s_alanet's New Writeups

Everything2 Hubs (thing)

2003-02-18T03:08:19Z

Update - I wrote a caching e2 proxy. If you're in edev, you have the URL (check your inbox)... If you're not but you have a strong desire to see it in its horribly incomplete state, /msg s_alanet. And those of you viewing this page through the proxy... Salud! More information below under "The Implementation."

Introduction

E2 has some problems. We've got a huge database to store, and hefty bandwidth requirements. We don't have the cash to buy a shiny cluster to host the site, or a bigger, phatter pipe to feed it through. There isn't really cash to hire full time developers or editors, though we have a lot of really wonderful volunteers that should be paid.

I was thinking about the whole distributing e2 thing, and I realized that we need a stopgap. An interim measure. Maybe a long term measure (after all, making a fully distributed e2 system is a big task - it might not be done for years!).

I was also…

February 11, 2003 (place)

2003-02-11T04:15:16Z

I am noding again!

I am very pleased. I said I would... and I did! I am being an active noder. I am even being helpful. I have found missing facts.. I have helped clean up nodes...

I am using an E2 Node Tracker, and this is what I think has helped me most. It's much more cathartic to node when you can get instant feedback... And it's a great way to shore up older nodes that might otherwise be ignored. I strongly suggest it.

It also helps that the kind and generous Wuukiee has been shepherding me along, more or less. Use the buddy system.

My big goal is to get on the Honor Roll, now... Easier to get XP than to write almost a hundred more nodes :)

Wales (place)

2003-02-10T20:07:20Z

Quick Facts

Capital:     Cardiff (pop. 306,600)
Population:  2,946,200 (1993 est.)
Area:        8000sq miles
Currency:    £ 
Languages:   English  - Official
             Welsh    - Official (18.5%)
Government:  Parliamentary Democracy
Status:      Part of the United Kingdom

About Wales

Wales is located on the island of Great Britain, just to the west of England, and to the east, across the Irish Sea, from Ireland. BBC Wales describes its geography thusly:

Wales has a varied geography with strong contrasts. In the south, flat coastal plain gives way to valleys, then to ranges of hills and mountains in mid and north Wales. There are three national parks and five areas of outstanding natural beauty, which cover a quarter of the land mass of Wales. 80% of the land is dedicated to agriculture, ranging from crops to…

sampling (thing)

2003-01-28T19:51:08Z

In the statistical/experimental sense, a sample is defined by the AHD as "A set of elements drawn from and analyzed to estimate the characteristics of a population." Sampling is the act of taking samples in order to test or examine something. It is used primarily in research, to select a representative sample of a population (of people, nodes, research papers, frogs, whatever), so that we may understand the whole better by analyzing the sample.

For more information, you should really read The Statistics Project metanode (or statistical sampling if you want to just know about that sort of thing).

In the musical sense, sampling occurs when an artist reuses a sound from another source in their music. Sampling is especially common in rap (where dialogues are often built up between rappers by sampling each other's songs), techno and electronica (where the songs are often entirely built from…

client (thing)

2003-01-28T16:27:12Z

Client comes from the root meaning "to hear", and this sets the tone of its meaning in a variety of contexts:

Networking.
In the field of computers, a client is anything which must connect to a server to function. A web browser is a prime example - to view Everything2, you must connect to the E2 server. A web browser is useless without servers to connect to, since it has in and of itself little use.

IM software is also of the client variety. You run your AIM or ICQ or MSN or Yahoo, and you connect to a central server. The server does all the work, and you get the sweet fruits of its labour - ie, messages from your buddies.

There are also thick clients and thin clients. Generally speaking, a thin client is a simple piece of software (or hardware) that serves to directly relay the server's output to you (and your data back to the server). Telnet and SSH are thin clients, because they can

…

Cary Quadrangle (place)

2003-01-20T07:24:44Z

What is it?

Cary Quadrangle is an all-male dorm at Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, IN. It houses some 1,600 men, in rooms of various shapes and sizes, ranging from tiny singles (in some cases converted to doubles, which is the case for me), to luxurious triples or even quadruples.

There are cafeterias below the southeast and southwest parts of the quad, called Cary Northwest and Cary Southeast. In one can be found the Glop of the Day, a stirfry bar, a salad bar, and a taco bar. In the other, a sandwich bar, a salad bar, a pizza bar, and soup of the day. Both have ice cream machines, drink dispensers, and other useful things. Both have plenty of seating, and hard-working (though occasionally creepy) cafeterial staffs.

There are four floors in all the buildings (of which there are five). It is laid out roughly in this manner:

        ########################             W
        #           4          #  ####      S+N
        #######

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