2010-05-18

Flash on 64-bit Ubuntu

I have 64-bit machines and run Ubuntu Linux on most of them. Since 09.10, my flash suffers from the no click bug mentioned elsewhere. I've done many tutorials, but this is still the quickest most direct way I know to fix it:

Go here and download the item at the bottom:

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flashplayer10_64bit.html

or


wget http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/flashplayer10/libflashplayer-10.0.45.2.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz


Then, go to Command Line (if not already) chdir to the right directory and then:


tar -xzf libflashplayer-10.0.45.2.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
sudo cp libflashplayer.so /var/lib/flashplugin-installer/npwrapper.libflashplayer.so


Then, restart your browsers and click happily!

2010-01-13

Multiple table changes

So, I run into a problem with a java (ewwww) build, where the tables in a MySQL DB were being altered, but the underlying storage engine wouldn't support the request.

So, I'm faced with having to change the storage engine of multiple tables in a single DB. I wanted to do this the easy way, so I asked twitter for help. It even got a retweet, thanks MBGeek.

Sadly, Twitter hasn't yet reached the quickness of a man in action and I dove into the information_schema, where I quickly used this query to identify all the tables needing the change:

SELECT `TABLE_NAME`
FROM `TABLES`
WHERE `TABLE_SCHEMA` = '%DBOFINTEREST%'
AND `ENGINE` = 'MyISAM'


From there, I took the results and dumped them into the best editor around. Then I did the following commands:

VG # to select all the lines in the file
:s/^/ALTER TABLE`/ #Put "ALTER TABLE`" at the beginning

VG # to select all the lines again in the file
:s/$/` ENGINE = InnoDB;/ #Put "` ENGINE = InnoDB;" at the end



Then, C&P the result into a SQL window (set to the correct DB) and fired it off:

"Your SQL query has been executed successfully"


Hell yeah! It probably took me longer to write this than it did to figure it out...

2009-10-20

Hit by a train!

It's been a while since I posted. Lots have been going on this year -- separation (which was discussed in an earlier post), then last month I saw the passing of my grandfather and my mom's roommate, the latter of which was self-inflicted.

Anyway, something just happened that I probably should post because I'm sure it'll generate a lot of questions and I don't like to repeat myself.

What was it I did tonight that would cause me to come back to this blog and post? Oh nothing, I just got hit by a train.

In all fairness, the train didn't actually hit me, it hit my car. It also was only going ~2 MPH when the collision hit.

Now, (ho)WTF did it happen? Well, I was leaving the Lowcountry Innovation Center after wrapping up the last planning meeting for #barcampchs. I was following Lisa Berry and her son (at the time I thought it was jaredwsmith, but figured it out later) on the way to the post-meeting dinner. We got to the corner of Noisette (Ave B N) and Virginia, when I saw a man in the middle of the road with a light. Now, I thought he was a homeless guy begging for change. Lisa never saw him, and kept going. I followed. Considering the train was not lit up and there was no flares, alarms or anything in the area, I got my first glimpse of it as it caught my front end and spun my car to the left. There, it scraped across my passenger front quadrant. The car is FUBARed, but it seems to be all body damage, except for the broken windshield washer container. See the damage below:







Here's a picture of the only other sign to warn you that there's a train crossing in the area.




And here's the train. Do you see it? It's there, my car will tell you so.



The train master showed up before North Charleston's finest. I've been told that I'm 100% at fault because in the state of SC (or at least in the eyes of this police officer), trains operate on their own track and are not considered motor vehicles. This means they can't contribute to a motor vehicle collision.

I feel bad for the signalman. If I had known he was a railroad guy, this wouldn't have happened. He told me he's got a 5 yo and a 2 week-old and that they [CSX] will probably fire him over this. I congratulated him on the new arrival and offered to be present at the hearing to say a few words in his defense.

Anyway, I'm now looking at insurance adjusters, getting collision damage repaired, finding rides to/from, etc. That on top of everything else that's going on. It's gonna be a fun few weeks.

So that's my story.


But wait, there's more... Here's some conversations about it in various chat lands. Might be funny to same, might give more insight...

