I just posted Ext2 1.2b1. This release adds support for ignoring permissions (non-root files only), fixes the inode alloc bug found in Linux 2.6.4, and updates the pref pane with some extra feedback and bug fixes. e2fsprogs 1.35 is also included. Feedback on the release is appreciated.
We had a power outage sometime last night during a nasty thunder storm. The microwave had reset, and so had both VCR's. I had to spend about ten minutes re-programming my auto-record list on one VCR. Of course, since I have some pretty heavy duty UPS's (1200VA, and 900VA) protecting my computers none of them had a problem. My main system has been up for 80 days now and probably won't go down until I replace it with one of the new G5's that are supposed to be coming next month.
Last October, during another storm, I lost my $500 dollar Velodyne sub-woofer. Luckily it was still under warranty. The repair shop had to end up replacing the whole amplifier unit and the main controller board. Both were fried. When I checked the adaptor where it was plugged in, I found that it had been melted and cracked open! That must have been a really bad lightening strike. Nothing else in the house was damaged, but the sub-woofer was the only thing not plugged into a surge protector. I rectified that oversight ASAP.
Prof. Lawrence Lessig released his new book today. Entitled Free Culture it explores how big media companies are shaping the laws that affect you and I (at least in the U.S.). Eating his own dog food, Prof. Lessing is not only selling the book, but providing a free download via the Creative Commons license. Pick this up if you have a chance.
I posted my own thoughts on this issue about a week ago.
Slashdot has a poll going that asks: Why do you work on Open/Free Software projects?. A better question may be: Why do you volunteer your time? OpenSource work is really a form of volunteerism for the 21st century.
Personally, I do it for multiple reasons depending on the project: for fun, because it's something I personally need or want (at the time), learning something new, recognition, and giving back to the community. Monetary rewards usually don't factor in, as donations are few and far between.
The largest (serious) choice on Slashdot is "For fun". That probably would have been my vote back in the college days, but now that I program for a living fun doesn't factor in as much.
Our freedoms are being eroded on a daily basis by big government and greedy corporations. Take a moment to head over to EFF.org's Action Center and send some feedback to your congress person. Eff makes this very easy, so it takes less than five minutes using their forms (or you have the option to write your own statement).
You may also want to make a donation to Eff to help fight the good fight. Every little bit helps. A good rule of thumb — postulated by Prof. Lawrence Lessig — is to try to match your charitable contributions to the amount you spend keeping the media oligopoly in Gucci suits. I have to admit that I haven't lived up to the challenge. I gave Eff $125 last year – that's a bit more than what I spend on entertainment related items every month. I'm going to do better this year.
Yesterday, it was fifty degrees (F) and partly sunny (although very windy). Right now, it's about thirty degrees and snowing. So goes the many moods of March in the midwest.
I rented three more movies this past week (happen to have four coupons good for up to three movies at only a buck each).
Identity: excellent, excellent picture. An original viewpoint on an old theme, combined with great acting make for a wonderful, suspenseful mystery-thriller. John Cusack and nine others are stuck in a motel where the guests are murdered one by one. This sounds like a thousand other movies, but believe me there are so many twists and turns to the plot that I would be spoiling the story if I said any more. See this movie any way you can. Five stars (out of five).
The Missing: Tommy Lee Jones plays an absentee father who returns to his bitter daughter years later and helps her track down those who kidnapped his grand-daughter. The drama plays out as the two (actually three) ride across the late 19th century American west tracking the kidnappers and trying to mend their strained relationship. The story is a little slow moving (for my tastes), but the cinematics are beautiful, the story well told, and there's even some action for the guys in the crowd. Four and half stars (out of five).
Anger Management: Jack Nicholson plays Adam Sandler's counselor when Sandler supposedly gets himself in trouble with his temper. The story seemed very contrived to me. There were a few funny moments, and for the most part Nicholson and Sandler were believable in their roles, but that couldn't make up for a story that ultimately went nowhere . The ending tried to explain away the questions the story raises, but only ends up feeling as contrived as the story. Two and half stars (out of five).
I picked up a copy of Tesla's lastest CD, Into The Now, last Friday. This album kicks major ass. "Into The Now" seems a bit heavier than Tesla's earlier stuff and that's a good thing. Screaming guitars, thunderous drums, and Jeff Keith's gravely, bluesy vocals make for some good ol' fashioned rock-n-roll.
