Apr
16
Released OpenRule 2.0 (Venus) into the wild. Lots of new features including:
* Transparency controls
* Can measure in Inches, Centimeters, Pica and Pixels
* Custom measurements can be created
* The new Preference dialog allows you to customize the functionality and look of the ruler
* The tick leader line — a small line that hangs off the ruler — helps you keep track of where your mouse is on the ruler
* The ruler can be nudged by one pixel using the arrow keys and moved by 10 pixels by holding down the control key and using the arrow keys
* New about information
* Pressing F1 takes you to the user guide page
* Window and Mac executable are available
Aug
14
Yes I haven’t updated this summer and really I don’t have a good excuse. Just got out of the habit I guess. Well here is a new theme for the fall.
May
2
The Onion, one of my favorite fake news sources, just recently added video and audio sound bites to their site. I found one video entitled “Breaking News: Something Happening In Haiti” that really highlights the absurdity that sometimes occurs when 24/7 News agencies (such as CNN) are reporting a breaking news story especially when the story is still quite fluid.
Breaking News: Something Happening In Haiti
This is a reposting from theborregos.org — 2 May 2007
Apr
22
Since today is Earth day CNN has been touting many different events and activities. One such activity that I found was from Earth Day Network. They have a Footprint Calculator where the user answers a series of questions about their lifestyle. At the end of the questions a score is calculated in the form of how many Earths would be needed if the rest of the world lived the same lifestyle as the user. After completing the calculator my score read 4.8 Earths. I was thinking to myself, “wow I am completely trashing the Earth!” Out of curiosity I wanted to see what it looks like to score just 1 Earth. After all that’s where I should be. Well after much tweaking of my answers the lowest score I could get was 2.4 Earths. Does this mean anything I do is dooming the Earth? I mean come on Earth Day Network give me some hope! This makes me wonder, is this just a tool to shame people into being more Earth friendly?
Did anyone else try their hand at this calculator and get a score better then 2.4 Earths?
Apr
18
Created this logo the other day using inkscape. The idea is that the rose is a graphical representation of a haiku—a 3 lined poem in the format of 5-7-5 syllables usually about nature. The font used for “haiku” is called dreamer one found on urbanfonts.
haiku logo
haiku logo by leadiv is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Apr
9
Thats right folks I have upgraded my phone recently and now have T-Mobile’s new sidekick. This spiffy piece of technoloy allows me to IM several people at once, grab my email from 4 different accounts, listen to music, and take snapshots (1.3 giga-pixel but what can you expect its a cell phone!) all while surfing the web for random (and useless) facts. But thats not all, I can extend it by taking images and uploading them to flickr pretty much in real time; use ssh to log into servers to move files and edit information; access your home computer for files; and to actually make phone calls without going through T-Mobile — which is good since I only have a data plan — using Skype (:-). All this for the low low price of $250. Yeah I know thats a fairly steep price but for what you can do — not to mention the fact that the data plan is one of the cheapest plans out — with the sidekick I think it can easily make up for this price.
Right now I am trying to figure out how to get it so that I can edit my website and various blogs that I own.
This is a reposting from theborregos.org — 9 April 2007
Apr
8
There I was biting my nails like I do in the middle of an intense thriller movie. Looking intently at the screen hoping and praying everything turns out okay. Of course I was not watching the latest thriller, I was just trying to install Ubuntu 8.10 on an old IBM ThinkPad. The past day or so I have been trying to get the installation CD to work to no avail.
I have at least learned a few things in the process though. Like for one don’t ever fully wipe out the partition until you know for sure the installation will work. You never know when a CD/DVD drive is going to bit the dust. A better idea is to partition off a section and try installing Ubuntu along side Windows or whatever other OS you currently have before blowing the whole hard dive away just to find out that halfway through the install process you get an unresolvable error. Better to have one OS then none.
The second thing–which I think is the issue I ran into–is if you are installing it on an older computer you should really take into an account that it has older hardware and not the latest and greatest. When I went to burn the ISO to the CD I just used the default speed on my burner (maximum). This as it turns out did not really jive with the ThinkPad’s CD/DVD drive’s speed. So after many failed installations and thoughts of just chucking the laptop out my second floor apartment and telling my brother it was stolen by intergalactic computer hacking gnomes. I tried writing the CD at x20 instead of the maximum (whatever that might be on my CD/DVD burner). So far it seems to be working albeit slow and steady.
Apr
4
I was messing with Photoshop this morning and came up with this image. It kind of reminds me of a movie or book poster. However, I could not think of any good captions. So if any of you fine creative people out there can think of something please leave a comment!
