AG's Blog

Cable network gestapos

Monday I went to Giants Stadium and witnessed the last Monday Night Football affair on ABC.
The pathetic and injury riddled Jets suffered yet another defeat at the hands of the Pats. I like Herm Edwards, but he's certainly had the buzzards luck of late.

Anyway, the amazing build-up of the _last_ NFL Monday night ABC game was quite remarkable. What I found most interesting was the fact that local broadcasting of sporting events will be a thing of the past in most if not all major markets. I suppose if you live in obscure places like Provo, UT or French Lick, IN you could possible catch your local sports team on a local network affiliate.

What I also find interesting is that nobody seems to really care about these change of events. In fact, this phenomenom has been ongoing in the past ten years. I remember when you could watch Yankees and Mets games on WPIX and WWOR respectively. Stuff like Kiner's Corner (only old headz will remember that one). Hell, as time progressed and we moved into the information age, radio stations began to air these games of the net. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season. That is because MLB claimed that it was 'their' intellectual property and wanted consumers to pay a tribute. So it now illeagal for anyone to broadcast major league baseball games over the net without the expressed permission from MLB.

I suppose for the moment, you can still watch your local football teams on the appropriate local network affiliate (ie NBC or CBS). How long will this last? Your guess is as good as mine.

So what is a consumer or prosumer to do about these changes? Well, you could simply say to hell w/it all and do nothing. Another option is to use technology as a very effective means of defense. Since you absolutely _must_ have cable to watch sports, you'll probably want to begin using a PVR (ie MythTV or TIVO) to record the shows you want to watch. Now that the network gestapos have taken your freedom, they are pushing advertising at every opportunity. So protect yourself and cut out all the crap.

Ong-bak , Thai Warrior

As promised, I will share my latest movie review. I actually saw this one on DVD :)
I simply love martial arts films, especially those that are filmed overseas. Tony Jaa is a Muay Thai practitioner. While I don't profess to know much Muay-Thai, I was very impressed with the skill of this guy. Granted some of his knee strikes could have been exaggerated, I'm clear that he could inflict much damage.

Unfortunately, the art of kickboxing has been watered down to aerobic kickboxing, that has become very popular with women. It was refreshing to see the ancient art of Muay Thai demonstrated in this film.

I especially appreciated the high kicking techniques and strong counter attacks. In truth, the plot left much to be desired, but how many martial arts films actually have a well-defined plot? For that matter, how many people actually watch these flicks with the expectation of a stellar plot.

Anyway, there is much action in this film. Tony Jaa plays a peasant duped into prize fighting by a family member. All he really wanted was the much revered Buddah that was stolen from his village by thugs.

Not sure if this film was produced on location in Hong Kong, but I suspect that there were many film extras who took a physical beating in this film. I really hope it was worth the pain.

Making of a trebuchet - revisited

Finally posted the pics from the Systems engineering trebuchet firing competition. They can be found in the photo journal.
For those of you who are clueless, take a look at the earlier post.

Enjoy, and I'll also be updating my wildly popular movie reviews.

Master Killer

Also known as the 36 Chambers of Shaolin, a Shaw Brothers film, and definitely one of my favorites(also happens to be listed as one of Wu-Tang's classics too). The much younger Gordon Liu(aka Chia Hui Liu), stars as San Te, a recently accomplished Shaolin monk, who returns to his homeland to emancipate his oppressed countrymen.

I believe the story takes place during the Ming dynasty, where the some of the villagers had grown tired of the oppressive government. Sound familiar. One of the students had joined the insurgents to help overthrow the ruling power. Unfortunately, most of these militants became martyrs and their families were brutally murdered in the town square. Liu fled with his life to Shaolin temple to learn the skill of Kung-Fu.

Some of you may remember the much older Liu from his excellent role in Kill-Bill 2. Where he played the wise teacher of David Carradine.

Well, I prefer the much younger Liu, as his skills were certainly unparalleled. As the title suggests, he spent time learning the necessities of Shaolin kung-fu while traversing the 36 Chambers. What I found most interesting were the life lessons of perserverence and tenacity. Clearly most martial artists would agree that these tenants are essential to becoming a focused student.

