A very thorough tutorial on how to install Apache and PHP on a Hardy machine.
Try it!

Cedar Creek Public Boat Ramp, Milford, Delaware

More and more of the thousands of seagulls I saw this morning, and a lone blue heron.

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-pitfdll gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse libsubtitles-perl vlc vlc-nox exaile

Who says Ubuntu does not play MUZIC ?

Debido a la gran cantidad de personas que se han colgado con el driver de MadWifi para las tarjetas Atheros que hoy por hoy son muy comunes. Decidí hacer esta guia para usuarios de Ubuntu 32Bits ( i386, i586, i686) funciona tanto como para Hardy Heron 8.04 como para Intrepid Ibex 8.10

Si usted tiene Ubuntu de 64Bits, haga click aqui

1 - Instalar lo necesario desde la Terminal

$sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-restricted-modules-$(uname -r)

2 - Sacar el modulo ndiswrapper (por las dudas)

$sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

y agregar al final del archivo:  blacklist ndiswrapper

Ahora solo resta sacar los drivers del Restricted Hardware Drivers de Ubuntu:

Van a Sistema ->Administracion ->Hardware Drivers  o Controlador de Drivers Restringidos

(Ubuntu lo tengo en ingles, pero creo que es facil de darse cuenta. El icono es una placa de circuitos con un candado )

Ahi en el programa deshabilitan  Atheros Wireless Driver (ath_pci) y Atheros Hal (ath_hal)  … los tienen que desmarcar y aceptar los cambios.

3 - Instalar el driver madwifi para Atheros desde el snapshot usando la Terminal

$wget http://snapshots.madwifi.org/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6-r3835-20080801.tar.gz

$tar -zxvf madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6-r3835-20080801.tar.gz
$cd madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6-r3835-20080801
$sudo make
$sudo make install
$sudo modprobe ath_pci
$sudo modprobe ath_hal

Y finalmente agregan el modulo para que cargue al inicio del sistema

$sudo nano /etc/modules

y al final ponen:  ath_pci

Reiniciar y listo!

Advertencia: si cambia la version del Kernel deberá recompilar el driver , paso numero 3

En Intrepid Ibex no es necesario esto último :-)

Last Friday I met up with my photography friend Terry and off we went to Weald Park this time for me to try out my new lens and for Terry to see the deer.....well have I a lot to learn about the lens!!

So first off I thought you might like to see a photo of my camera with lens and extender
big isn't it and heavy but, I managed and surprisingly enough after awhile I didn't really notice the weight. The only thing I would say is that with a lens this size on the camera people do tend to look at you thinking you must be a 'professional' how wrong they are!!

I did have the camera on a Monopod to help me steady it and I wanted to try and get some decent photo's maybe of birds in the distance, the deer and anything else that was interesting. Ok the deer photo's we'll forget but I've done just one for you it's ok but I've posted better before As for the birds well they are 'ok' but that is all. Here is one of the Heron which was far away across the lake so a reasonable distance away. The lens has at least allowed me to crop in and get an 'acceptable' view of it and the other one is of some birds flying overhead, goodness knows how I managed to get them as it all happened so quick

On our way back we called in at another Park and this time I left the new lens behind locked very safely in the car out of site and put on my 17-70 sigma lens. This was in the hope of perhaps getting some pics I would be happy with, again a little disappointed but there's one of the leaves turning into their Autumn colours which I've posted at the top and here's one of a wooden carving in the children's area - took this one for fun!!

so there you are just a quick post to update you and to let you know that I'll be trying to improve on the taking of photo's again at the end of the week when we do have a forecast for some really nice sunny weather - we'll see!!

Because I'm a little disappointed with my pics from the new lens (need to practice more!) and because looking back on this post there's no bright colours except for the top photo, I thought, I would leave you with a photo taken this morning in the garden of one of the last of the summer roses - taken in the rain!!

Thanks for dropping by and I'll see you soon.

Beverley

I realize that great blues are known to take elevated perches on occasion, but actually seeing it is a bit jarring after seeing them almost exclusively wading in shallows, standing or walking on the ground, or crouching on a low perch (where the thicker branches and limbs can support their weight).  This goes doubly so when the bird lands right next to you and above, staring down at you like a Grand Inquisitor.

