sipping a cold beer and thinking about the events of the last week. The installation went perfectly, after a quick modification. We just need to go back to engineering to make sure that they are aware of the hiccup we had, so that people in the field can handle it if it pops up...
Funny how I have to watch what I say on my online diary.
Two weeks without internet access starting essentially today. I wonder how I will handle it. At least I have the laptop to hack on if I feel the need.
I am stuck for an extra day en Elkhart Indiana, and to make matters worse......
And I miss my honey.
Stream Jacker is progressing smoothly towards version 2.20b, with a host of new features. My current development version (2.10b) includes the following new working features:
Looks like I leave on a last minute business trip to Indiana tomorrow morning. Specifically, I am travelling to Elkhart Indiana, and checking out a GIANT RV PLANT. No updates for a bit then huh?
I have created a new NSIS based installer for my StreamJacker 2.00b package. No bugreports so far, and I think that that is a good thing. I even have some fan mail:
Windows installer for StreamJacker 2.00b: download here
I have (just barely) released Stream Jacker 2.0b on schedule. The new package supports several new features:
StreamJacker 2 is nearing completion. StreamJacker is now a full featured shoutcast stream ripper, with multiple ripping threads (multiple stations at once), and a slick new interface.
Release target is Monday (June 16 2003).
Features:
There may be some people who are unaware that my domain is an offshoot form the Cthuugle search engine. Cthuugle is a search engine optimized to find H.P. Lovecraft related materials on the web. I made it as a joke some time ago, and kept it because of continuing demand.
Anyway, I added a link to this page in order to drive hits up. Me==bad.
I am completely re-writing the streamripper software that I posted the other day, and renaming it do to a meat-namespace conflict with another package with the same name. I have renamed to StreamJacker (not to be confused with Stream Jack).
Some neato Python hints, and a .plan follow.
While StreamRipper is nicely integrated with WinAmp, it is really designed for a different purpose that StreamJacker. I started writing StreamJacker in order to learn wxPython, but the app was so useful to me while debugging it, that I have decided to refactor, continue development, and extend the program.
The Problems:
The Solutions:
It is interesting to note that I had a great deal of trouble with the Twisted Matrix code. This may be because I am still somewhat of a novice python programmer, but I am a VERY experienced C++/C/PHP/Assembly/(everything EXCEPT python) developer. It seems to me that in many cases the Objects that I finally ended up using in Twisted Matrix were far too deeply nested with inheritance, and lacked API hooks that would allow one to do semingly obvious tasks (for example, the ShoutCast client had no default connection closing command, or at least no obvious one). Since shoutcast is a well documented protocol (although not by it's authors), I expect this to be fairly easy to hack together. The only concerns I have are integrating the threading with wxPython, but that is the fun part of coding isn't it!?
Looks like Generation5.org has updated to a new software package. I have been a long time lurker on that site, as it has always had interesting AI related news that seems to get missed elsewhere.
Robot geeks would also do well to check out Robots.Net to get their robot jones on.
Looks like the learning a new language task is going exceedingly well. I have written a Shoutcast stream ripper program which allows you to save the internet radio station of your choice to disk. Song filenames are automagically extracted too. StreamRipper is my FIRST python program, compiled it to a Windows executable (via via wxPython and py2exe, and tested it. It is still a little flaky on closing, and leaves a dos window open with all my debug output, but it DOES WORK.
download here.
Looks like CafePress.com has a new license agreement. Some of the legalese grants CafePress the right to use your trademarks/copyrighted material without attribution. Also, they can continue to sell it even after you cancel your account (account cancellation does not abrogate the agreement, see section 6.3. I especially love the fact that reading the new agreement, constitutes agreeing to it (since it resides on the web site, and use of the site constitutes agreement). I have my doubts about the enforcability of this thing.
Because of the backlash from this new agreement (most of it due to a related mis-interpretation), CafePress has issued a clarification, which contains a completely different line item for 6.3 (that being the current licensing agreement), which is WAY less Draconian. So it looks like the thing they are trying to get you calmed down about just hasn't gone into effect yet.
Keep in mind this part too:
Got an Apple LaserWriter 8500 printing from a Windows 2000 workstation, over the network, despite not having any of the original drivers or intructions. Glad to have resources like the Adobe PPD definitions and Adobe PS to help me along though. Would have been a BIG pain in the ass to get it defined correctly otherwise.
Howto follows...
Assuming that you are running NT/2000/XP, you should have TCP/IP printing already installed by default. If you are running 95/98/ME? you will need to install an LPR driver first. No help for you on this install, since I have no 98 boxes here to test on.
Check out Cheney's new fighting sardaukar. Developped in by Natick, Massachusetts based Soldier Systems Center, this outfit makes the American soldiers even more intimidating to the future enemy combatants (whoever they might be).
Went and hung out at Cimm's house last night and watched a (very cool) movie; Hero. The movie was amazing eye candy, based upon some semi-legendary Chinese history.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
What really got me was the combination of amazing cinematography and the top end production values. There was also ZERO cheesecake factor. No tits, no ass, nothing gratuitous. Even the fight scenes were as long as necessary; no longer and no shorter.
Sadly, I think that no North American audience will really get this film (except for hard core film and/or martial arts buffs). The theme of sacrifice for the greater good, and the lack of a traditional happy ending for any of the characters, will alienate them.
That said, I think that it no longer matters. Independent film has long since surpassed mainstream American cinema on almost every axis (except for special effects), and now mainstream Hong Kong cinema is following suit. Happily, the reduction in price for fantastic digital effects (see Shaolin Soccer for an example), will allow independent filmmakers to render Hollywood budgets irrelevant.
P.S. Cimm has a dual display premiere edit suite in his bedroom, with NTSC output monitors and DV cam and the whole deal. Maybe we should work with him a bit no?