I’m sorry I was so resistant to Twitter!

I hope I didn’t call it the work of the devil ….errr…. yes, well. I have been using it for a couple of months now and it’s really quite sweet. It does a very nice job indeed of aggregating news sources in a superbly concise format and saves me loading sites that are heavily overburdened with ads and tracking software (not only exploitative but o so sloooooooow).

It also does an extremely good job of letting me know when something is happening, far, far faster and more efficiently than the kingmakers (our mainstream media). If there is misinformation, there is no shortage of people quick to correct – which is no surprise.  The few with a mission aside, most people prefer truth and accuracy. (Yay for people!) I don’t have any apps yet – that’s still to be explored. If anyone knows any good ones I’m willing to have a look and give ‘em a whirl. The bus remains my cleanest source of news, since I can filter it via how well I know the person talking but Twitter adds a new window to the world, which is welcome.

In particular, I like the way it undermines the kingmaker-media completely. I suggest they stop believing their own selves and have a good gander at what their potential customers really think. Might find it something of an eye opener (giggle) – and a rather large clue as to why their influence is waning and their sales are foundering. Still on the subject of the kingmakers I suggest they find a personable lefty to be nice to and rather quickly – the right, right, right and right are not grabbing the public’s imagination in quite the way intended.

I’m in such a good mood today. I really don’t mind being wrong and admitting it – it actually cheers me up, it’s just like losing a wart. Now for some more Neverwinter!

Yay for young people with brainssss

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/04/grad-student-who-shook-global-austerity-movement.html

gzzzz on your celebrity young man, you completely and utterly deserve it!

Cucumber Eye Frizbees

When this family began, the first baby could only just about hold a mouse. Yes, as soon as they could do that they were exploring mimmies computer along with everything else the great world had to offer. It was part of the scene and part of their new little lives along with dandelions, clouds, peas, stones, butterflies and everything else. Then after that we went into about seven years of intense crafting. The productivity of the young is stupendous by the way.

This house became a truly wondrous cave full of glue and sculptures, paint and pictures. Clay, salt dough, old sprirographs collected from charity shops, rescued barbies, rocks, homemade kites, cardboard houses, collages, stars, moons, suns, butterflies, fluffy toys, things that talked to you when you stood on them at midnight, spiders, seedlings, meandering crayons, poetry, practice writing, drawings, paintings. I seldom left the house without glitter in my hair or opened my handbag without distributing sequins upon all and sundry. I liked it very much – I think you can tell.  A lot of time was spent clearing workspaces, organising the general production and finding places for everything. The kind of housework I truly do not mind.

About 5 years into that crafting phase school erosion began in earnest, and although crafting continued unabated for a while, mental escape became more of an issue. This happens to us all I think. So, the focus shifted. Suddenly there grew piles of books, an interest in handheld gaming toys. Things that allow you to escape for a little while to another world and have some headspace that isn’t to do with grades, friends, competition. Discretely (and a bit sadly) I began storing the best of the crafted and gently steering the need for a mental haven into making a game ourselves as documented pretty much in this blog. Nothing too hefty, all more exploration and experiment. And above all everyone here and anyone that ventured in was encouraged to play!!!

This paid off of course – is it really all that surprising? The grades of my gamers are uniformly excellent, and years in maths are skipped. Etc. Games make you think, whether playing or creating them. So, that lasted a goodly while too, and now it’s teenagers, and the computer is fading. It looks like it’s going to be a few years of creating our own cosmetics, and otherwise developing personal style. They are finding themselves. (I will continue computer work in the background – I’ve discovered a couple of gaps in the schooling. Plus, I think I just like it.)This is also (as also documented) the best time to deconstruct, declutter and generally redo everything ready for their early adulthood, and my bit where they go off and do own thing. I solo half the time as it is, so that’s not going to be a big strain but at this point I can make my domestic environment more conducive to the things I like. What a lot of words. I’m having a big redo in preparation for the next years.

