Recent Posts

2851

MEWLO Web Framework / Mewlo web framework collaboration discussion

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 10:47 AM »

What I would really LOVE to do is find some more serious Python coders who are interested in being part of the team creating this.  It's a huge project and it's going to need all the help it can get.

-mouser (August 12, 2013, 04:12 AM)

I've been watching from the sidelines for a while, and I KNOW that I am very far from prepared to commit in any substantial way.

However, I know that there are always a trillion things to be done, and many of them are quite small and easily manageable by developers that work in an office/nursery.

If you think that you could come up with a list of "mini-mini-projects" (like at the method or class level), I would be interested in helping to solve some when I had time. e.g. A database of cuss words and a filter that doesn't eliminate legitimate words, e.g. remove "ass" but leave "pass" and "assassin". That's just an example. (It takes a while to compile the database, and would be a great project for a non-programmer.)

2852

Living Room / Re: Licensing Developers?

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 10:31 AM »

"to an extent"?

"under certain circumstances"?

Pfft... Guess we know wraith isn't thinking of the children!

Baby killer!

2853

Non-Windows Software / Re: What Android apps do you use to read digital books?

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 09:46 AM »

Just tried Cool Reader - and very much liking it so far! 

2854

Living Room / Re: P3005 HP LaserJet printer questions

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 08:53 AM »

^^ Interesting. In Canada rubbing alcohol is 70% isopropyl alcohol, and not ethyl alcohol.

-Renegade (August 12, 2013, 02:16 AM)

That's what I get for not paying attention to what I'm writing.    I meant isopropyl but my mind wandered off to other alcohol fuels and my fingers followed.

-Vurbal (August 12, 2013, 02:40 AM)

Easily done. Especially as ethyl alcohol is pretty much everyone's favourite~! 

Christ on a stick ... Seriously?  ...I wasn't comparing it to the dangers of smoking while washing engine parts in gasoline on a hot summer day ... I was just making a joke about water not being flammable.

-Stoic Joker (August 12, 2013, 07:17 AM)

Well, the water in Ireland and Russia *IS* flammable.

But, if you mean strictly *American* water, then only if nobody is fracking nearby. Which reminds me... Why is American booze like making love in a canoe?

NSFW

Because it's f**king close to water!

I'm finished being a smart ass now. You can resume being a smart asp!

2855

General Software Discussion / Re: What audio software is best for medical transcription?

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 07:44 AM »

Or if we're dragging up necrothreads, you could also use my software. It's used for transcriptions by some people.

2856

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 07:42 AM »

And old story, but it proves that Wile E. Coyote could very well have been a real coyote and really have been THAT TOUGH!

http://www.dailymail...miles--SURVIVED.html

Meet the wiliest of all coyotes: Hit by a car at 75mph, embedded in the fender, and dragged for 600 miles - but Tricky SURVIVED

2857

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 06:20 AM »

Man on the Street Monday!  (More silly petitions that people sign!)

BLACK humour - seriously disturbed, but not graphic - shows how callous/idiotic people are

  "You just supported that." 

2858

Living Room / Re: P3005 HP LaserJet printer questions

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 02:16 AM »

^^ Interesting. In Canada rubbing alcohol is 70% isopropyl alcohol, and not ethyl alcohol. Here in Australia, it's something like 60% isopropyl. You can get 95% ethyl alcohol at the grocer though as a cleaning solution. It's 95% ethyl alcohol and 5% water according to the MSDS, but has an terrible odor, which seems quite odd. Anyways, it burns very nicely. Put it in a spray bottle to clean around the house of just relax and have fun with a mini-flame thrower.

Renegade is a smart ass and Stoic Joker is a smart asp!

-techidave (August 11, 2013, 11:09 AM)

Hehehee! Yuppers!

2859

Living Room / Re: Licensing Developers?

« Last post by Renegade on August 12, 2013, 01:07 AM »

OTOH if you can confuse the issue enough to make even a specious public safety argument your chances of controlling the debate increase exponentially.

-Vurbal (August 12, 2013, 12:31 AM)

Hey! Computers are responsible for traffic lights and software is used in cars! This *IS* a safety issue!

How many people have died due to bugs in GPS software leading them astray and stranded in the middle of nowhere without food and water!

SOFTWARE BUGS KILL!

If we can save just 1 life, it's worth spending the $100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 it takes to make sure that we have competent developers that NEVER create buggy software and NEVER put anyone's life in jeopardy.

THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

You're so callous and heartless!

2860

Living Room / Licensing Developers?

« Last post by Renegade on August 11, 2013, 11:12 PM »

Just musing here, but I'm kind of curious as to when developers will need to have a license to write code. Given the way things are, it kind of seems inevitable. The NSA is laying off 90% of their sysadmins, which tells you a bit, or hints at a few things. At a minimum it says that sysadmins have a lot of power.

