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Thomas

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[Posted on Tuesday, the 19th of August 2008 at 11:48 pm]
Things I've seen and done while away last week:

Seen a deer in the wild.
Stood in the open air, and had my phone say "No Network".
Seen wild mountain ponies.
Eaten lunch at the top of a Welsh hill, with the heather for a chair.
Stood at the top of a cathedral tower.
Walked up a different Welsh hill the wrong way, and discovered a wonderful forest at the top.
Travelled both under and over the Severn.
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[Posted on Sunday, the 17th of August 2008 at 2:06 pm]
[Tags|]

Metis has been down for the past week, due to my dyndns account expiring about 5 minutes after I left to go on holiday for the week. I'll get a longer-lasting account of some sort set up soon.
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Finally conquered the Cave of Ordeals [Posted on Sunday, the 3rd of August 2008 at 1:03 pm]
[Tags|, , ]
[What | accomplished]

I have, at long last, collected all Poe souls, collected all heart pieces, collected all golden bugs and defeated the Cave of Ordeals in Twilight Princess. And I found all the bugs and probably all the heart pieces without a guide. I will admit that I used a guide for a dozen or so Poe souls, but I can't be bothered to wait for night every time.

That fight with the three Darknuts is, I think, the hardest one in the entire game and also in some ways the most enjoyable. You cannot just take wild swings and hope you connect, because Darknut 1 will block, Darknut 2 will hammer you from in front and Darknut 3 will hammer you from behind. You have to actually concentrate and work at it to win against them, which makes it all the more satisfying when the last one finally goes down. It's quite demanding physically as well thanks to the Wii's control system. I wonder how many calories that battle was worth?
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[Posted on Saturday, the 2nd of August 2008 at 6:52 pm]
Cans of air are always fun!
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GDI leak begone! [Posted on Friday, the 1st of August 2008 at 10:09 pm]
[Tags|]
[What | accomplished]
[Who |Dreams of Hope ~ Awesome [Dreams of Hope.mo3]]

I was getting fed up with running out of desktop heap all the time, so I decided to actually poke around and find out what was eating all the GDI handles. Several blind alleys were involved while I tried and failed to find a fancy way of doing it (that would pinpoint not just the process, but the library responsible), though I did trip across useful tool by Feng Yuan that tracks GDI usage by object.

I then decided to apply Common Sense, and guessed that an add-in for Internet Explorer would be leaking GDI handles. So, dump gdiobj.exe on the second screen (though I could have used Task Manager), start up IE on the first screen, and watch the numbers as I open and close new IE windows (via Ctrl+N). It appeared to be leaking 30 handles, so I tried disabling add-ons in turn (restarting IE each time) until this number got smaller. IE Developer Toolbar, no effect, Sun stuff, no effect, Messenger, no effect... Norton Confidential Browser Helper Object, handle leak becomes maybe 1 handle per three windows. Hah.

I then re-enabled the earlier add-ons to verify that none of them were also leaking, and for good measure then disabled a few more unneeded ones until the annoying 2-second delay on spawning a window became sub-second. Result: a browser that feels (and is) faster, and that can give me more windows before eating the desktop heap.

Edit: what a surprise, IE is *still* leaking handles. Any bets for what might be the culprit now?
Link[ One penny | Penny for your thoughts? ]

[Posted on Tuesday, the 29th of July 2008 at 8:48 pm]
Why are Firefox and Opera apparently incapable of running multiple processes for the same user?

The only reason I can think of is because the necessary profile locking is "hard". So why has Internet Explorer been able to do this for ages without any problems?
Link[ 9 pennies | Penny for your thoughts? ]

[Posted on Friday, the 25th of July 2008 at 7:39 pm]
Did the weekly Sainsbury's shop today, came back home, and after putting the food away I had a look at the receipt. Looked at it for a moment, wondering why I only had the nectar card balance on it, before turning it over. Sainsbury's have started printing their receipts double-sided. That is a very neat way of halving the amount of paper that goes into receipts.
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[Posted on Thursday, the 24th of July 2008 at 9:03 pm]
It would be nice if CVS prompted before overwriting a large directory tree with an older branch.

Scratch that, it would be nice if unix stuff in general prompted before doing file-trashing operations.
Link[ 5 pennies | Penny for your thoughts? ]

[Posted on Monday, the 21st of July 2008 at 8:16 pm]
What is it about Windows programs that makes them so ill-behaved?
Link[ One penny | Penny for your thoughts? ]

[Posted on Sunday, the 20th of July 2008 at 10:31 pm]
[What | calm]

So, today I did something different. I went round people's gardens.

You see, today Fareham had a open gardens thing, where some of the best back gardens were opened to the general public. I only found out about this on Friday, and decided to wander down and have a look round, with half a mind to go on to the cinema afterwards. What I was expecting was some careful flower arrangement.

What I saw was one garden which was full of lots of different themes, with fun things hidden everywhere (like a cat statue that meowed at you, and a teddy-bears picnic in the woods), and another garden that was like half-a-dozen different rooms (complete with a living roof in one corner). The first was big enough to contain a small wood, while the second was a tiny little garden at the back of a bungalow. The owners had obviously put their heart into them, into making a garden that they enjoy rather than one that would win prizes. I'm not a gardener myself, but I'm still glad I went round them.

I think I was by far the youngest person there who hadn't been dragged along by parents. It's nice to break the typical teenager stereotype.
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Where's a copper when you want one [Posted on Tuesday, the 15th of July 2008 at 4:24 pm]
[Where |Waiting for the bus]

Theres a set of lights next to my bus stop that got added recently. There lights have a yellow box in the middle. Just now i saw 5 or 6 drivers ignore that and the red light, and push their way into the stream of traffic from the side!
Link[ Penny for your thoughts? ]

[Posted on Friday, the 11th of July 2008 at 10:34 pm]

From [info]sarshin: This is Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 movies of the last 25 years list.

