Sign Of The Times

Ubuntu 12.04 - Precisely the Linux for Human Beings?

2011-12-23T09:48:00.002Z

Right, Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin ALPHA is installed, and things seem stable enough at this point in development. Installation could have gone smoother. I downloaded the torrent for the Alpha 1, created a startup USB, went to install and selected the 'upgrade 11.10 to 12.04' option to try and preserve as many installed applications as possible. However Ubiquity could not finish the job

Gnome Shell Running On A Netbook

2011-12-12T14:13:00.003Z

I have enjoyed using the Gnome Shell interface instead of Unity over the last two weeks that I have decided to install on my Advent 4211 netbook. In the post were I described installing and tweaking Gnome Shell the focus was on average sized monitors but the default settings of Gnome Shell mean that a netbooks monitor can be overwhelmed. So to slim this down a bit a few quick tweaks will

Dr. Leonid Pavel Located

2011-12-08T20:49:00.001Z

It is believed that the operation to secure Dr Leonid Pavel's release is a go with terms agreed with those currently holding him. What few details that are available are detailed in the leaked document below; Leaked document detailing Operation Early Bird: Source More information as it becomes available.

Where is Dr Leonid Pavel?

2011-12-08T06:23:00.001Z

Documents, allegedly from the CIA, have leaked out regarding the search for Dr Leonid Pavel. Pavel seems to have been working as a nuclear physicist and first came to the attention of the intelligence community when he presented a controversial theory at an IEEE Symposium three years ago. However, Dr Pavel has disappeared and a militia claiming to be protecting him has contacted US authorities

Running Gnome Shell on Ubuntu 11.10

2011-12-02T01:06:00.001Z

First I have to say that I am a fan of Unity, not when they first rolled it out on netbooks (crippling them performance wise) but on PC's or laptops it made more sense. No it is not perfect, yet, but I do like the direction it is going and what could be achieved with it in the future. That said, I thought it was about time to see what Gnome Shell was all about, especially after Canonical took

2011-11-06T21:29:00.000Z

Rhythmbox Prevails over Banshee!? Because Ubuntu 12.04 Wants to Look 10 Years Younger It is looking more and more likely that 12.04 will ship with Rhythmbox instead of Banshee. Can not say that I am happy about that. Reinstalled Rhytmbox this week to check out how it has developed and nothing has changed. In fact, it probably would not look out of place running on WIn 98.

Oneiric Ocelot - Ubuntu's Field of Dreams

2011-09-04T03:59:00.002+01:00

Having been running Ubuntu 11.10 ALPHA & now BETA on an Advent 4211 and it would seem the Alpha ran better, no more normal desktop, have to log into the 2D version since Beta. Also performance is very poor right now, everything is laggy or takes significant time to load. The performance of the Unity bar is as predictable and as jumpy as a groundhog. Right now it has nothing but potential!

Installing Ubuntu 11.04 on Packard Bell Imedia S1800

2011-07-31T13:18:00.000+01:00

I have recently installed Ubuntu 11.04 onto a Packard Bell Imedia S1800 with a Pentium Dual-Core E5800 (@3.20 GHz), 3GB Ram, 1TB HDD and an AOC e2043Fs Series 20" LED monitor. For the most part everything is running as expected with only one bug cropping up, which I will get to below, but for now I will briefly go through the steps I took to get my desktop up and running as I like it. Ubuntu

Ubuntu 11.04 Quicklists

2011-07-28T11:30:00.001+01:00

Ubuntu's new Unity interface has been a cause of some debate, but overall the majority seem to be growing to love it, especially as more ways of tweaking it become more easily accessible. Most application indicators have been removed in favour of cleaning up the top panel, with the respective applications grouped under their specific groups. This idea has generally worked, though obvious

Exploring Meath's Heritage - Battle of the Boyne

2011-07-12T02:02:00.002+01:00

The largest land battle ever to take place in Ireland occurred just outside of the coastal town of Drogheda when some 61,000 men faced off to decide who got to sit on the throne of England, the Battle of the Boyne website describes it as; Both kings commanded their armies in person. William had 36,000 men and James had 25,000 - the largest number of troops ever deployed on an Irish battlefield

A Brief Step Into The West

2011-07-09T01:41:00.000+01:00

Just back from an overnight trip to County Clare and some of its best known attractions, though for me the Cliffs of Moher was the main reason for going. Thanks to the M4 you can travel from one side of Ireland to the other relatively swiftly, though at the cost of 2 tolls (90c x 2 for a motorcycle), but any decent GPS can be set to avoid them. The weather was not going to be the best, but here