The entire film was a series of trials and tribulations. From the aspect of humility, he began scrubbing dishes and cleaning up before he would be trained by the experienced monks. I especially enjoyed the log walking portion of the flick. Absolutely classic. Liu utilized most of the traditional weapons in this film, tonfa, three-section staff, bo-staff. While some of the chambers seemed a bit harsh, I clearly understood the significance of each area. Concentration was perhaps the most important of them all.

Liu would ultmately, be banished from Shaolin, but he would then return to exact revenge on the sinister oppressors. Oddly enough, he would contradict all of the teachings he'd learned in Shaolin. As a priest, he would be forbidden to use his skills to mame or hurt. I found it interesting that he actually did not kill anyone until the very end of the film.

I would rank this classic among the all time greats in its genre. A must see.

Brothas talkin tech

I experienced my first meetup here in NYC. Although, there was only two of us, I had alot of fun and learned a great deal. I met with Ejovi and we talked about a variety of topics(ie. Minority In Tech Conf, FON, and SecurityLab). Additionally, we also attempted to do an impromptu podcast, but failed miserably, as the internal memory of my trusty Treo was only 25.65mb, and the SoundRec app does not write directly to the external SD card. Raw .wav audio files are quite large, so once we exhausted the internal memory on the device, it simply rebooted during our conversation and of course the rest is history. All was not lost, I believe that I may actually be able to salvage the data. I will prolly bite the bullet and pay for ParPro 3.0, as it will allow you to write directly to the SD media, without first saving to the internal memory.

Podcasting is really cool and very inexpensive. Because this was to be a two person conversation, I visited my nearest Rat Shack, err I mean Radio Shack I purchased a y-plug (1/4mm input), and 1/4 to 1/8mm male to female coupler. Grand total of about ten bucks. Now, I could capture two audio inputs and dump the audio to the Treo. I'll post some pics of the setup.

We agreed to attempt another podcast before he leaves the country. I'll post it here within a few days. It is always great to meet people who share the same passion for technology and business.

I'm very thankful for having met Ejovi and for his patience while I fooled around with my trusty Treo.

Feral Children

Recently watched a very intriguing docuementary on Discovery Channel. which described the behaviour of children who had been abandoned by their parents and/or raised by domestic or wild animals. What I found especially intriguing was the imprinting, which is the very impressionable period in child development. Our youth tend to learn much more during this period. The feral children were typically discovered well after this very vulnerable stage. Thus, any attributes of the animal (ie wolf, dog,etc.) had been transferred to the human child. Quite surreal indeed.

While I do not profess to know anything about child psychology, I do believe that people are often a product of their environment. So if one is exposed to animal-like behavior for an indefinite amount of time, it is very likely to have damaging consequences.

What is unclear, is what should become of such children. Are they still to be considered human or otherwise? The documentary discussed this argument in great detail. Some scientist suggest that these children offer a unique opportunity to study the effects of abandonment. Moreover, feral children are rare, and often hidden in relative obscurity, so there would be no opportunity to learn about the changes in behavior pattern. Could any of the damage be reversed? What about the rights of these children? Do they deserve to be poked and prodded in the name of science? What role should the government play in the rehabilation process?

I was fascinated by the accounts described in the documentary, most of the cases seemed to have occured in Europe, but there have also been isolated cases in America.

Definitely worth a peek.

Transit Strike 2005 - Over

I survived the transit strike of 2005. Well sorta.. Actually, what better way to finish a 10hr drive from the midwest ;) In fact, I was oblivious to the forthcoming surprise. Typically, I'm very much connected to the happenings in my beloved city; however, I had not peeped the Gothamist, prior to my departure. Serves me right I suppose..

