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cool places / hardware / linux / me / software / tutorials — Comments Off on KISS that Technology by Learning
14
May 07

KISS that Technology by Learning

So you need to learn (about) this technology… So you go to google… So you spent X minutes (hours? days?) to find a good candidate-article (tutorial, how to, step-by-step guide, etc.)… So you finish reading it… and most of the time you doing what? – exactly!  – going back to google and keep searching.

More often than not there are two main things that we are looking for when we need to learn something new:

  1. We want to learn it fast
  2. We want to learn it fast

See the difference? :) Here it is – the "first fast" goes for the quality of content that a source has to offer. The better the quantity, the more we learn, the faster we learn. And the "second fast" goes to the amount of time we search for that source of knowledge.

The "first fast" is going to be solved by only dealing with SIMPLE tutorials/guides/ideas about many simple and comlex topics. Simplicity is the key to solve "the quality of content" problem. Think about an IBM Redbook on something you do not know about, let’s say web services. Although it is a great book – lot’s of content – it is a very poor example of an efficient tutorial (not for all, but for most), it just has too much and will take hours to go through. Most of the time a redbook will make you quite sleepy on the page number 24 (my own observation).

And for comparison take this picture from soaspecs.com:

webservices through uddi, wsdl and soap

and spice it up with "SOAP::Lite for Perl" quick guide.

A combination of the two (pic and guide) will take you 5-10 minutes to go over and will make you understand what/how/why/etc.. about webservices. Although the guide is Perl based, it will by no means distract you from understanding the material even if you are not familiar with Perl, why? Because it is SIMPLE, that’s why.

In order to solve the "second fast", I would like to speak to everybody who is going to read this post. If you have a very cool and SIMPLE tutorial, how-to, guide, etc.., please share it with everybody by going to the comments section of this post and putting one or more links to it, or ideas where to get these very simple tutorials.

Later on I will compile this list, and either post it on a different website (if you like, I can put your name as a contributor, with a link to the tutorial/idea and your website, if you have it) or I will create a different post. This will be solving the "second fast" – decreasing the time of searching for the right source.

Apply yourself – KISS that technology! :)

 

blogging / howto / linux / software — Comments Off on Configure Spell Check with FCKEditor Plugin for WordPress
13
May 07

Configure Spell Check with FCKEditor Plugin for WordPress

fck editor logo

FCKEditor plugin is a very useful plugin for WordPress – no doubt about that. However spell check integration with this plugin takes a bit of hands on if you host your blog from non-Windows OS, and edit your posts with non-Microsoft Internet Browser (IE). Yes, Windows/IE are defaults that FCKEditor plugin comes with.

Below "how to" will guide you step-by-step on integrating spell checking capabilities with FCKEditor. Here I used Ubuntu Linux OS as an example, but these instructions are good for any Linux distro just replace Ubuntu’s "apt-get install" with analog in your Linux OS.

1.     First thing first, in order to integrate a spell checker we will NEED a spell checker. For that we will install "aspell", and appropriate (English, in this case) dictionary "aspell-en". There is an 85% percent chance that if you have a Linux OS installed, you have aspell. You can just search for it, or try to run it to see if you do. If you don’t then install it by:

sudo apt-get install aspell

At this point (whether you just installed it or had already installed) try to run it like this:

echo "I mispeled it" | /usr/bin/aspell -a --lang=en_US --encoding=utf-8 -H

If there is no English dictionary installed you should see:

Error: No word lists can be found for the language "en_US".
-bash: echo: write error: Broken pipe

Let’s fix that by installing the dictionary:

sudo apt-get install aspell-en

Now if you run the command above, you should see aspell looking up "mispeled" in its aspell-en dictionary, identifying that it is spelled wrong, and offering you choices of correct spelling from that dictionary:

echo "I mispeled it" | /usr/bin/aspell -a --lang=en_US --encoding=utf-8 -H
@(#) International Ispell Version 3.1.20 (but really Aspell 0.60.4) * * * & mispeled 16 21: misspelled, misapplied, misled, dispelled, misfiled, misruled, mislead, spelled, spieled, misplaced, misplayed, misspell, misfield, misspend, simpled, misplay

Ok, so from Linux side, we are ready with Aspell, now let’s begin the integration.