The access road to the lighthouse on Sanibel Island, where this was taken, positively bustles with bird activity, though you've really got only two or three morning hours of good photo time.  If the sun had been higher, this guy and the bulk of the others would have been more apt to stay in the shade, and by afternoon this same shot would have been ruinously backlit. 

You can conceivably leave the access road and venture out into the mangroves, but I'm pretty sure you leave yourself open to a hefty fine, and in a more immediate sense open to being eaten alive by everything from merciless insects to waiting alligators.

mc

Enjoy your day!

Ubuntu tiene algunas falencias y una de ellas es el problema de los 64 bits, para mi un atraso... pero esto no se da solo en Ubuntu, sino en varios Sistemas Operativos.

La arquitectura de 64 bits que existe hace muchos años sigue sin tener un completo soporte y todavia empresas compilan sus programas en procesadores de 32bits. Esperemos que para el año 2010 la arquitectura de 64bits sea la principal y no la de 32bits como lo es actualmente, lamentablemente.

Bueno vamos al grano, les voy a mostrar una guia recopilacion de foros y tickets de la web de madwifi para que puedan hacer andar facilmente la wifi en ubuntu 64 bits :-)

1 - Instalar lo necesario desde la Terminal

$sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-restricted-modules-$(uname -r) subversion

2 - Sacar el modulo que viene con el kernel y el ndiswrapper (por las dudas)

$sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

y dentro del archivo.. al final de todo escriben:

blacklist ath_pci

blacklist ath_hal

blacklist ndiswrapper

Ahora solo resta sacar los drivers del Restricted Hardware Drivers de Ubuntu:

Van a Sistema ->Administracion ->Hardware Drivers  o Controlador de Drivers Restringidos

(Ubuntu lo tengo en ingles, pero creo que es facil de darse cuenta. El icono es una placa de circuitos con un candado :-D )

Ahi en el programa deshabilitan  Atheros Wireless Driver (ath_pci) y Atheros Hal (ath_hal)  ... los tienen que desmarcar y aceptar los cambios.

3 - Instalar el driver madwifi para Atheros desde el SVN usando la Terminal

$svn co https://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/branches/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6

$cd ~/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6

$make

$sudo make install

$sudo depmod -a

$sudo modprobe ath_pci

$echo ath_hal | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

$echo ath_pci | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

Finalmente volvemos a habilitar los Drivers Restringidos:

Van a Sistema ->Administracion ->Hardware Drivers  o Controlador de Drivers Restringidos

Ahi en el programa habilitan Atheros Wireless Driver (ath_pci) y Atheros Hal (ath_hal)  ... los tienen que marcar y aceptar los cambios.

En Ubuntu Hardy, cada vez que se actualiza el kernel hay que recompilar los Drivers.. en la nueva version Intrepid Ibex esto no va a suceder ya que trae un programa que lo realiza automaticamente.

Para cuando les cambie la version del kernel (siempre pasa) ... les dejo este Shell Script que hice y es muy facil , lo pueden editar y ver si no les anda y hacer los comandos por la terminal.

NO BORRES EL DIRECTORIO /home/usuario/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6

sino, jamás podras reconstruir el driver.

A la derecha en Mis Archivos (en este blog) se encuentra el Shell Script que lo ejecutan en la Terminal:

$sh reconstruir-madwifi64.sh

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Kent County, Delaware

Just after sunrise, upper 50s, breezy. Unless you count the guy on the riding mower at the Visitor Center, I'm pretty sure I had the whole place to myself...

Craving a zoom lens - saw so many birds and a fox, but have only the kit 18-55 lens for my XTi.

Listening to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main

Bueno para empezar a tratar este tema debo hablarles en primera instancia sobre el entorno de escritorio de Ubuntu (o también llamado entorno gráfico). Un entorno de escritorio es un conjunto de software destinado a mejorar la experiencia del usuario al utilizar una computadora, para que esta interacción sea más amigable y cómoda, y consiste básicamente en las las interfaces gráficas (GUI) como las ventanas, los iconos, los menúes, etc.

