A Dissenting Opinion
Apparently, not everyone is a fan of Fallout New Vegas :)
Technorati Tags: games, fallout new vegas
. .
The author of this blog, James Robertson, passed away in April 2014. This blog is being maintained by David Buck (david@simberon.com).
Apparently, not everyone is a fan of Fallout New Vegas :)
Technorati Tags: games, fallout new vegas
The key piece of the MSNBC write up on the Nissan Leaf for me is this:
Nissan says it can take as long as 20 hours to charge up the car using a standard 120-volt circuit. If you hook up to a 240-volt Level 2 charging station — which can be installed in your home for the estimated cost of $2,200 — you can cut that time down to eight hours or so for a full charge.
Mind you, I don't drive much. And once I start my new job (commuting by air to Dallas), I'll be driving my own car even less. Even with all that though, it just doesn't seem practical. I drive without air conditioning in the summer (my car's unit is broken), but - I'm not going to an office. If I were driving to work in this area, A/C would be an absolute necessity, unless I wanted to arrive soaked. Since running full bore A/C uses the same power that drives the car, that lessens range, and given the ridiculous recharge time (few people have a 240 volt outlet in their garage), it becomes even less practical.
The only way I can see this working is for the battery packs to get small enough that a "charge station" would swap your battery for a fully charged one, and charge you based on the power you received and the state of the battery you came in with. Otherwise, I can't see why I would buy something like the Leaf instead of a hybrid.
Technorati Tags: electric car, car
Davide Varvello is trying to do two interesting things with Smalltalk screencasts:
I wish him luck; both are tough things to do on the web.
Hat tip Torsten
Technorati Tags: screencast
I've landed a new gig, which is good news. The slightly less good news is that it involves travel to a remote location (Dallas). There's an upside to that though; my sister, who I don't see very often, lives in that area. Also, I've been told that over time, I'll be able to do at least some of the work remotely. Given the state of my wife's knees (and the fact that my daughter will be heading to college next year), that will be important.
There are some funny aspects to the whole process of getting hired now. The last time I went through the whole interview/onboarding process was in 1993, when ParcPlace hired me. I came into Cincom via the acquisition of VisualWorks, so that process was pretty simple. Back in 1993, I recall there being very little paperworks. Sure, there was some, but it was pretty basic. Now? I'm not sure how many forms I've had to fill out, but it's a lot, and most of them seem to ask for variations on the same information. At least it's easier to get electronic copies of that stuff sent now; if it all had to go snail mail there's no telling how long the process might take :)
![]() |
Welcome to another Javascript 4 You - today we continue with syntax, looking at some basic arithmetic operators. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here. |
To watch now, use the viewer below:
If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.
You can also watch it on YouTube:
Technorati Tags: javascript, operators, tutorial
Enclosures:
[js4u7-iPhone.m4v ( Size: 4068293 )]
Charles Miller sums up the whole "The Beatles are on iTunes" thing:
What's being proved today? It's two years since iTunes overtook Walmart as the number one music retailer in the USA, physical or digital. Apple, Amazon and their competitors don't need anybody to reassure them that they're "it", they know already. The Beatles signing up with iTunes might be a personal milestone for Steve Jobs, but outside Apple, even for a huge fan of the group such as myself, it's a bit meh.
I guess that leaves Prince as the sole major name relic out there....
James Foster posts on a Squeak moment in Argentina after Smalltalks 2010.
![]() |
Welcome to episode 10 of "That Podcast: An FNV Diary" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith and I document our trials and tribulations in Fallout: New Vegas On today's podcast, Michael talks about his new playthrough siding with the Legion, while James talks about his map wanderings, including the "Legendary Geckos" in the southeast. James also talks about getting FNV to run on his Macbook using an XP VM in Parallels - with surprising success. For more details, you might want to check out this and this. |
You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. You can get to the podcast directly in iTunes via this link. You can also go to the iTunes store and leave a comment, or join the Facebook Group and discuss the podcast.
