my sediments exactly

This is the End But Not

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 21:28:46 -0500

That title makes no sense, but it seems fitting. I decided enough of the old, multi-year archives of my ramblings. With the New Year just around the corner and Christmas just a day away, time to move on. No, I am not leaving the blogosphere or the Internet (no way). I am just taking off the old field jacket, in favor of a new one. Yes, I will leave these archives up indefinitely, but will turn comments off. Enough spam is enough. So, move forward with me to my new blog, driven by MovableType ~~Open Source~~ 4.1...

Gneiss, Tuff and a Little Wacke

...and enjoy my continuing search for whatever it is I am searching for :-)

Well Do I?

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:54:14 -0500

I can think of a few groups, organizations, etc. to which this animation is a fitting way to describe my feelings towards them. Does the shoe fit? ;-) (via Begonia)

Shoutcast in the Sidebar

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:27:03 -0500

Just found a nifty sidebar widget that makes getting to my live scanner stream simple, including an imbedded WMP for those who cannot install software at work (you are welcome, Dan!). The screenshot of the widget, aptly named SHOUTcast Sidebar Widget, looked super and filled every need that I had. I was troubled, though, to see a very recent post on the WordPress forums of someone having a problem getting it to work. I thought probably a WP install that falls outside the norm and that mine will work just fine. Well, it did not. The widget title showed up fine, but that was it. So, I opened the code up. Warning - I am not (repeat, not) a PHP expert. Perl yes, PHP, no. So, I did what any good programmer would do (other than RTFM) and sprinkled a few echo statements in the main script to see what it was (and was not) finding. It read my Shoutcast status page just fine, as well as parsed the results properly, but when it arrived at fetching the skeleton page, nothing was retrieved. I looked at the filename and it was correct. What was wrong were two things, one my fault, one the code:

In the README file, it says to extract all the files into wp-content/plugins/sc_widget. Problem is that the installation zip file has them in a directory called shoutcast-sidebar-widget. Most widget and plugin installations for WP do not change directory names in mid-installation, most are just drag 'em over. I will take the hit (did not RTFM), but left the directory name as is and changed the code.
Looking at the filenames in the script and the skeleton page, all the fully qualified references were to /wp-content/plugins/sc_widget/sc_running.htm, which works just dandy if your WP installation is at the root of the server. Removing the leading slash makes the script and resulting, edited skeleton file work just dandy in any level of the server. There are 6 occurrences in the two files, sc_widget.php and sc_running.htm. Easy enough edit.

I made those changes and it works like a champ, as you can see in the sidebar! I plan on sending the changes to the author next with a nice thank you for writing the original code!

Changing over to Prettier Permalinks

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:57:17 -0500

Now that I have mod_rewrite installed and I attempted and succeeded on the main web site, I am adding prettier permalinks on the blog as well. Please stand by. :-) Update: Work complete! Now wasn't that easy!

Did I Blinkout Blinklist?

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:09:40 -0500

I sure hope not :-) Well, I felt defeated the other day when I lost all my Blinklist bookmarks because I wanted to make some mass changes and figured that the Blinklist XML backup format would be the best to work with to do it. Go figure. They have a wonderful site and it is so useful and easy to use with its nifty Ajax widgets. You would think that their own backup format could be imported back into the system. No, leave it to me to find an undocumented feature and lose all of my 2400+ bookmarks! Well, I did not lose them totally. I still had the Blinklist XML format file. For restores/imports, Blinklist also accepts several other formats, including JavaScript Object Notation or JSON. So, what could it take? Flip a few tags, change a few names? I started by reading an article on O'Reilly's XML web site about converting between XML and JSON. The article gives a very straightforward set of examples of how the structures vary and rules binding the conversion. I did find a few modules out on CPAN that did conversions, but most were small code fragments that would have required more work than I had time to tie together. I took a look at the Blinklist XML file. The XML was well-formed and appeared to be a straight one-to-one conversion to JSON with a few minor tag/ID name changes. So, I put together 70 lines of perl code and converted the Blinklist XML file into a new JSON file. I tried it first on the dozen links I already added to my new (temporary I hope) Blinklist, exporting in both XML and JSON formats, creating my own JSON version, comparing the two, and then importing both to check for differences. None found! So why I am asking if I may have caused some heartburn for Blinklist is that... well... no response from the helm, Mr. Scott :-( Just in case my Blinklist is locked during import and the reason I am not seeing it, I went to the root page of the web site and... well... nothing there either :-( Mike, if you are scurrying aroun, trying to get the servers back on the air, my apologies if it was my little ol' fault. I find that doubtful, but best to cover all the bases. Soon, I hope to report that my full Blinklist is back in business! Update! SUCCESS! My old Blinklist is back online!

