5. Addiction

5. Addiction
 
There are many  addiction in our lives.
 
And that addiction varies from person to person and my addiction is if not computers it is certainly Linux. 
It based on innovation and knowledge.
It is also has strong political and social motives. 

It is copyright and exploitation. 
 
If I say I am not politically motivated it is not true. 
Any social activity has political roots, so is mine.

It used to be an addiction (not me) of our voters to go and vote and upset the apple cart of power brokers. 

It is no more any more.
 
The area basis and proportional representation has changed the electoral system and body politics upside down.

Almost 48% did not vote at the last general election.

And many more won't turn up this time around, allowing the people who manipulate voting to have a field day, including the counters doing the counting.

Even we have and electronic system of voting the followers of the  powerful parties will find a way to engineer something marvelous to get the result they anticipate well in advance of the day of the elections. 

Even the polling of surveys could be engineered  the way one asks the question and present the data,

With all these facts the voters are beginning to ask the question is it worth the exercise?

The answer is in the negative.
Then who is addicted with polling and elections?

There is a very simple answer.

It is the one who is elected.

It is he/she who gets the image bloated.

Voter get deflated soon after and the promises disappear into thin air,

The vicious cycles begins another round.

This time it has come to spoil the Cricket World Cup.

Average voter want some escape route. 

I am pretty sure it won't be acceded by the powerful and the one who wields the clout.

It is another “Merry Go Round” in this country in which people have lost humour and ability to laugh at the selfish self-oneself.

4. Temptation

4. Temptation

It is time for me to approach the internet activity in totally different perspective.

I was one who was hooked to the computer over the past 18 months to promote one single addiction of mine.

That is to promote Live CDs except Ubuntu (nothing against Ubuntu and it is doing a yeoman service to Linux and the Open source Community).
 
My antipathy for Ubuntu is based on few basic infrastructure details which are fundamental to Linux.

One is root logging. 
That is dropping the root (administrator protocol) and using sudo instead. Having used to old ways of Linux with solid security management, this I consider still a big oversight. After seeing WiKiLeaks and the security leaks and leeches I am more than  convinced my reservation is well founded and substantive now than before.

It can be corrected easily with few changes in the scripts and tool kits and libs and I hope in the coming year the Canonical will look into my grouse.
Having said that it is not the intention of this piece of writing.

The intention is far more academic and contemporary.
 
For a starter internet is basically for luring and attracting the kids and the young. 
Old people because their inability and resistance to change are actually not reaping the full benefits of it especially in the East.

Its content is not scrutinized according to the age and maturity.

It becomes a way of life and an addiction.
It gives way to a deprivation syndrome and people tend not to read or critically analyze contents with the false belief that, it is in the web and it got to be true.

I can go on and on but I think my point should be clear without any more elaboration.

My intention here is how we can resit the temptation not to indulge in excess and make creative ways to make the user understand the logic of its use in moderation.

My next piece will be on intuitive ways to make the kids collaborate with my philosophy but it will be useful to adults too.

3. An Advertisement

3. An Advertisement
 
For an advertisement to be taken note of,  it has to be only 3 words of some impact, nothing more or nothing less.
 
Either it is,
I love it
Or
I hate it, with some superlative starting with letter F....

Otherwise what one pays for is waste and goes down the gutter!
 
That is why people hate internet advertising and why internet is not contributing to productivity in a sustainable way.

Thing about it in the coming year.

Internet has lot of traps and I have discovered many daring omissions and this has made me to focus on few more aspects in the coming days and weeks, if there is time I can spare and write.

2. Twitter

2. Twitter
 
One should be able to send a message in 140 characters which will fly fast in the internet.
 
I try it hard but sometimes fail but then I still try harder to get my message across.
 
If one cannot get the message in time and 100 characters it is lost.
 
Brevity and light weight (Flash and Media are heavy and slow and insult to human intelligence) is the key if one wants to keep pace with one's computer and the fast moving world of action.

1. Email

I am going to serialize few items of archived writing for posterity, since I have gone beyond 1000 pieces (they were not included, by accident)

1. Email
 
If one has less emails to open and more to redirect or forward, I consider that one is starting the day with flying colours. 
But if you fail to say even Hi (send a reply note) if not Haaih or Cheers  and reply immediately, I feel one has failed in true inner connectivity.

Email is not a dustbin but a powerful media that we misuse and reuse.

I get thousands of emails and developed a good technique of filtering and answering which I learned as a kid in school which were were taught to us by our teachers.

Never fail to answer a friends call lest you lose him for good.

Now I see some of my friends after decades of hibernation in foreign soil come back and try to re-establish connections which were strong while we we here.

Moment one goes abroad he/she learns the bad habit of selfishness (Western value) inner attachment.

