freecomputer20090226

This post is part of the freecomputers project.

freecomputer20090226

I've been putting off working on this machine for a while, simply because it's so old. It's a Compaq Prolinea 4/66. Yes, it's a 486. It was donated by Narender, via FreecycleTO, and comes with modest hardware. I got some additional RAM from Norm this past week, and that helped somewhat. The CD drive that was in the machine was dead, so it was replaced. Still, there wasn't much to work with.

The machine had WfW 3.11 loaded, which was a shocker seeing it. I booted it up just out of curiosity, and was floored. I hadn't seen WfW, since, well ... was it the mid-90s? Ancient times in the technology world. I tried right clicking on the File Manager before realizing how futile that was. It was a novelty to see the old OS, but it didn't last long.

I loaded Damn Small Linux (DSL) onto the machine, and it performs fairly well. The unfortunate thing is the NIC, which is an old SMC ISA card. The card works, but DSL doesn't have the driver for it, and I can't find one. So the appeal has gone out to the FreecycleTO network for an ISA NIC. I've got one promised to me, I just have to make it over to pick it up.

This machine, once the NIC is replaced and it can access the internet, will be suitable for just that. Email and internet searches -- but no video streaming or heavy application use. The standard Office apps that is a part of the DSL distro will work just fine, but it won't do anything fancy.

Configuration of freecycle20090226:

• Compaq Prolinea 486 DX2/66, 48MB RAM
• Quad Speed CD-ROM
• SB16 CT1740 Soundcard
• Quantum ProDrive 504MB HD
• Modem (I didn't check -- probably 33.3)
• NIC: SMC 8013WC ISA (needs to be replaced)
• Monitor: TBD
• Default user: DSL
• Root password: Dabydeen

This machine is currently available.

Battletoad

NASA is looking to name the International Space Station's (ISS) Node 3, a new connecting module and its cupola (that sounds rude), in the tradition set by the naming of Node 1 -- Unity -- and Node 2 -- Harmony. Plans are for Endeavour to deliver Node 3 to the ISS in December, but ahead of the launch schedule, NASA is running a contest to pick the name. It all seems simple, boring and straight forward.

Enter the clowns. The user vanillagamer submitted the post to reddit (and similar submissions were made on digg, with all of this possibly originating on 4chan), giving instructions to vote on the NASA naming site, with the suggestion that Battletoad be entered as the suggested name. Apparently, NASA doesn't find it the least bit humorous, and is blocking the name from being counted. The comments on the reddit submission are hilarious however, and the submission has even made it to reddit's front page.

speaker219: It looks like they're blocking out votes for Battletoad: It's not in the list of the top 5 suggestions, and it's on the front page of reddit with ~1250 upvotes. NASA, no!

noseeme:BATTLETOADS MOTHERFUCKER, DO YOU HAVE IT?!?!
(hangs up)

asamorris:I just read this. called a random number. screamed it. hung up. then i remembered about caller id just as they called back. my phone has been ringing for like 5 minutes now.

What's there to discuss?

I tried to read a little -- I can't concentrate. Two girls are yapping in hysterics behind me. One is getting married -- although the guy apparently doesn't know yet -- and she is telling her friend that god has someone for everyone. [Sigh] I wish they would keep their plans from god to themselves. It's a ridiculous conversation -- torturous to my ears. They're both putting such store into finding a guy to get married to, and getting a ring. (What's with the Second Cup today?) Sure they can have more ambition than that -- sure they can define themselves beyond a guy -- even if he is a potential partner.

Next to us, a Filipino couple have moved in -- and we've picked up and moved along. They are an older and younger women -- and they're discussing the Bible. They're being very studious about it -- the older one seems to be tutoring the younger one on the finer points of misogyny -- and how to embrace it.

1 Corinthians 14:34: Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.

... and one of my favourites ...

Leviticus 12:1-8:The LORD said to Moses,
"Say to the Israelites: `A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period.
On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.
Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over.
If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.
"`When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.
He shall offer them before the LORD to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. "'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl.
If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'"

Surely the young woman can have more ambition than the Bible -- surely she can define herself beyond the dogma in the spittle of the older woman. Surely ...

Why so sour?