Linux 2.6.4 was released today. Whenever there is a new Linux release, I always check the patch to see if there were any Ext2/3 changes. With 2.6.4, there were a few -- one that actually affected the OS X driver.
Turns out that there has been a long standing bug in Ext2, where an inode allocation can fail even if there are free inodes available. Chris Mason from Suse found the bug and his patch has been incorporated into 2.6.4.
I've already applied the patch to the OS X driver and committed it to TOT (v1.14, it may take 24hrs for it to appear). Since the bug is not critical, and there has to be a very specific set of conditions met to trigger it, I'm not going to do a binary release right away.
I also have some other changes on deck (not in CVS) to implement a limited form of HFS's "ignore permissions" feature. Once everything has been tested to my satisfaction, I'll get a new dev build out.
I rented three DVD's over the weekend: Once Upon a Time in Mexico, 28 Days Later, and House of the Dead.
"Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is the last installment in director Robert Rodiriquez's "El Mariachi" trilogy. Mexico continues the story of a mythical, modern day Zorro-like anti-hero and his crusade to blow everyone and their brother to bits. There is plenty of blood, guts, and explosions galore. Unfortunately, the DVD cover misleads with a prominent picture and top-billing of gorgeous spanish beauty Salma Hayek. Her role in Mexico is minimal (we see more of Johnny Depp and Mickey Rourke than her); and unlike Desperado she does not disrobe. Overall, this movie lives up to expectations for the action genre and is worth the five dollar rental fee. The only thing I didn't really like (besides less of Salma Hayek) was the almost super-human action sequences that would look more at home in a Marvel comic book (in one of these El Mariachi climbs a wall like Spiderman). Thankfully, these scenes were minimal. Three and half stars (out of five).
"28 Days Later" is a post-apocalyptic view of the world after a virus breaks out on the British Isles. The virus causes animals (including humans) to mutate into C.H.U.D like creatures bent on viciously attacking (and perhaps eating) any normal human that happens to appear within their radar. I was expecting more of a zombie-like theme (which some say there is); but it came across as more of a sociopolitical statement against animal testing and gene experimentation that tries to masquerade as a horror flick. Three stars (out of five).
"House of the Dead". Don't wast your time or your money. This movie is a horrible, horrible adaptation of a video game to the big-screen. The story is awful, and the acting is even worse (the lady cop stands out as particularly bad example). I think the producers were trying to ride the coattails of Resident Evil, which wasn't a bad game to movie translation. But, "House of the Dead" turns out as some kind of amalgamation of '50's B-movie horror style and the pure drivel of a horror-hack who wouldn't know scary if Pinhead poked him in the ass. One-quarter of a star (out of five).
Lawrence Lessig has written an article for Wired magazine: Wired 12.03: Some Like It Hot. In it, he details how Hollywood, and the Recording and Cable industries were formed with the use of "pirated" intellectual property. How ironic that a hundred years later these same industries are now the ones being pirated as new markets form.
This sounds like Disney and its use of the Brothers Grim fairy tales to start its business. They were able to use the work of other artists to start a huge company that still makes profit from those works today (Snow White, Cinderella, etc). But, every time Disney's so-called original work is up for public domain release the copyright term gets magically extended by Congress.
Looks like once the shoe is on the other foot, share and share alike is no longer a good rule to follow.
So, I've recently decided to get serious about learning French (for a second time). I took a class in high school, but that didn't turn out well (of course I think that was true for most of my high school classes). I've always been interested in French since then, and tried to pick up as much as I could in my very limited spare time.
I know this is going to be a slow process. I also know that if I actually knew someone who spoke French things could potentially go a lot easier (especially as far as correct pronunciation). Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who speaks French. So my next plan is to change my preferred language to French for my daily computer work (generally eight - ten hours - most of which is spent writing code) --forcing myself to deal with it on a daily basis. I don't think I'm quite to this point yet. Another month or two though and I may give it the ol' college try.
You may be asking why French? Well, it's a fairly simple choice. I already know some of the language and that makes it the easiest to learn. I've always wanted to learn Russian, but since it's not related to English in the slightest that would be really tough.