Joel’s Scattered Thoughts

Hack Attack: Burn almost any video file to a playable DVD - Lifehacker

Another rainy day project - I could burn a bunch of machima to DVD for my kids.

Boing Boing: Tangle Tamer — wonderful product is worth looking into - my daughter hates getting her hair brushed but insists on keeping it long.

Well I finally got a copy of Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. What a well-written book!

I have been planning to buy this book for quite some time, but most of my book-buying is in the form of ebooks from Baen. Scalizi’s publisher, Tor, stupidly decided that DRM-free books are a menace to something and axed the project to make his books available. Since then I’ve been looking for a copy at local bookstores as I keep forgetting to order it via Amazon.

The story follows a soldier of the future from the day he joins the army to a point well into his career. It draws on Heinlein’s Starship Troopers and also has similarities to Haldeman’s Forever War. The alien cultures the soldier meets are decently alien (though as a front line grunt, he doesn’t spend much time on cultural critiques).

I really enjoyed the ending of the book. This book draws the story to close and yet does it in such a way that I’m planning to pick up the sequels as soon as possible.

Seeds for Change - workshops and training for grassroots campaigners
How to do Brochure Printing in OpenOffice.org

Open Office does Brochure Printing - ie it’ll help you make a nice A5 booklet, with all the pages sorted out so that it can be stapled together in the middle. (ie with the last and first side printed together on the first page and so on through your booklet - complicated isn’t it!)

There are many ways of doing this, but unfortunately the Open Office Help section isn’t very clear how it’s done…

Step 1 - open a new document and make it A5 size (that’s half A4 size) by clicking on Format then Page.Choose the page tab, and select A5 under Paper Format. Select your margins etc as usual in this tab too.

Step 2 - when you’re ready to print, open up the print dialogue File -> Print, and choose Properties screenshot of the print menu

Step 3 - In the Properties window, choose A4 under Paper Size and Landscape under Orientation. Click OK.
screenshot of the properties menu

Step 4 - You should now be back in the normal Print Dialogue, click on Options at the bottom.

Step 2 - In the Options window look at the middle column (called Pages) and click on brochure.
screenshot of the options menu
If you have a posh printer that does duplex printing (prints both sides of the paper automatically) then you don’t need to do anything else, just click OK and print.

If you have to print one side of the paper, then put the paper back into your printer to print the other side then make sure Right Pages is ticked, and Left Pages isn’t. Print, then do all of the above again, put tick Left Pages, and print on the other side. (First of all you’ll have to work out how to print on both sides of the paper with your particular printer).

maybe when/if I finally I get a digital camera, I’ll run through this free online course in photography

via Lifehacker

Cheesecake Cupcakes are delicious and easy.

We’ll use Vanilla Wafer cookies (Nabisco’s Nilla Wafers is the most commonly available brand) as a bottom crust for these cheesecake cupcakes. To make a dozen cheesecakes, gather up one pound (455 g) cream cheese, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar. The cheesecakes can be topped with whatever you like - maraschino cherries, streusel, Hershey’s kisses. I like to use mandarin orange slices.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Place the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl and beat on medium-low speed until creamy.

Starting with softened cream cheese will speed up the process, but even cold cream cheese will eventually beat in with the eggs to form a creamy mixture.

Place cupcake or muffin liners (also called baking cups) into each cup of a muffin pan. While preparing these pictures and reading up on other recipes, I read a recipe that recommended getting aluminum cupcake liners but removing the paper layer (aluminum muffin liners have an inner paper lining placed within the aluminum liner). I decided to take this opportunity to test out different liners: aluminum with paper insert, aluminum without paper, and paper muffin liners. Aluminum with paper is what I recommend (more on why later).

Place a vanilla wafer cookie into the bottom of each muffin liner.

Pour the cheesecake batter into each muffin liner. Fill to about 3/4 full. The batter should be sufficient for twelve cupcakes with possibly a little left over. Top the individual cheesecakes.

Bake the cheesecake cupcakes for about 15 minutes in the preheated 350°F (175°C) oven. As soon as the cheesecakes are set, remove the muffin pan and let it cool for a couple minutes on a wire rack. After the pan has cooled a bit, pull out each of the cheesecakes and let them completely cool before refrigerating.

While pulling out the baking cups from the muffin pan, I realized that the aluminum liners made it easy to lift up and pull out. The cupcakes lined with only paper cups were a bit more difficult to grasp and lift up due to the less rigid nature of the liner.

However, the paper lined cupcakes peeled easily while the aluminum only cup had a tendency to stick to the cheesecake. Sometimes while peeling the aluminum lining off, it would tear the cupcake. So, for the best of both worlds, use the aluminum baking cups with the paper lining left inside.

After chilling, the cheesecakes will keep for a couple days - ready for a quick snack or for delivery to your next get-together.

While you’re in the Outlands….
While you’re in the Outlands….think about who you’re neglecting!