I will not write our eye-frizbee recipe fully since it didn’t quite work out (cucumber, green tea and witchhazel are what is in it). It was meant to be eye-gel. It smells great! And is quite nice to hold in one’s hand… very cool and smooth, but I think we should try again hahaha – oooo fun! I do hope I’m in for five years of cosmetic production to match the crafting and computer/book phases.

This weekend – avocado!

Arg the heating

has packed in. I’ve made sure everyone is somewhere else (mostly grandma’s) and am holding the fort solo. I have an electric storage thing that will keep me warm, so it’s not too bad. Even so I’m in my hoodie. Being visited by people with soup. I refuse to call anyone out because it is Easter Sunday, of course. The funny thing is it was serviced last week. In this day of digital aids perhaps gas companies can time your boiler to fail during times when you will be charged double or triple for callouts??? hmmm…. Come to think of it tinfoil under the hoodie might work quite well and conserve heat. Whether it is a conspiracy is irrelevant. I’m still not calling anyone out until Tuesday.

I liked the format of the 3am post yesterday with the headings, so going to try using it again. (I’m being persuaded to abandon ship here, but meh, I’m ok. Plus still tired and in need of another peaceful day.) Figured out what’s wrong with yesterdays post – some fights are too big, plus there are just too many of them. Fights I mean – not tinfoil kind of “them”. To sum it up I’m worried how things are going in Britain but don’t fancy being squished in crossfire anytime soon. Ranting here is futile too. Most of the stuff needs to be settled through the courts at high levels. Meanwhile I strengthen the good things in life where I find ‘em and keep an eye out for non-leech stragglers eh, that suits my temperament better anyway.

There is one thing I’d probably work to see improved - when the littlies are all grown and safe. That’ll be some time yet though. It’s a white fury issue with me, never mind red mist – I personally would be happy to see children’s social work dismantled one paperclip at a time and replaced with something that’s accountable, competent, properly monitored and effective. Too many failures. Of many kinds.  I’m stopping right there on the subject though. Now isn’t the time, and again, a rant here is futile.

Wurm

It’s a perfect day for Wurm. I must say it’s nice to have 2 wild pigs come up and nose about while I fix a wall. The hunting cave looks like it’s worth expanding a little now too.

I’m having another go at all the paperwork while it’s peaceful round here. Thinning out old bills, tying up with string and depositing in mauve document boxes (hopefully never to be seen again !).

Vanguard (vital information!!)

Never mind the ultimate build, here’s how to move the store icon around the screen. Worth it’s weight in gold this. Thankyou, thankyou!!

http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/index.php?threads/cant-move-store-icon.1775/

Time out

With great relief I might add. That’s Easter launched. I wasn’t happy with the second post I did today – took ages to write and then I had to keep rereading it because something’s bothering me about it. I’m still not sure what. Now, after what must be the 50th reread (ok maybe I exaggerate) I decided to give up for now and remove it.

I’m just tired and I know it. If I was three I’d have put me to bed with a hug ages ago

Will look it over again and see if I can fix it another day. The 3 am one is ok – …….noooo! not getting up every day at 3 am. Not even for the bloggy woggy.

Below zero again

Hmmmm…. mini ice-age? It’s not a lot below zero, but uncomfortable. Must be about a month now. More? Mostly staying inside places. I miss outside! Later today I will go out and risk breaking a hip. Meanwhile:

http://www.bfxr.net/ ( .wav sound maker for that superduper retrowav. sound). Yes the neighbours think I’m mad. Apart from the one that’s also a computer nerd. He understands.

For anyone idly batting the same ball of string with a lazy paw (shall I try doing something for android?) : http://stuffandtech.blogspot.in/2010/11/android-development-eclipse-vs-intellij.html#!/2011/10/android-development-eclipse-vs-intellij.html looks interesting (need to pay for this one). I don’t somehow think there’s a decent free/open source alternative for this task. (I’ll keep looking though). Eclipse really is orrible! The text editor glitches and you think you have an error in your code? Nah. Not doing that. Sry. It’s not only off the menu, it’s off the radar. 2013 now and a lot of open source is better (and more flexible) than paid alternatives (and more fun!!) - open source is for grownups now. Eclipse is an antique with very old-style bugs to prove it, the kind that miraculously vanish on restart , or mysteriously aren’t there when someone else tries your code, errors that come and go randomly between one run and the next identical run! Being free doesn’t excuse that kind of sloppiness nowadays (I haven’t used anything so bad in *years* !!).