Ubuntu utiliza para todo esto a GNOME, un entorno que enfatiza aspectos como la simpleza, intuitividad y apariencia. He aquí 2 screenshots de este entorno sacados de Wikipedia:

Ahora Ubuntu viene con un aspecto por defecto, es el que te encuentras tras finalizar la instalación (o durante como ya se habrán percatado algunos) y se caracteriza por hacer honor a su nombre africano, y predominantemente luce colores tierra como cafés, rojos, naranjos, y blancos crema. He aquí un screenshot de Ubuntu Hardy por defecto, también sacada de Wikipedia ;)

Pero claro, como en gustos no hay nada escrito, hay algunos usuarios a quienes no le gusta la apariencia que trae Ubuntu, dicen que es muy oscura, que no les agrada el naranjo, el café, etc. Pero como en esto del software libre todo se basa en la libertad, es muy fácil y simple cambiar el aspecto de nuestro Ubuntu. Y lo puedes personalizar muchísimo hasta dejarlo como en las capturas de más arriba o cómo tu desees, incluso puedes dejarlo parecido a un Windows o a un Mac OS X...todo depende de tus gustos.

¿Que como luce mi escritorio? ¿Quieres saber de verdad?...bueno, te mostraré como tengo a mi Ubuntu Hardy...en la próxima entrada...aahhh y por supuesto, también se viene una entrada donde explicaré detalladamente como cambiar la apariencia (tema) a nuestro Ubuntu GNU/Linux.

Hasta la próxima ;)

]]> http://fourcultures.wordpress.com/?p=34 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:41:34 +0000 fourcultures http://fourcultures.pl.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/post-secular-artist-patrick-heron/ The last few years have seen a deep questioning of the central tenets of the theory of secularisation. Far from growing less religious, as the prophets of the post-war period supposed to be our destiny, the world has become more infused with religious attitudes than ever. It is now intellectually respectable, if not yet fully intelligible,  to talk and write about a 'post-secular' age. At the same time it is possible to re-examine the high points of the supposedly nonreligious era we have now passed beyond, and see it anew as the site and source of an intense and distinctive spirituality.  It is strange for an art collection like the Methodist Church's Collection of Modern Christian Art to have almost no abstract works in the collection, as though properly religious art could only ever be representational. Yet until recently abstract art was regarded by many religious people as at the vanguard of a world without form, without meaning, and  - ultimately - without God. If non-representational art was somehow non-traditional then it was also, so it was feared, non-religious. It is possible now, however to reappraise this view.

In the late 1960's and early 1970's Patrick Heron produced a large number of canvases in acrylics and prints on paper, based on bright, interlocking abstract shapes. As though to forestall the possibility of overlooking the artist's obsession with colour, they had titles such as 'Blue and deep violet with orange brown and green'.
The following reflections were inspired by a painting of Patrick Heron's at the Tate, which is typical of his work at that time. Perhaps to emphasise its abstract qualities it is titled January 1973:14.

1.
what makes this image seem alive? Something to do with the way our eyes insist on bringing some colours to the foreground and some to the background. It just happens, we can't help it. Is it about what the colours are, or about what we are, in a phenomenological sense? Patrick Heron was fascinated by the rejection of illusory depth exhibited by American abstract expressonists. He explored it obsessively and in many respects went beyond it. For Heron this was a formal question in art theory, but it can also be said to have religious implications - the relationship between what is 'out there' and how we perceive it.

2.
'Creative emptiness' was one of the things that attracted Patrick Heron to artists such as Rothko and de Koonig. With them, Heron challenges the viewer with 'the troublesome subject'. If it is not about figuration, what is the painting about? What is the point? Don't these non-representational shapes want us to make something of them? Don't some have their backs to one another? Don't some encompass others, or offer enclosure, and others interlock? (Critics call these his 'jigsaw paintings'). Rothko denied that his work was abstract, and  Patrick Heron repeatedly noted that no work can be entirely abstract. When we try to pin down representation it recedes, but doesn't entirely disappear.