  • Bold the ones you have seen
  • Put an asterisk after the movie title* if you really liked it.
  • Cross it out if you saw a film and really disliked it
  • Underline the ones you own
  1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
  2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy(2001-03)*
  3. Titanic (1997)
  4. Blue Velvet (1986)
  5. Toy Story (1995)
  6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
  7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
  8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
  9. Die Hard (1988)
  10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
  11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
  12. The Matrix (1999)
  13. GoodFellas (1990)
  14. Crumb (1995)
  15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
  16. Boogie Nights (1997)
  17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
  18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
  19. Casino Royale (2006)
  20. The Lion King (1994)*
  21. Schindler's List (1993)
  22. Rushmore (1998)
  23. Memento (2001)
  24. A Room With a View (1986)
  25. Shrek (2001)*
  26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
  27. Aliens (1986)
  28. Wings of Desire (1988)
  29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
  30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
  31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
  32. Fight Club (1999)
  33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
  34. Fargo (1996)
  35. The Incredibles (2004)
  36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
  37. Pretty Woman (1990)
  38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
  39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
  40. Speed (1994)
  41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
  42. Clueless (1995)
  43. Gladiator (2000)
  44. The Player (1992)
  45. Rain Man (1988)
  46. Men in Black (1997)
  47. Scarface (1983)
  48. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)**
  49. The Piano (1993)
  50. There Will Be Blood (2007)
  51. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
  52. The Truman Show (1998)
  53. Fatal Attraction (1987)
  54. Risky Business (1983)
  55. The Lives of Others (2006)
  56. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
  57. Ghostbusters (1984)
  58. L.A. Confidential (1997)
  59. Scream (1996)
  60. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
  61. Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)
  62. Big (1988)
  63. No Country For Old Men (2007)
  64. Dirty Dancing (1987)
  65. Natural Born Killers (1994)
  66. Donnie Brasco (1997)
  67. Witness (1985)
  68. All About My Mother (1999)
  69. Broadcast News (1987)
  70. Unforgiven (1992)
  71. Thelma & Louise (1991)
  72. Office Space (1999)
  73. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
  74. Out of Africa (1985)
  75. The Departed (2006)
  76. Sid and Nancy (1986)
  77. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  78. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
  79. Michael Clayton (2007)
  80. Moonstruck (1987)
  81. Lost in Translation (2003)
  82. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
  83. Sideways (2004)
  84. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
  85. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
  86. Swingers (1996)
  87. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
  88. Breaking the Waves (1996)
  89. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
  90. Back to the Future (1985)
  91. Menace II Society (1993)
  92. Ed Wood (1994)
  93. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
  94. In the Mood for Love (2001)
  95. Far From Heaven (2002)
  96. Glory (1989)
  97. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
  98. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
  99. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

Looks like I must watch more films. Though I'm disappointed that some of my favourites aren't on this list.

I assume this started out as having 100 entries, but one appears to have been eaten by the internets. Internets: was it tasty?

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[Posted on Tuesday, the 8th of July 2008 at 9:48 pm]
Anyone had any luck getting C:\WINDOWS\ie7\iexplore.exe to work? Supposedly it lets you use the IE7 engine with the IE6 user interface, but here whenever I type in a URL it opens it in a new IE7 window.
Link[ 4 pennies | Penny for your thoughts? ]

[Posted on Tuesday, the 8th of July 2008 at 6:43 pm]
Has the internet completely forgotten about efficient use of bandwidth?
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[Posted on Tuesday, the 1st of July 2008 at 7:37 pm]
It's a strange experience, using a genuine IVR system through speech alone.
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On The Move [Posted on Saturday, the 21st of June 2008 at 2:15 pm]

On The Move (click for video)

...This unique ‘kinetic sculpture’ was created just for Launchpad and was built in a deserted warehouse in Cornwall by a team of curious and creative engineers and artists. It ran just once...

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[Posted on Thursday, the 19th of June 2008 at 10:59 pm]
Seen on the BBC's website:

Hello. You shouldn't be here. ;-)
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Photo dump of doom [Posted on Tuesday, the 17th of June 2008 at 8:22 pm]
[Tags|]
[Who |Ancient Stories II ~ Awesome [Ancient Stories II.mo3]]

Wow, I've not updated my gallery for a while. I need to work on the software a bit as well, as the spammers have circumvented my captcha. Shame, I liked that system.

( Thumbnails and links to photos behind the cut )
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Random thoughts from walking around Fareham [Posted on Sunday, the 15th of June 2008 at 10:51 pm]
Cool, someone's got a yacht named Fram. Shame it's not a houseboat (you need to have read Arthur Ransome's Winter Holiday to understand why).

Millpond-flat water makes for some cool photos. Shame about the 1/2-second exposures needed at 10pm.

Hmm, where does this path go? Looks like it's choked off with brambles, but then again there's no fence or gate...

It's wonderful, being out walking so late. Just me and the wildlife.
Link[ Penny for your thoughts? ]

[Posted on Tuesday, the 10th of June 2008 at 6:18 pm]
[Tags|]

What I heard today at work:

...tap tap tap tappity tap tap BZZZZZZZZZERT CLUNK.

It was a very selective power glitch: while it knocked out all our computers, those down the corridor were fine.

Oh, and I've just come home to find that the answerphone and the microwave (but nothing else) have forgotten what time it is. The computers here don't seem to have cared.
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