Bonus Coverage:

TWU Support - Local 100 Chairman Roger Touissaint

Anyway, it was roughly 6AM EST, I called a friend as I was getting off the NJ turnpike, heading to the Holland tunnel. I was informed that I would be turned around and sent away, as I only had one occupant in my vehicle. Obviously I figured I would be able to resist and get around the roadblocks. However, there were cops setup at a check point prior to the tunnel tolls. NYPD were using flashlights to check the occupants of _each_ car rolling to the toll booth. I figured that I could fabricate a makeshift mannequin with my triple phat goose w/hoodie and some of other junk in the rear seat, this would've given me an additional passenger. What I didn't realize was that I needed three additional passengers. Damn.. I couldn't fool anyone with a make believe southern accent. Couldn't get the yiddish out my gumbo, anyway, I digress. The cops had no freakin idea where I should go to avoid the crap. My buddy told me to head to the GW (read: George Washington Bridge), and then hit the Van Wyck to the Belt Pkwy to the B'klyn Bridge. I thought this is straight up bullshit. I was already grogged from a 10hr drive, and I really was pretty hungry too. I knew there had to be a better and more direct way. From that moment, I donned my BK hustler skullie, straight NY role. I was heated and definitely ready for rugged warfare.

For the benefit of my readers, I've included a map of the route to the city. Normally, the trip only takes 15min from the Holland Tunnel to B'klyn Bridge. On this day, my journey was extended to 6hrs. As the second maps illustrates, I had to retreat and head north on the NJ turnpike, and pay a second toll. It was pointless to explain my angst to the toll attendent. I thought it was stupid for me to pay another toll because of the strike. The complaint fell upon deaf ears. At this point I didn't really care about either side of the labor dispute. I'll summarize my thoughts on the labor disupute and its implications elsewhere in this post.

Well, I followed some of the advice of my buddy, as I neared the entry to the GW, I noticed that the traffic was getting more dense by the minute as it was now nearly 8AM. Normally, I would've been driving against the flow of traffic, but as we already know, single occupant motorists were being redirected to the GW. So, I follow the EZ pass lane as long as possible, and make a dash for the cash line, I was the fourth car in line. As I came closer to the gate, I finally caught my first break of the morning, the toll attendant was distracted by a phone call. I caught her sleeping and slipped passed her. Yeah, I know it was a bumrush, but it was a very small small victory in what turned out to be a very miserable morning. I saved $6, by not paying that stupid toll. I figured I could plead ignorance, while brandishing my out of town plates. Luckily five-o was busy handling the throngs of cars collecting at the toll gates. Ridiculous pandemonium.

Suddenly, I had another bright idea, instead of going all the way to the BX(read Bronx or Boogie Down), I'd hit the Henry Hudson(9A), and find my way to the FDR, and then hit the BK Bridge. The good thing about NY, there are at least ten ways to get to B'klyn or any other borough for that matter. So, I sped to the Henry Hudson, and made my way towards the FDR. I'm still listening to podcasts, and hadn't listened to the local news. As I neared 116th St, I observed lots of brake lights. Goddamn, there another Bravo Zulu checkpoint. Once again, my efforts to get home were thwarted. I was told to either wait until the suspensions were lifted at 11am or head back .... You guessed it the GW.

Now I'm furious and seething. The cops were really no help, but in all fairness, they were caught in the middle of this mess. Now, I'm thinking about the West Side highway.. I could jump on the West End Av, then catch the West Side Hwy. The problem with this rationale was that prolly a milllion other NYers had the same clue. So I'm sitting in Spanish Harlem in thick traffic. Getting hungrier by the minute as it's about 10am. I could go for some rice and beans or pasteles.

I eventually made my way across town to the west side. It took me close to two hours to go crosstown. For whatever reason, people wanted to stay near the HOV checkpoints, I wanted to get the hell away from all of that shyt. When I reached the West Side Hwy, it was noon and traffic was actually flowing. I later learned that prior to 11am, all traffic south of 96th St was deliberately stopped for inspection. What a royal PITA.

Well, I finally got to the BK Bridge, at roughly 1pm. Lots of pedestrian traffic on the bridge on this day. NYers are definitely resilient people in every sense of the word.

Regarding the Labor grievances.. It appears that both the public and private sector are experiencing the pain of huge legacy costs (ie, health care), due to an aging population. Frankly, the union workers in the northeast are also very interested in what is going on with Delphi in the midwest, as the labor dispute in that case could certainly send shockwaves and possibly set an undesirable precedent. Actually, I applaud the solidarity of the TWU, as it took much gumption to strike in the heart of the holiday season. Unfortunately, I do not believe the their management will be able to honor all of the demands. The rising costs of health care isn't going to be fixed overnight. I discussed the problem in earlier post.