{You have entered 60 Bosses Chat}
{BaronRivendare has come online}
{Gandling}: what’s up.
{BaronRivendare}: hey.
{Gandling} : what you doin
{BaronRivendare} : nothin just ridin my horse. Are you lagging?
{Gandling} : dont think so
{Gandling} : y
{BaronRivendare} : havent seen any mobs in three days. think i’m dc’d but just dont know it.
{Gandling} : oic
{Gandling} : same
{BaronRivendare} : bored. u wanna do a me run?
{Gandling} : lol
{Gandling} : at least you get more time with the baroness lol
{BaronRivendare} : lol yeah
{BaronRivendare} : she can definitely take more than 45 minutes if she wants to
{Gandling} : o_O
{Drakkisath has come online}
{BaronRivendare} : ‘Sup Drak
{Gandling} : wb
{Gandling} : dc’d?
{Drakkisath} nah thought I heard someone coming in downstairs.
{Drakkisath} was nef and rend fighting again.
{Drakkisath} they usually stop if people come over. nef thinks its funny when rend gets pwned and goes back to sitting on his throne.
{Drakkisath} brb snack
{Drakkisath has gone offline}
{Gandling} SCHOOL IS IN SESSION
{BaronRivendare} wtf
{Gandling} Sorry, just trying to keep up the routine.
{Ysida Harmon} DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME. JUST SLAY THIS ABOMINATION AND RID THE WORLD OF HIS FILTH FOREVER
{BaronRivendare} stfu there isnt even anyone here
{Gandling} damn, caps, jeez
{BaronRivendare} sry
{Gandling} think im gonna go to my alchemy lab
{Gandling} brew up some ‘refreshments’ to pass the time
{BaronRivendare} lol kk
{Gandling has gone offline}
{BaronRivendare} /sigh
{BaronRivendare} /silly
{BaronRivendare} /silly
{BaronRivendare} /silly
{BaronRivendare} /flirt
{Ysida Harmon} can i go?
{BaronRivendare} stfu
{Nefarian has come online}
{Nefarian} WTF
{Nefarian} where’s drak
{BaronRivendare} gettin a snack
{Nefarian} Is it Tuesday?
{BaronRivendare} naw man its Saturday
{Nefarian} you laggin
{BaronRivendare} nope same problem tho
{Nefarian} damn
{Majordomo Executus has come online}
{EliteGuard has come online}
{EliteGuard has come online}
{EliteGuard has come online}
{EliteGuard has come online}
{Healer has come online}
{Healer has come online}
{Healer has come online}
{Healer has come online}
{Majordomo Executus} : hey
{EliteGuard} hey
{EliteGuard} hey
{EliteGuard} hey
{EliteGuard} hey
{Healer} hey
{Healer} hey
{Healer} hey
{Healer} hey
{MajordomoExecutus} jesus christ shut up you’re driving me crazy with that
{Majordomo Executus} all damn day
{EliteGuard} sry
{EliteGuard} sry
{EliteGuard} sry
{EliteGuard} sry
{Healer} sry
{Healer} sry
{Healer} sry
{Healer} sry
{EliteGuard is now being ignored}
{Healer is now being ignored}
{MajordomoExecutus} rag told me to ask you guys if you’re all laggin’
{Nefarian} nah
{Drakkisath has come online}
{BaronRivendare} no i’m goin real fast
{Drakkisath} that’s what the baroness says
{Nefarian} PWNED
{MajordomoExecutus} haha ss’d.
{BaronRivendare} ass
{Drakkisath} dammit i’m bored. where are all the mobs?
{Ragnaros has come online}
{Nefarian} hey rag.
{Ragnaros} TASTE THE FLAMES OF SULFURON
{MajordomoExecutus} wtf caps
{BaronRivendare} o_O
{Nefarian} you dont have to put on your show, there arent any mobs around
{Ragnaros} where the hell is everyone
{Level 64 human warrior has come online}
{Nefarian} niiiiiice
{Nefarian} Im not even gonna use my skellies
{BaronRivendare} same
{Level 64 human warrior has killed Drakkisath}
{Nefarian} ….
{BaronRivendare} wt…
{Level 64 human warrior has killed BaronRivendare}
{Nefarian} jesus
{MajordomoExecutus} /inspect
{MajordomoExecutus} wtf he’s wearing greens!
{Level 64 human warrior has killed Majordomo Executus}
{Ragnaros} BY FIRE BE PUR}
{Level 64 human warrior has killed Ragnaros}
{Nefarian} omg
{Nefarian has gone offline}
{Level 64 human warrior} lol noobz
{Level 66 night elf hunter has come online}
{Level 64 human warrior} 2 minutes 34 seconds, beat it
{Level 66 night elf hunter} oh i will
{Level 66 night elf hunter} what are all these healers and elites doing here?

(Copyright, Buzzfreedom)

How-to Download Videos from Websites Like Google Video, YouTube, MySpace, and Others | Gil’s Method (via Lifehacker)

The Ferrett discusses why Real-Life Leveling isn’t as satisfying as leveling in video games (particularly World of Warcraft). I strongly agree that the lack of dings! is a big factor. As per his examples, when real life offers quantifiable acknowledgment of achievements, it’s much more satisfying and encouraging.

This Digger comic and the next day’s show what happen when you leave squash out too long.

I’ve pretty much exclusively played on PvP servers so far in World of Warcraft. I started out playing on them because I thought PvP would add something to the game. Currently I have a level 60 priest and I’ve played all the other classes except shaman up to at least level 32 on PvP servers.

If I start again on another server, it will not be a PvP server.

My main reason is quite simple: having my level 20 character ganked by geared out level 60s is not fun. Heck, having my level 30 character ganked by level 40s isn’t fun either. Most PvP is not a contest of equals but the equivalent of a 90 pound weakling being jumped from behind and beat up by the football team. PvP as a contest of equals can be fun, PvP where you don’t stand a chance is not. For PvP, I’ll go to battlegrounds.

My secondary reason is that PvP cuts off whole portions of the world. I won’t go near Stranglethorn Vale, Eastern Ashenvale, Shimmering Flats, or Hillsbrad with characters that could theoretically be questing there. Why not? I go there to quest and spend my time getting ganked instead. After my third corpse run in 10 minutes, I’m sick of playing and log off. This means there are huge swathes of quests that I’ll never do.

PvP is a lot of fun. I spent a lot of time on battlegrounds brawling back and forth. It’s a rush to beat someone and know there’s a person on the other side and not just a bucket of bits. However, getting ganked at random just isn’t for me.