Ready, Aye, Ready

When I first started using Parallels, the idea was that I would use it on the MacBook for work and keep the OSX side completely clear for my personal use. Under the requirements at that time, I could happily get away with an 8 GB XP virtual hard drive with a second one dedicated for a RAW database partition. With the relatively small hard drive in the MacBook, that seemed to be a good compromise. However, changes in work requirements resulted in a need for a rather larger XP partition. For the last month I've been running with about 200 MB or less free on the XP partition which has resulted in relatively poor performance as the virtual machine pages in and out of virtual memory.

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Link: http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2008/03/11/nerdfotainment.html

Rands has an interesting thesis: unduly complex films, books and TV shows are not a case of a creator misunderstanding the audience, but rather understanding it all too well.

(Via Daring Fireball)

Link: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:aifexqtsldje

There's not a lot to say here: it's, well, more David Arkenstone although this time he seems to be channeling a fair amount of Adiemus. Otherwise you more or less know what this sounds like without having heard it first. It's not as aggressive as "Return of the Guardian" but less processed and meandering than his early 90's output. Nothing stands out but all the same it makes for a very pleasant listen.

Link: http://uk.gizmodo.com/2008/03/11/playmobil_security_check_point.html

Gizmodo has more...

(Original reference is here)

Link: http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1871.html

Yup: causality. Here's a brief primer from the physicists over at Irregular Webcomic.

Link: http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/

Unlike most of the Improv Anywhere performances which seem to be annoying -- funny, to be sure, but still at someone's expense -- their food court musical number is a classic.

(Via BoingBoing)

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/03/13/mcnally-closes.html?ref=rss

A bit sad; it was a good bookstore that I liked to visit and (gasp) even buy from.

Link: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/03/09/opinion/09opart.large.gif

Nifty flowchart on the NYT's site about how D&D is the gateway to nerd-dom!

(Via BoingBoing)

Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/i-fell-in-love-with-a-female-assassin-791978.html

There comes a point in every new relationship when your girlfriend wants to share a secret.

So begin the retelling of an account where a photojournalist's girlfriend turned out to have a slightly chequered past.

(Via Kottke)

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rb8aOzy9t4

Cool little animation about a cat wanting in. An earlier one about trying to wake up the owner is also pretty darn amazing.

Link: http://cache.valleywag.com/assets/resources/screenclean.swf

Words fail me.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/us/04bar.html?ex=1362286800&en=db5f7cbf82fcfdd7&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Interesting article from the NYT: if a US government department takes a scunner to you, and you have your domain registered with a US-based registrar, they can and will shut it down. The purpose of the site, the readership, the server location all make no difference.

(Via Daring Fireball)

Link: http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1845.html

As regular readers know, I love my "Irregular Webcomic" which is probably the smartest use of Lego out there, including building large Millennium Falcons.

In the linked-to episode above, he explains Godel's incompleteness theorem. You need to read this one.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWuYa5NiYqk

I can't really see Cadbury airing these adverts so I assume it's some marketing company flexing its creative muscles.

Summary: suicidal creme eggs.

(Via Nodwick)

Link: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1aa_1203466755

It's another in the sequence of the Sony-battery-goes-critical videos. No idea as to when it was taken so it may be quite old.

(Via Gizmodo)