Articles

Developers have had some time to update their applications to use the new thread model in Linux, but should a piece of software still require an old model, there’s always the tempting environment variable, LD_ASSUME_KERNEL, available to lend a hand. This environment variable was handy when it was first introduced for handling threading issues in Linux with applications that used an old thread model. However, with new version of Linux, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x, it can break other applications that are compliant with the new thread model. ...

Tumble Dry Medium There should be a label on Apple’s iPhone headset (the earphones with integrated remote and microphone) that states how unbelievably durable they are. I was rather displeased to find that after about 6 months, the left ear bud was starting to lose volume output. At first, I thought I was losing hearing in that ear, but a quick comparison use of my fiancée’s ear buds with my iPhone proved that the left side of her set had no volume loss. ...

How many applications are installed on your iPhone right now? Do you have a couple of pages of the most necessary apps, or does the iPhone seem to grind to a halt when flicking through your ten pages of essential tools for the road? I previously fell into the last category. Since purchasing my iPhone a little over a year ago, my Powerbook G4 has started to languish in its case. While it had been my daily companion for over three years, once I had the iPhone, I found that I didn’t need to boot the laptop up as much to accomplish my daily computing tasks. ...

Or, how I learned to dance the salsa Experiment is probably the wrong word to describe the exercise regimen I am about to embark on a couple times per week. Zumba is an aerobic workout that focuses on latin music and dance moves. Zumba® fuses hypnotic latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic fitness program that will blow you away. Our goal is simple: We want you to want to work out, to love working out, to get hooked. Zumba® Fanatics achieve long term benefits while experiencing an absolute blast in one exhilarating hour of caloric-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements meant to engage and captivate for life! ...

This is a short summary based on studies that illustrate what the factors for success are in life. One of the most famous was the marshmallow test by Walter Mischel and, later, Joachim de Posada (Don’t eat the marshmallow yet). Future bias is shown to be the most important, but Philip Zimbardo provides an optimal time profile. http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf (via enjoymentland.com) Perhaps I should explain that the “optimal time profile” he suggests is the one that is associated with success in life. Zimbardo has written a book on this theory called The Time Paradox. I’ve just begun reading it, but it is fascinating. ...

(via 37signals.com) Christopher Alexander nails it. Attention to detail does not mean perfection. Perfection is not necessarily appealing either. The art is discovering what’s important and letting the rest fall as it may.

Everything in this life as we know it is down to chance. “You make your own luck,” many a drunken pub bore has droned into my ear over the years. Up to a point, Lord Copper. What about the Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic last week, killing everyone on board? Just awful bad luck. Men, women and children – all 228 of them – with everything to live for snuffed out in an instance. ...

The author of This Gaming Life, Jim Rossignol, writes, “My personal favourite is a variant of the “aliens just stayed home” hypothesis, by a chap called Michael Huang. He suggested that the aliens created such an amazing version of World Of Warcraft, that real life seemed boring, and they neglected the difficulties of space travel. Indeed, if space flight is really going to take thousands of years, hundreds of generations, and immense resources that could be better spent on having a good time, why should millions of sentient beings be expected to sink their lives into making it happen?” ...

Gene Kelly was such an athletic and fun dancer, no?

“Use your time wisely. Say beautiful things, inspire, forgive, act physically to protect and help.” –Thich Nhat Hanh Earlier this week, we arrived home from a vacation in the Caribbean. The beaches were relaxing and warming. The mountains and rain forest were invigorating and refreshing. The company was entertaining and enjoyable. Vacation always give me a fresh perspective on life and manages to rejuvenate my abilities of perception. The sights and sounds of a foreign place jog the senses from the slumber of mundane rituals. ...