Mediathek for Mac OS X - I should check that out. After all, archiving is now the viewers' responsibility thanks to stupid private broadcasters (and politicians who have made themselves their errand boys).
bananenrepublik - 8.8.2009 - 5.11.2010
Links
rfc1437 | Content-type: matter-transport/sentient-life-form - Strong trends towards "throw away with archive and start from scratch" with slight options for "throw away, static archive and maybe shovel a part into the new platform if I find the time". The link shows where I'm currently playing around. Wordpress with a few small plugins and an nginx caching front.
Bitrot
I've been hit by this as well. My old blog software probably won't be able to survive unchanged. Old Python version (2.3), old (very old) Django (0.91), old PsycoPG driver (1.0), old PostgreSQL (7.4) and all of this on an old Debian (a wild mix of various versions with backports and custom programs and several failed upgrade attempts). Argh.
Well, I'm still torn between "rewrite" and "throw away". The latter has the charm that I won't have to carry all that junk around anymore. And honestly, nothing particularly interesting ever happened on my blog anyway. Maybe I can set up a wget mirror beforehand and dump the whole thing somewhere statically, as an archive.
Rewriting naturally has a lot of charm as well, but converting thousands of old entries (over 4000 articles and over 4000 links, plus almost 200 images) from 8 years (first entry on 3.11.2002) of blogging doesn't sound like fun. And presumably, thousands of the links are outdated and obsolete anyway.
No idea what I'll do, maybe I'll try to bring the Metaeule to the new box first, where I only have the problem that PHP4 is no longer in the Ubuntu repository for 10.04 and I therefore have to force the owl onto PHP5 (and that with code based on Wordpress 1.5 - I must really be crazy).
Or I try to install an ancient Debian with the packages used at the time - the box doesn't run in the front anyway, but behind other machines, so the hacking risk is rather low at this point. The Metaeule naturally also has a few thousand posts in the archive (only 8291, which is almost nothing), but if I can keep the old software running (some security patches have been applied over time, so it can actually continue to tinker along), I don't necessarily have to tackle it.
Somehow, the internet was also such a really bad idea ...
Twisted Orchestration Language in Launchpad - and someone has ported the Orc combinators to Python, using Twisted. However, I personally find Twisted rather disgusting to program, but if you like ...
Kilim - stumbled upon this while browsing the Orc documentation, a microthread library for Java.
Orc Language - haven't read anything about it yet, but it looks quite interesting. The core is Cor, a functional language without side effects, and Orc, which is built on top of it, is used for orchestrating services in distributed systems. The whole thing in a quite appealing, compact syntax on the JVM. One could certainly take a look at it as an alternative to Scala and Clojure, Java is integrated as an external service, which makes it quite easy to build distributed systems in which parts are implemented in Java. It reminds me in many points strongly of the ideas of Erlang (generally assume a distributed system, but still keep parts local for performance reasons), but I find the syntax much more pleasant. And with the JVM a much more widespread VM than Erlang's BEAM.
Interactive Fabrication » Beautiful Modeler - wow, that's incredibly cool.
Tornado Web Server Documentation - I really need to take a closer look at Tornado. For a side project, I've built a web service with web.py, which was shockingly simple (and dirty). Tornado is based on a very similar concept, throws Django-like templates into the mix and offers a good asynchronous server and support for asynchronous sockets and http requests right away. Could be a good alternative for web services that need few resources.
Fat Cat Software - iPhoto Library Manager - since I was stupid enough to make a photobook on a different Mac than usual (well, the usual one was always occupied), I'll probably have to take a look at this to see if I can merge my books onto a single machine. It's quite annoying that Apple doesn't offer any merge function in iPhoto. With a notebook and a desktop, you quickly end up with separate libraries. If Lightroom supported book printing, I would have been gone from iPhoto a long time ago. Everything is somehow not quite satisfying.
The V4Z80P – A Z80 Based Laptop @ Retroleum - here someone not only builds his own computer with his own system, it's also a laptop. Or something similar anyway.
