My blessings to you on this fertile day,
/ | \ Taran MacDuir
Monday, April 30, 2007
Beltaine
Hi, it's Beltaine again. We have to leave now, but I'll return as soon as I can.
My blessings to you on this fertile day,
My blessings to you on this fertile day,
Friday, April 27, 2007
Web 2.0 browser?
Yes, ladies and gents, as far as I know it's the only Web 2.0 centered browser out there: Flock. It's based on FireFox and available for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows (as if anyone cares…). It integrates nicely with several blog sites (eg. Blogger, WordPress etc.), Flickr for photo sharing, del.icio.us etc. Oh, and GMail of course. It looks rather good and is just as stable as other Mozilla based products. I think we have found a very strong contender for most interesting browser out there. I think such, so far for me, seamless integration with these services can make this browser a real must-have, especially for teens and young people. Mozilla stability, coupled to Web 2.0 services and a reasonably handsome interface, could be a surefire winner!
But isn't it lacking anywhere, you ask. Well, yes actually it is. I would like it to have tabbing more similar to that of Shiira or OmniWeb. I would like full screen capability straight "out of the box" a'la Shiira and Opera and mouse gestures implemented the same way Opera has it. It also feels slower than Safari, and perhaps not quite as clean, GUI wise as Safari either. (Especially the Windows/KDE/Gnome derived buttons, yuck!)
But with a bit of polishing this could definitely be on to something in the same way SongBird might have a real crack at changing how we listen to music by taking on iTunes.
May you road rise up to meet you,
/ | \ Taran MacDuir
P.S. This posting is written in Flock, hence the lack of my normal formatting. I guess that could be another porblem, lack of some features every here and there.
Blogged with Flock
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Just what kind of problem?
I found this story over at the Beeb, and it got me thinking about the universe and exoplanets again. Always a dangerous thing that… This is the first discovery of a planet that could hold life, as we know it. It seems that only a measly 20 light-years away we could actually have neighbours! So? You might ask, we've had UFOs for decades. Well, to be honest, those are still unproven theories, even though I personally believe that there is more to those stories than what is generally disclosed. Anyway, if this observation turns out to be correct, and we were to find out that this planet holds some form of humanoid creatures, ie. in this case reasoning, thinking beings. What does this mean to us? Well, it will mean great implications not only to the natural sciences, it will also mean a great deal of problems to theology, but perhaps mostly the monotheistic ones.
If we were to find out that this is not the "only" creation, and that they have religions of their own etc, etc. This would not spell the end of Christianity in any way, but I really would like to see the Christian Right wriggle out of it. Believers everywere who believe rather than read fact in what ever book would have no religious problems at all as far as I can see, but if you take the Bible, the Qur'an etc., litteraly, then you are certainly in for a bumpy ride… Wiccans, Druids, Buddists, Hindus, Taoists, Pagans, Asatru etc., would not have religious problems per se with it, although of course they might have problems with ot for other reasons. Me, I find life fascinating, and the Multiverse is really an awsome (in the original sense, for those of you into Eddie Izzard, not like a hotdog…) place.
I couldn't find a good quote on planets, so enjoy thisone on L-space, in connection to the numerous wiki links in this posting…
The study of invisible writings was a new discipline made available by the discovery of the bi-directional nature of Library-space. The thaumic mathematics are complex, but boil down to the fact that all books, everywhere, affect all other books. This is obvious: books inspire other books written in the future, and cite books written in the past. But the General Theory* of L-space suggests that, in that case, the contents of books as yet unwritten can be deduced from books now in existence.
Blessings on your path, it is yours alone,
If we were to find out that this is not the "only" creation, and that they have religions of their own etc, etc. This would not spell the end of Christianity in any way, but I really would like to see the Christian Right wriggle out of it. Believers everywere who believe rather than read fact in what ever book would have no religious problems at all as far as I can see, but if you take the Bible, the Qur'an etc., litteraly, then you are certainly in for a bumpy ride… Wiccans, Druids, Buddists, Hindus, Taoists, Pagans, Asatru etc., would not have religious problems per se with it, although of course they might have problems with ot for other reasons. Me, I find life fascinating, and the Multiverse is really an awsome (in the original sense, for those of you into Eddie Izzard, not like a hotdog…) place.
