This morning I was reading one of my favorite sites, Life Hacker and saw a posting about personal Wiki software. A “wiki” is the editable, cross-linked system behind Wikipedia. I currently use one on occasion on my Powerbook called <a href=“http=“http://flyingmeat.com/voodoopad/" title=“VoodooPad”>VoodooPad. I’ve been looking for one to use on the Windows XP-based Thinkpad.
The posting about WikiPad had many comments, and several mentioned other wiki solutions, including TiddlyWiki, and ZuluPad. There was also a comment with a link to a review of note taking applications, which had an oh-by-the-way mention of some password storage software that was portable, i.e., it would run on a USB key. So I followed the link to essential portable applications and from there to the KeyPass home page.
Now, KeyPass works as a part of the PortableApps suite. So I pulled out my U3 enabled USB key and disabled the U3 launcher and autorun files (I was tired of the lack of updates to the U3 version of Firefox) and started the PortableApps suite downloading.
PortableApps is downloaded now, and ready to be installed. Then I’ll need to configure it, and install KeyPass. I’ll be putting it through the paces for the next few days before I pass judgment. I still have the tabs for WikiPad, TiddlyWiki, and ZuluPad open; eventually I’ll get back to deciding which of them to download and try first, but right now I need to respond to an email.
Who says being mildly ADD is a bad thing? :)
Growing up in a city, albeit a smaller one, I didn’t learn much about growing food. My mother always had a very African Violets on a stand in the window, and my father has a tomato patch in his yard every year, but I never had the urge to plant things and make them grow.
In college my roommates both had tremendous green thumbs; every flat surface big enough in our dorm room and, later, in our off-campus apartments, was covered with pots and plants. One of my roommates was highly successful in planting seeds or cuttings from other plants to get entire new plants. I managed to ignore and nearly kill an Asparagus Fern.
Recently however I have started trying to grow some garlic in my kitchen. I had a bulb that had been in the hanging wire basket long enough to sprout a green shoot about a half an inch long. We got a pot and some potting soil and planted the bulb and left it to grow. For the first several days I wasn’t sure that anything was happening, but then yesterday I noticed that the shoot appeared to be longer, and it had a definite lean towards the light. I turned the pit 180 degrees and today it is again starting to re-orient itself towards the light. IT’S ALIVE!
For some reason I find this highly satisfying. Of course now I have to figure how how to know when it is “done” and can be harvested.
Shortly after starting at my new job I was asked if I wanted to join the Superbowl pool. Figuring it might be a good way to meet some of the people I was working with I decided to give it a go. To make a long story short, I happen to win both the first and second quarters for a total of $125. I caught some razzing for being the new guy and taking half the pot home.
Last week there was a company wide drawing for tickets to see some Royals home games. The company has a number of seats and when customers aren’t using them employees can enter a random drawing. My name was drawn out of the hat so we are going to see the Royals host the Chicago White Sox on the 24th. I haven’t said anything to anyone - the winner’s names were published on the employee Intranet - but it sure feels like I am on a winning streak.
Maybe I should start buying lottery tickers more consistently.
Working in the middle of a cubical farm, I am subjected to the conversations, mutterings, and sounds of the people around me. Try as I might it is impossible to ignore all the snatches of conversation that drift over the wall from my neighbors. Recently I have been privy to some rather involved plans for a birthday party. Catering. Pavilion rental. An Elvis impersonator, for crying-out-loud.
Today’s installment in this saga hinges around the weather forecast for the day of the event. A high of 46 with a chance of rain mixed with snow showers. Not ideal party weather. But not the end of the world either.
What strikes me most about this is the anger and upset the weather is causing is the futility of raging against something you have no control over. There is absolutely nothing that can be done about the weather. If you are planning an outdoor party any time of the year you should have a contingency plan for inclement weather. And if you plan an outdoor party in April in the Midwest you shouldn’t have a stroke when the forecast is wintry rather than summery.
The lesson here for me is to recognize when I am allowing me blood pressure to be controlled by external forces, especially when those forces might be inanimate. Also, that nothing you say or do at work is private. The guy one cube over might have a weblog…
For several weeks now my morning weight has been hovering between two hundred and two oh five. I’ve been eating a bit more than I was previously, and I am not currently engaged in a weekly workout regimen. The “eat less, do more” weight loss only works if you in fact eat less and do more.
So.
I’ve been paying attention to portion size once again. Also I’ve been trying to eat slowly again. For years a persistent issue with swallowing forced me to cut my food into tiny bites and to eat very slowly. In the last year this condition has all but disappeared from my life - I cannot remember the last time I had difficulty swallowing while I was eating. As a result I have started to eat faster which has an unintended side effect. When you eat at a measured pace your body has time to decide if it is full or not. When you eat quickly it is possible to eat until you are over full. The sheet momentum of eating quickly carries you past the point of having your hunger satisfied and into the realm of full, stuffed or gorged.
In the last week I’ve been refocused on eating at a measured pace and I’ve been trying to watch portion size again. I’ve yet to re-add a recurring strenuous physically activity but even so, I’ve now had five days where my morning weight was below two hundred pounds. Five days in a row under two hundred.
In ten months time I have lost, and kept off, fifty pounds of weight.
Wow.
During high school I took a semester of typing as one of my elective courses. (Yes, I am that old.) I only remember a couple of things from that class. First, all the assignments were handed out based on the speed of the fastest student in the class. This meant that those of us who were slower at typing had to really struggle to complete all the required exercises. By the end of the semester I was able to type an entire page at 20 or 21 words per minute (wpm) with only two errors per page. Erasable bond paper was available, but since the ink would rub off the paper with only a little handling the teacher wouldn’t allow us to use it for anything we wanted to hand in for grading.
