From 4e4d2865318adb44e6f20679e14f8d36e05f6559 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lucian Mogosanu Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 12:54:35 +0300 Subject: [PATCH] posts: move to y00 directory --- posts/000-first-post.markdown | 27 ----- posts/001-introduction.markdown | 74 ------------ posts/002-technicalities.markdown | 122 -------------------- posts/003-about.markdown | 21 ---- posts/004-on-art.markdown | 77 ------------ ...005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown | 81 ------------- posts/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown | 26 ----- posts/y00/000-first-post.markdown | 27 +++++ posts/y00/001-introduction.markdown | 74 ++++++++++++ posts/y00/002-technicalities.markdown | 122 ++++++++++++++++++++ posts/y00/003-about.markdown | 21 ++++ posts/y00/004-on-art.markdown | 77 ++++++++++++ ...005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown | 81 +++++++++++++ posts/y00/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown | 26 +++++ site.hs | 10 +- 15 files changed, 433 insertions(+), 433 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 posts/000-first-post.markdown delete mode 100644 posts/001-introduction.markdown delete mode 100644 posts/002-technicalities.markdown delete mode 100644 posts/003-about.markdown delete mode 100644 posts/004-on-art.markdown delete mode 100644 posts/005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown delete mode 100644 posts/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown create mode 100644 posts/y00/000-first-post.markdown create mode 100644 posts/y00/001-introduction.markdown create mode 100644 posts/y00/002-technicalities.markdown create mode 100644 posts/y00/003-about.markdown create mode 100644 posts/y00/004-on-art.markdown create mode 100644 posts/y00/005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown create mode 100644 posts/y00/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown diff --git a/posts/000-first-post.markdown b/posts/000-first-post.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index 8a98e38..0000000 --- a/posts/000-first-post.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,27 +0,0 @@ ---- -postid: 000 -title: First post -author: Lucian Mogoșanu -date: July 22, 2013 -tags: asphalt ---- - -

-*[I am][1]*

-

-*I was not -then I came to be*

- -This is the first post. This is not an introductory post. It is not an attempt -to familiarize the reader with the meaning, scope or purpose of The Tar Pit, -nor is it particularly meaningful in respect to the blog -- indeed, as you -might have already noticed, The Tar Pit is one of the many blogs on the -Internet. - -This First post has one meaning, however: it marks the beginning of something -which at this moment eludes the reader, maybe even the author himself. "Hello, -world", it says, "here I am, and there's no turning back". Nothing more. - -This is actually the zeroth post. - -[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WqyOWYj5nE diff --git a/posts/001-introduction.markdown b/posts/001-introduction.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index 87148f4..0000000 --- a/posts/001-introduction.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,74 +0,0 @@ ---- -postid: 001 -title: The Tar Pit: an introduction -author: Lucian Mogoșanu -date: July 25, 2013 -tags: asphalt ---- - -

*[Isn't this where we came in?][1]*

- -About eight years ago I started writing. I suppose that's an idea bound to -arouse the intellect of your average guy in his late teens, although most of -them have next to no subjects to approach. I myself had no idea what I was -going to write about and I'll confess this has changed very little in these -years. But I felt an urge to write, in very much the same way someone needs to -pee after five beers. And I was motivated by two main ideas that I can -remember. - - - -Firstly, I had started reading seriously since three or four years before. I -hadn't read much else besides Romanian literature, which, mind you, can prove -to be excruciatingly dull at times[^1], but I was interested in structure and -in how to write after reading all these books, the same way I had been -interested in how to make music after listening to rock and so on. I never -claimed I could do it right, all I knew was that I had to try it. - -Secondly, I had found blogs as a way of expression on the Internet. I had -started using computers shortly after learning how to read (at about five) and -was spending most of my time mindlessly reproducing Basic code on a Z80 -Spectrum clone, so I could draw geometric shapes and the likes. At ten I -already had a good idea of how to use a PC and at twelve I was browsing the -Internet on dial-up on Friday evenings. Two years after getting my permanent -Internet connection, blogs were looking mighty cool and Wordpress intrigued me -so much I decided to give it a shot. I made a hosting account on some -Geocities-like platform[^2], installed Wordpress and wrote my first post, -entitled "Another Brick In The Wall...". It was an article about mostly -nothing, but I didn't care; I thought I had become a blogger. - -However, that didn't stop me from writing other articles about something, some -of it even interesting stuff. To be honest, I didn't care if it was interesting -to anyone else, since all I felt was sharing my experiences with "the -Internet", regardless of whether that "Internet" included anyone except myself. -But I interacted with people, and I kept writing about stuff. And it felt good -for a while. - -So why did I decide to start another blog? you might wonder. Well, I always -felt pretty good about having a clean slate. Sometimes such changes are bad, -other times they're beneficial and, finally, there are those times when change -is necessary, and I happened to find myself in the latter situation. Sure, the -new blog™ isn't going to be fundamentally different from the old blog™, but I -felt there was no other way to go. - -There are also some technical reasons behind this decision, but I'll cover them -in another post. - -*And what's with this "Tar Pit", anyway?* - -[^1]: The only novel taught in Romanian schools in the first eighth grades is, -as far as I know, "Baltagul" ("The Hatchet"), written by one of the first -Romanian communist writers, Mihail Sadoveanu. The novel attempts to make a -parallel with the myth of Isis and Osiris, at the same time introducing -traditional Romanian themes and motifs. I suppose the only reason they keep it -in the curriculum is a dumb sense of nationalism. - - On the other hand, I spent the summer before my eighth grade reading Marin - Preda's "Cel Mai Iubit Dintre Pământeni" ("The Earth's Most Beloved"), - which, if nothing else, is a good read on the wrongdoings of the Romanian - Communist regime. Also, the book's rather dubious philosophical content - made a deep impression on me at the time. - -[^2]: Now as dead as Geocities itself. - -[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlR3wUPwJCg diff --git a/posts/002-technicalities.markdown b/posts/002-technicalities.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index a38b02e..0000000 --- a/posts/002-technicalities.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,122 +0,0 @@ ---- -postid: 002 -title: The Tar Pit: technicalities -author: Lucian Mogoșanu -date: July 27, 2013 -tags: asphalt, tech ---- - -

