Annoying iE6 bug of the day:

If you add a border on any edge of a < button ..> element, iE6 adds a second, inner border/padding, making your background image offset and the background color to show through! 


This link describes it and a few side step options:

http://justaddwater.dk/2008/11/05/ie-css-bug-background-image-gap-to-border/

For my purposes, the easiset thing to do was not have a border, and have the parent supply a pseudo border using the background color.  If you find a way to stop iE6 doing this, please let me know!

YESS DVB-T9900HD

So I decided to get a Freeview decoder, and I ended getting a HD (== terrestrial not satellite) decoder even though I don't yet have a HD TV. I got this YESS DVB-T9900HD is a single tuner unit with a HDMI port and the promise of PVR functionality via the USB port.

It looks a little ghetto with a USB port at the front, but I care not for asthetics anyway. Anyone who remembers my milk crate constructions can attest to that...

The freeview signal is super strong where I am in west AK, and it gets a glitchy signal with no aerial at all. My UHF aerial is well aligned so it gives 100% signal, and the programme guide comes through fine.

was skeptical that the PVR functionality of the unit would work via the USB port, but it does. Unfortunately, the PVR integration is basic and lacks in a number of areas. But its ok; you can pause and rewind TV, schedule and record TV as advertised.

I'm real happy for the price of the unit, but here is the laundry list of what is a bit shit about this unit for anyone else looking for an uber cheap PVR:

• No integration between freeview EPG listings and the recording feature! I hope other units can do this? Scheduling a recording is like setting a VHS; this channel from then till then, click.
• Single tuner means it can only buffer the channel you are watching. This is obvious, but a good PVR needs 2+ tuners.
• I haven't checked, but I expect that the recording is in standard definition irrespective of the HD-ness. I haven't confirmed this one, anyone want to give me a HD screen? Actually I havent even checked the HD signal is HD when "realtime"!
• Seems to use the disk regularly, not a great buffering technique. For this reason, I don't leave the PVR live buffering 24/7. Use of flash or solid state might dodge that bullet.
• Seems to not like playing too close to realtime, needs 5+ second buffer, else it glitches and drops audio.

So the PVR is basically like a VHS, except you can do poor-mans timeshifting: start watching the recording before its finished.

The problem of evil:

Reading a great essay on: The problem of Evil. Here is a quote from it:

Assumption (1): God exists.
Assumption (1a): God is all-knowing.
Assumption (1b): God is all-powerful.
Assumption (1c): God is perfectly loving.
Assumption (1d): Any being that did not possess all three of the above properties would not be God.
Premise (2): Evil exists.
Premise (3): An all-knowing being would be aware of the existence of evil.
Premise (4): An all-powerful being would be able to eliminate evil.
Premise (5): A perfectly loving being would desire to eliminate evil.
Conclusion (6): Evil does not exist. (from (1),(3),(4),(5))
Contradiction: But evil does exist. (from (2))
Conclusion (7): There is no being that is all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly loving. (from (2),(3),(4),(5))
Conclusion (8): God does not exist. (from (7),(1d))

The argument's logic is ironclad, and its simple but far-reaching conclusion is that the existence of evil in the world disproves the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly loving god. The only way to refute the problem of evil without surrendering the assumption that such a god exists is to deny one of its premises.

I like this argument as it doesn't completely deny God; but it relegates him to (in my view):

• A God that isn't Perfectly Loving; or
  
• A God that doesn't desire to eliminate evil.

To remove any of the other attributes of God is unacceptable (all-knowing, all-powerful), so he must either not exist, or be a bit of a bastard. So lets talk about your beliefs in bastard Gods only - the benevolent ones seem unlikely.

Negative signal-to-noise ratios

I'm reading an awesome technical book at the moment: Bob Katz, Mastering Audio. This guy is a audio master - read it! One thing thats really tripping me at the moment is this part.



We can hear signals below the noise floor? It seems like the LSB (least significant bit) represents the smallest variation in amplitude available digitally, so where is that signal actually coded and stored? My understanding of the explanation (not shown) is that it exists in the time domain as a modulation on the LSB.

Thats some tricksy stuff right there!

iCompass

The compass isn't perfect, but its ok.



I wonder what the Android sensor is like in comparison. Come on internet, send me a video of your android doing this.

Invisible Guard for iPhone 3GS

So now I have a shiny new iPhone, I have a few important things to do to it.

Extend its functionality..

and install a cover. I got an invisible guard, a kiwi-made transparent cover.

It is installed with some soapy water and lots of patience. I applied and smooshed for about an hour, but it ended up fitting very well. The corners took a while, but eventually I got them all in place.

2G on the left, 3GS + invisible guard on the right. The plastic has a slight orange-peel look to it, but it doesn't affect the picture quality.

It does feel quite different to the glass, slightly stickier. But it is still great to use. The extra grip on the back is a welcome addition. Even the home button has a guard, which fit perfectly.

Here you can see how the shield covers most of the corner, and how tight and accurate the cover is. Check around the headphone socket and the volume keys.

Another shot of the corner. Also note the one blemish that I decided I didn't care about: the chrome bezel has a flake of missing chrome. It looks like a manufacturing defect, but is too small for me to care.

This is how the rounded back is handled: a slit up each corner.

The back looks nice, like its been duraseal-ed. The guard can be peeled off without damaging the phone. So far, I'm really happy with how it come out, its hardly visible at all, and no bubbles!

Is that an Iceberg?

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2739551/Is-that-an-iceberg-in-Wellington-Harbour/:

A fake 'iceberg' in Wellington's Oriental Bay this morning was made by special effects wizards Weta for a climate change stunt.