'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe

boggyb @ 2008-08-19T23:48:00

2008-08-19T22:48:59Z

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.

boggyb @ 2008-08-17T14:06:00

2008-08-17T13:08:06Z

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.

Finally conquered the Cave of Ordeals

2008-08-03T12:03:18Z

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?

boggyb @ 2008-08-02T18:52:00

2008-08-02T17:52:13Z

Cans of air are always fun!

GDI leak begone!

2008-08-01T21:09:45Z

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?

boggyb @ 2008-07-29T20:48:00

2008-07-29T19:48:53Z

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?

boggyb @ 2008-07-25T19:39:00

2008-07-25T18:39:45Z

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.

boggyb @ 2008-07-24T21:03:00

2008-07-24T20:03:53Z

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.

boggyb @ 2008-07-21T20:16:00

2008-07-21T19:16:36Z

What is it about Windows programs that makes them so ill-behaved?

boggyb @ 2008-07-20T22:31:00

2008-07-20T21:31:30Z

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.

Where's a copper when you want one

2008-07-15T16:24:40Z

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!

boggyb @ 2008-07-11T22:34:00

2008-07-11T21:34:47Z

From 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

Pulp Fiction (1994)
The Lord of the Rings trilogy(2001-03)*
Titanic (1997)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Toy Story (1995)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Die Hard (1988)
Moulin Rouge (2001)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
The Matrix (1999)
GoodFellas (1990)
Crumb (1995)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Casino Royale (2006)
The Lion King (1994)*
Schindler's List (1993)
Rushmore (1998)
Memento (2001)
A Room With a View (1986)
Shrek (2001)*
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Aliens (1986)
Wings of Desire (1988)
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Fight Club (1999)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Fargo (1996)
The Incredibles (2004)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Pretty Woman (1990)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Speed (1994)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Clueless (1995)
Gladiator (2000)
The Player (1992)
Rain Man (1988)
Men in Black (1997)
Scarface (1983)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)**
The Piano (1993)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
The Truman Show (1998)
Fatal Attraction (1987)
Risky Business (1983)
The Lives of Others (2006)
There’s Something About Mary (1998)
Ghostbusters (1984)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Scream (1996)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)
Big (1988)
No Country For Old Men (2007)
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Witness (1985)
All About My Mother (1999)
Broadcast News (1987)
Unforgiven (1992)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Office Space (1999)
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Out of Africa (1985)
The Departed (2006)
Sid and Nancy (1986)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Waiting for Guffman (1996)
Michael Clayton (2007)
Moonstruck (1987)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
Sideways (2004)
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
Swingers (1996)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Back to the Future (1985)
Menace II Society (1993)
Ed Wood (1994)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
In the Mood for Love (2001)
Far From Heaven (2002)
Glory (1989)
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
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?

boggyb @ 2008-07-08T21:48:00

2008-07-08T20:48:20Z

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.

boggyb @ 2008-07-08T18:43:00

2008-07-08T17:43:34Z

Has the internet completely forgotten about efficient use of bandwidth?

boggyb @ 2008-07-01T19:37:00

2008-07-01T18:37:57Z

It's a strange experience, using a genuine IVR system through speech alone.

On The Move

2008-06-21T13:15:48Z

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...

boggyb @ 2008-06-19T22:59:00

2008-06-19T21:59:39Z

Seen on the BBC's website:

Hello. You shouldn't be here. ;-)

Photo dump of doom

2008-06-17T19:22:46Z

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.

Contrails

Whispy clouds, formed from the exhaust of jets travelling to distant lands.

Twilight lake

Earlier this year I went for a wander around the paths just north of Fareham. As night fell and I neared the end of the walk, I came across this lake, hidden behind a housing estate.

Distant moon

There's something I like about this photo, that I can't quite put my finger on. The flash is intentional.

Bubble

Note the multiple reflections of the camera flash, from both inside and outside the sphere.