I'm sitting at the Second Cup in Centerpoint Mall, waiting for my wife to finish a few errands. She thankfully saved me the shopping experience. It's crowded here, and I just slid my table over to separate it from the twosome it was in so an older couple could have sitting room beside me.

The lady of the couple sat down, while he ordered the lattes. She has a small Peoples bag. When she sat, he asked her -- or rather, commented -- "You wouldn't be happy until you got that ring, would you?" I think he just got her the diamond on her left hand.

Since she's been sitting here, she's had a sour look on her face. When I moved the table over, she stared at me -- an ugly look on her face. Sheesh -- are you constipated lady? Would it hurt people to be a little more friendly to the world?

Anyway, I smiled at her -- she stared at me. (Maybe it's the goofie I'm wearing.)

On the subject of diamonds. I find out from the conversation I overhear, that she just got an anniversary ring. She commented on the number of carats the diamond has. (The important stuff.) Are diamonds that important? I don't think so. Sure it has industrial uses, but on the fingers of people? Not much use. De Beers just made the propaganda and the world embraced it -- women embraced it. But, yes, my wife does have a diamond I bought her. It's Canadian. I don't think she would have cared if it was a diamond or not, however.

And no, it's not constipation. She went to the washroom and is still a sourpus.

You're a bluetooth idiot

People who wear bluetooth headsets for their cellphones, look like idiots. Unless you're constantly using your cellphone, there is absolutely no need for it to be permanently ensconced in your ear. I see you. You're not constantly on the phone.

Take this dude currently sitting in the Second Cup, listening intently to the woman in front of him using paper, pen, her hands and her mouth, to be very convincing. He doesn't look very convinced. That's because he isn't listening. He's too busy with that shiny appliance jutting out his ear -- looking like a jewelled beetle has gotten his ear in a death bite. He looks rather silly -- like some cyberpunk reject with an androidian fetish. The look just doesn't work on him. It would only work on the Borg.

I can see the bluetooth appendage being useful for situations requiring hands-free phone operation, such as driving, operating heavy machinery, surgery -- but really, you're not that important folks -- sometimes, you really can be away from the damn phone and the world will continue with you missing that all important phone call that doesn't seem to be coming anyway. Other than the most pressing of situations, where your hands do need to be free and you really wouldn't live if you missed a call -- ie. you're a girl between 12 and 17 -- you can, and should, take the damn bluetooth headset out of your ear. Otherwise, you just look like an idiot.

And don't get me started about the people who walk down the street acting like a bluetooth lunatic.

freecomputer20090221

This post is part of the freecomputers project.

freecomputer20090221

I finished rebuilding this old Compaq Deskpro last night, and it's suffering. It's an OK machine, and could just use a little more RAM. The machine can handle up to 384MB RAM, but unfortunately, it has only got 32MB -- in 2 16MB DIMMs. I've appealed to the folks on FreecycleTO to see if anyone has some old memory laying about that can be thrown my way, otherwise I don't think the machine will be of much use to anyone.

I've loaded Damn Small Linux (DSL) onto the machine, and it boots pretty fast -- a testament to the efforts of the DSL team. The Dillo browser loads fast, as expected, but the one drawback that the browser has is support for JavaScript. It was great that support was added for SSL, but no JavaScript means that websites with some interactive requirement, such as email, simply will not work. Firefox is installed by default as part of the DSL build -- yes, they did stuff it into the 50MB build -- but on 32MB RAM? It will not work. I launched it, and gave after 15-mins and went to bed. In the morning, the O/S was not responding. I tried a second time, and after a good long while, Firefox just performed harakiri.

I need more RAM for the machine.

Other than that big drawback, the machine has been built, loaded with the apps from the DSL distro and is ready. I used up up the three PCI slots that came in the machine to add an 8MB ATI video card, a SoundBlaster Audio card and an Ethernet network card I had pulled from the machine Trinity donated. The machine really would be great if it had the extra RAM.

Configuration of freecomputer20090221:

• Compaq Deskpro 2000 Pentium 866 MMX 5166/2100 DOM S/N: 9742BK52E153
• Disk: Quantum Fireball 1.2GB
• RAM: 48MB (384MB capacity)
• Video: ATI 3D RAGE Pro Turbo 8MB
• Audio: SB Live with CT4660 digital input/ouput
• Optical: CD-ROM drive
• 1.44 Floppy drive
• Network: 33K Modem, 10/100 Mbits Ethernet
• Monitor: TBD
• Default user: dsl
• Password: Dabydeen

This machine is currently available.

