slipshod odd blog http://dumbluck.posterous.com where my random thoughts come to kick back and shoot the poop posterous.com Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:56:00 -0800 Hi-fi Audio http://dumbluck.posterous.com/hi-fi-audio http://dumbluck.posterous.com/hi-fi-audio

So, after months and months of debating, googling, youtubing, and asking around I've finally picked up a pair of studio quality monitoring headsets and a portable DAC/AMP for my listening enjoyment. For the low low (for most people u_u) price of $300, you too can listen to FLAC and other lossless files with the same enjoyment I do. All you need is a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50S headphones and the portable Fiio e7 DAC/AMP. I ensure you the sound quality will blow your socks off. I'm listening to songs that I've heard hundreds of times before and I'm hearing things in them I didn't know were there and the way the song builds up and is put together is a lot more apparent. All that complex stuff aside, it's easier to enjoy your music and lose yourself in it with top notch equipment. I'm currently in the process of getting lossless versions of all the great albums I've listened to over the years. Wish me luck! 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:53:00 -0700 Pretty Girls http://dumbluck.posterous.com/pretty-girls http://dumbluck.posterous.com/pretty-girls

I keep on forgetting who the prettiest girl in show business is. So, I'm putting this visual reminder right here. Tada! I present to you and yours - Linda Cardellini.

Linda_cardellini

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:35:00 -0700 Acme Klein Bottles http://dumbluck.posterous.com/acme-klein-bottles http://dumbluck.posterous.com/acme-klein-bottles

I'm not a very materialistic person so I'm not the kind of person to see a commercial or an ad, see something, and think to myself 'Oh my god! I want that!' but I'm not immune to wants of posession. Case and point, this thing!

Giantkleinbotandcliff2
Well not exactly this thing. This thing cost $18000...
But there are some reasonable, apple-sized ones for around $60. I know, I know it's a bit much but Möbius strips were the kind of thing that I'd draw in my notebook during especially boring classes of Instrumentations and Measurements for Biosystems Engineers. Oh, side note, the guy holding this thing is Clifford Stoll, a brilliant and enigmatic astronomer, teacher, anti-hacker, and klein bottle maker. It's actually his TED Talk on the future, kids, and many other things that got me on this topic.

Nah, I'm pulling the trigger. When I get my engineering job the first thing I'm buying is one of these little guys. 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:12:00 -0700 The Million Mes http://dumbluck.posterous.com/the-million-mes http://dumbluck.posterous.com/the-million-mes

One of my best friends and I had a drunk conversation once (one of many, not solely) and somehow we started talking about relationships. We came to the epiphany that in every relationship there are actually four people going out - there's the person you are, the person you're interested, the person you are "pretending" to be, and the person that they are "pretending" to be. The word "pretending" is pretty terrible but it gets the point across rather quickly and easily. Of course, the interactions between the four people is even more complex. For example, the "pretend" me might do something out of the ordinary like cook a three course meal for the girl that I like and she might love it but the "pretend" version of her might pass it off as just okay, in a vane attempt to get me to improve or cook more often. This is an odd example but you get the point. There are a few different interactions going on all at the same time.

Well, all this his me really hard because I have the type of mind that tends to think in extremes and once it got a hold of this piece of information it ran with it. It decided that there are probaby a million of me running around in people's minds. There's nerdy me, cool me, party me, business me, hungry me, stuffed me, happy me, sad me, and probably even jerk me somewhere out there. These versions of me are numerous. People that've known me for a long time have a better understanding of what the "true" me is like and people that have known me for an instant are really just seeing a snap shot of me. I know for a fact some people that I've met only for an instant think that I'm smarter than I really am, or more well-behaved, or more of a drunkard...

This also got me thinking about the me that I see myself as. How accurate is that? I'd like to think that nobody knows me as well as I do but some people might be pretty close to understanding me better than I do, which is kind of cool and scary at the same time. Everyone's heard someone say that they feel "like they can be themselves" around certain people. You also meet people that are themselves all the time - unwavering and unwilling to change themselves for other people. Depending on the person it can either be really annoying are refreshing. I've met a fair share of both and they always get me thinking about this.

Anyways, this all gave me an interesting idea - it's something I think that everyone should strive for: condense or collapse yourself. If you can combine all of those selves into one person, if you can be yourself all the time, that'd be amazing. Obviously, there are going to be some situations where it really isn't all that feasible to be one-hundred percent yourself but shoot to be your true self as much as you can. Am I crazy? Is this a ramble? It's nothing if not a quick, unstructured idea but that's just the way I am.

See what I did there.

Clever, eh? 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:06:00 -0700 Meta Idea http://dumbluck.posterous.com/meta-idea http://dumbluck.posterous.com/meta-idea

Don't you think it'd be cool if the green revolution kind of caught on a bit more and whenever anyone had an idea on how to improve upon it a compact fluorescent popped up over their head.