If you want to download the podcast directly, I've provided it in three formats:
Got feedback? Send it to James. We'd really appreciate it if you head on over to iTunes and leave a comment - enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in the wastelands!
Technorati Tags: fallout, fnv, fallout new vegas, xbox, mac
Enclosures:
[fnvdiary10.m4a ( Size: 15430468 )]
![]() |
Welcome to episode 10 of "That Podcast: An FNV Diary" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith and I document our trials and tribulations in Fallout: New Vegas On today's podcast, Michael talks about his new playthrough siding with the Legion, while James talks about his map wanderings, including the "Legendary Geckos" in the southeast. James also talks about getting FNV to run on his Macbook using an XP VM in Parallels - with surprising success. For more details, you might want to check out this and this. |
You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. You can get to the podcast directly in iTunes via this link. You can also go to the iTunes store and leave a comment, or join the Facebook Group and discuss the podcast.
If you want to download the podcast directly, I've provided it in three formats:
Got feedback? Send it to James. We'd really appreciate it if you head on over to iTunes and leave a comment - enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in the wastelands!
Technorati Tags: fnv, fallout, fallout new vegas, mac, xbox
Enclosures:
[fnvdiary10.mp3 ( Size: 11239470 )]
I posted about running Fallout: New Vegas in an XP VM under Parallels last week, and I wanted to add a brief addendum. When I first started playing, I got fairly frequent crashes. I thought that perhaps things would be more stable if I quit a few apps, and sure enough - the game runs nicely after that.
So it turns out that you can play FNV on a Mac using Parallels, but: if you only have 4 gb of memory (as I do) - go light on the Mac apps when you decide to play.
Technorati Tags: fallout new vegas, fnv, mac, parallels, vm
Today's Smalltalk 4 You continues with "ProfStef", which is part of the "one click" Pharo download. Today we look at three more of the basic literal object types: Characters, Strings, and Symbols. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, use the viewer below:
If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.
You can also watch it on YouTube:
Technorati Tags: pharo, literal object, string, symbol, smalltalk, character
Enclosures:
[st4u15-iPhone.m4v ( Size: 5096640 )]
Welcome to episode 5 of Independent Misinterpretations - a new Smalltalk and dynamic language oriented podcast with James Robertson, Michael Lucas-Smith>, and David Buck. This week David and I continue our "war stories" - conversation from last week.
You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (or any other podcatching software) using this feed directly or in iTunes with this one.
To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the AAC edition. The AAC edition comes with chapter markers. You can subscribe to either edition of the podcast directly in iTunes; just search for Smalltalk and look in the Podcast results. You can subscribe to the mp3 edition directly using this feed, or the AAC edition using this feed using any podcatching software. You can also download the podcast in ogg format.
If you like the music we use, please visit Josh Woodward's site. We use the song Troublemaker for our intro/outro music. I'm sure he'd appreciate your support!
If you have feedback, send it to jarober@gmail.com - or visit us on Facebook - you can subscribe in iTunes using this iTunes enabled feed.. If you enjoy the podcast, pass the word - we would love to have more people hear about Smalltalk!
Technorati Tags: smalltalk, war stories
Enclosures:
[im5.m4a ( Size: 14277868 )]
Welcome to episode 5 of Independent Misinterpretations - a new Smalltalk and dynamic language oriented podcast with James Robertson, Michael Lucas-Smith>, and David Buck. This week David and I continue our "war stories" - conversation from last week.
You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (or any other podcatching software) using this feed directly or in iTunes with this one.
To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the AAC edition. The AAC edition comes with chapter markers. You can subscribe to either edition of the podcast directly in iTunes; just search for Smalltalk and look in the Podcast results. You can subscribe to the mp3 edition directly using this feed, or the AAC edition using this feed using any podcatching software. You can also download the podcast in ogg format.
If you like the music we use, please visit Josh Woodward's site. We use the song Troublemaker for our intro/outro music. I'm sure he'd appreciate your support!
