The online home of Appleman1234 / Benjamin Southall

Hey everyone,

It seems my last post was too soon. I am now in the process of recompiling every useful application so that it will find libexpat 2, which has had a recent ABI change. It is things like this, that prove that the perserverance and patience I have actually has a use. Lucky for me, I am using a dirty symlink hack (ln -s newlib oldlib) to allow my computer to function, well enough until revdep-rebuild finishes.

On the upside my sound works on startup as I found out in my C HASH (This is my campaign to get it reknown as C HASH) lecture, when the KDE startup sound cheerfully blasted out of my laptop speakers during the first third of the lecture.

It is true that Gentoo and Linux has its niggles, but at least with Linux you can fix them because of the nature of the ideals of opensource. BTW I have nothing againist actual expats, my family and I were ones for quite some time.

(C HASH) I have been very busy with university lately especially 002(IT professional skills), but it hasn’t stopped me from thinking and questioning, which lead me the following conclusions;

• Everyone tries to help so much not realising that all their help does sometimes is create crutches that people don’t want to use.

• Atheists especially Strong Atheists (Look it up in Wikipedia) and Skeptic Atheists, are hypocritical in the fact that they state they have faith in nothing, whilst not realising or acknowledging that they have faith in the methods that justify their statement, our the methods that justify their methods and so and thus forth. (I probably should elaborate and I will later, but this blog has so much to cover.)

• My First Postulate: Everything = Anything = Nothing;

Proof:
Let a be everything , (for my fellow mathematics blog readers a is a vector)
As nothing is the negation of everything
Therefore nothing = -a
The magnitude of nothing (|nothing|) = a
Anything is anything between everything and nothing, that is the magnitude of anything (|anything|) = 2a,
However the average value of anything is the magnitude divided by the other two bounds = a.
(Or anything can be any value between -a and a, but on average the average magnitude will still be a).
As a = a = a. (Law of equality)
So in terms of magnitude Everything = Nothing = Anything (on average, on random, in everyday life)

Q.E.D. (This is proven.)

• All facts are either rubbish or irrelevant, this statement is of the second kind. (A quote by me)

UPDATE: Have just completed 002 SP Part 1.

UPDATE 2: libexpat2 issues are fixed.

Updates are what happens when I put my blog on hold and store it in a text file for safe keeping.

Slight elaboration on Logic and Faith

This isn’t full detail, if it was then most of my blog readers would get more lost then they already are. (Well they are reading my blog, so they must be lost :P)

You believe in the existence of an object
Because of this belief, you know this object exists

Your belief is based on one of two things
1. Logic, you can logically (using whatever logic system necessary) prove the validity / reality of this belief.
2. Faith, although you can’t use logic to prove this, you know it to be valid and you believe in its validity without the aid of observation and logic

Your used of the word knowledge is saying you know this to be true, either though logic or faith. You say knowledge makes faith redudant but it actually justs hides the basis of the belief, because if you know the belief is valid you no longer require justification of the belief’s validity. However just because you no longer require it doesn’t mean it no longer exists.

The above is a basis diagram. As shown by the diagram faith is the basis of Knowledge. I also have made the extension that faith is the basis of everything, which people find hard to believe. The proof of that I will no go into here, as it is more complex then a basis diagram.

I also went through a proof for the existence of a God amongst other things. (I will not elaborate yet.)

TA: Total Addicted, TA (Total Anhilation) Springs and Cheater’s ties to it.

All the while CS hasn’t being working @ Uni (probably new image), so most gamers / slackers (LAMFs) have been playing DOTA in Warcraft 3. Cheater / Nick Stallman doesn’t really enjoy DOTA, so he found TA springs. (TA springs only has one flaw so far in my opinion Linux and Windows network games not working.) (URL is http://taspring.clan-sy.com/)

He is totally addicted to this game. Evidence is here
First Evidence
Second Evidence
I had to put this blog post on hold 3 times and save it as a text file. This was painful, I now have a sore throat.

Sleepness nights
Like sleepless days
More often then not
Make you tireder, a lot
In a blurry sleep deprived haze.

This little verse has wormed its way in my head, probably due to lack of rest and to dealing with other people with lack of sleep.

I will finish this post now, not because I want to but because I must.

I ask the following questions:
Is the denial of faith, worth only believing in truth ?
What would Hell’s library be like if it existed ?
If you could stop time, would you and why ?
Are there things worth living for , dying for and more importantly studying illogic for ?
Why do people who could create masterpieces, prefer instead to vandalise and destroy them ?

