Matt's Distractions

Linux Tip of the Day - sudo saving within VIM

2010-08-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

I browse a lot of files across different servers with different configurations. It is very helpful for me to be able to save changes I've made to a file I've opened with limited read only privileges. The last thing I want to do is save to a temprorary file and overwrite the target file with the temp file.

:w !sudo tee %

Thanks to the Ubuntu Forums and user singlow

Linux Tip of the Day - Hard Drive Identification

2010-06-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a command I found very useful today. I needed to identify the hard drive with out opening the enclosure.

sudo lshw -businfo -C disk

Thanks to the Ubuntu Forums and user Temüjin

Text messaging from the web

2009-03-13T09:15:00.001-07:00

In Canada who wants to pay 15 cents, or a monthly plan, just to send a text message? Especially when carriers use 'empty space on the truck' to deliver SMS messages.

I use Web2SMS which unfortunately does not let you reply with the exception of Fido and Rogers.

Text for free:
Telus:
http://www.telusmobility.com/sendamessage/sendamessage.shtml
Rogers/Fido:
http://websms.rogers.page.ca/2way/
Bell: (i have had limited success with Bell)
http://www.txt.bell.ca/bell/en/
Solo Mobile:
http://www.txt.mysolo.ca/
Koodo Mobile
http://msg.koodomobile.com/

You can also email mobiles using the following addresses:

[10digitnumber]@txt.bell.ca
[10digitnumber]@pcs.rogers.com
[10digitnumber]@fido.ca
[10digitnumber]@msg.telus.com
[10digitnumber]@vmobile.ca (Virgin Mobile)
[10digitnumber]@mobiletxt.ca (PC Mobile)
[10digitnumber]@msg.koodomobile.com

Happy texting!

Live and Recorded TV on the EEE PC

2008-09-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

After getting over the excitement of getting a mini laptop for free I've moved on to suping it up and integrating it into services my local network has to offer. Probably the best feature of my local network is the server in the closet hooked up to the cable running Mythbuntu. After reading some entries on EEE forums, which there is a great resource of, I found some simple instructions on how to add a 'Myth' front end to the system using an EEE PC. This is a great feature because you can watch live or recorded TV from anywhere over wifi. Installing the needed packages was pretty basic using the default Xandros operating system with the addition of the Debian package library. The only problem I ran into was having to make my Myth Server MySQL database available to the local network by changing the "bind=127.0.0.1" to my local network address. The bind setting on a Mythbuntu system is in the /etc/mysql/my.cnf file. Before making this change the KDM windows manager would reboot and there was no feedback as to why.
I can now enjoy recorded shows and even live TV anywhere in the house. I can watch my Extreme 4x4 shows without annoying my wife with the hosts loud obnoxious commentating, which I love, but not as much as my wife, read happy wife.

Arrival of the EEE PC

2008-08-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

To all you doubters out there, this is actual prood that you will actually receive an EEE PC if you go through the process (see previous blog entry). I am actually using the device to enter in this posting, all-be-it on an external keyboard and mouse.
The system is everything I hoped it would be and the shipping time via Purolator was negligible.

I confirmed my order on Thursday and received my device Monday afternoon.
Here are some shots of the EEE, also known now as Chiclet, coming out of the box.
We had Chiclet up and running in no time. The size promises to be very convenient. These pictures were copied from an SD card that was inserted into memory card slot.

Free EEE PC

2008-08-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like RBC is coming through on their promise. Today (August 21, 2008) I received a letter in the mail from them with a confirmation code to get my ASUS EEE PC. I first applied for this offer two months ago. Here is what I have to look forward to:

Thank you for choosing RBC Royal Bank^®. You should receive your ASUS Eee PC by courier within 5-10 business days depending on your location. We hope you will enjoy all of the benefits that come with your new banking account. And we know you will enjoy your new ASUS Eee PC.