For those interested in how I came up with the image. Here are the steps I took:
1. Using the Select ->Color Range.. feature on PhotoShop I grabbed the highlighted area of the image.
2. Made a copy of the base image and applied the Difference filter to the image.
3. Making sure that the Highlight is the top most layer followed by the Difference and then the base image created the image.
The orginal photo can be view at twentysixcats’ flickr page.
Mar
18
The pass few days I have been trying to figure out how to work with property files. A project I am working with uses Java DB and I want to have a property file that customizes where the database is located. Finding and loading the file has proven a bit difficult because I am trying to call the property file from the static main function of my program. So I can’t use the usual static functions to call the resource file in a physical independent way. I am hoping that encapslating it in a class might solve my problem.
Mar
18
Why would we really expect a company that participated in so many “creative” and “exotic” loans that blew up in their face be responsible with any more money entrusted to them. It is our own fault for bailing out a company that should have failed in the first place. The real outrage should be directed on those who pushed hard to bailout AIG.
In the end it is the American people who lose out. A very bad precentdent has been set by this finanial crisis just like during the financial crisises of the 1930s. We now have a “de facto nationalization of AIG” (as quoted from an interview with Barney Frank). Billions of dollars sunk into trying to “fix” this crisis with nothing to show for it but a ailing economy and hard times. Either way hard times were going to hit the economy due to a propped economy. Letting the government become intimately involved only prolongs the effects of this recession, make the situation even messier.
Mar
18
I just installed a new plugin for wordpress called twitter tools that integrates twitter with wordpress. I just wanted to take it for a test drive. Does anyone else use twitter with their blog?
Mar
6
The past few days I have been consumed with trying to figure out how Derby works. Derby is Java’s DBMS coded entirely in Java. I want to use Derby as part of the deliciousBlogger project to manage profile and scheduling information.
Derby has some very cool features if you are developing with Java. You are able to start it up as an embedded or server database. The embedded mode means you dont need a separate process to be running for the database system. It will run in the same space as the JVM. From what I have figured out you can pretty much do all the basic functions as other database servers though not always the same way. It does support core SQL commands to keep it standard.
I finally figured out how to start up the database in embedded mode (or at least i think it is); create a table; insert a few items; then query the table and print out the results.
package model;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import org.apache.derby.drda.NetworkServerControl;
import java.net.InetAddress;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.ResultSet;
import java.sql.Statement;/**
*
* @author leadiv
*/
public class testing {
public static void main(String args[]) {
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
NetworkServerControl server;
Connection conn;try {
server = new NetworkServerControl(InetAddress.getByName(“localhost”), 1527);
server.start(null);System.out.println(server.getSysinfo());
String nsURL=”jdbc:derby://localhost:1527/testing;create=true”;
java.util.Properties props = new java.util.Properties();
props.setProperty(“user”,”dbo1337″);
props.setProperty(“password”,”fnpbz”);/*
If you are running on JDK 6 or higher, you do not
need to invoke Class.forName(). In that environment, the
ClientDriver loads automatically.
*/
Class.forName(“org.apache.derby.jdbc.ClientDriver”);
conn = DriverManager.getConnection(nsURL, props);/*interact with Derby*/
Statement s = conn.createStatement();
s.execute(“create table \”MYTABLE\” (\”ID\” INTEGER not null primary key, \”NAME\” VARCHAR(50))”);
s.execute(“insert into mytable values(1, ‘Paul’)”);
s.execute(“insert into mytable values(2, ‘Ashley’)”);ResultSet rs = s.executeQuery(“select NAME from MYTABLE”);
while (rs.next()) {
System.out.println(“Name: ” + rs.getString(1));
}rs.close();
s.close();
conn.close();
server.shutdown();} catch(Exception ex) {
Logger.getLogger(ProfileSQL.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
}
});
}
}
Here are some links talking about Derby: Java Databasing with Derby, Derby’s Documentation
Feb
27
While reading xkcd.com I found an illusion to simple.wikipedia.org. Its just like wikipedia but it is put in simple sentences. So the next time you read an article in wikipedia and don’t have a clue as to what you just read then head on over to simple.wikipedia.org and see if you can find a simpler explaination.
Jan
20
I have been working on a project recently to allow bloggers a way to post delicious links on their blogspot blog as a post automaticly. This first version will not be to useful for those who only use Google’s Blogger site or do not have access to a server with php. It is more of trying to understand what the process looks like in living breathing code. This will be a simpified prototype that is usable by anyone that has access to a server with php and cronjobs.
