I’ve been reading up on a lot of computer hardware recently in preparation for building my new system. Although I don’t have the specifics pinned down yet, it will likely be based on an Intel Core i7 860 processor running on a P55-based motherboard with 8 GiB of DDR3 RAM. In this process, I have [...]

I am in the process of trying to get hardware video acceleration working via VDPAU on my T61 laptop. Rather, I should say I was working on this, as I in fact succeeded (mostly) today. In the process, I had to upgrade my laptop from Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) to 9.10 (Karmic Koala). On one [...]

I need a new phone. I mean, I desperately need a new phone. My current phone, a Samsung SPH-A500, is many years past its prime and is flakey and unreliable at best. Lately, it seems to enjoy entering “safe-hold” mode and is unable to boot. My replacement phone will have certain characteristics, including but not [...]

As you may or may not be aware, I use MPD as my desktop audio player (for mobile solutions such as my laptop, I use Rhythmbox or VLC). Futhermore, I use Sonata as a graphical interface for MPD — managing playlists, controlling playback, album art, etc. However, sometimes I find it more expedient to run a [...]

No, seriously. I got an e-mail today from UTIAS indicating that three resident professors had requested interviews with me for a Master’s degree program. I have to contact them within the week to set up interviews via phone or in person (the latter is more likely, since it’s only about an hour from Peterborough to [...]

It seems that a Japanese company known as Genepax is touting an over-sized battery as a fuel cell that runs on plain old water and air. The system uses what the company has termed a “membrane electrode assembly,” or MEA, to split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen through a “chemical reaction.” Well of course it’s [...]

A few days ago I decided to hit up Canada’s Wonderland for the first time in several years. One of the triggers for this was to try out their new hypercoaster, known as Behemoth (Wikipedia article). I woke up at 8:00am on Sunday morning and drove up to Bloor St. to meet up with my brother. [...]

As some of you may know, today (April 24th) marked the release of Ubuntu version 8.04, code named Hardy Heron. This release is a Long Term Support release, meaning that it will be supported with security updates through 2011. My upgrade to Hardy from Ubuntu’s previous version (7.10 Gutsy Gibbon) has not gone as smoothly as [...]

I have been getting many questions regarding our aircraft, the KS-77 Vermillion, as to the direction of flight. It seems most of you think it is flying backwards. Well, it’s not. The KS-77 does indeed fly forward, although I think I know where all the confusion is coming from. You see, the directionality of nearly [...]

I tried several times over the past week and a half to write a post but have had trouble finding the time. Last Friday (April 4th) I had a thesis draft due. This involved staying up all night on Thursday to get as much done as I could. Although my final progress wasn’t as far [...]