Dunc’s Shed

According to the Wolves what does one need to dance the Bamba?

Since undertaking the huge task of learning a new language, Spanish, I’ve increasingly become annoyed that the tools that Software Developers use to write software are called “Languages”..

The English language has, at least, 250,000 words in it. It has idiomatic expressions, slang, pronunciation, and it has accent.

A computer language has a few 100 words, no accent, no idiomatic expressions, no pronunciation. The basics of a language can be grasped with a few short, but hard, weeks of study.. and within a few months you can be turning out software.. But, like every other trade, there’s a rich tapestry of skills that go into being a Software Developer.. I’m not belittling the profession.. indeed I once claimed to be a Software Developer.

What does annoy me is that the word “Language” can be applied to such a simple syntax. Indeed.. even simple markup syntaxes for presenting content on the web have been knighted with the privilege of being called a “Language”.. (HTML).

Alternative words that could be used are “scripting environment”, “syntax”, “macro environment”.. but things like C++, C#, Pascal, Lisp, ADA, Java are NOT languages, they are not even close to the complexity of an actual language.

Learning a real language is going to take me years of study to master. After 6 months of intensive study I can now carry off a passable conversation in Spanish but only at the level of a 5 or 6 year old kid. I want to be able to talk like a native with correct pronunciation and a deep grasp of the idiomatic expressions that the language has. Spanish has particular complexity because its such a widespread language with such a different idiomatic environment in each country that uses it.

Good Evening Sir!

Yesterday a very good friend of mine was kind enough to give me an Indian Cooking Book.. yes sir, it was very, very good.

I cooked Beef Vindaloo.. It took all night in my slow cooker.. and tonight I try it.. It was wonderful Sir! I not use any commercial sauces, just the pre-ground spices that one can buy, Tumeric, Chilli, Mustard Seeds, Coriander, Cumin, fresh Ginger, fresh Garlic.

Tonight I try my curry.. I was most pleased with the outcome, Sir! It taste very much like a curry that ones buy from a good Indian Takeaway.. Very Very Good..

A brave new world of cuisine has opened up for me! Sir, I very excited!

Empty Your Cup

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor’s cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s overfull! No more will go in!” the professor blurted. “You are like this cup,” the master replied, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.”

How awesome is that?

In utter contradiction, I’m utterly amazed at my own brains ability to absorb knowledge.. every year, I pour more and more into it.. This year has been an utter deluge, a new language, a return to an old career and with so much new technology to learn, building, plumbing, more knots and splices, mechanical repairs.. The more I throw at it, the more it absorbs.. I seem to lose little in the way of skills and knowledge.

Yet, the process hasn’t been completely input focussed.. The last 2-3 years have seen me embrace Science with a new passion. the mild thoughts I’ve had about Intelligent Design being semi believable have been conclusively retired.. indeed discarded with contempt. I’ve embraced Atheism with a new passion and I am guiding my own children towards embracing Atheism sans of the mild, curious feeling of isolation that I felt.. one of the 5-10 kids in the school of 600 whose parents excused them from attending Religious Education each Friday.. instead I got to retire to the Library to read the latest TinTin comic whilst the wogs got their cloak wearing, grey bearded Wog Orthodox minister to take them through the pusti mallaca prayer 10 times, and the Catholics confessed to catching a glimpse of neato cleavage to a paedophile priest behind the confessional screen jerking himself off to the faint sound of the choir boys in practice.

Embracing skepticism, embracing Atheism frees the mind of all manner of claptrap and garbage about religion, natural medicine, the occult and all manner of other shit..

You get to fill it with facts from language, science, mathematics and mechanics. It’s awesome..

I drive to work, I see people in cars beside me at the Traffic LIghts, they are obviously amused at the antics on the FM Radio Stations.. the prank calls, the competitions, the challenges, the presenters, the personalities, the sluts, the footy players..

I think, “why do you listen to that shit, its such premasticated, lowest common demoninator, mush, your brain becomes the chewing gum of commercialism..” This precious 40mins you’re spending in traffic.. you could listen to a Podcast, learn a language, listen to current affairs radio, become aware of conflicting ideologies, listen to an audio book.. Of all of the activities you COULD choose, you actually choose to listen to mindless garbage.

Thankfully.. the more I collect knowledge and skills, the more skills and knowledge I WANT to collect and the more precious my time becomes.

For me, at last, relaxing has actually become learning something.

I was sent some images of a J1 Bedford Truck that was recently bought after sitting dormant in a field for over 7 years.. it’s from Lightning Ridge in NSW. The brakes aren’t working, but the engine is a runner.

