About a year ago, I blogged about installing Ubuntu and not liking it. I was installing it as a Web Server and I found it to be "restrictive" with the root account disabled. At the time I read the misconception that root is "missing" and you have to use sudo for everything. While the misconception is still very prevalent on the Ubuntu forums, I can assure you it's false and you can activate the root account. You can even enable logging in with it from the Gnome login screen. It doesn't matter anyway. After 12 hours I am used to putting sudo in front of any root command.
The coolest thing about it has to be Beryl. If you have a NVidia or ATI graphics card, you can support the super cool 3DDesktop provided by OpenGL . There are many ways to configure OpenGL. I find Compiz to be hella buggy. Beryl is the way to go.
On Sunday, my homie was kind enough to hook me up with a brand new Maxtor 300 GB drive. He wasn't using it and knew that I was about to put it to good use. My Windows XP install was actin a fool. On boot up it was coming up with all 16 bit Subscript error. I haven't seen something like that since the day of Win95. It was time to reformat…and that I did. I was hesitant to use my Windows drive as I was still unsure as to how successful this Ubuntu install would be. Well…there is no reason to put a 40GB drive back in here. I now have 2 300GB Maxtors.
My second drive is a data drive, formated in Windows NTFS. This was one of the first things I worked on after getting the 'buntu up and running. I found a great tutorial on booting up with NTFS mounted drives and allowing users read/write access. With drive mounting, I now have my MP3s. The Add Remove Programs is extremely powerful. While only touched to remove a program in Windows, this GUI Repository Manager has tons of free and powerful applications. The Synaptic Package Manager has everything else you might possibly need. Missing MP3, DVD or the Divx codec? You can search and download it right from this built in tool.
WINE is a Win32 emulator. You don't have to install any Windows files. It works well — once you get the Windows fonts installed. So far I have found a replacement for every program. I guess iTunes will be one I will have to use WINE for. Possibly Photoshop, although I have heard great things in the advancement of GIMP.
Ubuntu + Beryl + NTFS + WINE = 
I spent 2 hours today figuring out how to transfer my voicemails (T-Mobile) to my computer. There is the old school FM radio rip method — play the VM on speaker phone while recording it with a mic on the PC. The quality is poor and that is just so 1.0.
So here a breakdown of what I did to get a good quality recording, directly from my voicemail.
- Download Gizmo Project. It's a free VoIP client for your PC. The setup is fast and easy.
- Dial your voicmail. It's usually your own telephone number. Wait for the greeting, press * and your password.
- Hit the record button. 2 wav files will be saved on your desktop. The small file contains data from before the call connects.
- Download Audacity. This is a great (free) sound editor. Once installed, choose Project > Import Raw Data. Select the big wav file which contains the recorded voicemail.
- Select the part of the voicemail you want to save and Edit > Trim the selection.
- File > Export as MP3.
That's it. You now have an MP3 of your voicemail. This is excellent for embarrassing your family and friends by putting them on blast on your blog or MySpace. Enjoy. Have fun!
Posted in
Music on March 22nd, 2007
On Monday, I saw Bloc Party @ The Wiltern. They are currently touring their new album A Weekend in the City. I am a huge fan of their debut album Silent Alarm. It's one of those albums that you can start from the very beginning and listen to til the very end. No matter how old you are or what genre of music you like, you will like Silent Alarm.
Their Sophomore follow up definitely takes more chances. Kele seems to be experimenting with their sound for the first few tracks. I have mentioned track 8, Kreuzberg on here before. That song is this album's Blue Light. I have been fortunate enough to have seen Bloc Party 2 times in the last 8 months. On Monday, I got to hear This Modern Love and Like Eating Glass live…it was well worth it.
Posted in
Phuked on March 18th, 2007
Since Thursday (3/15/07) evening, I have been in bed with food poisoning. This is my first experience with it and I hope my last. I had all the classic (and violent) symptoms, including a 102 fever for 2 days. Today was the first day I was able to keep any food down. The thought of all foods, especially meat, right now is repulsive.
To those whose parties I missed and plans I flaked on, I am truly sorry. I tried my best to notify you. Please understand this was the worst illness (besides Nov 04) I have ever endured.
