a broken mold

It seems from what I’ve read around the interwebs, the package name might have changed. Also, in my fresh installation from the LiveCD, the Microsoft Core Fonts listed in the Ubuntu Software Center doesn’t have an install button. Fear not, though.

Open a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal). Type this and press enter:

sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Wait for it to do it’s magic and you should be good to go. If you run into problems, I suggest starting at Google. Installing the MS core fonts seems to be an issue in this release, but then again maybe I don’t know because I’ve never had problems with it before.

This morning I dreamed that Archie Buck¹ had reported on Facebook that his internet service provider’s DNS went down (I checked Facebook before I wrote this post: it didn’t really happen). Yikes. Because that’s my ISP now, too.

So, if your less of a computer person, you’re probably wondering what exactly DNS is. It stands for Domain Name System and this is what it does:

The most basic task of DNS is to translate hostnames such as theos.in to IP address such as 74.86.49.131. In very simple terms, it can be compared to a phone book. DNS also has other important use such as email routing.

From Vivek Gite’s post Free Fast Public DNS Servers List.

What does this mean for you or me? It means if the DNS server we use is down, we can’t type in www.google.com and get to Google because our computer doesn’t have a way to find the correct IP address behind that domain name. Same for Facebook, Twitter, or anything else.

And so, I got to thinking I should probably grab some alternate DNS server IP addresses, know how to use them, and tell you to do that, too.

First off, a list of servers (IP addresses are comma separated):

• Google Public DNS: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4
• OpenDNS: 208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220
• ScrubIT: 67.138.54.100, 207.225.209.66
• DNS Advantage: 156.154.70.1, 156.154.71.1

Thanks again, Vivek.

And now, how one uses them. Google has a page on how to configure Windows, OS X, and Linux to use their DNS servers. Just replace the Google Public DNS IP addresses with those you want to use (or use them if you want). Go copy that info right now (and the list of DNS servers above (or Vivek’s)). If you’re on Windows XP, try here.

And… it might never happen to you, but if it does it can be a real pain; you have an internet connection but you just can’t go anywhere (or some places). So I’d recommend stowing away that information in case it ever happens. Here are some tips at Lifehacker to figure out if your DNS servers just went kaput or something else is wrong.

For Christmas, I thought I’d post the lyrics to “a Stick, a Carrot & String,” a profound and poetic Christmas song by mewithoutYou. Incidentally, I seem to have had the same post idea as this guy. Merry Christmas!

The Horse’s hay beneath His head
our Lord was born to a manger bed,
that all whose wells run dry
could drink of His supply.

To keep Him warm the Sheep drew near,
so grateful for His coming here:
You come with news of grace,
come to take my place!

The Donkey whispered in His ear:
Child, in thirty-some-odd years,
You’ll ride someone who looks like me (untriumphantly).

While the Cardinals warbled a joyful song:
He’ll make right what man made wrong,
bringing low the hills,
that the valleys might be filled!

Then Child, asked the birds,
well, aren’t they lovely words we sing?
The tiny Baby lay there without saying anything.

At a distance stood a mangy Goat
with crooked teeth and a matted coat,
weary eyes and worn,
chipped & twisted horns.
Thinking: Maybe I’ll make friends some day
with the Cows in the pens and the Rambouillet,
but for now I’ll keep away -
I got nothin’ smart to say.

But there’s a sign on the barn in the Cabbagetown:
When the rain picks up and the sun goes down,
Sinner, Come Inside! With No Money, Come and Buy!
No clever talk nor gift to bring
requires our lowly, lovely king,
come, all emptyhanded, you don’t need anything!

And the night was cool and clear as glass
with the sneaking Snake in the garden grass,
as Deep cried out to Deep, the Disciples fast asleep.

And the snake perked up when he heard You ask:
if You’re willing that this cup might pass
we could find our way back home,
maybe start a family all our own…
but does not the Father guide the Son?
Not my will but Yours be done!
What else here to do?
What else me but You???

And the snake who’d held the world,
a stick, a carrot and a string, was crushed
beneath the Foot of Your not wanting anything.

YouTube link.

So I recently purchased a new knife, having unfortunately lost my previous one out raking leaves on the same day, ironically, that I lost my wallet, keys, and cell phone… but that’s another story.

My last knife was a CRKT M16-13Z, which was a pretty decent knife. You can find a good review of it here. The only thing I’d add is to say that I found the clip somewhat less than satisfactory. The black paint wears off pretty quickly, at least with the kind of wear I put it through. Worse still, the three little screws that hold it on are placed in a short line or arc, and the leverage of being in my pocket as I move throughout the day would loosen them significantly. I did use Loctite® on them a few times, but it only helped partially. This did nothing to help the fact that the clip is a bit small for the knife in the first place. So not the greatest clip, but all in all a good knife — beefy and tactical, and I really liked the “flipper” opening mechanism. But now, on to the feature presentation.

My new knife is the CRKT Drifter, a budget offering of surprisingly good quality from Columbia River Knife and Tool. You can find several good video reviews on YouTube, such as this one.

At the risk of being redundant, however, I’ll reiterate the main points of interest, as well as give my personal impressions. First off, as I mentioned, the knife is affordable; pricing runs from around $18 to $25 on most retail websites. Its weight is 2.4 oz, meaning it’s easy to forget you’re carrying it. Nevertheless, it still feels quite sturdy, which brings me to build quality. The knife handle scales are made of G10, an extremely durable, lightweight material. From the Benchmade website:

G10: An extremely durable makeup of layers of fiberglass soaked in resin, then highly compressed and baked. Impervious to moisture or liquid and physically stable under climate change. Most commonly black, but is available in various colors, too.

