Joshua Rodman

ban all cars.

2009-06-28T22:09:01Z

Ban.
All.
Cars.

k8to @ 2009-05-13T20:28:00

2009-05-14T03:24:55Z

I just finished Foucault's Pendulum. It was at times thought provoking, and often entertaining, but if I had to sum it up in a word it would be "pointless."

os x 10.5 cron == FAIL

2009-04-03T05:34:02Z

Apple is a UNIX right? So it has cron.

Well, sort of. They've witten their own terrible replacement, and the support for "legacy", ie. UNIX cron is busted out of the box.

It seems that when vixie cron launches an external editor for crontab -e it

1 - holds the file open, assuming all editors will always rewrite the same file, not ever create a new file.

In addition:

2 - the default editor on unix systems is vi

3 - the default vi on OS X is vim

4 - vim does not not edit files in place, but creates a new file as part of its backup pattern (write -> fsync -> rename), which is much smarter

Thus, crontab -e just produces an unhelpful message "temp file must be edited
in place" and the changes made are discarded.

So, crontab -e on OS X is broken out of the box, and could never have worked
in the simplest possible test.
Go apple quality engineering.

But why does this all work fine on Linux?

Well, vim is aware of this, and works around it. When vim edits files in /tmp
or /var/tmp, it assumes you probably didn't need backups of temporary files.
In fact backups of temporary files can be a nuisance. So it puts /tmp and
/var/tmp into a variable which describes directories in which not to apply the
backup strategy.

Thus crontab -e always works on Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, etc, etc with vim out
of the box.

So why *doesn't* this work on OS X?

OS X has /tmp as a symbolic link to /private/tmp for its own inscrutable
reasons. Thus, vim sees that the edits are happening in /private/tmp, which
is not on the list, so the exception does not apply, and the normal backup
strategy is used, so that crontab -e does not work.

So OS X could fix this by either:

- adding /private/tmp to the vim no-backup list in /etc/vimrc

OR

- make /tmp a normal directory, not a symbolic link (why is it anyway?)

I mean, Apple has only had about a year to notice a trivial-to-fix bug in their configuration. I guess 6 updates isn't enough to get you to UNIX compliance.

launchd sucks

2009-02-16T03:46:10Z

launchd replaces a bunch of crufty but documented and transparent process management tools.
Failings: launchd's configuration format is horrific and unreadable, its documentation is unacceptably insufficient.

UNIX is old but transparent. OS X is new but opaque. It has not learned the lessons of why it's UNIX based in the first place. There's a reason for that, you know. Opaque has costs that rise and rise over time.

Finder search doesn't understand its own categories

2009-01-26T16:55:09Z

Here I am using the finder search capabilities.

Why is the Kind set to Other? If i set it to Music, it doesn't match.

There's a number of errors here.

Kinds are nonoverlapping. What if I have a presentation which is in fact music. It has to either be not music, or not a presentation. Or what if I have a script written in python. Is it a document, an application, or a text file?
The Kind for this music is set to Other. How many hints does the damn thing need? It is called "Audiotrack". It is stored in the Music folder that the damn fool thing created for me to store my music. Get a clue, Apple.
There is no observable way to tell the Finder that the file really is music. The help offers nothing. The internet offers nothing.

So there we have it, there are selectors in the finder which don't do what they say, and have undocumented, unimprovable behavior, which doesn't get what you want. Good job implementing this nest of rats.

That doesn't even get into how the substring search for files doesn't find files. I was looking for bruiser.txt, which doesn't show up at all, for any Kind.

Throwaway post

2008-12-08T01:21:23Z

Debian, I love you, but you need to speed up your release process a bit.

I've been actively bitten by around 10 or so bugs that are fixed upstream in STABLE releases of their code. The most galling was how the autosave functionality in inkscape is completely broken in the version ship, AND the crashes are more frequent. Patches have existed for a long long time, and the bug was fixed in a stable release nearly a year ago.

In your quest to "fix all the bugs" you avoid shipping bugfixes to your users.

Speed it up.

k8to @ 2008-11-17T22:50:00

2008-11-18T06:48:46Z

I was reading an article about the state of the SF Bay area housing market.
It seemed like solano county was the worst hit by the downturn, with nearly 40% of the homes "underwater", ie. worth less than the mortgages owed on them, and over 62% of sales on houses being for less than their prior sale.

