virtualadrian.com

So I have been looking at the Django Project ( framework… whatever ). Installing that is pretty easy I would say. It was easier than installing SQL Server 2005 on Vista, definitely fewer warnings. It’s all fun and games until you come to the installation of MySQL and the driver for Python.

The driver can be found at :: http://www.djangoproject.com/r/python-mysql/ , or it’s respective SourceForge location. Anyway…

First off I didn’t have XCode installed so gcc did not exist. That was an easy fix I just downloaded XCode 3 and thought I’d be good to go. Problem came when I tried to run the setup.py script and found that gcc exits with an error. The problem is that XCode 3 installs gcc4 and there is a file in this driver called _mysql.c and it needs gcc3. This is due to the declaration of a variable or 2 and some pre processor directives that need to be changed/removed from that file.

The exact error was :

“/usr/include/sys/types.h:92: error: two or more data types in declaration specifiers”

So I tried to install gcc3 first, that’s a trap! You can try it but that failed for me for several reasons. So after much bangage of my head on the table I found this page that explained how to change that file::

http://www.keningle.com/?p=11

Fun stuff! You can follow the instructions there or you can download the modified package here:

mysql-python-122.zip

Note: You may want to check the actual SourceForge release of the python driver, it may be working by the time you read this. This is specific to version 1.2.2 .

Note 2: If you break your system running / doing anything you read or downloaded here I am not responsible, nor my webhost, or anyone else other than yourself.

So sad….

A Nirvana suggestion on a Metallica station…

So I had never heard of these cars before someone mentioned them to me, along with a documentary on them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1

There are tons of videos on YouTube showing how they drive, pickup etc.

I can honestly say I REALLY want one!!! The WikiPedia article said that they could cost somewhere around 33k - 44k … I could deal with that. I paid somewhere around 22k for my TrailBlazer ( yeah I know … I wanted a Jetta but someone talked me into a friggin SUV ) and with gas prices right now I get both raped and pillaged at the pump. I don’t really drive a lot but I did the math and my SUV gets about 14 mpg. GM claims it gets about 16/22 - city/hwy. but I figure its 3 years old, tire pressure and so on affects that and the 16 is OPTIMAL results so 14 is about the expected range.

Anyway, there is a documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, buy it here ,that chronicles the story of the electric car, and it’s destruction. It really is a shame that car companies are so damn short sighted. I cannot express my glee when I read about how GM is getting their ass handed to them lately. I remember reading that they lost somewhere around 38 billion last year. (article here)

Hope it was worth getting into bed with all the oil companies. I remember talking to a few folks that work for Genital Motors and their grand plan about a year and a half ago was to build more BIG TRUCKS! These trucks would have basically the old Northstar system where 4 cylinders out of 8 shut off…. Horrible idea! I drive in the city, and that is it. I might hit the highway once in a blue moon, but most of my driving would not take advantage of that. Such is the case with most people, and guess what I don’t hear folks buzzing about the great gas mileage that these new trucks are providing. Most people that I work with are looking at Toyota, being that they offer some of the more efficient hybrids. That’s not to say they’re angels, they too had an electric car and nuked it.

So by now I probably sound like a whore spreading the gospel… with my SUV and all. Well fear not. I drink my own cool aid. About a month ago I bought a Kawasaki Ninja 250R ( 70 mpg ), mind you I had no clue how to operate a motorcycle, but I fixed that problem. There are classes offered by community colleges around here for 25 bucks. I went to a week long class and bam, had my endorsement. Last week I spent $6.73 on gas for my motorcycle and, $15.00 for the SUV ( it’s still cold & rainy in Michigan so I can’t ride every day ). Point is though, that even as gas prices soared this week to $3.80 / gallon I actually had a decrease in gas usage / cost. Fun thing is that I’m not the only one, I’ve been hanging around the motorcycle dealership I went to and there are tons and tons of folks there looking for efficient transportation.

I figure once the lease ( yeah … i know ) is up on my wife’s car I can start looking into something more efficient than a Malibu for her, and I can start looking to sell my SUV and get something else. Now I still want an electric car since the EV1 looked nipply so I’ve been pokin around and found the following:

Tesla Motors:
http://www.teslamotors.com/

Phoenix Motorcars:
http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/index.php

Aptera:
http://www.aptera.com/

Miles Electric Vehicles:
http://www.milesev.com/index.asp

Now then, out of all of these I think Phoenix or Miles would be the choice for me. Here’s why:

1. Tesla Motors offers a great roadster, I would say out of all of them it’s probably the best choice if you have 89k to spare… I for one do not.
2. Phoenix Motorcars offers 2 versions of their vehicle. The SUV ( 50k-ish ) and the SUT ( 40k-ish ). I could deal with that. Most likely the price will come down as demand goes up, but they have to do more advertising.
3. The Aptera is waaaaayyyy too futuristic looking for my taste. I’m just trying to get around not pilot a spaceship.
4. Miles Electric has some “Low Speed” options that go up to 25mph … that sucks. I don’t know where that’s an acceptable speed unless I want to drive down my road and back… even that hits 35mph in some spots… so not an option. They do offer an alternative that will do 80mph, and that I think would be golden for me. I don’t need to get very far, in a given day I drive about 20-30 miles. So the range isn’t an issue. Cost may be. I was unable to find the cost of their “Highway Speed” sedan.

I know two things:

1. I am sick of fueling the global terror machine by buying their oil ( don’t kid yourself you know it’s true )
2. I am sick of being a slave to our nations enemies, and taking it in the rear every time I need gas.

Hopefully more people start to wake up and smell the coffee!

