| Everybody's playing blues in this key | You grab THIS harp (This is the key that's stamped on the Harp) |
| E | A |
| F | B-Flat |
| F-sharp | B |
| G | C |
| A-flat | D-Flat |
| A | D |
| B-Flat | E-Flat |
| B | E |
| C | F |
| D-Flat | F-Sharp |
| D | G |
| E-Flat | A-Flat |
For thousands of years, man has commanded the use of writing. As we are marched forward to time's relentless drumbeat, our manuscript has evolved. Sometimes, however, it is instructive to take a step back and look at what has come before and how it has changed our world. Today, that step shall be our study of the long s, 'ſ' which is given in unicode by U+017F, and is used from HTML as ſ and ſ.
ſ is used inside words, before the end of the word. For example, 'Congreſs' versus 'Congress.' The important bit is that ſ's shape makes it ideal for ligatures. For this reason, it survives to this day, just not in English. For example, to use a modern ligature for ſs in Congress, I would use Congreß. ſ is purpose–built to ligature with other letters. You can write it in an easy upward flow, then descend into your ligatured character. Oh, by the way: to type ß, you can use several techniques. On the mac, type option-s. In Windows, it's Alt+0223 or Alt+225. In X windows, use compose-s-s. Og course, in HTML it's ß
So, next time you are writing, consider using ſ as a way to both beautify your writing as well as a way to speed it up. Ligatures are handwriting's shortcuts to speed.
Welcome back folks! It's been a while since I last posted about anything of importance. Today, I have two articles to talk about.
First, let's look at this article from the Telegraph. While our going to war is bad enough, now the Bad Guys have created effective anti–tank weapons. These tank–killers will permanently disable an Abrams tank with DU (Depleted Uranium) armour. They will completely destroy the Humvees and other vehicles used by our forces. Terrifying. The question is: what can we do to fix this whole mess?
Just pulling out of Iraq won't do. We commited to being there, so we have to see it through. What we should do is demand a schedule from our leadership, showing us how much this will cost, what we'll gain for our lives and our money, and what we've done to and for the people of Iraq and the Middle East. It is very obvious that there are certain people in Iraq who would see us all dead. The article above supports this notion. The question is: are they the majority?
It is long past time for Iraq to take responsibility for itself. Perhaps we should remember that come November.
Now for something a little closer to home. Those who have heard of the TCM (Trusted Computing Module) almost universally decry it. They claim that it can make it possible for an OS to completely lock out the competition. Machines would be unable to boot GNU/Linux. People would not easily be able to rip their DvDs. That's all true. This article from Daring Fireball raises an interesting counterpoint: no one who is sane will actually do that to their hardware. Even if a TCM chip is installed, no one who claims to be open will actually use it.
The real question is: what about DvDs and other sorts of encrypted "content?" In short, TCM provides a very secure way to prevent you from playing movies that are encrypted with its technology. Should you be mad at the TCM system in your computer? No. It doesn't just screw your movie files up. It also has a lighter side. You can use it to protect your own information. TCM is a general service, just like the hardware clock, or the system scheduler. Who you allow to use it is entirely in your hands. You could use TCM to protect your address book, preventing viruses from being able to use it to spread themselves.
So if TCM is not so evil, then what do you do about the people who want to use it against you? I'm going to shift gears from the TCM issue to one that is much more abstract and more dangerous. Movie studios (and others who want control over your mind) survive on one thing alone: your money. Any of this stuff about them smashing your rights is utter nonsense. They can restrict your freedoms only because you pay them to!
Every time you buy a DvD, CD, Blu–Ray, or HD–DvD product from them, you are supporting their ideas and policies. Movies, like music, anime, comics, and most other forms of information are highly addicitve. Once you are hooked, it is very hard to quit "cold turkey." So, how do you send these people a message, telling them not to screw with you? Don't buy their shit!
Ok, that's all nice and idealistic, you're saying to yourself, but it's not that easy. Even if I stopped buying movies and DvDs and stuff, no one else will. The studios will keep messing with me, and I'll just get left behind while all of my friends get the latest new hawtness from Hollywood. True. If you stopped buying anything outright, and never mentioned it to anyone, chances are that the above scenario would result.