Here's the catch:

Be an RBC customer
Pay for their $13.95 a month plan until Dec. 31
Set up at least two pre-authorized payments
Set up payroll direct deposit or monthly pension
Select paperless statement option
Pay at least one bill through RBC Royal Bank

The math:
The computer sells for $425.91 after tax and shipping from TigerDirect. The plan will cost us $14 a month until the end of the year (6 months to go) for a grand total of $84. I'm sure RBC gets a deal on them but I don't and I will really enjoy having a mini laptop I can take travelling.
If you are interested in getting one of these for < $100 and you already have an RBC account or would like to get one you have until September 12, 2008 to apply. Here is the link.

Volkswagen Jetta Maintenance

2008-08-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Last week my passenger side key lock stopped working. I would turn the key either way and nothing would happen. Something was definitely wrong, but what? What would cause it to break? How hard is going to be to get at the mechanism.
In the past I have opened several door panels in order to get at the locking mechanism. The Jetta seemed to need the same kind of job. Firstly, there were 6 3mm allen key screws to come out, along the bottom and left and right sides. Then the door handel cover has to be popped off with a broad flat screw driver. Then the door latch handle cover also had to be removed in the same way along with the rear view mirror inner cover panel. There are no tricks to this except gentle presuasion with a screwdriver. Some people put masking tape over the blade to prtoect the metal. Next came the windows crank arm. This was the trickiest part. The collar behind the crank arm needs to be pinched on either side and pushed in the opposite direction the crank arm points. Please see the picture and video:

The next item to remove was the speaker grill which was popped off by an access channel underneath the speaker housing, again, best done with a broad flat screwdriver.
Now all the attaching screws were removed. Two from the door handel, one from the door latch assembly and four that mount the speaker. The speakerer was then disconnected. Then the door lock knob was removed. Then the door panel was carefully removed in and upwards and outwards motion.
To get at the lock assembly I needed to first remove the vapor barrier and then unscrew the torque bolt that is right behind the handle that faces the back of the car when the door is shut. The handle was slid towards the front of the car and pulled out.

Once I had my lock assembly out it was clear that it was broken either by someone trying to break into the car or by plain use. I reckon the former. Here is a couple shots at the carnage.

As you may or may not be able to see the shaft is not connected to the key mechanism and there is signs of shearing. If anyone knows why this happened please let me know! Until then I will be heading to the junk yard for a new key assembly.

Fido UNO? try Fido LAMO

2008-05-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a chance for a Canadian Cellular provider to redeem itself. On the surface Fido UNO seems like the perfect marriage between VOIP and GSM. Peel back a few layers and you will find loads of red tape. Cellular providers are scared spitless of wireless VOIP. How many subsidised WiFi enabled devices do you see out there? Exactly, none. Enter Fido UNO. Finally a WiFi handset that lets you use the internet to save money on calls. The possibilities seem endless, right? Wrong! There are some very strict limits to what Fido UNO can do for you. It is designed to and only to replace a landline at home or in the office.
Let's start out with what UNO can do. You can use the Nokia 6301 ($300) and the Fido UNO service ($15-$20/month) on top of a monthly plan (minimum $30/month) to make unlimited local and long distance calls over a wireless network that is 1) in your local calling area and 2) within GSM range. That's pretty much it!
Now let's talk about what Fido UNO cannot do.

Use the UNO service outside your local calling area
Use the UNO service outside Canada
Use the Nokia 6301 to browse, stream or download from the internet using your network free of charge

Because UNO seemlessly transfers calls from WiFi to GSM network you need to be within GSM range in order to place an UNO call. Once you are out of service or are registered in another calling area, good-bye UNO. The name UNO is seemlying becoming more ironic. Instead of consolidating your all your personal telecom it is tying you down.

