norgg.org feed http://norgg.org/ Latest posts on norgg.org 60 http://www.sporkmonger.com/projects/feedtools/ pirates http://norgg.org/post/66 John Turner pirates:2008/11/20 11:15:19 It amuses me that the British navy is leading an armada of warships to fight the pirate menace. I find it hard not to think of it as a fleet of galleons sailing out from the mouth of the Thames.

]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:15:19 +0000 66 not_irc http://norgg.org/post/65 John Turner not_irc:2008/11/11 22:39:54 Have quit irc for a while.

Still reflexively trying to check it constantly.

Will come back when that stops.

]]> Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:39:54 +0000 65 spam_again http://norgg.org/post/64 John Turner spam_again:2008/10/28 13:18:40 I’ve disabled comments for now and deleted all comments from the last month that contained any links. Sorry if I deleted any legitimate comments in the process.

There are a set of comments remaining from spammers that do not contain any links. A page of these is up here.

]]> Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:18:40 +0000 64 spam http://norgg.org/post/63 John Turner spam:2008/10/26 07:43:06 I hacked this blog together in Camping.

An experiment was conducted into minimal comment security. I wondered if any spammers would actually bother automating the “I’m human, honest.” checkbox, simple though it would be, for a blog that is not widely read. Seems someone did. I guess I’ll have to put a captcha up.

]]> Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:43:06 +0000 63 gress http://norgg.org/post/62 John Turner gress:2008/09/09 00:58:11 This is all probably pretty obvious, but it’s going through my head right now. It’s also a simplification, possibly even one of the gross ones.

We can’t really stay where we are as a species, we’re using up too many resources too quickly and causing too much damage.

We can either progress or regress. Progress is risky, might not happen quickly enough, but has the possibility of getting us to a Good Place. Regress will most likely lead to mass starvation and depopulation, but at least the planet will remain relatively usable, as long as we haven’t caused too much irreparable damage.

I like progress myself.

]]> Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:58:11 +0100 62 ps3s http://norgg.org/post/61 John Turner ps3s:2008/08/16 15:39:54 I bought a ps3 recently. It is pretty fun. One thing it means is that I am no longer solely Nintendo’s bitch with regards to consoles. GTA4 multiplayer is AAAAAAA++++ would play again. It is a bit annoying how the important and hard things, like the netcode for complex physics and interesting game modes are really well done, but the easy things to get right, like not allowing randoms into games that are meant to be private or not randomly turning off your bluetooth headset which is your only means of in-game communication are not. Yay for run-on sentences. Do not try to read that out loud. If you do then I disclaim any liability of death due to suffocation.

]]> Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:39:54 +0100 61 computer_hat http://norgg.org/post/60 John Turner computer_hat:2008/07/18 12:22:24 My working environment is not very inspirational, or healthy. It is an office on the 4th floor, filled with extremely generic office furniture. The majority of my life is spent sitting in front of my laptop, typing. I would like to be able to write, code, chat, and generally be connected on the move. Not all the time, but I’m getting tired of being trapped at a desk if I want to do these things efficiently.

A thing I want to buy, or make, or help make, is basically a computer hat. The main problem that needs to be solved for this is that of efficient hands free input of text. There has been a lot of work on brain-computer interfaces (see wikipedia for its usual just-about-trustworthy overview). I’d like to see how far you can get with an EEG, a big list of words, and some months training. Otherwise, eye tracking could be an option, or an accelerometer on a finger with some gesture recognition.

Invasive or “semi-invasive” brain implants are not an option right now. I’d also prefer to stay away from voice recognition because it’s still pretty inaccurate and it feels awkward and it wouldn’t work so well in noisy places and people would look at you funny for talking to yourself. Part of the motivation would be to produce a wearable computer that doesn’t make you look completely insane. It will still make you look a bit insane, but I think this could be limited. The head mounted display will be the most obvious thing.

As a tool I would like to use, I would need the hat to be capable of:
  1. running an operating system (ideally ubuntu, but I would settle for embedded linux to start with, Windows XP or OS X would also be fine I guess). #running a terminal of some form, Vim and a browser (links would be just about acceptable, especially now that lots of sites are providing “mobile” versions which are actually usable in links.)
  2. hands free text input (see above, yes)
  3. networking: 3G or wifi
  4. storage: probably a few gigs, probably an SD card.
  5. battery: chunky, would need to last for at least 8 hours of use. Ideally 16. Would have to find the right balance of duration and weight.
  6. display: some form of head mounted display. Either one of those tiny displays that could dangle from the brim of the hat, or the full on VR style goggles. Ideally switchable between the two depending on whether you need to see the outside world or not.
Other stuff that would be nice:
  1. audio: an audio jack and headphones would make sense. Also a microphone.
  2. usb
  3. ethernet because I am amused by the concept of by sitting around with cat5 plugged into my head.
  4. Both G3 and wifi.
  5. Bluetooth
  6. Maybe some kind of silly lcd on the outside of the hat which you could post text or images to that people would see. (probably not)

So, I’d like to see if I could turn the hands free text input into a research project at some point, unless someone else solves it or has solved it already.

Anyway, thoughts on this would be appreciated, as would links people have to existing work on stuff like this. If you’re reading this aggregated elsewhere, I’d like comments on norgg.org so discussion can be in one place.

Edit:

I realised over lunch that the initial prototype of this will probably use a gumstix (probably borrowed from the office when we’re not using it), which has bluetooth and wifi and runs embedded linux. I’d need to get an lcd connected up to one. Input could be done using a wiimote (because I have a wii already and they use bluetooth) and gesture recognition.

]]> Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:22:24 +0100 60 google_knows http://norgg.org/post/59 John Turner google_knows:2008/07/07 16:02:23 If you use the google apps that I use, it knows:

  1. The contents of your email. (gmail)
  2. What you read about (news, blogs and comics). (google reader)
  3. What you do socially and often where you do it. (google calendar)
  4. Where you live and where you ask for directions to. (google maps)
  5. What films you are probably going to go watch (google movies search)

With this information, google could decide:

  1. Who you should be friends with based on where they are and what you and they like.
  2. Where you should go to socialise with your friends.
  3. When you are free to do so.

So:

You don’t need to organise your social life any more, you should just let google do it for you.

]]> Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:02:23 +0100 59 stuff http://norgg.org/post/58 John Turner stuff:2008/06/25 09:09:02 It says… something about our civilisation that a common problem for individuals is that of having too much stuff.

]]> Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:09:02 +0100 58 hacking_with_net_hack http://norgg.org/post/57 John Turner hacking_with_net_hack:2008/06/23 15:09:14 Whee.

]]> Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:09:14 +0100 57