Having said that, there is something that we can all do that will work and will send a message. Don't buy into the new techology. Don't buy a PS3, Blu–Ray, or HD–DvD player or disk. Stick to plain old–fashioned DvDs and even—dare I say it—tapes. Most of your already have a DvD player, a DvD–ripping machine of some sort, or a VHS deck in your living room. These devices all work well, play a wide variety of movies, and will continue to work for a long time. The movie companies cannot phase out DvD until they saturate the market with HD/CRAP tech. This means that they will try every single trick in the book to get you to buy in. They will sell players at cost. They will sell movies at cost. Almost anything goes.
What they will never do is allow you to copy those movies and music to other places. They will continue to propagandize against the idea of information freedom until it ceases to exist as any sort of meme. Once they manage to saturate the market, they will stop making DvDs. Then everyone will be forced to "buy the White album again." Don't let them. Just say NO to Blu–ray and HD!
First, these people have made a giant flag out of cars. Cute.
Next up, two very interesting flash programs that can amuse the mind for a little while.
And now for the vertical jet! (WMV)
Our final story: the creation of a rather terrifying precision munition by the Iraq insurgents.
This is a snapshot of the basketball hoop in front of my driveway.
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Here's a question for you. Do you use online photo–sharing sites like Flickr or Photo bucket? Do you keep a blog somewhere? Are you the same kind of socialite as I? Do you find it annoying and difficult to get the damned pictures from your camera to your blog? Even more annoying when you want to re–use them or reference them elsewhere? If you said "yes" to any one of these questions, then flock might be worth looking at.
What is flock? In a word, social. Flock is a version of FireFox, already a great product, that has a re–designed interface intended for socialites. You can easily write posts to multiple blogs, add and edit pictures to any number of picture sites, including Flickr and Photo Bucket, and even drag and drop a picture into an HTML form. When you do, the system uploads the picture to flickr automatically, then inserts the IMG tag into your form, making it drop–dead easy to use and re–use pictures in any forum that accepts HTML. Cool, ne?
One other feature is worth mentioning: snippets. Flock supports the notion of grabbing a web page as a snippet. When you write a blog entry about that page, you need only drag and drop the snippet (like this http://lowroad75.comicgenesis.com/comics/20060610.jpg), and the system inserts the HTML code to point to it. If you just drag and drop the snippet, you just get the URL to it. If you right click and select copy HTML, you get this:
, (height and width tags are edited) which is a fully cited link to the resource. Nice trick, ne?
I caught this photo with just the right lighting and my macro lens. I swear, it could be in a magazine if the fish was just a bit bigger. Copyright ©2006 Toku Chan
I went out with Jimmy to try out his new bass boat. Jimmy pulled up a small bass and I caught this photo with just the right lighting and my macro lens. I swear, it could be in a magazine if the fish was just a bit bigger.
Why do I use Ruby? What makes it different or better than other languages like Python or PERL or Java or C? There is no short answer. Java, PERL, and Python were all steps up from C since they incorporated things like garbage collection, which greatly simplifies the work of a programmer. But why should a python programmer switch to Ruby?
Two reasons spring to my mind. the first is that Ruby is completely functional, while still being object–oriented. That means that things that are usually statements in languages like Java or C or even Python like if, while, for, etc., are actually expressions in Ruby. So you can make use of the contents of an if expression without the need for spurious variables or funny return statements. Also, all functions return their last evaluation, which eliminates the need for most return statements.
The second important thing is that Python, while being object–oriented to an extent, is not as object–oriented as Ruby. Python numbers are merely numbers, requiring functions to manipulate them. Everything in Ruby is an object, even numbers, literals, and temporary things like parameters. So a statement like:
for each i in some_list
puts i
some_list.each{|x| print "#{i}\n"}
What does this all add up to? Ruby is a language that—in my opinion—stays out of my way while I code. I can concentrate upon the program and the design, with only a minimal amount of compiler–worship. I can say from my own personal experience—programming in a plethora of different languages—that I have the most fun when I write in Ruby. It's the nicest and most expressive language I have used to date.
Apple–Shift–A to open the /Applications, finally locating and double–clicking upon your desired application. Painful, isn't it? You Windows users out there are probably shaking your heads thinking, "thank God I have a start menu!"option–apple–space on my systems and you will see a simple window appear in the center of the screen. Start typing your command, and the incremental search will show you results in realtime. When you see what you want, merely press enter. If you wish to add parameters, you need only press tab and type them in. So, to start FireFox, I need only type "fi" and enter. I can get the whole sequence out in the time it takes you to open your start menu or Finder window. And I can do that with every program, not just those few on the Dock.