-*[So I’ve erased myself, replaced my mind, it's a clean slate][1]*

- -I would argue that the tools used to create some arbitrary kind of art, or -craft, are completely irrelevant. The argument is supported by past pieces of -art, some of which were made in very rudimentary conditions, a fact which at -the same time doesn't make them any less "artistic" than newer, more -"sophisticated" creations. Some would even argue the opposite: that earlier art -has more personality, since it involved more sweat and blood. This is of -course bullshit, as there are many handcrafted works that look dull[^1] and -some chaotic geometric shapes that can be described purely mathematically[^2]. - -That is, tools are of little importance to the consumer, while they can make a -big difference for the producer. Some hundreds of years ago people were writing -using quill pens and parchments, while more recently Douglas Adams wrote on an -Apple computer. While this makes no difference whatsoever to the reader, they -helped the writers be more or less productive, given that quills and parchments -are easier to use than clay tablets, although significantly slower than your -modern keyboard. Sure, it's not that pencils are in any way "inferior" to -computers; they're just different tools serving different purposes. - - - -## The eternal issues of Content Management Systems - -About nine months ago or so I felt that Wordpress was no longer the right tool -for me. I had already known that it had its problems and I had used various -palliatives that kind of worked, only not in the way I wanted. - -One of the smaller problems of Wordpress was its inner workings, that require a -fully working, fully configured LAMP[^3] environment. There's not much to say -about that, this kind of setup is now a de facto standard on the web. However, -the really small stuff killed me. For example, pingbacks mysteriously stopped -working without me even noticing once I changed the router in my internal -network. The new router didn't support NAT loopback, while Wordpress was -continuously making requests to the public IP address, making it impossible to -reach itself[^4]. I solved the problem later by doing some DNS voodoo, but the -fact remains that I was desperate about trying to fix a system that doesn't -work reliably anyway[^5]. - -Then there was that issue of spam. For a blog that got a comment per month or -less, the old blog™ received a shitload of spam, so much that the (non-premium) -Akismet queue couldn't handle it. This was frustrating me, since I was now -spending more time doing moderation and checking for false positives than -doing, you know, the important stuff. - -Finally, all these problems led to performance issues. After attempting some -holistic server-side optimizations, I had to get a new server to ramp up -loading time. I also tried some stricter security measures such as IP banning, -but again, this incurred a lot of overhead from my side, and mind you, I can't -say I find the idea of being a sysadmin too attractive. - -## The zen of static site generation - -About nine months ago, I realized that a static blog would solve all these -problems and pose some others. On one hand, a static site loads fast, has a -simpler design, which makes it a lot easier to configure and customize, and it -eliminates comment spam by design. Since I'm into Haskell, Hakyll seemed like a -good idea, even though there are other pretty good alternatives out there. - -On the other hand comments, I admit, are kind of a big issue. For a while, I -looked into third party commenting systems, or writing my own, or even using -the one from Wordpress, but I realized this would bring back the spam -nightmares I had previously had with it. I also thought about proprietary -alternatives such as Disqus, but Disqus is a service with terms that I don't -necessarily agree with. So no, I wouldn't have them owning the comments of my -readers. - -Therefore, I have given up comments altogether. Once the blog has a contact -page, you'll have the option of commenting on my stuff by sending me an e-mail -or a message on whatever social network I'm on. Moreover, feel free to link my -posts to Reddit, Facebook, Twitter and whatever social network you're on, and -drop me an e-mail if you feel like I should give my input. Other than that, I -don't really feel like turning back to comment moderation, I think that I -should focus on writing and not much more. - -## Die Sprache - -I'll end this post by mentioning that I deliberately chose English as the main -language[^6] for The Tar Pit. I'm not a native, nor a particularly good English -speaker or writer, hence this gives me the occasion to improve my skills and -evolve, which was pretty much [my motivation][3] from the beginning. - -I am also hoping that, being written in one of the most widely spoken languages -on the web, the blog's more obscure content will reach a bigger audience. I'm -well aware that this could change. Maybe Simplified Chinese will become the new -hot trend in five years from now, which means I'll just have to learn it and -use it in writing. - -*As for why The Tar Pit, stay tuned, you'll find out soon. Really soon.* - -[^1]: There are those that call themselves "slow artists", who find great -pleasure in spending tens of hours in making intricate, beautiful patterns, -which can nowadays be reproduced by a computer in a matter of seconds. Both are -awfully symmetric, both lack personality, thus rendering the whole "automatic -versus handmade" debate useless. - -[^2]: Fractals, dynamical systems in general. - -[^3]: Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP - -[^4]: I documented this on [my previous blog][2] (in Romanian). - -[^5]: It's not that pingbacks are not reliable by themselves. It's that the -XML-RPC protocol, or rather its implementation, is crappy. I agree that in -theory pingbacks are a really cool idea meant to fire up discussions, but in -practice they never seem to work quite right. - -[^6]: Maybe not the only one. I don't know, I guess we'll cross that bridge -when we come to it. - -[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdAeqtw3KeQ -[2]: http://lucian.mogosanu.ro/bricks/de-ce-nat-ul-e-o-idee-proasta "de ce nat-ul e o idee proastă" -[3]: /posts/001-introduction.html "The Tar Pit: an introduction" diff --git a/posts/003-about.markdown b/posts/003-about.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index 305baf8..0000000 --- a/posts/003-about.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,21 +0,0 @@ ---- -postid: 003 -title: The Tar Pit: about -author: Lucian Mogoșanu -date: July 29, 2013 -tags: announcements ---- - -

