February 20, 2004
The Passion and The Press
In a front page article, the USA Today has labeled Gibson's Passion a grotesque nightmare.
"Most movies primise to deliver us from the profound." claims the article. This noble cause is contrasted with the aim of Gibson, which will "test viewer's ability to stomach endless beatings in the name of either art or religion, depending on the beliefs moviegoers bring to the theater."
Apparently there are only two classes of viewers: those who watch endless beatings for art's sake and those who watch endless beatings for religion's sake. Either way, all viewers are clearly sadists. There is no profound aim to this film.
Nor, it seems, for future films. They are sure to be "Old Testament staples featuring a demanding God."
His audience? "There are 2 billion Christians worldwide, roughly one third of the planet. That's a lot of movie tickets. This army is responsible for the strong early ticket sales for The Passion."
It seems to me this media outlet has a dislike for Gibson's movie, but I don't see a valid reason in it. Grab a copy and tell me what you think.
February 18, 2004
February 16, 2004
Moore Power
Here's something for our resident Linux Guru to play with. It is a "administrative tool" that allows sysadmins to kill processes that are bogging the system. Literally kill them. With a gun. A big gun. And watch them die. Slowly.
February 12, 2004
Moore Quotes
The source: Operating System Concepts, Chapter 10 - Virtual Memory
The subject: Saving Memory by not loading infrequently used programs*
The quote:"Certain options and features of a program may be used rarely. For instance, the routines on U.S. government computers that balance the budget have only recently been used."
The conclusion: If nerds ruled, the deficit would have disappeared ages ago.
*actually functions or components of programs
February 11, 2004
Moore Amusing Dialogue
---- New Conversation @ Wed Feb 11 22:17:57 2004 ----
(22:17:56) gallagheratlabs: how goes it?
(22:18:16) OMooreBanana: Pretty well, just putting finishing touches on MIPS program in the library
(22:18:20) OMooreBanana: how bout you?
(22:19:06) gallagheratlabs: not so bad... sitting right across from you and watching you say good-bye to Sharon
Another day in the life of a totally oblivious computer nerd.
And yet, I wouldn't have my life any other way. Computers and a beautiful girlfriend? Clearly I am very lucky.
Moore Clear Thoughts
"We don't care what you blog, as long as you blog your way out of a wet paper bag." - Jared Wheeler
Clearly I can and will blog my way out of many wet paper bags. For instance, if a paper bag had food in it, I would gladly blog it. Thus Wheeler is proven for the squeezy Guatemalan he is.
Clearly.
In other news, said Guatemalan claims he only sleeps 2-8 hours per day in the library. Apparently the other 3 hours are spent in class. Clearly, he is a fuzzy, squeezy, liberal arts major. Clearly.
What else? Clearly the library should get all six of its laptops working. Currently two are down. Clearly IT is to blame. Clearly, Scholl is to blame. Clearly.
Having disposed of my gripes, it is clearly time to continue MIPS-ing my way to glory. Oh, and the library needs to lift its ban on food and drinks.
Clearly.
February 05, 2004
Moore finds a Computer Of Wickedness!
Sharon and I dropped by Mr. Forringer to return some keys to the labs, and I noticed, sitting upon his desk, the most beautiful thing (not comparable to the most beautiful person) I have ever seen.
There sat a small black box, scarcely more than a foot long, with gleaming black sides and bright blinking lights. I knew it on sight, a Shuttle case and motherboard.
I could hardly contain myself. I quickly extracted the specs from its lucky owner:
64 bit AMD (3200?)
nForce3 motherboard
Radeon 9600 with all Inputs and Outputs
Serial ATA hard-drive
DVD+/-RW
And most importantly...
Running 64 bit Linux kernel!
He also dual-boots XP, running in compatibilty mode...
Sadly there are as yet no 64 bit drivers for his video or hard-drive for any OS, so he's waiting to put them in. They sat on the floor, tempting me to snatch them and run.
As I reluctantly left the room, I pondered the massive computing power I had witnessed. Feeling blessed and happy, I returned to my room to share the good news.
See the specs here
The Image of the Beauty!
I forgot to mention the DVD+/-RW, now added.
February 04, 2004
My Big Backyard
I wander, but I guess I'm not old/rich enough to go outside my own continent...
(Thanks to World66 for the map-maker.)
Moore time passes
"So life continues one, much as it has..."
I had a wonderful time in Biblical Literature today. It is tought by Dr. Hummel, an intense, knowledgable, and Baptistical Professor. We were being lectured on the use of narrative in the Old Testament historical books. One of the subpoints in his lecture concerned Allegory. He explained that, although stories may contain symbolism and spiritual meaning, they are historical events, not Allegories. I raised my hand and noted that Paul had used the word "Allegory" in his interpretation of Sarah and Hagar as the New and Old Covenants. (Gal. 4:22) Dr. Hummel assured me that Paul was really using more of an Analogy.
At this point I noticed a chuckle from the back of the room. Turning, I discovered Dr. Watson was standing just outside the classroom door. He was grinning.
For those of you who don't know Dr. Watson, he was my professor for Reading the Bible as Literature, a class I took last semester which concerned non-Baptists methods of examining Scripture. Among the subjects discussed was that of Allegory. Indeed, we debated and contested it at some length in that class. That is why I interjected in Biblical Literature as I did. And, through some twist of fate, my old mentor was there to hear my retort.
Dr. Hummel smiled a genuine, albeit slightly pained, smile upon discovering his unseen watcher. Dr. Watson explained to the class that "Dr. Hummel gets the heebie-jeebies whenever I mention allegory." We turned to Dr. Hummel for confirmation. "Allegory!" quoth Watson. "Eieieie..." sputtered Hummel, backing away from his desk and nearly hitting the wall.
With a smile and a calming wave of his hand Dr. Watson vanished, leaving me with a distinct feeling of moral victory.
After class Dr. Hummel detained me and explained in further detail Paul's use of the Greek word "allegoreo" in place of the word for analogy. I smiled and nodded, now was not the time for a theological debate with Dr. Hummel. (Is there ever a time for that?) I escaped quickly and breathed a sigh of relief. In my heart a felt a gladness. I had witnessed a battle of giants, and even interacted, without sustaining mental injury. As I left Heath-Hardwick, I knew I was being watched. Dr. Hummel was not so naive to think I had been converted from my errant old-religion ways with a few light words. Biblical Literature was now a chessboard.