2.   From WordPress FCKEditor’s plugin directory open
"wp-content/plugins/deans_fckeditor/custom_config_js.php" file* and set the following variable:

FCKConfig.SpellChecker = 'SpellerPages';

If you already have this variable set to something different, like "IESpell", just replace it with "SpellerPages"

This will do two things: it will redirect all the spelling requests to
"wp-content/plugins/deans_fckeditor/fckeditor/editor/dialog/fck_spellerpages/spellerpages/server-scripts/spellchecker.php", and, since "spellerchecker.php" exists (comes with plugin) it will enable the spell checker button:

fck editor toolbar

*NOTE: Depending on a version of the plugin, the file to edit might be "fckconfig.js" or "fckconfig_js.php"

3.   Almost there. The last thing to do is to tell "SpellerPages" to use Linux’s aspell, since by default it is configured to use it on Windows OS. For that edit
"wp-content/plugins/deans_fckeditor/fckeditor/editor/dialog/fck_spellerpages/spellerpages/server-scripts/spellcheker.php" by setting "$aspell_prog" variable to ‘aspell’ instead of "C:\Program Files\Aspell\bin\aspell.exe". That is what it should look like after you make a change (comment/uncomment):

//$aspell_prog  = '"C:\Program Files\Aspell\bin\aspell.exe"';   // by FredCK (for Windows)
$aspell_prog    = 'aspell';                                                        // by FredCK (for Linux)

Good job! Now you can login to your WordPress blog and enjoy the spell checking capabilities within your FCKEditor!

interesting / sex — Comments Off on Is Your Orgasm Sneezable?
11
May 07

Is Your Orgasm Sneezable?

sneezing achooI like sneezing. It’s kind of like sex: there’s a buildup, a tremendous release and it’s usually messy afterward. –Laura Moncur

Ok, so you had an orgasm, that is good, may be even that is what we’re "here" for. But what if you want to get another one, and you have to go to work (given that orgasm is not part of your work benefit package)? Well, you are not completely out of luck – there are several things you can do, one of which is (no, not sleep with your boss; and no, not sleep with your secretary; not a lot of orgasms come from there either; it is all much simpler – ) sneezing.

Absurd? Well, not really – the widespread practice of taking snuff was hugely popular in the 17th, 18th and well into the 19th centuries. You think it was popular due to "having no cocaine" or the absence of Ubuntu (geeky joke)? No, it was due to the fact that it felt "reallllly gooood".  Of course it’s not a full blown 30 minute (pig’s orgasm lasts 30 minutes) orgasm, no, it’s that "mini-instant" one. But guess what, 30 sneezes will get you at least 30 seconds of that pleasure. So that lady at work who is constantly sick and sneezes every 15 minutes, may be not sick at all, just enjoying her self a little. Maybe some day, you’ll get to join her for a sneezing session…

Although it all sounds super cool, there are some things you should know. We are very shy, and do not really like to see other people, when we have an orgasm – usually most of us just can’t sneeze with our eyes open. Muriel Simmons (British Allergy Foundation) noted that "If you sneeze while driving at 70 mph, you will travel 300 feet with your eyes closed." Does it sound familiar? Have you ever had a 300 feet orgasm? :)

Some people call sneezing "An Orgasm of the Face", some are known to sneeze during the initial phases of sexual arousal, but McMahon, a San Francisco dentist who doubles as a standup comic, believes that: "Sneezing is better than sex. It’s a mini-instant orgasm. You keep your clothes on, you don’t get involved, you can do it in public and when you’re done, perfect strangers bless you" :)

Happy sneezing!

action / hardware — Comments Off on India to build a $10 laptop
11
May 07

India to build a $10 laptop

cheap $10 laptopThe Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) invested in designing a $10 laptop computer.

Until now, one laptop including labour charges is costing $47 but the ministry forecasts that the price will radically come down when the demand will rise to manufacture one million laptops. An official from HRD ministry said:

    The cost is encouraging and we are hopeful it would come down to $10. We would also look into the possibility of some Indian company manufacturing the parts

The final year engineering student of Vellore Institute of Technology in conjunction with researcher from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has proposed two designs to the ministry.

In both of the submitted designs, according to Times of India, all components would be located on a single circuitboard. This would keep prices down and make it easier to find and repair problems.

