Nonfocussed Personal Blog

Installing Django and MySQL on Mac OS X 10.7 from a fresh install.
( In point form, because I'm in a hurry.Collapse )

I've been using the Lowepro SlingShot 102 AW for a month or two, and here's my review for time-challenged people: it's excellent for photo walks and can accommodate a flash and/or a few tiny accessories. At a pinch, the Slingshot is a great bag for carrying a camera and accessories on trips by plane, train or bus. The downside? Carrying a tripod is annoying, and I feel there are better options for people travelling by plane with luggage. I consider this an ideal bag for the purpose of photo walks focussed on hand-held photography.
( A more verbose version of the above behind the cutCollapse )

The short version: Diablo III is a prime example of why always-connected DRM will not work in the long run. It protects the supplier's interests while turning customers into enemies.

( Full text of this rant behind the cut.Collapse )

Read this: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/22/opinion/phones-instagram-apps-stern/

( Then read my ranting essay in response to that guy's self-entitled rantingCollapse )

In Perl, some people will do funky stuff like this:

  package FooBar;
  use constant {
    CONFIG_VALUE_A = 'foo',
    CONFIG_VALUE_B = 'bar',
    };

If I want to override those values (e.g.: while running your application on my system, or building a test suite) I have to use a construct like this:

*{FOOBAR::CONFIG_VALUE_A} = sub { 'my new foo' };

Please don't use constants for things which might vary (such as hostname, database server, database name, user name or password). Constants are for things like Pi, or G or h (and even then, the cosmologists tell us that h is not really constant in space or time).

To handle configuration variables, I recommend tools such as Config::IniFiles.

That is all.

In which I contrast the Kobo Touch, Sony Reader and iPad 2 in terms of reading books.

Let me cut to the chase: If I was forced to choose only one of these devices, it would be the iPad. But for the purposes of exclusively reading books I would choose the black Kobo Touch.( No photos, sorry. I can't capture the bedazzling effect of the Sony Reader's shiny bezel.Collapse )

Some points to consider when reviewing your backup strategy: http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/poremba/bulletproofing-your-data/?cs=49333

Note the last point especially: have you tried recovering your data onto a brand new computer?

And remember that tomorrow is St. Valentine's Day. You can buy a 1TB drive for the price of a dozen roses :)

Oh, and another story about losing stuff: http://www.documentsnap.com/carbonite-ceo-and-i-join-the-idiot-club/

Due to my weak and undisciplined nature I have succumbed to "more shinies syndrome" and now I have a Kobo Touch. I have a large collection of O'Reilly books in ePub format, which work just fine on the iPad, but crash the Kobo. So I set out to massage my O'Reilly books to the point that they are usable on the Kobo.

( Details of my book massaging behind the cutCollapse )

A huge THANK YOU to O'Reilly for being sensible and releasing their publications with no DRM, which allows me to edit my copy as I see fit. This is why I buy your books (in addition to them being technically excellent).

Before you get to my post, here is some background reading. They're short, so please go read them now:

• If a stranger grabs your camera and snaps a photo, who owns the copyright?
• Photos must be the product of human authorship to be copyrightable
• Shutter-happy monkey turns photographer

( This rant is about copyright and who owns it.Collapse )

( Computer geek stuff behind the cutCollapse )