Living in SD has more perks than just beaches and tons of sunshine. It's also host to Comic-Con International, which is fastly becoming not on only the comic event of the year but also the entertainment event of the year. With major movie studios and TV networks premiering new and old shows it's a must for any fan of the genres. Even though they're spreading out a lot of the bigger events over the four days instead of loading up Saturday as they have in the past, I will only be attending Friday and Saturday. Luckily these two days encompass what I'm most interested in seeing:
Friday:
10:30am-Noon - Warner Bros
I'm pumped to see the first looks at the comic based Whiteout and Watchmen films
2:00pm-3:00pm - Spotlight on Neil Gaiman
One of my favourite writers, famous for Sandman and Neverwhere. Also wrote Mirrormask which is a weird but awesome Alice in Wonderland type film
4:00-5:30 - Vertigo: Looking over the Edge
DC's more "adult" line of comics, featuring Sandman, Fables, 100 Bullets, V for Vendetta, and Y the Last Man
Saturday:
10:45am-12:00pm - The Simpsons
Featuring Matt Groening and other production members on a panel
12:45pm-2:00pm - Heroes
Featuring a clip from the next season and many cast members (Including Hiro)
2:15pm-3:15pm - BattleStar Galactica
Panel on the final season with multiple cast members and producers
3:30pm-4:30pm - Penny-Arcade
One hour Q&A with Tycho and Gabe
4:15pm-5:00m - Marvel Studios
Debuts of the upcoming Hulk and Iron Man films, featuring Edward Norton, Robert Downy Jr, and Liv Tyler
5:30pm-7:00pm - Columbia Screen Gems
Featuring looks and discussion of Superbad, Resident Evil 3, and the awesome looking 30 Days of Night
Whew! These days are going to be packed! Unfortunately I probably won't make it to all of these, due to the lines that form before some of the bigger events, but there should be enough space in there to queue up before the ones I really want to make it to. Now I just need to make sure I pick up enough stuff on the floor to keep me busy while waiting.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Debian Software RAID Setup
The Problem
Over the past few years space on my server would increase based on the deals found on sites like Slickdeals. After some time this lead to a mishmash of two PATAs and one SATA at 120Gb, 160Gb, and 200Gb respectively on my personal media server. Glad as I was to have all this space it started to become disk management issue since I wanted the bulk of the space consolidated for media. Filling up one drive would require me to move data to another with more space, causing organization and software issues (NFS would not single export multiple mounts).
Remedy
Last week this all became moot when Fry's advertised a 500Gb SATAII Maxtor drive for 90$. My EPoX motherboard was capable for RAID-0 and RAID-1 so I figured it was time to upgrade to a terabyte and bought two.
The initial plan was to create a RAID-0 array (striping for performance), re-install Debian, copy all data, and remove the older drives for noise and heat reasons. With two of them PATA drives, they could stay in the system easily copy straight to the new array. The older SATA drive had the OS and I wanted to keep it around for config reference when I was re-setting up the server. Both of the SATA ports would be used for the new array, not allowing this SATA to remain in the system, this was solved by purchasing a Masscool PATA/SATA external USB enclosure and copying the data from there.
Issues
Once everything was hooked up I ran the RAID BIOS config, set the new SATAs for RAID-0, and booted up the Debian Netinst CD. Surprisingly the installer showed both 500Gb drives as /dev/sda and /dev/sdb, completely ignoring the BIOS set RAID array. After doing a bit of research online for the RAID chipset (VIA VT6420) I found that it wasn't capable for true hardware RAID and instead relied on drivers in the OS to function properly, aka "fakeraid". These drivers only really existed for Windows and not Linux. Eventually I did find ones for Linux, but they were binary only and didn't look too friendly.
I thought about using them, but then remembered that Linux can do software RAID. Having briefly heard about software RAID before I was suspicious until I read a few articles explaining it's virtues. After tracking down a how-to Software RAID for Debian before I knew it I had a software RAID-0 array running on /dev/md0. For screen shots check out this Ubuntu Server Install guide.
Debian Config
The biggest choice while running the install was which file system to us. I gave ext3 a try first, with formatted space coming up to around 870Gb. XFS came out to 932Gb which was better, but after reading XFS's disadvantages (no journaling for data blocks) I decided it wasn't the best choice. JFS was last, which I was running on one of the drives I was replacing. It had worked flawlessly for the past couple of years, proving itself in the type of setup I would use. Overall JFS was the best option, giving a total of 932Gb of formatted space, For comparisons sake, a friend with the same setup ended up with 840Gb using NTFS on Windows.
I started the OS install, designating the entire drive as /, but hit a bump when it came to installing GRUB, which said it couldn't install to the MBR. I tried a few partition schemes to no avail, getting "unable to create partition" messages for everything, including swap. After a bit of frustration I split the OS and data onto separate drives; a spare 80Gb PATA for the OS and the RAID for data. I created a basic partition scheme (600Mb for /boot, 70Gb for /, and 5Gb for swap) on the OS drive and then mounted the RAID on /home, since this is where the bulk of the data would go anyway.
Results
Debian finished the install without a hitch and soon I was booting into my new clean system. A few cp -pfr and hours later I had successfully moved my server to the new drive and array. Below are some technical details:
Conclusion
Overall Linux's software RAID capabilities are impressive, not only can it do 0 and 1, but when re-compiling the kernel it has just as may options, if not more, than a traditional hardware card. Performance is outstanding, without being limited by the RAID hardware it mostly depends on bus and CPU speed, which are easier to upgrade than a RAID card. After this experience with software RAID I would not only recommenced it for personal use but enterprise also, proving itself in configuration, ease of use, and performance.
Over the past few years space on my server would increase based on the deals found on sites like Slickdeals. After some time this lead to a mishmash of two PATAs and one SATA at 120Gb, 160Gb, and 200Gb respectively on my personal media server. Glad as I was to have all this space it started to become disk management issue since I wanted the bulk of the space consolidated for media. Filling up one drive would require me to move data to another with more space, causing organization and software issues (NFS would not single export multiple mounts).
Remedy
Last week this all became moot when Fry's advertised a 500Gb SATAII Maxtor drive for 90$. My EPoX motherboard was capable for RAID-0 and RAID-1 so I figured it was time to upgrade to a terabyte and bought two.
The initial plan was to create a RAID-0 array (striping for performance), re-install Debian, copy all data, and remove the older drives for noise and heat reasons. With two of them PATA drives, they could stay in the system easily copy straight to the new array. The older SATA drive had the OS and I wanted to keep it around for config reference when I was re-setting up the server. Both of the SATA ports would be used for the new array, not allowing this SATA to remain in the system, this was solved by purchasing a Masscool PATA/SATA external USB enclosure and copying the data from there.
Issues
Once everything was hooked up I ran the RAID BIOS config, set the new SATAs for RAID-0, and booted up the Debian Netinst CD. Surprisingly the installer showed both 500Gb drives as /dev/sda and /dev/sdb, completely ignoring the BIOS set RAID array. After doing a bit of research online for the RAID chipset (VIA VT6420) I found that it wasn't capable for true hardware RAID and instead relied on drivers in the OS to function properly, aka "fakeraid". These drivers only really existed for Windows and not Linux. Eventually I did find ones for Linux, but they were binary only and didn't look too friendly.
I thought about using them, but then remembered that Linux can do software RAID. Having briefly heard about software RAID before I was suspicious until I read a few articles explaining it's virtues. After tracking down a how-to Software RAID for Debian before I knew it I had a software RAID-0 array running on /dev/md0. For screen shots check out this Ubuntu Server Install guide.
Debian Config
The biggest choice while running the install was which file system to us. I gave ext3 a try first, with formatted space coming up to around 870Gb. XFS came out to 932Gb which was better, but after reading XFS's disadvantages (no journaling for data blocks) I decided it wasn't the best choice. JFS was last, which I was running on one of the drives I was replacing. It had worked flawlessly for the past couple of years, proving itself in the type of setup I would use. Overall JFS was the best option, giving a total of 932Gb of formatted space, For comparisons sake, a friend with the same setup ended up with 840Gb using NTFS on Windows.
I started the OS install, designating the entire drive as /, but hit a bump when it came to installing GRUB, which said it couldn't install to the MBR. I tried a few partition schemes to no avail, getting "unable to create partition" messages for everything, including swap. After a bit of frustration I split the OS and data onto separate drives; a spare 80Gb PATA for the OS and the RAID for data. I created a basic partition scheme (600Mb for /boot, 70Gb for /, and 5Gb for swap) on the OS drive and then mounted the RAID on /home, since this is where the bulk of the data would go anyway.
