Puppy!

I've gotten a dog. Yes, kind of amazing, given that I was never really a dog person before, but I've warmed up to them in the last few years, and decided I wanted one that was *mine*. Now I've got a little(gonna be huge) part Rottweiler, part Collie, part Mutt.

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

This is a pretty cool number. stupid MPAA. Someone should revoke their right to claim sentience.

Configuring Apache 2 with mod_proxy and mongrel_rails on SuSe 9x

In the process of forcing helping a friend with his conversion from Coldfusion to Ruby on Rails, we had to get him set up with a way to run multiple rails apps from his hosting machine. Here is what I discovered when I investigated using Apache 2 and mod_proxy to host rails apps through mongrel_rails:

NOTE: the examples use su -, but I would recommend using sudo instead.

Apache 2 / mod_proxy

mod_proxy was already installed (with yast) and just needed some configuration:

1. su -
   
2. to file /etc/sysconfig/apache2, add:
   proxy proxy_ftp proxy_http proxy_connect
   to the APACHE_MODULES= line
   
   
3. create /etc/apache2/vhost.d/example.com.conf
   because apache isn't hosting any files, this is rather shorter than his apache/coldfusion vhost files
   
   

   
   <VirtualHost *:80>
      ServerAdmin webmaster@example.com
      ServerName www.example.com
   
      # if not specified, the global error log is used
      ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/example.com-error_log
      CustomLog /var/log/apache2/example.com-access_log combined
   
      # Avoid open your server to proxying
      ProxyRequests Off
   
      # Let apache correctly rewrite redirect
      ProxyPass / http://hishostname.com:8000/
      ProxyPassReverse / http://hishostname.com:8000/
   
      # Let apache pass the original host not the ProxyPass one
      ProxyPreserveHost On
   
      # don't lose time with IP address lookups
      HostnameLookups Off
   
      # needed for named virtual hosts
      UseCanonicalName Off
   
      # configures the footer on server-generated documents
      ServerSignature On
   </VirtualHost>
   

   
   

mongrel_rails

1. su -
   
2. gem install mongrel -y
   
3. export your source from version control to a likely directory (preferably as a non root user)
   
4. cd to your base rails directory
   
5. type something along the following lines:
   
mongrel_rails start -e production -d -p 8000 -l log/mongrel.log -n 20

   

anyway, thats it man. its freakin magnificent.
except the SuSe part. Get a useable server, yast sucks.

--Christopher

LinkGrabber

I've finished a release of linkgrabber, you can go to links.boxgnome.com to see current output.

If you're on a channel linkgrabber lives on, you can ask for 'last' or 'channels' or 'help', by doing a /msg linkgrabber last|channels|help

Black Widow vs Hobo

We found a hobo spider in an old backpack, and I put it in the cage with my black widow. here's the video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4529105889870787216

LinkGrabber

I've written a ruby based IRC bot called linkgrabber. Its really a clean little bot, with no interface to mess with it from a channel. It's silent.

All interface with the links will be done via a rails app that uses the same db.
Features coming soon to the web interface (once i get done writing it):

• RSS Feeds of the links
  
• Voting - enough ups and it'll be added to a del.icio.us feed, enough downs and it'll be deleted
  
• Annotations
  

Anyway. I'll post more here as I get more done. The bot is currently grabbing links in #nogoodshits.

Netflix Instant Movies! Yay! oh. nevermind, windows only.

I recently saw this neat new service that netflix is rolling 
out in july 2007.  Instant movies via your PC. Well, that is 
freakin awesome!

Oh, well, I mean that is freakin awesome for all the Windows 
users out there. For those sensitive intelligent mac users (did
i mention, I'm a recent mac convert, still floating through that 
"new love haze", pro-mac, pro-linux), you'll have to continue
waiting for the DVD's to come in the mail. Because (in the small
print of course) you must be using a Windows XP or Vista PC,
and using Internet Explorer.

All software you can't pay me to use or support. I'll get a job 
at Mickey D's before I diagnose another craptastic DLL problem, 
or replace all my files after another distant relative surfs the 
wrong sites and gets me a couple of nice virii. Anyway, I'm 
rambling. On to the fun stuff.

I sent netflix the following comment, I can't wait to read the 
reply. I hope hope hope its something interesting and not some 
4th grade form letter. 

To whom it may concern:



I really like your service, and I'm really happy about your instant movie idea. However, I must note that for this new service, you are restricting browsers and operating systems to IE (Internet Explorer) and Microsoft Windows. This is generally a sign of one of two things, both quite distasteful to me as an internet programmer/analyst :





1. You are being paid off by a large company to support only their badly written, bloated software packages (I refuse to use these packages myself).



2. You have a pile of lazy, incompetent managers and programmers who cannot expend the time and brain power to code something for the web that is platform independent (a fairly easy task these days for a decent programmer).



Given my penchant for believing the best of people, I hope that your decision to alienate me and exclude me from paying you for this neat service is based on the greater monetary gain to be had from possibility 1. It would sadden me to learn that your otherwise outstanding operation has an overpaid team of idiots such as the team laid out in possibility 2.



Thank you for your time,







Christopher Maujean

cmaujean@gmail.com



PS:



Feel free to call me (PST business hours please) 541-XXX-XXXX to discuss my feelings on this breach of consumer trust further.

I'll post their reply as soon as I get it.

Atom quote

"Dad! That cup which you just got? It looks like a Freakin Indian Cup!" --my 5 year old son atom, excited about my new tea cup.