Cfl

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:18:00 -0800 Life Lesson from Big Brother http://dumbluck.posterous.com/life-lesson-from-big-brother http://dumbluck.posterous.com/life-lesson-from-big-brother

I consider my brother to be a giant influence in terms of the person that I am and he'll continue to be that way for as long as I have my way. At a very young age, my brother taught me an important lesson, totally unintentionally. I can't recall a specific example but my brother would be playing or using something be it the computer, the Gameboy, or a certain book and I'd pretty much just wait there patiently, or impatiently, until he was done. Then it'd be my turn. But he'd find something else to do to occupy his time and all of a sudden, I wanted to do that. People always want what they don't have or can't have - my older brother taught me to appreciate what I had and, what I think is more important, do things you like, regardless of what others are doing. It's a small but powerful lesson that I carry around with me all the time.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:22:00 -0800 Drive http://dumbluck.posterous.com/drive http://dumbluck.posterous.com/drive

I just watched an amazing RSA Animate video which is a video that sketches out a lecture, usually in a comedic fashion, that talked about Drive. RSA Animate: Drive - The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us is a talk I don't want to forget so I'm writing down these three factors that lead to a productive, healthy drive:

  • Atonomy - "Our desire to be self-directed"
  • Mastery - "Our urge to get better at stuff"
  • Making a Contribution

Rsaanimate

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Wed, 29 Dec 2010 22:55:00 -0800 Quorra http://dumbluck.posterous.com/quorra http://dumbluck.posterous.com/quorra

Just finished watching the new Tron and I now have the sudden urge to watch House. In other news, gaze upon the epic hotness that is Olivia Wilde as Quorra. Gaze! *fist shake*

Quorra

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Wed, 29 Dec 2010 22:52:00 -0800 Don't Be Sorry http://dumbluck.posterous.com/dont-be-sorry http://dumbluck.posterous.com/dont-be-sorry

Does anyone else find it troubling when a close friend or relative apologizes for something that isn't a big deal or a deal at all? It makes me think - what kind of stuff do I do everyday that I don't think twice about that someone else thinks is annoying or inappropriate. I wonder what kind of little habits I have that drive people insane...

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:46:00 -0800 Youtube Favicon http://dumbluck.posterous.com/youtube-favicon http://dumbluck.posterous.com/youtube-favicon

If you're super anal like me, you've looked at the favicons in your neatly organized bookmarks toolbar and you've grown to hate the crappy favicon of youtube. While other awesome sites like 9gag, last.fm, and hypemachine have moved towards icons with style and transparency, youtube still has that ugly white background. Fear not! I have went through the painstaking process of making a png icon that I present to you in all its majesty:

Youtubefavicon
So. Much. Majesty.

You can add this to your toolbar by using favicon picker or any other similar firefox addon.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Mon, 27 Dec 2010 22:36:09 -0800 Anti-Procrastinating Post http://dumbluck.posterous.com/anti-procrastinating-post http://dumbluck.posterous.com/anti-procrastinating-post I always tell myself that I'm going to write in this thing when I get the chance or when I'm going to get a new computer (since my old eee pc crapped out on me) but I figured that could take awhile so I better breath some new life into this thing before that point. So here it is, a post simply for the sage of posting. I really should have a lot to talk about since I've moved to a new province into a new place with my cousin, I have a new job, and my outlook on the next few years is a bit more clear, but nope, I don't really have all that much interesting to say. At least at the top of my head. I'm pumped that I got to go home for the holidays, even though it was only a few days. Being with the family again was amazing for a bunch of reasons. I just hope that next years I can be there longer and see everyone that I wanted to. Here's hoping.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Tue, 30 Nov 2010 01:18:00 -0800 Nanowrimo 2010 http://dumbluck.posterous.com/nanowrimo-2010 http://dumbluck.posterous.com/nanowrimo-2010

Nanowinchange
Well, with a helpful kick in the butt from my little sister I managed to finish my second nano, The Devil's Own, previously The Lies of Interesting People, previouslier still The Lives of Interesting People. It's an action adventure novel that revolves around a few different storylines. One involves two robots who play pranks on the misguided robot who killed them. Another revolves around a world where guilds to battle for legendary pieces of armour and glory. Another still is about a bunch of elite operatives who storm a base looking for a treasure that they never get because that storyline was kind of bunk and I just killed everyone off in it. Anyways... haza!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:13:00 -0700 Westside! http://dumbluck.posterous.com/westside http://dumbluck.posterous.com/westside

Okay, so I moved from my roots of central Canada, Winnipeg to be exact, all the way to Surrey, British Columbia. Things have been going pretty swimmingly so far being out here with my cousin. I wouldn't say I've settled in yet - the fact that I don't have a mattress to sleep on seems to be adding to that. Also, the lack of a job kind of weighs heavily on my brain but other than that. Awesome times are awesome.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:57:00 -0700 Five Stars http://dumbluck.posterous.com/five-stars http://dumbluck.posterous.com/five-stars

Finally!

