It's here, I have it, and I haven't gotten to use it :(

So after fighting the Mozilla server for about 15 minutes, I downloaded the so sought after Firefox 3! SWEET! Now to install it. So simple...so quick, but wait, there is a slight problem. Over 80% of my add-ons and themes are incompatible. Needless to say I trudged forward. The big ones like IETab of course had updates, thank goodness, as I'd hate to have to open that browser. Anyways, we've heard all the hype about the improvements and how they are mostly behind the scenes things and not visual. I would agree...it is visually nothing different. And sadly enough that is all I've been able to test on it so far as I've been rather more busy at work that I usually would like to be. That being said this post is completely irrelevant as I have in no way shape or form actually reviewed the software enough to give a crikit. Yes I said crikit, not critic. Crikit's are nature's rhinocerous when it comes to their ability to fly instead of run things and stab them with a horn. Oh by the way, Shayne, FireSomething is broken :( no more WaterSquid for you!

Firefox 3 is coming ...

I hear it comes out the April 17th. Firefox has a cool site so you can pledge to download it. They want to set a record on most downloads on the first day. I just like looking at the map to see the number of pledges.

Skechup Linux

Well I read that a as of late Sketchup was working ok in wine on linux so I gave it a try. I follow a blog a little. Basically, I install wine-1.0rc4 and then ran winecfg which make a .wine folder in your home folder. I then ran wine on the install .exe I downloaded. It worked fine. Sketchup started and I did not install the html thing the first time like the blog said. Then I crashed as I tried to export a png. It would then not start because of some OpenGL error. Again the comments on the blog talked about this. It was not clear so I will clear it up. I then .wine folder I opened user.reg and found this stuff.

[Software\\Google\\SketchUp6\\GLConfig\\Display] 1213199046
"FIRST_TIME"=dword:00000000
"HW_OK"=dword:00000001

The last line was set to zero and I changed it to 00000001 and then it worked.

For the most part it runs ok. The export 2d stuff always crashs it if you try to output a png first. I tried the other then then back to png and it worked. The editor thing also comes up black and if you click the mouse it is ok. Also if I click the to do something it sometime does not response right away.

Skechup can be used in ubuntu 8.04 linux with wine, but I hope google makes a real linux version. If they just make it work better in wine I guess it would be ok, but I like a lot of poeple would like a linux version.

Two days of SketchUp

I started last night. I had to boot into windows :(. Checked it out and tons of people have gone off about wanting a Linux version, but still not here. Anyway, watched some videos and then starting messing with SketchUp. It does seem easy and fast to learn how to do some cool stuff. The first thing I made was the bookcase I built a couple of years ago. Below is the x-ray and wood version of what I came up with.

After doing that I was like I want to build a castle. I have always wanted to build a castle for some reason and SketchUp seemed to be working well so I was like let's do it.




So I spent most of my time on this window. It was a tricky one. Then in like 1/3 the time I put the rest together to feel like I was doing something. Note you can see inside the tower. The rest of the castle is not like this yet.

It does prove to me that SketchUp is easy to use and you can make stuff fast without knowing much. I have a lot of learning before I get good, but it is a start.

Things I don't like in no Linux version yet. Also, I still am looking into the file format. The goggling I did today did not turn much up on the default .skp which seems to be a binary format. There some stuff about an xml format that uses COLLADA which you can make with a plugin. The thing I want is some way of getting stuff out of SketchUp so I could do what I wanted with it like use it as a map in video game or something...

Pezad and Bloated

I am checkin' out the code
that somebody gave me on
my project's svn head
I am reviewin' all the code
that somebody typed out
'cause the code is bloated

I am profilin' all the code
that somebody hacked out
and then committed
I am revertin' all the code
that somebody checked in
'cause it's cut and pasted

Ohh yeah, and it's not compilable
It lacks a manpage
It takes weeks to start to run
Ohh yeah, and lint says it's flaggable
I feel I need a sage
Memory peeks before it's done

You can't follow what it's computin'
You can't follow what it's computin'

It is a coupled-over whole of
a mess of issues
Guess he doc'ed nothing

[And so forth]


Well, that's what you get when I have nothing code-arrific to say. A song parody. A BAD parody at that. It wasn't supposed to be like this though. I've been programming up some good stuff! Or at least I would be if I wasn't writing bad alternate lyrics. Eventually my studies and research will appear on the blog in some form. It's a promise.

The YouTube for STP's original Dead and Bloated song can be found in studio and live versions to compare and contrast the two lyrics. (Hint: The syllables rarely mesh up.) Or just listen to it because the original is awesome anyway.

If I were to give a meaning to the post (Hmm, I think I will) I would say that it is important to utilize a decent version control system, even for personal projects that you won't share to anyone but yourself. Subversion is okay I suppose, but now that I've used Bazaar, I probably won't go back (Thanks again Paul). But either way you can't go wrong.

Linux and C run on the lastest Mar robot

I was reading this arctile "NASA 'Extreme programming' controls Mars Lander robot" and it says that they use Linux and C on their latests robot on Mars. I think that is something Linux people should job on. I mean having your OS running on a different planet. Yet if I Google "NASA Linux robots" I don't get to much for stories about it if. If you find something good let me know.

Again I will go off on Linux and say how cool is it and it can run on a run a super computer and a robot on Mars. And by Linux I guess I should say GNU/Linux :). The open sourceness of it is what makes this possible (It is a good product to). Being open source makes it easy for anyone to get the code and compile for their needs.

Go Linux!