Invites: Waiting for Godot?

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 10:19:59 -0500

As I have done on many previous occasions, I have asked for an invite today to get on Pownce, yet another social networking tool. I find it curious how the invitation systems work or don't. Sometimes, the invite comes, geez, almost before I click the submit button. Sometimes, they never come (like Orkut, which I finally signed up for today). Now mind, I am not a sign up for every new thing that requires an invite type person, although I do like to be an early trier (and adopter if I like it). I am though the kind of person who, if they really (really) likes something, I will use it, hype it, and share it with everyone I know. Conversely, if it sucks, I will let the world know that as well. So, I hope the good folks at Pownce see this and, if their product is up to it, will send me an invite. Oh, for those who are not dramatically inclined, the title reference is to Samuel Beckett's play in which the characters wait for someone who never arrives.

Silly, Just Plain Silly

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:00:18 -0500

Ok, I admit it. I do love to find fun, silly, little devices to toss up here. And this one is in the ultimate silly category. While reading the About entry on a blog, I just had to chuckle. I figured what the hell, let's see how I can approximate me on this site. The web site is called Meez and it has a super easy interface that walks you through the process which yields an exportable animated GIF file. They used a lot of imagination in this process, so much so that I could actually get pretty close to how I appear and what I am doing right now. So, what are you waiting for? I know you can't wait to try it yourself! Using that link will gain you 5 extra coinz, the currency used to get extra special additions to your Meez. I admit it - I get 5 as well. And, yes, I know they are aiming at the younger crowd, but us more mature people can have fun, too, right? (via Grilled Cheese)

How Much For This House?

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:22:25 -0500

Nevermind what I was searching for in Google, but I came across this post that is too funny. Believe it or not, that little house, located in Toronto, that is wedged on what looks to be a driveway, is for sale! The price is what is amazing: $179,900 Canadian ($176,563 in US dollars). Talk about the high cost of housing. It really does look like a cute little house (emphasis on little), the perfect starter home. I read through the realtor's specifications. It even comes with two parking spaces. Funny, the parking spaces are probably larger than the house! Sad, that much money would buy you nothing in this area. Well, then again, maybe two parking spaces! (via Toronto Mike)

Yahoo Shortcuts Plugin

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 13:52:42 -0500

I was over at the Yahoo Developers web site today to grab an application key for a new web site. I noticed that the featured video on the front page was about a new plug-in for Wordpress. It is used while you are writing a new post (or editing an old one) and what it does is scans the content for possible items of interest from Yahoo. Things like maps, graphics, photos and such. So, what the hell, being a tech toy whore, I decided to load it up and see what it yields from the wealth of Yahoo Maps, Search, Flickr, and whatever other goodies they have stored. So I will pause in writing and see the three shortcuts it found already! (pause)

So far, it basically found the links you see in the post above, as well as putting a Flickr badge at the bottom of the post, using those three terms as the keyword search. Now, let us add West Chester, Pennsylvania and the West Whiteland Fire Company to the mix and see what else show up. (pause) So, I removed the links to the three obvious web sites and added in automatically a map of the borough. It did not find the fire company's web site Curious as to how precise the search is, possibly only related to map locations or Flickr-finds. Now going to enable everything and see how it looks in reality! Update: Well, after publishing the web page and bringing it up in both Firefox and IE, I was singularly unimpressed with what happened when you moused over a link. It came up with some skeletal-looking windows and was not until you actually clicked the link that a Yahoo box came up with several search results. While it is a cute way to find related maps and pictures on Flickr for your post, I find that its usability for the general (read: non-geek) reader is lacking greatly.

Gotta Laugh at Some Spam

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:07:05 -0500

I have to admit I almost thought a comment that was caught by Akismet really wasn't spam. It was on my post on Sherri Shepherd's interpretation of history where I made a reference to Art Linkletter's House Party. The incoming message said they had found it via Google and it had a link to a web site with a similar last name (leave it at that). Funny, Google had not caught up with my feed when the first comment was left. Nor the second. Nor the third or the fourth. Tiny variations on a theme they all were, but methinks they were to drive up a web site rank. Not on my dime ;-)

