Stuff To Do
Posted by stephen on Wednesday, 28th September, 2005 @ 14:51
Well, this entry is more for my benefit than yours. It's here to remind me of some stuff I need to do.
Migrate freakymousemats.com to new Zope/Plone 2.1 instance now running on the server. Exploit all the amazing new features, once the painful migration issues are out of the way. But hey, at least running multiple Zope instances is so easy now, woo hoo!
Check out in more detail Zimbra, a very interesting looking little AJAX based PIM client and appropriate server software that apparently can easily replace Outlook/Exchange and even comes with a server migration wizard. Hopefully the live demo will be up again soon so I can play with it.
Finish off lovely read-only compact-flash based Debian system (that part's done). Install VLS on it and build some simple web pages and scripts to make setting up a DVB(T/S) server really easy.
Also play with Freevo properly and explore it's use as a set top box interface. When done, try and fit it on a compact flash. Biggest problems so far, weird VIA hardware on the EPIA M mainboard that needs lots of special drivers for accelerated display and MPEG2 playback.
Write lots of new documentation for the docs section to get some of these projects down so you'll remember how to do them later and so others might benefit too.
Geek: Installing Freevo
Posted by stephen on Sunday, 25th September, 2005 @ 01:48
Well, it's another Saturday night in, which can only mean one thing... it's time to stay up far too late doing something geeky.
Tonight's challenge... play with Freevo. It seems like a potentially very useful project relating to my current lines of research for work. We're thinking about PC-based set top boxes and interfaces for them.
The two existing STBs we use, an AmiNet110 and a DSL4000 both boot up to basic web browser (Fresco), that provides a Javascript API and extension for controlling video playback, alpha blending, picture-in-graphic, etc.
Upsides... complete integration with media for some really cool stuff.
Downsides... rubbish, limited web browser, lack of visual polish because of simple HTML interface, limited to MPEG1/2 playback, etc.
So, I'm thinking about interfaces. Some kind of Mozilla based thing feels right, but it's really hard to find something off the shelf. MythTV is beautiful, but entirely tailored to be a PVR and isn't that accessible for someone simple like me.
And then there was Freevo. Beautiful, interactive menu system and written in Python! So I can build lots of lovely plugins, etc for our various purposes.
Step one.. get it. So, I'm currently installing Debian on my mini-ITX system. It has no removable media. After a bit of fiddling I've managed to get the installer started from a USB memory stick. Hoorah for standards!
Next step will be installing Freevo from the apt repository and then playing around with it, seeing what it can do for us, etc. After that, shrinking it all down to fit in a 256Mb compact flash. After that, poking around so the compact flash is read only most of the time.
Oh what fun. I suspect tonight won't quite get me to the end of that list though. Lots of playing with Freevo though, hopefully.
Ooh, and there'll be more Wales pictures up soon. Honest.
Yet More Pictures
Posted by stephen on Thursday, 22nd September, 2005 @ 00:01
Well, I've just uploaded 23 more pictures to the Wales holiday album. And I've got another day's worth to go as yet. And this is just the edited highlights! Between my brother and myself we've managed to take about 600 pictures in 4 days of getting out and about.
I love digital cameras. I take millions of pictures and it doesn't cost a penny. The more I take the better my chances of getting some really good ones.
I think it's about time to actually get some of these things printed though. Mostly to give to my parents and grandparents as I'm sure they'd love some more recent pics of me and my bro.
If I do it, I think I'll try the service built into iPhoto rather than taking them down to one of those machines. Go for the full Apple experience!
Work's been frantic since I got back, desperately trying to bring it together and stop the rug from being pulled out under us. But it's been an incredibly productive week. We now have the amazingly useful Request Tracker looking after our bugs and todos, which is making life so much easier. And finally the streaming Freeview over the network service is reliable, thanks to some help from aunty, VLS and more appropriate multicast addressing.
Playing with it has also seeded some really useful ideas about automated configuration, inexpensive fallover solutions, etc.
And I'm getting to inject a little more Debian in the project which is always good.
I don't think we're in East Anglia any more
Posted by stephen on Wednesday, 21st September, 2005 @ 00:10
Firstly, apologies for being rather quiet lately. I've had my lovely week off on holiday in beautiful Wales. I've finally started uploading some of the pictures over here. There's a sample below to whet your appetite.
Work's is getting rather hectic since coming back, didn't leave till 9pm tonight. But it's giving me lots to think about if nothing else, so hopefully will have plenty to write about soon too.