-*Strangers passing in the street -By chance two separate glances meet -And I am you and what I see is me. -And do I take you by the hand -And lead you through the land -[And help me understand][1] -The best I can.*

- -The Tar Pit is discussed on [the dedicated page][2]. - -[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGwPSPIhohk -[2]: /about.html diff --git a/posts/004-on-art.markdown b/posts/004-on-art.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index 03d7a47..0000000 --- a/posts/004-on-art.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,77 +0,0 @@ ---- -postid: 004 -title: On art -author: Lucian Mogoșanu -date: August 1, 2013 -tags: cogitatio ---- - -The first thing I need to point out, and indeed I do, like a fish needs water, -is that art is purely a personal thing. There is no single definition of art, -more like billions of them, and people believing otherwise are nothing but -close-minded fascists. It's not only that artistic values vary from one culture -another, but between two given individuals, even if they suckled from the same -breast. - -That being said, what follows is my view of art; mine and mine only, and I find -no pleasure whatsoever in knowing that others may or may not share it. - - - -The word "art" comes from the latin "ars", which means "skill", or "craft", and -is closely related to "arma", which refers to joining, fitting together etc. So -the roots of art lie in making tools, or using tools to make other (useful) -objects and such similar activities. Contrary to popular belief, for a long -while, art involved not only aesthetics, but also practical aspects: a good -carriage was "a fine piece of art" not only because it looked good, but also -because it served its purpose well and because it was the result of weeks, -maybe months of hard work. - -In time, the meaning of the term shifted to what is nowadays known as "fine -art", that is, works that are highly polished and refined by the hands and -minds of the greatest masters of a particular field. Art is therefore not -simply craft, but also the best there is. - -A second shift led to the view that art is not only the best, but it is also -that which transmits emotions. This definition is hardly quantifiable, since -subjective experience can, as I previously mentioned, vary greatly from one -person to another, and thus art becomes purely a matter of taste and -preference. So what is, in my opinion, art? It is two things. - -Firstly, it's a product of mind, hands and whatever else it is that created it. -Art itself doesn't involve the process of creation and it has nothing to do -with the person that created it. Trying to find the meaning of a piece of art -in its creator is nothing more than egomania and mindless adulation. Surely, -creators deserve praise and criticism for their art, but in the end it's the -livened piece, not its author, who speaks. Furthermore, once it's created, the -piece becomes completely separated from the creator, becoming subject to its -consumers' scrutiny. - -This also implies that aspects related to the process of creation, for example -the tools used, are completely irrelevant from the point of view of art, since -consumers can in few cases judge the tools themselves. Besides, including -creation into art would exclude non-humans from the artistic process, which is -obviously wrong, since nature is one of the greatest artists in history. - -Secondly, art is that which leads to the "improvement" of mankind, whatever -this so-called "improvement" might be. Electronic circuits, and computers in -particular, are clearly art. The Internet is an incredible piece of art, not -only due to the fact that it's bigger than what any single human could have -ever achieved. These are simply "the best" and they convey the emotion of awe, -which makes them fall into the standard definition of art. Engineering is an -art and any attempt of the humanities to prove otherwise are not only -misguided, but also malicious in nature. - -These two definitions are interesting due to the fact that they include -computers as creators of art. It's absurd to try and find "personality" in a -computer-generated work of art; it is also absurd to say that that which is -generated by a computer is not art, even though it can compete in refinement, -maybe even surpass the equivalent created by a human. - -However, my view does not and cannot integrate *some* concepts into the -definition. For example, it doesn't allow for intellectual property. Since art -only depends on the final product, then near-perfect copies have the potential -to be as valuable as the original. Since art can be created by machines, art -can be copied by machines. This, by the way, is something which upsets -copyright holders, a thought which is a good starting point for another, which -I may discuss at another time. diff --git a/posts/005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown b/posts/005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index 9aa5233..0000000 --- a/posts/005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,81 +0,0 @@ ---- -postid: 005 -title: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers -author: Lucian Mogoșanu -date: August 4, 2013 -tags: gaming ---- - -