Today I just started on the script to access Google’s Blogger API. It seems to be so far much easier then working with Delicious either that or I have gotten better at reading and working with APIs.
Comment if you have any questions, concerns or ideas for this project.
Jan
18
PETA has decided to re-brand fish as “sea kittens” in hopes that this will deter people from eating fish. I don’t this will be an effective campaign. Anyone with a little common sense will be able to “sea” right through this weak attempt to convince people that we should not eat meat. Really if you can’t convince people on the basis of your logic you might want to rethink your reasoning. Given the picture of a kitten and a fish anyone will be able to clearly see that kitties are cute and well fish are not so much. This is why we have Lolcats and not Lolfish. Trying to redefine terms to subtlety trick people into your way of believing something is a little underhanded at best, at worst it is downright Orwellian (remember newspeak in Nineteen Eighty-Four?). As Shakespeare put it so eloquently
” What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;” [full context]
– Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 1594
Yes a fish stick by anyother name tastes just as good to me. Sorry PETA I am not so easliy convinced.
Photo by johnnyberg (www.sxc.hu/photo/1132483)/pale (www.sxc.hu/photo/1133808)
Hat-tip: CNN
Dec
31
Mircosoft recently applied for a patent on metered computing. Basically a computer is just about given to you for free but as you use programs and the types of programs you use you will be charged per time unit. Programs requiring more resources cost more per unit.
I can see how some consumers may find this an attractive solution. Especially those who do not use the computer often or use it for one specific use. I have a feeling that this will be less of an ideal solution for the consumers who depend on technology on a daily basis. Consumers like the idea of having the freedom of doing with their computer and programs what they want whenever they want. The approach that Mircosoft is proposing feels a lot like the consumer is being nickel-and-dime. This also raises the question of how locked down the computer will be. Would you be able to install other programs such as open source software or would you be limited to the “packaged software bundles” that you have bought. How much control will you really have? As a developer I like being able to tinker with my computer to see what can really be done.
There seems to be enough options on the market for cheap computers that would make sense to users that only use lite computing instead of going with a pay-as-you-go model.
Overall this seems like a bad deal for the consumer. In the longer run you will lose more money using your computer then you would in owning the computer. I would rather have a less then ideal computer in performance, then a computer that I have to pay for everytime I use. I just don’t see how Mircosoft will be able to convince consumers to swtich from owning their own computer to paying for everything you do on your computer.
Dec
30
2008 has come and gone and I am contemplating all that has changed in this year. I don’t think it has been a watershed year but another good year none the less. Either way it is always a good idea to pause for a moment to look back on your footprints through the year. Here are some highlights:
* Meet with a Money Map Coach
* Hung out with Isaac in Atlanta
* Turned 26
* Paid off the Corolla
* Camped everywhere in Georgia (Ft Mt, Magnolia, Savannah, Ft McAllister, Ft Pulaski, General Coffee)
* Lost a baby in the womb 
* Celebrated 2 wonderful years of marriage
* Held Gerig Reunion 2008 at Brown State Park
* Joined a d-group
* Helped launch CNNhealth.com
* Had my identity stolen
* Sold the Intrepid
Dec
27
It has been way too long since I have posted. I had ment to make a few more Christmas-ish changes to my site before Christmas but have been so busy going to parties and shopping that I ran out of time. Then dealing with some one stealing my personal identity at the same time has not helped the holidays go smoothly. But I look foward to a new year. I got the book “How to make things talk” for Christmas which I am excited about. Hopefully soon I will have the expertise to at least make some small robots. I can’t wait to get home and start on some of the projects in the book.
2008 has been a good year and I expect 2009 to be even better!
Nov
17
I just stumbled across a new Web tool that I have been hoping someone would create for a while. It is a money management tool called Wesabe. Basically you hook up your bank account information to the site so that your transactions are pulled from your online banking. From there you are able to tag each transaction and see graphs as to how you are using your money. Another cool thing is that you are able to split transactions between tags and further detail how and where your money is going. I have been using this for just about a month now and really love it. It does not have a large amount of features on it but I do like just the basics. The graphs make it easier for me to view where my money is going. Of course when we talk about online bank information being thrown around concerns about how Wesabe uses that information comes to mind. Their privacy policy says they don’t use or give out your banking information other then displaying it on your own account. They use an https (its the internet with security) when veiwing your account. It seems that the risks of giving your banking information to Wesabe out weigh the reward of having a very handy online Quicken.
Oct
31
About 2 months of coding has finally paid off. Mercury has been release earlier this week. This is the first stable version of the screen ruler OpenRule. It is a very basic version of the popular freeware program JRuler. One of my favorite features is the snap to zero functionality, which will snap the ruler to your cursor at pixel zero. More information can be found on the project page.
