dhenke – Page 11 – Small Golden Sceptre

A Dignity of Dragons

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Dave Malki at Wondermark presents the Stoakes-Whibley Natural Index of Supernatural Collective Nouns, and in so doing performs a valuable service for a worried public. So many confusing and embarassing errors might have been prevented through the timely use of Mr. Malki’s comprehensive and accurate reference.

(Via Making Light.)

ETA: Other dragon-related collective noun suggestions include flight, wing, weyr (from multiple sources), doom, blaze and horde. None of them appeal to the same degree as the definitive Stoakes-Whibley answer.

Dwi Handayani is a Thief and a Liar

I just submitted my first DMCA takedown notice, and even though it was obviously justified, it sure didn’t feel very good. Everything I write here, I share under what I think is a pretty generous license, so I get a bit peeved when people repost my writing elsewhere without the minimal courtesy of attribution. The entire sordid story is after the jump.

Media: The Eagle (Bryan / College Station)

Sat down this Saturday afternoon at TRF for a nice plate of bees (right), and had a lovely chat with Michelle Casady of The Eagle (Bryan / College Station). We talked about renaissance fairs, and what might possess people to go to them, how many times we’ve been (“Is there even a number that big?”), and the details of our attire. (“My costume is itching me. Do I have to wear this? I don’t wanna wear this.”)

Despite her persistent questioning, I kept quiet about the fact that pretty much every other shop has an opium den in the back, not to mention the place being a non-stop orgy after closing. She wrote a nice article for her newspaper, one that may well lure more unsuspecting victims into the louche and depraved life of the regular renaissance fair patron.

Dragons of TRF 2009

Within, you’ll find a handful of additional TRF pictures. For this post, it’s things I saw at fair rather than loot dragged home therefrom. Mostly dragons, of course.

Kaltenberger Ritterturnier 2007

The Kaltenberger Ritterturnier (knight tournament of Kaltenburg) is something akin to what leftpondians know as a renaissance fair, and is (I am told) the world’s largest such event.

I’ve never been fortunate enough to go, myself, but a German dragonfriend (who prefers to remain anonymous) sent some lovely pictures, and was kind enough to grant me permission to share them here.

More pictures follow, so read on.

Protected: TRF2009 Opening Weekend Haul

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What’s in Your Pouch?

It’s renfaire season again. (Pause for cries of “Nerrrrrds!” and “Huzzah!”) If your home fair is as mine, they issue instructions to “prepare thyself for merriment!” But the promotional materials I’ve seen have been a little sparse on the topic of what exactly that preparation entails. Lack of sufficient preparation for merriment is indeed a common and heartbreaking problem.

If you’ve always wanted to know what an experienced fair-goer might carry in that odd little leather pouch on his belt, the mystery will be revealed after the jump.

Actually, He Looks like a Green Rider

Jane’s cakes, of North Hampshire, did a fine job with this dragon cake. Also worth checking out: her Discworld cake, featuring the great A’Tuin.

Linux on Zipit

Update: Please see my newer Debian on Zipit article for a better installation process.

This is an article about running Linux on the Zipit Z2 instant messaging device. Or rather, it is about running a general-purpose Linux distro, since the device out-of-the-box runs a Linux kernel with proprietary userland software.

Why is this interesting? With a list price of US$50 (and sale prices approaching half that), this device can be an SSH client, DOSbox, NES emulator, video streamer, music player and/or IRC client.

Since the state of documentation seems to be lagging behind the state of development on this device, I’m using this post as an information dump about all the things I found a hassle to figure out (and hope to save others that same hassle).

I Was Told There Would Be No Math

The so-called “impossible puzzle” (also known as the “sum and product” puzzle) has been kicking around since 1969. It isn’t actually all that hard, but the statement of the puzzle can make it seem intractable when first encountered:

Consider a pair of integers X and Y such that 1 < X < Y and X+Y < 100.
P and S are mathematicians, who know the above constraints and who won’t deliberately lie.

In secret, P is told only the product X*Y and S is told only the sum X+Y.

P: “I can’t find the numbers.”
S: “I knew you couldn’t.”
P: “Then I know the numbers.”
S: “Then I do, too.”

Find X and Y.

Note that there are spoilers after the jump. Please read no further should you wish to attempt a solution on your own.