Buell Goes To Scotland

2011-06-29T03:23:00.000+01:00

Over the first two weeks of June my partner and I set off on a tour of Scotland on my Buell Ulysses XB12XT. Scotland has been somewhere I had always wanted to see, especially the much refereed to John O'Groats. Coming from Ireland we decided to travel to Larne and cross to Troon, though coming back we choose the Cairnryan to Larne route since we had a better choice of crossing times. Parked up

Brammo Invades Europe

2011-06-29T02:00:00.001+01:00

Brammo, the electric motorcycle maker, has begun production in Europe. This is a very welcome move and arguably Europe could represent a better market for their product then the USA. Hopefully EU states will begin to extend their electric vehicle subsidies to PTW, realising that a 4 wheel car, and all the production that goes into it, will never really be 'green'.Below is the full statement from

The Natty Narwhal Can Be Seen On The Horizon

2011-04-15T03:49:00.001+01:00

We are in the final phase of the Ubuntu 11.04, Natty Narwhal, release cycle however this is no longer called the 'release candidate' stage as Ubuntu have chosen to just term it 'Beta 2'. I prefer the old terminology, but that is neither here or there as Natty is almost upon us with no reason for the April 28th release date to be pushed back. Unity is still the source of much debate, but overall I

Much Ado About Natty

2011-03-17T02:49:00.001Z

Some quick screenshots from Natty Narwhal which I have been tinkering with since December. Still in Alpha so only use it you are comfortable with your system self-destructing routinely, though it makes the daily updates even more exciting because you never know what will happen when you reboot. The big change this release cycle is 'Unity', the very flash new dock that is not a dock. They rolled

Counting The Days: Summer Plans, Air Hawks and Highland Rides

2011-03-14T20:48:00.000Z

Image via WikipediaWhile spring is planning on being fashionably late I am already focusing on the summer riding season and have got the foundations of some trips in the works. Currently there are two definites and one 'probably'. The first definite is an overnight to the Cliffs of Moher, County Clare. I have not been to these cliffs before and the other sights in the area, so I am looking

The Dream Is Over - Motus Unveiling Bikes In Daytona

2011-03-09T03:22:00.002Z

If you are going to the 70th Annual Daytona Bike Week then on March 10th at 2pm make sure you are at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in the Ocean Center, Daytona Beach. Why? Because Motus will be giving spectators a chance to look at their prototype MST and premium MST-R motorcycles. I have been following Motus since I first heard about them as the motorcycles sound like

Ubuntu 11.10 Will Be Dreamy

2011-03-07T16:34:00.001Z

The naming of cats is a difficult matterIt isn’t just one of your holiday games.- T S Eliot, The Naming of CatsThe announcement has been and the project name for the next Ubuntu release revealed as (drum roll) Oneiric Ocelot. Below our benevolent dictator for life, Mark Shuttleworth, explains what helped him choose the name but I imagine that will there will be a push to roll out more minor then

The Legality of America's Program of Targeted Killings by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

2011-02-18T18:49:00.001Z

Here is one I made earlier, the full article can be found on e-IR but below you can find the introduction and conclusion. Enjoy!Amplify’d from www.e-ir.infoThe Legality of America’s Program of Targeted Killings by Unmanned Aerial VehiclesOn the 5th of November 2002 a Hellfire missile fired from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) controlled by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) killed Qaed Salim

Chrome OS Social Update Dilemma (or Sorry Gwibber - All is Forgiven)

2011-01-26T07:05:00.000Z

I miss Gwibber, there, I said it. After being annoyed, frustrated and generally dismissive of it I have realised it is one piece of software I really miss, having been 'Gwibber-less' from December 2010 until February 2011. Mainly due to me deciding to have a monogamous relationship with my Chrome OS Cr-48 and not sleep around with other operating systems, though I have 'stepped-out' on it with

In the wake of the attack on Rep. Gifford should we call it terrorism & is this the end of lone-wolf terrorism?