If you have feedback, send it to jarober@gmail.com - or visit us on Facebook - you can subscribe in iTunes using this iTunes enabled feed.. If you enjoy the podcast, pass the word - we would love to have more people hear about Smalltalk!
Technorati Tags: smalltalk, war stories
Enclosures:
[im5.mp3 ( Size: 10314029 )]
My daughter turns 17 today - something that seems unreal. On top of a (now pretty old) monitor in my office I have a set of baby photos of her - that just doesn't seem that long ago. Anyway, she's a great kid who does most of the cooking around here. So this morning, she gets pancakes:
Felipe Banados, one of the attendees of Smalltalks 2010, talks about the experience:
It has been quite a week. The experience of being at Smalltalks 2010 in Argentina was beyond any expectations I might have had. ¿The reason? It wasn’t only the keynotes, neither being in another country for the first time: It was because of meeting and feeling a part of the smalltalk community.
Sounds a lot like ESUG to me - and that's a good thing.
Technorati Tags: smalltalks 2010, argentina
Update: If you are using Parallels 7, then don't follow the directions below. Just install it normally; it'll run correctly without any tweaking
I spent some time playing Fallout: New Vegas
in a Windows XP VM today (Parallels 6) - and the experience was quite good. Here's the setup I have, for those who might be looking to do the same:
Before I added that DLL, the game ran right through the opening movie, and then crashed. Afterwards, it ran perfectly. I did reset the graphics to "Low" from "Medium" - even at that setting, it looks much crisper on my Mac than it does on the Xbox.
The gameplay seems fine, although there is a bit of an odd delay going into VATS at times. Since the whole game slows down, it doesn't result in my character getting killed, so that's ok. As to stability, I've only seen one crash - and given the noise you hear about the game crashing on regular Windows boxes, and some of the instability I've seen on the Xbox, this doesn't worry me much.
The good news? I have access to my current favorite game when I travel now :)
Technorati Tags: fallout, fnv, fallout new vegas, parallels, mac
It actually works, after applying the patch noted here - I took the screenshot below:
You might wonder why I'm doing this - after all, I have the game on my XBox. Well, I'll be traveling soon, and won't have access to my XBox - and it looks like using the latest Parallels, I can get access to the games I like on Windows without a full on Windows machine :)
Engadget Reports that we'll have to wait a bit longer for the iPad update we've wanted:
Many users of the Golden Master version of 4.2 reported that a WiFi connection could be established by their devices but, once made, they were unable to actually do anything on the 'net, and not being able to do anything on the 'net is what we like to call a Very Bad Thing.
That's a good reason to delay - the initial release had wifi issues that plagued my wife an a friend constantly.
I updated Parallels to version 6 - I'll be traveling for work soon, and I thought it would be nice if at least some of the Windows games would be available to me - the Xbox will be here while I'm away, sadly. The initial experience was less than thrilling.
The download and update seemed to go ok, and the migration of a Windows XP VM went smoothly as well. Then I suspended the VM and tried to quit Parallels - and that's when things got weird. The keyboard became unresponsive, and there was no way to switch to other apps. The Dock was still working, and I could start things - they just wouldn't come to the front. Really odd. Without the keyboard or terminal access, the only thing I could do was a hard reboot.
After the reboot, everything seemed fine - my VMs fired up and suspended just fine, and Parallels was well behaved. All I can figure is that part of the install/update process left things in a weird state. Not a huge surprise with VM technology, but odd. Anyway, if I end up installing any Windows games, I'll post on how that goes.
Technorati Tags: vm, parallels, parallels 6, windows
![]() |
Today's Javascript 4 You. Today we continue with syntax, looking at variables. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here. |
To watch now, use the viewer below:
If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.
You can also watch it on YouTube:
Technorati Tags: javascript, variables, tutorial
Enclosures:
[js4u6-iPhone.m4v ( Size: 1752797 )]
The way we've done cellphone service in the US is kind of insane. For all the talk about how we "enabled competition" while in Europe they "stifled" it, just read this article about the realities of using an unlocked phone in the US (and contrast that with Europe). It looks like the regulation that fixed service bands over there created a space wide enough for real competition - while the variance in bandwidth usage here has created nothing but lock in. Another case of rent seeking, it seems to me...