Results
Debian finished the install without a hitch and soon I was booting into my new clean system. A few cp -pfr and hours later I had successfully moved my server to the new drive and array. Below are some technical details:
micheal@jezebel:~$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/hda3 70G 4.5G 62G 7% /
tmpfs 502M 0 502M 0% /lib/init/rw
udev 10M 60K 10M 1% /dev
tmpfs 502M 0 502M 0% /dev/shm
/dev/hda1 564M 37M 499M 7% /boot
/dev/md0 932G 385G 547G 42% /home
micheal@jezebel:~$ cat /proc/mdstat
Personalities : [raid0]
md0 : active raid0 sda1[0] sdb1[1]
976767872 blocks 64k chunks
unused devices: none
micheal@jezebel:~$ sudo hdparm -tT /dev/md0Particularly impressive are results of 147 MB/sec on hdparm, which is leagues beyond the 60MB/sec seen on the original SATA drive. A few config changes over the next few days and the server was up and running normally.
/dev/md0:
Timing cached reads: 1210 MB in 2.00 seconds = 604.80 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 442 MB in 3.01 seconds = 147.07 MB/sec
Conclusion
Overall Linux's software RAID capabilities are impressive, not only can it do 0 and 1, but when re-compiling the kernel it has just as may options, if not more, than a traditional hardware card. Performance is outstanding, without being limited by the RAID hardware it mostly depends on bus and CPU speed, which are easier to upgrade than a RAID card. After this experience with software RAID I would not only recommenced it for personal use but enterprise also, proving itself in configuration, ease of use, and performance.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Quick GMail Note Trick
Been a while since my last post, but I'm planning to start writing some more. To start off with I wanted to share a little trick I've been using with Gmail for the past week.
Whenever I want to note an interesting page I usually use del.icio.us to tag it and keep it around. However, I'm always writing little notes to myself with what I did to get this or that working, and del.icio.us isn't really designed for that task. Instead I write myself emails, and make sure they're seeded with keywords so when I need to search for them they come up. I could use Google Notebook for this, but I find it easier to shoot off an email instead. The trick I started using is the google +addresssing feature. Normally it's used for creating a spam address, but I found adding a +notes and then creating a filter to label it as a note and remove it from the inbox is a fast and easy way to keep them all organized.
Whenever I want to note an interesting page I usually use del.icio.us to tag it and keep it around. However, I'm always writing little notes to myself with what I did to get this or that working, and del.icio.us isn't really designed for that task. Instead I write myself emails, and make sure they're seeded with keywords so when I need to search for them they come up. I could use Google Notebook for this, but I find it easier to shoot off an email instead. The trick I started using is the google +addresssing feature. Normally it's used for creating a spam address, but I found adding a +notes and then creating a filter to label it as a note and remove it from the inbox is a fast and easy way to keep them all organized.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Ripping Vinyl with GNU/Linux
Recently my Dad started sending me pieces of his vinyl record collection. He has a ton of good stuff from Led Zeppelin to The Beatles and everything in between from 65'-75'. My plan is to archive all the albums to my computer and do some other fancy things with them like converting each track to an MP3, allowing for easy distribution via CD or over the Internet. Below is the process that I used after doing many hours of research on and off line.
1. The Equipment
In high school I was able to acquire some relatively decent vintage stereo equipment before the prices shot up on eBay in recent years. Here's the list of hardware I used:
2. The Software
Noticeably I'm a huge Geek, and one of my requirements for doing this was everything application must be Free Software. The one exception is I compressed the tracks to MP3 instead of OGG, this decision was made since my parents are the final destination and it will just make things simpler on their end. Here's the software I used for ripping, analyzing, processing, and encoding:
Before I rip a record I clean each record with a RCA disc washer kit, clean the tip of the stylus, and check that the EQ levels on the equalizer are all set to zero.
In Audacity I play the record watch the levels when it peaks, moving the record level slider correctly so it's right around 0 since I don't want it to be too loud and end up distorted. I hit record in Audacity and start playing the record, checking the levels and making sure the sound is coming through and then sit back and listen to the wonderful sounds of 30 year old vinyl playing away. Once the side is recorded I cut off the beginning and end silence and save it as a WAV file which is usually around 190Mb or so. I do this for each record, being careful not to bump the turntable or cause any excessive disk activity on the computer that would distort the sound.
Once all the vinyl is ripped digitally I process each WAV file through normalize-audio, which will boost the sound levels up to a normal volume acceptable for playback. The command is straightforward, just pass it a filename and it will only take a few seconds to up the levels.
After the audio is normalized I re-open the WAV with Audacity and use the Edit->Split feature to find the gaps between songs and cut the WAV into individual tracks. After the tracks are found I use File->Export Multiple to export through LAME each track as a 192-kbps MP3 file, with a generic file name and no ID3v2 tags.
Using the program EasyTag I then load that directory, and use the GNUDB manual lookup to find the proper album, click apply to all tracks, then save the tags and file names. This will rename the tracks correctly and fill out all the ID3v2 tags, making it a lot easy to catalog and use with MP3 players.
The final step is to archive the original WAV file into FLAC, which is a lossless compression codec, cutting the size of the file by about 65% but maintaining the fidelity of the original WAV. The command I use to do this takes a while but as you can see the compression is impressive:
I tested the resulting MP3s in XMMS, Winamp, iTunes, and streaming through MusixIndex, which all worked as expected:
5. Conclusions
Fortunately my Dad took great care of his record collection, and they still sound great. The packing itself is still in top condition and even better than what I'd expect it to look like after 30 years. Unfortunately no matter how much you do to improve the sound quality, through equipment, cleaning, and filters it's unrealistic to expect the records to play as well as when they were new. The sound was still amazing, but occasionally there are the pop/clicks and sometimes distortion of the sound. Each record is different, some sound flawless while others (New Riders of the Purple Sage) are actually not circular anymore which causes the tonearm to skate some, adding a sort of swishing sound every revolution.
Even with some of the sound flaws, I've come to accept that that's the way it is. If I wanted a clean error free recording I'd pick up the CD and just rip that instead, but then where's the fun in that? Plus the MP3s and FLAC sounds exactly like the original record, pops and all, which when listening on a portal MP3 player gives you the feeling of warmth you'd expect from original vinyl.
Update
To address some comments:
The equipment is hooked up like this:
The sound is through the equalizer to make sure all the levels were 0 before being send to the computer, it also gave me a visual clue to if the music was playing (occasionally I would mute the speaker volume). Plus, have you ever seen a Technics EQ from the early 1980s? The thing just looks damn cool when it's doing what it's doing.
When I recorded with Audacity I set the record level to coincide with the VU level, making sure it peaked at 0. Normalizing the audio was minimal and since each album had a different record level I don't have the annoyance of one being louder than the other.
I wanted to get the best quality I could (The new cartridge and cleaning gave the most improvement) but being that it is ~30 year vinyl I'm not going to be a huge stickler for perfection.
References
http://www.delback.co.uk/lp-cdr.htm
http://www.br0wn.co.uk/vinyltocd.htm
http://www.atpm.com/9.03/under-the-hood.shtml
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/9/13/11498/3759
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6628
http://home.att.net/~halbower/music.html
http://www.turntablebasics.com/advice.html
1. The Equipment
In high school I was able to acquire some relatively decent vintage stereo equipment before the prices shot up on eBay in recent years. Here's the list of hardware I used:
- Technics SL-20 Belt Drive Turntable
- Technics SA-110 Stereo Receiver
- Technics SH-8XXX Graphic Equalizer
- 64-Bit Debian GNU/Linux Computer
2. The Software
Noticeably I'm a huge Geek, and one of my requirements for doing this was everything application must be Free Software. The one exception is I compressed the tracks to MP3 instead of OGG, this decision was made since my parents are the final destination and it will just make things simpler on their end. Here's the software I used for ripping, analyzing, processing, and encoding:
- Audacity - Recording and Track Splitting
- Normalize-audio - Sound Level Equalization
- EasyTag - MP3 Tagging (ID3v2)
- LAME - MP3 Encoding
- FLAC - Archival Lossless Encoding
Before I rip a record I clean each record with a RCA disc washer kit, clean the tip of the stylus, and check that the EQ levels on the equalizer are all set to zero.
