nexus 7

BSG Finale

2009-03-21T15:42:59Z

I watched the BSG finale last night. At first I was just mildly disappointed even though it felt like a good, sincere effort. The more I thought about it, the more questions I had and the less willing I was to forgive some of the plot points or decisions.

It's just a television show so why get worked up about it? Well, I suppose I'm not all that worked up about it, but it just felt like a let-down to a series that has - overall - done so well and been of such high quality.

The fleet is really willing to let Adama and the primary cast take the BSG to rescue Hera - a probable suicide mission? Granted - they kept making Hera out to be a person of great importance, but in the end ... connecting her to "mitochondrial Eve" didn't make much sense to me. What about all the other adults on the planet?

Adama really was going to abandon everyone (including his son) to scrap together a living on a mountain top? Everyone in the fleet was really willing to forsake technology ... mainly for the sake of a too-clever "Oh, but they are all our ancestors!" ending? Let's give them that plot point and say everyone really was wiling to return to an agrarian society. At a very minimum I'd say they'd still have language and writing... so why don't we have written records for the last 150,000 years? I might accept this as an alternate earth, but when they flashed forward they seem to pretty clearly say this is our earth they landed on with the contemporary commercials.

Kara is an angel or was literally resurrected by GOD? For whom was she the harbringer of death? HeadBaltar and HeadSix are really angels/demons/agents of GOD? I dunno, this just all ... doesn't sit well with me. I should have suspected more of a supernatural ending as prophecy has played a role in the series since the beginning - but I didn't see it taking the front seat "Deux Ex Machina" role that it did. I wish they had taken a more hard-science path in the plot and made an attempt to explain HeadBaltar/HeadSix/Kara in a more scientifically grounded manner. I could yap forever about this, just thought I'd post this out there..

what the heck - Google link to my website going to a malware site instead

2008-12-19T02:13:02Z

Ok, so I have a little website - http://www.gestalt-media.com/
Nothing special - just a little online home for stuff I'm working on - most of which isn't public and for friends or family. No big deal.

Today my brother forgot the exact address and did a search on Google (he searched on "Dan LaValley gestalt") and it came right up as the first hit. In fact, here are the results:
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=dan+lavalley+gestalt&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f

He clicks on the link, but instead of going to my website, it takes him to a malware website - http://onlinemalwarescanner.com/ . The same thing happens in Yahoo. If you go to it directly by typing http://www.gestalt-media.com/ into your browser it works just fine. The link from my LJ profile works just fine. All other similar links provided by Google also go to the malware site.

This isn't a huge deal because I have maybe 2 people who go to the site.. but it's still perplexing and irritating. Anyone have any idea as to what it going on here?

Best dog kennels in Madison?

2008-11-21T20:34:47Z

Close up of Tucker tucked in
Originally uploaded by Dan and Nikki

Hi everyone - It might be better for me to post this in the madisonwi community, but someone already asked about this back in April'ish (and didn't have a ton of responses) so I thought I'd start on my journal first.

Do any of you have experiences with Madison kennels? Nikki and I have used Roughin' It Resort when we needed to kennel Tucker once in the past and thought they did a great job. The only problem is they are booked up during the time we need a kennel! Do any of you have suggestions on kennels that you've had good experiences with? Thanks!

Games and Learning

2008-11-14T13:26:32Z

I put some work videos up on YouTube which I thought some of you might find interesting. This was for an event called Play@Pyle which was a showcase of some of the work DoIT-Academic Technology and Engage are doing to help faculty develop and integrate simulations and games into college classrooms. The two keynotes are by two faculty members of UW-Madison's Games, Learning, and Society (GLS) group - Richard Halverson and Kurt Squire. If you're interested in reading more, I can send you some links to papers they've written on games, learning, and the future of education:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AF1CD92871407F7E

examining insects

2008-09-29T22:15:09Z

Ok, so this is an odd question to be posting to LJ, but I figure it's worth a shot. Long story short, I totally love the MATC program so far. I need to find more drawing references. Lately I've been drawing insect creatures. I tried checking out some books from the library but they didn't have the quality or detail of photos I was looking for.

So on an off chance that some of my science friends out there know more about this than I thought I would ask:

1.) What are some good books with high detail insect photos? I need to see things like mandibles!
2.) Do you know of any good web sites or archives with good high magnification of insects? Electron microscopsy (sp!) is interesting of things like fleas is ok too.
3.) From what I'm finding on the internet, it looks like a low power stereo microscope is best for an amateur like me who wants to examine insects. Where is a good place to buy either a new or used microscope ... online or in meatspace?

elektrizitat @ 2008-07-23T08:29:00

2008-07-23T13:32:37Z

From The Interaction of Color by Albers - a book I was not that thrilled with (probably due to it being the 1972 condensed edition which has few color plates to refer to), but in which I did enjoy this quote:

"In the end, teaching is a matter not of method but of heart. Therefore, the most decisive factor is the teacher's personality. His enthusiastic concern with the student's growth counts more than how much he knows. It is well known that "the teacher is always right," but rarely does this fact elicit respect or sympathy; even less often does it prove competence and authority.