The Smalltalks 2010 conference has kicked off; Lukas has been tweeting it.
Technorati Tags: argentina, smalltalks
![]() |
Welcome to episode 9 of "That Podcast: An FNV Diary" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith and I document our trials and tribulations in Fallout: New Vegas On today's podcast, Michael and I talk about the two endgame scenarios we've run:
We also discussed the other endgame outcomes we intend to try out - which will get talked about on the next podcast! |
You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. You can get to the podcast directly in iTunes via this link. You can also go to the iTunes store and leave a comment, or join the Facebook Group and discuss the podcast.
If you want to download the podcast directly, I've provided it in three formats:
Got feedback? Send it to James. We'd really appreciate it if you head on over to iTunes and leave a comment - enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in the wastelands!
Technorati Tags: fallout, fnv, fallout new vegas, xbox, pc
Enclosures:
[fnvdiary9.m4a ( Size: 15300065 )]
![]() |
Welcome to episode 9 of "That Podcast: An FNV Diary" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith and I document our trials and tribulations in Fallout: New Vegas On today's podcast, Michael and I talk about the two endgame scenarios we've run:
We also discussed the other endgame outcomes we intend to try out - which will get talked about on the next podcast! |
You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. You can get to the podcast directly in iTunes via this link. You can also go to the iTunes store and leave a comment, or join the Facebook Group and discuss the podcast.
If you want to download the podcast directly, I've provided it in three formats:
Got feedback? Send it to James. We'd really appreciate it if you head on over to iTunes and leave a comment - enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in the wastelands!
Technorati Tags: fallout, fnv, fallout new vegas, pc, xbox
Enclosures:
[fnvdiary9.mp3 ( Size: 11142624 )]
The TSA might be run by the dumbest people on the planet. Consider: they're current idea of security involves either a privacy destroying fully nude picture of you, or a grope level pat down. No word on what they'll do if some bad actor decides to ingest (or otherwise internally conceal) an explosive - at this point, I wouldn't put it past these idiots to recommend cavity searches.
It gets better though: now they are supposedly considering a WiFi ban, because WifI could be used to detonate something. That's fascinating, because I guess the TSA hasn't pondered simpler things, like mechanical timers. Never mind though - in the realm of security theater, the TSA is all about puppetry. It's just a great time to start traveling for work again :)
![]() |
Today's Javascript 4 You. Today we continue with syntax, looking at how you write comments. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here. |
To watch now, use the viewer below:
If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.
You can also watch it on YouTube:
Technorati Tags: javascript, comment, syntax, tutorial
Enclosures:
[js4u5-iPhone.m4v ( Size: 2568965 )]
There's an unbelievable amount of video being uploaded to YouTube:
Remember in March when we shared with you that more than 24 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute? Well, you continue to amaze us: you’ve increased the amount of video uploaded to YouTube to 35 hours per minute. That breaks out to 2,100 hours uploaded every 60 minutes, or 50,400 hours uploaded to YouTube every day.
The amount of disk space alone is staggering, never mind the ongoing bandwidth usage.
Here's another video from ESUG 2010, which was held in Barcelona, Spain, the week of September 13, 2010. In this presentation, Eli Green talks about a native port of Gemstone to OS X. You can watch using the embedded player below, or follow this link to Vimeo.
Gemstone on OS X from James Robertson on Vimeo.
Technorati Tags: esug, gemstone, smalltalk, barcelona, spain
![]() |
I just finished "The Writer" - the second (and apparently final) DLC for Alan Wake |
I liked the game, but I think Remedy didn't carry the episodic nature of the game far enough. They released the initial game on disc with 6 episodes, then came out with two DLC episodes. Here's what they should have done: released one episode, with the rest coming out as DLC. They could have sold the initial episode for the regular price, with the purchase getting you access to the other episodes as they came out. Had they planned that, they could have rolled an episode out every 2 weeks or so, and treated the entire thing like a serial. IMHO, that would have peaked interest a lot more.