The other thing I remember was the idea of leaving two spaces after a period. It creates a subtly different visual cue than the single space following a comma or semi-colon. Working with HTML and the Web has destroyed that typographical nicety for me. I have fallen into the habit of leaving a single space after the sentence ending punctuation. For no reason other than it pleases me I am going to try and relearn the double space convention in my typing. Of course postings like this one will be cumbersome to create as the browser wants to strip out “extra” spaces that aren’t explicitly coded. And I’m too lazy to insert the necessary “ ” character sequence to force the spaces to appear after each sentence. So why bother? Because. :)
B9 d+ t+ k+ s++ u F- i o++ x– e- l c
This entry is merely here so I don’t have to try and remember where I wrote it down for the next time I need it.
Problem A directory, A, contains many sub-directories, B, C, D, …. Each sub-directory contains one or more files that you want copied to a new directory without the directory hierarchy. Result will be a directory, A1, that contains just files.
Solution The *nix cp command.
cp -r <source_directory>/*/*.filetype .Copy, recursively for files (little r, not Directories or big R), from the source_directory, searching all folders (/), for all files of a type (/.filetype) to here (.)
Thanks JJ.
Vor dem Tor Vom Eise befreit sind Strom und Bäche Durch des Frühlings holden, belebenden Blick, Im Tale grünet Hoffnungsglück; Der alte Winter, in seiner Schwäche, Zog sich in rauhe Berge zurück. Von dort her sendet er, fliehend, nur Ohnmächtige Schauer körnigen Eises In Streifen über die grünende Flur. Aber die Sonne duldet kein Weißes, Überall regt sich Bildung und Streben, Alles will sie mit Farben beleben; Doch an Blumen fehlts im Revier, Sie nimmt geputzte Menschen dafür. Kehre dich um, von diesen Höhen Nach der Stadt zurück zu sehen! Aus dem hohlen finstern Tor Dringt ein buntes Gewimmel hervor. Jeder sonnt sich heute so gern. Sie feiern die Auferstehung des Herrn, Denn sie sind selber auferstanden: Aus niedriger Häuser dumpfen Gemächern, Aus Handwerks- und Gewerbesbanden, Aus dem Druck von Giebeln und Dächern, Aus der Straßen quetschender Enge, Aus der Kirchen ehrwürdiger Nacht Sind sie alle ans Licht gebracht. Sieh nur, sieh! wie behend sich die Menge Durch die Gärten und Felder zerschlägt, Wie der Fluß in Breit und Länge So manchen lustigen Nachen bewegt, Und, bis zum Sinken überladen, Entfernt sich dieser letzte Kahn. Selbst von des Berges fernen Pfaden Blinken uns farbige Kleider an. Ich höre schon des Dorfs Getümmel, Hier ist des Volkes wahrer Himmel, Zufrieden jauchzet groß und klein: Hier bin ich Mensch, hier darf ichs sein!
Der Osterspaziergang (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust I)
Several times in recent weeks I have been struck by the thought that most people are approaching life from a fear-avoidance stance. Not that avoiding fear is a bad idea, but perhaps one can over anticipate and end up altering their life needlessly in the process.
For example, my current work situation provides me with an opportunity to travel to a different building for some meetings. Parking is usually accomplished along the street at a metered space. The neighborhood is mixed commercial and residential - not a bad part of town, but not suburbia either. When a co-worker discovered that I was parking along the street he immediately had to tell me about all the cars with broken windows he’d seen in the area. Obviously he thought that parking your car downtown was an invitation to being vandalized or robbed. Having had my apartment in suburbia robbed, and having had a motorcycle stolen and a car broken into in a well-lit apartment parking lot I know that crime happens where it happens, not just along some streets. I’ve got insurance so that I don’t have to live in fear of where I park my car.
Another example. I’ve been approached about signing up for a pre-paid legal service. The list of services included is very nice, but my first thought upon hearing about this was that the service provider was cashing in on fear. I couldn’t help but thinking about all the stolen children scares on the news magazine television shows. Most of these cases prove to be a contested child custody matter - a family member “takes” the children. The actual number of true stolen children is statistically insignificant. I’m not trying to diminish the utter horror of a stolen child, it does happen. However, completely turning ones life upside down and sideways to mitigate a faint possibility seems like the cure is worse than the disease.
When I was teaching self defense in the 1990s we talked about being “prepared not paranoid.” Going too far with preparedness can be worse than not being prepared at all. Paying a month subscription against the random chance that you’ll need legal representation at some future date feels, to me anyway, like borderline paranoia.
Perhaps I’ve got my head buried in the sand but I don’t want to live in fear. I do believe in being prepared - I’ve got car insurance, health insurance, disability and life insurance, et cetera. Pre-paid legal just feels like one of those extended warranty deals at the electronics store. By buying that warranty you are gambling that your new toy will break. You are pre-paying for it to fall apart. If I pre-pay for legal services I think there is an aspect of self-fulfilling prophecy in play; next thing you know I’ll be in small claims court needing legal services.
If buying extended warranties, not parking your car downtown, and having someone on legal retainer make you feel comfortable then I am glad for you and I think you should do those things. For me I’m content to be aware of the risks involved in life and in the choices I make. I am willing to accept some risk in order to live my life my way.