Happiness and faith to all ,

Benjamin Southall aka Appleman1234

PS : Get well soon to me.

Hey everyone,

My IT exams are finished, now with only mathematics exams to go. Meanwhile Cheater / Nick Stallman (a very good colleague / friend of mine, just wish the jokes weren’t all on me) is busy porting the IT Block from Reality to Counterstrike. (3d modelling / map making, etc)

Which brings us to Cartography and Broken glass :

Cartography is the study of maps and map making. (for those who don’t know) . Maps are geographical models of Reality. Why Cheater is making CS map of the Green Room is an interesting question. When I asked him, he said it was because he wanted to shoot me in the Green Room in Reality but couldn’t so CS was the next best thing. He also said that he’d settle for stabbing me.

I again asked him why and then offered my pocket-knife …, to which he then ensured me it was all in jest.

Which makes me think about how we perceive reality ? Do we use our perceptions to model reality, so that we can understand it.

Cartography, logic, mathematics and perception are all different models of reality. (Oops I mentioned mathematics too early oh well ;P)

If we make all these models of reality then we define what we see and do in Reality as being Realistic and yet sometimes from a different perception it isn’t. Reality is thus dependent on our perception of it.

The topic of dialogue, after him decimating me (exaggeration) in CS on PoolParty, (The ratio was about (me)1: 1.7(him))(more brackets for those who hate Scheme ;P, Sorry to those who do but I am not making many assumptions regarding the readers of this blog), then became how to manage the breaking of the glass from some of the Green room windows in his map.

I told him to make it linked separate entities but he admentaly stated that there was no programming language behind Valve Hammer editor (TM Valve as is CS) and to do it that way would be a dirty hack, I then asked / pointed out about the elevators. =p Whilst we are on the subject of broken glass, another Uni’s colleague Windows is busted by spyware and virii today.

I tried to help him, but he went offline. Myself, a devoted Linux (TM , Linus Torvalds) user, believe the all Windows problems can be fixed by switching =) or at least by hardware format. (intertextual ITB004 reference ANSI-SPARC criteria for logical data independence isn’t met by Windows, as the easiest way to fix a logical data corruption is to do so at hardware / physical level).

(Any mention of Windows is TM Microsoft aka Microshaft aka Mirco^%*@ and Windows of Microsoft software are in no way endorsed or recommended if you in any way value the goodness of your computing experience or the stability of your operating system .)

Onwards to Dead Butterfiles, Solitary mathematics and eternal yearning ,

Dead butterfiles.., It is said that the oils on our skin, stop butteflies from flying, thus no flight = no food / pollen = death in maximum 3 days. (edited from death upon contact, as Cheater pointed out the flaw. ;))

ASIDE (This subject and blog post has many metaphors and multiple / hidden meanings, I have tried to make a fair few obvious for cohesion, (my blog , cohesive, semi-oxymoron), but the rest are like Wally (Waldo sounds bad, intertextual reference to blogs on my blogrolls anti-america posts.), (bracket haters scream now ;P)), Oddlaw, and Wanda, you have look hard to find them)

Dead butterflies are like things that we wish to do but can never successfully attain. (Like Nick’s humourous desire to shoot me in Green Room), hence the eternal yearning in title. Many Windows users have issues, that they complain about or put up with but fixing them is like a dead butterfly.

Numerous others play the lottery / other gambling or have romantic relationships which the result is a dead butterfly. Like the stuff we go to buy in the shops, that is never there or always out of price range or stock.

So there are numerous things we eternally yearn for that are dead butterflies and most of us don’t realise this till too late.

Also on eternal yearning, goto Google (Tm Google) image search and look for interesting adjectives / nouns. (ie redemption, agony, euphoria etc). The results will either shock or intrigue you.

And finally onto the Cool stuff Mathematics and Death :

This weekend I will be studying for my maths exams amongst other things. BTW I wonder if one could use probability to accurately predict the chance of a desire being a dead butterfly. Maybe I have found a use for my linking circular logic structures after all.

But I should probably focus on stuff that will be on Exam.

Ok Death, Death is Death and the concluding question and notes are:

Paraphasing a well known quote, It is better to have a dead butterfly than no butterfly at all ? (Or is it)

And another one: You can chase a butterfly all day, but there is no point in catching one.

Counterquote: Yes there is, if you wear gloves.

Is death better than live with numerous / or infinite dead butterflies ?