2011-01-10T19:10:00.002Z

Another excellent post from Brigitte L. Nacos which questions why people are not prepared to call this attack an act of terrorism and simply white wash over it with the usual assumptions that the guy must be crazy. I agree, and writers like Sam Harris have already pointed out that only the liberal left would be the ones left surprised by these acts of violence and terrorism. This pressure-cooker

Some Numbers from AfPak 2010

2011-01-03T15:17:00.001Z

From the AfPak Channel at Foreign Policy magazine, some numbers on casualties in Afghanistan and links to a further 3 reports on the Afghan war. It all makes for sobering reading at the start of 2011, combined with what is looking like the collapse of the Pakistani government and the tentative position of the Afghan government this could end up being another interesting year in the

Some Pictures of The Cr-48

2010-12-27T19:06:00.000Z

Finally a chance to post some pictures of the Cr-48, as you can see these are a few shots of the outside but there is also a less then great picture of the browser itself, will get better ones up in the future. You can get more views over on my Flickr page. The Cr-48 notebook The Right Side: From left to right you can see a cooling vent, covered SD card slot (springs open), earphone port,

Cr-48 My First Impressions

2010-12-23T03:37:00.000Z

So on the 10th December a big brown box is sitting on the doorstep out on the porch, having no idea what was in it since I was expecting nothing, the box is slowly opened up and soon it dawns on me what I have before me, one of Google's Cr-48 notebooks which they have sent out to various 'test-pilots' to give the new Google Chrome OS a test drive. What is Google Chrome OS? Since the notebook

Why do YOU believe...?

2010-12-20T09:55:00.001Z

A great seasonal piece by the comedian Ricky Gervais on why he does not believe in a god and how it all began. He throws in some interesting little nuggets and well worth reading in full!PeaceAmplify’d from blogs.wsj.comWhy don’t I believe in God? No, no no, why do YOU believe in God? Surely the burden of proof is on the believer. You started all this. If I came up to you and said, “Why don’t you

Pick The Motorcycle That Fits You

2010-12-06T18:20:00.001Z

Below are some clips from a fantastic website, cycle-ergo.com, that lets you set you height, inseam length and even 'preferred arm straightness'. After that you just choose your preferred make and model of motorcycle which then overlays a model of you on the chosen motorcycle. I am loving this, all those motorcycles you have wondered about or are considering this site offers a great starting

Wikileaks Cablegate List

2010-11-28T19:46:00.001Z

Here is the tip of the iceberg with regards to the latest release by Wikileaks of the US diplomatic cables. There are already some headline grabbing stories (as seen below) but the real story will emerge as we study the discourse in greater depth with all the threats and deals becoming clear. This presents a great opportunity of discourse analysis, while the fall-out is only just beginning with

What Can Obama Do?

2010-11-04T16:51:00.001Z

With the US mid-term elections behind him President Obama has to carefully consider what to do next, while he hopes for a 1996 style comeback George Friedman suggests that Obama would be better served by looking at how Reagan bounced back after his mid-term defeat in 1982. Of course the threat of a double dip recession is real and might easily prove his downfall, but after 2 years of little

EU Blues as Motorcyclists Face Mandatory ABS and No More Mods

2010-10-22T14:45:00.002+01:00

You have got to hand it to those boys and gals in the European Commission just take every chance they get to show how disconnected they are from us little people. Motorcycles are due to be hit with the most restrictive regulations in the world. While the rest of the planet debate about wearing helmets and gear, we find ourselves having mandatory ABS on all motorcycles with no 'off switch' option.

This Is The World We Live In

2010-10-20T00:11:00.001+01:00

"...It's not too late for thatThis is the world that we live inAnd no, we can't go back..." ~The Killers, The World We Live In So just one question, would you rather live in this world, Or this one? ReMade: The Rebirth of the Maker Movement (1st Trailer) from Electromagnate on Vimeo. Answers on a postcard. If you like the look of the Electromagnate project you can help fund their documentary

10.10.10 - The Rise of the Maverick Meerkat

2010-10-10T05:55:00.000+01:00

Today marks the release of the latest evolution of the Ubuntu operating system, 10.10 The Maverick Meerkat. Over the summer I have given the Meerkat a few test drives as it developed through the alpha, beta and release candidate stages. Usually I would have jumped in during the beta testing and stuck with it until the final release, but circumstances this year meant I was not in front of a

Motorcycle GPS Cases: Givi versus Arkon

2010-10-01T22:04:00.001+01:00

Image by Victor9098 via FlickrI planned to do some touring around Ireland this summer and managed to squeeze in 3 weeks of travels over May/June this year. You can check out photos of those trips on my Flikr page in the Ireland Stream (Ladies View onwards). Any other time planning such a journey would usually requires some time on Google Maps, printing off directions and packing a road atlas for

Irish Motorcycle Road Racing Exhibition (Oct 23/24)

2010-09-21T10:30:00.005+01:00

Image by Aled Beswick via FlickrOver the weekend of October 23rd/24th there will be an exhibition in Kells, County Meath, showcasing all aspects of road racing here in Ireland. So if you enjoy watching the thrill of the racing this will be an unique opportunity to get to see everything else that is going on surrounding the actual racing, while also meet some of the faces behind the helmets. Below