What I want out of the service/sevice:

replace Skype phone - handheld VOIP
replace Vonage VOIP device - true international portability
replace iPOD Touch - handheld mp3/wifi browsing device, free when on a wireless network

If don't have a cheap way to make long distance phone calls (such as a VOIP landline such as Vonage or Primus, a calling card, prefix-dial), don't make calls from outside your local calling area, don't travel, don't want an all-in-one solution then Fido UNO is for you. It would be ideal for people who talk a lot locally or long distance who spend most of their time at home or in the office, given their office is in their local calling area.
As a Vonage customer I pay $20/month for 500 minutes of calls, includes all the features you could every want and I can take my big bulky black box any where in the world and make VOIP calls. There are some definite gaps within my personal telecom that I would definitely invest in given that they existed. For now I will hold out for an unlocked Nokia 6300i. Who knows what VOIP settings or service providers you can use with it? Maybe Skype, Gizmo or even Vonage. Fido is definitely not at my side on this one and dogs with two heads are just plain weird!

Mythbuntu

2008-04-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

I'm too cheap to buy a Tivo. Luckily the products of the Ubuntu Linux Distribution and MythTV have been binded together to form Mythbuntu.
After a week of configuring it I finally have a fully functioning Personal Video Recorder (PVR aka DVR).
Some great features include a web interface I can access from the web, anywhere in the world, TV listings and searches, commercial recognition and other features such as RSS support and local weather reports. No need to stay up late watching hours of TV plagued with commercials. All I do set mythbuntu to record my show, then watch it at a convenient time and when commercials come up I hit the Z button and good-bye commercials.
Mythbuntu offers the same user friendly distribution installation that Ubuntu does and can also convert an existing Ubuntu system into a Mythbuntu one. There are certain requirements which can be found on the site. 1 GHZ of processor (CPU) gets you one stream. IE if you have a 2.0 GHZ computer and two TV capture cards then you can record two shows simultaneously. It also takes up a lot of hard drive space. I'm averaging 1.5 Gigabyte per 30 minute show. Having a wireless keyboard and mouse comes in handy and so would a remote control, had my TV card come with one.
The biggest challenges for me was configuring my video card. I have an ATI Radeon 9600. I used the linux proprietary drivers from AMD (read ATI). Instead of being able to use the nice friendly GUI that comes with Mythbuntu I had to use the command line utility aticonfig. After hours (days really) of trying this and that I managed to put together a configuration that now has the computer outputting nicely to the TV.
Another obstacle I ran into was loading the TV listings. By default Mythbuntu tells you to sign up for an account with a third party and pay $20/year for tv listings. Again I don't want to pay for that and so I searched for a free way to get TV listings. I ended up using a Perl script called zap2xml which grabs the listings of the internet from http://tvlistings.zap2it.com and loads them into the MythTV database. You can find the how-to here.

All-in-all I am quite happy with the results and after a bit of hacking and frustration I am enjoying commercial free television when I choose to watch it!

Here are some nerds talking about about the features and benefits of MythTV:

Links:
http://www.mythbuntu.org/

Flash Games

2008-02-18T23:58:00.000-08:00

So I'm not a gamer. Not in the typical sense anyway. I have a hard time sitting in one place for a long time working away on some meaningless, endless quest for points. Nor do I enjoy a long drawn out fps battles competing with 13 year olds hopped on 3 cans of red bull. I reckon you could power a city of some of those kids. Does this mean I don't waste time in front of the computer trying to achieve a frivolous top score? Nope, I love flash games. They're quick, entertaining and even now as I write I can't help but think of a new strategy for Antbuster. I'd like to share my favourite flash games with you.

Antbuster is a great strategy game that lets you place gun turrets at your picnic. There are many strategies to consider and endless combinations of embattlements which
keep the game fresh
The Last Stand is a great zombie shoot 'em up game with excellent graphics that far surpass any game I've played. See if you can find the super gun!
Motherload is a fun mining game. It is possible to finish this game but the ending is a little on the weird side. It definitely keeps your attention.
And finally Bike Mania. Ah. Already being into bicycle trials I have an affinity for such a game. If you like riding bikes over obsticles then this is the one for you. I believe it is based on a previous Mototrials java games that seemed to come from Europe. "Next one is real hard!"

Try not to spend the rest of your day playing these!