I needed the first letter of every word in any given string to be capitalized. So I wrote a small little function to parse the string and create an array with all the words. I then loop through the array, break off the first letter, capitalize it and reattach it. We finally join the string with the other words and trim extra space at the end.
This function performs well and gets the job done.
function CapitalizeText($text){
$text = explode(" ", $text);
foreach($text as $t){
$CapText .= strtoupper($t{0}) . substr($t,1) . " ";
}
$CapText = trim($CapText);
return $CapText;
}
I started to think that someone else has to have done this (that never matters to me, I like writing my own stuff) and I searched to see if I was right. It turns out PHP (both 4 and 5) have this…built in.
All you need to type is ucwords($string) and it does the exact same thing as my function. Oh well, it is ALWAYS better to use built in functions. So goodbye, CapatilizeText(). Why didn't you tell me you are "moo like a cows opinion?"
Posted in
Lakers on March 13th, 2007
"If Kobe throws arms and elbows inadvertantly and gets suspended… WHY IN THE HELL HASN'T MUTOMBO BEEN SUSPENDED??? HE'S BEEN DOING THAT SINCE 1992!!!!!!"
-ghettosoul ESPN Message Board
Posted in
Humor on March 11th, 2007
The greatest show on television will be returning to fill your heart with joy, Sunday, April 8th.
As I actively begin the spring cleaning for WDP, I am going to be benchmarking quite a few things. The first test will be the removal of the comments. As I push the site more into the realm of Web 2.0, I am aware removing the user interaction is a step in the complete opposite direction. However, while I make a transition to the LAMP architecture, I must keep this (current) server running smoothly.
Certain blog posts have been a magnet for blog spam. I have been thinking of the true importance of the comments, and I believe they are necessary (in some form). But on the flip side, this is my soap box. I get to stand here and say whatever it is I want. I don't really care what you say down there on the paved ground. I am up here preaching, proselytizing and peddling my thoughts. That's what What Da Phuk! is about. The only way I can be sure if I need this conventional comment system, is to remove it and see if I actually miss it.
Don't user comments seem a bit 1.0? It's just a collection of vertical (date) descending statements with no collaborative thought. Is a forum the answer? Then again, do I even care what YOU have to say. Time Magazine might think this all about YOU. What Da Phuk! is all about ME!!!
*All the non-spam comments will be preserved.*
Mann Coulter is soooo phuking crazy, he said and I quote "Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh was subjected to a three-year criminal investigation for allegedly buying prescription drugs illegally to treat chronic back pain. Despite the witch-hunt, Democrat prosecutor Barry E. Krischer never turned up a crime." This is followed by "The vindictive prosecution of Limbaugh finally ended last year with a plea bargain in which Limbaugh did not admit guilt. Gosh, don't you feel safer now? I know I do."
What Mann doesn't realize is that Rush had it coming to him. For 20+ years he has made a career on a zero-tolerance stance of illegal drug use. And he isn't just talking about them damn pot heads. He constantly refers to illegal prescription drug users. Rush wasn't prosecuted for his Oxycontin habit. He was prosecuted for his hypocrisy. Even a tranny like Mann Coulter should be able to identify this. Now Mann is on his blog crying that Republican are being unfairly prosecuted. You are right, Mann. Scooter Libby was unfairly targeted. Cheney and that "faggot" Rove should be the ones found guilty for their crimes against humanity.
How do you swallow the bullshit you spew? Especially with an Adam's Apple that big. The National Review won't even print your exploitive rhetoric anymore. You are a political Andrew Dice Clay. You are shock value. It's time for you to go away. And please, take Rush with you.
"And now the liberals want to stop President Reagan from selling chemical warfare agents and military equipment to Saddam Hussein, and why? Because Saddam 'allegedly' gassed a few Kurds in his own country. Mark my words. All of this talk of Saddam Hussein being a 'war criminal' or 'committing crimes against humanity' is the same old thing. LIBERAL HATE SPEECH! And speaking of poison gas …I SAY WE ROUND UP ALL THE DRUG ADDICTS AND GAS THEM."
-Rush Limbaugh, Nov. 3, 1988