I have friends who work for the MTA, so I certainly have mixed emotions. Having said that, I'm still annoyed at the extended travel fubar.

Update: Pretty good synopsis of the entire Labor dispute, NYC Transit Wiki

Trackback alive and well

For those of you who do not know understand trackbacks (ie. blogspot headz, heh), let me give you a quick definition.

Trackbacks were designed to extend the conversation and connect bloggers of similar thought. In other words, Tseng of Mainland China could virtually provide accolades or disparage a blog entry from Billy of Peoria. When I first learned of the power of this technology, I was instantly hooked. You could essentially help syndicate and validate the work of a fellow blogger. The absolute form of street cred on the blogosphere.

Of late, it appears that comment/trackback spam terrorists have taken a bite out of many blogs. I too was a victim roughly one year ago. However I took very aggressive measures, nearly to the detriment of my admittedly minimal readership. In retrospect, I'm glad that I took a ruthless and gestapo stance against the crap. These days, I receive zero spam. Well, actually yesterday I received nine erroneus msgs that never touched my blog. Actually, this was the first bit of junk that I've rec'd in probably 9-10 months. It was due to an executable script that I left on my server. The problem has since been resolved.

Let me run down some of the basics for those of you who use MT.

1) Security by obscurity - (aka change name of mt-comments.cgi)
2) Upgrade to latest MT 3.x engine
3) Utilize Spamlookup which deploys a RSBL
4) Grab a copy of Chad Everett's MT-Approval
5) Read Elise Bauer's article for dealing with spam on your MT blog.

Following these steps will mitigate any spam threat.

Trackback is dead. Are Comments dead too? (plasticbag.org)

Getting underway

I'll be heading home today and have put together most of what I'll need for the 10hr trip. I grabbed a bunch of podcasts and will prolly have 10hrs of uninterrupted music/talk. Gotta luv it. Who needs mainstream media, Sirrius or XMradio when you've got podcasts ;)

Speaking of podcasts,now that I've finished mixing tracks in audacity. Please enjoy my very raw inaugural podcast.

Shownotes:

• Treo 600
• SoundRec
• Microphone - Seidio 2-1 headset
• Mixer - Audacity
• VR3 FM Modulator

GNOME apps and Slackware

Most of you know that I'm a fervent Slackware supporter. Despite the bad press that is unfairly heaped upon this very senior and robust Linux distribution, I have continued to use it exclusively to power my desktop since 1996. In fact, I credit Slackware with helping me understand the very powerful UNIX platform. It is well known that the distro is managed by one developer, Pat Volkerding, who recently and probably correctly decided not support the GNOME libs. One of the best aspects of Slackware is its stability and the philosophy of not incorporating software packages that are considered exotic or unstable. Remember, that the mission of Slackware is to provide a very stable and secure distribution that is easily configured and just works.

While I have no interest in running a GNOME desktop, I happen to have an appreciation for three major GNOME apps. Gnomemeeting, GnuCash, and Evolution. In recent years, most Slackers were forced to use the tarball and compile method of building these packages. While I had no problems utilizing this method to build Gnomemeeting and GnuCash. Compiling Evolution from source was typically an exercise in futility. Actually, I stopped trying after I'd built Evolution 1.4 (old Gnome 1.x libs). Three years ago, I stumbled upon Dropline GNOME, which essentially was a hack built by some members of the Slackware community. It worked fine for awhile, but I noticed that after I had spent a considerable amount of time configuring my Slack box using Dropline, everything would break after the next major Slack distro upgrade. I would then find myself repeating the entire process again. Not a very happy time. So I stopped fsck'g with Dropline and continue to build everything from tarballs as appropriate.

