This is pretty cool. DVStreamer turns your DV camcorder into a tape drive and lets you back up 8.7GB of stuff off your computer. There were still a few bugs and glitches with the software according to the Tom’s Hardware Guide review, but it seems like it could be a really cool bit of software once the problems get worked out. And with DV tapes being relatively cheap, it could become an easy (albeit slow) way to backup your computer.
Hurricane Isabel
Aside from September 11, much of the discussion around here is centered on where Hurricane Isabel will go. The current forecast path is not encouraging, even though it’s still a few days away from any sort of reliable forecast about impact in this area.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 AM 12-SEP-2003 discussion,
THE GFDL WHICH HAS BEEN PERFORMING QUITE WELL…TURNS THE HURRICANE MORE TO THE NORTHWEST AND NORTH-NORTHWEST…AND DEPENDING UPON THE RUN YOU PICK…THE TURN OCCURS FARTHER TO THE WEST OR FARTHER TO THE EAST. ON THE OTHER HAND…THE UK MODEL WHICH HAS HAS BEEN MORE CONSISTENT …MOVES THE HURRICANE FASTER AND BRING ISABEL DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE U.S. COAST IN 5 DAYS. THE GFS WHICH HAS BEEN CHANGING ITS TUNE FROM RUN TO RUN…IS MUCH SLOWER AND IN 5 DAYS PLACES THE HURRICANE ABOUT 450 N MI FROM THE U.S COAST. THE GFS EVENTUALLY BRINGS THE CENTER NEAR THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA IN SEVERAL MORE DAYS. FINALLY…THE NOGAPS IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE GFS UP TO 5 DAYS.
In short, I think it’s time to start assembling our hurricane kit. Even if it turns out to miss us, it’s better to be prepared than to be trying to scramble at the last minute (which everyone else is bound to be doing).
Friday Five
Time for another Friday Five to distract me from continually monitoring Hurricane Isabel…
1. Is the name you have now the same name that’s on your birth certificate? If not, what’s changed?
Yes
2. If you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?
Why would I want to change it?
3. Why were you named what you were? (Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?)
No story that I’m aware of, aside from possibly my parents wanting to give me a Western kind of name so I would fit in better.
4. Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?
Not particularly.
5. Is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com accurate? How or how isn’t it?
Brief Analysis
Your name of Eugene gives you a very happy-go-lucky, spontaneous nature. You see the humorous side of many situations and can laugh at yourself as well as at others. This name gives you a musical, artistic nature and you would do well in any occupation in the entertainment field. You have many friends because of your generous, happy nature, but if crossed you have a quick temper, although your annoyance does not last too long. You do enjoy an argument and will at times say things just to get others going and then you sit back and enjoy the debate. You lack system and order and find it very difficult to budget and save money. This name creates a nature that can be the life of the party, but many times you can become involved in emotional situations against your better judgment. Your compassionate nature causes you to be too generous and you often give more than you can afford to.
Hmm, I’d have to say about 1/3 to 1/2 accurate. Gets a some things right. I’m a little musical only because of having played the viola for 10 years (I don’t play anymore), definitely not artistic, hate arguments, have never been the life of any party and don’t have a quick temper at all. The rest of it I suppose could more or less describe me.
What D&D character are you?
I Am A: Chaotic Good Elf Druid Ranger
Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.
Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.
Primary Class:
Druids are a special variety of Cleric who serves the Earth, and can call upon the power in the earth to accomplish their goals. They tend to be somewhat fanatical about defending natural settings.
Secondary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.
Deity:
Rillifane Rallathil is the Chaotic Good elven god of woodlands and nature. He is also known as the Leaflord, the Wild One, and the Great Oak. He is appears as a huge oak tree. His followers believe that everyone should be free to spend their lives doing what nature has meant them to, and they protect the forests from those who would abuse them. Their preferred weapon is the quarterstaff. Rillifane Rallathil’s symbol is an oak tree.
Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of NeppyMan
Found at allysongarrick.com
What were you doing September 11, 2001?
September 11, 2001. It’s one of those infamous days in human history where just about everyone can tell you exactly what they were doing when it happened or when they heard the news. Just like the Challenger disaster (January 28, 1986), or Columbia (February 1, 2003), or JFK (November 22, 1963). I wasn’t around for JFK though.
I remember vividly what I was doing that day. It started off as a normal routine day, as it probably would have for anyone else. I had a couple of bone density units to survey that morning. I recall walking around the department, making my daily rounds. As I was finishing up, I happened to walk by one of the waiting rooms where for some reason everyone was clustered around the TV. It was a news report about how a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. My first thoughts were “Holy crap. Bad bad accident”.
It wasn’t a terrorist event yet. Just a tragic accident, a plane gone out of control and hitting the WTC. Went back down to my office to grab my equipment to start my surveys. Sent my wife a text message to her cell phone saying a plane had crashed into the WTC. She was in class at the time, but being from NYC I knew she’d want to hear about it. Then headed back up to Ultrasound where the bone density unit was.
There were even more people clustered around the TV now, and more events had unfolded. I remember telling the bone density tech asking me what was going on. Told her about the plane crashing into the WTC. Everyone was glued to the TV, but I had work to get done, so I set up the scanner. While I was waiting for it to start up, the news came that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. It was certainly shaping up to be a very odd day. What are the chances that two planes would crash into buildings on the same day…the same morning even.
Then, while I was testing, reports of the second plane hitting the other WTC tower were broadcast, and I started thinking that these were no accidents. After I finished, I went back down to my office, unloaded my stuff and went back upstairs to the TV. Watched the news for a little while longer and then headed off to see what other people were saying.
I didn’t see the towers collapse until I saw the news after I got home. Everyone was buzzing that day. I don’t remember what happened with the rest of my afternoon. I think I spent it talking with other people about what happened. All the news sites on the web were slow, or not responding, so there wasn’t any info there.
My wife took the rest of the day off after she received my message. The rest of our evening was spent glued to various news stations watching the aftermath of the disaster. For several days after, the news was about all we watched. There was much speculation about who was behind the attack and why. The rest I guess is history.