Oracle cooks up free and premium JVMs - and Oracle begins to try to cash in on Java. If it works, Java could soon be in a similar situation as .NET: the free implementations lag behind the scope of the commercial ones. What this means for alternative languages on the JVM remains to be seen - but it will certainly cause some problems. However, the JVM world is large enough and equipped with enough alternatives, and Oracle is not Microsoft. Therefore, this could all just be a storm in a teacup and only affect the typical Oracle victims.
Kunsthalle Bielefeld: Der Westfälische Expressionismus - I think I actually have a reason to drive to Bielefeld.
Mediathek für Mac OS X - I need to check this out. After all, archiving is now the viewers' job thanks to stupid private broadcasters (and politicians who have made themselves their errand boys).
Panasonic DMC-GF2 Preview: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review - I hate you, Panasonic. Now I want the cute little GF2+14mm kit. Menno. First Apple with the MacBook Air and now Panasonic, everyone just wants my money.
Eventlet Networking Library - I need to take a closer look at this, the monkey-patching of standard libraries to make them trivial to use in an asynchronous environment looks very interesting.
Immateriblog.de - Matthias Spielkamp über Immaterialgüter in der digitalen Welt - and against the nonsensical Verdi paper on copyright and the net. Because at Verdi, there are once again blockheads who are mentally stuck in the last century. And that a union adopts the argumentation of company bosses, whose only business model seems to be moral blackmail, is absolutely embarrassing in my opinion.
Lastschriftzahlung: Easycash sammels data about good and bad customers - Golem.de - of course purchasing behavior related to account numbers, that's not personal data ... how stupid do companies like this think we are? And especially brazen: we as customers have no influence on this, it just goes past us.
Schwarz-Gelb agrees on longer nuclear power plant operating times - the stupid talk and back-patting of the bought and turned proletarians disgusts me the most.
Due to the boom: Business association wants to shorten vacation - taz.de - Summer slump pusher.
Dangers on the Net: Criminal investigators demand reset button for the Internet - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - Netzworld - somehow they should stop reading bad thrillers and believing every nonsense printed in the Blödzeitung, these "naysayers" ...
Innovation looks different: Rechristianization - taz.de - Jauch instead of Will? And for this crap I pay fees? Anne Will was finally someone with a profile at ARD, who could even motivate a TV muffin like me to turn on the TV.
In the eye of the law — Der Freitag - yeah, yeah, the state would never create unauthorized data collections, the state simply legalizes the nonsense it produces.
Köhler resignation: Disbelief and regret - it's typical of him to resign because he is offended by the public reaction to his statements, and not because his public statement was at least grossly misleading or simply off the mark.
Federal Court of Justice: Green light for software patents - shit. Then we can probably soon bury the German software SMEs. Innovation has never come from the corners of the big stables, but they are the ones who are most likely to push through the patent procedures for their half-baked and only reheated broth. And the patent office will then drown and no longer keep up with the flood, just like in the USA - which will then again harm the actually innovative companies because their - legitimate - patent applications will take even longer.
AKW-Laufzeiten sollen ohne Bundesrat verlängert werden - wasn't that the Bundesgrüßaugust who was outraged just recently that the Constitutional Court is constantly being called upon? Did he really mean that nonsense seriously?
Koch insists on cuts in the education sector - quite amusing, first the states demand more independence in education policy and then it's too expensive for them. Will someone ever tell the Union clowns that the NRW-CDU has particularly failed in education policy in the last election?
Köhler criticizes the litigiousness of German politicians - has the Federal August ever noticed how often such lawsuits have been successful recently? How does this fit with the alleged constitutional conformity that he attributes to majority decisions? The fact is that some of the biggest active enemies of the constitution are currently sitting in the Bundestag. To see this, one only has to read the reasons given by the Federal Constitutional Court in some of its recent decisions.
Bishop Walter Mixa: Mixa suspected of sexual abuse - were the biggest critics of the elephants once elephants themselves?
CDU comes under pressure due to "voter initiative" - oh those lovely "independent" voter initiatives that keep popping up. Or the completely "independent" initiatives against our social system - always very amusing, always very deceitful. It would be nice if this were appropriately acknowledged in the election in NRW - with a drastic loss of votes for the Union. If the other parties don't mess up too badly now, they should be able to exploit this for the election campaign. However, if I look at the clowns of the NRW SPD, I have my doubts whether they can pull something off ...
