Installing QT in Eclipse

As I was planning to use Eclipse as IDE for other stuff (MSP430 CCS, java for Android, OpenCV...) I thought I would get Qt running on this. Sometimes during this process I thought it would simply be better just get the full Qt SDK, which has its own IDE, but anyhow (always taking the painful path...). By the way, you will need Java JRE installed too... (see links all the way on the bottom for more details):

1. Download and install (basically unzip) Eclipse IDE for C/C++ Developers (32bit version) which has the CDT (C/C++ Development Tooling)

2. You'll need a compiler, like MinGW: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/files/. Download and install.

3. Add path to MinGW and MSYS folder (for me it's C:\eclipse\MinGW\bin;C:\eclipse\MinGW\msys\1.0\bin) to system variable (PATH). In Windows 7 right click on computer --> properties --> advanced system settings --> environment variables.

4. Download and install, two packages from QT:
- The plug-in for Eclipse. http://qt.nokia.com/products/eclipse-integration/
- The libraries: http://qt.nokia.com/downloads/downloads#qt-lib --> Qt libraries 4.8.2 for Windows (minGW 4.4, 318MB)

5. Start Eclipse (I didn't reboot, but maybe you have to)

6. In eclipse Preferense->Qt press "Add new Qt version"... and add path the right paths







So, that's it. Thanks for the help from the original posts here:
http://mentalissue.blogspot.com.es/2011/08/installing-eclipse-ide-for-c-and-qt.html
http://www.multigesture.net/articles/how-to-install-mingw-msys-and-eclipse-on-windows/


And some more detail on what is what:
http://www.ogre3d.org/tikiwiki/tiki-index.php?page=Eclipse+MingW

Browsing stops when using my SpeedTouch 585 v6 (II)...

So, back again at home, and the problem of the router disconnecting keeps happening. I forgot about the DNS part (which was covered on my first post on this blog!) and tried a lot of other stuff. In the end, when it fails, I connect straight into Google with http://64.233.183.104

and that seems to fix the problem! Does this fixes it always? Not really, there are other cases where the router simply loses the connection and I have to go to the router utility (192.168.0.1) and click "connect". Some times I got to do that more than once but usually after few attempts, it works...

Nothing else new on this post, so, do not keep reading. This is just for the sake of documentation. Below some new links I found on connectivity issues debugging (mostly in Spanish):

http://www.adslnet.es/2007/08/23/instrucciones-para-comprobar-nuestra-linea-adsl-cuando-falla/

http://foros.internautas.org/viewtopic.php?t=7620&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=105

http://bandaancha.eu/foros/conexion-adsl-internet-orange-sobre-1679771

Orange phone: 900 901 300

http://www.adslnet.es/distancia-adsl.html

And here is a picture when I was debugging if it was heat issue. I open the router and hang it on my AC, lol!!

Funny thing is that it seemed to be fixing the problem but in the end, I think it was random...

Crowdfunding

I was just thinking of ways to have the money that goes into treatments go to the pockets of those who really created those treatments. The day to day researchers everywhere. It goes to the pharma sales folks. To the doctor. To the advertiser. Etc. Till it trickles down to few $$ on the pocket of the researchers. It is also well known that many of the funding non-profit collecting organizations take a good chunk of the money they collect to pay for their overhead. I am not going back now and checking this data, but if I remember right, the CEO of the ACS (American Cancer Society) gets paid about $1M. So, one way I thought was if scientists directly asked for money to the public to pay for their research. That would also give a chance to people outside the status quo (young researchers, etc...). But what could they give in exchange, though, of that money? A thought was information on the topic. The researcher is an expert on that topic, so, how about he contributed part time to a blog/a web/etc... on that topic? Or even more targeted. How about he answered emails from the donors? Anyhow, the following post talks about this topic. Not on the return to the funders, but on the way to select/attract funding:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/startup-science/

Which mentions:
http://www.petridish.org/
http://www.sciflies.org/
http://myprojects.cancerresearchuk.org/  This is specially interesting and focus on cancer.
http://scifund.wordpress.com/about/
http://www.rockethub.com/

Still a lot to be done but it is a beginning.