Freakin awesome !

http://flickr.com/photos/greggoconnell/57215394/

Gives a whole new meaning to tree hugger!

EDIT: AHAHAHAHAH!!!! Someone posts this as a response to that pic on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevewall/44148944/

Well I got two responses from Yahoo as to why my attempt to use a Three Days Grace embeded thing wouldn’t work. However I tried a different video below and that was functional so I’ll try a third and see what happens….

Create some kind of an MTV type website but with actual music videos from music.yahoo.com, not crappy reality TV shows about drunk worthless bastards , they make their money off ads or whatnot and I post crap I like, which as it turns out others like too… Not sure that I’m interested in money as a reason to do this more of an experiment. I currently am unable to play the clip linked above which is shady so if their service actually gets stable enough I may put more thought into this.

http://consumerist.com/374402/photo-dell-breaks-your-laptop-sends-replacement-full-of-pubes

LOL… where the hell did Dell offshore their tech support to? The Land of Pubelania? Love it!! I remember the first Dell I bought was great and the reason I bought it was because of their “Award Winning Tech Support” that they actualy used to have. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy to know that they had my back just in case their product went to bad. After that laptop got too old to use I called their tech support to see if I could upgrade it or somehow squeeze more life out of it… that was an experience … lol… So after dealing with some douche bag I couldn’t understand that was about as courteous as sand paper for like a half hour and being on hold for 3 I gave up, went to Best Buy ( also evil ) and bought an HP ( it actually still runs 3 yrs later, unlike the D(h)ell I had which had the power adapter die, CD drive, memory, and so on ).

I now have a MacBook Pro, which I love, although I yet have to interact with Apple tech support for that, my MacBook ( not pro, yes I own a lot of machines ) was well taken care of when the battery died though. No I’m not a fanboy, I actually develop .NET applications ( bitchin IDE, Microsoft got that right, all the 2008 stuff coming out is nipply ) , the magic that is VMWare allows me to split all the creative foo foo web shiz I have to do in one space and write the code on my virtual machine in the other…. just gotta buy a beefed box…

Maybe this guy is full of it and he put his own pubes in the keyboard but that’s a pretty wild story to make up! Regardless they shouldn’t send out a laptop full of scratches and junk, after their tech fried his other machine. I wouldn’t be writing about this if they would have just sent him a decent replacement, sans pubes/scratches/crums in keyboard. Funny thing is I wanted a new server to mess around with and was looking at a new PowerEdge… not anymore! I’ll build the stupid thing myself, that way if I find strange hairs in it, I know they’re my own !!!

Ok so I found this on Digg.com::

http://www.ploomy.com/2008/02/27/gym-etiquette-do-you-make-these-mistakes/

The guy goes over a few things that will keep folks at the gym from thinking of you as “that guy”… I think he forgot a few folks::

1) The whistler
( seriously … its not a concert )

2) The breather
( It’s great to get a few deep breaths in, but if I can hear you from 20yds away… come on )

3) The grunter
( You’re really struggling to get that last rep out, but try not to make it a regular occurence with EVERY rep. )

4) The talker
( I don’t give a shit about your kids sports career !! You need me to show you how to properly deadlift? Squat? More than happy to, but leave it at that, Im not there to shoot the shit. )

5) The forgetfull
( Repeat after me 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 … etc to 100+ ) That is the order the dumbells go after you used them. I don’t want to go lookin for a 45 and find a fuggin 10lb weight there …

6) The stepper
( STOP PUTTING YOUR DAMN FEET ON THE BENCH TO TIE YOUR SHOES ASS***E!!! I PUT MY HEAD / BODY THERE !!! )

7) The spitter
( Seriously, if it is an indoor gym DON’T SPIT ON THE FLOOR !!! )

8 ) The dangler
( I understand a quick trip in the nude from the shower to your locker, although a towel would help end a bit of shrinking / embaresement. However if you are sitting there talking to people in the buff as though nothing was … different, theres something wrong. Seriously cover up the roman helmet. )

9) The shower talker
( I’m showering for f**ks sake, I don’t want to talk to you )

10) The looker
( No… I’m not staring at you… you’re in my line of sight you damn bimbo, don’t scowl at me. You should be so lucky to have this hotness actually stare at you … that’s right I’m conceited, deal … )

I’m sure I can come up with more but off the top of my head that’s all I got. I talk to everyone at the gym, have made many friends but it seems that whenever I go to the gym after work instead of at lunch I run into these fockers.

Ok so I am alway struggling with carb sources. When I bulk I eat more potatoes(all variants of) than Ireland as a whole… that can get old. I always want to eat brown rice but for some reason I am never able to cook it right and season it so it’s edible. Well… my wife found the solution. Instant brown rice + mixed veggies + sweet and sour sauce.

So take some instant rice and microwave it according to the directions. Take a package of frozen veggies and microwave those too. Drain and combine rice and veggies. Now add the sweet and sour sauce to the mixture. If done right it actually tastes great. A great protein source to go with said mixture is chicken. This sounds eerily like chinese food… and it is… except it’s not the crap you get when you go to chinese place. Most ( not all ) use cheap ingredients full of preservatives and all sorts of chemicals I can’t even pronounce the names of. I know there is a place up by me that is fairly authentic, but you won’t find cheap food there… alternatively there is also a cheap Oriental food place … and it makes me ill.

The only thing to watch out for is the sweet and sour sauce, make sure you’re not buying crap, and watch how much you glob on. Remember it’s just adding flavor the rice and veggies are the main ingredient not the sauce. If you use soy sauce watch the sodium, although arguably if you drink enough water you could eat salt as a meal. Anywho that’s all.