I wondered, where is solano county. Of course the official site is useless, so I went to google maps. Apparently it's up around Vacaville and friends, on the way to Sacramento.

Google maps offers images, and related searches these days. Here's the related searches for Solano County:

new homes
outlet mall
fairfield
state prison

I got another evite

2008-11-13T05:53:08Z

First, this isn't about anyone in particular. I get lots of evites.
I don't like evites. I dont' like evite.

Evite messages don't say where or when the event is.
Tracking whether I read the actual invitation is creepy.
The way evite sometimes hides who sent the message obnoxious
I've gotten spam on addresses only evite knew about. Conclusion, using evite supports spam.
Once you've given evite my address, you can't ungive it.

World: Dont' use evite please, or if you must, please don't give my real email address to them.

In general, handing someone else's email address over to advertising-driven agencies is not OK. Most people would not consider doing this in the general case. Evite is not a special case.

k8to @ 2008-11-05T06:37:00

2008-11-05T14:37:01Z

Sometimes, I forget that I'm a second class citizen. Thanks for the reminder, california.

It's official: mormonism is unethical

2008-10-29T04:59:53Z

Mormonism stands for bigotry, hatred, the removal of civil rights, and against the concept of brotherhood and equality for all. They stood against racial equality for many years, and now they have asked their members to damage their own financial well being to spread hatred and damage into the lives of their fellow countrymen.

The only ethical thing to do for current mormons is to leave the church.

XP 64 install, anyone?

2008-10-15T19:51:38Z

I'd like access (remote or local) to an xp 64 box somewhere, with IE7 insatalled.
I will need about 2 minutes of its time.

Alternatively if you want to do the legwork, you'll need to hit a url or two, maybe
copy and paste some text or take a screenshot.

Anyone got it? (I don't!)

Performance

2008-10-14T04:28:38Z

I wish to attend a musical performance, which would probably consist of a number of live musicians, who perform a 90 minute set consisting of a single extended verion of Pick Up by Bonobo, especially as interpreted by Four tet.

Three Federal Work-Transportation Subsidies

2008-10-08T13:34:56Z

So there are three different work-transportation subsidies, that I'm aware of. Or there will be, starting next year.

One of them is brand new, and affects bicycle commuters. You are eligible if you bicycle a significant portion of your commute, which I assume means like over a third or something, but haven't checked. It's meant to cover fees such as bicycle purchasing, repairs, and equipment. It's implemented as a tax-free payment from your employer to you, and has a cap.

Bicycling: up to 20 dollars a month, which amortized across the life of a commuter bicycle is large portion of the cost, say around 50-70%. If you live in nastier weather (spike tires or downpours) or choose to ride a nicer bike to work, then it covers even less.

Here are the established programs:

Commuter Check (public transit): up to 110 a month
ParkChek (parking your car): up to 215 and change a month

http://www.commutercheck.com/Employee/Faqs.aspx

So, apparently, we should be most encouraging people to drive to work, somewhat encouraging them to ride transit, and least encouraging them to use the most efficient option and get themselves there improving their health along the way, and saving us all money.

Copy and Paste from X11 apps

2008-10-08T02:00:58Z

So I try out remote X11 display on OSX. It seems to work okay. Then I'm trying to do real work and realize swapping back and forth from Cmd-V to Ctrl-V for paste is really a problem. So I look for the setting to forward Cmd-V to Ctrl-V in X11 apps, since that's the obvious solution—a bit clunky, but effective. It doesn't exist.

From the Apple X11 FAQ:

Q: How do I copy and paste using X11 for Mac OS X?

A: X11 for Mac OS X allows cut and paste between X11 and native applications using PRIMARY and PASTEBOARD selections.
You can cut text from X11 applications by selecting the text, performing a cmd-c or copy operation. You can paste in native Mac OS X applications as usual using Cmd-V.
Because there is no standard for pasting in X11 applications (some use middle mouse button, some use control-v, etc.), cmd-v doesn't work for pasting in X11 applications by design. As a result, the "Paste" menu item will be grayed out when X11 applications are in focus. Y

So first, I've bolded the text that is a flat lie. There is a standard, it is ctrl-v. It is true that not every application (notably terminals) support this. It is warty and problematic. What you observe here, however, is Apple refusing to support the standard. Deliberately.