I couldn't find a good quote on planets, so enjoy thisone on L-space, in connection to the numerous wiki links in this posting…
The study of invisible writings was a new discipline made available by the discovery of the bi-directional nature of Library-space. The thaumic mathematics are complex, but boil down to the fact that all books, everywhere, affect all other books. This is obvious: books inspire other books written in the future, and cite books written in the past. But the General Theory* of L-space suggests that, in that case, the contents of books as yet unwritten can be deduced from books now in existence.
From The Science of the Discworld 2: The Globe, p. 43
Blessings on your path, it is yours alone,
/|\ Taran MacDuir
* There is a Special Theory as well, but no one bothers with it much because it's self-evidently a load of marsh-gas. [This footnote is a footnote in the original quotation. So this is a metafootnote] - Effectivley making this a metametafootnote…
* There is a Special Theory as well, but no one bothers with it much because it's self-evidently a load of marsh-gas. [This footnote is a footnote in the original quotation. So this is a metafootnote] - Effectivley making this a metametafootnote…
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Well, well, well
Today is Earth Day and also the day of the first round of voting in the French
presidential elections.
Earth Day was set up in 1970 and promotes several questions regarding Earth and the environment. This work is important, not least in this day and age where the Christian Right gains momentum and at the same time, at least to a certain extent fights the environmental movement. This position is also evident in the documentary Jesus Camp (2006). Thankfully, not all Christians agree, and for the rest of us: we need to do what we can, pray when we have the possibility to and help mother earth as much as possible. Is this hard? Not really, and we can do it every day without changing that much of our routine!
Concerning the French election it is still early days. The main contenders are Ségolène Royal of the Socialist Party, Nicolas Sarkozy of the Union for a Popular Movement, François Bayrou of the Union for French Democracy, and last but not least, the in Europe infamous Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front. So far it seems Sarkozy and Royal are the two strongest candidates, BUT never ever dismiss people and parties like Le Pen and the National Front. It would be a disaster for the whole of Europe if they won, but do not dismiss them. Of the other two, as to which would best for the EU? It is, for me at least, a little early to say. France has been right-wing for a long time now, maybe a shift is in order, and Royal would be the first female president. On the other hand Sarkozy has proven him self capable of action in the face of a crisis. But he might be a little to much on the hard line. Well, we certainly will see. Elections in countries as large as France do not only effect the country in question, but the whole of the EU and in many ways the world. Any way: Vive la France!
For the Great Mother is the nourisher of all that is here,
presidential elections.
Earth Day was set up in 1970 and promotes several questions regarding Earth and the environment. This work is important, not least in this day and age where the Christian Right gains momentum and at the same time, at least to a certain extent fights the environmental movement. This position is also evident in the documentary Jesus Camp (2006). Thankfully, not all Christians agree, and for the rest of us: we need to do what we can, pray when we have the possibility to and help mother earth as much as possible. Is this hard? Not really, and we can do it every day without changing that much of our routine!
Concerning the French election it is still early days. The main contenders are Ségolène Royal of the Socialist Party, Nicolas Sarkozy of the Union for a Popular Movement, François Bayrou of the Union for French Democracy, and last but not least, the in Europe infamous Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front. So far it seems Sarkozy and Royal are the two strongest candidates, BUT never ever dismiss people and parties like Le Pen and the National Front. It would be a disaster for the whole of Europe if they won, but do not dismiss them. Of the other two, as to which would best for the EU? It is, for me at least, a little early to say. France has been right-wing for a long time now, maybe a shift is in order, and Royal would be the first female president. On the other hand Sarkozy has proven him self capable of action in the face of a crisis. But he might be a little to much on the hard line. Well, we certainly will see. Elections in countries as large as France do not only effect the country in question, but the whole of the EU and in many ways the world. Any way: Vive la France!
For the Great Mother is the nourisher of all that is here,
/ | \ Taran MacDuir
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Ehhh…
This leads me to two conclusions: A. Bush haven't read his own statement, and B. Politics is all about lying in a way so that no one discovers it.
"Olds, thought William, forensically dissecting a sultana. His lordship was right. Not news but olds, telling people that what they think they already know is true…"
May yout path be blessed,
"Olds, thought William, forensically dissecting a sultana. His lordship was right. Not news but olds, telling people that what they think they already know is true…"
From The Truth by Terry Pratchett, p. 238
May yout path be blessed,
/ | \ Taran MacDuir
The Sounds of Silence
Music is very important part of life. And good music even more so, but where to find it? Well MG Studios is one place to start. Most well known of the artists from this studio is its founder, Medwyn Goodall. My personal favorites are his Celtic style albums, mainly the Druid trilogy (Druid, Excalibur and Merlin) and the new Clan trilogy (Clan , The Scroll ) which incidentally isn't finished yet. You can even listen to excerpts from the Cd's like Raven from Clan or The Scroll from the Cd with the same name. The new album The Sourcerer's Daughter also sounds very promising.