*Gabriel's mini-stereo isn't exactly -high-fidelity. Then again, neither is he.*

- -Back in 1993, when all was fine and dandy and Sierra were still making awesome -games, they launched the first game from the Gabriel Knight series, written by -none other than Jane Jensen. I hadn't gotten to play it then, as I only got a -PC about five years later. Actually I only played Gabriel Knight about a few -months ago, which is pretty odd considering the bunch of awesome adventure -games I had experienced before. - - - - - -So then it was, long after playing the first two games from the Broken Sword -series[^1], that I gave GK a try: a random guy in a random city (New Orleans) -is having weird dreams about weird rituals, then wakes up in his boring, -typical American room. It seems that our Gabriel owns a rare book store, his -only employee an Asian American chick (Grace Nakimura) who on a first look -seems to be either frigid or just some stuck up bitch. Up until now, it sounds -like your typical American cliché. - -To drive the cliché further, this Gabriel Knight guy is also a writer, and he's -got a friend (Det. Mosely) who's a cop who's investigating a weird ritualistic -murder that just by some weird coincidence took place on the edge of the city. -Gabriel's ass is itching, so he decides to investigate the murder mostly all by -himself, which is just great if you're a guy with no prior detective -experience. In other words, even more cliché. - - - -Fortunately, the story gets interesting when Gabriel starts to delve into New -Orleans' Voodoo history, which, as far as I can tell from the point of view of a -non-specialist, is very well documented within the game. A lot of the high -points of the game are entirely made up of Voodoo lore, exploring the subject a -lot deeper than other adventure games involving more "exotic" cultures, from -what I've played[^2]. - -Another aspect that kept me hooked was the "little" things, elements of the -story, that come up as the story advances, from short poems to the daily -astrological forecast. Symbols are often present where you least expect them and -all these things are tightly integrated so that they give the player a more -book-like experience, an experience which is also enhanced by the narrator's -rather peculiar voice. This is more so relevant as the narrator doesn't just -give a piece of information, but she gives it in a non-dull, non-mechanical -manner. - - - -Most of the voice actors are top notch: Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn -and Jim Cummings are a few names. The acting didn't cease to give me that -annoying Hollywood-like feeling at the beginning, but it either faded away in -time or I got used to it. Besides that, the graphics are up to par with other -adventure games in the early '90s and the music (by Robert Holmes, Jane -Jensen's husband) adds greatly to the atmosphere. - -Frankly, I feel ashamed that I haven't played the game earlier. It's not my -favourite adventure, but it's original enough that I find it hard to compare -with others, older or newer, and I feel that I must give it its own separate -place in my book. - - - - - - -[^1]: Arguably the only games from the Broken Sword series. -[^2]: The Broken Sword games are one example. diff --git a/posts/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown b/posts/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index cfeae55..0000000 --- a/posts/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,26 +0,0 @@ ---- -postid: 006 -title: The Tar Pit on Github -author: Lucian Mogoșanu -date: August 7, 2013 -tags: announcements ---- -

-*[Hello, Mirror, so glad to see you my friend][1] -It's been a while*

- -I am a firm believer in the ideas of Open Source and Free Software, and in the -fact that they can drive the world forward. Closed source software obeys the -Rules of Market: it is born (as a Product), grows, matures, gets old and then, -finally, it dies, and it is then that it becomes lost for all eternity. Open -source software, on the other hand, is in a sense organic: it is born (as an -unpolished piece), grows, matures, gets old, but is never lost, as the almighty -Source will always be there for someone to compile it, or at least reverse -engineer it and then make use of it in some other way. - -Thus I believe that Github is one entity that can help drive the world forward, -which is why [I am publishing][2] not only The Tar Pit's content, but also its -plumbing, on Github. Have fun with it! - -[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJta8qGNnXw -[2]: https://github.com/spyked/thetarpit.org diff --git a/posts/y00/000-first-post.markdown b/posts/y00/000-first-post.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8a98e38 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/000-first-post.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +--- +postid: 000 +title: First post +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +date: July 22, 2013 +tags: asphalt +--- + +