Its a spectacular buy. There’s a suggestion that it may be an ex Arnotts Delivery Truck.

Alas, I believe its plans for the future involve a removal of the delivery back on it.. a shame, with a little work and some research into what the original signwriting would have been it would really restore into a wonderful truck.

Here’s the kick.. this truck was purchased for $500!! There’s gold in them ridges!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts.. just busy enjoying life

Niice!

I bet you’re very suprised during this video..

Found via Travels in Mathematical World : http://travelsinamathematicalworld.blogspot.com/2009/02/circles-round-and-otherwise-and-after.html

Edit: Some further googling shows some applications for this shape! : http://web.mat.bham.ac.uk/C.J.Sangwin/howroundcom/roundness/applications.html

Well as everyone knows we’ve just had some truly horrific bushfires in Australia.. the reported death toll is going to be close to 300.

Our Government’s (both Federal and State) current response is the usual mash of masticated nothingness.. a royal commission, blaming arsonists, hand wringing.. no real action, no real change will happen. And the threat is only going to intensify in the years to come. Ash Wednesday was 30 years ago.. 70 odd people lost their lives then. And we’re still fighting fires in much the same way.

What annoys me the most is the focus on Arsonists. They will always be arsonists among us and every time there’s a fire the government deftly turns the communities attention towards a focus on arson.. they talk about increasing the penalties, increasing patrols etc.. This all needs to be done but it takes away the focus from the real thing that needs to happen.. We need to become better at fighting fires.

Here’s a few ideas I have:

1. We buy a shitload more Water Bombing Air Cranes as a NATION and move them around the country as required. A veritable fleet of life-savers.

2. For people in fire prone regions we start to mandate the construction of a safe-area in a home. Just like in Darwin each house MUST have a strong area that serves as a cyclone shelter. An underground shelter perhaps, just like in WW2 in the UK.. somewhere where you have a good chance of surviving the initial fire front and emerging after it passes over.

3. For people in fire prone regions we subsidise the purchase of fire fighting equipment. Extinguishers, hoses, pumps, tanks.

4. We fund a proper rural fire service rather than relying on volunteers who take time to muster and get mobile.

5. We proactively place Fire Appliances in high risk areas as the weather increases in intensity.

6. We undertake a proper national program of reducing fuel loads in areas that are considered dangerous to live in.

Australia should, as a national priority, become THE World Leader in dealing with Bushfires. A shining example of ruthless application to dealing with fire threat. A model for the world to look to. To do this we need a national leader with a backbone and a vision. A Nation Builder.

If necesssary we RAISE taxes and chop other government services to fund it.

I’m getting sick of the constant trickle of murdered and dumped newborn babies and the usual platitudes from the police about their “concern for the Mother’s welfare”. Here’s the latest one.

A nation, understandably, emoturbates about the recent death of a 4yo girl thrown from a bridge by her father.. but this murdered newborn will slip quietly under the radar, it might get a mention on the news, it certainly won’t get a running commentary over the next few days..

There was no concern for the welfare of the Dad who threw his Daughter from a bridge.. and if the sorry bitch who murdered this newborn (and it will almost certainly be just the mother acting alone) is hauled before a court she wont receive the same level of hatred and vitriol that a murdering Dad would receive.

Of course that well trodden and very trusty “Post-natal Depression” defence will be hauled out. Amazing, the baby pops out, and within hours the mother is so overcome with inconsolable depression that she murders the baby.

Yet the depression a Father suffers who is facing the loss of contact with his kids save for 2 days out of every 14 isn’t even considered as a defence. It’s not considered as a defence because, rightly, the crime is indefensible, unless you’re a woman who just gave birth.

Fuck off.

Check out these cabinets.. I love ‘em.

This guy is uber-cool in my books:

Gin taking dog for a walk..

I’m learning Spanish at the moment.. more as an ongoing mental exercise than for any notable intent to put the language to use..

It amused me today to discover that Spanish has a word for “temperature hot” which is “caliente” and a separate word for “spicy hot” which is “picante”.

It pains me that every time I use the word “hot” with my kids when referring to food.. I then need to follow it up with some lame kind of description of WHICH “hot” I’m referring to.. “Watch out its hot, like in taste hot not temperature hot“. or “Watch out, the food is HOT make sure you blow on it”. I cant just say “it’s hot“.