PS.: For more entrepreneurial kind of projects, check www.kickstarter.com

svchost --> wuaueng, etc... slows down my PC

The computer slows down big time when I connect it to the network in the office. Using process explorer I see svchost sucking up CPU and digging further, the guilty threads are:
wuaueng.dll!DllInstall+0x1df0f
wuauclt
wbemcore


I can see that computer speeds up when I suspend these, and slows down again when I resume them.
Forum descriptions/solutions here:

http://forum.sysinternals.com/help-with-svchostexe_topic9326_page2.html
http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/82932-100-svchostexe-cpu-usage-caused-by-microsoft-update/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463009.aspx

But basically looks like the Windows Update is corrupted or something and starts looking for what to update, forever... Not sure if I found the solution but for the time being, simply going into the troubleshoot pages of Microsoft, a "fixit" window poped-up and tried to fix it for me. We will see...

Update (3/7/12):

Looks that for the most part, this particular problem is solved, but I seem to have another one (which maybe was also already there). I get this "kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22" slowing down my CPU... This thread gives a pretty good idea:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1345328

But not sure it presents a solution... Will see...
One thing I learnt was that if you want to check if the key Windows files are corrupted, you can do:
sfc /scannow

Interesting health data and posts

1 (110k) out of 6 pregnancies are finished by induced abortion in Spain (2011)

US tax money went to ~$4B in cancer research and ~$670B in the defense budget (2011)

A list of 13 highlights on healthcare that the author came across during 2011:
http://blogs.forbes.com/danmunro/

On the cost of dying in US. It would be interesting to know how much is in other countries:
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18560_162-5711689.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

How does our probability of dying change over time and some theories behind:
http://singularityhub.com/2012/01/09/your-body-wasn%E2%80%99t-built-to-last-a-lesson-from-human-mortality-rates/

Radiation in CT scans, x-ray/radiographies and PET scans (III): what to do if my doctor recommends one

This is the last of a series of 3 posts describing:

1. The value and cost/harm of medical tests involving radiation, purely from a scientific perspective.
2. Other factors affecting the prescription of these tests.
3. What to do if a doctor recommends such a test. This post.

CT/PET scans are a good thing, when they are necessary. So, the key is to find out if they are really necessary FOR THE PATIENT (not for the doctor). Without intending to give any kind of medical advice or advice on how you should talk to your doctor (disclaimer!!) these are some of the things I would keep in mind:

1. Tell the doctor if you took any other CT previously. They may be able to reuse those.
2. Ask to explain the risks of not taking the CT.
3. If they ask for a CT with contrast, ask them if they can make first the one without and based on the result, think of doing the one with contrast, or viceversa. Basically, the contrast CT is a full new scan, doubling the radiation...
4. Ask why the doctor is recommending this test given ALL the symptoms. It should NOT be prescribed as a routine or screening test (unless that is what you want... like some asymptomatic people will do a full body scan "just in case").
5. Ask them to do all other less harming tests before this one, if there is no emergency/rush. For instance, an MRI is usually a good replacement (watch out with the argument that it is not, more on that below). Also, you could have the possibility of treating the first suspect illness and see what happens. If symptoms persist, then you may have to move to a CT (or MRI...).
6. You may want to ask for a second opinion. People may not think of that for a CT, but would you do it if they recommend opening you to check if something is wrong inside you? Yes, looks that the two are not comparable, but go through your numbers, check the increased probability of inducing a cancer and then decide if a 2nd opinion is worth...
7. As explained, other kind of scans, like x-ray or mammograms do have much lower levels of radiation. Concerns arise by the cumulative effects of these over the years, specially when used as prevention. These are certainly harder to discern but I would look at policies, not only local but foreign. For instance, it is common practice to have dental x-rays done yearly in US, as insurance covers it, but is it something that you really need, even if free? A US dentist may say so, but somehow, in Europe, this is not done at all.
8. If you got the time, take your time on the discussion. You are the one about to get radiated! And leave few days after the talk to think about, research, consider alternatives, etc... For instance, you may want to check into alternative tests, like the possibility of using an MRI.

Please, read this with common sense. You should not delay the diagnosis of a life threatening condition for a one in a thousand probability of inducing a cancer. Also, if you have been diagnosed with cancer, something like a PET to find secondary sites of a metastasis may well justify the much smaller risk of a future cancer. Nevertheless, if you reach the hospital with all the symptoms of a kidney stone and a previous history of kidney stones, you may want to waive the CT scan that most of US hospitals ERs will suggest doing and see how you feel next day... Bottom line, as I started, imaging tests involving radiation are very useful tools and there are many doctors out there using them in the benefit of patients, but there are many too being prescribed routinely, defensively, or out of ignorance...

Good luck and I hope the posts were helpful