Monthly Archives: February 2010

Which Video Games Shaped your Childhood

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Luke Maciak

Let’s face it, most of us here are children of the information age. Unlike our parents we grew up using computers, game consoles are similar devices. Our grandparents’ childhoods were mostly shaped by books they read. Our parents were products … Continue reading →

Posted in video games | 18 Comments

Only Revolutions

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Luke Maciak

I bought Danielewski’s new book because I loved House of Leaves. It was a weird, scary and visually interesting novel. It’s unique presentation and original storytelling tricks were very compelling. It is no surprise then that I sought out other … Continue reading →

Posted in literature | Tagged | Leave a comment

Best Version Control Software

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Luke Maciak

I haven’t done any polls lately so guess what time it is? Yes, it’s poll time! Better yet, this is not just any poll – this poll is serious business. I want to talk about revision control software. Yes, I … Continue reading →

Posted in sysadmin notes | 12 Comments

Let’s Learn LaTex: Part 2

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Luke Maciak

Last week I have shown you the bare bone basics of LaTeX. We learned how to create a simple hello world document, and the usual boilerplate code that goes into the preamble. Lets move on to slightly more complex ideas. … Continue reading →

Posted in programming | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Carnivale

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Luke Maciak

I really have a knack for falling in love with excellent TV shows years after they have been canceled. But perhaps it’s better this way. This way I don’t get all wrapped up in the fandom thing again, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in tv | Tagged | 5 Comments

Collecting Hardware Information using C# and WMI

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Luke Maciak

I’ve been playing around with C# lately putting together a little app that would collect hardware information about the computer it was running on. Stuff like CPU speed, amount of installed memory, CPU manufacturer, amount of cache, make and model … Continue reading →

Posted in programming | 6 Comments

Show Me Your Desktop

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Luke Maciak

I guess it’s that time of year again. Lets compare our desktop wallpapers once again. Just remember that your wallpaper, the icons on your desktop and the apps running in your system tray tell a story about you. So keep … Continue reading →

Posted in technology | 27 Comments

Let’s Learn LaTex: Part 1

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Luke Maciak

Few days ago Travis gave me an idea for a new series of posts. He mentioned recommending my blog to a friend who was trying to learn LaTex. Unfortunately, my blog is not the best learning resource. It is more … Continue reading →

Posted in programming | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Happy Lincoln Day!

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Luke Maciak

Happy Lincoln day everyone! Today we celebrate the birth and life of one of this nations most famous super powered heroes: Abe “Robot” Lincoln. I figured I might just might take this occasion to give you a little history refresher … Continue reading →

Posted in news & current events | 4 Comments

How to make Norton 360 Pishing Filter Go The Fuck Away

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Luke Maciak

Dear internet, please remind me not to do free tech support anymore. Seriously! I mean it. Next time you see me agreeing to this bullshit just smack me upside the head or something. To make a long story short, an … Continue reading →

Posted in sysadmin notes | Tagged | 4 Comments

Glasshouse by Charles Stross

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Luke Maciak

When I picked up Glasshouse I didn’t really expect it to be anything special. The blurb on the back cover hinted that it would be a somewhat interesting futuristic detective type story with a twist. In a distant future war … Continue reading →

Posted in literature | Tagged , | 6 Comments

L4D2

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Luke Maciak

I am not very big on of competitive multiplayer games. It probably has something to do with my complete lack of hand-eye coordination. I usually don’t play video games for the challenge. I don’t really find much enjoyment in grinding … Continue reading →

Posted in video games | Tagged | 4 Comments

Name That Game: Nostalgia Strikes Back

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Luke Maciak

We did this last week and it was so much fun, I decided to do this again. This time the list of pictured games was provided by my brother Ark. We grew up playing the same Amiga games and this … Continue reading →

Posted in video games | Tagged | 21 Comments

Lyx – Easy LaTex without Spell Check

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Luke Maciak

I am a vocal WYSIWYG hater. I have my reasons, but I will not repeat them here for the sake of brevity. If you are interested, you can take a look in the archives to see why I feel the … Continue reading →

Posted in technology | 19 Comments

Happy Groundhog Day

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Luke Maciak

Happy Groundhog day everyone! Yes, I’m lazy today, and I’m using a local holiday to post a half assed excuse for an article here. Sue me. Now, I know that Terminalists are an international bunch, I should probably explain this … Continue reading →

Posted in news & current events | 2 Comments

IT Horror Stories: Password Security

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Luke Maciak

Passwords are great until you realize that they introduce a human element into your cryptographic or authorization scheme. I’m serious, no matter how secure is your system, some genius user will find out a way to totally wreck it on … Continue reading →

9 Comments