Last year, I unearthed a jewel called Freerock/GSB GNOME. It seems to have solved some of the problems that I experienced with Dropline. It is extremely stable and quite extensible in that it handles the dreaded dependencies, builds the very slick 'slapt-get' package manager engine (a knock-off of Debian apt-get), and installs a plethora of GNOME packages via the safety of well understood command-line http/lynx interface. After running, the latest GSB package for Slackware 10.2, I now have a fully functional Evolution 2.4 and Gnomemeeting 1.2. Very pleased that it was truly painless and saved valuable time.

To date, GnuCash is still built upon the older Gnome 1.x libs, but there is talk that Gnome 2.x port is in the pipeline. I may simply wait until the Gnome 2.x libs support is released for consumption.

Droppin coin

Last week it appeared that there was a slight downturn in the fuel prices. Apparently it was short lived, as regular unleaded gas prices have risen again to roughly $2.04 in this area.

Anyway, if the article below contains any truth, we should expect more people to open the wallet and spend more freely. Two items to remember while you're on the streets engulfed in a wild spending frenzy.
Avoid the knuckleheads, and do not forget my birthday.

BBC NEWS | Business | Cheaper fuel boosts US shoppers

Perky Clocks

Hmmm. I've always been guilty of hitting the snooze bar on my alarm clock way too many times, but this is ridiculous.

I'm amazed at the creativity that can be displayed in the name of fun..

Move Over MIT, The Blowfly Alarm Clock Is Here - Gizmodo

Customer Service

Some of you may know that I also maintain a small PC consulting business. Essentially, I rebuild hardware and install software for clients. The majority are M$ users, but there are occasions where I have been asked to build a Linux firewall or mail server. Because I do have a day job, my rates are very competitive and I have the freedom to tackle the jobs of my choice.

More recently I completed a system rebuild for a friend who wanted to upgrade from the very ancient WinME to WinXP. I have performed this sort of evolution at least ten instances over the past two years. So, I did not expect very many surprises.

Although the client was a friend, I always approach the job in the same manner. That is, I attempt to understand the project scope, repeat the client needs to assure accuracy. In particular, there was a proprietary database, which was used to enter church member information. It was made clear that this database needed be restored on the new system. I really didn't give it too much thought because I figured that it would be a simple text file. So, backing up the text file would not be very difficult. So I thought..

In hindsight, I made an error in judgement. I should have explained that there are no guarantees that the package would work as expected on the new XP platform. One of the problems you face when migrating from WinME to XP is that you're essentially going from a 16Bit - 32Bit platform. Applications written for the older WinME package are not likely to behave the same on the 32bit XP OS.

I neglected to warn her of this probability. Secondly, I typically backup all data in archived in C:\..\mydocuments.. , browser bookmarks (favorites), email messages, and anything else the client requests. I install most of the common applications (Office Suite, web browser, CD/DVD burning application, PDF reader, etc..)

Once I've restaged the machine, I typically archive the data to CD or DVD, depending on the volume of data and of course the type of optical drive installed on the machine. The client will also receive a manifest outlining the work performed, cost of the labor/hardware. Typically, I also suggest recommendations for future consideration. For instance, the hardware could be rather dated, so I would suggest a hardware upgrade, etc. All sales are final as stated on the invoice.

The client is expected to be able to restore their data from CD, as this is fairly simple. Put the CD in the drive and copy the files to the desired location. In the case of a proprietary database, you would obviously need to install the legacy application and then use its restore tool. Nonetheless, I do make myself available for the occasional trouble call. These days I loathe tech support, as I'm extremely busy with coursework and the day job. Unfortunately, I do not have an abundance of time to help solve too many problems. My weekends are reserved for homework and household chores. However, as stated earlier, this client was different, we are friends. So, I was happy to help.

Second issue, the client is not very computer saavy. Not really a big deal, I normally do not have problems explaining the details of how to restore files or in a pinch I have been known to make housecalls.
In this case, I made three visits. The initial visit was to re-establish the dial up connection via XP.
Yes, people still use modems. I had to pinch myself, to make sure that I was not dreaming ;)
Modems are a royal PITA. I probably spent approx 20-30min goofing with the authentication process. Lots of users, hate remembering passwords, so they simple select "remember my password" option in the login window. So when they are faced with task of doing a new installation, they struggle with getting authenticated. Additionally, most dial-up ISPs change their dial-up pool numbers, as their networks grow or improve. So if you haven't written any of the numbers down, you're faced with the task of trying to get the new dial-up numbers. The client hadn't written these numbers down anywhere.

