BloGTK 2.0

So, I decided that if I was going to make a go of my blogging career, than it was imperative that I find a desktop client from which I could administer my blog.

After trying out several different linux clients, I finally settled on BloGTK.

The easiest way to install BloGTK is to edit your Software Sources:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Then add these lines to your /etc/apt/sources.list file:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/jayreding/ppa/ubuntu lucid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/jayreding/ppa/ubuntu lucid main

After saving your changes, be sure to update your package list:

sudo apt-get update

After you have updated your package list install blogtk:

sudo apt-get install blogtk

That's it! Now you should have BloGTK installed.

These instructions will work whether you have Lucid or Maverick installed.

There are other linux clients out there, but out of all of them, BloGTK has the fewest shortcomings.

In Full Swing

Now that layoff season is in full swing, it's time again for me to get busy working on the many different projects that seem to keep popping up.

The first thing that I'm going to do, is revisit the wood working project that pretty much consumed my entire free time last winter. That project was my wooden PC case. Nearly a year has passed since I have built this beast, and I have been able to observe some things, and as such, I want to make some modifications to the case.

Priority # 1 is to finally install a power switch. This whole year, I have had to open up the case and operate the plunger switch that I scavenged off a case skeleton that I had laying around.

For some time now, I have been eyeing a switch over at Frozen CPU. Now that I have both the time and the money, I decided that I had better make that priority number on on this case.

Priority # 2 is to employ some sound dampening measures.

Priority # 3 is to dress up my case a little bit more than it already is.

When my wife and I were at the thrift store, availing ourselves to their $4 bag sale, I found a wood burning kit $1!! I have already managed to whip out a tux logo - see image below - onto a scrap piece of wood. I'm thinking that I'm going to mount this to the front of my case, and the power switch will be mounted to look as though it were Tux's belly button. :)

After I complete my existing case, I can then move on to my other case builds. Yep, you read that right...other case builds! Thanks to Ed, I now have parts enough to build two complete machines, both of which are in need of a case. A couple of months ago, I purchased a couple of junk computers from a Re-store, just so I could use scalp the case for parts to build a wooden case. Not only do I have to build cases for those two machines, but I need to build another case for an existing PC, whose case has just about had it.

If I have time after that, I may try to build a custom laptop case. Before I can do that, however, I need to get the laptop over to Ed so that he can reflow the GPU for me.

Anyways, that's a wrap on my life...be back soon,
Ch@d

Deer Season...and layoff season.

November 15th marked the first day of regular firearm season here in Michigan. Not only that, but it also marked the beginning of my unemployment season. Although unemployment is not the ideal situation, it is not entirely unwelcome.

This past summer has been so hectic, that a season of respite sounds just about right. It will give me a chance to get some things done around the house that need to be done. Some of which are already done. I managed to finally get the garage cleared out so that the car can be parked overnight, should it snow. I have also managed - thanks to Ed - to get the wolfmap-up.net site up and running.

With all the things that I am getting done, I am, unfortunately, not going to be able to get out and do any hunting. Not only do I not have the time, but I do not have the funds to do so. So, deer bambi, rest easy this year...grow your horns out nice and long, so that I can harvest them next fall... :)

The New and Improved Me!

Well, since LXH moved, so did my blog...

Things have been a bit busy this past summer, as if you couldn't tell by the gap between this post and the last one...lol

Things have started to quiet down a bit, and with seasonal layoff looming, I will now be able to spend some time on my TODO list, as well as some other things that I'd like to get done yet this year.

Urban Terror

I don't think that I have ever written a review on the fascinatingly addictive game, Urban Terror; and, although I may write one in the future, that is not the purpose of this post.

Yesterday, while trying to hookup multiple UT clients to a single public server, I discovered that, by default, all clients are set to use the same port. This setup results in a situation where no two clients - operating behind the same router - can connect to a public server at the same time, unless the traffic is routed accordingly. Some routers are setup to handle this traffic automatically, but if your particular router is not setup in this manner, it can cause a headache. This particular headache caused me no little grief, and I spent much time on google searching for a viable solution.

I finally discovered - in UT's forums, no less - that there is a config file that runs every time the UT client is run. In that file, it is possible to manually set the port through which traffic will be routed to and from that client. To configure your client accordingly, your must locate UT's autoexec.cfg file.

The autoexec.cfg file is located in your UrbanTerrorq3ut4 folder. Open autoexec.cfg file with notepad, if you're in windows; or, if you're in linux, use your favorite text editor...whether it be gedit, nano, jedit, etc...

Here are the default contents of said file:

//In this file you can do settings that will be executed everytime Urban Terror is started. It will not get overwritten.
//Lines starting with // are ignored.
//Example1: exec yourconfig.cfg
//Example2: set cg_fov "110"
//Example3: bind x ut_weaptoggle knife

Append the following to said autoexec.cfg file.

seta net_port "296x"

Where x is a positive integer between 0 and 9. Bear in mind, that if you only have two computers, you should only have to change this file on one client. If you have more than two clients, than you will need to change the file on all but one of the clients.