Oct
31
These are my thoughts and convictions on a topic I always assumed were cut and dry growing up.
Participating in Halloween is a topic that some Christians believe is acceptable. I will not say that participating in Halloween or its many traditions is a sin. However, from my viewpoint it has very little to no value to the Christian.
Historically Halloween as practiced by originating cultures has been a tradition focused on fear of the dead. This is clearly seen in Halloween’s theme of ghosts, witches, vampires, and other dark themes. So why would any Christian want to participate in such a holiday? There are two main arguments that I have encountered.
The first viewing Halloween as a fun-filled time of dressing up and going trick-or-treating. I agree that there is a part of Halloween that is innocent fun. At the same time it does give children a sense that evil is just innocent fun. That one time out of the year it is OK to dress up and pretend to be a goblin or witch. The second signal it sends is to others around you who are not a Christian that you approve of all things Halloween, because when the world considers Halloween it sees both the innocent and not so innocent parts. You become connected not just to trick-or-treating but the general celebration of all things evil.
Second, participating in Halloween is a way of being a good neighbor. The idea here being that connecting with your neighbors in this way will lead to opportunities to share Christ. There is some truth in this. Walking around the neighborhood trick-or-treating will allow you to meet people you might not normally interact with. At the same time doing something that everyone else does–especially with the overtone of evil–does not really support being a witness for Christ. Being a good neighbor is not just something you do once a year but a lifestyle of going out of your way to connect with those around you. Looking for ways of serving those around you. I have a feeling if you are connecting and showing Christ around you then if you decide not to celebrate a holiday that everyone else does might just make a larger impact and open up a conversation or two.
As I said in the beginning I don’t believe that it is a sin to participate in Halloween but I cannot in good conscience participate or support a holiday that celebrates evil or makes evil out to be fun and good. I am sure that I have not hit all of the arguments for or against this topic but are the main arrangements that I have heard.
What do you think? Am I way off or right on? Let me know with a comment.
Oct
27
This is the overall roadmap for the OpenRule software. The current status version of OpenRule is marked below in orange-yellow. Hopefully, by the time we reach Mars status OpenRule can be marked as mature and will not need any more additional features. As always you can get the most up to date version on the project page.
Mercury (1.x)
• Must be always on top
• Have ruler ticks counting off the units
• Displays the number of pixels from the beginning of the ruler (pixel 0)
• Ruler should be easily re-sizable
• A fast key for flipping between horizontal and vertical modes.
• Close and minimize buttons
• Snap beginning of ruler to cursor
• The ruler is drag-able
Venus (2.x)
• Add Program icon to replace the default Java Icon.
• Allow the ruler to be transparent
• Allow the ruler to be different colors.
• Nudge the whole ruler by a pixel using arrow keys (left, right, top and bottom)
• A leader hangs off of the ruler which easily shows where your cursor is on the ruler
• About menu item
• Help menu item
• Change the tick units (px, inch, cm, pica, custom)
Earth (3.x)
• Add Default Preferences for: color and transparency, orientation, always on top, tick units, and bar layout
• Snap end of the ruler to cursor
• Snap ruler to cursor at pixel position X
• Snap cursor to end of ruler
• Snap cursor to beginning of ruler
• Snap cursor to nearest tick
• Snap cursor to nearest tick mode
• Click, click measure mode (The mouse click defines the beginning and ending positions)
• Swap the info bar and tick bar
Mars (4.x)
• Rotate ruler
• Click, click measure at an angle (The mouse click defines the beginning and ending positions)
Revision List*
• Must be always on top — Make this optional but default to “always on top”
• Nudge by 5 pixels when using ctrl+arrow keys
Bug List*
• Does not work on Mac (Java 1.5.x)
Found a Bug? Report it!
Ongoing Tasks
• Code documentation
• Getting started and Help sections
• Streamlining code making it efficient
*A significant amount of minor revisions and bugs can count for a version or significant internal code revision.
Oct
23
This past week has seen lots of effort in getting the basic version of OpenRule up and running. Here are some highlights:
- Developed the vertical version of the ruler
- Added the RulerEvent and RulerListener claases to address
- flipping between the two Ruler modes
- form controls (minimizing, exiting)
- global keyboard commands
- Allow the ruler to resize
You can download the newest version of the ruler here and the code here. Have comments or questions about OpenRule? Email us at paul(at)leadiv(dot)com or post a comment on this post.
Always welcome other developers to help make OpenRule even better. If you are interested please contact me here paul(at)leadiv(dot)com
