justify
Well, I was looking at a lengthy blog post, and I realized something was bugging me- it wasn’t justified. Aesthetically, justified text just looks nicer.
How did I do it? I found the appropriate place in my style sheet (div#content) and added the line:
text-align: justify;
Notice that’s text-align, not just align.
Hope somebody finds that useful!
COMMENTS
what is linux?
What is linux anyway? Is it simply a series of ones and zeros that a computer interprets to run, or is it something more than that?
Unlike other operating systems, Linux is and has a community. In-fact, the community makes up what linux is, but why is this so? Why is it so important? Community is essential to the very fibre of Linux and key to it’s proliferation in the world.
Linux lore tells of a time when you had to pay for software, and Unix was a crusty old institution reserved for scientists, but there was Minix, a derivative of unix used chiefly in universities. Then one university student, one Linus Torvalds, decided to write his own version of linux, so he wrote the kernel with the help of other ‘hackers’ over the internet. That bit I’ve emphasised is key- the very birth of linux was driven by a community of programmers.
Over time this community became not just of dedicated geeks, but general users as well. They congregate both online at forums and also in the real world at a Linux Users Group or LUG. The foundation upon which these communities are built is help. Not banter or mutual interest, though these have important parts to play- no, help is the fundamental reason these communities exist and the reason they thrive. Linux, while an elegant software solution, often doesn’t work out of the box. There are so many choices, so many things you can do to make it yours, but along the way you might come across snags, a snag that someone else might have come across before, and conquered. The community is there to help.
The idea of freedom is also key to the community- the freedom to do whatever you like with linux, the freedom to modify and freely distribute it and the software that run on it (GPL’d software that is). This freedom allows Linux to be community driven- because anyone can join in. Linux is also accessible because of this freedom- free software often means as in price.
Our Linux community, while having many benefits, also has it’s downsides. Any action taken by a member of the community, that is detrimental, is seen as a bad trait in Linux. When Microsoft does something wrong, it reflects badly on their products. However, a windows user won’t show up windows by their actions. Care must be taken that bad impressions are not made, that stereotypes are not formed. Linux is revolutionary, and is never far from the media’s gaze.
Revolutionary, helpful, geeky and freedom driven, the Linux community is Linux, for without it, Linux would not exist. Though care must be taken to maintain the community and it’s appearance, the community generally maintains an air of friendliness and help to everyone. This attitude is the reason why Linux is not just another set of ones and zeros- it is real.
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becoming vegetarian?
Am I becoming vegetarian? Actually, I’m still a meateater, and I love my meat. However, the coolest place on campus (that would be Monash Uni) would be Wholefoods- a vego/student-run/laidback/cheap restaurant in the campus centre. There are couches and coffee, a grocery and a kitchen, and lots of cool people hanging around. There’s a stage and two pianos, cool wooden tables and a balcony.
The food is great, the prices are fantastic, and, besides the few paid staff, they rely on student volunteers to help keep the place going.
Fun fun fun.
Well, just so you know that I’m still alive and kicking. I got my timetable worked out, so I should have more time for web/computer stuff.
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not the gumdrop buttons!
Dominic has been cooking (using Blender) and came up with a cool gingerbread man. I think it’s cute.
Say Hello to a funny gingerbread man, complete with gumdrop buttons. The avi (video) file of him doing jumping jacks is very light to download/view so that is cool too.
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upgrading firefox
It has come to my attention (through the statistics for this website) that many people are using firefox 1.07 instead of the newer and safer 1.5. And for you guys out there using internet explorer, perhaps it might be time for you to upgrade to firefox too!
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first virus for OSX?
[mac rumors]
The First Mac OS X Virus? (A New OS X Trojan)
On the evening of the 13th, an unknown user posted an external link to a file on MacRumors Forums claiming to be the latest Leopard Mac OS X 10.5 screenshots. The file was named “latestpics.tgz”
The resultant file decompresses into what appears to be a standard JPEG icon in Mac OS X but is actually a compiled Unix executable in disguise.
Wow- a virus/trojan for MacOSX- a platform that has long boasted it’s stability and security (unlike another platform we all know about- *cough* windows *cough*). The other sneaky thing about this virus/trojan is that it plays on a foible that is common with many mac users-
eye candy.
The download claims to be screenshots of the latest OSX- Leopard. Many mac users would not be able to resist the tempation to see what is comming next in apple world – it’s going to get at least some people curious enough to see what it is, and open it.
However, this virus/trojan is missing some of it’s legs. It only works best on 10.4 as it uses Spotlight as a key part of it’s functionality, and also needs a password for non-administrators, requiring user activation. It is not spread through any problems with OSX, rather by user gulibility.
Steer clear of this one!
via Paul Stamatiou
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learning php
Yes, that’s right, I’m learning php. Don’t know how sensible that will be, with java being the language that I’ll be learning at the university in two weeks. Oh well, it will be basics.
Why do I want to learn php? bBlog. I would love to be a developer for bBlog. So tonight I went through the introductory tutorial of the php manual. It looks like a lot of fun, and I already understand the basic concepts of syntax from my java experience.
Looking forward to see where this takes me in regard to web apps.
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Image Verification is on!
At this point, if you are a spam bot, you won’t be able to post a thing. This is thanks to fellow bBlog user FuguTabetai and his awesome catchpa solution.
All you need to do is download a php file, and edit one of your bBlog core files, and you are set. The instructions on the site are fantasically easy to follow.
The only niggle I had was with fonts- there is a way to use less-ugly TTF fonts, but the quick and dirty way is described in the comments.
An all around great solution for the much needed bBlog image verification.
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commenting is off
I am in the middle of implementing a catchpa system for comments. The flood of spam was reduced just a teeny bit by bumping up the allowable time people have between commenting (bots just systematically comment comment comment) but bumping it up any higher results in confusing error messages for users.
So, I decided to go with the catchpa method. It too has it’s down sides to userfriendlyness, but at least it drastically cuts down the spam. Almost to nil infact. Users can still handle the word verification system, while bots can’t.
So, in the middle of this code tweak, you won’t be able to comment- of course if you can please do so I can see it’s working. 
Apologies for any inconvenience. 
At this point I would expect comments expressing solidarity, support, and how evil spammers are, but the commenting system has gone bunk, hasn’t it.
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image is back
Hooray! I found out how to scp thanks to this great site . Thus the image icon is back where it belongs. Happy? I know I am!