Update: Feb. 26, 2009
Additional 16MB RAM added from the donation made by Norm. The machine runs a little faster now. Firefox loads and is useable, but slow. Email and research can now be done.

Update: Feb. 29, 2009
The machine was dropped off last night to Harold, who will either be using it at his church or donating it to one of the patrons of his church.

Obama's potty mouth

The following comes courtesy of Cecil's Facebook page, where he shared a link to April Winchell's post of Obama's potty mouth. Apparently, Obama read the audio version of Dreams From My Father, in which he quotes Ray, a fellow classmate who could swear up a storm. The post has audio clips of Obama quoting Ray as saying,

• This shit's getting way too complicated for me
• Ignorant motherfuckers
• That guy ain't shit. Sorry ass motherfucker
• Sure, you can have my number baby!
• You ain't my bitch, nigga.

Samuel Jackson, eat your heart out!

Oxymoron

Today I dropped by the Indigo by my workplace, picking up a card. I went to the cash, and in front of me, was a woman with over $200 worth of magazines. I didn't get it. She had her son with her, and asked him to pick up two of the blue Indigo reusable bags for her purchase. Noble. As she was paying at the cash, the cashier was trying to make small talk. The woman cooperated halfheartedly. He wanted to tell her more about their cloth bags, but she interrupted him with a little polite but condescending laugh, stating that she already knew all about them, and how it was the right thing to do for the environment. The chitchat continued, sort of, and the woman took her magazine purchase, son in tow, and left the store, her long fur coat, swinging carelessly behind her.

freecomputer20090218

This post is part of the freecomputers project.

freecomputer20090218

The bulk of this machine comes courtesy of Trinity via the FreecycleTO community. The machine was in pretty good shape, but still a bit dusty -- I have to blow out the innards this weekend. The CD-ROM drive was dead, so again I pulled from the spares that Narender supplied. The machine comes with an integrated Ethernet port, but had a spare network card installed, which I promptly pilfered for another machine I will be working on.

The machine is probably the fastest one I have recovered, so I decided to go with Kubuntu, since the KDE GUI is a little bit more demanding of system resources. It still performs fast though. My youngest commented that the machine runs much faster than her W2K machine that has more hardware horsepower. (I think I have some other work to do now.) The machine is suitable for office applications, as well as general internet surfing, email and even browsing videos on YouTube. It works well for everyday use.

Configuration of freecomputer20090218:

• emachines T1440, S/N: QLT25 B00 00617
• Intel Celeron 1.4GHz Processor, 384MB RAM (2 slots, both occupied)
• Video: Integrated Intel 82810E
• Disk: Seagate ST340810A 40GB
• 1.44 Floppy Drive
• Modem: Conexant SoftK56
• Network: Integrated Intel PRO/100S Ethernet
• Audio: Integrated SoundMAX
• Optical Drive: NEC DVD-ROM 11E1955T211
• USB: Intel 82801AA Controller, with 4 ports -- 2 are front accessible
• Monitor: TBD
• User: freecomputers
• Password: Dabydeen

Updated: Feb. 28, 2009

The machine was dropped of last night to Harold, who will be using it at his church or donating it to one of the patrons of the his church.

Disasters shouldn't be the only motivator

Back in 2003, the Union of Concerned Scientists built the better SUV -- the Guardian XSE, with a V6, 170 hp engine and a 6-speed transmission. It was an exercise to demonstrate to the automotive industry -- Detroit specifically -- that they could build a safer -- and more fuel efficient SUV, using existing technologies, with no need to go hybrid. The SUV got 30MPG.

Of course, that was years ago, and technology has made progress, especially with the growing demand for hybrid vehicles. It has gotten so that even Detroit is getting on the bandwagon, after years of being implored by environmentalists to make an effort. What stopped them? Lack of motivation. There was no mandate to make more fuel efficient cars, and Detroit was hostile to being told by anyone how to design their vehicles.

Even now, after Detroit is being bailed out of their bad business practices, they're still resisting change. Begs the question -- should they be saved?