3.

What is the relationship between the colours/shapes themselves, and why does relationship seem to be an appropriate term to use? The relationship seems really important. In the 1940s Patrick Heron wrote about the 'alloverness' of paintings by Bonnard and Matisse and said 'the forms of objects in a picture…hardly exist in isolation from the total configuration'. Heron's rigorous formalism is perhaps offputting to many, but alternatively it can be seen as a kind of framework for a deep sense of humanity.

4.
Why do different parts of the painting seem to evoke different feelings or moods? There's meaning, but there isn't... but there is. Patrick Heron, who was a notable art critic, said when he visited Australia in 1973, 'What one was looking for... was a full emptiness , or an empty fullness', and I think this comes to the point. In my view a case can be made that Heron is recording in art something quite close to the philosophy of the Buddhist Heart Sutra, with its well-known formulation, 'form is emptiness, emptiness form'. This emptiness, sunyata, has been taken by much western philosophy to be a version of nihilism (as Roger-Pol Droit critiques in The Cult of Nothingness). But for Heron, the emptiness amounts to an entirely interconnected plenitude - it is a full emptiness. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, 'and what is form empty of? It is empty of separate identity' (The Heart of Understanding, 1988. See 3, above).

5.
Looking at Patrick Heron's abstractions, one may feel quite sure the natural world is there, neither in nor out of view, as it were. At any rate it hasn't gone away. Heron disliked American critic Clement Greenberg's claim that British abstract art was no more than 'landscape imagery in disguise', not least because Heron wanted to show in his art and criticism that Americans didn't invent abstract expressionism as Greenberg also claimed, but that it was already a strong European tradition, and Britons such as himself could teach the Americans a thing or too. In fact he thought he had, with his seminal painting 'Vertical Light', for instance.

However, I think Greenberg's point remains valid. When Heron moved to Zennor in Cornwall the environment was a great spur to his painting. Zennor was also an inspiration to D.H. Lawrence, who finished Women in Love there and wrote to John Middleon Murray and Katherine Mansfield: 'At Zennor one sees infinite Atlantic, all peacock-mingled colours, and the gorse is sunshine itself already... when I looked down at Zennor I knew it was the promised land, and that a new heaven and a new earth would take place.' (The Selected Letters of D.H.Lawrence, ed. James T. Boulton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000: 123)
Heron must have caught something of this spirit for he said ‘This is a landscape that has altered my life, the house in its setting is the source of all my painting’. He wrote to Herbert Read, another art critic: 'I wish you could see the place in its Mediterranean brilliance of light and colour! Yesterday though, we were wreathed in mist all day: hot, steamy stuff which made the rocks and bushes into grey Chinese silhouettes…’ . It is significant that for Heron the mist turns landscape into art.
There is something in Heron's work that is strongly reminiscent of  Zen non-representation, the sublimation of nature into art and back again, as in a Zen garden (and one could examine further Heron's approach to scale in this context), as in the eighth ox-herding picture by Tensho Shubun at Kyoto, where all that is left of representation is an empty circle, but that is not the end of the cycle of paintings.

6.
This link is clear in the work of another Cornish artist, Trevor Bell, whom Heron the critic championed in 1958 as 'the greatest painter under 30'. http://www.modbritart.com/media/wdmodernmedia/TB_001-048web2.pdf
According to Chris Stephens of the Tate, they were both part of a 1950s revival of the sublime in British art. What he says of Bell, could also apply to Heron: ' images of infinity that inevitably conjure up intimations of mortality. They are not mournful, however, for that recognition of finality and infinity is a moment of great enlightenment.'

7.

So what is the point of paying attention to paintings like these? Two quotations may illuminate this question:
"The Landscape becomes reflective, human and thinks itself through me. I make it an object, let it project itself and endure within my painting.... I become the subjective consciousness of the landscape, and my painting becomes its objective consciousness.”
Paul Cézanne, quoted in Joyce Medina, 1955 Cézanne and Modernism: The Poetics of Painting, State University of New York Press.