Old bones

These old bones once sailed the ocean blue. Now they've been abandoned to rot and decay.

Cardboard cutout

This looks rather like a cardboard cutout. A strong forced flash on a murky day has that effect.

Clouds of doom

Taken while on another random walk.

Heavy sky

Looking across the M27 to the north, with rain falling in the distance.

Dark light

Taken with my camera's "black board" feature.

Snow?

Snow, in the south of England, generally means maybe enough for one snowball, and a slush on the ground that threatens to send you flying. So it was a surprise to have an actual solid fall of snow, and even more of a surprise for this to happen in April (April 6th, to be precise).

Snow!

Yeah, I don't think they'll be doing much work today. Taken on April 6th, 2008.

The time isisisisisis...

This is not some luminous stitching, but rather a long exposure of the clock on my cooker, with the camera swung vertically. The clock display is most likely using some form of pulse-width modulation to control the brightness, and use less power. It's a neat trick but makes for an annoying flicker.

Devil's Dyke

Looking out from Devil's Dyke in Sussex.

Mapping

"So how does one read one of these things..."

Bad hair day

Nick's hair and strong wind are a bad, bad combination.

Map reading

"I think we're over there..."

Through the tall grass

The camera was actually level when taking this photo. But this is England, and we have Hills.

To infinity... and beyond!

A trail of reflections, stretching to infinity and back again

You first

These two squirrels crouched motionless for at least 15 minutes, each waiting for the other to move.

Woodpigeon

Perched on the tallest branch.

Here a squirrel...

...there a squirrel, everywhere a squirrely squirrel!

Pop!

Around the turn of the millenium, some cheeky sods stole a formula for making electrolytic capacitors. Or rather, they stole half a formula. The result is a plague of bad capacitors that leak nasty gunk and cause no end of system problems.

Bzzzzzzz

The other day I saw a squadron of bees, foraging for nectar.

Movement

This is a real, unedited photo. You don't need fancy software for a good ol' motion blur.

Smoking 1

Apparently, the local chavs have a sense of humour.

Smoking 2

Looks like the chavs also know about the internet =D

Random thoughts from walking around Fareham

2008-06-15T21:51:48Z

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.

boggyb @ 2008-06-10T18:18:00

2008-06-10T17:18:53Z

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.

boggyb @ 2008-06-08T21:06:00

2008-06-08T20:05:57Z

You don't often see a speedometer that goes up to 800mph.

boggyb @ 2008-06-07T19:55:00

2008-06-07T18:54:37Z

"Spoilers!"

HP PSC 1210 document cannot be printed due to a system error

2008-06-07T17:27:04Z

Reposting for the good of the internet:

HP PSC 1210 document cannot be printed due to a system error (this also appears to apply to the psc 1215):

Here the solution for this error t.Hope it will be usefull for you.Bye

To resolve the issue, follow the steps below.

Right-click on My Computer, and select Properties.

Click on the Advanced tab.

Under Performance, click Settings.

Click the Data Execution Prevention tab.

Select the Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select: option.

Click Add....

Browse to C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3\hpzeng07.exe and click Open.

Click Apply.

Click OK, and OK again.

In a nutshell, it appears that the driver for this printer doesn't get on with Windows' Data Execution Prevention. Adding it to the ignore list makes it work.

Meme via tryss

2008-06-04T21:54:31Z

I've probably posted this before, but that doesn't mean the answers will be the same. Found via tryss.

If you respond to this, I will:

1. Tell you why I befriended you.
2. Associate you with something - fandom, a song, a colour, a photo, etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
6. Tell you my favourite user pic of yours.
7. In return, you can post this on your LJ.

boggyb @ 2008-06-02T20:29:00

2008-06-02T19:29:35Z

Today's useful discovery is how to manage cached credentials in Windows XP:

Start -> Run -> "control keymgr.dll"

Very handy when Windows has decided to remember the wrong username and password.