Christmas Wish List

2007-12-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time and I can't resist the juvenile temptation to formulate a Christmas wish list. This year I am headed to Mexico for Christmas and will not be doing a gift exchange, rather I will be spending time with family, basking in the sun and renting beer.
Never-the-less I will make a wish list.

Use your Vonage home phone as a long distance calling card

2007-10-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

Status:
I pay $20 a month for a Vonage land line. I get 500 minutes to Canada and the USA. I have a cell phone. I get 150 day time minutes and 1000 evenings and weekends minutes which I never use up. My cell provider charges me $0.30/minute for long distance calls made from my mobile. I visit other cities and need to make calls to my local calling area.

Problem:
I don't want to pay $0.30/minute for long distance, instead I want to use my Vonage minutes and my mobile local air time I've already paid for. I also want to tap into my Vonage minutes while I'm out of my local calling area.

Solution:
Using a combination of a computer with internet access, a Vonage access number and Vonage call forwarding I can tap into my Vonage minutes from any major city in Canada, USA, Mexico, France, Spain or the United Kingdom.

Step 1.
Determine the local Vonage access number for the city you are in. Use this website:
http://vonage.ca/features.php?feature=v_access
For example, the access number for Vancouver is 778-786-1245

Step 2.
Using the Vonage website, log into your account and setup call forwarding to the number you wish to call. For in-country call forwarding, enter area code and number. For International call forwarding, enter 011 and then the country code, area code and local number.
For example if you wanted to call the Legoland Hotel you would enter: 011 45 7951 1343
Be sure to save your settings and leave the website open. You will need to disable the call forwarding after you make your call.

Step 3.
Dial the Vonage access number and follow the prompts to dial your own number. Once the call is connected you will be ringing the number you call forwarded to.
For example:
In Vancouver dial 778-786-1245 from any phone
Press 1 to call a Vonage number
Now dial your own Vonage number 1 555 555 5555 # (be sure to add 1 to the front of you 10 digit number)
Press 1 to confirm
RING RING

Step 4.
Once you hang up be sure to disable call forwarding using the Vonage website (that you left open) to ensure no one else calls the Legoland Hotel on your coin.

Conclusion:
This is a neat feature provided by Vonage. I doubt they set it up to work like a calling card. There may also be a better way to do this but this way works and I have already started making long distance calls for much cheaper than $0.30/minute. If you have the $40 unlimited Vonage plan you can talk for as long as you want for free, given its a free to call the local Vonage access number from where you are. You can also check your Vonage voicemail using the Vonage access number.

Happy chatting for cheaper

Pedal Powered Car

2007-03-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

So what been distracting me lately? Alternative transportation...
We all love our cars. But they stink. They are loud. They are expensive. They pollute and they take up a lot of real estate. We have 'smart' cars which do a little less of all this which I think is a great step but not everyone can afford a new $15,000 car.
Biking is great. It's cheap, healthy, doesn't pollute but it has some serious issues. Cargo area, passenger capacity, shelter from rain and it takes work. So what do you want? Perhaps something in between.
I want a vehicle that doesn't pollute, isn't loud, isn't too expensive, fun, unique, doesn't take up too much space, cargo space, passenger capacity or passenger capacity expandability, isn't too much work and has shelter from the rain.
I want a pedal powered car. We have existing technology to make a lightweight frame and shell with some kind of extra power plant other than just your legs. Esthetically speaking the idea of having bicycle wheels on a car body looks weird but not on a car modeled after a 'Model T' with spoked wheels.

Another distraction of mine is the idea of building one of these units by hand. The trick would be trying to use parts that already exist such as bicycle wheels, brakes, lights, horns and drive-trains. Parts that would need to be fabricated would be the chassis, steering, suspension, body shell and canopy. Ideally you would want a nice aluminium chassis with a light-weight steering system with a shell/canopy made out of a combination of canvas and thin Plexiglas supported by fiberglass ribs similar to a tent.
Other technologies to increase practicality could include a launch assist system that gathers energy in capacitors when you hit the brakes. The kinetic energy would be captured by an electric hub motor such as the e-Bike DIY. A battery pack could also be added to the system to aid in longer distance or uphill commutes.
There are several neat ideas out there already: The human car, Light electric vehicles, Four wheel bicycles, ZEM

Making your own fuel

2007-03-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

I love homemade stuff. There's something rich and true about it. I'm also a big fan of the 3 R's we learned in school re-use, recycle and reduce. Apparently so is Jack Johnson, what a guy. I also like automobiles. They are sexy, they are fast and they take you places. So lets put them all in a blender and see what happens. RRrshrvckrsheevrVEEeeeeee. Home made fuel for your car.