In Audacity I play the record watch the levels when it peaks, moving the record level slider correctly so it's right around 0 since I don't want it to be too loud and end up distorted. I hit record in Audacity and start playing the record, checking the levels and making sure the sound is coming through and then sit back and listen to the wonderful sounds of 30 year old vinyl playing away. Once the side is recorded I cut off the beginning and end silence and save it as a WAV file which is usually around 190Mb or so. I do this for each record, being careful not to bump the turntable or cause any excessive disk activity on the computer that would distort the sound.
Once all the vinyl is ripped digitally I process each WAV file through normalize-audio, which will boost the sound levels up to a normal volume acceptable for playback. The command is straightforward, just pass it a filename and it will only take a few seconds to up the levels.
After the audio is normalized I re-open the WAV with Audacity and use the Edit->Split feature to find the gaps between songs and cut the WAV into individual tracks. After the tracks are found I use File->Export Multiple to export through LAME each track as a 192-kbps MP3 file, with a generic file name and no ID3v2 tags.
Using the program EasyTag I then load that directory, and use the GNUDB manual lookup to find the proper album, click apply to all tracks, then save the tags and file names. This will rename the tracks correctly and fill out all the ID3v2 tags, making it a lot easy to catalog and use with MP3 players.
The final step is to archive the original WAV file into FLAC, which is a lossless compression codec, cutting the size of the file by about 65% but maintaining the fidelity of the original WAV. The command I use to do this takes a while but as you can see the compression is impressive:
flac --lax -mep -b 8192 -l 32 -r 0,16 SideA.wav -o ../flac/SideA.flac4. Results
190M SideA.wav
116M SideA.flac
I tested the resulting MP3s in XMMS, Winamp, iTunes, and streaming through MusixIndex, which all worked as expected:
5. Conclusions
Fortunately my Dad took great care of his record collection, and they still sound great. The packing itself is still in top condition and even better than what I'd expect it to look like after 30 years. Unfortunately no matter how much you do to improve the sound quality, through equipment, cleaning, and filters it's unrealistic to expect the records to play as well as when they were new. The sound was still amazing, but occasionally there are the pop/clicks and sometimes distortion of the sound. Each record is different, some sound flawless while others (New Riders of the Purple Sage) are actually not circular anymore which causes the tonearm to skate some, adding a sort of swishing sound every revolution.
Even with some of the sound flaws, I've come to accept that that's the way it is. If I wanted a clean error free recording I'd pick up the CD and just rip that instead, but then where's the fun in that? Plus the MP3s and FLAC sounds exactly like the original record, pops and all, which when listening on a portal MP3 player gives you the feeling of warmth you'd expect from original vinyl.
Update
To address some comments:
The equipment is hooked up like this:
Tunrtable-> RCA-> Receiver-> RCA-> Equalizer-> RCA to 1/8 Headphone jack -> Line-In on a PCI SoundBlaster Live!The sound card is roughly 7 years old, but has excellent Linux support and Creative was one of the first hardware companies to produce open source drivers back then. All other inputs and channels on the card are muted to avoid any noise.
The sound is through the equalizer to make sure all the levels were 0 before being send to the computer, it also gave me a visual clue to if the music was playing (occasionally I would mute the speaker volume). Plus, have you ever seen a Technics EQ from the early 1980s? The thing just looks damn cool when it's doing what it's doing.
When I recorded with Audacity I set the record level to coincide with the VU level, making sure it peaked at 0. Normalizing the audio was minimal and since each album had a different record level I don't have the annoyance of one being louder than the other.
I wanted to get the best quality I could (The new cartridge and cleaning gave the most improvement) but being that it is ~30 year vinyl I'm not going to be a huge stickler for perfection.
References
http://www.delback.co.uk/lp-cdr.htm
http://www.br0wn.co.uk/vinyltocd.htm
http://www.atpm.com/9.03/under-the-hood.shtml
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/9/13/11498/3759
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6628
http://home.att.net/~halbower/music.html
http://www.turntablebasics.com/advice.html
Friday, March 09, 2007
Quick Sysadmin Tip
Ever noticed you're running out of room on a partition and you'd like to free up some space quickly that may be hidden in unused directories? Here's a quick and easy way using the du command:
- Find the partition that's low on space and cd into it
- Do du -sh * | grep G to give a usage summary in human readable form and grepping out any dirs with a gigabyte or more
- Look at the results and see if there's any dirs you could remove, or go into further
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you've gone through the directory tree, removing any unnecessary files and directories
Monday, March 05, 2007
Perpetual Reading
While editing my myspace profile today (don't even get me started) I was looking at my "book" section. At the moment I have the two books that I'm currently reading, which is different from most pages that have a long list of favorite books. I was thinking if I should list my favorites instead, and when doing so came to the realization that a few of my favorite books are not just ones that I read and put away, but continuously read over and over again.
Looking back over the years and what I've kept in my laptop bag I've come up with a list of these perpetually read books:
Looking back over the years and what I've kept in my laptop bag I've come up with a list of these perpetually read books:
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
- Constitution of the United States of America
- Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
- Lost Horizon by James Hilton
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Xfce Desktop on Etch
Last week I decided to make the jump from Debian Sarge to Etch on my home media server. The upgrade was for the most part painless, although there were a few snags I hit that I will explain in more detail in another post. For now though I wanted to post a nice screen shot of my new Xfce desktop:
On the left is the main app panel featuring: xterm, K3b, VMware, GAIM, Grip, XMMS, DVD::RIP, Iceweasel (aka Firefox), and Konqueror. Finally the little mouse with the X is the Xfce application menu, then hardware temperature sensors (a little high actually) and system load information. The top panel is running six virtual desktops with a taskbar on the right side. The app that is currently running is DVD::RIP in GUI mode making an Xvid video out of the Talladega Nights DVD I recently purchased.
On the left is the main app panel featuring: xterm, K3b, VMware, GAIM, Grip, XMMS, DVD::RIP, Iceweasel (aka Firefox), and Konqueror. Finally the little mouse with the X is the Xfce application menu, then hardware temperature sensors (a little high actually) and system load information. The top panel is running six virtual desktops with a taskbar on the right side. The app that is currently running is DVD::RIP in GUI mode making an Xvid video out of the Talladega Nights DVD I recently purchased.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Random Debian Scripts
Today at work I decided to do make a few Debian scripts for generating a dynamic MOTD and auto-updating using apt-get and I thought I'd share.
Debian MOTD
The first script is a fun one and requires the fortune and cowsay packages. When run, it generates a cow saying a random message from the fortune quote program and writes it to /etc/motd. Cowsay isn't just limited to a cow, and a look through the documentation will reveal a whole range of ASCII art. Mine is set to run every night at midnight and it makes for some fun variety throughout the week. Here's an example of what a login looks like:
The second is for those who get tired of running the same apt-get update && apt-get upgrade command day after day just to keep their system up-to-date. The script is simple enough, using the -y argument to allow for unattended updates and writing verbose output to a log file.
Debian MOTD
The first script is a fun one and requires the fortune and cowsay packages. When run, it generates a cow saying a random message from the fortune quote program and writes it to /etc/motd. Cowsay isn't just limited to a cow, and a look through the documentation will reveal a whole range of ASCII art. Mine is set to run every night at midnight and it makes for some fun variety throughout the week. Here's an example of what a login looks like:
Debian Apt AutoUpdateWelcome to Debian GNU/Linux 3.1!
_________________________________________
/ Q: What do Winnie the Pooh and John the \
| Baptist have in common? A: The same |
\ middle name. /
-----------------------------------------
\ ^__^
\ (oo)\_______
(__)\ )\/\
||----w |
|| ||
Linux jezebel 2.6.16-2006-03-28-mcw-01 #1
PREEMPT Tue Mar 28 21:32:57 PST 2006 x86_64 GNU/Linux
The second is for those who get tired of running the same apt-get update && apt-get upgrade command day after day just to keep their system up-to-date. The script is simple enough, using the -y argument to allow for unattended updates and writing verbose output to a log file.