I will teach them “picante” and use that in future when referring to “hot spicy”.

edit: it seems there’s an english word, “piquant” that is obviously related. I guess “piqued” comes from that.. It “stimulated” my interest? Its amazing how many English words are so closely related to words in the romance languages.

The ANZ Banking site was the centre of an ominous new trend in Windows Viruses yesterday.. In short, a virus on a users PC would pop up a form inside their browser when the navigated to the ANZ Banking Site.. this form attempted to collect personal information and potentially was monitoring key presses to collect User names and Passwords for the banking site.

I’ve not heard of a similar attack before.

It pains me that this all comes about because, at its core, Windows and Internet Explorer are so incredibly fucking insecure and vulnerable.

Really, if you haven’t discovered Ubuntu and Firefox yet you really need to do yourself a favour and consider them.

The more I use Ubuntu (a Linux Operating System) and Firefox (a browser) the more it stuns me that people still CHOOSE to use Internet Explorer and that people actually PAY for Windows. What a scam Microsoft have going.

They trade on ignorance and peddle junk.

Interesting site that lets you listen to accents from around the world:

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_atlas.php

There was rolling blackouts in Adelaide last week as the generation of power failed to meet the demands of consumers.

Our Power Stations were sold off years ago by a government who was elected on a promise of NOT selling them. (John Olsen and Co.. Liberal).. We, the citizens, must now HOPE that the power generators build enough generation assets to keep up with demand into the future.

I sat down to pen some thoughts on the swindle that took place when the Government sold OUR assets.. but I then found an awesome article by Sharon Beder that nailed my thoughts far more effectively than the meagre words I would have ended up mustering.

In other words “Wot she said!”.

Article : http://homepage.mac.com/herinst/sbeder/theives.html

Check out this.. a range of lighthouses being battered by monstrous waves.. I salute the men who designed and built these.

This is so cool.. time lapse video of a baby playing on the floor for four hours:

So it seems a worker in Queensland has been sacked for poor toilet etiquette:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24968881-29277,00.html

The man, from the Phillipines has come up against that particular mismatch that so many people from various Asian countries have with the style of toilets we have in Australia..

We SIT on our toilets here.. In much of Asia, they have squat toilets.

I have now worked in two Adelaide workplaces where the Asian staff actually squatted on TOP of the “sit” toilet. And it was not uncommon (2-3 times a month) the toilet would be left in such a state that it was unusable, shit was sprayed over it.. I guess it was people with diahorrea.

I have no problem with this workplace sacking the Employee concerned. It sounds like he was given every opportunity to remedy the situation.

Well, a couple of bogan women have a fight.. and the men get the headline… Yet more “guilty of being male” reporting.

Hahah, I dont this commentator really understands what she just said:

Well.. the latest and greatest Pyramid Scheme is gathering pace.. I’ve had a few old friends make contact with me lately and I’ve had one query from a friend who knows I’ve got a handle on Telecommunications issues..

ACN.. The American Communications Network apparently sells VOIP services.. but the service or goods they sell, just like Amway, are inconsequential. The service merely offers poor quality thin veneer of respectability over a Pyramid Scheme.. The typical email or call you might get from an acquaintance goes like this actual email:

I also was introduced to a great business opportunity in Dec which I though you might be interested in. The business is endorsed by Donald Trump and the technology hasn’t hit Australia yet but will be appearing on the Apprentice in Australia in March. The business is based on passive residual income and the financial rewards are high

A simple google search renders this page in the top few results:

http://www.arystoteles.pl/nmf/acn-scam.php

Given that I’ve had 3 people contact me to talk about this “opportunity” and one person ask my opinion of it I can only assume that the pyramid is now very large and it would be very very difficult for someone to scrape out a living trying to be an ACN reseller.. at least in Adelaide, South Australia.

I saw a bumper sticker today..

“Relax, God is in Control”..

I wasn’t entirely sure if the car belonged to an Atheist with a keen sense of humour or whether it really belonged to a Christian.. or maybe the driver was just telling me that God was in control of HIS car and I should just relax.

Wow.. check this out for yourself.. any palindromic number with an even number of digits is divisible by eleven..

eg.. 43211234, 1789009871

These obscure maths things really amuse me.. I learnt this awfully useful fact in Podcast 11 of Travels in Mathematics:

http://podcast.travelsinamathematicalworld.co.uk/

Each episode starts with an interesting fact about the episode number.. 11 is of course a palindromic number, with an even number of digits and its also divisible by 11.

The Podcast is described thus:

“A podcast from the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). Episodes include mathematicians talking about their work, maths history and maths news”

Enjoy!