slightlyodd » Uncategorized http://slightlyodd.com multipurpose collection of stuff Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:35:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The tiniest computer! http://slightlyodd.com/2011/11/the-tiniest-computer?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-tiniest-computer http://slightlyodd.com/2011/11/the-tiniest-computer#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:35:58 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=865 Can you believe this is a fully functional PC?

It’s got an Atom Z530 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 2 gigabit ethernet ports, wifi, etc. etc.

This tiny little amazing computer is called the fit-PC2i, and I just ordered one with Mint Linux on it. Whee!


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/11/the-tiniest-computer/feed 0 Let the furious justification begin! http://slightlyodd.com/2011/10/let-the-furious-justification-begin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=let-the-furious-justification-begin http://slightlyodd.com/2011/10/let-the-furious-justification-begin#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:31:26 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=859 So I went out and got that new phone… it really is quite fast.


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/10/let-the-furious-justification-begin/feed 2 The best camera is that good one you have that you remember to bring http://slightlyodd.com/2011/10/the-best-camera-is-that-good-one-you-have-that-you-remember-to-bring?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-best-camera-is-that-good-one-you-have-that-you-remember-to-bring http://slightlyodd.com/2011/10/the-best-camera-is-that-good-one-you-have-that-you-remember-to-bring#comments Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:52:48 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=846 Sure, the best camera is the one you have with you. But phone cameras, wonderfully ever-present as they are, really can’t hold a candle to a decent point and shoot.

Here’s a picture of my window just now with an iPhone 4 (click for bigger):

Here’s that same picture again, with my point and shoot – exactly the same lighting (click for bigger):

Here’s a 100% crop of the iPhone:

And here’s a 100% crop of the point and shoot (click for bigger):

So why do I keep forgetting to take my freaking point and shoot with me? IT FITS IN MY POCKET!!

argh.


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/10/the-best-camera-is-that-good-one-you-have-that-you-remember-to-bring/feed 2 The new poor my arse http://slightlyodd.com/2011/06/the-new-poor-my-arse?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-new-poor-my-arse http://slightlyodd.com/2011/06/the-new-poor-my-arse#comments Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:03:10 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=833 Tony Abbott:

The next Coalition government will build on the Howard legacy of reducing personal income taxes for everyone and especially delivering a fair go for middle income families with children.

As I said in my maiden speech and have been repeating ever since, middle income families with children are Australia’s new poor.

Mate, Australia’s middle income families with children live in horrible monstrosities like this one out in the west of Sydney.

They’re not poor, Tony. They’re middle income families in one of the wealthiest nations on earth.

Here is a picture of the neighbourhood of Australia’s new poor. Funnily enough, they’re Australia’s old poor too. They never went away, you know.


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/06/the-new-poor-my-arse/feed 3 NYC Albums Are Up http://slightlyodd.com/2011/06/nyc-albums-are-up?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nyc-albums-are-up http://slightlyodd.com/2011/06/nyc-albums-are-up#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:35:18 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=826 I’ve finally gotten around to uploading most of the pictures from our trip. No photos of people, but I might put a few of those on Facebook later. Click the pictures to get to the album. Enjoy! :)

First day – wandering around the place
Empire State Building

Brooklyn & Coney
Abandoned Ride, Coney Island

The view from the top of 30 Rock
Central Park from 30 Rock

Central Park & the Zoo
Across the Lake

The Guggenheim, and Otto’s Shrunken Head
The Guggenheim

Wandering about downtown
Why? Dunno

A few pics from Williamsburg
Brooklyn Bowl

A jaunt around Brooklyn
The El @ Brooklyn

A trip on the ferry to Staten Island, then a trip on the aerial tram to Roosevelt Island
Down Roosevelt Island

A visit to just a tiny bit of the ridiculously huge Metropolitan Museum of Art
A Small Hallway

Scooting around on our last full day
From East River State Park


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/06/nyc-albums-are-up/feed 0 Using an iPhone in the US http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/using-an-iphone-in-the-us?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=using-an-iphone-in-the-us http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/using-an-iphone-in-the-us#comments Sun, 29 May 2011 19:35:07 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=823 For some reason, despite countless Australian travelers to the US taking their iPhones with them, I found it hard to find decent information on how to get a US prepaid SIM with data and use it successfully. A friend of mine had used T-Mobile when he was here, but the iPhone works only on 2G with their network. Being a bit of a fusspot, I wanted 3G and therefore AT&T was the obvious choice. Unfortunately, AT&T are a big fat pain in the arse.