I don’t have an android btw. I just want a learning-something-type reason to keep the emulator on my hard drive. (I’m not into clutter).

Maybe I should declutter the house again. Stuff is creeping out of the woodwork onto surfaces.

Blech still have paperwork. I’m on the second pass through the total paperwork in the house. This time reorganising it. Still 2.5 metres of the stuff in here and I’d rather be able to find that one bit I need easily. Now and again I find some I missed first time around and can throw away. Bliss. Plus paperwork means Wurm. I like this option.

It’s actually …oh… 3.20 am. I can’t sleep properly when it’s cold like this. The house is warm enough, but the cold registers somewhere in my crocodile brain and instinct is to sleep only for short hours then move around. It’s annoying – I could do with sleep after 5 or 6 weeks of this, plus I can feel the energy bill rocket every time I get up and reheat the living room in order for my bodily chemical reactions to function. On the other hand: http://whoblend.tumblr.com/ (the series entitled ‘When’”) made me laugh so much that my heart has gone all warm. This is a good thing, I started the weekend very crabby. I notice more now I look back.

I’m not having a day off (Wurm)

just so you don’t know. I never tell people if I have days off. It’s fatal. People immediately find ways to keep me busy. I intend to not spend this day I’m not having off mostly on Wurm recharging batteries and returning to my happy self!

Wurm and not another game because it’s still the best virtual world and the real one outside is below zero as well as bonkers (http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/03/health-and-safety-strikes-again-triangular-flapjacks-banned-from-school-because-they-have-pointy-bits/   -   I rest my case).

If anything interesting happens I’ll write about it. And as a caveat I might get diverted – it happens oo a butterfly. I better use headings.

Wurm
This person is not very popular (and weekends are trrrrrrrolltime) but he has gone straight to the point. It’s a poll. Should crafting be allowed in a crafting game?
http://forum.wurmonline.com/index.php?/topic/78419-dont-allow-anyone-to-create-anymore-items/

Well you tell me. The databases being unable to cope unless everything deteriorates rapidly (except deeded walls, keys and locks) has resulted in me logging in this year only to repair and improve stuff. I log in for the virtual world, the fact that development is live and ongoing, that the playerbase is interesting, that I can get real paperwork done while I chop virtual trees. Due to limited playtime (like what most people have) I’m on Wurm for a ton of reasons none of which is (currently) gameplay. Go figure.

Twitter
Still fooling about with it. Once you get rid of the obvious bots – (PR for musicians, tv chefs, football), you get people doing activism – also partly botted judging by the repeats. Activism via Twitter is ok by me,  but I do think an acceptable format has to evolve so it’s not witch hunts. So far the art of using Twitter appears to be finding anyone with anything interesting to say. The Blender community is nice to follow. And I also like the Dalai Lama’s gentle reminders err …to remember to be gentle.

Butterfly
Bound to happen. Well in Wurm my brain was idling and then it spotted a string of thought that was half hidden under a piece of cheese in headspace from earlier on today. So I fired a few things up in the background and  managed to get a working android emulator on the laptop (quite cool).  After that I started doing xml things to play with the emulator ….. you know Eclipse is the buggiest thing I ever did see. I almost went nuts before I looked at all the complaints in stackoverflow.

I can’t pretend Wurmtime is nonproductive. Emulator will come in very handy – maybe for that spinoff. If I can find a way around Eclipse. Now my brain hurts and I’m tired, (but very pleased with myself for remembering to explore that emulator and getting it to work). Also I forgot to eat lunch!

http://www.scatterbrain.nl/ I should use it.

Giving Twitter a whirl then (things in general)

Since there is a gap in the barbed wire which Scotland may or may not wish to escape through, the hysterical targetted ranting in Westminster has become a distant tinny oinking, and I could reasonably ignore it for the time being. They all sound disjointed and overstimulated to me. Has anyone ever checked for lead in those ancient pipes? I do hope no money is going up noses.