I'm curious as to how this plays out: will Google reach content deals with the networks, or will they start playing games with the way Google TV identifies itself in order to bypass the problem? The former would involve long (and probably stupid) negotiations; the latter would involve a small change to the way Google TV identifies itself. I'm not sure which way things will go :)
Technorati Tags: google
The endless campaign against the supposed losses from piracy have bitten me. I'm teaching a training class in a couple of weeks, so I wanted to set up an existing LCD monitor as a second screen - the class is being given via webcast, and I wanted the main screen for the slides, and the second screen for watching the class chat channel. Seems reasonable, right?
Well, the copyright posse has made sure that I can't (easily) do that. I have a mini-dvi to dvi adaptor I got with my new 13" MBP. I have an older LCD screen and a dvi to vga adaptor. Seems like it should all work fine, right? Nope - the older plugs have wires to carry analog, and the jerks at the MPAA (et. al.) are convinced that those are only there for nefarious purposes. Likewise, I wanted to plug my mac into the TV via an adaptor I bought a few years back - dvi to s-video. Same problem. In that case, I wanted to stream from a network site to my Mac, and display on the TV. Terrible, right?
Sure, I can buy a new set of cables for all of this, but the reason that I need to is just stupid. I'm not pirating anything - I'm trying to work or display content from a content provider on a bigger screen. Making this harder on me simply makes me less likely to bother.
Technorati Tags: stupidity, analog hole
Today's Smalltalk 4 You continues with "ProfStef", which is part of the "one click" Pharo download. Today we look at one of the basic literal object types: Numbers. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, use the viewer below:
If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.
You can also watch it on YouTube:
Technorati Tags: smalltalk, pharo, literal object, number
Enclosures:
[st4u14-iPhone.m4v ( Size: 3822447 )]
Things are looking shaky in the JCP - the Apache Foundation is distinctly unhappy:
"Why would we want to be in an organization where the rules of law don't matter? Our being on the [JCP Executive Committee] would be a sham. It would show that the community doesn't matter, that we'd basically cave into Oracle pushing stuff through, whether or not it would be in the best interest of the community," said Jim Jagielski, president and cofounder of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), in an interview with the IDG News Service.
I'm very curious to see how this will work out for Oracle. I understand their desire to monetize Java, but it brings to mind my teaching experience (many years ago, during my first year on the job): if you're too easy at the start, tightening up later is really, really hard. And that's where Oracle is at - Java has been "loose" for a long time, and they are trying to tighten things down.
It's times like this that make me wonder about the data I save. I've been archiving data off a drive that has to go back to my former employer - I had filled a 1 TB drive with stuff. Over the last day (on and off as I was able to muster interest) I copied the stuff that I thought I actually wanted over to a new drive. The results were fascinating.
I started with a drive that had 995 GB on it. I ended up with a new 1 TB drive with only 52 GB taken up. So... what the heck was I doing with the other 940 or so GB? Makes me go Hmmmm...
Technorati Tags: packrat
![]() |
Today's Javascript 4 You - starts in on Javascript syntax. We'll be covering that topic for the next few screencasts on Javascript. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here. |
To watch now, use the viewer below:
If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.
You can also watch it on YouTube:
Technorati Tags: javascript, web, syntax
Enclosures:
[js4u4-iPhone.m4v ( Size: 1645940 )]
Looks like you can get your Seaside (3.0) fix for any Smalltalk now - here's news of the Dolphin port of Seaside 3:
I've ported the final release of Seaside 3. This version is like the previous (2.9) ported one year ago. Differences are on the portability layer and some configuration tools. Now Seaside uses Pharo's Grease. I think that Grease will contribute to make easy the job when porting other Frameworks related to Seaside or Pharo and currently ported to other Smalltalk dialects (Magritte, Pier, etc, I think will be funny porting both ;) Another difference is the Welcome application, very nice Welcome to newcomers!
Hat tip Torsten.