Luckily, I'm always equipped with my very trusty companion, the Treo600. Hence a browser is only a few thumb clicks away. I visit the desired ISP website and grab the modem pool numbers for our specified toll region. So after many unsuccessful attempts, we finally get the modem to properly handshake and eureka we have an internet connection.

Next, I set up the email (POP and SMTP), and then the dreaded M$ Outlook Express(OE) message restoration project. Most of you already know that I absolutely despise any M$ applications, because they simply do not work as advertised. OE is an application that comes free with any M$ OS. The application stores its messages and contact lists in what amounts to a proprietary database format (.dbx). There are a couple methods to back-up this data. The easiest way is to simply copy the files directly from the archive export path. You could also use the registry archive option. I chose the former.

When I attempted to restore the older messages, the dumb restore tool failed miserably. Obviously I wasn't very happy. After spending an hour at the home of the client, I explained that I needed to do a bit more research. So, I return home and do the ubiquitous google search, and learn that many people have encountered the broken OE restore tool. Luckily, there are free third party tools that can be used to circumvent the problem. To be clear, these tools are not elegant solutions, they are probably best described as kludges or hacks. Nonetheless, I'm quite comfortable using them; however, my client would not be very comfortable using a third-party tool.

Meanwhile, I learn that restoring the older church member database was not working as expected. Immediately, I became concerned as I really did not know much about the application or the problems that occured. It is very difficult to for unsaavy computer users to accurately explain problems via email. You essentially have to reproduce the problem in person. You got it.. Another tech support trip to the home. After the second trip, I gathered all the info that I needed and also installed the third-party software package. The client was not very pleased with the issues that have been revealed after the installation of XP. I suppose the expectation was that everything should just work. At this point, I too was a bit miffed, as I was pretty disgusted with M$ tools. After a bit of jousting with the client, we both agreed that the our communication should have been more clear.

Here is what I learned:

• Establish a signed written contract with client
• Clearly understand all expectations
• Never assume an application will work after a major upgrade

It became clear to me that much of the above was not done very well. I suppose the fact that we are friends may have clouded my judgement. Consequently, I created too much extra work. Making calls to the company which manufactures the proprietary church database application was pointless, as they were basically one-eyed droids reading scenarios from an engagement card. These people were not the software developers. At the end of the day, the client had lost most of the data, thus the client was forced to re-enter all of it. Very unfortunate and painful indeed. Regarding the email, the third-party application works as expected, but I am clear the client probably will not be using it. As a work around we also tried installing Outlook and tried to import the older messages, but this did not work either.

I would offer Mozilla Thunderbird as a solution, but I am sure the client would not be willing to learn a new application. Moreover, I would have to make another trip to the home. Cannot afford it at this time.
So I am done.

Bottom line:: The client has an improved OS and I essentially extended the useful life of the PC by approximately three years. The client is not a power user so the utility is acceptable.

Is the end near for Crackberry?

Blackberry manufacturer RIM(Research In Motion), has been victimized by some fairly serious patent infringement cases.

It appears that the US Business is at risk, due to the latest suit reported at $1 Billion.

I wonder how many folks at PalmSource and Palm are salivating right now? If Blackberry customers were to bail in huge numbers Palm would surely benefit. In fact, it would provide an open channel to the corporate space that it sorely needs.

BlackBerry shutdown closer after ruling - U.S. Business - MSNBC.com

High utility

Given the fact that many cities are interested in combining various technologies, and particularly since the buzzwords are Wi-Fi, and Homeland Security. Oh yeah, and I can't forget reuse too.
Why not combine the best of both worlds in one device?

Don't be surprised that the next speeding ticket you receive will be delivered by one of these special lamp posts. If I can find out which cities are rolling these out I'll deliver an update..

Boing Boing: Solar utility pole: streetlight, WiFi, CCTV and charger