csclug@conference.butterfat.net

(21:37:06) LabThug_hm: So, LabThug, what did you do after the barcampchs planning meeting?
(21:37:12) LabThug_hm: Me...oh, I got hit by a train
(21:37:20) eugenemah: oy
(21:37:20) mcg: WTF?
(21:37:24) eugenemah: how'd you manage that?
(21:37:29) eugenemah: no injuries i hope
(21:37:33) LabThug_hm: followed [Lisa]
(21:37:38) mcg: ding ding, red lights etc
(21:38:19) mcg: details?
(21:38:37) LabThug_hm: sorry, mom on phone
(21:38:39) LabThug_hm: ok
(21:38:49) LabThug_hm: corner of Noisette and Virginia
(21:38:55) LabThug_hm: no lights, no ding-ding
(21:39:02) LabThug_hm: just guy in middle with lantern
(21:39:03) eugenemah: i remember seeing a train sitting there when we drove in
(21:39:15) LabThug_hm: I thought guy was homeless begging for change
(21:39:18) mcg: haha
(21:39:21) LabThug_hm: train had no lights on it
(21:39:26) LabThug_hm: I was following [Lisa]
(21:39:30) LabThug_hm: he made it across
(21:39:31) LabThug_hm: I didn't
(21:39:35) eugenemah: oh boy
(21:39:37) mcg: ouch
(21:39:41) mcg: big mess?
(21:39:50) LabThug_hm: front end is FUBAR
(21:39:59) LabThug_hm: all body damage though
(21:40:02) LabThug_hm: no engine
(21:40:18) LabThug_hm: unless you consider broken washer fluid container engine
(21:40:33) mcg: good thing you didn't make it a bit more across
(21:40:39) LabThug_hm: aye
(21:41:14) eugenemah: no injuries aside from the car?
(21:41:28) LabThug_hm: it caught my front end, spun me around and tore off the passenger front quadrant
(21:41:37) LabThug_hm: eugenemah: none other than pride
(21:41:40) mcg: how fast was the train going?
(21:41:50) mcg: i bet that scared the bagibers out of you
(21:42:08) LabThug_hm: it was going 2MPH
(21:42:15) LabThug_hm: mcg: I was more WTF than anything
(21:42:27) mcg: slow motion?
(21:42:38) LabThug_hm: yeah
(21:42:44) LabThug_hm: guy with light was supposed to stop us
(21:42:48) LabThug_hm: and put out flares
(21:42:50) LabThug_hm: etc.
(21:42:54) LabThug_hm: which he didn't
(21:42:56) LabThug_hm: but
(21:42:59) LabThug_hm: here's the kicker
(21:43:00) mcg: hmm CSX paying for damages then
(21:43:03) LabThug_hm: in the state of SC
(21:43:08) LabThug_hm: trains run on their own track
(21:43:15) LabThug_hm: not considered motor vehicles
(21:43:22) LabThug_hm: so, I am 100% at fault
(21:43:27) mcg: ugh
(21:43:27) LabThug_hm: feckers
(21:43:39) eugenemah: didn't know that
(21:43:40) mcg: they can't ever be at fault?
(21:43:51) LabThug_hm: only when they jump tracks...maybe
(21:43:56) mcg: failure to signal that a train was there seems like an issue
(21:44:41) LabThug_hm: yeah, probably if I get "One call, that's all" involved
(21:44:55) mcg: the "strong arm" maybe
(21:45:42) LabThug_hm: hahaha, forgot about him
(21:46:14) LabThug_hm: USAA seems to have an online claim reporter
(21:48:21) eugenemah: car still drivable?
(21:48:38) mcg: did [Lisa] stop? ;-)
(21:51:43) LabThug_hm: [Lisa] made it to Madra Rua
(21:51:50) LabThug_hm: never knew what happened ...
(21:51:54) mcg: sigh
(21:52:00) LabThug_hm: car is now in driveway and I drove it there
(21:52:28) KingNeziL: LabThug_hm: whoa, are you serious?
(21:53:00) LabThug_hm: naw KingNeziL, the whole thing is a bad dream and you will wake up soon ;-P
(21:53:15) KingNeziL: you're pretty cool about the whole situation
(21:53:33) LabThug_hm: yeah, I usually am in things like this
(21:53:43) LabThug_hm: and with everything else that happened this last year
(21:53:47) LabThug_hm: I CAN TAKE IT!!!!!
(21:54:11) KingNeziL: damn man, you've earned your badge of courage
(21:54:32) KingNeziL: so the lights and arms didn't block off the intersection?
(21:54:45) LabThug_hm: KingNeziL: there were NONE
(21:54:50) LabThug_hm: just guy with lantern
(21:55:10) mcg: http://collecta.com/#q=labthug hah
(21:55:19) LabThug_hm: hahahahaha, USAA give me 120 chars to briefly tell how it happened
(21:55:28) mcg: hit by train!