I won’t bore you with the tedious 2 day ordeal that was trying to get the whole thing going. Instead, here is a recipe so that you needn’t suffer the same annoyance.

You’ll need a carrier unlocked iPhone.

1. Go to an AT&T outlet and buy a GoPhone prepaid SIM. (iPhones are not normally allowed on prepaid, but the shop assistant was able to put some other phone’s IMEI in to the system when activating my SIM. It’s possible the store you go to will refuse to sell you a prepaid SIM for an iPhone- in that case, either try another store or bring some other handset for the IMEI.)

2. Add credit, and a data pack. I chose the $2 per day unlimited talk and text plan. $28 for 2 weeks isn’t too horrible. The SIM itself is $20. 500 MB is $25.

3. Go somewhere with free wifi (Starbucks, McDonalds, Borders, many others).

4. Go to unlockit.co.nz in mobile Safari.

5. Select “Custom APN”, then US – AT&T (should be wap.cingular)

6. Install the certificate.

7. Restart the phone, then hooray- data should be working!

I found data craps out a couple of times a day in NYC- just switch briefly to airplane mode to get it going again.

Voila!


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/using-an-iphone-in-the-us/feed 3 Spot my conundrum http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/spot-my-conundrum?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=spot-my-conundrum http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/spot-my-conundrum#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 05:34:12 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=813 First:

Next:

And finally:

#firstworldproblems


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/spot-my-conundrum/feed 0 Wanna take a ride in a suitcase? http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/wanna-take-a-ride-in-a-suitcase?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wanna-take-a-ride-in-a-suitcase http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/wanna-take-a-ride-in-a-suitcase#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 06:35:13 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=810 Mmm, next week.


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/wanna-take-a-ride-in-a-suitcase/feed 0 Stay up there, Aussie Dollar! http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/stay-up-there-aussie-dollar?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stay-up-there-aussie-dollar http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/stay-up-there-aussie-dollar#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 10:15:24 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=804 (aka stay down, US dollar!)

I’m going to NYC in a couple of weeks, which is very exciting. What is also exciting is that the USD is, um, not doing so great. Many folks have been talking about the Aussie dollar being particularly strong, but I’m not convinced. Here is a picture to illustrate why I’m not convinced:

Click for big!

I mean, the Aussie’s not doing too badly, but … yeah. There you have it.

Now stay down there! I want to buy things!


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/05/stay-up-there-aussie-dollar/feed 0 APNIC has run out of IPv4 addresses http://slightlyodd.com/2011/04/apnic-has-run-out-of-ipv4-addresses?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=apnic-has-run-out-of-ipv4-addresses http://slightlyodd.com/2011/04/apnic-has-run-out-of-ipv4-addresses#comments Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:02:15 +0000 cam http://slightlyodd.com/?p=795 Well that happened rather more quickly than I’d thought. The Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Registrar (APNIC) is now down to it’s last big block of IPv4 addresses. Its policy, once having reached this point, is to carefully conserve the remaining IP addresses to facilitate service providers’ transition to IPv6. They won’t give out more than about a thousand addresses to each APNIC member – total. Effectively, this means they’ve run out.

In recognition of this interesting fact (if you are a geek), slightlyodd.com and www.slightlyodd.com now have AAAA records. All set for world IPv6 day, I guess :)

Edit: Linode has deployed Native IPv6 :) – so I’ve updated all my DNS records accordingly. Progress!


Comments]]> http://slightlyodd.com/2011/04/apnic-has-run-out-of-ipv4-addresses/feed 0