I took this picture near my house. It is of a small mountain stream, complete with temple. Copyright ©2006 Toku Chan
I took this photo recently, when I went to this tiny mountain temple near my house. It was incredible. The sound of rushing water, the peace and quiet. You know those movies where the monk goes off to train in the mountains? This is one of those places.
This is the view that I had from my train's window as I was going to Tokyo. The train itself travels at over 260KmH, which is about 162MpH. Pretty fast. Anyway, I saw this out of my window and snapped a pretty good photo. I showed it to the Japanese fellow – Hideki was his name, and he sells motor oil for companies like Castrol – sitting next to me. He said that I was very lucky today; usually the mountain is covered in clouds and therefore quite impossible to see.
Well, today I go to the Imperial Palace and gardens. I understand that there is a part of the place open to the public. We shall see.
I found this Honda Steed modified motorcycle parked outside my dorm; and just HAD to take a picture. Copyright ©2006 Toku Chan
You know that moment when you realize that you REALLY miss your ride? No? Well, I do. I saw this baby, and I wanted to just hop on, kick the starter, and roll 'er off down the highway.
Although she's a little raked for my taste, I love her just the same. She's that pretty Japanese bike that I can oogle until I get home to Baby.
The busses and trains in Japan often have these protective charms installed to provide the passengers with that little bit of extra protection. Yes, that metal sleeve is actually intended for this purpose. Copyright ©2006 Toku Chan
When I ride the busses and trains around here, I am often amused by the differences between the way things are done here, and the way they are done at home.
When you ride a bus in Amercia, you need "exact change," which you must pay up front, or you can't get on. One of the big problems with this is knowing how much to pay. This usually involves talking with the bus driver and discovering how much "exact change" you might need. Cumbersome! I say.
The Japanese found a simple and – dare I suggest – elegant solution to the problem. Pay when you get off. Japanese busses have two doors. You always get on through the back door, where you either log in your bus card or K card; or take the little zone ticket if it is offered. Sit down and enjoy the ride. At the front of the bus is a display with lots of numbers. If you don't have a ticket, then the amount shown in box 1 is how much you must eventually pay. Otherwise, your ticket's number's box reflects the amount.
Oh, and don't worry about exact change, all busses in Japan are equipped with efficient change machines at the front. These are the same machines that you either drop money into or swipe your card through when it's time to get off.
People can get onto and off of busses in Japan very easily and quickly. They even went so far as to design protective charms right into the bus itself. See the photo for details.
Oh yeah! This will make a beautiful desktop background... Copyright ©2006 Toku Chan
I was riding home from another day of grueling midterms when I spotted the red mood rising behind a building. I decided to go over to this spot I know where you can get a good view at night. This is the result. Personally, I think it makes a beautiful backdrop, but the photo dosen't do the real thing justice.Just an addendum: I have to say, I LOVE my new camera. This is an incredible shot, and I'm proud of it. Go on over to Flickr to see some more good photos taken recently...
This is the all you can drink bar at one of my favorite local restaurants. Don't ask me why it's called a "Viking," I haven't figured it out yet. Copyright ©2006 Toku Chan
That's right! This is the soon-to-be-famous DRINK VIKING! This is where you get your bottomless drinks from at the Bamyan restaurant. Don't you just love Engrish?
What a tiny car! Copyright ©2006 Toku Chan
I was riding home one night – with my old camera, unfortunately – when I spotted this car sitting in traffic. The damn thing is so small that I could easily pick it up. It stands no more than four feet tall and as long and wide. I bet it can go as fast as 80-100KMh though...
This fine fellow was waiting just outside the station. There was a cake vendor not 5 feet from him.
These deer were found on the final approach to the Great Southern Gate.
This is the 南大門. Made completely of wood, it stands six to seven stories tall.
Here, we are standing in the Great Southern Gate, looking towards the Middle Gate and the Temple beyond. Those twin golden fishtails on the roof are almost 20 feet tall.
This is the 中門 or Middle Gate. As you can see, it's set up to completely obscure the giant building behind it. This gate is actually much smaller than the original, which was almost as big as the Great Southern Gate.
Here we have the view that a visitor from long ago might have had. I put the camera between two of the fenceposts. Unfortunately, they don't let us in this way anymore.