+*[I am][1]*

+

+*I was not +then I came to be*

+ +This is the first post. This is not an introductory post. It is not an attempt +to familiarize the reader with the meaning, scope or purpose of The Tar Pit, +nor is it particularly meaningful in respect to the blog -- indeed, as you +might have already noticed, The Tar Pit is one of the many blogs on the +Internet. + +This First post has one meaning, however: it marks the beginning of something +which at this moment eludes the reader, maybe even the author himself. "Hello, +world", it says, "here I am, and there's no turning back". Nothing more. + +This is actually the zeroth post. + +[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WqyOWYj5nE diff --git a/posts/y00/001-introduction.markdown b/posts/y00/001-introduction.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..87148f4 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/001-introduction.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +--- +postid: 001 +title: The Tar Pit: an introduction +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +date: July 25, 2013 +tags: asphalt +--- + +

*[Isn't this where we came in?][1]*

+ +About eight years ago I started writing. I suppose that's an idea bound to +arouse the intellect of your average guy in his late teens, although most of +them have next to no subjects to approach. I myself had no idea what I was +going to write about and I'll confess this has changed very little in these +years. But I felt an urge to write, in very much the same way someone needs to +pee after five beers. And I was motivated by two main ideas that I can +remember. + + + +Firstly, I had started reading seriously since three or four years before. I +hadn't read much else besides Romanian literature, which, mind you, can prove +to be excruciatingly dull at times[^1], but I was interested in structure and +in how to write after reading all these books, the same way I had been +interested in how to make music after listening to rock and so on. I never +claimed I could do it right, all I knew was that I had to try it. + +Secondly, I had found blogs as a way of expression on the Internet. I had +started using computers shortly after learning how to read (at about five) and +was spending most of my time mindlessly reproducing Basic code on a Z80 +Spectrum clone, so I could draw geometric shapes and the likes. At ten I +already had a good idea of how to use a PC and at twelve I was browsing the +Internet on dial-up on Friday evenings. Two years after getting my permanent +Internet connection, blogs were looking mighty cool and Wordpress intrigued me +so much I decided to give it a shot. I made a hosting account on some +Geocities-like platform[^2], installed Wordpress and wrote my first post, +entitled "Another Brick In The Wall...". It was an article about mostly +nothing, but I didn't care; I thought I had become a blogger. + +However, that didn't stop me from writing other articles about something, some +of it even interesting stuff. To be honest, I didn't care if it was interesting +to anyone else, since all I felt was sharing my experiences with "the +Internet", regardless of whether that "Internet" included anyone except myself. +But I interacted with people, and I kept writing about stuff. And it felt good +for a while. + +So why did I decide to start another blog? you might wonder. Well, I always +felt pretty good about having a clean slate. Sometimes such changes are bad, +other times they're beneficial and, finally, there are those times when change +is necessary, and I happened to find myself in the latter situation. Sure, the +new blog™ isn't going to be fundamentally different from the old blog™, but I +felt there was no other way to go. + +There are also some technical reasons behind this decision, but I'll cover them +in another post. + +*And what's with this "Tar Pit", anyway?* + +[^1]: The only novel taught in Romanian schools in the first eighth grades is, +as far as I know, "Baltagul" ("The Hatchet"), written by one of the first +Romanian communist writers, Mihail Sadoveanu. The novel attempts to make a +parallel with the myth of Isis and Osiris, at the same time introducing +traditional Romanian themes and motifs. I suppose the only reason they keep it +in the curriculum is a dumb sense of nationalism. + + On the other hand, I spent the summer before my eighth grade reading Marin + Preda's "Cel Mai Iubit Dintre Pământeni" ("The Earth's Most Beloved"), + which, if nothing else, is a good read on the wrongdoings of the Romanian + Communist regime. Also, the book's rather dubious philosophical content + made a deep impression on me at the time. + +[^2]: Now as dead as Geocities itself. + +[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlR3wUPwJCg diff --git a/posts/y00/002-technicalities.markdown b/posts/y00/002-technicalities.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a38b02e --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/002-technicalities.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,122 @@ +--- +postid: 002 +title: The Tar Pit: technicalities +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +date: July 27, 2013 +tags: asphalt, tech +--- + +