Friday, December 15, 2006
10 Random Mac OS X Tips
Today I was reading the Slashdot story on 15 Things Apple Should Change in Mac OS X and I came across these excellent hints in the comments:
- Hold down on the + window button to fully maximize a window (may not work in some apps)
- To find the actual path of a app or file drag it into a terminal window
- To rename a file, select it and hit enter
- Create a shortcut on the dock for the Apps folder, then click-and-hold for a pop-menu of all your apps
- Shift-A will open the Apps folder if you don't want it in the dock
- Don't copy and paste, drag and drop everything, including text
- To put a widget permanently on the desktop, open a terminal and type:
defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES
press F12, and while dragging a widget press F12 to drop it - Use Command-O to launch an App or open a file
- To skip the"Are You Sure?" dialog. hold down the option key when choosing to shutdown
- Use the dock for temporary storage of files when using the drag-and-drop method of cutting-and-pasting
Saturday, November 04, 2006
A Macs Best Friend
Yesterday Penny Arcade geared up for their 2007 Childs Play Charity and I checked out their newly updated site which includes what looks like Egypt, a huge leap from the original US only hospitals when they started. While scrolling down I saw the sponsors and thought I'd see what kinds of companies were helping them out, which lead me to a page for Bruji, or as the title calls it A Mac's best friend.
I love using my Mac and all, mainly because OS X is awesome, but I haven't found any must have Mac only applications until now. Bruji makes media database software that resembles the look and feel of Apples iLife apps like iTunes and iPhoto. There are four products, DVDpedia, Bookpedia, CDpedia, and Gamepedia, all of which catalog what their name says.
At once I was impressed by the free demo for Bookpedia. Even on my old G3 iBook the app starts almost immediately and in less than five minutes I had cataloged ten books on my bookshelf. It uses a simple keyword search to look up titles and authors on Amazon and other book websites, displaying the full details of each title. It even grabs the cover image and puts all that information into your catalog, very slick.
Once you've completed your library there's all sorts of cool things you can do with it such as tracking books you've lent to people and custom exporting of your library to all sorts of data formats (cvs, webpage, .mac, iPod). It even keeps statistics on your library and will look up a title on listmania to find similar titles.
These apps are why I love using a Mac, everything is exactly as it should be, no surprises just simple power that immediately produces results. I will most likely buy the Bookpedia app (18$), but they have a bundle where you get any three for 39$ and it could be nice to catalog our DVDs and games as well.
I love using my Mac and all, mainly because OS X is awesome, but I haven't found any must have Mac only applications until now. Bruji makes media database software that resembles the look and feel of Apples iLife apps like iTunes and iPhoto. There are four products, DVDpedia, Bookpedia, CDpedia, and Gamepedia, all of which catalog what their name says.
At once I was impressed by the free demo for Bookpedia. Even on my old G3 iBook the app starts almost immediately and in less than five minutes I had cataloged ten books on my bookshelf. It uses a simple keyword search to look up titles and authors on Amazon and other book websites, displaying the full details of each title. It even grabs the cover image and puts all that information into your catalog, very slick.
Once you've completed your library there's all sorts of cool things you can do with it such as tracking books you've lent to people and custom exporting of your library to all sorts of data formats (cvs, webpage, .mac, iPod). It even keeps statistics on your library and will look up a title on listmania to find similar titles.
These apps are why I love using a Mac, everything is exactly as it should be, no surprises just simple power that immediately produces results. I will most likely buy the Bookpedia app (18$), but they have a bundle where you get any three for 39$ and it could be nice to catalog our DVDs and games as well.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
One Month at a Time
Friday I noticed something; the last time I put gas in my car was September 18th, and I still had a quarter tank remaining. Now if you're counting, Friday was the 13th, which means I've almost gone a month without getting gas (I finally did on Oct 16th after a lot of weekend driving). Most people think it's impossible to do without doing some radical lifestyle change and wonder how I do it. In reality, not only is it possible but you'll actually gain more than just saving money by making only a few small changes.
I only fill up my car when it's on E. I know conventional wisdom says you shouldn't do this, although recently I've learned that conventional wisdom is usually useless, but I do it anyway. Because of this I always fill up around 13 gallons (my manual says it has a 14 gallon tank, but I've never seen it go past 13) so I have a good starting benchmark to work with and I can gleam all sorts of interesting data about my car and driving habits.
According to www.fueleconomy.gov my 2002 Subaru Imprezza 2.5RS should get 22 MPG. Now my average mileage per tank is 260 miles which comes out to about 20MPG (I'm using 13 gallons). I'm not that concerned about the below average MPG because I'm good at keeping the car maintained and I know mechanically it's fine. Rather I believe there are two factors that contribute to this. One is where we live, University City, an area that is notorious for horribly timed traffic signals and a high population density, both causing long periods of the car running but not actually going anywhere. The second are my driving habits, which are related to the unfavorable traffic conditions (I jump off the line at one light in order to try and make the next one before it goes into it's five minute cycle).
With such a low MPG, an unfavourable environment, and my impatient self to blame how do I almost go a month without getting gas? Three things:
The second factor is I usually walk the fifteen minutes to the bus stop, although sometimes I drive if I'm running late. This adds the addition of health benefits as well as time to slow things down and not get so caught up in things.
I also tend to carpool as much as I can, which usually ends up with someone else driving since my car doesn't have a stereo in it (high crime rate is also consistent with where we live).
When you combine all these factors not only am I only filling up once a month, but I also gain more than if I drove, economically it just makes sense. Now I know that everyone's situation is different and I am lucky enough to work for a commuter friendly employer who provides free bus passes that are convenient to where I live. UCSD also provides free hours with a hybrid Flexcar a month so I can go somewhere during work hours if I need to.
If at all possible I would recommend looking into supporting your local public transportation to not just save money but also increase other aspects of your life.
I only fill up my car when it's on E. I know conventional wisdom says you shouldn't do this, although recently I've learned that conventional wisdom is usually useless, but I do it anyway. Because of this I always fill up around 13 gallons (my manual says it has a 14 gallon tank, but I've never seen it go past 13) so I have a good starting benchmark to work with and I can gleam all sorts of interesting data about my car and driving habits.
According to www.fueleconomy.gov my 2002 Subaru Imprezza 2.5RS should get 22 MPG. Now my average mileage per tank is 260 miles which comes out to about 20MPG (I'm using 13 gallons). I'm not that concerned about the below average MPG because I'm good at keeping the car maintained and I know mechanically it's fine. Rather I believe there are two factors that contribute to this. One is where we live, University City, an area that is notorious for horribly timed traffic signals and a high population density, both causing long periods of the car running but not actually going anywhere. The second are my driving habits, which are related to the unfavorable traffic conditions (I jump off the line at one light in order to try and make the next one before it goes into it's five minute cycle).
With such a low MPG, an unfavourable environment, and my impatient self to blame how do I almost go a month without getting gas? Three things:
- Taking the bus to work
- Walking to the bus stop
- Carpool as much as I can
The second factor is I usually walk the fifteen minutes to the bus stop, although sometimes I drive if I'm running late. This adds the addition of health benefits as well as time to slow things down and not get so caught up in things.
I also tend to carpool as much as I can, which usually ends up with someone else driving since my car doesn't have a stereo in it (high crime rate is also consistent with where we live).
When you combine all these factors not only am I only filling up once a month, but I also gain more than if I drove, economically it just makes sense. Now I know that everyone's situation is different and I am lucky enough to work for a commuter friendly employer who provides free bus passes that are convenient to where I live. UCSD also provides free hours with a hybrid Flexcar a month so I can go somewhere during work hours if I need to.
If at all possible I would recommend looking into supporting your local public transportation to not just save money but also increase other aspects of your life.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Lessons of the GAIM
I got a new computer at work last week (I mainly wanted it cause of the larger hard drive). So I went through the motions installing all my favorite apps, which included GAIM. A wonderful open source application that I've been using almost as long as I've been using GNU/Linux. A few years ago they released a Windows client that I've also happily enjoyed while working in a windows environment. Unfortunately with this new install I ran into two major problems.
If you install Cygwin, go into the folder: C:\Program Files\Gaim\plugins and remove the tcl.dll file. For some reason the Cygwin tcl.dll will take over and cause GAIM not to start up properly. By removing this .dll everything works fine and you won't even notice it's gone.
If the connection status stops at "Connection established, cookie sent" when trying to connect to AOL you must install the version of GTK that comes with GAIM and not a newer version. I installed GTK v2.8 thinking that it was newer than v2.6 that GAIM comes bundled with, but apparently there's some type of bug that prevents it from working correctly. The same issue appears with GAIM 2.0 beta.
