The life and times of a saggy cloth cat
Archive for May 2005
Just installed Ubuntu on Charlottes computer, and hit a slight stumbling block when it refused to do more than 640×480. On the shiny new 20″ monitor, this is kinda _large_. This is on an old Voodoo3, but it should do a bit more than that. Following the instructions at FixVideoResolutionHowto, I inserted the missing HorizSync and VertRefresh lines, and hey presto it worked. Further tweaking with the info at Voodoo3doesnotdo3d got me a 3D accelerated desktop as well. Bonus 
Went off to The Barras on Sunday, and managed to pick up a Sun GDM-5410 20″ monitor in superb condition for £60. It must be less than 4 years old, with barely a scratch on the case and a perfect flat screen. Now I can put my tired LG Flatron 775FT out to pasture for other uses.
Started off Sunday with breakfast in bed 
Seattle style pancakes from Charlotte using Mimsy’s recipe. Absolutely glorious
Then spent the day at the Barras with Gordon and Charlotte, where we discovered a small mecca for Mac geeks with a fair degree of Sun bits as well. Vowed to visit again next weekend with some cash in hand… The day was followed up by a wardrive in Gordons car, after some modifications to the carphone antenna. I spent half the time persuading the CVS trunk code for the Orinoco card to compile properly, and stay working in rfmon mode. Drinks and music followed shortly after at Uisge Beatha with Kenny and Chris. It was almost like being back in time, 2 years ago
Well, progress on the boat is steadily coming on. The superstructure is built, with the stempiece and bulkheads all in place, and looking the right shape. The transom is also installed and elevated to roughly what the designs say. It’s now gotten to the stage where I can fit the rudder, prop and other drive equipment. I’d rather get those bought and installed before going on any further with the rear decking, so that’s the next task
The theory of junk is quite simple… I’ve been trying to clear out my desk, and have been amazed at the collection of tat I’ve accumulated over the past year. It all boils down to the small items. Over time, large items get filed, or find proper homes, and the smaller ones get left until later. I mean, you can’t file post-it notes, can you? The end result is a pile of small items at the back of the desk that you either don’t have the inclination to filter through, or don’t want to lose but can’t find the correct means of storage. Not only are they small, but they are of all different shapes and sizes – allowing them to further defy any means of universal storage.
And that, is why I have a lightbulb sitting in my magazine file.
I feel as if I had such a productive weekend for some reason. On Friday evening we went to see The Interpreter, which was far better than I had anticipated. Left it feeling rather proud of Charlotte, that fact that she can speak so many languages stil amazes me
Saturday was spent working on the Land Rover, where my dad and I fixed a variety of things on it. The rear bench seat now fits properly, the upper offside rear sidelight worked (it broke again somehow), the spare wheel was returned to being a spare, the auxiliary cooling fan works again, main beam headlights are fixed, main beam spotlights are up and running again after being completely rewired, and the steering wheel is now secured correcetly to the hub again. A fun day, topped off with a nice dinner at my folks’ with Charlotte after she finished work.
Sunday was spent with Zsolt, Dan, Sherry, Gordon, Carolyne, Tom, Mireia and Charlotte out up near Rowardennan for a very nice Barbecue. I’m feeling a bit sunburnt now
Last weekend, had Ben & Heather, and Gordon & Carolyne around for dinner. We good to see them all again, and Charlotte made a wonderful dinner for us all.
The other night, Charlotte & I were lying in bed when we heard a glass break. We both got up to investigate. Much digging about revealed a glass that had split cleanly across the base and up the side, whilst in the cupboard. It had been washed about 8 hours earlier, so I doubt it was due to contraction after being heated and left to cool. In any case, it was dried thoroughly before being put in the cupboard so there was no water around the bottom to form a seal.