Recent Posts

4226

Living Room / Re: Spoilers Are Fun !!

« Last post by wraith808 on December 09, 2014, 12:26 PM »

Reload that machine with Windows 7 64-bit home premium or professional, and use either Chrome or Firefox.

Without even changing the hardware, you'll experience computing like never before.

Though it probably would be worth considering a new build. Something in the Haswell family from Intel with 8-16GB of ram and 64-bit Windows 7. Windows 8 is not recommended for desktops unless you are building for a kid who is used to smarphones, and Windows (9) 10 is probably going to be a disaster.

-SeraphimLabs (December 09, 2014, 12:03 PM)

Telling someone to reload their machine with a different operating system doesn't seem like the desired solution to a particular software problem that's just emergent.

4227

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 09, 2014, 08:05 AM »

I keep meaning to get back to this, because I do agree, at least where it concerns the great ones. I would add one caveat, that a great voice alone can't make you a great singer any more than dexterity makes you a great drummer.

-Vurbal (December 09, 2014, 07:39 AM)

Yes!  This is exactly what I meant... though I was including it for the others also.  That's the part that I wanted to illustrate... that all forms of creative endeavor need something else.  Not just singing.

However, on the subject of great singers, I can think of one in particular who illustrates your point perfectly, and that's Corey Glover of Living Colour. Given that every other member of the band could arguably be among the best in the world on his chosen instrument, it would be easy to dismiss Glover as less important,but that would be a huge mistake.

Definitely underrated when it comes to male singers.

And I have nothing to add... other than I totally agree.  

As impressive as it is for the rest of the band to smoothly move between playing R&B to heavy metal to hardcore to hip hop, they still have one huge advantage compared to him. He doesn't get to change instruments when he needs a different sound. What he was born with is what he's got.  Arguably, it's even more than that since singing, even the most beautiful singing, actually damages your vocal chords. The fact he sounds amazing singing stuff influenced by, or even flat out copied from, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Bad Brains, Neil Young, and any number of other acts, is at least as impressive as anything you could say about the rest of the band.

That's a good point.  Look at many great singers after they get older.  Which is one of the things that's so amazing about Ann Wilson's voice today, to bring it back full circle.

4228

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by wraith808 on December 08, 2014, 11:02 AM »

No, 'Gangnam Style' Didn't Break YouTube. We Did the Math  WIRED

-Arizona Hot (December 06, 2014, 03:34 PM)

Apparently Wired has a loose screw. The title isn't remotely related to the article and isn't remotely accurate. I really expected better from Wired.

-Renegade (December 07, 2014, 07:36 AM)

I disagree. The story was about the problem YouTube had with the number of viewers of that video. It was a problem in the same way that Y2K was a problem.

-Arizona Hot (December 08, 2014, 09:21 AM)

I'll just quote one of the comments on the story:

And by "we did the math" you mean "we pointed out a technical grammatical error in the pouplarly buzzed headline, then spun it around for our own 'controversial' headline, to give a false sense of 'truth' to our article in order to bait more clicks."

And then you proceeded to recite the same figures as every other article that had already gotten to this bit of news, in an effort to drag people in for more.

And you succeeded. Well done. You baited the fish. And most of us stuck around to complain about how we got baited to boot. Double whammy.

Now please don't ever do it again.

4229

N.A.N.Y. 2015 / Re: NANY 2015 Alpha Release: MarkdownBuddy

« Last post by wraith808 on December 07, 2014, 11:07 PM »

Updated to add PDF export (which took the project from less than 200k to 30MB(!?!)).  I'm using the Pechkin wrapper around the wkhtmltox0.dll- which is the largest part.  I might look into other export engines.  Also thinking about adding HTML export.  Since it's rendered in HTML anyway... I figure I might as well.

UPDATE: Added HTML Export.  Need feedback on whether its confusing- instead of putting some dropdown or something, I just used the expedient of the selected file filter, i.e. if you choose PDF in the save dialog, it will export in PDF- otherwise it's HTML.

4230

N.A.N.Y. 2015 / Re: NANY 2015 Alpha Release: MarkdownBuddy

« Last post by wraith808 on December 06, 2014, 03:23 PM »

Original Post updated with Alpha Release, and name changed to MarkdownBuddy.

4231

Living Room / Re: Talents and talent shows

« Last post by wraith808 on December 06, 2014, 12:03 PM »

Awesome news!  It's always great to hear that even in not winning, the shows raise the profile of the performers!  Great job- on the show, and on using that platform!

4232

DC Gamer Club / Re: A couple games to giveaway: Insurgency (Steam) and Witcher 2 (gog)

« Last post by wraith808 on December 05, 2014, 02:15 PM »

^ That's why I try to be respectful and nice.  But we get a lot of google driveby's for the giveaways...