A pirate's day in court

The Pirate Bay operators are going to trial today in Stockholm, facing up to two years in prison and fines of 1.2 million kronor. The civil suit was brought against them by Warner Bros. Entertainment, MGM Pictures, Columbia Pictures Industries, 20th Century Fox Films, Sony BMG, Universal, and EMI, who claim that the Pirate Bay's operation has resulted in millions of dollars in lost revenues.

Of course, these claims are bullshit. As if the movies and music being downloaded would actually be purchased if they weren't downloaded. Not a chance. Who's next anyway? Google? Try a search by appending filetype:torrent to see how futile the fight against file sharing has become. The only alternative is to make legitimate sources of media more accessible and just as easy to get to and use. It's the business model stupid.

Lynching the bankers

Patrick Hosking, writing a business opinion piece in the Times, wonders out loud, when we'll be lynching bankers in the street. The public, not just in the UK, holds the few in the financial industry responsible for putting the world in the current financial crisis, where tens of thousands of jobs continue to be lost every month. Despite public opinion -- no, rage -- the financial industry continues to dispense huge year-end bonuses. Which other industry is currently doling out bonuses at that rate? The financial industry is fueled by greed, and it seems regardless of current economic conditions, the infusion of public cash is only serving to sate the hunger of the bastards at the top. Shouldn't the current environment call for some restraint?

Review of the Internet traffic management practices

The CRTC is currently conducting a review of the Internet traffic management practices of Internet service providers, and are in the process of public consultation. ISPs have been throttling bandwidth, bitching that traffic has grown as broadband penetration increased and users have been accessing more rich content. This is your chance to participate in a democratic discourse. Tell the CRTC what you think. You can review the notice of consultation here and click on pt2008-19 or pt2008-19-2 to provide feedback. Stop the throttling before it seriously starts hampering Internet use.

Charles de Lint's The Onion Girl

I finished reading Charles de Lint's the Onion Girl, a few weeks ago. It's only been a few months since I've discovered de Lint, and I've already read a number of his books. The Onion Girl is by far, my favourite, so far, with the Blue Girl following closely behind.

The Onion Girl was not an easy read. It started out depressing, and didn't stop. By one third through the book, I was expecting things to start to turn around for the main character, Jilly Coppercorn, who, having survived childhood abuse, must now contend with being crippled by a hit and run, and being pursued by her younger sister, who's bent for revenge for being abandoned by Jilly to the abusive brother when she was a child.

There is further exploration of de Lint's fantasy world, the Dreamlands or Manidò-akì -- a world just as real as ours, where everything ever imagined exists, and where we journey to in our sleep -- and those who know the doorways, can journey to, wide awake. The moving between the fantasy and normal world is seamless, and makes seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary, easy. The corbæ crow girls make a cameo. The canids, with heads of dogs, foxes and wolves, but human bodies, are the otherworldly tour guides of the Dreamlands. The Greatwood, a forest with towering trees that has branches that disappear into the sky and create a world all of their own, is Jilly's escape from her hospital bed. There she encounters Nokomis, the White Buffalo Woman, the spirit of the woods, and Toby and the Tattersnake, Eadars, who only exist because someone still remembers them. On this landscape, de Lint writes his serious story.

Despite the setbacks hitting Jilly, de Lint fills his character with forgiveness and hope. The book, while depressing as hell, is a hopeful one. It suggests that being positive -- even stubbornly so -- creates the possibility for redemption and rebuilding.

Lying to Americans

Conservapedia, billing itself as "the trustworthy encyclopedia," has some of the scariest propaganda and misinformation on the internet today. Just check out their entries -- the one on Barack Obama for instance, opens with,

Barack Hussein Obama II (allegedly[1][2][3] born in Honolulu Aug. 4, 1961) is the 44th president of the United States

Allegedly? That's only for starters. The entire entry works hard to cast doubt on Obama's religion and patriotism. The fact that the site continues to operate, and hasn't been challenged legally is surprising.

Cory Doctorow's Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town

I just finished reading Cory Doctorow's Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town (SCTSLT) -- completed as I was tussled and tossed on the TTC ride home tonight. That's how I pretty much read the book, reserving the morning rides to a pretense of sleep or the occasional article from the Economist, and the evening rides home to reading a novel -- SCTSLT being the latest off the piles that surround me in my office. I'm catching up to my reading -- I swear!