A lot of occupations require licenses. Here are a few:

• Lawyers
• Doctors
• Teachers
• Makeup artists
• Security guards
• House painters
• Florists (well, only in Louisiana)
• Accountants
• Home theater installers
• Dishwasher installers
• Barbers
• Manicurists
• Travel guides
• Bartenders
• Locksmiths
• Tree trimmers
• Taxi drivers

And many other professions are all highly regulated and require licenses, so why not require regulation and licensing for developers? Seems like a(n) (un)natural step.

A recent story from Techdirt outlines how Sen. Lindsay Graham wants to strip bloggers of their first amendment rights:

http://www.techdirt....ent-protection.shtml

Senator Lindsey Graham Apparently Not Sure If Bloggers Deserve 'First Amendment Protection'

So if bloggers don't have a right to free speech, why should developers?

And if arranging flowers is dangerous enough to require licensing, well, I think that software development certainly qualifies.

If you think about it, it would be fantastic for large software houses. They wouldn't have to compete with small developers. They could lobby to have all kinds of regulations and fees that would preclude small developers from writing and distributing software. It would boost the value of their stocks and make their share holders very happy.

No more indie-games and an instant double-digit surge in stock prices for EA and other big companies.

Microsoft and Apple could stand to benefit. Imagine if all GPL software were banned from use in government. MS, Apple, Google, Oracle, etc., would have an instant sales bonanza. They could hike prices even.

They could also then afford to hire those small developers even cheaper as they could claim that it was expensive to train and license them in order to comply with regulations.

But I don't know how long it will take.

5 years?
10 years?
More?

I'm having a hard time seeing a down-side here.

2861

Living Room / Re: Knight to queen's bishop 3 - Snowden charged with espionage.

« Last post by Renegade on August 11, 2013, 07:42 PM »

The PBS video is restricted.

Since I can't seem to get the embedding code correct (maybe just my browser) here's a direct link to the Frontline page:

-Vurbal (August 11, 2013, 02:15 PM)

It doesn't handle the "youtu.be" domain. I've fixed that here:

2862

Living Room / Re: P3005 HP LaserJet printer questions

« Last post by Renegade on August 11, 2013, 10:54 AM »

plain water is ...considerable safer since it isn't flammable.

-Stoic Joker (August 11, 2013, 08:03 AM)

isn't flammable = 15 characters
less fun = 8 characters

You're being pretty verbose there.

Did I mention that I work for an HP Authorized Service Provider (ASP).

-Stoic Joker (August 11, 2013, 08:03 AM)

Which is why I bow out of printer topics once you enter, unless it's to be a smart ass.

2863

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Renegade on August 11, 2013, 09:09 AM »

Now we all need cameras to take pictures of non-visible light and other radiation outside of the visible spectrum so that we can solve the reptilian alien issue!

There's a shrimp that has 15 cones in it's eyes. :O

2864

Living Room / Re: Summon the NSA

« Last post by Renegade on August 11, 2013, 09:06 AM »

Hell, what do I care about lists... pretty sure I'm on most of 'em by now anyway!

-J-Mac (August 10, 2013, 10:47 PM)

Any chance that you've made it onto the list of people that aren't on any lists?

-Renegade (August 10, 2013, 11:09 PM)

You do realize that's probably not a joke right?

The NSA has 3 lists:
1. Problem people.
2. Solution people.
3. people that need to get pigeonholed into one of the other 2 categories.

-Stoic Joker (August 11, 2013, 08:16 AM)

Can I be on list #6? I'm not a number, I'm a free man!

2865

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Network Scanner / No title as yet and in beta stage

« Last post by Renegade on August 11, 2013, 05:07 AM »

The download site doesn't inspire trust...

-Shades (August 10, 2013, 09:59 PM)

+1 Shades is right about that.

No website yet.

I would of uploaded it here but its to big.

You don't have to download it if you don't want to. Why don't you run it in a sandbox.

-pscan (August 10, 2013, 11:41 PM)

If you've spent 6 months on it, you really need a web site at a minimum.

Others may be different, but I won't even fire up a VM to look at something if I have the remotest sense that there could be an issue. I'm sure I miss out on some things, but I'm ok with that.

It sounds like you may have a very cool program there. I'll keep my eye on this thread.

2866

Living Room / SOPA 2: The Resurrection...

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 11:27 PM »

Hey, not that *I'm* trying to rehash old issues, but it appears others are doing it for us.

SOPA is back, and this time YouTube is a felony...

http://rt.com/usa/so...reaming-illegal-183/

The task force’s latest report, Copyright Policy, Creativity and Innovation in the Digital Economy, pressures Congress to consider felony convictions for people caught streaming copyrighted songs, music and movies, and some say such legislation would outlaw the practice of uploading homemade cover tunes to the World Wide Web.

We've been over this a few times:

https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=31569.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=29392.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=29635.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=29349.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=30551.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=30246.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=29936.0

And in many, many other threads. Those are just a few.

SOPA part 1 got an unceremonious bullet in the back of the head, thanks to the vigilance and dedication of a large number of people and organizations.

However, as you may well have expected, the necromancers in WDC have no qualms about bring the dead back from the grave.

So there you have it...

THE SOPA ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE~!