But the teacher actually is right and always will gain confidence when he admits that he does not know, that he cannot decide, and as is often is with color, that he is unable to make a choice or to give advice.

Besides, good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers."

elektrizitat @ 2008-07-11T09:57:00

2008-07-11T14:57:38Z

A quote I enjoyed from a recent conference session:

"Civil societies become democratic when there are opportunities for people to learn the importance of listening to all views, even those they dislike, of 'working through' conflicting approaches to solving a problem, and of building common ground for action" (Matthews, 1998)

pen-and-paper RPGs

2008-06-30T05:49:34Z

On another note (since I still can't sleep... I suppose sitting around on the computer is not generally sleep-inducing is it?) - lately I started playing pen-and-paper role-playing-games again. I'm running a science fiction space opera based on a modified old TSR setting from the 80s - Star Frontiers. I'm looking for additional players. If you're interested in playing, leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

GTA IV Liberty City vs. New York

2008-05-14T01:37:26Z

Manhattan Bridge vs Algonquin Bridge
Originally uploaded by Matthew Johnston

For those playing GTA IV, I thought you would find this interesting!

Immersive gaming and pain management

2008-04-04T18:31:57Z

Yesterday I had an interesting meeting with a nurse from UW Hospital who works in pain management. She saw an article on my department's sims/games program and contacted the writer who pointed her to me. I normally work with instructional or research application of simulations and games in higher education, but as you'll read below, I thought this was a worthwhile cause to provide some help to.

Her specific application is the use of immersive games or simulations with patients with severe burns. Dressing changes are incredibly painful for these patients and they can use only so much medicine. I have not read all the articles she forwarded to me, but the theory is that providing alternate inputs for the senses helps reduce the pain of dressing changes. One study showed that using a virtual reality head-set (like these: http://www.stereo3d.com/hmd.htm#chart) was far more effective at reducing pain than having a patient play a game on a regular television.

She inherited some equipment and software from a previous program. Their unit does not have a lot of technical support capable of maintaining or upgrading their equipment so she contacted me. She both wants help getting their current set-up working and she wants advice on other potential technologies, games or simulations she could try. Patients vary in age range and game playing experience so I'm inclined to recommend more casual games. I initially thought of the Nintendo Wii, but she pointed out that you need a wide range of motion to play the Wii. Her patients typically have restricted motion and are laying on a bed. My experience is that you don't really need to do the wild arm waving that you see people often do with the Wii, but I wanted to take that into account.

Do you have any thoughts or advice for me? What casual, accessible game might you recommend she and her patients try? It doesn't have to be a high-end virtual reality game. Regular consoles can make use of the head-sets as well - they just aren't "3d." I'm also looking to collect a list of Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation, or PC games that might be easy and accessible for virtually any user. Some potential examples:

- Nintendo Wii Big Brain Academy
- A bunch of Wii games are listed here: <http://2aday.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/nintendo-wii-the-bundles-best-casual-games-reviews/>
- Xbox 360: Scene It
- Xbox Live arcade games (Bejeweled, etc.)

No 64-bit CS4 on Mac

2008-04-04T14:07:23Z

Those who read Slashdot have already seen this, but there are currently no plans for a 64-bit CS4 on the Mac. There *will* be 64-bit CS4 on Windows. D'oh. Oh well, I'm still saving for a Mac Pro.

http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits.ars/2008/04/02/rhapsody-and-blues

Why do my dog's feet smell like popcorn?

2008-04-02T13:40:10Z

These are the questions that keep me up at night. My highly scientific reasoning sees two options:

1.) He sneaks out the front door and runs through fields of popped popcorn during the night.
2.) He pops popcorn while I'm asleep and eats it while watching movies. He then meticulously cleans up after himself leaving no evidence of his misdeeds.

Since we are all aware that no fields of popped popcorn exist, the answer must be #2. You may be asking yourself "Dan, why do you know what your dog's feet smell like?" Well, dear reader, it's hard to avoid when Nikki is telling me this very fact and sticking his feet in my face. Why did she know they smell like popcorn? The world may never know...

Google Maps Streetview

2008-03-28T13:04:26Z

For those who are curious - Madison has been added to Google Street View. Street View is a photographic, street level picture of that location. You can also navigate within the view - almost like a video game!

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Madison,+WI&layer=c

It's both cool and a little creepy.

elektrizitat @ 2008-03-13T09:48:00

2008-03-13T15:35:38Z

This is just a test to see if the "post from livejournal to facebook" feature works.

Seabound / Iris

2008-03-13T14:32:59Z

Is anyone planning to go to the Seabound / Iris show on the 20th? I have my yearly review the next morning at 10 a.m. but I'm hoping I can reschedule it. If anyone is headed down there and wants a passenger for company and gas money, let me know. Alternately if I decide to head down there on my own and folks want a ride, I'll update this post to that effect!