+*[So I’ve erased myself, replaced my mind, it's a clean slate][1]*

+ +I would argue that the tools used to create some arbitrary kind of art, or +craft, are completely irrelevant. The argument is supported by past pieces of +art, some of which were made in very rudimentary conditions, a fact which at +the same time doesn't make them any less "artistic" than newer, more +"sophisticated" creations. Some would even argue the opposite: that earlier art +has more personality, since it involved more sweat and blood. This is of +course bullshit, as there are many handcrafted works that look dull[^1] and +some chaotic geometric shapes that can be described purely mathematically[^2]. + +That is, tools are of little importance to the consumer, while they can make a +big difference for the producer. Some hundreds of years ago people were writing +using quill pens and parchments, while more recently Douglas Adams wrote on an +Apple computer. While this makes no difference whatsoever to the reader, they +helped the writers be more or less productive, given that quills and parchments +are easier to use than clay tablets, although significantly slower than your +modern keyboard. Sure, it's not that pencils are in any way "inferior" to +computers; they're just different tools serving different purposes. + + + +## The eternal issues of Content Management Systems + +About nine months ago or so I felt that Wordpress was no longer the right tool +for me. I had already known that it had its problems and I had used various +palliatives that kind of worked, only not in the way I wanted. + +One of the smaller problems of Wordpress was its inner workings, that require a +fully working, fully configured LAMP[^3] environment. There's not much to say +about that, this kind of setup is now a de facto standard on the web. However, +the really small stuff killed me. For example, pingbacks mysteriously stopped +working without me even noticing once I changed the router in my internal +network. The new router didn't support NAT loopback, while Wordpress was +continuously making requests to the public IP address, making it impossible to +reach itself[^4]. I solved the problem later by doing some DNS voodoo, but the +fact remains that I was desperate about trying to fix a system that doesn't +work reliably anyway[^5]. + +Then there was that issue of spam. For a blog that got a comment per month or +less, the old blog™ received a shitload of spam, so much that the (non-premium) +Akismet queue couldn't handle it. This was frustrating me, since I was now +spending more time doing moderation and checking for false positives than +doing, you know, the important stuff. + +Finally, all these problems led to performance issues. After attempting some +holistic server-side optimizations, I had to get a new server to ramp up +loading time. I also tried some stricter security measures such as IP banning, +but again, this incurred a lot of overhead from my side, and mind you, I can't +say I find the idea of being a sysadmin too attractive. + +## The zen of static site generation + +About nine months ago, I realized that a static blog would solve all these +problems and pose some others. On one hand, a static site loads fast, has a +simpler design, which makes it a lot easier to configure and customize, and it +eliminates comment spam by design. Since I'm into Haskell, Hakyll seemed like a +good idea, even though there are other pretty good alternatives out there. + +On the other hand comments, I admit, are kind of a big issue. For a while, I +looked into third party commenting systems, or writing my own, or even using +the one from Wordpress, but I realized this would bring back the spam +nightmares I had previously had with it. I also thought about proprietary +alternatives such as Disqus, but Disqus is a service with terms that I don't +necessarily agree with. So no, I wouldn't have them owning the comments of my +readers. + +Therefore, I have given up comments altogether. Once the blog has a contact +page, you'll have the option of commenting on my stuff by sending me an e-mail +or a message on whatever social network I'm on. Moreover, feel free to link my +posts to Reddit, Facebook, Twitter and whatever social network you're on, and +drop me an e-mail if you feel like I should give my input. Other than that, I +don't really feel like turning back to comment moderation, I think that I +should focus on writing and not much more. + +## Die Sprache + +I'll end this post by mentioning that I deliberately chose English as the main +language[^6] for The Tar Pit. I'm not a native, nor a particularly good English +speaker or writer, hence this gives me the occasion to improve my skills and +evolve, which was pretty much [my motivation][3] from the beginning. + +I am also hoping that, being written in one of the most widely spoken languages +on the web, the blog's more obscure content will reach a bigger audience. I'm +well aware that this could change. Maybe Simplified Chinese will become the new +hot trend in five years from now, which means I'll just have to learn it and +use it in writing. + +*As for why The Tar Pit, stay tuned, you'll find out soon. Really soon.* + +[^1]: There are those that call themselves "slow artists", who find great +pleasure in spending tens of hours in making intricate, beautiful patterns, +which can nowadays be reproduced by a computer in a matter of seconds. Both are +awfully symmetric, both lack personality, thus rendering the whole "automatic +versus handmade" debate useless. + +[^2]: Fractals, dynamical systems in general. + +[^3]: Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP + +[^4]: I documented this on [my previous blog][2] (in Romanian). + +[^5]: It's not that pingbacks are not reliable by themselves. It's that the +XML-RPC protocol, or rather its implementation, is crappy. I agree that in +theory pingbacks are a really cool idea meant to fire up discussions, but in +practice they never seem to work quite right. + +[^6]: Maybe not the only one. I don't know, I guess we'll cross that bridge +when we come to it. + +[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdAeqtw3KeQ +[2]: http://lucian.mogosanu.ro/bricks/de-ce-nat-ul-e-o-idee-proasta "de ce nat-ul e o idee proastă" +[3]: /posts/001-introduction.html "The Tar Pit: an introduction" diff --git a/posts/y00/003-about.markdown b/posts/y00/003-about.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..305baf8 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/003-about.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +--- +postid: 003 +title: The Tar Pit: about +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +date: July 29, 2013 +tags: announcements +--- + +