After what seemed like an eternity, I have rated every single song on my computer. We're talking 2829 songs, running more than 175 hours. Now, I can finally start downloading new music. First two on the list - Garden State Soundtrack and B.o.B

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:46:00 -0700 Reach http://dumbluck.posterous.com/reach http://dumbluck.posterous.com/reach

This game has dominated my life so much in the past few months that I feel that I need to write something, anything on it. There were a few days where I'd check the Bungie.net set religiously along with IGN and Gamespot. I was, and still am, on the tip of spear in terms of new images, video, leaks, and general information. Aside from campaign, I looked for anything and everything I could feast my greedly little eyes on. Why am I such a Halo fanboy? The big thing in Reach, for me, is definitely the customization. I mean, the amount of combinations is ridiculous. I just did the math and not including Elites, the alien badies you can play as, there are roughly sixteen trillion, that's right trillion, different combinations. So pumped!

Reach_customization_concepts

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:44:00 -0700 Engineering? http://dumbluck.posterous.com/engineering http://dumbluck.posterous.com/engineering

Ever since I've graduated from Environmental Engineering I really haven't found too much use from the knowledge I've gained except for enlightening a friend here and getting a quiz show question there. But what I realized is that I understand people more. I came to this realization when I was at Tim Horton's with my family I can't of acted as kind of mediator between my family member in terms of gestures that require responses and even in what they mean. It was kind of freaky how I understood but there's always the factor that I've lived with them for some twenty-one years...

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:29:00 -0700 Winnipeg's First Nuit Blanche http://dumbluck.posterous.com/winnipegs-first-nuit-blanche http://dumbluck.posterous.com/winnipegs-first-nuit-blanche

What's a Nuit Blanche you ask? Well, it's a art festival that last all night! I'd give you the scoop but a ton of people who actually make money to make their wordssound good have already done the work for me: Wanda Koop Exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery

Here's the fun part - I'm going to a wedding before hand so I'm going to be dressed to the nines for this little shindig. Should be fun.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:09:00 -0700 iSteal http://dumbluck.posterous.com/isteal http://dumbluck.posterous.com/isteal

I've taken the bus the bus enough times to know that every fifth twelve to fourty year old that you run into will have some sort of music playing device on them that also has some way of taking notes or messages and that's when I came up with the iSteal. I'm pretty sure the concept is illegal but what it is is an mp3 player that has absolutely no music on it - what it does is lift music from people around you. The player will obviously have a size limit but it takes a few songs from each playlist you get into a certain distance from and removes the oldest songs on the list so you have fresh new music all the time! Yeah!

So, I just told my sister about this idea and she said it was invasive. I said shut up. Then thought it over again. Still doing it. But now I'm a badass pirate.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:07:00 -0700 Decibel Venn Diagram http://dumbluck.posterous.com/decibel-venn-diagram http://dumbluck.posterous.com/decibel-venn-diagram

So, I have a brother and a sister and we grew up with this other group of three children who were almost exactly the same in age. We still get together a few times in the year even though some of us have moved out and live in other provinces and when we do it tends to get pretty heated and pretty loud. Inspiration hit the nerd sector of my brain when I got the idea to do this venn diagram. I brainstormed with my sister approximate decimals of each group of kids then I went to work on Adobe Illustrator. I think it turned out pretty good for my first vector image project. Even though it took 8 hours plus...

Venn
The coloured venn diagram is my family and the grayscale is the girls (that family has all daughters) and every mini-venn is them again. This was the best way I came up with representing every interaction. For example, the very middle is everyone. The darkest section in the purple would be my older brother, younger sister, and the eldest girl from the other family. Nifty? Yeah. Nerdy. Oh, hell yeah! It was a hit when I showed my friends what I'd done - they're already talking about making prints and shirts. Even people I don't even know are commenting on it. It's actually pretty flattering.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:12:00 -0700 Immortal Jelly is Immortal http://dumbluck.posterous.com/immortal-jelly-is-immortal http://dumbluck.posterous.com/immortal-jelly-is-immortal

So, I recently found out about a rare colony of freshwater medusa floating around my buddy's cabin and it totally reminded me of this nifty little creature that I found out about awhile back. Allow me to introduce you to the turritopsis nutricula more commonly known as the immortal jellyfish.

Immortal_jelly
You read that right. This little guy is immortal. How did lilltle 'cula pull it off? Simply put, instead of dying, it just turns back into a baby. More complexly, this little guy is a master of transdifferentiation, where the cells of one type can change into another. This is the same strategy some lizards use to regenerate tails. 'cula can do it with all the cells in it's body. So instead of dying it reverts to its immature polyp stage and just keeps on trucking. Theoretically, this little jelly can flip between these two stages indefinately. Unfortunately, nobody has ever complete a study to prove it...

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/296605/images.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/37qKbYEgJSSt Martin Derige dumbluck Martin Derige