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Wordpress has the ability to save different revisions of a saved post. While this “roll-back” capability is incredibly helpful, it can lead to database bloat over time.
I’ve been using two plug-ins that I’ve found to be quite useful for keeping revision bloat at bay.
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The ramifications of this are disturbing!
There are some interesting robotic evolution experiments going on over in Switzerland that could have horrifying results.
Researchers from the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale of Lausanne, Switzerland have been experimenting with evolutionary robotics, and achieved successful results that should be alarming to the human race. Some of the researchers’ robots are learning to cooperate with each other, while others are learning to become better predators.
You can read the full article here.
The lab’s experiments involving a “simple” neural network and a “co-evolutionary” process between prey robots and predator robots. I.e. Both predator and prey robots develop measures and countermeasures in response to each other.
The experiments showed that pred-bots learned how to outflank and approach prey within sensor blind spots and countered the prey’s superior speed using ambush tactics, choosing to lie in wait against the walls of the enclosure.
In response, the prey-bots learned to never turn its back on the prey-bots once spotted, keeping them in sensor view all the time by retreating backwards. The prey-bots also learned to stay away from the walls to avoid the pred-bots’ ambushes.
The robots also learned how to co-operate and work as a team to complete a common goal of moving small and large tokens. The small tokens could be moved by a single robot but awarded fewer points. The larger token required two robots to move and awarded higher points. In the co-operation experiments, the robots succeeded 100% of the time.
Furthermore, the robots demonstrated selected kinship by choosing to help only those robots from the same co-operation “code lineage”, thus mirroring the behaviours seen in nature.
This is both fascinating and frightening! We could very well be looking at the seeds of our own destruction.
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Tried to start the car this morning… Dead battery!
I hadn’t been driving it very often these last couple of weeks but the battery never discharged to the point of not being able to start the car.
I think the car battery has had it pretty rough as of late. Not only is it the original battery that came with the car, we also don’t use the car often or go on long drives and a lot of frequent but short trips can really take its toll.
I believe what finally did the battery in was the brief warm spell and then the sudden drop to below freezing temperatures. Our garage stays a few degrees above the outside temperature in the winter despite not being insulated, but the cold snap was rather swift and the drop in temperature was significant.
If I can’t find my battery charger, I’m going to walk over to the nearest automotive supply shop and buy an emergency booster. I’ve always thought I should have one on hand, especially having an older car, but I’ve always put off the purchase.
You know the old saying: It’s better to have emergency gear around and not need it rather than need it and not have it on hand.
Once I get the car back up and running, I think I’ll look into a new car battery. I should also take this opportunity to check the fire extinguishers we have and refill/replace as needed.
Update 10:07am»Success!»
08:23am – Found our 6/12v 4amp battery charger in the basement. My God this thing is ancient! I remember it from my childhood when my late father used it! 
Considering that a new smart charger can be had for only around $40, I think I won’t chance using this museum piece. This charger would have taken up to 16-hours to charge the battery anyway.
10:07am – Decided to try the old battery charger anyway. Plugged it in to test it. It didn’t explode… 
Disconnected the battery terminals, hooked up the charger’s cables and plugged it in. No sparks and the battery hasn’t exploded. So far, so good.
The battery still holds sufficient charge to keep the interior lights and dash functions running and activate the starter for a brief moment so I’m going to try charging the battery for about 30 minutes to an hour to see if I can give the battery just enough juice to get the engine to turn over.
If it starts up, then I’ll go driving around for 2o to 30 minutes to give the alternator a chance to top up the battery. After the trip, I’ll head directly to an automotive retailer to pick up an emergency booster pack and/or a battery charger with an engine start feature.
If it fails to start up, back to plan “A” and will walk over to buy the required equipment.
Powered by Hackadelic Sliding Notes 1.6.4The car started after charging the battery for a little over 30 minutes using my ancient 6/12v 4amp battery charger! I’m definitely going to be a lot more conscious about battery maintenance from now on.
Haven’t decided if I should get a new battery yet. According to the dye-based battery status, a dark colour means the battery needs to be serviced. It’s okay if it’s green. The dye looked pretty dark to me but I’m still not sure. Might have to shine a flashlight down the indicator well to be sure.
The car is due for an emissions test. I’ll have them take a look at the battery in the process.
Gah! I needed the emissions test before the 30th for vehicle registration renewal. Damn it… Totally slipped my mind.
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I knew it! I KNEW IT! People called me crazy, but I knew it was true!
Vindication!
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If you have the PC version of Mass Effect 2, you can rename a few .BIK video files to skip some of the repetitive movie sequences such as the BioWare/EA intro screen and the mass relay game sequence.
Edit: I just realized I had previously entitled the article “Deleting .BIK Files…” when deleting them is NOT what you want to do! My bad!
Do not delete the files! You can move them to a temporary directory inside the game installation directory or you can just rename the files by altering the file name slightly, such as adding one or two characters to the end of the file name. I simply added a “_1″ to the end.
BioWare/EA Intro Video
Renaming the following movie file will get rid of the BioWare/EA intro video so the game starts more quickly. Yes, I realize pushing a key will skip the video, but it’s nice having the game start instantly without requiring any player interaction.