The stock market crisis is the manifestation of that selfishness and greed.

Dragon Fly my Exotic Visitor, Now

Dragon Fly my Exotic Visitor, Now

On the days, I am off (yesterday being a working holiday, for me) I do a morning check up of the days events in my roof top garden.

First the number of flowers, especially water plants.

It is strange even the water plants flower when there is scarcity of water or from the roots/shoots that are terrestrial.

Even the flowers are different, when blooming under terrestrial conditions.

Probably because, the Co2 content is higher in air than in water.

Then, I look at the birds.

Not really their scat or droppings.

They bring exotic plants to my experimental roof top garden.

I love the scat.

I remember I had a direct hit from crow's ballistic dropping on my vertex with very little hair, knowing very well there is BO (papal) seeds in them (in fact there was one), I carefully embedded the white and precious (due to BO seed) dropping between two layers of tissue paper (I carry this not to wipe my face but to collect seeds that lands on my vertex) and brought it home and planted it in a special pot.

But my experiment was failure of first degree.

Perhaps my intention was in direct violation of BBS protocol, their shit coming from frontal end, though.

I did not give up but have retrieved two papal saplings and they are potted with Japanese method.

I am going to plant one of them, on the burial site of my dog, since my dog will be venerated by that act and he will look after it from heaven (I am pretty sure his upward movement is always godly, and never Sir-Lanka).

All my previous dogs are, in heaven and one of them is Maha's (Chief of Gods) assistant who is looking after his interests, currently

By the way, real Maha is on a long vacation of eons.

Then after the dropping or the scat is / are carefully scrutinized, I venture into the exotic guys.

Dragon fly and their newts are my favorite.

Butterflies are now about five.

But dragon fly only an occasional blue one.

Toady, I noticed a brown black dragon fly with a fringe of white around in its wing, at the periphery.

It was a beautiful guy.

It overshadowed, the grasshoppers and giant mantis, who visit my garden in the late evening.

They come to mate and lay eggs on my mini water garden.

That was an exciting news for my 1000^th blog piece.

Thank YOU, Google for your generosity.

Most of my Yahoo emails are tampered by default.

God only knows by whom?

I think the goons employed by the government, mostly Chinese who cannot understand my English with idioms.

But the real top guys come from India by Minhin (Hemin and Horen) Lanka from Seychelles, during presidential elections.

They know how to crack the jackpot of election's digital material.

It is called Gil Mart PLC, a Public Limited Company of Sir-Lanka, with very high stock market rating.

If you have money, and is a computer hacker by profession, please invest your ill gotten money on this Public Private Venture capital.

You need not do hacking afterward.

Give the job to a Linux guy like me.

By the way, Kali (new version) the Devil Queen is out just now for guys who are paranoid, in the opposition.

Linux without a TV Card Functionality.

Linux without a TV Card Functionality.

Linux has done everything possible in the IT World but it has failed me in one thing.
I have many TV cards working on Linux.
It may be due to various countries not providing the channels and band widths.
It is also due to OEM guys not giving the hardware specifications.
Now I use the TV Box (not the card) directly attached to the LCD monitor.
I do not use Windows and that is the only option I have in this pat of the world.
I am not sure how TV cards behave in other parts of the world.
I hope a Linux Guru or Linux Magazine or Linux Format write an article on this important issue.
I actually do not watch TV in my country.
None of their programs interest me but almost 99% of the guys and girls are TV addicts.
I even do not watch cricket but mind you I watched all the 69 football matches.
Who says, I am not a sports' crazy guy, even in my twilight years.
I am no crazy with politics (even though I pen my frustrations at times here) but our politicians who are capable any lie under the sun has ruined our interest.
It is true for ant average citizen but the crime of not getting interested in politics is the rig the elections left, right and center and the stupid opposition is impotent in mounting a revival, reversal or reprieve of the ailing system.

What does 'DSLR Linux' mean?

What does 'DSLR' Linux mean?

DSL remake or "Digital Single Lens reflex".

My choice is the latter, being a pathologist, having used outdated monocular microscope to digital microscope in my life time a Linux Distribution with a name tag Lens attached, if not outrageous, is a welcome change.

In the same sense I love the name Google Glass for a camera which is the other end of the Lens architecture and nomenclature.

Other reason is it is based on DSL, Damn Small Linux, under 50 MiB.

I love small is beautiful concept.

Then my favorite I Puppy Linux.

I entered into Linux in my twilight years unlike Linus and Knoppix.

I also believe that the teacher learns more from the student, rather than other way round, especially at the University Level, if not in the kindergarten.

DSLR is two steps forward from DSL and Puppy and the developer has done extremely clever integration into a single iso image all the utilities to start Linux from scratch.

