Life is a State of Mind http://blog.scottnolan.org Scott Nolan's Rants, Raves, and Meandering Thoughts Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:11:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Opening the Washington DC SGI Cultural Center http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/04/opening-the-washington-dc-sgi-cultural-center/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/04/opening-the-washington-dc-sgi-cultural-center/#comments Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:11:09 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=557 Last Sunday, and I picked up fellow SGI member Ros in Centreville, took her to Vienna Metro and we rode in to Farragut North, then caught a bus to the brand new Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Washington, DC Cultural Center at 3417 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

street view of new DC SGI Cultural Center

It is a lovely building, and we had an inspiring meeting there with experiences shared and some chanting, though I foolishly got the start time wrong and we missed opening chanting (gongyo). Ros is fascinating and we enjoyed the whole trip in and back with her talking about life experiences and jobs. Parking in the area around the new cultural center was not nearly as bad as we’d assumed, and I suspect I may carpool, but drive all the way in next time as the busses were unpredictable and slow.

I still want to sing the praised of the DC are public transportation planning site though:
wmata.com/
The trip planning site is very useful for planning your trips. You can prioritize on time, transfers, or money; it includes information about competing (non-Metro) busses and trains, and it is very informative. If you plan to drive part of the trip - just skip that leg of your journey.

There are more photos of the new cultural center at my .Mac gallery.

]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/04/opening-the-washington-dc-sgi-cultural-center/feed/ So many ways to enjoy the Onion! http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/03/so-many-ways-to-enjoy-the-onion/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/03/so-many-ways-to-enjoy-the-onion/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:22:58 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=556
Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/03/so-many-ways-to-enjoy-the-onion/feed/ May I have a TARDIS shed please? http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/02/may-i-have-a-tardis-shed-please/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/02/may-i-have-a-tardis-shed-please/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:13:43 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=555 BoingBoing rocks.

Can I have a Tardis shed please?

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/02/tardis-sheds-by-the.html

]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/07/02/may-i-have-a-tardis-shed-please/feed/ How many Scott Nolans are there? http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/30/how-many-scott-nolans-are-there/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/30/how-many-scott-nolans-are-there/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:43:04 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=554 A co-worker managed to get me with this cute and elaborate hoax: http://www.news3online.com/index.php?code=957IXI4xHi8ufa5G7415

It fooled me for a moment because there are other activists out there with my name, including one Scott Nolan in California who came out last year (which sparked some interesting emails from friends, co-workers, and even my partner and wife). Enjoy:

]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/30/how-many-scott-nolans-are-there/feed/ My delegate proves his idiocy, again http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/26/my-delegate-proves-his-idiocy-again/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/26/my-delegate-proves-his-idiocy-again/#comments Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:14:36 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=553 There are so many, many ways Delegate Robert Marshall embarrasses the voters of the 13th district. He is usually in the running for sponsoring the most failed bills in each assembly session; that is bills that even his peers, who control the Virginia house of delegates by a wide margin, are embarrassed to let out of committee or pass. This year, since his sponsored bills met their usual round of rejection as a pointless waste of time, he gets to re-submit them - during a special transportation session with vague additions with the word transportation on them just to waste the house’s time.

Voters of the 13th; do something about this disgusting display of ignorance, please! Do not re-elect Delegate Bob to the assembly. He clearly cares more about what happens in your bedroom than happens to the roads.

As usual, Waldo has the lowdown on this sooner than the news.

]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/26/my-delegate-proves-his-idiocy-again/feed/ Hacking AppleTV http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/23/hacking-appletv/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/23/hacking-appletv/#comments Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:20:51 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=550 I’ve been very happy with our AppleTV since I got the thing hooked up over a year ago. I like it mostly for viewing internet content on the big screen, though we have rented a movie or two and dumped some dance videos and photo slide shows from the computer into the AppleTV for big-screen shared viewing. When Apple updated the software to “Take 2″ it made direct movie renting and YouTube viewing possible, and that added a lot of value to our AppleTV. It did not open the AppleTV to adding my own software nor third party software, and that has been a letdown. As good as Apple’s software is, I want to play with a few ideas they apparently have not figured out as possible yet.