ACLU vrs U.S. Gov over the lives of citizens

2010-09-07T20:55:00.001+01:00

The debate around the targeted killing of US citizens abroad by the U.S. government is still on going, but the article below by Robert Haddick is probably one of the better discussions I have read or heard on the topic. Could this be considered a new battlefield space to be exploited by the military or other organisations until legislation is passed to reign them in? Right now the U.S. government

Terrorist Tactics and Blackberry Battles

2010-08-22T18:46:00.001+01:00

Very interesting piece looking at how slow intelligence agencies can be at adapting to new and emerging technologies. Here they highlight how the LeT terrorists, which undertook the Mumbai attacks in 2008, built a global battlefield communication system from a few mobile phones and some commercial software. Yet the knee-jerk reaction of simply demanding access to these systems means that they are

Is Obama Muslim? Increasing numbers of Americans think so

2010-08-19T08:38:00.001+01:00

Since 2008 there has been a noticeable increase in the number of Americans who say that Obama is Muslim. I note that this is what people are 'saying', especially from the Republican side. Part of me suspects that they probably know what religion Obama is but it is more 'PC' to call him Muslim then black. While I suspect others have been convinced otherwise as this issue is simply not going away

Obama and The License to Kill US Citizens

2010-08-03T21:16:00.001+01:00

I commented on this earlier this year, that the Obama administration had continued the Bush policy of allowing the killing of US citizens abroad who are allegedly associated with terrorist groups. Now this already distasteful scenario has gotten murkier as the Treasury Department has made it illegal to have lawyers represent these US citizens in court. Imagine the scenario, having been

Some Links: Death of the State, IED Stats and the Reality of Afghanistan

2010-07-27T17:43:00.000+01:00

Image via WikipediaDinosaurs Can't Dance: The Impending Extinction of the Nation-State (by John Goekler): Here we have another look at the future of the nation-state, or in this case, that it has no future and "will go extinct over the next few decades". He goes on to list several reasons as why he reaches this conclusion, but overall in such an interconnected and dynamic world the nation-state

The Great COIN Toss

2010-07-26T06:27:00.001+01:00

Counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan are not working, in fact, very little is and the country continues its record of being the 'graveyard of empires'. Drones firing at will into Pakistan are further fanning the flames, for the 150 'leaders' that have been killed (some only to return...) there have been over a 1,000 causalities, this in a country that is an ally of the USA. Such a doctrine

Comparison of the Costs of Major U.S. Wars

2010-07-19T21:53:00.001+01:00

FAS brings our attention to a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service that makes a comparison of spending on major U.S. wars from the American Revolution onwards, of course it is not perfect but the report does note this through various caveats. Considering the dept the U.S. has incurred since 2001 and the current recession these figures make for interesting reading. Some may

Brammo Empulse: 100miles@100mph on Electric Motorcycle

2010-07-15T18:37:00.000+01:00

Brammo has been impressing with their electric motorcycle range and since they first released the Enertia and then decided to ride two of these electric motorcycles along the route of the automotive CEOs who went to Washington DC asking for government loans. Now they have raised the bar for all the other electric motorcycle manufactures, which have just tweaked their new releases from previous

Some Links: Killer Monkeys, Norway and Pundits

2010-07-13T21:23:00.000+01:00

The Taliban and Killer Monkeys: It would seem that "monkey terrorists" are being trained by the Taliban in the Waziristan tribal region. They are being shown how to use AK-47s and Bren machine-guns. Though many armed forces utilize animals in various roles, it was the USA in Vietnam who first used trained monkeys to attack enemy troops, though how successfully is another matter. Though for the

Some Interesting Links...

2010-07-12T20:29:00.000+01:00

Image via WikipediaNo More Pilots: The UK Ministry of Defence have unveiled a unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), named Taranis, designed to penetrate into enemy controlled air-space, something the current generation of UAVs are not able to do. Lebron and Poli Sci: Here in Ohio LeBron James is all over the news, here the Monkey Cage puts forward a Poli Sci 'game theory' explanation of how the

Secret Treaties, Oppressive Laws and Killing the Internet

2010-06-30T16:44:00.001+01:00

From John Robb, a series of links that highlight the world we live in as states attempt reassert their dominance in the global system. The methods being employed are likely to end in failure, but using the methods employed below can not be good for anyone. The 'state' is currently an injured animal and is lashing out at everyone and these moves will only further its decline.Peace clipped from www.nytimes.comLet’s not fool ourselves. Whatever threat the real