So there you go; if you run Cygwin and GAIM remove the tcl.dll and don't install a version of GTK that doesn't come bundled with GAIM on windows.
- GAIM would not sign onto AOL with any screen name
- GAIM eventually didn't even start up when I tried to run it
If you install Cygwin, go into the folder: C:\Program Files\Gaim\plugins and remove the tcl.dll file. For some reason the Cygwin tcl.dll will take over and cause GAIM not to start up properly. By removing this .dll everything works fine and you won't even notice it's gone.
If the connection status stops at "Connection established, cookie sent" when trying to connect to AOL you must install the version of GTK that comes with GAIM and not a newer version. I installed GTK v2.8 thinking that it was newer than v2.6 that GAIM comes bundled with, but apparently there's some type of bug that prevents it from working correctly. The same issue appears with GAIM 2.0 beta.
So there you go; if you run Cygwin and GAIM remove the tcl.dll and don't install a version of GTK that doesn't come bundled with GAIM on windows.
Monday, August 14, 2006
It's Not a LAPtop, it's a Notebook
Lucky number three.
Today will mark the third time I will send my G3 iBook in for a logic board replacement. Thankfully the computer is still semi-covered under the iBook Expanded Logic Board Repair Extension Program (such a lovely name), but I was warned by the Apple support person that this would be the last time they replace it, and I will either have to buy a new computer for pay for the repair myself. Now that sounds reasonable, if I had mistreated it in any way (little night time browsing in the hot tub...), but I don't. I use it like a normal laptop, I even got a padded form fitting water resistant laptop bag to carry it around in for safeties sake. Sure it travels with me almost everywhere I go, but that's what it's made for. If I wanted a laptop that sat on my desk all day I would have gotten one of those suitcase size extra-wide screen Dells that are meant to be a desktop replacement than a portable.
Now sure, maybe I could be more gentle with it, and I even asked the guy what I could do to prevent it (since it will most likely happen again in 4 months), to which he said(I shit you not):
Enough rant, back to my logic board issue, thankfully I found out I'm not alone, and almost anyone who bought a iBook G3 or G4 in a specific time frame suffers from the same issues. Reading elsewhere, one of the better way to avoid the 90 degree tilt of death is to not pick the laptop up solely by its left corner, where the video hardware resides. Doing so will break the chip bonds, causing it to freeze on boot. Also, if Apple tech support gives you grief about it, ask for Apple Customer Care, which may give you more options.
As much as I bitch, Apple's support has been more than stellar. I bought this iBook when it's hard drive was failing from my sister for about 100$, and even though it's had it's problems Apple has repaired it twice when it was out the extended warranty period. Both times the technicians have been friendly and helpful and the turn around for the repair is usually only a day (may be faster for me since I live in CA). If they treat a customer who never really bought the product from them this well, they are definitely getting my $ when my next lap^H^H^Hnotebook purchase comes around.
Today will mark the third time I will send my G3 iBook in for a logic board replacement. Thankfully the computer is still semi-covered under the iBook Expanded Logic Board Repair Extension Program (such a lovely name), but I was warned by the Apple support person that this would be the last time they replace it, and I will either have to buy a new computer for pay for the repair myself. Now that sounds reasonable, if I had mistreated it in any way (little night time browsing in the hot tub...), but I don't. I use it like a normal laptop, I even got a padded form fitting water resistant laptop bag to carry it around in for safeties sake. Sure it travels with me almost everywhere I go, but that's what it's made for. If I wanted a laptop that sat on my desk all day I would have gotten one of those suitcase size extra-wide screen Dells that are meant to be a desktop replacement than a portable.
Now sure, maybe I could be more gentle with it, and I even asked the guy what I could do to prevent it (since it will most likely happen again in 4 months), to which he said(I shit you not):
Don't use it on your lapOkay...... so apparently I have a LAPtop and I'm not suppose to use it on my LAP.... great. You know, I should have seen this coming. A few months ago Apple even said so themselves, that the Macbook is NOT a Laptop. Almost all the major computer companies are trying to avoid the title "laptop" simply so they can plead ignorance when some dude burns himself by simply using the thing like the title dictates. The correct terminology now is "notebook", safe, simple, and completely avoids the whole reason why most people want a small, portable computer, so they can sit down and chill with it on a couch. Huzzah for newspeak.
Enough rant, back to my logic board issue, thankfully I found out I'm not alone, and almost anyone who bought a iBook G3 or G4 in a specific time frame suffers from the same issues. Reading elsewhere, one of the better way to avoid the 90 degree tilt of death is to not pick the laptop up solely by its left corner, where the video hardware resides. Doing so will break the chip bonds, causing it to freeze on boot. Also, if Apple tech support gives you grief about it, ask for Apple Customer Care, which may give you more options.
As much as I bitch, Apple's support has been more than stellar. I bought this iBook when it's hard drive was failing from my sister for about 100$, and even though it's had it's problems Apple has repaired it twice when it was out the extended warranty period. Both times the technicians have been friendly and helpful and the turn around for the repair is usually only a day (may be faster for me since I live in CA). If they treat a customer who never really bought the product from them this well, they are definitely getting my $ when my next lap^H^H^Hnotebook purchase comes around.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Comic-Con Preview Night Images
While checking out Rotten Tomatoes for how well Clerks II was doing (60-70%) I came across a gallery of images from preview night last night. Looks like the guys who made Shaun of the Dead are making another movie called Hot Fuzz, awesome.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Comic-Con A Coming
With Comic-Con starting tomorrow I'm getting pretty excited. Last year when I went it was only on Saturday and I really just wanted to see the guys from Penny-Arcade and one or two of the panels. I had no idea what I was in store for and afterwards with a bag of free loot in my hands I slowly developed a taste over the last year for much of what I saw.
The insanity this year will start early, with potentially going to preview night on Wednesday to scope out the con, then heading back on Friday and Saturday for panels and walking around. Currently I'm excited for:
Friday
The insanity this year will start early, with potentially going to preview night on Wednesday to scope out the con, then heading back on Friday and Saturday for panels and walking around. Currently I'm excited for:
Friday
- 10:30am-11:30am: Spider-Man: Then and Now
- 2:00pm-3:00pm: Battlestar Galactica with cast members
- 4:30pm-5:30pm: Web comics 102: Finding Your Audience panel which the guys from PA are on
- 5:45pm-7:00: Samuel Jackson promoting Snakes on a Plane
- 10:30am-12:00pm: Lost Season 3 Panel
- 10:30am-11:30: 300 Movie Panel
- 12:00pm-1:00pm: Simpsons Panel
- 1:00pm-2:30pm: Kevin Smith on Clerks II
- 2:45pm-3:30pm: The Spirit Movie
- New PA Book - Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings
- Premiere Maddox Book - The Best Damn Comic In the Universe
- 300 by Frank Miller
- Spiderman #530
- The Imaginaries #2
- 30 Days of Night
- Marvel Heroes
- The Red Star
- Astrocity Vol. 1
- Essential X-Men Vol. 1
- Anything free!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Geeks Guide to San Diego
When I first moved to San Diego the summer of 2004 I stumbled around with what exactly to do in a new city. Now after almost two years of living here I feel I have a solid grasp on where to go for things that I like to do. Of course, if you haven't figured it out yet I'm a geek, so these this is a guide to the geekier things you'll find in America's Finest City.
1. Electronics
After years of reading Penny-Arcade and other tech sites I'd heard about Fry's and it's electronic utopia. With miles of aisles stocked full with everything a geek craves, computers, video games, music, movies, book, etc. With the free time abound due to looking for a new job I looked up the nearest location and found it near Aero Road off the I-15.
Don't Go There. It's crap, absolute rubbish. I mean, it did have all the promised goodies, but I was expecting gleaming halls and a monument of pure techno-utopianism. Instead I was faced with a dreary warehouse looking store that had a shambly and disorganized look about it.
Over a year later, my enthusiasm for Fry's diminished, on our way back from somewhere my girlfriend suggested we stop off at Fry's to get some Christmas gifts. I was confused since we were in North country near San Marcos and not near the Fry's I despise.
We arrived and it was a gift from the Gods themselves. Two giant obelisk towered on each side of the entrance, huge Jacob Ladders inside humming their plasma arcs audibly humming with the electricity providing their life. Inside it has a theme of Atlantis, massive fish tanks filled with huge fish and even sharks. Statues of men in old diving gear gazed upon the pristine aisles of geek marrow and I knew that all the stories were true. Fry's was rock awesome, not only the best presented store I've ever had the pleasure of walking into, but also it's never let me down in my search for some rare connector or piece of hardware.