"I have always claimed that painting's prime function is to dictate what the world looks like ... What we imagine to be the 'objective' look of everything and anything is largely a complex, a weave of textures, forms and colours which we have learned, more or less unconsciously, from painting, and have superimposed upon external reality. The actual 'objective' appearance of things (of anything and everything) is something that does not exist..."
Patrick Heron, 1996 “Solid Space in Cézanne”, Modern Painters Vol 9 (1).

8.
It is worth reflecting not only on the work of Patrick Heron itself, but also on what happened to it. In 2004 the so-called Momart Brit Art fire destroyed 50 of Heron's most significant works. Should we be devastated, as his daughters reportedly were? Or should we agree with Tracy Emin, some of whose key work was also turned to ash: 'It's only art'? Transience. See point 6.

9.
What has all this to do with Christianity? I've long been interested in what Buddhism has to bring to the Christian tradition. Similar to the quote above from the Heart Sutra is a statement by the ancient Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna: 'The limits of nirvana are the limits of samsara. Between the two also there is not the slightest difference whatsoever.' The radical theologian Don Cupitt identifies this identity of supposed opposites as part of the Christian tradition too:
'Identity of loving God and loving one's neighbour. Identity of faith and works. Identity of this life and eternal life. Identity of the holy and the common. Identity of perfect self-affirmation and perfect self-surrender'. (in John Lane and Maya Kumar Mitchell, eds, 2000 Only Connect,  Dartington, Devon: Green Books, p. 125)

In the 'empty fullness' of Patrick Heron's art one sees the visual expression of this Buddhist-Christian identity. The identity of surface and depth, abstraction and representation, landscape (nature) and art (culture),  the impossible and the possible God. If the term 'post-secular' is to emerge with a meaning, it will need to do so in relation to art such as Patrick Heron's.

I had actually uploaded the first of my pictures from Washington on Sunday, but entirely forgot to post them here:

I really couldn't bear to bring my nearly 1,300 photos from the trip below fifteen - with a bonus picture to come at the end of the batch - so stay tuned for new photos every other night.

As soon as I read the title, I knew they would find in favour of Tesco. 

How?  Easy, an article that found Lidl was cheaper than Tesco wouldn't be news.  We are all aware that Lidl is cheaper, that's why they are called a discounter. 

The media are constantly looking for what I call the "ooh fancy that" factor.  The factor that grabs and holds people's attention through the element of surprise. 

The problem I have with that is that in order to find an angle on a story that defies people's previous view on a subject, they often have to ignore and skew certain facts. 

I feel that when they were writing this article, they started by identifying the conclusion they wanted to find, and then worked backwards.  Spotting that Tesco own brand lager is significantly cheaper than Lidl's cheapest offering (neither of which I'd touch with a borrowed bargepole) was obviously very useful in helping tip the balance in favour of the Tesco basket, if a little contrived.  I mean if you are comparing the price of making a sandwich, why even consider the price of lager?  If they'd compared the cost of a Pepsi then Lidl would have come out on top. 

Fair enough in this article they hold their hand up and admit it isn't scientific, but it is so obviously contrived that it has absolutely zero factual merit.  All it really does is make food snobs and the unadventurous feel more comfortable and justified in avoiding discount stores. 

It hasn't informed us or told us anything new. 

Comparing the cheapest of everything is a bit pointless.  How many people who shop in Tesco only buy Tesco savers? 

Cheap baked beans have long been known to be a loss-leader - sold for less than they cost to produce in order to bring people in to the store and create an illusion of cheap prices. 

So comparing a subsidised tin of Tesco beans with Lidl's lesser known brand of beans (at least lesser known in the UK - we buy some goods from Lidl that are well known in France for example) is a bit pointless in the context of a weekly shop. 

In fact we shop in Lidl as much for the quality of their meats, fruit and veg and emmental cheese as much as for the discounts. 

Of course buying everything in discounters is hard: their range is limited and some things aren't cheaper, so we still shop in Tesco and Asda. 

When it comes down to it, when I was earning loads of money and had little spare time, I bought everything in Tesco and didn't worry about the prices.  Now I am short of money and have a bit more time, I get acquainted with the ranges of Lidl / Aldi / Netto / Cool Trader / Heron / Farmfoods / Iceland and can navigate my way away from the rubbish and home in on the bargains. 