Linux from scratch is in its 7.5 version is not a iso image but the full technical know how to build a Linux distribution from scratch.

That is the third step.

Mind you this is for developer guys but a normal user can start getting a hang of make up files and Linux.

Documentation is succinct and useful.

Other important issue is it is built on 64 bits.

I have not tried it since, I still use an old computer.

I will be migrating to 64 bit to save energy and electricity bill but that will be in my retirement endeavour.

It is not going to be small as DSL but it is small enough to be called light weight.

I think any guy or girl interested in Linux should give it try and write a thesis or blog piece of one's experience.

Hats off these clever guys who always think differently.

They a not reinventing the wheel.

They are really investing on the huge Linux base.

Thank you guys and girls of Digital Single Lens Reflex.

Sugar on a Stick and Lernstick

Sugar on a Stick and Lernstick

I learned about Lernstick from Linux Magazine.

It is probably based on Sugar on a Stick base and they are selling it at an exorbitant price per USB, which is unbecoming of the developers involved in corporate businesses, using open software and selling it and making money.

Thank you Linux Magazine for exposing the facts, without expressly, implying what (that is pretty diplomatic) I am saying NOW.

It is OK this is done in Switzerland and if they do it in the developing world, they will receive Bricks and Bats (not cricket bats of course) and could not do so.

It gives a bad taste in my mouth.

I tried to download the image from the sites (mentioned in the magazine) and was unable to do so.

That is also a pretty awkward / ugly violation of the Free Software Foundation, “spirit and enterprise”.

USB flash drives with Live Lernstick distro deliver educational software in schools.

This what (not the magazine) a web site says about it and would not mention the above remarks.

I am amazed.

The Lernstick is a Debian live-image based distribution which can be booted off a DVD or USB stick. It is being developed by the School for Teacher Education at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland specifically to support computing applications in schools. The standard distribution includes a lot of applications useful for this educational context, both learning apps and standard productivity tools.

The idea behind Lernstick is to give students a personalized and customizable Linux system they can carry with them (even if it's only the disk) and use it on any standard PC hardware available to them. Switzerland having one of the highes per-capita penetration of PCs (over 85% as of 10 years ago), chances are, that most students would have access to a PC either at school, at home or both. However these PCs would most likely be running windows, be locked down and not allow or encourage tinkering and experimentation with the computing platform itself which is so important to get students beyond being simply users.

Captain Cook masterminded his "Timing and Batting"

Captain Cook masterminded his Timing and Batting

They say class is permanent and form may have temporary setbacks.

Two examples are Mahela and Sanga.

They go through patches of bad form but when they come back, they come back in style.

I think Cook as a batsman is a Class Act.

He knows it and poor English commentators should “Eat the humble Pie, NOW.

What the selectors should do is to find him a partner, and possibly make him come, one down.

One does not send the best batman to guillotine, first up especially when the guy is out of form.

There is a lot to learn from Mahela and Suaga.

Not only they are friends but complement each other.

Poor Captain Cook does not have good pal to comfort him in the thick of things and in the field.

I am writing this before he gets his ton.

Whether he gets his ton or not, Iwil always watch him play.

I say you won't see a guy like Mahela for another 20 years but watch him play all the “wrist-ky” play for a few moments, even he makes only 30 runs.

This phrase is applied to Sanga too, but with a little revision, watch when you are in 70 to 80 and do not get out to a part time baller.

Getting run out, I do not blame.

Your legs are “achy backy” at thirties.

The last phrase applies to Captain Cook, too.

Do not let him run a lot.

He is a big guy unlike Mahela and Sanga, and has to carry a Big Frame on his legs.

Straight Back Syndrome of Mine

Straight Back Syndrome of Mine

 

This description has no relationship to the medical conditions stated below.

Fortunately my initial are also S.B. and I am known to be a genetically predisposed be having a straight back aggravated by my early childhood sports activities.

It started to dawn on me that, I have had several minor spinal stress fractures.

They started affecting me in my internship.

As a kid I could touch my toes with hands by bending (while keeping the back straight).

I have long legs particularly suitable for short distance running and jumping.

I noticed that I was losing this ability gradually while in the university.

I did lot of long jump and hop step and jump as part of my training ending with military drill around the university track daily.

I never practiced short distance running in the track.

I did that with my dog around the lake of Kandy.

My dog was my trainer.

I could never beat him and I had the leash to restrain him when I needed to catch my breath and rest.

On the days (over the weekend) I wasn't in the campus, I did my running with the dog. My dog was perfect companion and sporting match and wizard. Unfortunately, dog died tragically when I went away for my internship. I should have taken him with me.

I won't tell you the story, I was told about its death.