One of the small annoyances has been in ability to surf the web directly for more flash content. So I reviewed some AppleTV hacker sites:

  • iClarified’s article on installing SSH with a Take 2 Patchstick; this is the key first step. You’ll need:
    • A USB flash drive, of at least 128MB capacity
    • A Mac running OS X 10.4 or newer, that has both a powered USB slot and a connected optical drive
    • Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.9 or 10.4.10 install CDs (note, the older PowerPC based 10.4.3 DVD will NOT work); or an installed 10.4.9 or 10.4.10 intel based Mac.
    • Some understanding of ssh commands, scp commands, and Apple DMG files.
  • awkwardTV (web site with various hacks, ideas, plugins for AppleTV)
  • AppleTV Hacks (web site with forums, news, and tips about the AppleTV)
  • AppleTV Bootloader (still figuring out all the stuff here)
  • iClarified’s other AppleTV tutorials (very useful stuff)

Anyway; I was able to build my own USB patchstick using the instructions on the iClarified website (I have an AppleTV with v2.0.2 and several Macs running 10.5.3) that got my AppleTV rebooted with all my existing content, v2.0.2 and ssh access. With ssh access I was able to scp Couch Surfer into the AppleTV, and add a couple of browser plugins (Flash Player and QuickTime Player) and the CoreAudioKit.framework; and now my AppleTV can surf the web and play flash and quicktime movies from inside the browser. It makes Blood Ties from Lifetime Network available for free; though so far the viewing is a bit blocky and slow.

Yes, I can easily watch this from any computer using existing web browsers; but the point is to get more content on the big screen so we can watch from the couch and comfy chair. Yes, the videos are also available as iTunes rentals and as DVDs; but this is a new series to us and we want to watch a few episodes for free before we decide if it is worth buying or renting for cash.

This effort is also about having my device open to new software as I want to add it. I suspect I will not stop with just a simple browser; but will find new ways to use the AppleTV now that I have ssh access.

]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/23/hacking-appletv/feed/ Can’t Stop the Serenity http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/20/cant-stop-the-serenity/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/20/cant-stop-the-serenity/#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:15:54 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=548 If you are a Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Fray, Firefly, Serenity, and soon Dollhouse), you probably already know about Can’t Stop the Serenity, let this just be a reminder to you that it’s this weekend in many places.

Closest to me is Arlington, Virginia at the Cinema ‘n Drafthouse. Tonight at 9:30 and tomorrow at 4:30. Sadly I cannot attend as I will be hosting a La Belle event, but if you can you should go. The funds raised go to Equality Now (Joss’s favorite charity). It’s a lot of fun.

If you are not a Buffy or Firefly fan already, I strongly urge you to drop everything, run out and buy the DVD boxed sets and catch up with the rest of the world. Best television series ever. Mine is an evil laugh!

wikipedia's Serenity poster
]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/20/cant-stop-the-serenity/feed/ Love the Onion, for they make us smile http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/19/love-the-onion-for-they-make-us-smile/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/19/love-the-onion-for-they-make-us-smile/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:33:46 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=547 Latest Cheney Tape May Contain Evidence Of His Whereabouts

Just spreading good cheer!

]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/19/love-the-onion-for-they-make-us-smile/feed/ Arthur Murray Spring Showcase, 2008 http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/14/arthur-murray-spring-showcase-2008/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/14/arthur-murray-spring-showcase-2008/#comments Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:28:41 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=546 We did some binge dancing last night at the DC Area Arthur Murray Spring Showcase, and here are the photos taken with Erci’s Canon Rebel XT camera.

http://gallery.mac.com/scottdavidnolan#100087

]]> http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/14/arthur-murray-spring-showcase-2008/feed/ Friday Fun http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/13/friday-fun/ http://blog.scottnolan.org/2008/06/13/friday-fun/#comments Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:27:44 +0000 snolan http://blog.scottnolan.org/?p=545
Your Monster Profile


Ultima Chemist

You Feast On: Starbucks

You Lurk Around In: Flocks of Freshmen

You Especially Like to Torment: Hicks

In truth I am working on building some Solaris zones to serve Oracle and PostgreSQL databases, and anxiously awaiting time to go dance in Spring Showcase tonight.

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