+*Strangers passing in the street +By chance two separate glances meet +And I am you and what I see is me. +And do I take you by the hand +And lead you through the land +[And help me understand][1] +The best I can.*

+ +The Tar Pit is discussed on [the dedicated page][2]. + +[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGwPSPIhohk +[2]: /about.html diff --git a/posts/y00/004-on-art.markdown b/posts/y00/004-on-art.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..03d7a47 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/004-on-art.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@ +--- +postid: 004 +title: On art +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +date: August 1, 2013 +tags: cogitatio +--- + +The first thing I need to point out, and indeed I do, like a fish needs water, +is that art is purely a personal thing. There is no single definition of art, +more like billions of them, and people believing otherwise are nothing but +close-minded fascists. It's not only that artistic values vary from one culture +another, but between two given individuals, even if they suckled from the same +breast. + +That being said, what follows is my view of art; mine and mine only, and I find +no pleasure whatsoever in knowing that others may or may not share it. + + + +The word "art" comes from the latin "ars", which means "skill", or "craft", and +is closely related to "arma", which refers to joining, fitting together etc. So +the roots of art lie in making tools, or using tools to make other (useful) +objects and such similar activities. Contrary to popular belief, for a long +while, art involved not only aesthetics, but also practical aspects: a good +carriage was "a fine piece of art" not only because it looked good, but also +because it served its purpose well and because it was the result of weeks, +maybe months of hard work. + +In time, the meaning of the term shifted to what is nowadays known as "fine +art", that is, works that are highly polished and refined by the hands and +minds of the greatest masters of a particular field. Art is therefore not +simply craft, but also the best there is. + +A second shift led to the view that art is not only the best, but it is also +that which transmits emotions. This definition is hardly quantifiable, since +subjective experience can, as I previously mentioned, vary greatly from one +person to another, and thus art becomes purely a matter of taste and +preference. So what is, in my opinion, art? It is two things. + +Firstly, it's a product of mind, hands and whatever else it is that created it. +Art itself doesn't involve the process of creation and it has nothing to do +with the person that created it. Trying to find the meaning of a piece of art +in its creator is nothing more than egomania and mindless adulation. Surely, +creators deserve praise and criticism for their art, but in the end it's the +livened piece, not its author, who speaks. Furthermore, once it's created, the +piece becomes completely separated from the creator, becoming subject to its +consumers' scrutiny. + +This also implies that aspects related to the process of creation, for example +the tools used, are completely irrelevant from the point of view of art, since +consumers can in few cases judge the tools themselves. Besides, including +creation into art would exclude non-humans from the artistic process, which is +obviously wrong, since nature is one of the greatest artists in history. + +Secondly, art is that which leads to the "improvement" of mankind, whatever +this so-called "improvement" might be. Electronic circuits, and computers in +particular, are clearly art. The Internet is an incredible piece of art, not +only due to the fact that it's bigger than what any single human could have +ever achieved. These are simply "the best" and they convey the emotion of awe, +which makes them fall into the standard definition of art. Engineering is an +art and any attempt of the humanities to prove otherwise are not only +misguided, but also malicious in nature. + +These two definitions are interesting due to the fact that they include +computers as creators of art. It's absurd to try and find "personality" in a +computer-generated work of art; it is also absurd to say that that which is +generated by a computer is not art, even though it can compete in refinement, +maybe even surpass the equivalent created by a human. + +However, my view does not and cannot integrate *some* concepts into the +definition. For example, it doesn't allow for intellectual property. Since art +only depends on the final product, then near-perfect copies have the potential +to be as valuable as the original. Since art can be created by machines, art +can be copied by machines. This, by the way, is something which upsets +copyright holders, a thought which is a good starting point for another, which +I may discuss at another time. diff --git a/posts/y00/005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown b/posts/y00/005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9aa5233 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/005-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,81 @@ +--- +postid: 005 +title: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +date: August 4, 2013 +tags: gaming +--- + +