Anyway, I'm afraid that's going to have to be your lot for now. Enjoy the pictures and catch you soon.
Cyfarchion gan Cymru
Posted by stephen on Thursday, 15th September, 2005 @ 00:00
That's greetings from Wales, in case you don't speak Welsh. Or in case you can speak Welsh and I didn't successfully guess how you'd construct that phrase from looking up the words in an online dictionary.
I'm here in occasionally sunny Wales on holiday for the week with my brother, staying with my wonderful aunt and uncle at their home-cum-village shop in the small village of Penrhiwllan, in the county of Ceredigion.
Millions of pictures have been taken and some of the goodens will make their way to the website at the weekend. I tried to upload some last night, but 2Mb pics don't seem to fit well down a rather occasional GPRS link.
We arrived in glorious sunshine on Monday, having followed my of my Dad's route, going up the M1, along the M6, down the A46 and along the M50. Took us about 5h30m in all, with a couple of stops for refreshment.
Was lovely to see my aunt and uncle again, and the house is coming on tremendously, the kitchen especially has changed so much since I last visited. I really need to get off my arse and start sorting my house out! And I don't work 7 days a week like they do.
Yesterday we revisted a favourite place of ours, the village of Llanstefan. We stumbled upon it when we were down with Dad back in January. It's so wonderfully unspoilt, the beach was amazing and the castle is fantastic. And we went from some of the most dramatic dark clouds in the sky to some beautiful sunshine while we were there.
From there we journeyed further along the coast, through the seaside town of Tenby and on to a place called Manorbier, Pembrokeshire. This time we had to pay for the parking, which later became worth it, and for a wander around the castle. Despite being well maintained, it felt very inauthentic and was certainly more touristy than the free, and rather isolated Llanstefan Castle. But never mind!
The journey to Manorbier was then made worthwhile as we wandered up from the beach along the edge of the cliffs. It was a long and occasionally wearing walk, but absolutely worthwhile for the views, and the surprise just around the next cliff face.
For there we found a glorious, secluded beach, contained by two cliffs and only accessible by sea or footpaths that go on for a couple of miles in any direction. Just this small section of golden sand miles away from civilisation.
Then there was today, but more about that soon...
Camera Fun
Posted by stephen on Sunday, 04th September, 2005 @ 13:22
I like playing with my digital camera.
Broken Comments
Posted by stephen on Friday, 02nd September, 2005 @ 00:03
Been meaning to mention this for a while, there's something up the comments system on my blog, so every comment ends up on the bottom of the main page.
Hopefully this'll be fixed in the next version of Quills, which is the blogging module for Plone I'm using. In the mean time, sorry I didn't notice whoever asked why I think Craig from BB6 is mad.
I'm assuming whoever that was was being a bit homophobic, a bit sexist or both, or I'm being a little over sensitive about the whole subject. Anyway, to quote the comment ... "He's just being a man, though admitedly (sic) a gay man". Not sure what you meant by that, whoever you are. I think he's mad mostly because of his rather disturbing behaviour around Anthony, especially on that rather drunken night.
My other reaction to him kind of surprised me. I guess it's because I thought I'd be sympathetic when actually I just thought "get over it". Coming from a small East Anglian costal town, just like he does, and being out at school, something we can guess from his inability to actually say it, he didn't do, I got rather a lot of shit when I was at school too. And I've dealt with it and got over it a long time ago.
Which I think left me rather unimpressed with his constant tears about wanting to win so he'd finally feel accepted after all those years at school.
I guess I've had the benefit of having moved away to a rather more progressive part of the country, along with most of my social interactions being with altogether more forward thinking and liberal people than some of the kids that I went to school with and, it has to be said, their parents. So maybe I should be a little more forgiving of his outbursts, maybe I'd not be quite so over it all if I was still living in that little seaside town.
Starting September
Posted by stephen on Thursday, 01st September, 2005 @ 23:38
Well, everything is ticking along quite nicely at the moment. Work is good, have a very interesting day of brainstorming and creative thinking ahead tomorrow.
Life is good, it's early days with a nice young man, have a good new friend, and am off on holiday, twice in the next two months, which'll be very nice.
I'm pretty sure I've got everything I could possibly want, and I do feel incredibly lucky to be in this situation. So I feel bad and somehow ungrateful for saying I'm not really happy right now. And I'm not sure why that is.
I wish I could pinpoint it. All I know right now is that there's something missing. Something isn't right. I've been told I need a break to help me think about things, so maybe a week in Wales and later a week in Spain will help. I sure hope so. Don't like feeling like this.