To make a long story short, don't go to the Fry's in San Diego off Aero road. Spare yourself the agony and spend the extra half hour going up to San Marcos.
The UCSD bookstore also has some good deals on hardware, specifically Apple, since the student discount that's included in the price and you don't have to show a student ID.
The Geek Exit
Occasionally the forces of the universe combine and create a single point multi-disciplinary geekdom. One such example of this is the Clairemont Mesa Blvd exit off the 805 freeway. The next four geek retailers are within a mile of this exit.
2. Comics
The first, on the West side, is Comickaze which sells a variety of major label comics, manga, and assorted collectibles. The store itself isn't impressive in a rational sense, but it appeals to those who enjoy the disorganized and randomness of the comic book geek stereotype. The racks are liad out haphazardly and usually books from labels are kept together, although sometimes you have to dig around until you find what you're looking for.
The store always has some sort of clutter, whether it's the random storage boxes next to the check-out counter or a rack from Free Comic Book Day blocking the way to the collectible section. The employees are generally helpful and occasionally you can catch some authors chatting it up with them or guys who are absurdly into comics boasting about their latest 40,000 book acquisition.
They don't carry much rare or back issues, but you can always find the latest and greatest on the "new" racks near the back left of the store. Their hours vary, usually 11am-9pm, but you'll want to check out the Google local page since their outdated web page doesn't have them.
3. Boardgames
Although I didn't know this till recently geeks love boardgames, and as I expanded my interests here in San Diego I realized that boardgames are something I always liked but never put any energy into. The games now-a-days are a far cry from the simplistic (yet still fun) rules of Monopoly, Operation, Sorry!, and others from my childhood.
The Settlers of Catan started my fascination my senior year of college and I haven't stopped since. Enjoying a variety of new and different types, like Carcassonne, Lost Cities, Captain Treasure Boots, and more. There's even an entire website dedicated to them, with reviews, commentary and alternative modes of play.
Game Empire, East of the highway, has a ton of games, model supplies, a knowledgeable staff, and a large game room that always seems filled with people playing some sort of war or D&D game. Their stock is fleshed out well, although sometimes they're lacking specific titles, all the major ones are there. Almost half their stock is for Warhammer 40k and other wargames, including models, terrain material, paint, and other building supplies.
As much as I like supporting local businesses, Wal-Mart is within walking distance of the store and if you're looking to pick up a more common game and it's too expensive at GE I'd recommend heading there.
4. Music
Although not a whole lot of geeks play guitar, right across from Game Empire is Guitar Trader that specializes in buying and selling used equipment. The store is packed with anything you'll need, and although their music section could stand to have more selection the rest of the store is solid.
Lou's Records (Not off the Geek Exit) is an awesome used and new music store tucked up in Encinitas along Pacific Coast Highway. There are two buildings, one for used wares and the other for newer stuff. It carries a good selection of vinyl, cds, and cassettes arranged in catagories from Indie, Hardcore, Pop, Trance and other electic genres. Every Saturday is Free Stuff Saturday and you can get demo cds, stickers, posters, and an assorsement of other swag. Look near the front for the top 20 albums of the week and employee picks for new stuff you may not have heard before. They also have their catalog in a database system that you can search. Sign up for their newsletter by email to get a weekly run down on almost every music related events in San Diego.
5. Books
A few storefronts down from Game Empire is the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore. I went in it once to check it out and it was completely full of fantasy and sci-fi novels of every type. The prices seemed reasonable and for someone trying to track down a less popular series that larger book chains don't carry I'm sure they have it. From their web page they seem to have a lot of events and author signings as well.
There are probably a host of other more geek friendly bookstores in the city but I either use Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or the UCSD Bookstore for the majority of my purchases.
6. Beer
Geeks love beer, and fortunately San Diego has a large micro-brewery culture many you can find in stores and specialty brew pubs.
Stone Brewery is probably the best known outside of the city, with Arrogant Bastard Ale making a name for itself across the country. They also produce and excellent IPA and Smoked Porter as well as special one time brews. They are located in North county and provide tours as well as a gift shop.
Karl Strauss is well known in California but may not have much clout outside the Western United States (I don't know this for sure). They not only sell in stores but they also have their own chain of restaurants throughout the county. My favorite by far is tucked away in Sorrento Valley in the middle of a business park. The building was a Japanese place so the architecture and garden have a very Zen feel to it. They also sponsor various concerts and events throughout the year. Give their Red Trolley, Woodie Pale Ale, and Amber Lager a try.
There are many other local San Diego micro-brews that you'll find in stores throughout the county. Check out the Beer Advocates Guide to San Diego to find more information.
The city has tons of local bars and pubs to enjoy . My particular favorites are, Pizza Port (excellent pizza), The Oul Sod (authentic Irish pub), The Field (another Irish pub but with food too), The Wits End (for the intellectual), PB Bar and Grill (sports and beach), and The USCD Pub (good prices and student atmosphere).
7. Movies
Out of the all of the places to see a movie in the area, four stand out as a cut above the rest.
The first is Edwards Cinemas 16 in Mira Mesa, and is your standard huge megaplex with stadium seating, multiple concession stands and a expensive tickets. I normally go there to see movies I know I don't want to miss on the big screen.
Secondly is the AMC La Jolla 12 mostly because it's close to my house but also they have the added catch of allowing you to bring outside food in. The location of the theatre is in a small mall like complex which gives you a variety of eateries, from burritos, deli sandwiches, pizza, and even sushi. If you have a current or expired ID use it to get a MovieWatcher card to get a discount on your ticket and eventually it'll acquire points and start getting discounts or free coupons for the concession stand.
The La Jolla Landmark is great for independent film lover, and is located right across the street from the AMC La Jolla 12 (there is also one in Hillcrest). The Hillcrest location is a bit nicer, but they both have that gritty personal quality to them. Every Friday at midnight they have a special showing of a cult or popular geek movie, which includes trivia before the show starts, people dressed up, and all sorts of other festivities.
Cinema Under the Stars is a unique open air theatre with "zero-gravity" chairs that suspend you while you watch old or cult films. Right next door is an excellent BBQ place as well.
8. Videogames
Almost any electronic retailer sells videogames so there's not specific place to go to satisfy your addiction, but there is one area in San Diego that happens to have two great stores across the street from each other. They're you're common Gamespot and Electronic Boutique, but the Gamespot seems to have an unusual amount of quality used wares. I normally run there if I'm trying to find a used title and if they don't have it, my chances of obtaining it are increased by quickly checking out the EB across the street.
They are located in opposite shopping plazas at the cross street of Mira Mesa Blvd and Reagen Road.
9. Cons
San Diego is lucky enough to become the geek Mecca every July with Comic-Con International downtown. The convention gets larger every year, originally starting as just a comic show but over the last few years it's morphed into movies, videogames, fantasy, sci-fi, and just about anything geeky you can imagine. It runs for four days near the end of July and always guarantees plenty of panels and speakers. In addition the amount of free swag is plentiful and you definitely get your moneys worth for the cost of admission.
By far one of the most popular convention in the country is the Electronic Entertainment Expo also known as E3. It doesn't take place in San Diego, but in LA which is only an hour or two drive (depending on traffic) North. I've never actually been but you can always find more info on their website.
San Diego like most major metropolitian areas has a yearly Renaissance Faire held in Balboa Park in August. I've never been there myself but I plan to check it out this summer.
10. Sushi
I'm not a huge fan of raw fish myself (although I'm getting used to it), but a lot of geeks I know love it. In San Diego there is no "best sushi place in the city" since everyone one I know who likes it claims that their favorite place is absolutely the best. I'll have to agree, everyone I've gone to has their own style and menu selection and I've liked them all. Some tend to be pricier and others tend to take a while due to a crowd, but they're everywhere so just find and give it a shot, due to the proximity of the sea your raw fish will be fresh and tasty as the next place.
1. Electronics
After years of reading Penny-Arcade and other tech sites I'd heard about Fry's and it's electronic utopia. With miles of aisles stocked full with everything a geek craves, computers, video games, music, movies, book, etc. With the free time abound due to looking for a new job I looked up the nearest location and found it near Aero Road off the I-15.