4233

N.A.N.Y. 2015 / Re: NANY Entry: Galaterra

« Last post by wraith808 on December 05, 2014, 02:03 PM »

It looks like a Next-Gen version of the Zork-type text games. Theoretically this could be an engine that could convert lots of those old games into web versions.

-TaoPhoenix (December 04, 2014, 10:47 PM)

Inform is Zork. 

http://inform7.com/
http://www.infocom-i...g/more/glossary.html
http://www.ifwiki.org/index.php/Inform

I uploaded an update. Shouldn't block on torque-wrench use. Should give you a "Continue" hyperlink.

-kyrathaba (December 05, 2014, 10:45 AM)

Cool!  Another form of this I'd been looking at: https://writer.inklestudios.com/

4234

N.A.N.Y. 2015 / Re: NANY Entry: Galaterra

« Last post by wraith808 on December 04, 2014, 08:56 PM »

Pretty cool... reminds me of the inform stuff. 

Bug: If you go to the torque-wrench and enter an incorrect answer, the game is blocked.

4235

DC Gamer Club / Re: A couple games to giveaway: Insurgency (Steam) and Witcher 2 (gog)

« Last post by wraith808 on December 04, 2014, 08:33 PM »

@Wraith et al - I was wondering if it might be a good idea if the DC gamers could come up with (and possibly vote?) on some standard boilerplate that could just be pasted into these sorts of offers? Maybe something like "This offer is open to active Donation Coder members who have been registered for at least three months and have made at least five posts" - or something like that.

That way it wouldn't be sprung on some unsuspecting newcomer after the fact.

-40hz (December 04, 2014, 08:24 PM)

Good idea...  I usually do, but didn't on this one.  Another idea is to put these in a member only forum so that it doesn't come up on google searches.

4236

DC Gamer Club / Re: A couple games to giveaway: Insurgency (Steam) and Witcher 2 (gog)

« Last post by wraith808 on December 04, 2014, 12:06 PM »

I would really appreciate one 

-InvaderWiz (December 04, 2014, 11:16 AM)

These sorts of giveaways are for members of the community, so usually limited to people that have been around and active, rather than that sign up for the giveaway.  Sorry.

4237

DC Gamer Club / Re: A couple games to giveaway: Insurgency (Steam) and Witcher 2 (gog)

« Last post by wraith808 on December 03, 2014, 10:35 PM »

I could go for some insurgency

-p3lb0x (December 03, 2014, 04:49 PM)

sent

4238

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 03, 2014, 10:27 PM »

If they're there to begin with. That is something, unlike a musical instrument, that can't be bought. Some vocal abilities can't even be developed. It's there or it's not. And no amount of hard work or sincere effort will get it for you.

-40hz (December 03, 2014, 03:11 PM)

I think the same argument could be said for a musical instrument.  Or coding.  Or any other of a myriad of things.  Let's take coding.  You can teach coding- there's schools all over the map and all of the internet.  Getting a computer is of course trivial- especially if you're reading this on one

But having been a consultant for several years, I can say that I've seen competent coders- and then I've seen those that are transcendent.  And what makes that difference?  A mindset, certain capabilities for seeing the solution through the problem while having the ability not to fall in love with the solution- but to fall in love with the problem.  Not sure if I'm making sense... but I think in most things that require a creative spark, there's something about that spark that cannot be taught.

4239

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 03, 2014, 03:02 PM »

Just for clarity's sake, I don't think most vocalists are all that special, in fact I have a better voice and more skill than most. Ann Wilson is in an entirely different league. She could just as easily been the world's greatest operatic soprano. Even beyond her voice, her skill is second to none, but that voice by itself would put her almost in a class of her own.

-Vurbal (December 03, 2014, 02:58 PM)

I'd totally agree... on both points.  And I think the vocal competition shows put the truth to that.

4240

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 03, 2014, 02:47 PM »

If you you have a vocalist anywhere near the ability of Ann Wilson in your band, she will always be your primary focus,  and don't ever forget how lucky you are to have her.

-Vurbal (December 03, 2014, 12:40 PM)

Agree 100%

To be a good guitarist takes some talent, some education, and a devotion to mastering some techniques.

Pure unvarnished vocal talent, however, is a gift from the gods. Be respectful.

-40hz (December 03, 2014, 01:01 PM)

As a vocalist, I'd actually disagree.  People think it's about innate vocal talent... but I'd go the route that it's a combination of qualities that make those timeless vocalists.  Many of these qualities can't be taught... but they can be developed.  And many of them are not the classical technicalities - some vocalists are actually known for their peccadilloes.