Besides being surprisingly light and rugged, the handles are also nicely checkered for grip. The M16-13Z I previously mentioned had Zytel plastic scales, which give more grip in extreme conditions than stainless steel or titanium, but they were also thicker and heavier. These G10 scales accomplish the same thing without the thickness or weight. So, those are good, if you hadn’t got the idea. Moving on.

The blade is 2.875 inches long and made up of 8Cr14MoV steel, which is comparable to AUS8. In other words, it’s a high-quality (especially for the price) blade with good hardness and edge retention. Have a look at this steel chart for a more technical breakdown. The volcano-shaped thumb studs work very nicely, and the blade flicks open with ease. This is largely due to the Teflon and what looks like Phosphor Bronze bushings, both low-friction materials that make for a very smooth deployment. The top of the blade and the liner lock at the choil area have minor jimping, but this knife is decidedly more of an EDC (Every Day Carry) knife than a tactical model. Oh, and I like the blade shape… kind of understated and attractive. The liner lock is solid and holds the blade rigidly in place. Like the M16-13Z, the liner incorporates a little knob that corresponds to a divot on the base of the blade, meaning the blade snaps firmly shut, and requires a bit of pressure to flick open; this is a nice feature because it keeps the blade from coming open easily in a pocket or backpack. However, the Drifter does lack the LAWKS system found on many CRKT models, and even a good liner lock like this may fail under extreme torque. Again, EDC, not tactical.

Finally, the pocket clip. This is, in my opinion, one of the real strong points of the knife. Going back again to the M16-13Z, this is another area where the Drifter wins out. For a knife that CRKT markets at $60, twice the price of the Drifter, one might expect AUS8 steel instead of AUS6, Teflon *and* Phosphor Bronze Bushings, G10 scales, and a decent pocket clip. Don’t get me wrong, I like the M16 series, but the Drifter really has something going. (It does have a couple of down points too, but I’ll get to those in a minute.)

CRKT Drifter Pocket Clip

As you can see from this picture, the clip is securely mounted with three screws around the pivot screw. Furthermore, the triangular arrangement of the screws provides a much stronger bracing against day-to-day tension and leverage. To be fair, I should mention that the clip is not adjustable, so if you are left-handed or favor a tip-up carry, you may prefer something like the Spyderco Tenacious. But for a knife in this price range, you can’t expect everything, and the Drifter does quite well on most counts. I described above the shortcomings of my M16-13Z on this point, and I’m pleased to say the Drifter nails it. This clip is awesome.

Having said that, I suppose I should get to the cons, few though they are. Firstly and most importantly, the gray satin finish on the blade is something less than rugged. Maybe I’m just rough on blades, but for an EDC knife like this, I shouldn’t have the finish wear off under relatively mild abrasion. Granted, other stainless or bead-blasted blades I’ve had got scratched up after so much hard usage, but after a month this blade has a number of scratches where the satin finish has worn off, which is somewhat annoying. My input? Go with a bead-blasted finish, CRKT. And secondly — well, I guess this isn’t really a con — flicking this blade open or holding it for normal use, the knife doesn’t even fill my whole hand. The handle is 3.625 inches, which in comparison to the M16-13Z at 4.75 inches is definitely on the petite side. Then again, for a lightweight EDC knife I don’t guess it’s such a bad thing… it just feels weird when aggressively flicking it open.

So there you have it. In summary, the CRKT Drifter is an excellent-value, lightweight, rugged, liner-locking EDC knife with a quality blade and smooth deployment. I love the shape and feel of the whole knife, and definitely recommend this one.

I wanted to showcase a contrast that came to me during today’s Christmas service at Christ Covenant Church. Pastor Tollefson described Christ’s birth as a great boom (including the angel choirs, of course) that put a fear in Satan and a battle in his future. This great boom in turn reminded me of the mewithoutYou song January 1979, the full lyrics of which can be found here. The beginning of the song runs like this:

January 1979, saw a terrible crash
And I couldn’t help but laugh
My ear pressed against the past
Like a glass on a wall of a hospital photograph
My forehead no longer sweet
With holy kisses worthy of your fiery lips
I was floating in a peaceful sea
Rescued by a sinking ship

From what I’ve read on the internet, and it makes sense to me, Aaron Weiss is referring to his own birth (former member Daniel Pishock was born the same month, too). He calls it a terrible crash because he, a sinful being from birth, as we all are, entered the world. I’m not all sure about the middle bits, but the last two lines, from what I’ve read, refer to his seeming innocence before birth and then his pick up by a ship; a seeming rescue, but one from a sinking ship, that is, our nature of sin in a sinful world. I think the whole song does have more on this theme of life, like the line “My life is a cup of sugar I’ve borrowed before time began and forgot to return.” (And to diverge slightly, I must say I’ve found SongMeanings helpful for understanding mewithoutYou. I have thought of some insights on my own, but mewithoutYou has very profound and pithy lyrics, and outside sources are helpful to me in understanding them.)

So anyway, I wanted to draw that parallel between the terrible crash of sinful birth and the great joyous boom of sinless birth. Two types of noises. Lots of the first, one of the second, but for us the second should far outshine the first, since Christ’s death atoned for all of us, while each of our births might bring some joy of life, but do not ultimately save anyone and are really futile in comparison. We might have our terrible little crashes but they are nothing in the face of Christ’s perfect virgin human birth.