Don't Go There. It's crap, absolute rubbish. I mean, it did have all the promised goodies, but I was expecting gleaming halls and a monument of pure techno-utopianism. Instead I was faced with a dreary warehouse looking store that had a shambly and disorganized look about it.
Over a year later, my enthusiasm for Fry's diminished, on our way back from somewhere my girlfriend suggested we stop off at Fry's to get some Christmas gifts. I was confused since we were in North country near San Marcos and not near the Fry's I despise.
We arrived and it was a gift from the Gods themselves. Two giant obelisk towered on each side of the entrance, huge Jacob Ladders inside humming their plasma arcs audibly humming with the electricity providing their life. Inside it has a theme of Atlantis, massive fish tanks filled with huge fish and even sharks. Statues of men in old diving gear gazed upon the pristine aisles of geek marrow and I knew that all the stories were true. Fry's was rock awesome, not only the best presented store I've ever had the pleasure of walking into, but also it's never let me down in my search for some rare connector or piece of hardware.
To make a long story short, don't go to the Fry's in San Diego off Aero road. Spare yourself the agony and spend the extra half hour going up to San Marcos.
The UCSD bookstore also has some good deals on hardware, specifically Apple, since the student discount that's included in the price and you don't have to show a student ID.
The Geek Exit
Occasionally the forces of the universe combine and create a single point multi-disciplinary geekdom. One such example of this is the Clairemont Mesa Blvd exit off the 805 freeway. The next four geek retailers are within a mile of this exit.
2. Comics
The first, on the West side, is Comickaze which sells a variety of major label comics, manga, and assorted collectibles. The store itself isn't impressive in a rational sense, but it appeals to those who enjoy the disorganized and randomness of the comic book geek stereotype. The racks are liad out haphazardly and usually books from labels are kept together, although sometimes you have to dig around until you find what you're looking for.
The store always has some sort of clutter, whether it's the random storage boxes next to the check-out counter or a rack from Free Comic Book Day blocking the way to the collectible section. The employees are generally helpful and occasionally you can catch some authors chatting it up with them or guys who are absurdly into comics boasting about their latest 40,000 book acquisition.
They don't carry much rare or back issues, but you can always find the latest and greatest on the "new" racks near the back left of the store. Their hours vary, usually 11am-9pm, but you'll want to check out the Google local page since their outdated web page doesn't have them.
3. Boardgames
Although I didn't know this till recently geeks love boardgames, and as I expanded my interests here in San Diego I realized that boardgames are something I always liked but never put any energy into. The games now-a-days are a far cry from the simplistic (yet still fun) rules of Monopoly, Operation, Sorry!, and others from my childhood.
The Settlers of Catan started my fascination my senior year of college and I haven't stopped since. Enjoying a variety of new and different types, like Carcassonne, Lost Cities, Captain Treasure Boots, and more. There's even an entire website dedicated to them, with reviews, commentary and alternative modes of play.
Game Empire, East of the highway, has a ton of games, model supplies, a knowledgeable staff, and a large game room that always seems filled with people playing some sort of war or D&D game. Their stock is fleshed out well, although sometimes they're lacking specific titles, all the major ones are there. Almost half their stock is for Warhammer 40k and other wargames, including models, terrain material, paint, and other building supplies.
As much as I like supporting local businesses, Wal-Mart is within walking distance of the store and if you're looking to pick up a more common game and it's too expensive at GE I'd recommend heading there.
4. Music
Although not a whole lot of geeks play guitar, right across from Game Empire is Guitar Trader that specializes in buying and selling used equipment. The store is packed with anything you'll need, and although their music section could stand to have more selection the rest of the store is solid.
Lou's Records (Not off the Geek Exit) is an awesome used and new music store tucked up in Encinitas along Pacific Coast Highway. There are two buildings, one for used wares and the other for newer stuff. It carries a good selection of vinyl, cds, and cassettes arranged in catagories from Indie, Hardcore, Pop, Trance and other electic genres. Every Saturday is Free Stuff Saturday and you can get demo cds, stickers, posters, and an assorsement of other swag. Look near the front for the top 20 albums of the week and employee picks for new stuff you may not have heard before. They also have their catalog in a database system that you can search. Sign up for their newsletter by email to get a weekly run down on almost every music related events in San Diego.
5. Books
A few storefronts down from Game Empire is the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore. I went in it once to check it out and it was completely full of fantasy and sci-fi novels of every type. The prices seemed reasonable and for someone trying to track down a less popular series that larger book chains don't carry I'm sure they have it. From their web page they seem to have a lot of events and author signings as well.
There are probably a host of other more geek friendly bookstores in the city but I either use Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or the UCSD Bookstore for the majority of my purchases.
6. Beer
Geeks love beer, and fortunately San Diego has a large micro-brewery culture many you can find in stores and specialty brew pubs.
Stone Brewery is probably the best known outside of the city, with Arrogant Bastard Ale making a name for itself across the country. They also produce and excellent IPA and Smoked Porter as well as special one time brews. They are located in North county and provide tours as well as a gift shop.
Karl Strauss is well known in California but may not have much clout outside the Western United States (I don't know this for sure). They not only sell in stores but they also have their own chain of restaurants throughout the county. My favorite by far is tucked away in Sorrento Valley in the middle of a business park. The building was a Japanese place so the architecture and garden have a very Zen feel to it. They also sponsor various concerts and events throughout the year. Give their Red Trolley, Woodie Pale Ale, and Amber Lager a try.
There are many other local San Diego micro-brews that you'll find in stores throughout the county. Check out the Beer Advocates Guide to San Diego to find more information.
The city has tons of local bars and pubs to enjoy . My particular favorites are, Pizza Port (excellent pizza), The Oul Sod (authentic Irish pub), The Field (another Irish pub but with food too), The Wits End (for the intellectual), PB Bar and Grill (sports and beach), and The USCD Pub (good prices and student atmosphere).
7. Movies
Out of the all of the places to see a movie in the area, four stand out as a cut above the rest.
The first is Edwards Cinemas 16 in Mira Mesa, and is your standard huge megaplex with stadium seating, multiple concession stands and a expensive tickets. I normally go there to see movies I know I don't want to miss on the big screen.
Secondly is the AMC La Jolla 12 mostly because it's close to my house but also they have the added catch of allowing you to bring outside food in. The location of the theatre is in a small mall like complex which gives you a variety of eateries, from burritos, deli sandwiches, pizza, and even sushi. If you have a current or expired ID use it to get a MovieWatcher card to get a discount on your ticket and eventually it'll acquire points and start getting discounts or free coupons for the concession stand.
The La Jolla Landmark is great for independent film lover, and is located right across the street from the AMC La Jolla 12 (there is also one in Hillcrest). The Hillcrest location is a bit nicer, but they both have that gritty personal quality to them. Every Friday at midnight they have a special showing of a cult or popular geek movie, which includes trivia before the show starts, people dressed up, and all sorts of other festivities.
Cinema Under the Stars is a unique open air theatre with "zero-gravity" chairs that suspend you while you watch old or cult films. Right next door is an excellent BBQ place as well.
8. Videogames
Almost any electronic retailer sells videogames so there's not specific place to go to satisfy your addiction, but there is one area in San Diego that happens to have two great stores across the street from each other. They're you're common Gamespot and Electronic Boutique, but the Gamespot seems to have an unusual amount of quality used wares. I normally run there if I'm trying to find a used title and if they don't have it, my chances of obtaining it are increased by quickly checking out the EB across the street.
They are located in opposite shopping plazas at the cross street of Mira Mesa Blvd and Reagen Road.
9. Cons
San Diego is lucky enough to become the geek Mecca every July with Comic-Con International downtown. The convention gets larger every year, originally starting as just a comic show but over the last few years it's morphed into movies, videogames, fantasy, sci-fi, and just about anything geeky you can imagine. It runs for four days near the end of July and always guarantees plenty of panels and speakers. In addition the amount of free swag is plentiful and you definitely get your moneys worth for the cost of admission.
By far one of the most popular convention in the country is the Electronic Entertainment Expo also known as E3. It doesn't take place in San Diego, but in LA which is only an hour or two drive (depending on traffic) North. I've never actually been but you can always find more info on their website.
San Diego like most major metropolitian areas has a yearly Renaissance Faire held in Balboa Park in August. I've never been there myself but I plan to check it out this summer.