I would love to know what you think.

All the best

Benjamin Southall aka Appleman1234 =)

Journey or Destination ??
Hey everyone,

In such busy times (busy for me anyways), I begin to wonder, do we notice ourselves getting caught up in the destination rather than the journey or the journey rather than the destination. I finished my Scheme (Awesome programming language, LISP derivative and annoyer of my colleagues) exam on Saturday and then proceeded to make my way to an appointment on Roma and Ann St (The street names don’t really matter).

After about 30 to 45 minutes of walking I finally got where I was going to, only then to realise that the journey made with some colleagues / friends (if they are not friends yet they will be, as they will probably put up with for another 2.5 years minimum ;p) was the most haphazard way of getting to my destination. What could have been 15 minutes had became 45.

Why my friends continued to follow me? I have no clue.
Why I went the way I did ? Well it was because I made an incorrect assumption and looked for a street corner in the wrong direction.

If this post was a simple as that, I would have posted it much earlier, however it and other events up until now got me thinking.

What is more important ..? the journey or the destination ..?

In 3.5 years time, when I get my degrees in hand, will I then relish that moment or the 4 years of work, fun and the experiences I am going to share ?

We started a puzzle (2000 pieces) at home a few nights ago, what will be more satisfying, the finished puzzle or the time spent to make it ?

Would you rather fly in first class and backpack round the world or fly in economy and five star / ritz everything ?

In my case, I think that I will enjoy the journey more then the destination, just like I will enjoy my life rather then my death.

In Plugin News (pun on, and also, Other News ;P)

I have been searching for and installing / configuring wordpress and amsn plugins. I am looking for a random fortune or bash.org quote plugin. But all the ones I find are dead linked when download url is given.

Whilst searching I found a website http://freebsdgirl.com (Ray or Curtis please check it out…) and lots of weird and wonderful plugins and themes, but not the ones I was looking for.

I have got stop or start having decent religious discussions, not really sure which or why ?

In conclusion and in regards to the journey, I end this post with a quote:

I’m a pilgrim on the edge, on the edge of my perception. We are travellers at the edge, we are always at the edge of our perceptions.

Scott Mutter

Best wishes to all

Benjamin Southall aka Appleman1234 =)

Questions, Life and difference
I am fond of asking questions, as most of those who know me or know of me know. I always will be.

(No,no,no …. that isn’t a first sentence, it is a hidden pun ;P) (NB: ;P the winking tongue out is one of my favourite custom emotions).

Everyone is searching for something, I search for knowledge amongst other things….

That is the simple reason why I ask so many questions.

People are always talking about Life, how wonderful it is, how messed up it is, how things reek of irony and deja vu.

I have been known and classified as many things. However one of the things I am sure of, is that Life and everyone who lives in it can’t be classified or judged into the shoes that fit them. (boxes, categories, favourite kebab flavours, etc)

And yet we as humans can’t stop classifying and judging stuff. We supposedly can’t handle the term infinity.

Those who question and analyse are often labelled as being judgemental and critical.

I can say that too most people I am the in unusual box, the random box, the weird box, the crazy box, the unknown box and maybe if I am lucky the infinity box.

Yes I am different, different shoes and boxes fit me, as they do all of us. You see it’s the constant difference that makes us so similar.

If we were all clones, what would Life be ? is a commonly asked question which always sparks discussion and talking.

The difference between entities is a part of their relationship.

Everything is different. Everything is linked.

So let us not criticise difference but rejoice in it, for it is what makes us us, life life and everything everything.

Life creates thoughts. Thoughts create opinions. Opinions influence actions. Actions affect Life.

People search for answers to the big questions, I know I do, whilst your searching don’t put your life on hold. Instead Live it because you could spend your entire life searching for those answers and not find them till you live…

A Gorean (Gor / Counterearth , interesting place, I could put more in this bracket, but won’t) quote :

Do not ask the stones or the trees how to live; they cannot tell you; they do not have tongues; do not ask the wise man how to live, for, if he knows, he will know he cannot tell you; if you would learn how to live, do not ask the question; its answer is not in the question but in the answer, which is not in words; do not ask how to live, but, instead, proceed to do so.”

By the way, I kind of started customing the blog theme…, opinions welcome but not necesary

Keep living …..

Best wishes from Benjamin Southall / Appleman1234 =)

PB (Post Blog): I just remembered a song that symbolises this theme quite well is Bon Jovi’s Welcome to where ever you are