This is the first Doctorow novel I've read. The sheer lunacy of the cover description compelled me to pick it up from BMV.

Alan is a middle-aged entrepreneur in contemporary Toronto who has devoted himself to fixing up a house in a bohemian neighborhood. This naturally brings him in contact with the house full of students and layabouts next door, including a young woman who, in a moment of stress, reveals to him that she has wings -- wings, moreover, which grow back after each attempt to cut them off.

Alan understands. He himself has a secret or two. His father is a mountain, his mother is a washing machine, and among his brothers are a set of Russian nesting dolls.

Now two of the three nesting dolls, Edward and Frederick, are on his doorstep -- well on their way to starvation because their innermost member, George, has vanished. It appears that yet another brother, Davey, whom Alan and his other siblings killed years ago, may have returned ... bent on revenge.

Under such circumstances it seems only reasonable for Alan to involve himself with a visionary scheme to blanket Toronto with free wireless Internet connectivity, a conspiracy spearheaded by a brilliant technopunk who builds miracles of hardware from parts scavenged from the city's Dumpsters. But Alan's past won't leave him alone -- and Davey is only one of the powers gunning for him and all his friends.

And I couldn't put it down. The story jumps back and forth in time, telling the story of Alan's youth, growing up in the cave under his father, as his brothers are tossed out of his mother; going to school, finding love, having his first tragic encounter with death; then leaving home to seek his future, understand who he is and hopefully understanding normal people enough to become them.

The story is set in Kensington Market is rich with characters. Doctorow is at home with the weirdness of blending a son of a mountain with the latest (2005, anyway) in networking technology jargon. His characters are easy to sidle up to in the story as is the weirdness of the story. Even the normal people are rich with weirdness as his fantasy characters are. Doctorow brings fantasy to the everyday -- blending it well with a familiar neighbourhood, its supporting characters and unexceptional goings-on. What makes the story strong and compelling isn't the weirdness of the premise -- although that helps -- but the honesty with which he portrays his characters.

The book is truly a good read for those who enjoy SciFi -- and those who enjoy fiction in general. Stick with it and the ending, it will surprise you.

Oh, and I almost forgot -- Doctorow has made the entire book available online via a Creative Commons license, so you don't even have to buy it.

World growth grinds to virtual halt

The bad news continues. The IMF has revised down the world's growth rate [PDF] to the lowest level since the second world war. The world's economy is simply projected to come to a standstill in 2009. And since we live in a globalized world, where national economies can't affect sustained growth on their own, a coordinated effort is being called for.

The advanced economies of the world won't be suffering alone in 2009. As noted in the whining recently at Davos, the developing economies will also be feeling pain. The rampant consumerism in the advanced economies is being brought to a full stop as wallets empty and credit cards are maxed out -- that in turn is leading to a dramatic cut in demand for cheap products from the developing economies -- who are also experiencing a slow down in consumer demand at home.



In calling for concerted global effort to restore the financial sector to good health, the IMF is calling for "capital injections, and disposal of problem assets." Yes, don't you love that? More public money is being asked for to shore up banks so they can loan and invest -- and all of their bad investments are asked to be taken over by the public. Don't misunderstood that. It doesn't mean that the bad investments will turn good eventually -- although there is that possibility -- but it is such a low possibility, that the IMF is asking for the public to fund the fuck-ups of the bastards who are still collecting fat cheques and bonuses.



After the public is done loaning and just giving away money to cover the banks losses, the IMF is then suggesting that consumers should be encouraged to spend more of what they don't have. Borrow from their future so the absurdity can continue unabated. Are they out of their minds? Shouldn't this be a period for resetting? Maybe this crazy system of where we borrow money from developing economies so we can spend it on their goods -- transferring wealth to developing economies in the form of our debt -- should stop -- or at least slow down a little. It's not sustainable. We can't keep this up. They can't keep it up. Domestic demand in the developing economies also need to rise. That alone would be a step in the right direction.

And maybe, just maybe, we should stop spending money we don't have. Just a little. It's just a thought.