5 Minutes or So of Fame

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:59:47 -0500

Nice! I can actually use the As Heard On category for myself! I didn't get home for my morning routine until around 9 AM. So I flipped on WCHE AM and started my morning listen to the Jay and Randy Show. All of a sudden, I hear my name... the cat doesn't talk and no one was home but me. Damn! It was on the radio! I proceed to hear Randy talking about my entry on AM radio stations in West Chester and saying that he was wondering if I would be cool with it being read on the air, as well as the web site address! I cranked up AIM and im'd him fast saying sure! Next thing I know, he is reading verbatim the posting. Damn! Thanks for the promo! No, I can't afford to pay your rate card rates ;-) I still can only think of one thing to say... DAMN! And please, anyone who is visiting, courtesy of WCHE, welcome, enjoy and, of course, leave a comment if you feel the urge to do so, and please stop back often! All who agree (and disagree) with my opinion are always welcome!

With All 15 Listeners

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:35:09 -0500

I have been listening to talk radio since the early 70's when I was a student at La Salle in Philadelphia. WCAU (now The Big Talker 1210 WPHT) had an overnight radio show that many insomniac college students listened to... the Bill Corsair Show. He would keep up company while we were doing homework (or doing just about anything else). It was downhill from there. I have always had a great affection for AM radio that continues today. Here in West Chester, we are obviously close enough to Philly for a wide selection of stations. WPHT does not cut it - far too many nationally syndicated talkers. In the borough, we actually have two AM radio stations, WCOJ at 1420 kHz and WCHE at 1520 kHz. WCOJ is a 24x7 station with its transmitter out Coatesville way, with mostly nationally syndicated talk programming plus a morning lineup anchored on Ron's Swap Shop, a phone-in flea market (wanna buy my jacuzzi?). Their early morning show has gone down the tubes since the exit of Program Director/DJ Joe Thomas, but the afternoon drive time program, The Big Show with Robert Henson, is usually stuffed with a variety of good local newsworthy topics. But Robert's 3 hours Monday through Friday do little for the rest of the programming. While I do listen to Dave Ramsey and Doctor Joy, I listen to them on XM rather than 'COJ. Why? Their signal quality sucks. While the studios are located in the borough, the borough and surrounding townships have many blank spots for reception. I found it funny that I was literally parked in front of their studio on West Gay Street and I could not hear the station clearly enough to listen to it comfortably. Further down West Gay Street, in an old storefront (typical, mixed-use, store on first, apartments above building), you will find WCHE's studios. They are a daytimer station which in a nutshell means that they run low power (1000 watts daytime, 500 watts during critical hours around twilight) to avoid interference with two 50000 watt clear channel stations. That is clear channel as in the FCC definition, not Clear Channel as in the media conglomerate which sucked up most of the major commercial AM and FM stations under their canned, automated programming for the masses format starting in the 70's. But what 'CHE lacks in wattage, they make up in horsepower in a very simple, two-segment broadcasting day during the week. The morning (sometimes stretching into early afternoon) call-in program, The Jay and Randy Show, is... well... different :) to say the least. Some would call it small scale shock jock (hometown Howard Stern?), some would call it self promotion for the 15 or so regular callers to the show. I call it real local AM radio. True, I may not agree with some (or most) of the opinions expressed by the callers, but I find it refreshing to hear the daily banter about borough politics, taxes supporting libraries, or the important question today: Who is Swee'Pea's father? Silly? Damn straight! The last time I looked at why I listen to the radio, one of the key elements that I look for is entertainment. What a concept! Sure, information is ranked high as well - Jay always reads the friggin' news, straight from the front section of the Daily Local Snooze, with interjected interpretation and commentary from Randy and callers. Traffic reports... well, that was a topic of discussion this morning as well. Hello? Who cares about the Mid-County (Montgomery County) Toll Plaza? Come on Eric, tell us about the Route 100 Spur (one of my personal favorites as a Fire Cop) or 322! Nice feature that 'CHE has over 'COJ - online streaming! So even if you are in Coatesville (why?) or St Louis or San Tropez (make a note: go there so I can test the stream), you can get your daily fix! Rest of the day is filled with a varied collection of rock music. I find myself listening longer every day although I would prefer a bit more 80's alternative in the mix as well. Bottom line is that, in my humble opinion, 'CHE wins the battle for my AM listening in the morning. They are local, they talk local, and, most importantly I can hear them whether it be in the car or at the keyboard. Editor's Note: No, those are not the official logos for the stations, just some doodling of mine in Photoshop. 'COJ's is self-explanatory (radio for the rest of the county). I decided to include Reddy Kilowatt, the familiar mascot of the electric industry (electricity... static... get it?). Rock factoid - Phil Lesh has adopted Reddy as a mascot! Anyway, they are just idle doodling while listening to the continuing debate and discourse on WCHE.

