Powered by glolg
Display Preferences Most Recent Entries Chatterbox Blog Links Site Statistics Category Tags About Me, Myself and Gilbert XML RSS Feed
Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 - 18:54 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

Mine And Mine Alone


Lesson Of The Day - Keep Calm And Focus On The Goal


(Source: imgur.com)



All This And A Bit

Bitcoins are briefly back in vogue after their market capitalization allegedly broke US$1 billion; of course, if it was computed by the means of multiplying the number of available Bitcoins by the current price, I suspect the actual worth is rather lower, due to a downward-sloping demand curve and relatively low volume of transactions. It is still however worth noting that this represents an over 3000% increase in the year since they were first covered here - at least until large holders decide to start dumping.

However, while the increase in value may be large, the cost of the computational effort currently required probably outstrips it, unless somebody else is paying for the electricity bill (as it was beginning to be, even in 2011). Well, it's not too late. As foreseen, many similar services have sprung up - tellingly, LiteCoins are even referred to as "silver to Bitcoin's gold", in a nod to the historical usage of the two precious metals. I'm not convinced that someone won't eventually simply clone the Bitcoin setup, possibly targeting a fresh regional base. But for now, enjoy the party - if I can just find my wallet...


Think of what all that virtual gold can do!
(Source: dailymail.co.uk)


Come to think of it, it might not be too bad a time to look at actual gold and silver, assuming the chaps up there knew something when they waived the GST on dabbling in investment-grade shinies. It would be real funny if a process to synthesize gold came to fruition, as has been done for diamonds (again), though. Oh, and penny auctions seem to be making another comeback. It was due.


Pay It Forward Or The Big Guys Get It


On noticeboard outside my lab. For emergencies only?


Suspended coffees are the flavour of the week, but as is usual with these initiatives, is not surviving these sunny shores, with many only too eager to point out why it can't be done (ok, so it probably won't last, but that's another matter altogether). There might be yet another option for generosity over in America, with pot becoming legal in Seattle (those old viruses finally did it); I'd like to think that there's a good reason why weed has been banned for so long, given that caffeine might be more harmful, but that's what labelling can do for you.

[N.B. The profs got a coffee machine for the lab recently, but I'm still debating whether to risk sinking into addiction]

Incumbent-linked personnel have gotten some unwarranted flak this week, with quite sensible musings about how gods get credited for all the good stuff slammed online. Furthermore, their pay-for-quality principle has been picked up on by at least one commentator, so all's well... not quite. Our transport monopoly is set to make a loss, for one, but no worries, fare increases to come! Wait, where did those injections go (ok, maybe this - got to know it through a lab senior)? Still, digging holes and filling them in works in a pinch.

Science roundup: Those guys in white coats can't stop messing about with the brain. Not content with zapping it with electricity for overclocking purposes, they are now working towards peeping into dreams. On a more personal level, my home monitor screen got an internal scratch when I was cleaning it (argh!), the sort that is bearable, but supremely annoying in that junking it for a new one seems wasteful.

Finally, Mr. Robo wishes to explain why Apple has never quite made inroads into the corporate scene, consumer megahits and security through obscurity aside:



One trick pony? Maybe, but given the way they're raking it in from willing starry-eyed hipsters, I wouldn't care either.

Got my hands dirty with some Ruby on Rails, and I can see its attraction for the newer breed of developers - it's heavily wedded to a Model, View, Controller (MVC) architecture, with models often directly corresponding to a database table, and features a ton of convenient conventions. The official Getting Started guide even demonstrates how to get a (very simple) blog up and running, and there are plenty more... whimsical tutorials floating around (beginning with a pet ham, no less!)

Myself, I'll stick with Perl for my own work.


In Water, On Land (Perhaps On Water)

So I signed up for the NUS (modern) biathlon just because (ok, and as a pick-me-up), and promptly forgot about it. As Mr. Ham said, it's just a 400m swim into a 3km run, how hard can it be? Which reminds me, completing (yet another) insurance survey yielded another free notebook, just as the old one was filled out - what serendipity!

But back to the biathlon. I managed to drag myself out of bed on Saturday, a feat in itself, and noted at the registration counter that all the other participants in my wave were between eighteen and twenty years of age. It's hard to describe how geriatric I felt at that. The organizers have advanced from writing with markers to stamping the numbers on arms in the seven years since Splashdown 2006.

With the event delayed by numerous lightning risk warnings, I did a lot of sitting about after depositing my running attire on the white tarpaulin spread for that purpose, and finally found myself in the pool about an hour after the scheduled time (glad diving was not required). The competitors on either side gamely wished me good luck, and the airhorn went.

I had been debating whether to roll out the ol' front crawl, but settled on the breaststroke, having noted that there had been a few adherents in each of the previous waves. I was feeling rather proud of myself for managing to more-or-less keep up for the first lap, but then found the pace unsustainable, and wound out pattering out last.

It didn't get much better, as I basically walked the running segment, after finding it hard to get my breathing under control, but that's another line on the lifetime list done.


The Way Of Mr. Ham


Another shockingly exciting day in the House of Ham


It's hasn't been all rosy with Mr. Ham and Mr. Fish, with the latter staging a breakout due to there being nothing to do. It took a couple of hours to find him scurrying behind the television. I was thinking about how I would improve the architecture of their home - in particular, with a fully-modular design incorporating easily-removable and washable compartments, when I realised something was missing.

Me: New Mr. Ham, where are the running wheels?

Mr. Ham V: Oh, the previous Mr. Ham said that minimalism is the in-thing nowadays, and had them uninstalled.

Me: ...I'll have a word with him.

[To be continued...]



comments (2) - email - share - print - direct link
trackbacks (0) - trackback url


Next: Maggie And Me


Related Posts:
Bitcoins In Them Thar Hills
Ten Ten Ten
Quick Week
Final Push
Economics Thus Far
Back to top




2 comments

anonymous said...
can buy suspended sex? maybe u need it


April 8, 2013 - 01:19 SGT     
Mr. Ham H. Let said...
Dear Anonymous Sir,

Like most, I am sometimes overestimated, and sometimes underestimated. In this respect, the latter may well be true.


April 8, 2013 - 01:23 SGT     

Copyright © 2006-2025 GLYS. All Rights Reserved.