Greed is not good

Roy C. Smith, a professor of finance at New York University's Stern School of Business, and a former partner of Goldman Sachs, makes an argument for greed, in the Wall Street Journal. But I find the argument is bullshit. Greed is not good. Greed is what got the US, and the rest of the world, into the present economic predicament. Holding financial soothsayers in high regard to the detriment of the actual engines of the economy is drove the irrational exuberance to the point where it all came crashing down.

The market thrives on locating new opportunities, providing innovation and a willingness to take risks. It is also, regrettably, subject to what the economist John Maynard Keynes called "animal spirits," the psychological factors that make markets irrational when going up or down. For example, America has enjoyed a bonus it didn't deserve in its free-wheeling participation in the housing market, before it became a bubble. Despite great efforts by regulators to manage systemic risk, there have been market failures. The causes of the current market failure, which is the real object of the public anger, go well beyond the Wall Street compensation system -- but compensation has been one of them.

The bonuses simply broke the public back. The risk of not paying out bonuses to the financial wizards of Wall Street, means what? That talent will leave? And go where? If talent is the worry, then talent will find new homes, and will help dig us out of the hole, regardless of where they find work. The bullshit that we're being sold is that the people working in the investment community will simply disappear if they are not bonused, and that's simply not true. They would contribute to the economy regardless of where they go -- and that would be a true test of their talents. And would it be such a bad idea if the one's who got us into this mess -- who fought regulators -- who invented new definitions for the word optimism -- would it be such a bad idea if they simply got lost?

I don't think so. It's not the investors that will get the world out of the hole it is in right now -- it's the actual people who are producing goods that will.

And of course, Milton Freidman -- who thinks there is no other way than greed. Notice that he will refrain from answering any of the questions in this clip -- but rather turn the question back to the audience. How would you respond to Freidman?

I'm still learning

These are the things I learn-ed from a crossword puzzle with my wife this afternoon, over coffee at the local watering hole:

• French moms are mares and they go neigh,
• The most overused place name: Oh Shit! Aaaah!, Nfld. -- originally, of Newfoundland, now many other places around the world, and,
• On departing China with loads of pasta for the starving Italians, the Chinese waved at Marco Polo and yelled, "Chow!" He responded with a slightly confused, "Ciao!" And the rest, I'm afraid, is history.

OK, maybe you had to be there.

Stupid, fucking Hindus

Indian society is actually divided by this. Divided! WTF?! 30 men, belonging to the right-wing Hindu organization, Sri Ram Sena, went out and attacked women in a pub in Mangalore. Why? They claimed that they were protecting traditional Indian culture. Indian culture? Apparently traditional Indian culture includes the beating of their women. Again, WTF? There is division over this? This is religious misogyny. Nothing more. Acts like this just takes India backwards, like some its neighbours in the region. It's not the behaviour that a nation with economic and social aspirations should condone. But condone it, it did. Within a short while after 28 of the men were arrested, they were released on bail. Unacceptable. If Indians, Hindus, don't step up to ensure a just outcome, they will condone violence against women and give the green-light for religious fundamentalism to grow.

freecomputer20090202

This post is part of the freecomputers project.

freecomputer20090202

This machine comes courtesy of the generous freecyclers. The machine and monitor was donated by Sharon. The keyboard and mouse are from Cheryl. The machine was missing a CD-ROM drive, so I installed one from Narender -- who also contributed a secondary harddrive to the machine. Keyboard and mouse comes from another freecycler who I can no longer remember -- but thank you!

Since the RAM was limited, I loaded Ubuntu onto the machine. It runs OK. The machine is suitable for surfing the internet -- email and the like, but not for watching streaming video. The typical Ubuntu desktop offers OpenOffice.org 2.4, which runs just fine. It obviously doesn't scream with performance on an older machine (see config below), but it performs well enough for occasional use.

Configuration of freecomputer20090202:

• IBM Aptiva, Model 2163504, S/N: AG03G11
• Pentium II 350MHz, 224MB RAM
• Video: Creative CT6730 AGP 8MB
• Creative 52X CD-ROM Reader, CD5230E
• Disks: Maxtor 10.8GB (Model 91080D5, S/N A503CP9C); Quantum Fireball 13GB (S/N 121914478850, P/N CR13A011)
• Floppy: LS-120
• 16-bit Soundcard
• Modem
• 2 USB ports
• Ethernet card
• Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 955DF, S/N: AN19HVATA19042W

This computer doesn't have a home yet, so if you'd like it, drop me a line and ask.