I still believe it was cooked up story to pacify my anger.

He died due to his separation from its dearly loved master companion.

There was nobody to take him round the lake.

I did not have a dog for nearly 25 years after this episode.

My campus dog (called the lone ranger) and roommate of course lasted the full life cycle since I handed over the dog to Nicholus Uncle who was our physiology technician.

He was there even when I returned from UK, in good condition.

My Straight Back Syndrome started affecting me in my internship with constant back pain. I did not give up sporting activity but continued on badminton and table tennis and never running and long jump.

Over time with heat treatment (we did not have warm hydrotherapy) and constant alert and avoidance of further damage, I was without pain in about four years.

But my back became straight and I cannot touch my toes as I used to do as a kid.

This gave me an added advantage and good stead. 

I never bend down even to a politician. 

Also I never go with bended knees like an average Sri-Lanka. 

When, I went abroad, it was very useful.

All Asians, who are vociferous in front of the local voters go bended back and knees when in Western countries. 

I always kept my back straight in front of white men well over 6 foot 6 inches and most of them thought, I was smart and I never told anybody, I had a stiff back probably due to spinal fractures or the straight back syndrome. 

 But I regularly went for hydrotherapy which was available free in hospitals, there. Now my back does not bend to even monks of BBS. leave alone, the politicians. Below are medical explanations.

Flat Back Syndrome

Spinal Curvatures

The human spine has natural curvatures.

When you look at a back from behind, the spine should be straight and centered over the pelvis. However, when you look at the spine from the side, the curves are designed to maintain balance as the spine is behind organs in the chest and abdomen.

The spine has two alternating curves to create an “S” like shape.

In the neck and low back there is normally an inward curvature or sway back known as lordosis.

In the thoracic spine and sacrum there is an outward curvature known has kyphosis or hunchback. These curves normally balance out each other so that when the patient stands they are well balanced with their head straight above their hips when viewed from the side.

Standing in this position minimizes the effect of gravity and allows the patient to stand with the best posture and use the least energy when moving or walking.

Flat back syndrome is an abnormal condition where the spine loses its natural low back curve to become flat. The spine becomes imbalanced and the patient leans forward. Patients with flat back syndrome typically notice troubles standing upright or have ongoing back or leg pain. Symptoms usually worsen as the day goes on and the patient feels they lean further and further forward the longer they try to stand upright. The severity of the symptoms usually depends on the amount of curvature present and difficulties with standing erect.

In patients with flat back syndrome, a loss of normal lumbar curvature causes an imbalance of the spine. The patient’s head begins to lean forward, away from the body and they may have trouble standing upright.
This imbalance can cause muscle fatigue and pain.

Today, the term flat back syndrome has been broadened to include any patient with a decrease in lumbar lordosis causing symptoms.

As such, flat back syndrome can occur as a result of any condition that shortens the front portion of the spine, causing the patient to lean forward.

Flat back syndrome may develop as the result of the following causes:

Degenerative Disc Disease,

Lumbar Post Laminectomy Syndrome,

Compression Fractures,

Ankylosing Spondylolitis.

Degenerative Disc Disease:

For some patients, progressive degeneration of the intervertebral discs or the shock absorbers of the spine may lead to a loss of height in the front part of the spine. As discs degenerate the spine begins to lean forward and lumbar lordosis decreases.

The patient may develop pain as a result of the degenerative disc disease or as a result of the spinal imbalance.

Lumbar Post Laminectomy Syndrome:

Lumbar flat back syndrome may develop in patients previously treated with a laminectomy or other lumbar surgery to decompress the spinal nerves to treat stenosis.

These procedures can lead to a decrease in lumbar lordosis and in some cases spinal instability.

Vertebral Compression Fractures:

Compression fractures are often the result of weak spinal bones due to osteoporosis. A fracture can lead to loss of height of the bone in the thoracic and lumbar spine. This may occur in one bone or in multiple bones throughout the spine, resulting in flat back syndrome.

Ankylosing Spondylitis:

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes stiffness and arthritis throughout the entire spine. Some patients with AS notice an increasing forward posture of the spine, including an increase in thoracic kyphosis or decrease in lumbar lordosis.

This can lead to symptoms of lumbar flat back syndrome.

Straight back syndrome (SBS)

Straight back syndrome (SBS) is a thoracic deformity characterized by loss of the normal upper thoracic spinal kyphosis. This deformity leads to a reduced antero-posterior diameter of the chest causing a compression or “pancaking” of the heart and great vessels so as to appear enlarged. This is accompanied by a leftward displacement of the heart, resulting in cardiac murmurs¹, chest pain and tracheal compression^.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) has been reported in 64% of patients.

Misdiagnosis of straight back syndrome as pericardial absence has also been cited.