Whatever, another day, another flirt with things they did not ought to play with. Yesterday was food vouchers instead of cash - a visible mark of poorness when they are used; a second class, less valuable currency for those scapegoated – and incidentally these things can only be used in “approved outlets” and will be adminstered by an “agency”. (Toot toot all aboard the 2 new gravy trains!) Though I can’t wait to give up the passives again, I think all the little things that are going on amount to scary and I’d like to be alert to that, and informed about the issues.

The press – sigh of exasperation – well I’ve ended up being a Guardian reader (which is a term of derision in some circles) but only because the rest are even harder to get information out of. Like trying to open a door in a tilted building. Enthusiasts tell me you can get current news via Twitter. Hmmm. Well I’m not wanting it for social interaction. (I still don’t watch tv).

Bus remains the best bet for keeping finger on the pulse still – human interaction, simple and not very fashionable. Doesn’t even need forced grouping. However I’m on the lookout for signs and portents that I won’t be able to pick up there. Mainly when I see the wide-bottomed and complacent getting uncomfortable I’ll be reassured that sense will prevail, if not decency. The wide-bottomed are unlikely to shift to change or improve the government for anything less than poverty creeping upwards far enough to nibble at their …toes. Sooner or later it will. They don’t subject their cushioned bums to buses though, so the comments section of the press is where to look for signs of anxiety and possibly Twitter, I’ll look.

More worryingly I dread unrest. People of reproductive age often mistake the excitement for a hormonal surge and can quite enjoy it whether participating, viewing or actively quelling it but for children particularly it is dangerous and destructive. More so as the adults that ought to be protecting and guiding them are not at their most rational. All too often you see children doing foolish and foolhardy things in such situations. I don’t like what unrest does to ordinary people at all. The force used to stop unrest is also not gentle. I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that, and frankly the poor, ill, disabled and unemployed have so far appeared to be hugely aware that they will be even further persecuted should there be any such occurrence, and no matter who is really involved. But each time there is another weird one lobbed at the populace from on high civil unrest becomes more likely.

Bedroom tax next month.

How necessary are backups?

hahahaha!

Yes well the frankenstein wiring in this place did for my external hard drive, as I wrote earlier this week. There was a little spark and it died, aw! I do have a plug-effort to even out spikes in the power supply but it’s already packed. Them’s the breaks. I’m sure worse things will happen.

I still need to extract old work from the usb I put it on (actually several of them). Hoping to pick at that today, maybe, if there’s time.

I’d even forgotten I’d done that but I’m glad I’m me. I put my housekeys in the fridge now and again. I should be more… err… less relaxed about all this. Thing is mostly we’re running through tutorials just now and then taking what we’ve learned and fooling around. Nothing we did before cannot be reproduced quite fast, that’s why I’m relaxed. But yes… backups. I think having things in more than one form is a good idea, and intend, though not often (6 monthly or so), to do hard copy of any code. Paper might not be durable over centuries but it beats digital storage hands down for being the way to store “that copy you can use if you really have to”, specially given we currently have frankenstein wiring. In general I don’t like putting things only in one form  and in one place when they are this ephemeral (hence the usbs). Some irrelevant stuff needs to go on dropbox too.

It’s nice to realise how far we’ve progressed even in a month, and (yay) there is scope for a redo here and there. I shall call it “revision” and be content.

C++ – traditional

Well in my day we didn’t have tools like what they have nowadays. I’m approaching the Grandelanguage of coding as a beginner because it’s been so long (more than 20 years), 1, and because I need to be able to explain how to do things to starter humans, 2. I do remember being totally confused, way back then, when trying for the first time to figure out how the tools worked together. Which text editor? What’s a compiler – build? etc.

This time round I’m using code::blocks which so far makes everything very easy. AVG does not work well with it, but making an exception for my project folder seems to have solved things. So far so good anyway. Not very exciting but here’s the traditional:

In other words, it all works. On we go.