Could Be Really PO’d Right Now

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:36:34 -0500

You know, it must be a sign of maturity... no, old people (like me) are always grumpy (not!). As a part of resurrecting the blog, I decided also to resurrect my old links area on BlinkList. If you click that link now, you will say Geez, doesn't Jim save anything? Well, last night I had several thousand links out there until I decided to backup, cleanup, and reload them. Seemed simple enough, using the BlinkList tools, that I could do just that: export them as BlinkList XML, edit them (a little grep/sed/awk-ing to clean out the crap), and then import them again. Right? Wrong. The import process generated a ream of SQL errors and my BlinkList was destroyed. Annihilated. Poof. Gone. Lucky for me, I was an early adopter of BlinkList (it really is a super tool!) and happened to have the email of the chief geek on the project. Hoping he was still connected with the project, I emailed him and got a quick response. Unfortunately, not the right response. So, I am now off to concoct my own solution! Time to write a little perl code to see if I can get around this problem! We shall see... Update @ 1530...

I just realized I still had a ton of those links on Furl as well. Mostly older unfortunately. So, I did a quick export from Furl and am now attempting a bookmark import at BlinkList. Attempting is the keyword here - it has been running for about 15 minutes so far...

Update @ 2130...

Well, I have some of the old bookmarks added, but without tags or categories :( Time to do some serious coding I do believe!

Update @ 2200...

Wasted enough time on BlinkList. It is a real shame, but I have more important things to do rather than debug someone else's software process. I understand it is a free system, etc., etc., etc. I also understand that they have an obvious programming problem which, oh well, isn't going to be fixed anytime soon. Cut my losses and move on.

First Real Snow

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:38:02 -0500

Yep, it is snowing today - a bit more than the few flakes we had yesterday, but enough to give a minor coating on the grass. So, while tending to cleaning up the rec (read: wreck) room, I am getting things back in shape here. I do like this new format (hats off to Bob) and am having fun adding widgets and plugins. Yes, I am a geek and I do like to over decorate... but things will settle down, just bear with me in the meanwhile. Please, if you see something you like, leave a comment... also if something annoys you too. So, back to cleaning out boxes and straightening out the mess, off- and on-line.

Reason #74 Why I Watch Little TV

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:22:24 -0500

In a country where Dancing with the Stars is the number one rated TV show and the nation's book reading is guided by a talk show host, nothing amazes me anymore. It used to be Art Linkletter's Kids Say the Darnedest Things on House Party, where obviously young school kids would say things that were totally absurd. But they are kids and have not had the benefit of higher education and life experience - it is expected of them. Enter Sherri Shepherd, one of the co-idiots on ABC's daytime show, The View. According to the blurb on YouTube, Sherri, during a discussion about Epicurus, who predates Jesus by over 300 years, Sherri makes the remark, "Nothing predates the Christians". Listen for yourself... I especially like one of the astute comments made on YouTube: Don't blame the girl. Blame the people who educated her. According to Wikipedia, she grew up in a seemingly nice Chicago suburb and worked as a legal secretary before turning to comedy so she must have at least graduated from high school. A Jehovah's Witness turned born-again Christian? So she went from being a fundamentalist Christian to a... fundamentalist Christian? Must make sense to someone ;) Anyway, she appears to have lived and breathed during the 20th Century, had at least a public school education, and pursued a real job, prior to entering fantasyland. So even if she never listened in public and/or private schools, if she is so freakin' religious and has read the Bible, she should know that in the plot line that Jesus (or a reference by name to Jesus) does not appear until the New Testament. So, students, the question of the hour is...

If there was nothing before Jesus, who wrote thirty-nine books of the Old Testament?

Must have been magic! Oh, and isn't Jesus the Son of God? And what about all those written about in the Old Testament, like our favorite parents of all mankind, Adam and Eve? Wait a minute... did not Jesus come to save us all because Eve was tempted by the devil in the Garden and gave the apple to Adam? So, I think the lovely Sherri needs a little remedial bible school training as well. Perhaps she needs to engage her brain prior to vibrating those vocal chords. The bigger question I have... how many people out there sent in complaint mail to the network in support of Sherri's statements, knowing that she was speaking The Truth! Scary thought, eh? So, the next time you get the urge to watch The View, go find a library and read a book (non-fiction, preferably). (Via Petulant Rumblings and The Daily Background)