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Literature: Eragon.. defaced :P
Sat, 30 Dec 2006

Having just seen the Eragon film, I thought I'd hit up the IMDB and see what rating it got, then head to wikipedia to find out something about the author. Turns out the Eragon page itself had been defaced, but was fixed moments later. To ensure the survival of the defaced site, I saved a copy which you can see here. (No, I didn't do the defacement, but I am a fan of the opening paragraph :)

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Day by Day: Uncooler by the second, and happy about it.
Thu, 28 Dec 2006

Its been a little while and so many things have gone unsaid, but let me at least hope everyone had a very fyyyyne Christmas and look forward to good times to come. A quick post today as I consider getting back into the blog-swing of things.

We've spent a lot of time cleaning up around the house, moving things around and depopulating the future baby-room so I can attempt the very epic adventure: The Painting of The Room. I know this is a mundane event to many, but having to rediscover 'spackle' and polyfil and Alexa-goo for filling cracks and picture-hanging-holes: all things I've not done in quite some time. Yet, as I arm the gun-goo-dispenser and pretend to be manly I sometimes get this feeling of uncoolness.

Now - as so many would jump to point out - a guy who hosts barbecues featuring steaks and arcade machines or who asks Santa for a Sid Meier's game cannot climb much lower on the coolness ladder - but the feeling cannot help but present itself all the same - when you have a kid, you are by definition a square, forever to be texted '[]' by your nephew. Like, you could be a night-time DJ after your accounting job and still keep some hip but once the kid comes, I dunno, you've lost it :)

Now, this isn't a bad thing -- as I look at painting the room and dream about taking the future child running in a park, playing soccor, and showing him or her how to snort paint out their nose onto construction paper like a real punk, it just reminds me that deep inside all of us are the same. I mean, I was out looking at camcorders with a half dozen other dads-to-be during a Boxing Day sale, and sorting through boxes of hand-me-down baby clothes from my family. Weeeeird stuff. But once you have a kid, you remember the real priorities in life, and you think back to all those people back in the office who went on about their kids all day and you think -- yeah, hell yeah, thats the life for me.

We had 4 or 5 days of Christmas activities in a row, seeing lots of family and some friends and such. Ten years ago that would have driven me nuts, but now it seemed over all too fast, and I miss my family ... after having moved an hour or so away from then, it seems too far. Thats what I'm talking about.

Uncooler, but changed for the better. Creepy :)

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Rants: Email Law #47
Mon, 04 Dec 2006

I'm sure this piece of land has been claimed before, but in case not: "For each reply to an email (it will repeatedly be replied to), the replies CC list will grow a length equal to target emails CC list (or 1 if none.)" Perhaps this should be Fibonacci's Email Law.

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Personal: Casting off the Cement
Sun, 03 Dec 2006

Its come up in passing a couple times of late, so I thought - why not? - mention it here. Now, I've always been energetic and motivated, forever plowing ahead on whatever I wish or need to do. Its one of my super powers - everyone has some - that lets me get through the denouement part of a project and actually produce something. Right now, I'm full of energy and plugging away like mad. It feels good. Like past years good, when I knocked out a half dozen freeware apps on the side, just in my spare time, for something to do. Like when you were 10, and got a new pair of shoes, and just ran around the block to feel the wind in your hair. That good.

But looking back, I think there was a year or so where I wasn't so.. rejuvenated. The other day it was cold and raining hard and nasty, and Mother Nature was showing who was boss, and I smiled. Bring it, baby.

I didn't notice at the time, but by comparison and hindsight I'd have to say last year I spent walking uphill both ways through a snow-storm with cement boots. Now, I'm cool with that and slog ahead with the same old energy, but I think the whole delay in getting our lives moving on was a yoke of sorts. I didn't produce as much (and sad as I am, I measure myself in some part by how much 'stuff' I produce) and just wasn't as happy I think, though life was pretty good and I caught a bunch of BSG and Firefly. I guess I'm not suited to recognizing that sort of thing, but I know it was really effecting my wife. Anyway, so something was there and in the way, like friction.

This year isn't about that. I wrote in her Christmas card last year - "This is our year" among other things. I was, luckily, correct. While the days fly by, every one is full of exciting things, and each night I head to sleep looking forward to the next morning. With the baby coming (less than three months to go), life has reason, focus.. momentum. Carpe Diem indeed!

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Rants: Whats hidden in the EULA?
Sat, 02 Dec 2006

Someone is installing the Microsoft 'Works Suite' package, and before doing so is reading the EULA so as to know what not to touch. A sad reality we live in. Some weird stuff in there, so be careful.. (we already know theres weird stuff in the OS EULA's, letting MS uninstall applications from your machine if they don't like them. Doubtful they'd ever do that, but nonetheless, the clause is in there.)

