First sketch

Since I couldn't get solidworks to work in Ubuntu I installed windows instead.

Today I drew some CAD sketches to try and get the proportions right, I have no doubt I'll need to redo these over and over again.






I was also at the library to check out some nature movies, which I'll watch later.

Recently started thesis

I recently started my thesis, dancing robots. Currently I am trying to get everything running on my computer, old p4 with ubuntu. Unfortunately my CAd software solidworks doesn't seem to work on linux yet, so I may have to dual boot for it.

I am currently compiling the latest version of wine to see if it works any better.

New CPU

I just ordered some upgrade parts for my computer, PSU CPU and motherboard.

As I'll have to reinstall windows anyway, or rather I would have had to do it if I was planning to continue with windows, this is an excellent opportunity to upgrade my OS.

So I am currently creating a Ubuntu live USB memory stick in preparation for when I get the hardware. I used my knoppix live DVD to get my WLAN card working, unfortunately I had some problems with encryption but it least it worked... I can worry about how to get encryption running later.

Haiku

Because I can write vague under satisfied sentences too! Without even trying...

猫澤東(マオゼドン)
一番人気
猫わけだ

猫澤東 is my version of 毛泽东 (Mao Zedong), just replacing the initial character with cat, a character that has similar pronunciation. In a way this is a wordplay.
Mao Zedong (cat Zedong) is the subject of the sentence. The prenoun/adjective(technically all adjectives are prenouns) 一番人気な had it's な cut off to adhere to haiku rules. The final noun and copula was tricky, it was going to be either 猫　or にゃんこ, requiring either 1 mora or 3 mora for the copula. At the end I ended up using わけだ from lesson 51, because I wanted to use that ending. That of course implied me having to use 猫 as a noun, which fits the initial 猫　good in my opinion. As for the translation, I get it to: "It is only expected that "Mao Zedong" is the most liked cat".

Another one that crossed my mind:
頑張れよ
飽きるとすれば
失敗だ

This is pretty much sums up my views on persistence. In English my views would be "The only way to fail is to stop trying" or similar. Alternatively if you give up you fail, as the result ended up at. I just felt that would make a good haiku so I had to make it work.

I started with laying the grammatical framework
頑張れ
飽きれば
失敗だ
which doesn't fit, well nothing a little bit of fudge won't fix.

First line misses on mora, so a よ for emphasis could be inserted. I guess I could also have gone with ね, but I liked よ　more.

Second line is 4 mora, I need 3 more. Lesson 45 contained some alternative conditionals, the とする series having the correct amount of mora. The ending とすれば　should hopefully have the same prerequisite implication as ーえば.

Some lines I'm lucky, like the last line which has the correct amount of mora already, no need for adjustments.

<3 HP

Recently reinstalled the OS on my HP-computer.
Sure it went fine, until I encountered the code purple error. As it turns out HP's software checks the system configuration after a recovery, and wasn't that satisfied about my new graphics card. While I managed to disable it by editing of the python source code (run.py) by removing the infinitive message loop, I shouldn't need to do this.

Nonetheless it's a good thing I've got that knoppix live CD, that thing has saved me countless of times.

Another thing that annoys me is the hidden BIOS. While playing wow I checked the CPU temperature and fan utilization, 62 degrees hot and around 40% utilization, critical temperature is 70 degrees. So I tried to find out why the fans were underutilized this close to critical temperature. Regular BIOS (press F1 to enter BIOS setup) showed nothing, until I stumbled across a post describing how to enter hidden BIOS setup (F11).

Apparently, fan control was set up this way:
48 degrees - start ramping up fan speed
68 degrees - (safe guard) full fan power
(70 degrees - critical temperature, CPU shuts off)
88 degrees - full fan power

Now, there's (at least) two things wrong with this IMO...

Hidden BIOS, can't change hardware and (IMO) bizarre heat sink control, HP never again.

Grammar notes 52

While chapter 52 has focus on formal letter writing, I have sufficient problems with the normal stuff without mixing that in. Therefore at the time being I will neglect the majority of this chapter and consider myself done with this book. Unfortunately I don't think I've learned much.

から。。。にかかて is similar to から。。。まで which stresses the total aspect.

Grammar notes 51

Some descriptive verbs may take　ーしている as an ending such as 忙しくしている. First the verb was made dynamic by the appending of する, and then stative by the transformation of する into present progressive.

The expression in order to (do) [A] [B] must occur can, in addition to ために, be formed with のに such as [A]のに[B]. A must be written in imperfective (base 3). The general rule is to use ために when the verb in B is dynamic, and のに when the verb in B is stative.

The pattern [sentence A]ように[sentence B] when A is in imperfective means [subject] does B in order for A.

The pattern [sentence A]よう(だったら|なれば)[sentence B] carries the meaning of if it turns out that A then B.

わけだ at the end of a sentence carries the meaning that the implications of the sentence are what was expected. Sort of "It is only to be expected that A" if A would be the sentence proceeding わけだ.