Also, if your UT install is located in the program files folder of either Vista or Windows 7, you will need to either edit this as an administrator, or simply copy it to your My Documents folder, edit it there, and then copy it back to the UrbanTerrorq3ut4 folder.

There! Now you should be able to get all your UT clients onto the same public server!

Frag on!

Ch@d

The Trail Plotter

After several long weeks of arduous labor, Ed and I are pleased to announce that we now have a working prototype of The Trail Plotter software.

The purpose of TTP is to take user submitted GPS-data, plot it on a googlemaps and display detailed information on the marker. Although the prototype is geared toward the plotting of wolf sightings, this software can be themed to track or plot any kind of information that a user feels compelled to feed it.

Although the main website is not completely setup just yet, you can see a working version of the software over at the Wolfmap.

As soon as the software reaches the final release stage, you will also be able to see it in action over at the Cougarmap.

Since the software is currently in beta, new user registration will only be allowed for a select few. Once we feel that we have worked out all the bugs, we will open registration up to every one.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully we'll see you over at the Wolfmap!

Ch@d

PS Due to an urgent family matter, Ed, the head dev, has been slightly incapacitated. Although dev work hasn't stopped, there is a bit of a delay between the dev work and the actual implementation of said dev work. So please bear with us as we push forward on this project.

Cynthia Lynne

Cynthia Lynne's journey into this world began quite a few months back, but July 14th was the zenith of said journey.

Knowing Jess' propensity toward preeclampsia, we decided that setting a home birth as a goal was not the wisest idea for this pregnancy. As such, we set up OB appointments with the OB that Jess' had for Lil' Sam's pregnancy. This choice proved to be the best possible choice that we could have ever made. Not only is her OB a great Doc, but the fact that she knew Jess' past history, helped this pregnancy come to a safe and healthy conclusion for all parties concerned.

I believe that, had Jess' OB not gotten her BP, as well as her diabetes, under control, we would have found ourselves right back in Marquette again. Praise the LORD for giving her OB the wisdom on how to deal with Jess' various conditions.

Anyways, that all being said, Lil' "C"ynthia was born by caesarian on July 14th, at 7:28AM. I was present at the time of delivery, and was actually given the opportunity to peak when Lil' C was lifted out of mommy's belly. Naturally, I took it.

Despite being born 4 weeks early - Jess' (I side with her as well) will vigorously tell you that she thinks she was born full term - Lil' C weighed in at an even 8lb's, and measured 19 inches. Lil' C's first few minutes in this world were a little of a struggle as her little body attempted to adapt to it's new world. She was put on a nasal canula at %100 oxygen until her vitals stabilized, at which point, they began to wean her off the oxygen. In a matter of hours she was completely off the oxygen and in mommy's waiting arms.

Here, for your viewing pleasure are some pictures of Lil' C's first few moments.

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Primal Carnage

Primal carnage will be a Multiplayer, FPS game with an emphasis on teamwork. You can chose to either play as a human, or you can chose to play as a dinosaur.

I say, "will be," because it hasn't been released yet. In fact, it hasn't even reached the Beta stage yet. Despite all that, there is a very real possibility that it will be ready for prime time, sometime this coming fall/winter.

In the event that it is ready for public consumption this coming fall/winter, here are a couple of reasons why you should try this game out.

1. Released to the Linux Platform. Yup, you heard it. According to this post, this game will be released to all us Linux lovers! :)


2. Unreal low price of $20. Again, according to this post, this game will purportedly cost only $20.

Now...if those two reasons don't get you interested, hurry on over to their website, donate, and you will be one of the first people to try out their upcoming beta!

Later's...

In other news...Ed's work on TTP should all but be completed this weekend. Look for a post tomorrow with a full explanation... :D

New Theme

Two of my Nav links weren't displaying properly, so I was on the hunt for another theme yesterday. This is the fruit of my labor.

In case you're wondering, no, this will not be the final theme... lol After going through so many themes lately, I thought that it would be kinda' cool to showcase cool themes from around the 'Net.

So...the next theme will be a modified theme of Dock Dock, by WP Themes Creator.

Whew!

Whew, that about says it all! I have been really busy with my full time job, as well as my business, that I barely have time to complete stuff on my To Do list, let alone get on here and keep you all abreast of my coming and going.

That being said, I was finally able to carve out some personal time today and decided to update my blog. As you can see, I have changed my theme. Since I had the other theme on here for quite awhile, I decided that it was high time to replace it. I tested three other themes before finally settling with this one.

I added two more pages: a To Do page and a Projects page. The To Do page is where you can see my current To Do list for this summer. Feel free to check in on my progress from time to time, as well as offer up some words of encouragement! My Projects page is where you can see all the projects that I currently have in the works.

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, haven't posted much on here lately. Been super crazy busy... Not sure if that is good or bad. I just now was playing Urban Terror for the first time in almost a month!

I don't know about you but, but I'm in desperate need of some serious me time... :) I'm going to get just that tomorrow when my family and I go to stay the night in a motel a ways from here. Hopefully I'll get to swim a bit and take in some rays...we'll see about that. :)

Hope everyone else has a great Memorial Day Weekend and my deepest gratitude to all who gave their lives to protect freedom the World around.

Ch@d