If you want to really know what discounters are like, or indeed the latest film, show, tv programme, album etc, you need to experience it for yourself.  You may as well have a wild guess as look for guidance from the media.

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge,

Spent the entire afternoon out traipsing through woods and swamps and marshes and climbing observation towers from about 1:30 pm until about an hour before the sun started setting. 80s, sunny early, but clouds rolling in around 5:30pm. Nice breeze out in the open, a little stifling in the woods.

Other than the usual birdwatchers along Raymond Pool, barely a human in sight, other than a lone woman reading a book on one of the Boardwalk Trail benches.

Indigo Girls, Shaming of the Sun

Get out the map
Get out the map and lay your finger anywhere down
Well leave the figuring to those we pass on our way out of town
Don’t drink the water there seems to be something ailing everyone
I’m gonna clear my head
I’m gonna drink that sun
I’m gonna love you good and strong while our love is good and young

Remind me to make sure my boots and bug repellent are in the truck before I queue that song up again. I suffered for my art today (5 hours with no bug repellent and a pair of Crocs) but it was worth it.

Took 5 hours’ worth of photos, so breaking them into several entries.

We grabbed a drive-thru breakfast in Ponderay, a small community north of Sandpoint then headed eastward.  Highway 200 passes through the towns of Kootenai, Hope, and Clark Fork prior to hitting the westernmost portion of "Highway 200" which extends east through Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

About 30 minutes into the ride if you blink you'll pass by the Cabinet Gorge Dam.  It's located about 10 minutes prior to hitting the Montana border.  Located on a cliff directly over the dam there is a road which looks like a forest road to the right, but it's just worn out pavement.  My grandfather worked at this Dam which was built in the early ‘50s.  It took only 21 months to complete with 1700 men working 24 hours a day.  Avista Utilities operates the dam which is one of several on the Clark Fork River which has caused issues with Bull Trout migrating to Lake Pend Oreille for years.

We connected with Montana's Highway 56 which runs in a northerly direction from an intersection between Noxon and Heron, about 10 miles east of the Idaho state line. The highway runs approximately 35 miles and meets up with U.S. Route 2 about 3 miles east of the town of Troy, MT.  This highway passes through a forested and mountainous landscape.  It travels along the eastern shore of Bull Lake; the Cabinet Mountains are to the east. The entire route is within the boundary of the Kootenai National Forest. Highway 56 is known locally as the "Bull Lake Road" and you'll often find "deer smear" laying on the side of the road.

We fueled up in Troy and headed east for the 100+ miles to Kalispell and West Glacier Park.  Glacier National Park is known as the "Switzerland of North America" and is enhanced by the historic Swiss style lodges and chalets located throughout the Park. There are over a thousand miles of hiking trails.  When Glacier National Park opened in 1910 it was a time when preserves were opening all over the West as railroads made mountain travel easier. The Great Northern Railroad had just built Belton Chalet, where well-to-do tourists could unload their trunks and servants to experience the wonders of the West in comfort.  This is just one of many hundreds of such stories that you can find about this rich in history area.

We rolled through the park and made tracks to East Glacier.  When we arrived in Cut Bank it was 95+ degrees.  By the time we passed the Camp Disappointment sign on the Blackfeet Reservation (near Browning, MT) we were ready for a swimming pool, but we needed to make some more miles.  Camp Disappointment is the northernmost campsite of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

It was somewhere near this area out on the plain that Santiago encountered a "suicide bird" attack on the chrome Harley wheel.  Sort of a "Wild Hog" moment, but not quite as funny.  We extricated the remaining bird feathers from the fender and proceeded across the plain to overnight in Havre, MT.  We accomplished ~450 miles thru bugs, heat and Montana wind.  We truly looked forward to dinner and some cool refreshments.

Interested to know more about our "Ride Home"?  Read the road blogs for: Day 1HERE, Day 2 HERE, Day 3 HERE, Day 4 HERE and Day 5 HERE.