Usability failure rating: 8 bombs, and a raspberry

Hot corners

2008-10-06T15:16:12Z

I sit down at my desk. I unlock the screensaver with my password, and... the desktop briefly flashes, to be replaced with black, and a re-request for my password.

At some point in the past. I set the bottom right hand corner of my screen to activate the screensaver. Also, I set it to require my password to get back in after screensaving, since I use the system in a busy open office and I want to at least make a basic effort to support account distinction.

So, I tend to activate the screensaver on leaving my desk by shooting the mouse to the lower right hand corner. Then on login, I move the mouse slightly to locate the pointer via the motion it makes, and it relocks the screen.

How hard is this to get right? Xscreensaver understood the idea of "recent" activation of the screensaver for years, and only locks after a few seconds go by (defaults to 5, I think.) That would save this use case. Reactivation immediately after deactivation when the mouse has only moved a few pixels could be blocked. Login credentials could be cached via sudo for a period of 1 minute or something. There's a lot of ways to accomplish this, but Apple did none of them.

Insult to injury: the Screen Saver section of system preferences gives no hint as to one might want to enable, disable, or otherwise configure the screensaver password-lock.

Usability failure rating: 2 bombs

Dialogs and spaces

2008-10-03T19:34:01Z

Today, I put a CD in the mac, and it said:

Okay, this sort of thing is common to most CD ripping programs, though the text "Please choose the correct one" brings a sort of Kafkaesque air to the situation.

The fun part is this dialog box is not on the same virtual destkop ("Space") with ITunes, and I wanted to review the responsible application. So I grabbed the window, dragged it to the edge of the display, and waited. And waited. And tried again, and waited.

No feedback on failure.

Also, why can't I move a dialog box? Why does the system care?

Usability failure rating: 2 bombs

Hardware detection and management

2008-10-03T16:49:45Z

Today's usability problem is simple. When coming out of sleep, the macbook pro does not reliably detect its own screen.

That's right, it finds the external monitor attached via DVI, but fails to activate its own display. Sometimes System Preferences -> Display -> (Detect Displays) works. Sometimes it doesn't. Today, putting it to sleep and waking it up again 6 times in a row made it work, eventually.

That's some great attention to detail.

Usability failure rating: 3 bombs.

Spotlight

2008-10-01T15:51:41Z

In a continuing series entitled "The Emperor's Shiny New Brushed Metal Clothes" or alternatively "How the Mac Fails at Usability" we have spotlight, a search tool that usually finds what you don't want, and not what you want.

Exhibit A:

Hey, NOTES, that sounds about right. Of course you can't tell because there's nothing to distinguish one file from another in the crappy list. But no, that's /opt/local/lib/perl5/5.8.8/ExtUtils/NOTES, which are notes on the class hierarchy of the MakeMaker utility used in the building of perl5. I mean, it's great that spotlight searches this stuff, but I use my own files more often than some opt cruft, and should be listed first. Nevermind that my file doesn't appear at all.

You'd think an exact match for the the filename in my own home directory would at least get it into the display. Sure, I can show all, and then tell it to search on filename, and now it's the 18th item or so, not even in the window.

Okay, so my idea of filenames as important metadata may be a bit outlandish. But I'm sure I can configure spotlight to be more useful to me. Yes - I can configure what keystroke to use to trigger it, and which categories of useless results to return.

Insult to injury: by default, OS X runs updatedb on a weekly basis. Come on "attention to detail" vidiots, my Linux box can locate files added seconds ago.

Usability failure rating: 5 bombs

MacOS X Spaces

2008-09-29T14:49:46Z

Dear Lazyweb,

Mac OS X has a dizzying lack of documentation on its useful functionality. Where can I get reference docs on all the hidden Dock preferences to make it act in less stupid ways?

Specifically, where is the setting to let me choose the ordering of the Spaces? Currently they are upside-down as compared to the number keys on all keyboards that have ever been made.

To be more clear, spaces are ordered like this:

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

Sensible enough, left to right, down the page, like text. The problem is that one of it's 3 twiddlable options is to enable jumping to spaces by number. Well, the way you enter numbers on a computer is by pressing number keys, which are arranged like this:

7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3

Apple, you did it wrong.

Usability failure rating: 2 bombs

Gas

2008-09-29T13:11:17Z

I'm waiting, and have been waiting for several years now, for the political dialogue to shift. All that I've seen in the political discussion is a treatment of high gas prices as an undue burden plagueing our middle and lower classes. When are we going to get to the point where we can discuss it as a fact, and accept that the problem is our too-heavy dependence/use thereof?