*Gabriel's mini-stereo isn't exactly +high-fidelity. Then again, neither is he.*

+ +Back in 1993, when all was fine and dandy and Sierra were still making awesome +games, they launched the first game from the Gabriel Knight series, written by +none other than Jane Jensen. I hadn't gotten to play it then, as I only got a +PC about five years later. Actually I only played Gabriel Knight about a few +months ago, which is pretty odd considering the bunch of awesome adventure +games I had experienced before. + + + + + +So then it was, long after playing the first two games from the Broken Sword +series[^1], that I gave GK a try: a random guy in a random city (New Orleans) +is having weird dreams about weird rituals, then wakes up in his boring, +typical American room. It seems that our Gabriel owns a rare book store, his +only employee an Asian American chick (Grace Nakimura) who on a first look +seems to be either frigid or just some stuck up bitch. Up until now, it sounds +like your typical American cliché. + +To drive the cliché further, this Gabriel Knight guy is also a writer, and he's +got a friend (Det. Mosely) who's a cop who's investigating a weird ritualistic +murder that just by some weird coincidence took place on the edge of the city. +Gabriel's ass is itching, so he decides to investigate the murder mostly all by +himself, which is just great if you're a guy with no prior detective +experience. In other words, even more cliché. + + + +Fortunately, the story gets interesting when Gabriel starts to delve into New +Orleans' Voodoo history, which, as far as I can tell from the point of view of a +non-specialist, is very well documented within the game. A lot of the high +points of the game are entirely made up of Voodoo lore, exploring the subject a +lot deeper than other adventure games involving more "exotic" cultures, from +what I've played[^2]. + +Another aspect that kept me hooked was the "little" things, elements of the +story, that come up as the story advances, from short poems to the daily +astrological forecast. Symbols are often present where you least expect them and +all these things are tightly integrated so that they give the player a more +book-like experience, an experience which is also enhanced by the narrator's +rather peculiar voice. This is more so relevant as the narrator doesn't just +give a piece of information, but she gives it in a non-dull, non-mechanical +manner. + + + +Most of the voice actors are top notch: Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn +and Jim Cummings are a few names. The acting didn't cease to give me that +annoying Hollywood-like feeling at the beginning, but it either faded away in +time or I got used to it. Besides that, the graphics are up to par with other +adventure games in the early '90s and the music (by Robert Holmes, Jane +Jensen's husband) adds greatly to the atmosphere. + +Frankly, I feel ashamed that I haven't played the game earlier. It's not my +favourite adventure, but it's original enough that I find it hard to compare +with others, older or newer, and I feel that I must give it its own separate +place in my book. + + + + + + +[^1]: Arguably the only games from the Broken Sword series. +[^2]: The Broken Sword games are one example. diff --git a/posts/y00/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown b/posts/y00/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cfeae55 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/006-the-tar-pit-on-github.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +--- +postid: 006 +title: The Tar Pit on Github +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +date: August 7, 2013 +tags: announcements +--- +

+*[Hello, Mirror, so glad to see you my friend][1] +It's been a while*

+ +I am a firm believer in the ideas of Open Source and Free Software, and in the +fact that they can drive the world forward. Closed source software obeys the +Rules of Market: it is born (as a Product), grows, matures, gets old and then, +finally, it dies, and it is then that it becomes lost for all eternity. Open +source software, on the other hand, is in a sense organic: it is born (as an +unpolished piece), grows, matures, gets old, but is never lost, as the almighty +Source will always be there for someone to compile it, or at least reverse +engineer it and then make use of it in some other way. + +Thus I believe that Github is one entity that can help drive the world forward, +which is why [I am publishing][2] not only The Tar Pit's content, but also its +plumbing, on Github. Have fun with it! + +[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJta8qGNnXw +[2]: https://github.com/spyked/thetarpit.org diff --git a/site.hs b/site.hs index af95ed3..b367265 100644 --- a/site.hs +++ b/site.hs @@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ main = hakyllWith tarpitConfiguration $ do let pages = ["about.markdown", "contact.markdown", "404.markdown", "403.markdown"] -- tags - tags <- buildTags "posts/*" $ fromCapture "tags/*.html" + tags <- buildTags "posts/**" $ fromCapture "tags/*.html" -- content match "index.html" compileIndex match "css/*" compileCss - match "posts/*" $ compilePosts tags + match "posts/**" $ compilePosts tags match "images/**" $ compileImages match (fromList pages) compilePages create ["archive.html"] compileArchive @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ compileIndex :: Rules () compileIndex = do route idRoute -- TODO: make a "copy to root" route? compile $ do - posts <- loadAll "posts/*" >>= fmap (take 5) . recentFirst + posts <- loadAll "posts/**" >>= fmap (take 5) . recentFirst let indexCtx = listField "posts" postCtx (return posts) `mappend` defaultContext @@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ compileArchive :: Rules () compileArchive = do route idRoute compile $ do - posts <- loadAll "posts/*" >>= recentFirst + posts <- loadAll "posts/**" >>= recentFirst let archiveCtx = listField "posts" postCtx (return posts) `mappend` constField "title" "Archive" `mappend` @@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ compileRss = do teaserField "teaser" "content" `mappend` bodyField "description" applyTeaser = loadAndApplyTemplate "templates/teaser.html" feedCtx - posts <- loadAllSnapshots "posts/*" "content" + posts <- loadAllSnapshots "posts/**" "content" >>= mapM applyTeaser >>= fmap (take 7) . recentFirst renderRss tarpitFeed feedCtx posts -- 1.7.10.4