable and click Edit. Scroll to the end of the ‘Variable value’ list (using Ctrl + right arrow, for example) and append a semicolon and the directory you filled with shortcuts; for example, “;C:\run\”.
And that’s it. You should now be able to run anything you’ve put in that directory with the Run command.
It’s this colour-coded table of every cheese mentioned in the Monty Python sketch and the reason it was not available.
Also.
Change That’s Right Now is an organisation that helps people overcome their phobias. They must be good, because the website includes a very comprehensive list of phobias they claim to treat. I highly recommend checking out Change That’s Right Now if any of the following apply to you:
- “Does the thought of vomiting secondary to airsickness make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of opinions or beliefs make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of bolsheviks make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of the preference by a phobic for fearful situations make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of going to school make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of making decisions make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of work, functioning, or surgeon’s operating make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of greek terms or complex scientific terminology make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of challenges to official doctrine or of radical deviation make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of long words make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of vertigo or feeling dizzy when looking down make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of your step-mother make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of fear of medical doctors experience of prescribing needed pain medications for patients make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of contracting poliomyelitis make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of politicians make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of definite plans or religious ceremony make you nauseous?”
- “Does the thought of the great mole rat make you nauseous?”
And, remember, “Fear Of Otters is usually caused by an intense negative experience from your past”.
From a spectrogram of the end of Computer Love by Kraftwerk, which sounds like rockets shooting off into space and looks like it too.
While most of the music I’ve been composing has been for one project or another that in the end may or may not get released, this little (39 seconds) piece came about by sheer happenstance. So, I’m throwing it up on the blog.
No sequencing or trackers involved. The acoustic percussion is based on a couple of ~5 second bits that I cut from a recording I made, edited and stuck together in Audacity. The bass and accordion parts are MIDI but were recorded ‘live’ on the computer keyboard (with Virtual Piano).
You too can play along at home with the chords F# minor, E major, A major, G# diminished, and C# minor. Funky percussion not notated.
I was watching clips of old Japanese commercials, news reports, and station idents on Youtube, as one does, and I saw a slide that caught my eye during a weather report:
It’s minimalist, I like it. The left side says it’s cold and dry and the right side says something about Russia. Or dew.
So, I decided to copy it and come up with a Photoshop version or two. Clean:
‘79 style:
Unfortunately my version is typographically lacking—I tried to find a nice round Japanese typeface but had no luck. I’ve put together some desktop wallpaper versions, to suit various aspect ratios:
Clean: 1600×1200 / 1280×1024 / 1680×1050
‘79 style: 1600×1200 / 1280×1024 / 1680×1050
One last post about footy tipping, and it’s for the 1897 VFL season. The average percentage of correct guesses is 76%, better than average and better than this system’s average for 2007 or 2008.
Rounds 2 to 14 and the finals of the 1897 season on the X axis, correct guesses from 0/4 to 4/4 on the Y axis.
Full tally:
Rd 2: xxxx 4/4
Rd 3: -xxx 3/4
Rd 4: x--- 1/4
Rd 5: -xxx 3/4
Rd 6: -xxx 3/4
Rd 7: /-xx 2/3
Rd 8: --xx 2/4
Rd 9: -xxx 3/4
Rd 10: xxxx 4/4
Rd 11: xxxx 4/4
Rd 12: xxxx 4/4
Rd 13: xx-x 3/4
Rd 14: xx-x 3/4
Finals: --xxxx 4/6
Local and Maths & science
Following on from my previous post about footy tipping based on ladder position. This time, it’s for 2007, and the strategy is not as successful. The average percentage of correct guesses is 62%, still better than average.
Rounds 2 to 22, the finals, and the Grand Final of the 2007 season on the X axis, correct guesses from 0/8 to 8/8 on the Y axis.
Round 1 omitted because I don’t feel like coming up with another table based on NAB Cup results and winning margins. The inclusion of the Grand Final result can make up for that.
Full tally:
Rd 2: xx--xx-- 4/8
Rd 3: xx----xx 4/8
Rd 4: x-----xx 3/8
Rd 5: -xxxx--- 4/8
Rd 6: x---xxxx 5/8
Rd 7: --xx---x 3/8
Rd 8: xx-xx-x- 5/8
Rd 9: --xxxx-- 4/8
Rd 10: x/x---xx 4/7
Rd 11: ---xxxx- 4/8
Rd 12: xx-x--x- 4/8
Rd 13: xxxxxxx- 7/8
Rd 14: x--x--xx 4/8
Rd 15: --xxxxxx 6/8
Rd 16: xx-x-xxx 6/8
Rd 17: xx-xxxx- 6/8
Rd 18: /xx--x-x 4/7
Rd 19: -xx-x--x 4/8
Rd 20: x/xxx--x 5/7
Rd 21: xxxx--x- 5/8
Rd 22: -xxxxx-x 6/8
Finals: xxxx-xxx 7/8
Grand: x 1/1
Local and Maths & science