A study investigating the relationship between SBS and MVP showed echocardiograms to be normal in 36% of patients diagnosed with SBS; however, 58% of these patients demonstrated mitral valve prolapsed.

Despite the fact that this syndrome has been recognized for over 50 years, it is not commonly considered as a differential diagnose and thus the incidence is unknown.

However, given that this syndrome is often associated with heart symptoms, it is important that health care practitioners are made aware of SBS and consider it as a differential diagnosis in a patient presenting with symptoms that can appear to be cardiac in nature.

This is especially true in cases of atrial septal defect which can resemble the symptom picture of SBS.

In using Old Hardware, is value added or value lost?

In using Old Hardware, is value added or value lost?

The simple answer today, is Value Lost.

I want this piece to be brief.

There many for and against and counter argument to this statement.

My argument is based on “Energy Saving”.

But I have a big alibi now.

He is nobody other than Jon Hall.

His nick name or is it his pet name I never say, simply due to my respect for him and his co-author Peter Parfitt.

I got the fear out Linux by reading the book "Joy of Linux", written in hilarious way, in the same tone as “Joy of Sex”.

I had that book, the latter book, and gave it away free in the first opportunity, I had.

A man who has read, “Kinsey Report” as a Medical Student, Joy of Sex was not illuminating to me physiologically.

I must tell you we had only one more book on sex in the faculty.

It was lost.

A junior girl to my batch of students stole it from the medical library.

We had to do some detective and forensic work to nail her down.

Thank good she was our junior and she became a laughing sock/stock in no time.

I can remember two names of women from that batch.

One is a professor in Geneva and the other girl is the when mentioned above.

I do not know what sex exploits she had made and never seen her again in my life.

The professor was wife of my boss who recruited me to the university after a long gap and lapse aboard.

I have the same respect to Jon Hall to my boss and he is a guy like Tin Tin's Captain Haddock at times.

He is not absent minded like him, though.

He writes a value piece for Linux magazine, every month and this is only a summary.

1. I had 6 to 9 computers doing various work for me and three years ago started dismantling one by one.

One and only one reason.

They were consuming huge amount of electricity and my electricity bill was sky rocketing.

One of the reasons is downloading Linux Isos and testing them and writing (always) nice piece, just to keep the developers interested.

They do it free and in their spare time.

My calculation was it is far better to subscribe to Linux magazine (that is less than my one months Electricity Bill) and wait for the DVD that comes with the magazine.

Often double sided.

It saves me on the daily consumption of CD/DVDs which is more than my research slides (Pathology Slides), too.

But I never knew that the Cooling Fan consumes twice as much electricity (must be thrice with the room temperature over 35 degrees centigrade, in day time.)

2. I did not want to donate the old computers to a poor guy who cannot afford it.

He/she won't be able to pay his electricity bill.

On both counts I am in agreement with Jon Hall.

Now the facts I did not know.

1. I always ask the vendor how much electricity it consumes?

Nobody was able to give me the values.

Average “old” desktop consumes 250 to 350 watts.

Gaming computer over 1000 watts.

2. for every watt of usage cooling system consumes two watts.

It is like an electric kettle running not for two minutes for hours on end.

I have cut down my units by 100 units by operating only two computers now.

3. Laptops consume 100 watts.

4. Netbook 17 watts.

5. Tablets, I do not know.

6. One may have to consider the cost of refurbishing.

7. Transport and shipping also costs a lot.

8. New computers are more energy efficient.

So consider sending them to scrap, metal specially to save energy.

Think twice before accepting old hardware.

This was something, I said during tsunami.

Lot of people gave old cloths to the victims.

Most of the victims considered it as a curse or insult than a blessing.

That does not apply to money, even if there is dog shit in it one would wipe it and use them, in this country.

Money corrupts even the best street hawker.

So when you give something FREE make sure to give a new one.

Rest do a garage sale!
 

I gave a very expensive book to a guy who is poor but an intellectual.

I made sure I put a nice cover too.

I let him choose it at the book shop.

I told him, I need to brush through the first few chapters on computer tips.

That time was used to put an adhesive cover and I did not write (donated by) anything on it.

He loves it.