itc@conference.jabber.musc.edu

(09:21:35) Olloh: last night I killed a rare spawn and looted the fabled: Kitchen Pass =)
(09:23:11) LabThug_Eris: Olloh: last night I got hit by a train ;-P
(09:23:48) peterst: yeah I want to hear that story
(09:24:00) Olloh: that doesnt sound pleasant
(09:24:31) maheug: train: 1 Labthug: 0
(09:24:43) peterst: I think he won since he didn't die
(09:24:47) Olloh: usually you dont get a second chance to score against train =)
(09:25:10) LabThug_Eris: true
(09:25:10) ***peterst thinks about trains
(09:25:16) LabThug_Eris: I'll fill in later
(09:25:22) LabThug_Eris: insurance, etc. to deal with first
(09:25:54) maheug: train: 1 Labthug's car: 0 ?
...
(11:03:08) LabThug: maheug: If the car hadn't been involved, it would have ended up LabThug 1, Train 0
(11:03:10) LabThug: :-)
(11:03:52) peterst: the LabThug is hard to kill
(11:04:30) maheug: lots of hit points
(11:04:55) LabThug: peterst: God knows I have too many mouths to feed, and too few tears will be shed if I pass, so He's not gonna let that happen yet.
(11:05:55) peterst: I figured you were just too mean :P

You can probably find more looking through collecta.com, twitter search, etc. If you really care about that sort of stuff...

2009-04-03

The expanding and microsizing blogosphere

Thanks to the folks at http://code.google.com/p/microblog-purple/ I know have acheived pidgin<->twitter success. Now, in one app (pidgin), I can keep track of my digital lives on identi.ca, twitter, and facebook (plus all the other chat rooms/friends I have).

My plan is going exactly as I have forseen.....

2009-03-10

New Beginnings

Well, it's been over four months since my last posting. The lack of posting isn't because I had a lack of things to post about, it's just I had the opposite too much going on. Now, I'm finally in a place where I can comment and get back to posting.

Soooo, why the delay? What could possibly have kept me from posting just a few things on this page in over four months? Well, eight days after my last posting, I was told to leave the house in which I was living. This pretty much marked the end of my marriage of 8 years (and relationship of 13) that produced two wonderful daughters.

I spent about two nights homeless before renting out the front room of an ex-co worker's place. Then started the wonderful task of getting items to live with (e.g., bed) and reclaiming the items from my old residence. I left the 61" 1080p TV, the Windows PC, and a host of other items. There are a few things I'll be reclaiming when I can (e.g., Bug Zapper), but the majority of stuff will be left to the past. This period marked a very interesting time -- shuffling through life wondering how I got to the point I did, trying to figure out where this point is, and how I was going to make the most of it. I barely made it through the classes I was taking and honestly most of the other stuff I was doing just kinda blurred together.

I remember leaching WiFi off of neighbors, and turning on my desktop only three times because the upgrade to Ibex FUBARED it royally. It seems my Blu-Ray burner is the source of all my ATA Frozen errors that have graced this blog. I can get the machine to finally boot when I unplug that device. However, I've found that in addition, I've lost my dual screens and my sound. One of my HDD dropped out of the RAID as well, but it seems to have gone back in nicely.

I finally moved into my own place a month ago. It's back on James Island, a region of Charleston that I haven't lived in since my relationship began. In a way, it feels like I've gone full circle. The only difference is that I'm not back at the place I started. I've also been going through things from the past and reflecting...in some ways it's been good...some ways bad. You see the progression you made during that time, and you also think about how things were and wondered why things went for as long as they did.

I got connected to the Internet about two weeks ago through Comcast's Economy Internet ($24.95/month baybe!!!). Last week was wrap up before Spring Break, so I couldn't really sit down and do this until now. It's weird how things happen when they do/how they do. But I'll face what comes with the head held high like I always do.

I'd also like to thank all the people that got me to this point. Watch this space and where I go now. With your continued help, I won't stop.

2008-11-02

NIN Concert

I attended the Nine Inch Nails Lights in the Sky concert in Greenville's Bi-Lo Center last night. This is an account of the event, and my view of it.

First, I attended it with my brother. In addition to suffering through yet another of the many bouts of sinusitis I face, I came to the concert in the midst of a very interesting point of my life (i.e., failing relationships, failing class performance, health issues, lifestyle changes, etc.). The combination of all this put me in the right frame of mind for the band I know and love.

Second, this is the second time I seen Trent and his gang live. The time before was back in '95 at the Carolina Coliseum. They were showing off The Downward Spiral that night. While I did have fun, the fact that five security fucktards pummeled me for crowd crawling left it with an overwhelming sense of anger.

I rode from the hometown of Charleston to Greenville in two parts. The first one was between Chas and Cola with a good friend of mine I saw for the first time in over four years. He too, was facing certain points of this life, so the drive gave us a wonderful chance to catch up and discuss life and its mishaps. I then switched to my brother's vehicle in Cola for the rest of the ride.

We got to the center by about four, so did some tailgating until we decided it was time to pickup our tickets and venture inside. There's nothing quite like the experience of lining up with other NIN fans trying to outdo each other with "how devoted of a fan I am" stories, so I walked around with my brother buying $7 24oz of Bud light.