\mass effect 2\BioGame\Movies\ME_EAsig_720p_v2_raw.bik
If you have the Steam version of Mass Effect 2, the location will be in:
\Steam\steamapps\common\mass effect 2\BioGame\Movies\ME_EAsig_720p_v2_raw.bik
Mass Relay Gate Sequence
This video sequence always plays every time you use the mass relays to travel to different star systems. Upon jumping to a new star system, you’ll still hear the mass jump relay sound track but you’ll pop up instantly in the destination star system!
\mass effect 2\BioGame\Movies\GLO_01_Relay.bik
Again, if you have the Steam version of Mass Effect 2, the location will be in:
\Steam\steamapps\common\mass effect 2\BioGame\Movies\GLO_01_Relay.bik
Arrival/Departure Sequences
I don’t recommend renaming/moving all movie sequences entirely, especially if you’re on your first play-through! Removing any more sequences will ruin the game experience.
However, if you’ve already completed Mass Effect 2 once or twice and are going to do subsequent play-throughs, removing these sequences can speed things up a little.
Any movie file with the string “arrival” or “depart” in its file name is an arrival/departure sequence. As mentioned, I’d recommend leaving them in during your first play-through. If you’re on subsequent play-throughs, removing them is a consideration.
You definitely want to leave any end game sequences alone. The end game sequences are easy to differentiate. They have the “EndGm” text string in the file name.
Roll Your Own…
There are also a tonne of loading screen sequences too. Unless you like staring at a black screen while stuff loads up, I’d suggest just leaving those alone.
However, if you go to Rad Game Tools and download the Bink player/encoder suite, you can make your own loading screens from existing videos or still image sequences.
The game is designed to play audio from audio files independent of the video files to facilitate localization so your custom video’s audio track won’t play.
If you’re the mischievous type and have a roommate, sibling or friend with the PC version of Mass Effect 2, you could try replacing the loading screens with looping porn video sequences when they’re not around. 
I haven’t written descriptions of what comprises each movie sequence because I haven’t completed Mass Effect 2 yet. Obviously, I don’t want to spoil the story for myself.
Upon completion, I’ll re-edit this article and post the lists with descriptions in a separate tab with plenty of spoiler warnings.
Arrival/Departure sequences
These are located in:
\mass effect 2\BioGame\Movies\
BlbGtl_100_Arrival1.bik
BlbGtl_100_Depart_Bad.bik
BlbGtl_100_Depart_Good.bik
CitHub_Arrival.bik
CitHub_Depart.bik
CrtKrL_100_CraterArrival.bik
EndGm1_ArrivalEXT_Part1.bik
EndGm1_ArrivalEXT_Part2.bik
EndGm1_ArrivalEXT_Part3.bik
EndGm1_ArrivalEXT_Part4.bik
EndGm1_ArrivalEXT_Part5.bik
horcr1_302_collectordepart1.bik
horcr1_302_collectordepart2.bik
HorCr1_LilthArrival.bik
JunCvl_400_Departure_01.bik
JunCvl_400_Departure_02.bik
JunCvl_400_Departure_03.bik
KroHub_Arrival.bik
KroHub_Depart.bik
OmgHub_Depart.bik
PrsCva_100_Arrival.bik
QuaTiL_100_arrival_pt_1.bik
QuaTiL_100_arrival_pt_2.bik
QuaTiL_100_arrival_pt_3.bik
RprGta_100_Arrival_Pt01.bik
RprGta_100_Arrival_Pt02_01.bik
RprGta_100_Arrival_Pt02_02.bik
RprGta_100_Arrival_Pt02_03.bik
ShpCr2_100_Arrival_Part1.bik
ShpCr2_100_Arrival_Part3.bik
ShpCr2_100_Arrival_Part5.bik
TwrAsA_101_ArrivalTower.bik
TWRHuB_Arrival.bik\
Loading Screen Sequences
These are located in:
\mass effect 2\BioGame\Movies\
load_f01.bik
load_f02c.bik
load_f02d.bik
load_f03.bik
load_f03b.bik
load_f05.bik
load_f06.bik
load_f07.bik
load_f07b.bik
load_f08.bik
load_f08b.bik
load_f08c.bik
load_f08d.bik
load_f09.bik
load_f09b.bik
load_f09c.bik
load_f09d.bik
load_f10.bik
load_f10b.bik
load_f10c.bik
load_f10d.bik
load_f11.bik
load_f12.bik
load_f12b.bik
load_f12c.bik
load_f13.bik
load_f13b.bik
load_f13c.bik
load_f13d.bik
load_f13e.bik
load_f13f.bik
load_f13g.bik
load_f13h.bik
load_f13i.bik
load_f13j.bik
load_f13k.bik
load_f13l.bik
load_f13m.bik
load_f14.bik
load_f15.bik
load_f17.bik
load_f17b.bik
load_f17c.bik
load_f17d.bik
load_f19.bik
load_f19b.bik
load_f21.bik
load_f22.bik
load_f80_ESN.bik
load_f80_INT.bik
load_f99.bik
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