Solar Powered Raspberry Pi School

  Solar Powered Raspberry Pi School
This is something will inspire Indian computer guys/Girls
Solar Powered Raspberry Pi School
Sri-Lankans are good at squandering money available for computer education.
 Copied from Raspberry Site.
I heard about plans for a new Indiegogo fundraiser last week. It launches today, and it really deserves your attention. (And, dare I say it, some of your money.)
Seventy-seven percent of schools in South Africa don’t have any computers – and 40% don’t even have access to electricity.
United Twenty-13, a South African non-profit organization, is looking to bootstrap a new model of solar-powered school computer lab, with the intent of scaling and reproducing the lab all over South Africa.
Taskeen Adam, one of the founders, says: “The fact that you are reading this online means that you already have more computer knowledge than the average South African public school student.” It’s a situation she and her colleagues at United Twenty-13 are making serious efforts to change, with the help of a certain small, affordable, low-power computer.
They’ve already raised sufficient funds for the lab design, for teacher training and for a prefabricated building to house it all in. But they’re looking for additional money to buy hardware (all the software they’re using is open source) – not just the Raspberry Pis and accompanying peripherals, but the expensive solar panels too.
Projects like this, democratizing access to computing and access to information, are key in making improvements to local and national economies; and they’re key in empowering and changing the lives of the young people who are exposed to them. We wish the Solar Powered Raspberry Pi School project all the success in the world – you can donate to the project at their Indiegogo. If you’d like a full project brief before you consider donating, you can find that too at www.solarpoweredlearning

Matrix and Raspberry Pi

This is something I should have written many moons ago.

Copies from their web sites.

I won't quote the prizes since I have no commercial interests.

I am waiting to order one by mail but my worry is Voltage specification and converter for our country.

Description:

This is a hot topic in Linux magazines and there is a Magazine for Raspbery Pi.

Rasberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It is a capable little computer which can be used in electronics projects, and for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn how computers work, how to manipulate the electronic world around them, and how to program.

Matrix

Matrix is a single board mini computer based on ARM with a wide range of interface, equipped with a powerful i.MX6
Freescale processor, it can run Android, Linux and other operating systems, a switch between different operating
systems can be done within just a few minutes! Matrix also has great support for TBS USB tuners and popular
software such as XBMC, VDR, Tvheadend, DVBLast and so on.


TBS Tuner Support
Equipped with the mini PCIe slot and USB ports, Matrix works perfectly with TBS USB tuners.


Freescale Quad Core
Based on Freescale i.MX6, Matrix provides a much more powerful ready-to- run 
platform.


Open Source
It’s 100% open source, Matrix runs Linux, Android, Ubuntu, and any other OS you like.
To switch from one OS to another, you only need to burn the new OS into the eMMC on the Matrix board, and then reboot it.


XBMC, VDR, Tvheadend Support
Popular software like XBMC, VDR, Tvheadend are ready for Matrix.

Libre Office and Peppermint-Error Correction

Libre Office and Peppermint
Error Correction

I have to revise my opinion regarding Libre Office.

I stated sometime earlier that Libre Office freezes on me.

Yes, it happened again.

But this time, I investigated.

I had a one tetra bite Seagate external SATA hard drive (still prefer SATA to SSD due to low capacity and very high prize) and removed all my images to it and Libre Office is back, working smoothly.

Unlike Peppermint Linux Libre Office keeps track of its history, thereby consumes little extra MiB in its files (I think, they should introduce some form of downsizing the working memory and removing unnecessary macros at run time).

But the problem with, Peppermint is, when it uses torrents, it reserves all its hard drive memory to the files even not yet downloaded and interfere with running of Libre Office, rudely.

So if you have a small capacity hard drive you may run into problem, as I did with Libre Office.

I suppose, Libre Office should to some home work and do like torrents do and take over and reserve ample amount of memory for it, disregarding the torrent and the Linux platform, one may use.

I have no experience of using Libre Office in a window platform and Microsoft Office might find this GAP and exploit it to ruin the Libre Office in its infancy, rather robust toddler with unlimited capacity.

If one is using Libre Office with, images, video and presentation, one who is using, widows may run into problems.

Way about to solve this, is to reserve at least 2 GiB of working memory (assuming the largest file is 2 GiB) of hard drive (memory) at start up, like torrents do.

It can be easily done on a Linux desktop platform but what about Windows platform?

I have resolved my problem for the time being.

I had been formatting and reinstalling Peppermint up till now.

That minor irritation is out of context for me now.

Thank Libre Office and Peppermint and Linux family of Desktop Distributions for your untiring efforts which am reaping benefits with a Pipe Smoke of a Cigar (not literally but metaphorically).

I know most of the Linux (especially developer) Guy/Girls have a Pipe Dream of their own.

Postscript; 
Not only, Libre Office, even Fire Fox was frozen this time. 
Worst was it did not have memory to sign up my regular and root account.
Could be booted up with Guest account.


Procedure I followed
1. I had to shutdown.
2. Wait for the RAM to clear up.
3. Boot again
4. Transfer and delete unnecessary files.
5. Clear torrent fully.
6. Restart.
7. No Reinstall and I am back again in full swing (I did not want to Install Peppermint 5, I am happy with Peppermint 4 for the time being. If it freezes again, I probably will try it. My experience with Ubuntu 14-04 is not healthy especially Pinguy Linux which I have stated elsewhere).