10. Sushi
I'm not a huge fan of raw fish myself (although I'm getting used to it), but a lot of geeks I know love it. In San Diego there is no "best sushi place in the city" since everyone one I know who likes it claims that their favorite place is absolutely the best. I'll have to agree, everyone I've gone to has their own style and menu selection and I've liked them all. Some tend to be pricier and others tend to take a while due to a crowd, but they're everywhere so just find and give it a shot, due to the proximity of the sea your raw fish will be fresh and tasty as the next place.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Thursday Thirteen - Open Source Programs
Thirteen Open Source programs you should check out:
- GAIM - Multi-protocol Instant Messenger
- Mozilla Firefox - Web Browser
- Mozilla Thunderbird - Email Client
- ZSNES - Super Nintendo Emulator
- Filezilla and Cyberduck - S/FTP Client
- VLC - Media Player
- Apollon (GNU/Linux Only)- Multi-protocol File Sharing
- Grease Monkey - Firefox Extension
- TightVNC and Chicken of the VNC - Remote Desktop
- OpenOffice.org - Office Suite
- 7zip - File de/compression
- Nethack - Dynamic Text-mode Dungeon Crawler
- ClamAV - Anti-Virus Detection and Removal
Monday, June 26, 2006
My New Laptop Bag
I never really got that excited about the bag I carry my laptop in. For the past year or more I've been using a canvas J. Crew bag I picked up on sale to carry my G3 iBook and Dell around. It served it's use well, holding books, power adapters, keys, pens, all sorts of things. Lately though I've had concerns about the safety and well being of my toys and did some searches for quality bags that didn't cost to much or shouted out "steal me!".
Eventually I stumbled upon Crumpler bags and decided I'd pick up the 12' Skivvy to hold my iBook. It's a little smaller than I would have liked, but it fits the laptop snugly and I feel that it's adequately protected. The usual array of other accessories also fit into it with the subtraction of a few lesser used objects. It has a quality feel to it, with tough stitching and a large velcro piece on the flap that overlaps the bag generously and keeps everything in without the fear of it coming undone. The padding is about a quarter to half inch thick around the main laptop compartment and I have a feeling (not that I'm going to test it) that if it drops form waist/table height minimal damage will occur to contents. The accessory compartment has a nice thick zipper on it that opens/closes easily enough and it doesn't feel like it will get caught on anything. Finally the entire bag is water resistant, and even with the little rain we get in Southern California it seems it will keep everything fairly dry. The only complaint I have about it is the large patch of velcro is quite loud when you open it, but that's not a major issue.
During my search I came across some listings of what people carried in their bags which fascinated me for some bizarre reason. I guess it was some sense of dorky voyerism and I wanted to do the same thing. My old bag has a lot more in it, but most of it I never used and the new crumpler made me minimize some:
Eventually I stumbled upon Crumpler bags and decided I'd pick up the 12' Skivvy to hold my iBook. It's a little smaller than I would have liked, but it fits the laptop snugly and I feel that it's adequately protected. The usual array of other accessories also fit into it with the subtraction of a few lesser used objects. It has a quality feel to it, with tough stitching and a large velcro piece on the flap that overlaps the bag generously and keeps everything in without the fear of it coming undone. The padding is about a quarter to half inch thick around the main laptop compartment and I have a feeling (not that I'm going to test it) that if it drops form waist/table height minimal damage will occur to contents. The accessory compartment has a nice thick zipper on it that opens/closes easily enough and it doesn't feel like it will get caught on anything. Finally the entire bag is water resistant, and even with the little rain we get in Southern California it seems it will keep everything fairly dry. The only complaint I have about it is the large patch of velcro is quite loud when you open it, but that's not a major issue.
During my search I came across some listings of what people carried in their bags which fascinated me for some bizarre reason. I guess it was some sense of dorky voyerism and I wanted to do the same thing. My old bag has a lot more in it, but most of it I never used and the new crumpler made me minimize some:
- 800mhz G3 12' iBook with 256mb RAM and 30gb disk space
- Mead composition Notebook
- Pilot Gel Pens
- Moleskine Pocket Notebook
- UCSD ID and Bus Pass
- 512 USB Memory Stick
- Why Orwell Matters by Christopher Hitchens
- Costco Acid Reducer Pills (boooo heartburn)
Monday, June 19, 2006
My Typical Day Online
I spend a lot of time online, some people would say it's excessive, but normally most people just ask what exactly do I spend all that time on? Instead of explaining it to each person I figured I'd write a bit about it. I have an odd way of computing which I'll explain and then follow it up with what resources I use.
The Network is the Computer
I'm a systems administrator by day, and one thing I'm always looking for is a way to make tasks easier. Centralizing systems and resources so I only have to do something once is the key here and I carry it over into my personal computing habits as well. I have three computers I normally us, my G3 iBook, an old Dell laptop, and a 64-bit GNU/Linux Debian server. Why so many computers? Well diversity for one, they represent all three major operating systems and platforms and with the exception of cutting edge games I have all my bases covered. Also if I lose a laptop I'm not completely disabled computing wise. The server also has backups for it so we're safe there as well.
The two laptops are essentially satellites of the Debian server, and they contain little to any non-recoverable data. All music, movies, pictures, documents, everything that is important, is stored on the server. I then access it through the web, encrypted SSH connections, and tunneled VNC desktop sessions. Security has a heavy focus, and any IPs that want to connect must authenticate through a webpage, as well as the use of SSL for sensitive connections. The advantage to this is as long as I have a connection to the internet I'm always at my computer. It also allows other people I trust to connect and use various shared resources.
This fits into my daily routine by logging in via SSH on my laptop or desktop at work, then tunneling VNC to my shared desktop. The shared desktop contains my instant messenger, cd burning app, filesharing app, web browser, and whatever else software debian has installed
Sites
Here's a list of sites I usually have loaded in a tabs or Live Bookmarks:
With the combination of the computing approach I described above and the techniques and list of sites is usually how I spend my day online.
The Network is the Computer
I'm a systems administrator by day, and one thing I'm always looking for is a way to make tasks easier. Centralizing systems and resources so I only have to do something once is the key here and I carry it over into my personal computing habits as well. I have three computers I normally us, my G3 iBook, an old Dell laptop, and a 64-bit GNU/Linux Debian server. Why so many computers? Well diversity for one, they represent all three major operating systems and platforms and with the exception of cutting edge games I have all my bases covered. Also if I lose a laptop I'm not completely disabled computing wise. The server also has backups for it so we're safe there as well.
The two laptops are essentially satellites of the Debian server, and they contain little to any non-recoverable data. All music, movies, pictures, documents, everything that is important, is stored on the server. I then access it through the web, encrypted SSH connections, and tunneled VNC desktop sessions. Security has a heavy focus, and any IPs that want to connect must authenticate through a webpage, as well as the use of SSL for sensitive connections. The advantage to this is as long as I have a connection to the internet I'm always at my computer. It also allows other people I trust to connect and use various shared resources.
This fits into my daily routine by logging in via SSH on my laptop or desktop at work, then tunneling VNC to my shared desktop. The shared desktop contains my instant messenger, cd burning app, filesharing app, web browser, and whatever else software debian has installed
Sites
Here's a list of sites I usually have loaded in a tabs or Live Bookmarks:
- Slashdot - I've probably learned more from comments here than I did in four years of college
- Penny Arcade - Only on Mon/Wed/Fri, but they have excellent commentary on the gaming industry
- Gmail - Where all my personal emails are, go figure
- Google News - Gives me more mainstream current events tailored to my preferences
With the combination of the computing approach I described above and the techniques and list of sites is usually how I spend my day online.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Thursday Thirteen
Thirteen Things You Should Read Before You Die:
- 1984 (Cause then you'll know who Big Brother is)
- We (Cause everyone and their mom has read 1984 but probably not this one)
- Adventures of Huck Finn (Cause Mark Twain is a freaking genius)
- The Iliad and the Odyssey (Know your roots)
- Catcher In The Rye (But only before you hit 18)
- Into the Wild (Once again, only before you're 18, although when you're older you'll only just stop shaving for a while)
- At least one Orwell Essay or Short Story (trust me)
- Any "A Very Short Introduction To...." (condensed knowledge for the intellectual on the go)
- Anything written by a non-American author
- Any book written by a comedic liberal
- Any book written by a conservative to counter the one before
- Any amateur magazine, story, or blog
- The U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence (no explanation needed)
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