One telling similarity between the the Wehrmacht and the US Military

2009-11-15T03:56:00.001Z

A very interesting insight into the how effective the US military is at doing the wrong thing, as Fabius Maximus says "From a larger perspective this article shows how the 21st century US military is locked into a historically common trap. No matter how good, it remains harnessed to US elites’ geopolitical thinking " poorly reasoned, emotional (ruled by hubris and fear). Our military apparatus

Going Green the Brammo Way

2009-11-14T03:05:00.004Z

How would you like to save at least $2000 a year in fuel (estimated at the average US car making 17mpg and the average commute of 32 miles)? While using a vehicle that costs only $10 a year to travel the same distance! You could also reduce your carbon footprint by 27% and your transportation footprint by 93%! Not too bad eh?Well, have you heard of the Brammo Enertia Powercycle? Well it is

EU citizens' initiative raises political and legal headaches

2009-11-11T22:23:00.001Z

The EU has opened the door to direct democracy to the citizens of member states but are making sure there are enough limits in place not to let them get out of control. Time will tell if this becomes what it should be for the citizens or a tool for interest groups. clipped from euobserver.comEUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS

UK is now spelt C-H-I-N-A

2009-11-11T22:11:00.001Z

The UK government is moving in leaps and bounds to becoming the most repressive state in Europe. Already they have the most comprehensive DNA database of citizens in the world (it has taken an EU court ruling to restrict the holding of innocent citizens DNA to 6 years) now they will be monitoring and storing every call, text, email and website a citizen visits. Sad times, shame this news did not

The Enemy Within

2009-11-06T07:52:00.005Z

Yesterday a Major in the US army perpetrated the worse terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11, with 12 dead and 31 wounded. Some links about the event: * US Army major behind Fort Hood murders expressed sympathy for Islamic terrorists * About the killing in Texas and is the US Army broken? * Fort Hood Attack the largest on US soil since 9/11From the above there is an argument that this

Grading Obama

2009-11-03T05:58:00.001Z

"After U.S. President Barack Obama's first 100 days in office, Foreign Policy asked a group of experts to grade him on everything from North Korea to nukes. On the anniversary of his historic election, we've reprised the experiment -- and found out that the White House isn't doing so well." - FP clipped from

2010 Kawasaki Concours 14 First Ride

2009-11-01T09:42:00.000Z

"But the big story this year are those touring improvements. Are they enough to vault the Concours ahead of its class? Well, the Kawasaki has certainly gained ground on its competition. At $14,599 in base form and $15,299 for the ABS/TC version we sampled, it delivers a lot for the pricetag (A comparably equipped BMW K1300GT with heated grips and ASC (Anti Slip Control), for example, is well

Buell Back?

2009-10-19T13:47:00.001+01:00

With any luck we may see a return of Buell, but if not a H-D company then I am not sure how soon we will see access to the new company. Hopefully a deal will be struck for distribution purposes...I can only hope. Details are provided below by visordown.com; clipped from www.visordown.comBuell linked to takeover

Buell Blues

2009-10-16T21:53:00.002+01:00

Well, here is a link to the official sign off from Buell motorcycles, in it they state that production will cease by October 30th but Buell motorcycle owners will continue to be looked after by Harley...Information about the Buell Motorcycle Company in East Troy, Wisconsin, including career opportunities, factory tours, and company news.Check it out at BUELL OFFICIALS THANK CUSTOMERS, DEALERS AND

Buell is Dead

2009-10-15T14:52:00.002+01:00

If you follow the links below you will find out the bad news that is just emerging... Buell motorcycles are no more.MCN has the story by CLICKING HEREWhile following the link below should take you to the Buell website and a video from Erik Buell himself explaining what has happenedManufacturer of American sportbikes such as the Buell 1125R, 1125CR, XB Firebolt, Lightning and Ulysses motorcycles.

Motorcycle Insurance in Ireland - The Twists & Turns

2009-10-03T22:13:00.007+01:00

Image by victor9098 via FlickrSearching or renewing motorcycle insurance anywhere can be something of an art, while here in Ireland it has always been difficult due to the limited choices available to us. For a long time only one company was willing to insure new riders while the other two could wait rubbing their hands for when you wanted to upgrade to larger capacity machines.So with it being

Announcing Ubuntu 10.04 LTS: The Lucid Lynx

2009-09-22T22:19:00.001+01:00

Here we go again! The next release of Ubuntu is on the way and it is a Long Term Support version too, 10.04: The Lucid Lynx! I would not expect to see huge difference between that and Karmic Koala due out on October 29th as stability is key in these LTS releases. So maybe a much more polished a refined version of 9.10, I can not wait...here are some clips from the official news release;