Judd Muir

A Unix machine’s hostname appears at the shell prompt, and is also the name used many of the networking pro-grams to identify the machine.

• To see what the hostname is set to:
  • $ hostname
• And to change it:
  • $ hostname new_name_here

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: shell

Adding folding to CSS blocks in TextMate

(From http://stefan.sofa-rockers.org/2010/07/14/adding-sections-folding-css-textmate/)

Top tip for folding CSS according to comments such as:

/* start ContentBlock */

/* end ContentBlock */

1. Added snippet called “sectionfold” to the Textmate CSS bundle:
   • Bundles -> Bundle Editor -> Show Bundle Editor
   • New Snippet, then paste in the following:
   • /* start ${1:section} */
     $0
     /* end $1 */
   • It gets activated by the tab trigger “sec” (or as you like), and set the scope selector to source.css.
   • 
2. Modify the CSS language definition:

   • foldingStartMarker = '/\*\*(?!\*)|\{\s*($|/\*(?!.*?\*/.*\S))|/\* start \w+ \*/';

   • foldingStopMarker = '(?<!\*)\*\*/|^\s*\}|/\* end \w+ \*/';

   • 

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: textmate

Damned Americans and their illogical data formats…trying to import a 100MB file into MySQL, and the date fields are in MM/DD/YYYY instead of the traditional YYYY/MM/DD that we all know and love…so I turned my hand to sed:

First, a quick test on the command line:

echo “MM/DD/YYYY” | sed -e “s_\(..\)\/\(..\)\/\(….\)_\3/\1/\2_”

=> YYYY/MM/DD

echo “textbeforeMM/DD/YYYYtextafter” | sed -e “s_\(..\)\/\(..\)\/\(….\)_\3/\1/\2_”

=>textbeforeYYYY/MM/DDtextafter

Then let’s let it loose on the file itself:

sed -e “s_\(..\)\/\(..\)\/\(….\)_\3/\1/\2_” test_in.csv > test_out.csv

Took a few seconds to run against a 100MB file

Many thanks to Bruce Barnett for his Sed - An Introduction and Tutorial , an invaluable reference for a neophyte like me

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: dates, sed, Unix

Let’s get the clock ticking for a new project: Hotel Affiliate Club

Thanks

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: projects

I bought an Aspire One about a year ago, the intention being to surf and email from the comfort of my own sofa…so far, it’s been an unsatisfying experience due to the boot process freezing on startup if it’s previously died from lack of battery, and the interminable dropping of the wi-fi connection, not too mention the rather ridiculous Linpus operating system.

A year down the road, and I’m suddenly determined to turn this little thing into something useful, and after doing a little web-research, I’m going to attempt installing Ubuntu Network version onto my Acer Aspire One.

The starting point:

Acer Aspire One model AOA 150. Its an 8.9″ model with the Atom N270, 1GB RAM, and a 120GB hard drive, currently on the crappy BIOS version v0.3114, and the simplistic Linpus OS.

The process:

1. First, I made sure the BIOS was up to date. There appear to be a lot of issues with the earlier version of the Aspire One BIOS, which I was still running. I followed macle’s excellent instructions, with the latest BIOS version v0.3310 downloaded from here
   • Failed at the first hurdle - turns out you need to make sure your USB drive does not have any spaces in it’s volume name….so, rename / remount…start again…
   • …Flash update successful - and yes, a quick system check shows that I’m now running with BIOS v0.3310
2. Right, now to install Ubuntu Netbook
   1. Ok, an obvious step, but first I needed to download it - at 700MB, it took awhile, so I should really have downloaded this before I got started, to avoid thumb-twiddling….
   2. Then I had to root around for a 2GB-plus USB drive to copy Ubuntu onto, then followed Ubuntu’s instructions for creating a Ubuntu-bootable USB drive …which also took awhile..
   3. And finally, plugged in the USB stick into the Acer Aspire One, remembering to F12 to boot from the USB drive, and took Ubuntu for a test run…if I want to install it instead of run it off the USB, there’s a big fat “Install” button on the desktop…
3. Things I’m going to keep an eye on
   1. Wireless connection
   2. Skype webcam - one main usage for my netbook is to Skype my kids in the UK, so it’s essential that the webcam works!
   3. Cisco VPN: sudo apt-get install network-manager-vpnc

Update: I managed about an hour before installing Ubuntu for good and wiping Linpus away for ever. My netbook has never been so happy!

This is a good reference for one man’s journey down this path.

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: acer aspire one, ubuntu netbook

I just wrote a review of two great tools I’ve only recently come across, that are invaluable time-savers for any practicing SEO. Check out my review of Advanced Link Manager and Advanced Web Rankings

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: SEO

I’m a big fan of open-source software, and more recently of open-source frameworks running on open-source software. CMS of the month for me has been Joomla, but I have to admit that the shine is wearing off.

One of the big pluses of Joomla is the countless numbers of extensions, modules,  and plugins available. Wonderful…if only they were long-lasting. I’ve seen so many launch strongly, then fade away - either due to lack of funds, or due to the developer’s success leading him/her to pastures new.

sh404SEF is a case in point - recently they have had huge problem with pagination in sh404SEF, and it’s been lasting long-enough to cause a lot of problems. An SEO plugin that doesn’t work consistently is a huge no-no.

Maybe it’s time I moved to WordPress…

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: Joomla, SEO

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: humour, parenting

I recently bought a 16GB USB Flash drive, with the intention of running my desktop from it. I moved all my files over, set up my Thunderbird profile, etc etc etc…and then found it almost unusable as the data transfer speed was appallingly slow

Following all these steps did the trick under Windows XP:

1. Right click on the USB drive and select properties
2. Select the Hardware tab
3. Under All Disk Drives, highlight your USB drive and select Properties
4. Select the Policies tab and select Optimize for performance.
5. Press OK twice, and your transfer speeds should increase dramatically

Note that when your drive is optimized for performance you’ll need to use the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the taskbar to eject the drive - otherwise you’ll risk corrupting your data by just removing the drive from the port.

I now happily unplug my thumbdrive from one laptop and into another

Hmm, perhaps I should write a post on running your desktop from a flash drive. Most important point is of course to back up that flash drive every single day…

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: trouble-shooting, usb

This post is nothing more than a shameless plug to get you to try out bingo online, by checking out the reviews and promotions on offer over at Yabadoo! Yes, I know it should be shameful, but it’s tough world out there

written by Judd Muir \\ tags: bingo, yabadoo