From Johnny Cash to Leonard Cohen- there are examples all over the place.  And how many times have you heard better singers take on Hallelujah... but fall short of Cohen?

Though I most emphatically agree with you about Ann Wilson.  I saw her in one performance at an awards ceremony, and initially, her sister had all of the focus, and why not?  She was dressed down in all black with a deep brimmed hat that hid her face.  But when they started performing, it was like a star had descended to light her up.  And this in her 60s?  When it's only by nostalgia that I can listen to her contemporary Stevie Nicks at this point.  I don't know what she did to preserve her voice, but it seems in all honesty more powerful now.

4241

Developer's Corner / Re: Coding at a rate of 240 words per minute

« Last post by wraith808 on December 03, 2014, 02:37 PM »

I will admit... it's 34 minutes, so I didn't watch the whole thing.  If someone wants to use it... more power to them.  But it doesn't look like something I'd use nor advocate.

4242

Developer's Corner / Re: Coding at a rate of 240 words per minute

« Last post by wraith808 on December 03, 2014, 10:08 AM »

But if you have the skills, the equipment, and the software, what reason can you give not to use stenotype? Isn't that like advocating hunt & peck over touch typing?

-app103 (December 03, 2014, 06:28 AM)

Does phonetics cover everything that you would need in a programming environment... really?  Especially with the use of templates and snippets and shortcuts.

4243

DC Gamer Club / Re: A couple games to giveaway: Insurgency (Steam) and Witcher 2 (gog)

« Last post by wraith808 on December 03, 2014, 10:04 AM »

I have some insurgency to give away also.  I was going to just post the link here, but thought better of it.  PM me if you're interested.

4244

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

« Last post by wraith808 on December 02, 2014, 10:51 PM »

^ One of my favorite songs by them!  The other favorites being Suicidal Failure and that old classic I Saw Your Mommy and Your Mommy's Dead!

4245

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 02, 2014, 09:25 AM »

I wonder if we should ask Mouser about the possibility of getting a Musician/Musical Instrument/Music Tech child board at DoCo?

I am not a musician but I love reading threads like this, people talking about their hobbies, projects, passions.
I don't want these discussions hiding away in a sub-board, in fact i'd like to see more of them in the Living Room.

-mouser (December 02, 2014, 03:09 AM)

I understand your point- but to give a different view; with so much in the living room, everything moves down and disappears... and we forget about such threads.  Also, the noise in the living room gets loud   I look at it the same as if we were in person... people would gravitate to groups to talk based on interest, and move around... sometimes venturing back to the main conversation.

Just giving that bit of a viewpoint.

4246

Developer's Corner / Re: Coding at a rate of 240 words per minute

« Last post by wraith808 on December 02, 2014, 09:12 AM »

What was the old saying, '4 bugs for every 1,000 lines of code' ... But we can hit 5-7 if we try real hard.

Speed is not always the solution.

-Stoic Joker (December 02, 2014, 06:43 AM)

That, and typing rate isn't the big limiter in coding for the most part.  I find that the largest asset in coding isn't speed, but the ability to identify problems and create appropriate solutions.

4247

General Software Discussion / Re: Group two windows so they get focus together. Possible?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 02, 2014, 08:44 AM »

What is your relationship to TaskLayout?  It's usual on this forum to state if you have a relationship to the software you're discussing.

-wraith808 (December 01, 2014, 05:33 PM)

I'm the developer of this tool.

-cshnik (December 02, 2014, 02:00 AM)

Welcome to the boards!  You can announce your products/get your own threads in the Announce Your Software/Service/Product section, which will give you more lift than posting deep in a thread like this.  And it will establish you as the developer for future reference

4248

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals

« Last post by wraith808 on December 01, 2014, 09:47 PM »

timbuk2 is having some good sales on bags.  50% off on the standard.

Apress is having its $15 book day

4249

General Software Discussion / Re: Group two windows so they get focus together. Possible?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 01, 2014, 05:33 PM »

Currently, all applications are opening at the same time.
Your question is very good. I will include an option(will name it like "sequential app startup") in one of the next releases of TL.

-cshnik (December 01, 2014, 01:22 PM)

This is the first indication that I've seen... though I've had my suspicions.  What is your relationship to TaskLayout?  It's usual on this forum to state if you have a relationship to the software you're discussing.

4250

Living Room / Re: My 1-year Facebook Death-a-versary!!!

« Last post by wraith808 on December 01, 2014, 10:42 AM »

I haven't 'killed' myself on FB for one reason.  Games.  I play two games on FB, that are only available through the FB platform.  Every once in a while I get sucked back into looking at posts... but if those games weren't there, I would have faded away.  A FB Ghost