Federal Environment Agency demands car toll | tagesschau.de - wouldn't it be nice if the media reported correctly, or? In WDR (by the way, one of the ARD affiliated broadcasting stations) the head of the authority had to point out several times in the interview that he and his authority by no means demand anything, but only considered how such a toll - if it were to come - should be designed in a meaningful way. It was not about "toll or not", but rather about "if toll, then how?". And in doing so, an annual vignette or similar flat-rate models were deemed nonsense and only a toll variable according to actual use with recording of the use would be sensible. And the topic of data protection was also addressed and the problems that arise from it. The basic problem is that the revenues from motor vehicle-related taxes and fees only cover part of the costs for federal roads and highways, around 46 billion euros are borne by the general public. And then a facility responsible for environmental issues thinks about how a regulation with a toll could look and how this could be used to distribute road use and cost coverage more fairly and perhaps also to get a bonus for environmental pollution. But normal procedures are not causes for excitement - which is why WDR also stirred up drivers against a previously unpublished study (and by no means a demand) in the morning. That's quality journalism in Germany.
Bundestag: Arguments or Transparencies? - Members of parliament who protest against military operations by the Bundeswehr are excluded from the debate. A federal foreign minister who disparages Hartz IV recipients can, despite broad protests from all parties in the Bundestag, continue to repeat his nonsense. And we call the whole thing democracy.
Protests against G8: Whistling concert for Ludwig Spaenle - "While students do have the right to freedom of expression and demonstration, this should happen during non-teaching hours." - exactly, protest where no one cares and no one notices. That's how politicians imagine democracy.
Court: E-mail cease and desist letters are admissible - every time a post starts with "The Hamburg Regional Court," I already know there's nonsense again from the technically most incompetent authority among the regional courts. How good that there are still higher instances that don't fall for such nonsense quite as often. The cease and desist lawyers will certainly be pleased that they will soon only need to write to outdated email addresses or wherever - it doesn't matter, it's delivered anyway ...
Minimum Wage Ruling: Postal Service Provider PIN Wants to Lower Wages | tagesschau.de - great how the entrepreneurs immediately reach into the pockets of their already poorly paid employees. Somehow, the new swimming pool has to be paid for. Tariff-secured 6.50 in the East and 7.50 in the West? That's not security, that's an insult. For such an hourly rate, the entrepreneur assholes wouldn't even say good morning. So much for the social responsibility of entrepreneurs - the next time Merkel talks about it, remind her how willingly employees are ripped off by these supposedly social employers.
Mainz: Brüderle no longer a state party congress delegate - funny, the FDP. Accidentally not electing a federal minister as a state delegate anymore. Oops, and he's gone. I believe something like this can really only happen to the FDP.
Have you seen the old men | Spreeblick - Worth reading on how our society and politics deal with poverty.
Censorship in the name of youth protection: Statement on the Interstate Treaty on Youth Media Protection - Working Group against Internet Blocking and Censorship (AK Zensur) - and once again, politics is turning the screw and assuming that well-meant equals well-done. What is in the pipeline would be a found feeding ground for informers and warning lawyers, but would have nothing to do with youth protection at all.
All nuclear power plants are apparently supposed to stay online for now - and the haggling and lying continues. Because, the energy monopolists with their billion-dollar profits must be given even more money - and under no circumstances can they be burdened with the decommissioning of reactors built at the taxpayers' expense, because then they would actually have to invest some of their own money for the first time! Where would we end up!
annalist - "We will block" - "On the 'freedom of opinion' of the Nazis: I do not see an ideology that not only disregards human rights but openly contradicts them as an 'opinion' that is protected by human rights. Nazi ideology is not an opinion but a crime." - but our legal state sees it differently, of course, and that's why the party headquarters of the Left in Saxony are searched and deputies and minor poster hangers are arrested. Because, it's clear, of course, that ideologies that dehumanize people must naturally be tolerated, but the expression of opinion against such brown filth is naturally not covered by the constitution. After all, they are the really bad left-wing extremists!