The opening band was a group called Health, an experimental noise/disco band from LA. Their show consisted of the back screen being split down the half into a blue and pink video of 20-second delayed stage antics. I felt the band was trying to bring an Einstürzende Neubauten feel to the land of techno. However, I could tell many members of the audience saw the jerky guitar rifts and dance steps as attempts of chaining together several short sessions of aggravation into one overall feel of annoyance.

Trent took the stage about 9PM, and followed the already posted set list.

While Nails put on a very elaborate show mixing their style of music to a truly impressive electronic visual display, the thing that really bothered me was the fact that there was very limited crowd involvement. For example, I was in the only mosh pit I saw during the whole show. It spun up throughout March of the Pigs, ended with that song, and thanks to much insistence with me spun up again (with very less intensity and numbers) to last throughout Gave Up. That was it...

Crowd crawling was pretty much non existent too. I saw three attempts. The first guy made it over two people and then was dropped. The second person was pushed over the front line, but it kinda had more of a "I need to GTFO of here" feel. The third person made it twice as far as the first....amazing. There was very little jumping up and down, and lots of the hand clapping was prompted. Trent...I'm sorry.

The songs I really liked were ones that really spoke to me during this part of my life and allowed me to reflect on what is going on. Most of them are old favorites too, so that might explain why I felt the way I did about their performance.

First up is The Wretched. Yeah, this little ditty always struck a cord with me cause I have felt the Hand of God pushing down. In addition, it never turns out the way that I wanted it to, and I do know exactly what it feels like.

Piggy came after a very impressive visual performance, and the blue flames behind the players was a very, very nice touch.

Hey pig
Nothing's turning out the way I planned
Hey pig
There's a lot of things I hoped you could help me understand
What am I supposed to do
I lost my shit because of you

Nothing [will] stop me now
Cause I don't care anymore


Wow...how else could I describe things right now?

Terrible Lie was the next impressionable one. This is cause it too is an old favorite and the fact that "I [seethe] with animosity," am going to end up "all alone in a world you must despise," and He's taking away the someone I need to hold onto, are all things I feel at this moment.

Only is probably the most recent song that got to me during the show. Dunno why, maybe the hope of believing that "I just made you up/To hurt myself" really helps right now. Oh yeah, Digital Domain did the video and deserves due credit for their work.

While those were the most notable ones for me, I will mention Hurt only because I feel Trent did it justice singing it Cash's way. In addition, that feels exactly like what I'm doing to everyone right now.

As I said the show was good, and I'm glad I threw down the money and the ride to see it. And while I doubt I was seen jumping up and down in my Ministry shirt, I do take solace in the fact I was probably pissing off the fans around me, but no where near as much as their apathy was doing the same to me.

2008-08-15

The Crap Wars

So, today I took Thing 1 to see the newly released "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." Here's my assessment of it:

It sucks. It has all the makings of what it truly is, an afterthought for a TV show pilot.

Before I get into it a word about the clones themselves. They seem to wage war like the French. Only they have about 50% the accuracy rate. They've also started taking liberties with hairstyles (and colors)...whooop de frigging dah! The main thing that saddens me the most is that they won't be able to truly show these things being blown into the bits of putrid waste they are.

The first impression that this whole thing is going to suck occurs as it opens. Like the original series, there is no John Williams score. Only this time it's war chaos (the "Fall Back" was fitting). There is also no Words-In-Space!!!! A Star Wars movie ... without them, think about that.

The animation is meh. There isn't texture to the flat planes, but I think that's "the style." When you look you see exactly what it is ... a television cartoon (which cost you a movie ticket).

The plot has been presented before. Anakin is now a Jedi Knight and is teamed with the blue girl tentacly thing that got mowed down in the funky mushroom patch as a Padawan. They have to defeat a whole slew of droids before they can rescue Jabba's son. The only new droids were the mine-bots actually guarding the shield generator so you can pretty much imagine how it plays out. Oh yeah, just for a twist they're led by Sean Connery and he manages to capture Obi-Waaa.

Dooku apparently rescued Asajj Ventress but neither this nor her becomings are explained. The two of them are using Jabba's Uncle Zero to help them kidnap his son Rotta, and are trying to blame it on the jedi. Even if I didn't know what happened to them, I still couldn't have guessed how this would end up.

There are continuity problems (big surprise) with the whole thing, but when he's already done so much to ruin our childhood movies, why stop now. All in all I'll say this whole thing is going to be as ghey as Jabba's Uncle Ziro. The sad part is that the fan base will still watch it, buy the stuff they offer, and pass this blind following gene onto the next generation. God knows I'm doing my part...