The true estimate to launch a $10 laptop is another two years:

    We do not want to rush into it. Many issues remain to be resolved like royalty to the designer after the design is patented. Prototyping would also take time. We would even conduct destructive testing and create a proper maintenance network

HRD received several proposals from some big multi national companies, but none of them was willing to develop laptop for $10 bucks – greedy closed mind/source corpo-s.

me — Comments Off on Life as a Network of Happiness
09
May 07

Life as a Network of Happiness

There is a constant competition in the animal world. Well, we ARE animals (no? – yes), and we compete with each other, unconsciously, but we always do.

There are two main criterias that we, ourselves, came up with that define us to "be smart". One is EDUCATION another is WISDOM. The second is usually given. It does develop, but it is a sort of a naturally given talent, which is either there or not – simple.

There are plenty of people who are well over educated in history, art, even science, than I am. And you know what, every point of contact, every way of communication is a competition. Majority of humans exchange knowledge, but NOT for the sake of exchanging, for the sake of competition (no? – yes).

Everybody (well almost everybody) is inclined to truly believe, that S/HE is "the one". Whether it is being right, knowing better, or even have a higher meaning in life than other humans – everybody is inclined to believe that S/HE is that very unique being.

Sometimes, well, a lot of times I meet people, different people. Some people I meet instantaneously start competing with me (in a form of "exchanging knowledge"). Sometimes I can win, other times I can’t. But most of the time, no matter whether I can win or not, I just LET them win – they need it, they want it, it goes inside and fulfills them with confidence and superiority, so why not make them "happy" – I LET them be – I MAKE them be.

This does not apply to all "my" environments. At work, I can’t loose, I just can’t – very simple reason – my paycheck is directly proportional to the quantity of "wins". But that is very different in a real life (yes, real life is NOT work). Why should I make an effort, or spend time to get that "win" in real life? There are many more fun (happy) things to do.

There is a problem with that, and that problem is "superiority". Not the actual "superiority", but that fake superiority that I grant many people with. They DO feel superior, and next time we come to the communication point – they use a "top-bottom" approach, instead of a "one-to-one" or "same level to same level". There is nothing wrong with them – they are just "not given" or "not talented", so I keep letting them win – make them happier. It is also a problem when other animals (humans) are involved in communication who just make a collective understanding of me as a character. It is solved by dividing people by the level of "self-happiness".

Level of "self-happiness"? Common people, you’re not familiar with terminology!? Well after all its my own terminology :) So.. Here is a workable – very simple and honest approach that I take. I eliminate (not terminate, but just eliminate) creatures from my network (in real life – no work network involved) by a very clear criteria. Creatures that make me happy (joyful, positive, etc) stay in the network, and grow roots – people that do not – get disconnected (which effectively is elimination).

"Life is short"? I disagree. Life is Life – I do not believe that the measure that explains that there are 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, blah, blah, blah can be applied to Life. Time is what WE invented, and what we use to measure things – very inaccurate and very subjective, don’t you agree? You don’t? – well, you don’t have to – we are different after all. So given Life cannot be measured with Time, there is still a belief that says that Life is "singular per me" (I have only one life), and keeping that in mind, WHY would I need people who do not make me happy in my network? WHY? I don’t – I have only one Life – at least I am bounded by that "life singularity" understanding. I can dream/imagine/think that there are more "me" Life(s), but at this point in time I know it is singular, so – "a creature does not make me happy? -> out of my network -> there is NO point for a creature to be there"

That may sound like a very heartless approach, but it actually quite opposite. There are plenty of creatures that keep me in THEIR network, because I make them happy, and they do not have to do anything, if I make them happy, that 95% means that I am happy just because of the fact I make them happy. "Make me happy" is not a Sultanic or Tsar’s approach: "give me this", "do this for me" or "make my wish come true" – most of the time it is "just being there" – it is mostly existence and a character of that existence that makes me happy.

Don’t you find that there are too many "happy"s in the above two/three thoughts? Well, you are very observant, but there is nothing wrong with being happy, and being happy, and being happy again – try it – really it’s great!

Don’t try to give all the above much meaning if all the above does not give you much meaning – that means that you just do not have that talent, and that is fine. Go on and keep "exchanging knowledge". However, if it does gets inside, and "you can feel what I mean", that just means that you are another talented creature who is capable of LETting "them" win, and building a kind, honest and sincere network around you.

Sounds like a law being written as I speak? Yes – and it is my law – I create it, I write it, I rewrite it and I obey it. It is mine – you don’t have to :)

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