Ingredients: Compost, neigbourhood compost
Process: chopping, mashing, fermenting and distilling.

Problems: Building the setup and a still is a bit pricey. Heating your mash requires energy. I would like to use a fireplace to heat a boiler that in turn heats the mash to distill the go juice.

Benefits: Free gas made in your backyard and if you make a food safe still you can make your own hooch, legally!

Resources:
http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com/id1.html
You can also use other garbage but it requires much more of a process: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4235968.html

Cellulosic Ethanol

2007-03-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I have an interest in green renewable energy. Oil is not the answer. It would seem that there is no other answer and that we are all doomed to use what 'they' give us at the pump until it all drys up and we start running around like Mad Max marauding for gasoline. There is just too much money to be made keeping things the way they are. I would like to get out of that cycle without having to go live on some hippie commune, trying to 'live off the land'.
I believe the truth is each individual has the power to change where our planet is going by opening our eyes and thinking outside the box.

Which brings me to today's distraction. We all have cars. We are not all going to sell our cars and buy hybrids. We are not going to convert our cars to hybrids. Only diesel engines burn biodiesel. We are not all going to run out and buy diesel vehicles. We want something we can put in our tank that doesn't polute and is renewable.

Ethanol is nice clean fuel and is already in wide spread use in South America. It can be made from formenting and distilling corn and other starch/sugar rich plants already grown worldwide. Unfortunately there are problems. Ethanol production is still very crude and requires similar amounts of energy to be produced and produces similar amounts of green house gasses in production but it is a start in the right direction.

Some of the main bumps in the path for switching to ethanol are as follows:
1. Ethanol has a higher octane and is better fitted to an engine with a higher compression ratio. Standard vehicles sit about 8:1 where ethanol is best suited to 11-14:1. This would require rebuilding your engine to run at maximum effieciency, which is not cheap. Standard compression gives you roughly 80% efficiency. This is also the case for coverting your vehicle to propane.
2. Ethanol can eat away late model engine parts. Apparently vehicles made in the past ten years are immune to this.
3. You can't buy it at the Gas Station. Unless you live in certains cities you can't get ethanol. This would make travelling a bit of a bummer. I assume you could just replace the fuel in one of the tanks.
I'm sure there are other problems as well but like I said before if everyone get's educated and jazzed on greener fuels and demands our government to make a change, it will happen.

Something else I would like to point out is that the source of ethanol, known as the feedstock, up to now has namely been starch or sugar rich platations such as corn and sugar cane plantations. Apparently there is not enough corn and sugar cane in the world to fuel our energy needs so we need to look elsewhere. The best place to look is the dump! We all make garbage and if you have done any travelling to developng countries you'll know that there's a lot of it and its everywhere. Garbage is well hidden in our society but dumping it in a hole and forgetting about it is not the answer. Cellulosic Ethanol can be made from garbage such as agricultural waste, industrial waste such as paper sludge from pulp mills and municipal solid waste. Another resource is switchgrass which is a hardy plant that be easily grown in our climate and can be used to feed livestock as well as feed our cars. As cellulosic ethanol production technology improves it will make really good economical and environmental sense to invest in this technology.

So what are you going to do now? "If you're interested and you know it tell a friend. If you're interested and you know it and you really want to show it, tell a friend." The biggest hurdle is popularity. Educate yourself. Educate your friends. It's good news.

References:
http://www.harvestcleanenergy.org/enews/enews_0505/enews_0505_Cellulosic_Ethanol.htm