The Swell Season

2008-03-09T02:52:26Z

I enjoyed Once a lot. If you did too you probably know about this but I figure it can't hurt to spread the word just in case. The couple from the movie is playing at the Overture Center on June 16th. Sweet!

Tucker looking out the bonus room window

2008-01-14T00:43:11Z

Nice relaxing weekend. Friday we went to the Humane Society to meet a dog. We wanted to spend more time with him before committing to adopting him so we put a reserve on him to go back Saturday and then went to Tubb's on University and saw Juno. Saturday I had my balls surgically removed and went to the wedding expo. It actually wasn't that bad and we made some progress on finding a photographer.

Afterwards we went to the Humane Society to spend some more time with the dog. He was a little distant and distracted so I was a little unsure about adopting him but Nikki assured me he'd warm up so we went ahead and adopted him. Afterwards we went to Mounds to pick up pet supplies and made it back in time to see the Packers behind 0-14. Thankfully they go things turned around. We decided to name the dog "Tucker", took him for walks and generally gave him lots of attention.

I was going to go out but lately have just been damn tired when 10:00 rolls around. Sunday was errands and now the Dallas / Giants game. Believe it or not, I'm actually going to watch "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". Tucker is passed out next to me on the dog bed and Nikki is hanging out with friends. Can anyone out there recommend a good dog vet on the west side of Madison?

The Editors coming to the Majestic

2008-01-04T19:11:14Z

I'm sure those of you interested in this already know but I thought I'd post it just in case. I don't pay as much attention to the music scene as I used to so maybe there are folks like me out in lj-land. The Editors are coming to the Majestic on January 29th. For those that don't own their albums I suggest you go out and buy them!

wireless network speed issues

2007-11-30T19:15:43Z

I should be able to figure this out but I'm having some trouble. I thought I'd post it on LJ and some tech communities to see if anyone had any thoughts. I have DSL service through TDS Verona. The DSL modem is connected to a D-Link DIR-655 (http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=530). The wired connection works great. The wireless connection is slow and unresponsive ... to the point that it drives me nuts! Sometimes it is so bad pages won't load properly or with their applied CSS.

I've disconnected all my wireless phone. They also operate at 2.4 GHz ... but were never a problem at South Charter. It looks like there is only one other wireless network in the area that I can see. I bought a new router and tried it out with the same results. I've tried switching it to G or B only instead of B/G/N - no luck. It's still as slow as molasses. I do have WPA2 on but fiddling with security options changes nothing. This would lead me to believe that it is interference in the 2.4 GHz band.

Some ideas:
1.) Take the router to a friend's house and try it there and see if the wireless performance is the same or better.
2.) Buy a Wi-Spy to try and figure out what is causing the interference. That's kind of expensive just for this one problem: http://www.metageek.net/

Has anyone else dealt with these kinds of issues before?

Caustic Stinger

2007-11-06T01:33:06Z

CausticStinger
Originally uploaded by Elektrizitat

I'm guessing Matt has seen this but I thought... "just in case" I'm going to post this. So just the other day I was thinking how I rarely get out to Inferno these days. I've really fallen behind the music scene and just bought the new Null Device and Stoch Theory on iTunes and some other stuff on Amazon. Then I open up my latest Battlestar comic and lo' and behold there is Matt! Haha - I knew he had a guy named Caustic in one of the Zarek comics but here you are full name and all!

City ordinance

2007-09-27T11:56:56Z

Does anyone know what the Madison ordinances are about what time construction can start in a residential neighborhood? I've been awake since 6:40 with the sound of circular saws, hammers, and nail guns to keep me company. I'm up anyways but there may be days when I want to sleep in a bit more and am just curious if anyone knows the city ordinance. I can also e-mail the city... just finding the right person to contact can be ... interesting! I suppose it would be City Planning and Development? <http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/planning/>

8 Keys to Success... in Iraq

2007-09-14T16:08:17Z

by John Hodgeman

http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=102586

... in which space baseball and how just hoping for no car bombings automatically makes you an Al Qaeda co-conspirator! Good stuff.

There can be only one

2007-09-05T17:52:54Z

... and it isn't me...

elektrizitat @ 2007-06-12T18:48:00

2007-06-12T23:49:05Z

I'm giving away a Vestax CDX-12 CD mixer / player. The right player doesn't work ... well, it doesn't spin up when a CD is inserted. It may just be a sensor. It is likely fixable by someone with more technical know-how than I. I thought I'd post it on here before going on Craigslist or some such thing. Let me know if you're interested and I'll let you know if you catch it before someone else snags it on one of the other sites. Thanks!

Control

2007-05-18T13:04:43Z

I thought there might be some fans of Joy Division out there who might be as interested as I am in this film: "A British film about the life and death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, starring a first-time actor, has earned a rapturous reception in Cannes." Anton Corbijn + Joy Division = must see for me!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6667197.stm