For instance, although MS Works includes an art editing package you're not allowed to make 'obscene' images. Who defines what that is, and what business has some software company in telling you what you can or can not draw? It certainly makes you wonder if they're laying claim to ownership and responsibilities for your work. Can you sue Adobe for permitting you to print copies of dollar bills? Scarier is Microsoft Money, in whose EULA notes that the application makes unannounced connections to the net to in order to send details of transactions and bank account names to Microsoft. Not sure what they're using that information for, but it certainly doesn't sound right.. especially squirreled away in the EULA that few read!

Apparently you're only allowed to make up to 1000 printouts or uploads of maps from Streets, but only 250 times to a PDA. Again - what does it benefit MS to make up arbitrary limits? Suspicious elements like these just serve to annoy anyone who stumbles across them.. as few as that might be. I wonder if kids can install this stuff, seeing as they're not able to 'sign' contracts? Oh, and curiously enough -- you can make one print of the documentation (and are not allowed to duplicate the paper documentation.)

They do have an interesting one; each part (text editor, drawing package, financial package, etc) has to be installed together, and not individually to different machines. You can install the whole lot on one other machine, but only for personal use. Careful though, you're only allowed one print of the documentation, not one at each station :P I'm sure those rules are common, but interesting nonetheless.

It goes on of course, but bleh.

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OSX: Running Linux under Parallels on OSX
Sat, 02 Dec 2006

The goal here is to use this teeny little Mac to produce both the Mac and Linux builds of my applications. I picked up Parallels as it seemed a pretty decent package and none-too-pricey, but it doesn't seem to like running via VNC remote use too much -- something about the mouse acceleration in 3 layers confuses it (my local machine, the OSX remote desktop, and the emulated OS, all fighting.) So using the mouse is a pain while going through VNC, which is entirely the point of this exercise. Still, I've figured out a pretty workable solution.

First, it took me awhile to find the X11 server for OSX 10.4; while the Apple website insisted in no uncertain terms the application was on the install DVD, I couldn't locate it. Trying to install the official download for OSX 10.3.9 didn't work either, as it refused to install. After awhile I figured out the problem -- the installer DVD did in fact have a Optional package on it, but they made it hard to see -- and not just to me, judging from the hundreds of annoyed people I found online :) Anyway, their install disk pops up a directory panel with just a few icons in it, wihch suggests that is all; in fact, the disk has a dozen other directories in it, but they hid the icons away off the panel. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but the way they presented it tricked me. Annoying, but shameful. Thats Apple for you :)

Second, I installed Ubuntu Linux 6.0.6 into Parallels; we'll see if that version has common enough kernel and libs to be used with other peoples installs, later; for now, its nice to have a vanilla install, and then a beefed up compiler-ready development version, all switchable back and forth through using the virtual machines. It runs fast enough inside the emulation, but the mouse and keyboard are flaky due to the VNC and Parallels disliking each other.

Thirdly, the reason I installed an Xserver: One of the great things about X is you can run an application somewhere else, and send its display to your local XServer (or someone elses, for the mischief-inclined.) Once Ubuntu is up, I fire up an xterm (shell window), and then invoke another xterm but this point pointed to my X server on OSX. Thats confusing if you're an emulation newbie, but consider -- OSX is running X11, and Parallels; Parallels is in turn running Linux with an xterm that it is displaying back on OSX. At this point you can minimize and ignore Parallels, and just work in OSX -- sharing the Linux X applications along side OSX applications. No more mouse or keyboard fighting with VNC, since VNC works great with OSX itself.

I'll fill in the cracks later, but this proof of concept is what I wanted. Building applications for both Linux and OSX on one machine. Success!

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Events: The Toronto 'One of a Kind' show
Fri, 01 Dec 2006

I've no time for a comprehensive review or the like, but I thought I would say a few words in case it would help anyone make up their mind on attending or not. Its running for the last few days and over the weekend on the CNE grounds.

The OoaK show is akin to an organized flea-market.. row upon row (upon row..) of booths for artists, crafters and odds-and-enders to sell their wares. If you've ever been the Canadian National Exhibition and wandered into the International Buildings sales section, you'll know the drill -- enormous and full of neat stuff, though this time of year its geared towards Christmas gifts and knick-knacks. Really, there were so many booths up that I am glad each specialized to one kind of ware, so that you could cruise on by and have a chance of knowing what they were up to without slowing.

See more ...

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