Silly domain names

2008-09-27T04:22:58Z

Some of my favourite ridiculous sounding domain names are classics:

netcom.com - sadly off the air
netnet.net - still going strong
com-com.com - this french telecom venture got bought out at some point, the page used to be hilarious

Today I went looking again, my finds:

http://orgnet.com/
http://comnet.org/

I'd love to hear of a really fantastic one such as comnet-org.co.uk. Any treasures you know about?

The christians have it wrong

2008-09-23T05:38:46Z

They claim it's Good Friday, but in my recent experience it was Bad Friday and Good Monday.

Work.

2008-09-15T03:03:36Z

Work is starting tomorrow. It is a bit scary after so long. Wish me luck in your thoughts.

k8to @ 2008-09-04T23:02:00

2008-09-05T05:55:43Z

<nyar> Erotic Science Fiction reading with Charlie Anders, M. Christian, Richard Kadrey, Thomas Roche, Rudy Rucker, and others! At the Center for Sex and Culture, 1519 Mission Street near 11th, Friday, September 26th,
doors at 8:00 pm, readings begin at 9:00 pm -
<nyar> wow
<k8to> can i bomb that?
<nyar> yes
<k8to> i should larp-bomb it
<k8to> dress up as a bomb
<k8to> and go in and say EXPLODE EXPLODE EXPLODE

Omnivore 100

2008-08-23T19:42:54Z

Warning - meme-y post, just thought this one was a bit interesting.

Someone created a list of one hundred foods they thought "a good omnivore" should try at least once in their life. Many of them seem to be sort of recommended experiences. I think otheres are really there just there for titillation/amusement, etc. But I was surprised to see I'd made good headway into this silliness, so here it is.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) ~~Cross out~~ any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros - a favourite breakfast of mine
4. Steak tartare - under mild duress
5. Crocodile - is it sustainable?
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush - I make a mean baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho - I have assisted in the day-long process of creating pho. It was good. I wouldn't recommend it.
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese - this stuff is not all created equal
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - I've eaten a portion of a raw habanero. I'm not sure if that counts. I don't really recommend this.
27. Dulce de leche - this sounds good
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda - similar to fondue, is made with garlic, anchovies, walnut or olive oil, butter,red wine vinagar and sometimes cream !!! I want to eat this
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea - although I have not had something specifically titled in this manner, I have certainly had the documented components (tea, scones, jam, cream) in a mock-british like setting. I think it's close enough.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail - as a major ingredient, not as the dish centerpiece -- but i've never seen it used as such
41. Curried goat - YUM! many common eating meats are totally dominated by strong curries, but goat can really makes itself known.
42. Whole insects - Some of them have a real acrid taste that isn't pleasant to me, eg many ants. There are moths that taste much more rich and "meaty" or "nutty" when roasted.
43. Phaal - superhot curry? Why do I never see it on the menu?
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - Prefer Dunkin style
50. Sea urchin - Prepared sushi style (uni), it tastes like sea water - not recommended
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi - sounds gewd
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I've eaten part of a Big Mac as a child - didn't like much
56. Spaetzle - courtesey SuSE Gmbh
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine - looks gross, tastes good
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - this seems to be more medicinal in nature than a foodstuff. It certainly contains no calories. I question the presence on the list.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - all of the above
68. ~~Haggis~~ - i'm doubtful this could ever be palatable to me
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette - the acquired taste of offal. I should investigate
71. Gazpacho - YOM
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost - this looks moderately interesting and innocuous
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu - foolish semi-forced drinking among asian friends coming of age events have sometimes involved baiju
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong - in my cupboard
80. Bellini - at a wedding or something
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky - esp. men's pocky (truthfully i find it to be pretty boring as confections go)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate - I've had plenty in blended bars, but no single-source
91. Spam - as an ingredient yes
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa - I may have eaten this at north african restaurants and not known it.
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox - growing up in new york? You're required by law!
97. ~~Lobster~~ Thermidor - I had a pretty negative lobster experience, and can't really stomach it anymore.
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - ultrasnobby $$$ coffee that's timid in flavor? What a waste. I'd try it, in some contrived situation.
100. Snake

All in all, a fairly british-informed list. I've hit over 70% of it though, and would be interested in trying much of the rest. Any takers?