Buddha-incense smells really nice. I have a small package that I'll bring home with me. I donated a little money and lit a stick of my own. You are supposed to waft the smoke over yourself to get the good luck it provides.
Even the "small" lantern in front of the building dwarfs everyone around it. This lamp – a reproduction – was based upon the original 8th century artifact which stood here until the 1970's.
The base of the lantern is covered with inscriptions: names of those who donated money to fund the construction of this temple long ago.
The top of the lantern is covered with scenes of Bodhisatvas doing magical things like walking upon clouds and the like.
The Daibutsu himself. He is much bigger than he looks.
Although I cannot remember his name, this figure is one of the more important Boddhisatvas.
This is the Boddhitsatva named Kannon. In his crown, you might notice a small figure. That figure is Amida Buddha, who is said to assist those who seek enlightenment.
Daibutsu from the side. Each of those lotus petals he is sittin upon is taller than I am.
Because people were worried about the halo being knocked over in an earthquake, they stuck in those timbers to hold it upright.
This is from directly behind Daibutsu. Those flames are the "souls" of people trying to leave samsara.
The Temple of March from the front.
This is from the side. Notice how the old rain gutter was left in place, despite the fact that it is no longer used.
To have a fire ceremony, you first take massive bamboo rods, stuff the ends with hay, light it up, and carry them up these covered, wooden stairs.
Then you stick them out over the balcony.
Run like blue blazes to the other end of the temple.
Finally shaking off the remaining hay. Repeat 12 times.
The CASIO Exilim EX-P505 Pro Digital Camera
Vital Statistics:
- Weight: Like an empty beer bottle.
- Size: A little bulky, but not bad.
- Resolution: 5.0MP
- Software: Standard CASIO software.
- Can take movies (640x480) with sound.
- SD Card memory.
- LION Recharable battery. 1230mAh
- Lots of controls. I can manually set the f-stop, shutter, and others.
AT&T wants to aquire Bellsouth, which would make it the largest phone company in America – again – leaving only Quest and Verizon as its competitors. Since it would control over 2/3 of the DSL lines in America, broadband subscribers – including cable – can expect rate hikes as a result.
Apparently, the school took exception to the dancing mushrooms, the drops of acid coming from the back of the sun, and other things like that. This is understandable I suppose.
If you look carefully, less than kindly words are incribed into the grain of the edge of the desk. I admit that the picture forms a wonderful likeness of the person in question.
Please allow me to introduce Hirata sensei. Hirata sensei is my teacher for Japanese reading and writing, level 2H. He is linguist and professional teacher with a superb teaching style. I can ask him complex and detailed questions regarding Japanese language, grammar, and even slang – and he will always provide a ready answer. Hirata sensei is very soft-spoken, but quite clear nonetheless.
And now I shall introduce to you: Komura sensei. Komura sensei teaches my Japanese Speach class at level 3D. Komura sensei is a very cheerful man, always ready with a joke or some silly sort of thing to make us laugh and keep the mood light. Going to his class is always a positive experience, even when one is tired from staying up late doing his homework assignments – which are a little long. Otherwise, he is an expert teacher, able to keep things simple and understandable to us – enough so that we don't forget – despite the fact that very little english is ever used in the classroom.
When one wants to go shopping here, one tends to go to either Kyoto or Osaka. Up in Kyoto, there is an area called 四条 or Shijō, which means "Fourth Avenue." Along Shijō, there are several shopping districts. When I say "district", what I actually mean is several city block wide covered street sections with literally thousands of shops. Japan actually has a national chain store dedicated to selling...socks. Yes, you heard me right: socks! Anyway, when one passes down one of these covered streets, one tends to see a lot of things: shops, restaurants, MacDonald's, KFC, random temples...wait! temples!? Yes, temples. The area is so old that the temples far predated the rest of it. Rather than buy them out and tear them down, the shopping districts simply surrounded them. So the above picture was taken at a temple that was at least 400 years old, and just outside the main gate to it is a shopping mall. This is much like walking into Crossgates or some other mall, and discovering a full-blown catholic cathedral in one of the store slots.
Can you belive this?
This is a new phone that can do WiFi Skype telephony! That's right, you can walk into a Panera's or other internet cafe and make and recieve Skype calls! Just like a cell phone. Now, if they'd just make it a GSM so I could slip in my Vodaphone SIM card; I'd be all set. That and allow wired ethernet connections. This is totally cool!