(I was just dying to make a zombie joke~! )

2867

Non-Windows Software / Re: What Android apps do you use to read digital books?

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 11:15 PM »

I didn't even try Aldiko since Renegade didn't have much good to say about it.

-Deozaan (August 10, 2013, 11:18 AM)

I wouldn't say "don't try it". It works fine and opens a lot of different formats. I've had zero problems with it. It's just the thumbnailing that I find a tad annoying as it takes longer than I'd like. (I'm not particularly patient.)

I think now what I'm looking for mostly is a GNU GPL reader. I'm kind of done with everything else, and more interested in freedom than other things. I didn't ask about that originally as I'm not holding up my hopes for this niche much. (Still need to track down some of the ones mentioned above - this is a backburner issue for me.)

2868

Living Room / Re: Summon the NSA

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 11:09 PM »

Hell, what do I care about lists... pretty sure I'm on most of 'em by now anyway!

-J-Mac (August 10, 2013, 10:47 PM)

Any chance that you've made it onto the list of people that aren't on any lists?

2869

General Software Discussion / Re: Thoughts on Replicant? (FSF approved Android fork)

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 11:08 PM »

Hehehe! You did the same thing I do sometimes! (Miss a bit in the title.)

It only runs on some hardware right now, so, kind of bad there, but there are a lot of obstacles for different hardware, so understandable.

It doesn't run on my hardware, but if/when I get a new phone, I might opt for a model that's supported by Replicant.

2870

General Software Discussion / Re: PirateBrowser released by The Pirate Bay

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 10:36 PM »

I notice they didn't mention China...

-Deozaan (August 10, 2013, 09:30 PM)

I think their point was more to put "North Korea" and "United Kingdom" in the same category and leave the rest to your imagination.

What that means from a technology standpoint I think is nothing.  But using TPB as a branding can't do anything but raise the profile of TOR.

-wraith808 (August 10, 2013, 10:25 PM)

My gut was telling me that it was something like that, but I had to run off and wash dishes, and didn't bother reading the FAQ, etc. (I goof off while soaking pans or for any other excuse I can come up with.) But either way, it's good to see TPB and TOR in the news.

2871

Living Room / Re: Edward Snowden's Email Provider Shut Down Rather Than Comply With Feds

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 10:30 PM »

Because with everything that's been happening lately, there is no longer any doubt that it is they who are the criminals.  This government has firmly and forever overstepped the bounds of the Constitution it claims to derive it's existence from.   

-Edvard (August 09, 2013, 04:32 PM)

I really hope not "forever".

I really try not to be political, and this isn't a rant against the Left or Right or anyone else, it is just the facts as they are manifest.  I mean, I'm with Wraith, it shouldn't have to be like this.  The simple choice of email provider shouldn't be a political action.  But now it is, and we are the worse off for it.

-Edvard (August 09, 2013, 04:32 PM)

Unfortunately, as you've pointed out, more and more (basically everything) is becoming politicized.

<idiotmode>Don't like being spied on? Ooops. That's a political topic, so it's taboo. Just shut up and take it.
Don't like being kidnapped and caged for flowers, eggs, rain, or tomatoes? More taboo political topics. Just shut up and take it.

'Cause ya gotta give some to get some.</idiotmode>

(I could list a huge number of everyday activities that have become political issues.)

Technically, email is permanently and fundamentally broken. There's no hope for it. The only thing you can do is to use some other form of communication with strong encryption and hope that the recorded version isn't cracked before you check out of Prison Planet Earth.

Any time a topic becomes political, there's a serious problem, and most likely it isn't the thing itself - the problem is the people that have forced it into a political spotlight.

Just how idiotic is it for email, milk, eggs, tomatoes, or normal everyday life to become political?

Wanting to plant tomatoes in your home garden isn't political, but it has become that.
Wanting to drink a different kind of milk isn't political, but it has become that.
Wanting to communicate with people in private isn't political, but it has become that.
Wanting to use rain barrels isn't political, but it has become that.

All of those things are just normal parts of life. Who is anyone to tell others how to live their lives? Who is anyone to force you to do anything?

Slowly, slowly, slowly... the quiet creeping of the totalitarian tip-toe... bit by bit by bit by bit by bit by bit by bit by bit they byte you!  

2872

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Network Scanner / No title as yet and in beta stage

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 09:26 PM »

Do you have a website or anything?

2873

General Software Discussion / Re: PirateBrowser released by The Pirate Bay

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 09:03 PM »

  Woohoo for TPB!

I am kind of wondering what makes it different than TOR Browser though...

2874

Living Room / Re: Bitcoins Can Be Regulated

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 08:40 PM »

Quit? Like this?

http://www.businessw...s-tougher-rules-loom
http://www.zerohedge...citizenship-surge-66

???

They're even making quitting hard!

2875

Living Room / Re: Bitcoins Can Be Regulated

« Last post by Renegade on August 10, 2013, 10:42 AM »

^^

For the PSA, you're probably right. But they don't have infinite power. Some countries still have the shadows of the vestiges of principles. Some just like to buck the PSA when they can.

I'm still not going to give up hope.