But of course there's a lot of other musicians at this studio as well. I suggest you try some of the music on for size via their Internet radio channel, which unfortunately is in streaming WMA, it works with Flip4Mac though and probably with VLC or MPlayer as well (you do however have to cut & paste the link into QuickTime and the others as they don't recognise the embedded link), and purchase what you fancy! I will order his book and The Sourcerer's Daughter as soon as I can find the money for it.
Blessed be,
But of course there's a lot of other musicians at this studio as well. I suggest you try some of the music on for size via their Internet radio channel, which unfortunately is in streaming WMA, it works with Flip4Mac though and probably with VLC or MPlayer as well (you do however have to cut & paste the link into QuickTime and the others as they don't recognise the embedded link), and purchase what you fancy! I will order his book and The Sourcerer's Daughter as soon as I can find the money for it.
Blessed be,
/ | \ Taran MacDuir
Friday, April 20, 2007
I just don't know
What is this? What can possibly drive a guy to commit such "unspeakable" acts as the Virginia Tech killer? What if that happened at my Uni? Ok, so I live in Europe, ok we have way better gun control laws and yes, possibly a little fewer psychos running around. But! What of the shootings in Germany a few years back? It could happen right here, is it time to, as a student, start fearing this kind of problem to? My wife's at uni almost every work day and I between three and four times. I feel shocked that anyone can be driven that far, and my heart and my prayers goes out to all who were cut short of life, all those who remain, and not least, the family of the shooter. It wasn't their fault their son went amok.
So in honour of all the victims, including Cho Seung-Hui, the unfortunate victim of him self.
To all of you: May your god and goddesses bless you,
So in honour of all the victims, including Cho Seung-Hui, the unfortunate victim of him self.
To all of you: May your god and goddesses bless you,
/ | \ Taran MacDuir
Disclaimer: I do not in any way endorse these actions, but I feel it's important not to blame the family, and to remember that this guy must have had some sort of problem, healthy people don't go around shooting 32 people. That's all.
Disclaimer: I do not in any way endorse these actions, but I feel it's important not to blame the family, and to remember that this guy must have had some sort of problem, healthy people don't go around shooting 32 people. That's all.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Long time, no see
Well, I do have an apology to every one: sorry it's been a while. I have been ill for a time, but I'm fine now. So hopefully we can get back to some kind of normality. Uni is taking its toll what with statistical analysis in psychology and me having to apply to a plethora of summer jobs in the hopes of finding even one…
On a more happy note, although a laborious one, I am trying to set up a web server of my own. Yes I know, I could just use a web hotel like everyone else, or something of that sort. But I want the experience of looking after a server. But to tell the truth, in Mac OS 9 and X it doesn't seem all that hard to do, but maybe I'm doing it wrong? I haven't been able to find out wether or not my IP stays the same over time though with modem resets and so forth. So let us conduct a test: let's see for how long the server can be accesed at this adress. The server might be down every now and then though, so check more than once before saying it's broken.
In the spiritual world nothing much has happened except another meeting with my mothers group. The theme was previous lifes and meditation. I found out a few things that I need to check and see if they can be verified or not. Should be intressting and it is a subject I'm hoping to return to. There has been an adition to the HokusPokus page in the form of a blog, that we hope will be up-dated continually. I haven't been able to get the RSS-feed to work yet though, but some day.
Blessed be,
On a more happy note, although a laborious one, I am trying to set up a web server of my own. Yes I know, I could just use a web hotel like everyone else, or something of that sort. But I want the experience of looking after a server. But to tell the truth, in Mac OS 9 and X it doesn't seem all that hard to do, but maybe I'm doing it wrong? I haven't been able to find out wether or not my IP stays the same over time though with modem resets and so forth. So let us conduct a test: let's see for how long the server can be accesed at this adress. The server might be down every now and then though, so check more than once before saying it's broken.
In the spiritual world nothing much has happened except another meeting with my mothers group. The theme was previous lifes and meditation. I found out a few things that I need to check and see if they can be verified or not. Should be intressting and it is a subject I'm hoping to return to. There has been an adition to the HokusPokus page in the form of a blog, that we hope will be up-dated continually. I haven't been able to get the RSS-feed to work yet though, but some day.
Blessed be,
/ | \ Taran MacDuir
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