News:

The anti-spam plugins have stopped being effective. Registration is back to requiring approval. After registering, you must ALSO email me with your username, so that I can manually approve your account.

Main Menu
Menu

Show posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Show posts Menu

Messages - otrstf

#31
Announcements / Re: New Server Coming Soon
August 01, 2007, 11:28:52 AM
I've found a site that has css examples for just about every box type - I'll post it when I get to work - in about an hour...
#32
A/C is one of those annoying problems you almost have to pay someone else to fix.  There are several flavors of problems, and I couldn't tell from your description.  For instance:

1.  If you turn on the A/C switch and nothing happens, that's an electrical problem, and usually a fuse, a loose wire or bad switch. Could be as cheap as a buck!
2.  If the A/C turns on, but there is little or no cold, you have a coolant leak.  In the US, the law requires you pay a certified mechanic to fix this, to prevent venting the remaining coolant.  Middle expensive.
3.  If the A/C clunks, makes odd noises, etc. , you have a bad compressor, or an animal trapped under your hood. Now we're talking relacement, usually. More expensive.

As far as things to do to prevent this happening again...about all you can do is have it checked imediatly before the weather heats up for the summer. the mechan ic might be able to add a little coolant, cheap. Otherwise, remember that the fans that blow the cool air into the car cost almost nothing to run, compared to the compressor. so turn up the temperature a little and let the breeze blow.  also, once the A/C has cooled the car, turn it to "Recirculate" and turn it a little warmer.
#33
So...I'm guessing someone submitted a 10-year-old fanfic as a script concept? I could totally get behind that!

For certain values of fanfic...
Which I won't admit having the URL of... :)
#34
General Chat / Re: Awesome 3D Sound Demo
July 07, 2007, 02:04:04 PM
The comments on that blog were just as interesting. Now, I'm eager to start time-shifting left and right speaker sounds on some of the podcasts I do at work, just for fun! Also, must find my Tangerine Dream tapes...
#35
Announcements / Re: New Server Coming Soon
June 09, 2007, 02:20:00 AM
well, I tried the current php newsbox, and it was so amazingly easy and painless I'm almost afraid  to see what a javascript alternative would look like.  I'll probably migrate the woc-archive splash page to the php version tommorrow.

The sites I maintain at my day job (painfully, slowly!) finally are requiring I learn scripting, so this is an opportune moment.  Dealing with these (on an over-secured intranet) makes me appreciate the well-mannered webhost you are!

As far as the donation issue, as far as I know, nobody has ever clicked the 'donate' link on the old phase I site... Maybe it needs  to have a more prominent position?

PS: I'm working over in killeen this week. Who painted all the grass in Texas green this summer?  I've never seen it _not_ brown before. :)
#36
General Chat / Re: Funny Pictures!
May 16, 2007, 10:23:41 PM
By amazing coincidence, the underwater tiger has been my wallpaper on my work machine for the last 3 days!  Look in the background, though...I think there is a person's legs in lead-weighted shoes behind the tiger to the left :0
#37
I was cleaning up some broken links in the Winds of Change Archive http://xepher.net/~woc-archive, and I  discovered to my horror that I could no longer upload the corrected pages to the site. Much messing around with ftp settings, pulling out of fur and reading of FAQs ensued.  Finally tracked the problem down to file permissions on the older copies on the website; a bit of chmod magic fixed it!

In the process, I switched from ftp to SSH to upload, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is no harder to use ssh. so a win all around.
#38
Announcements / New Server Coming Soon
May 11, 2007, 11:05:05 PM
I'm only using the web client anymore, so POP3 could go. (even though I have much better luck configuring POP3 vs IMAP, I gave up trying to make my Evolution client at home handle both.)  

PS: whatever you did to my spam filters worked!! Many thanks ^.^
#39
General Chat / ManBearPig
May 11, 2007, 10:49:48 PM
This is remarkably in line with my own views on the topic: global warming seems to be happening, but on the whole it seems like a good thing.  Although, the some-times Climatology student in me can find a good argment for observed temperature rises being caused by increased urbanization around most weather instrument locations.  The clincher for me was the greenland icecap core samples: these show a long-term warmer trend, comparable to typical past periods between ice ages.

All that being said, I'm not worried. People, animals and plants adjust, migrating or adapting in the face of change. Everyone who is here now is a descendant of a successful adapter to previous climate shifts.  Raising sea levels as urban renewal, as it were.

Summer homes in Siberia!
#40
General Chat / I'm not dead!
April 05, 2007, 12:29:15 AM
Do you find yourself visiting coffee shops just to see if they have a wifi zone?  Checking any unused ethernet jack to see if it's 'live'? Using leftover minutes on old phone cards to dial up PeoplePC on your modem?

Then, you might be one of the internet undead!

--
otrstf, who has stood in the shower of his hotel room with the laptop held overhead to get a connection :)
#41
General Chat / Science!
November 09, 2006, 11:29:08 PM
That link was far and away the best discussion thread I've read this week.  I'm concerned, however, that the mass of humanity (and their political handlers) have shown their tendency to react with ever more restrictive laws and blanket prohibition.  Eventually, this must lead to the end of the current 'Big Science' era, as funding becomes restricted to incremental advances along the edge of current tech.  Of course, the breakthroughs still be made, but only in secret defence-funded labs, or by 'mad' scientists working in hidden castles in Transylvania!
#42
General Chat / Are you doing anything for Halloween?
October 31, 2006, 10:13:57 PM
Going out for dinner!  We attended two different costume parties over the weekend, was a poodle for one; a toucan for another:
#43
Announcements / New Forum Registration Rules
October 01, 2006, 05:46:32 PM
Quote from: cha0sdoes anyone know where i can get VxIxAxGxRxA ? i've been looking EVERwhere!

;p
I know this nice person in Nigeria who might have some, if only you can help him with some banking difficulties....
#44
General Chat / Job!
August 08, 2006, 08:35:07 PM
Good to hear. Plans are good! Be carefull if you get down to "Plan IX", as I hear there've been problems with that one ;)
My sister's husband was laid off (network eng in the 'springs), so I've been in automatic 'job counsellor" mode all week.  Best of luck.
#45
General Chat / Job!
August 06, 2006, 05:32:04 PM
Xepher

You've probably seen me say this to a number of people; but I'll repeat it here: Do your job search while you're still employed! Let the place you hate finance the search for something better. Don't quit until you've got a fallback lined up.

--otrstf