Swift Linux with Taylor Swift Music

Swift Linux with Taylor Swift
This is a light weight, Debian Derivative for old computers (and new) came from Mepis base.
It is pretty good but slow to (necessity if one is having low RAM) boot up.

Gets the hang of using Linux with a bottom up approach.
One need to configure Network manually which is nice thing if you have no Ethernet.
It has libreOffice.
When you get to the home page one can get images of Taylor Swift, in plenty.
At start up it plays a tune of Taylor Swift, which is cool.
Lot of instruction available (how to configure Network for example).
if you need to learn Linux on a bottom up approach with a Live CD this what you should try.

Things to do with USB Hard Disk-Use MultiSystem Boot Utility

Things to do with USB Hard Disk

My hard disk was getting filled with downloads (Linux Images) and I went and bought a 1 Terra Bite Seagate USB hardisk.
My hard disk is only 150 GiB SATA (with second hard disk IDE is only 80 GiB) and it has two distributions.
SuSe and Peppermint on SATA and MEPIS on the IDE.
Peppermint is my work horse.
Nothing else to do with world cup football over and I decided to fill the disk with Linux images.
That was easy.

I used Gparted to partition it to 12 partitions, having re-sized the original one big NTFS partition.
Instead of installing a Single Linux distribution (my first reaction) I decided to use MultiSystem boot utility to mount several Linux distributions.

MultiSystem won't let you mount distributions on NTFS, so I formatted it with FAT 32 and mounted 10 or more distributions (except Knoppix, since it is bit finicky) and guess which one booted fast.

It was Peppermint 5.

Uses
1. It is my Multi-Live System booting platform.
2. It stores all my Linux images.
3. My personal data is very little and 16 GiB Pendrive is enough.

I wonder what am I going to do with the remaining space?
If the balance was sugary I would have used it for my dinner.

I think I am going to use it for few years.
This is why always say "small is beautiful", big is extra luggage to carry.

Beauty is it is light weight and small fit in, inside my front pocket.

It does not say how much it ways!

Are boxing Injuries Justified-BBS

Are boxing Injuries Justified-BBS

BBS stands not for Bodu Bala Sena but to Buruwan Bihikarana Sirasa.

This is the second installment related to sports injuries.

Are boxing Injuries Justified?

The simple answer is NO.

Could they be prevented?

The answer is No and Never.

Sirasa is Head in Sinhala and is a Mogul Media meant for headless and heedless guys and girls.

I met an old friend in Kandy today who was guy who retired from Bank to devote his time for social work.

He is an amiable guy with soft spoken way of life, known among his clientele for his free thinking capacity.

The topic to begin was football and I cleverly slanted it to my last blog piece's opening questions, to open a free for all discussion on, in the middle of the pavement.

In this FREE city of Kandy there is no space for free thinkers to gather and discuss something topical.

But there were massive billboards advertising a school boy's last boxing bout.

If we had a sane Mayor in Kandy he would have banned this advertisement for the sake sanity.

Not to be.

My friend told me the mother (she has become an authority in boxing) of the young guy had claimed that there won't be any risk in boxing.

He wanted me to educate the masses.

I think we need a Public Apology from the Moguls without brains who are running Headless. Heedless “Sirasa Media”.

For torturing facts for media gain and misinformation at large.

If you want tone down version of sports injuries please read blog piece, “Are Sports Injuries justified?”.

If you need real facts and figures read the reproduced piece from British Medical Journal (BMJ) below.

Are Sports Injuries justified?

Are Sports Injuries justified?

The simple answer is NO.
Could they be prevented?
The answer is Yes and No.
Why?
We never find perfect gentlemen/ladies playing it by the rules.
What is my resolve/or reaction?
It is always guarded optimism but in reality never achieved.



Reproduction from BMJ.

This predates the TV Media of Sirasa and is from Veritable Print Era.

This is for the Pol Buruwas and Puththalam Buruwas of Our Media to Read.

News Item
Boxing should be counted out, says BMA Report.

Amateur and professional boxing causes brain damage and should be banned, says the BMA IN A LATEST REPORT ON BOXING. The BMA argues that there is now enough evidence for secretary of state for national heritage to call an independent inquiry into the risks. The report, which reviews in detail 20 new research papers on boxing, looks particularly at amateur boxers in Britain. 
Its previous study in 1984 was criticized by the British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA) for concentrating on foreign studies of professional boxers. The BABA has 35,000 registered amateur boxers between ages of 11 and 35.