Update: Feb. 15, 2009
Ta-da! This computer has found a home at Ida's.

ReelPolitik: Understanding the World Through Film

PSA time:

This unique festival features films that address issues of global concern. ReelPolitik showcases outstanding political films—both contemporary and historical--that deserve wide circulation, and genres include feature, documentary, animation, as well as experimental film.

Screenings are accompanied by in-depth introductions and panel discussions with scholars from the University of Toronto, and elsewhere. Topics range from the various international political contexts addressed by the films, to the nature of politically engaged film-making. ReelPolitik promotes public education on global issues.

ReelPolitik promotes public education on global issues.

The screenings will be held at the Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility, in the Munk Centre South House of the University of Toronto, from Feb. 5-7. The films:

• War/Dance

For the past 20 years, northern Uganda has been at war with a rebel force, the Lord’s Resistance Army (L.R.A.), and the country’s children have been the greatest victims of the conflict. Villages and refugee camps are raided by the L.R.A. and children abducted and indoctrinated as new soldiers.

One school in a refugee camp, Patongo Primary School is getting ready for the biggest event of the year—the National Music Competition. Over 20,000 schools compete, but only one will go home the champion and no one expects it to be Patongo. Schools in refugee camps don’t win awards.

The documentary follows three students of Patongo as they compete against wealthier schools from the south in the nation’s capital, Kampala. Patongo’s students—most of whom have never left the camp—need everything, from school uniforms to musical instruments. Despite the odds, they endlessly practice their performances, driven by heart, talent, and the need to rebuild their lives.



• Persepolis

Persepolis is the poignant, true story of a young girl in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Viewed through the eyes of outspoken nine-year-old Marjane, we see the changes that occur as fundamentalists take power—forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. As bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war, the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable. After several close encounters with the country’s “social guardians”, Marjane’s parents make the difficult decision to send her to school in Austria at age 14. Vulnerable and alone in a strange land, she eventually finds herself horribly homesick. After high school, she returns to Iran and continues to speak out against the hypocrisy she witnesses.

At age 24, she realizes that while she is deeply Iranian, she cannot live in Iran. She makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her homeland, optimistic about her future, shaped indelibly by her past.



• Familia Lugones

Familia Lugones reviews four generations of the Lugones family living through the poignant and complex history of Argentina in the twentieth century. The family saga begins with the poet, Leopold, during the intellectual Uriburu coup, continues with his son, Polo, the inventor of the baton, followed by his granddaughter, Pirie, disappeared, and ends with her son Alexander. The film examines emotions and the philosophy of many life experiences including success, happiness, and torture.


• Losers and Winners

In the centre of the Germany’s Ruhr Valley, the famous “heartbeat of steel” has gone silent. After only eight years in operation, this ultramodern coke (processed coal) plant has been shut down and is slowly being dismantled. Piece by piece, the factory is being broken down and moved to China. The documentary follows the collision that occurs between cultures, as 400 Chinese workers are supervised by the last 30 German workers in the Shutdown Department to move the gigantic industrial plant overseas.

A question emerges in the process: Who is ultimately the winner and who is the loser when jobs move from one part of the world to another?

Check the site out for details and showtime. The general admission is $10. I would have loved to see War/Dance, but I'm otherwise occupied on Thursday night. If anyone reading this makes it out, let me know how it was.

Thanks to DH for the link and invite.

Going green with the World Economic Forum at Davos

Obama has made the promises -- and now UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, is also calling on the world to use the current economic crisis as a platform to launch the economic recovery and build a green future. Ban in a speech at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, is asking for the world to invest up to US$515 billion in the next 20 years, in building out a clean energy infrastructure.

"By tackling climate change head-on we can solve many of our current troubles, including the threat of global recession. We stand at a crossroads. It is important that we realize we have a choice. We can choose short-sighted unilateralism and business as usual. Or we can grasp global cooperation and partnership on a scale never before seen."

For more, see Green Investing: Towards a Clean Energy Infrastructure -- a report by the Forum, highlighting the green energy business opportunities; the webcasts, podcasts and vodcasts from the 2009 meeting; and the YouTube channel.