“ We have when Joseph Striclan, a 15 year old British amateur, was killed in his second fight that if anyone throws a punch hard enough it can kill.” said, Dr. Jeffrey Cundy, a member of BMA board of science and education. “the report makes this evidence conclusive. There are now more sensitive techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychometric testing that show that not only is there immediate brain damage after a bout of boxing but also an accumulation of damage that can continue for 20 years after the boxer retires. 
 

There is 15-20% CHANCE A BOXER DEVELOPING DEMENTIA AFTER PROFESSIONAL CAREER.

Our recommendation is simple-people should not hit each other on head (It is alright hitting the Media Head of SIRASA on his Vertex)”.

The report estimates that the heaviest blow in boxing can be equal to a 12 pound padded wooden mallet traveling at 20 miles an hour. A swinging hook to one side of the jaw is the most dangerous as it causes the head to rotate in vertical plane. “All the boxers know that a strong punch landing in this are is likely to lead, to win a knock out, because of the brain damage that this movement produces”, says the report.

The effects on the brain include surface damage to the cortex, particularly the frontal and temporal lobes and multiple tears of neuronal networks called Strich Lesions. 
Tension between the brain tissue and blood vessels can cause bleeding, especially in the substantia nigra and deep periventricula tissues.

In the long term, the BMA's report says, professional boxer are at risk of developing the Punch Drunk Syndrome (our politicians have this syndrome-especially when they are in opposition-most of them in power are moribund and brain damaged), dementia pugilistica. The syndrome, which can develop years later after boxer has retired, results in blurred speech, loss of coordination, dementia and premature death. The report finds conclusive evidence of long term brain damage in professional boxers, but the evidence for amateur boxers, because of the small number studied is less clear (that is the caveat).

The news article goes on;

Learning and Memory Deficit (applies to children)

Other neuropathological studies of boxers' brain show that gliosis and atrophy are concentrated in the medial structures of temporal lobe-limbic system-concerned with memory and behaviour (BMJ forgets to mention about sexual functions).

The report states this is why neuropsychiatric testing of memory and behaviour pattern are more sensitive than imaging in detecting brain damage.

Postscript

Cassius Clay, lately known as Mohammad Ali for his Muslim faith was my favorite star only second to Nelsen Mandela, not due to his achievements in sports arena, but due to his vociferous fight against American War Machine against the Communist Vietnam.

He choose to go to prison for 7 years by refusing the compulsory conscription and his title was striped and he came back and won it.

In my book freedom revisited, I have a special mention of Nelson Mandela and Ali.

Cassius Clay was Classic Figure both in sports and politics.

He has all the features mentioned in this article and BMJ diplomatically avoid mentioning him but it was implied in retrospect.

The lyrics of the “black superman” is another hit in our time.

I dedicate this blog piece to Actor Christopher Reeve and Michael Schumacher, too.

Riding Accident Paralyzes Actor Christopher Reeve

Actor Christopher Reeve, best known for his role as Superman, is paralyzed and cannot breathe without the help of a respirator after breaking his neck in a riding accident in Culpeper, Va., on Saturday.

Reeve suffered fractures to the top two vertebrae, considered the most serious of cervical injuries, and also damaged his spinal cord, John A. Jane, the University of Virginia neurosurgeon treating Reeve in Charlottesville, revealed yesterday. 
 

Reeve, who is 42 and has enjoyed a prolific screen and stage career, was thrown from his horse and landed on his head during the second of three trial events in an equestrian competition. 
 

He was wearing a helmet and a protective vest at the time. 
 

"He has sustained complex fractures to the first and second cervical vertebrae . . .," Jane read from a statement at a news briefing. 

"Mr. Reeve currently has no movement or spontaneous respiration. 
He may require surgery to stabilize the upper spine in the near future."

Michael Schumacher in Critical Condition After Ski Accident

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher survived 307 F1 races, winning 91 of them, and his racing career was not without serious accidents. But it was a family ski trip to France that has caused the most serious injury yet for the 44-year-old German. Schumacher was skiing on an unmarked trail with his 14-year-old son at a resort in Méribel in the French Alps on Sunday morning, and reportedly fell and hit his head on a rock. 

It’s said that Schumacher was wearing a helmet.

He was rescued by two members of the ski patrol, and promptly airlifted to a hospital in Moutiers, then transferred to another in Grenoble better equipped to handle head trauma. While initial reports insisted the accident was not serious, the news became more ominous as day turned to night. As Europe went to sleep, its presses printed headlines like The Mirror‘s: “Michael Schumacher Fighting For His Life.”

This is a story that can and will change hourly, but at this point it’s understood that Schumacher underwent emergency brain surgery, and while early reports said he was conscious, subsequent ones confirmed he was in a coma upon arrival in Grenoble.