CDU also received a donation from the hotel industry - and it's immediately clear why hotels don't even think about passing on the lower taxes to customers, not even in part: all those donations have to be refinanced first!
German publishers take action against Google - when I read something about "our elaborately produced quality content" from a BDZV spokesperson, I really don't know whether to laugh or cry. How many of the Wikipedia plagiarists and DPA reprint publishers still produce original content at all? Not to mention effort - slapped together and scribbled down would be more accurate. With Springer's market dominance, not much press with self-produced content remains (Blöd may have a lot of self-grown content, but that probably falls less under quality content and I believe the effort is also limited there - the lies are original in the rarest cases)
Criticism of Private Health Insurance Manager's Appointment to Ministry | tagesschau.de - you can only sit there shaking your head and hope not to get whiplash from it ...
Defective security chips: 30 million bank cards affected by the 2010 error - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - Netzwelt - great, because of the idiots, EC cards and credit cards in ATMs suddenly have problems. And because of the stupid switch of most banks to V-Pay instead of Maestro, withdrawing money abroad (I'll be in Russia again soon) with the EC card is not possible anymore, because for these Visa idiots Europe ends at the borders of the EU and the banks only care about their own profit margins and not about customer comfort. What's the point of having an EC card with which you can withdraw money from 9.5 million ATMs worldwide without problems? Completely overrated. And because I now also need a new credit card due to ATM compatibility, it will probably also be from a defective batch and then I'll be in Russia in March and can see how I get money. And for all the nonsense that the pack spouts, you also pay fees.
Questions and Answers about the Bank Card Fiasco - oh, great, they're switching back to the magnetic stripe. Brilliant idea, since it's no longer fully described on the V-Pay EC cards, which is why the cards only work in ATMs that use the chip. Super idea - so I potentially go from the frying pan into the fire, just because these stupid bankers want to save a few cents.
Data protectionists criticize "electronic income verification" - and yet another nonsensical data collection action that will only lead to other authorities wanting these data for completely different purposes. What does the state have to do with whether an employee has received warnings or shows "misconduct" (which is then, after all, a matter of interpretation by the employer)? What does the state have to do with whether and how long an employee has gone on strike? The fact that data pools are not secured against misuse should be well known by now. And that any data collection arouses the hunger of other authorities, as well.
Bundestagspräsident missfällt Regierungskurs - hey, CDU politicians usually only become loudly and clearly critical when they no longer play a political role (see Geisler)? What has gotten into Lammert?
Culture Minister criticizes ARD smartphone apps - So, Mr. Naumann thinks that the public broadcaster has the task of supporting the stupid strategy of the Springer publishing house? What a ridiculous idea is that? We pay fees for the public broadcaster and, as fee payers, we certainly have an interest in receiving the broadcaster we finance on devices we use. Whether the Springer nonsense will be a success or not is completely irrelevant to me. But it has always been like this: on the one hand, complaining about subsidies and how terrible everything is, and on the other hand, more or less covertly supporting one's own friends diligently. You probably have to give something back to those who pay you the bribes from time to time? But why a culture minister would throw himself into the breach for something as uncultured as the Springer press ...
Government keeps raising unemployment insurance contributions open - not that I expected anything different, but the new government is damn quick with their election lies. Last time, it took them a few months longer before their election promises were reduced to absurdity.
Government smartphones run on Windows Mobile - because, as is well known, it is so super secure and there are no backdoors in the system. After all, the entire system can be easily subjected to an audit. Ooops. Oh, and particularly cute is the decision for HTC Windows Mobile smartphones, after HTC itself announced that in the future, the new devices will primarily be released with Droid (which could realistically be subjected to an audit). Then HTC can sell its remaining inventory to the government at a high price.
2060, one in three will be 65 or older - I don't really believe in predictions with a 50-year timeframe. Look back 50 years and consider whether any statistician could have made even minimally relevant statements about our current time based on the situation back then. 50-year forecasts are merely trend extrapolations that can serve at best as statistical self-satisfaction.
Steinbach accused Westerwelle of self-promotion - well, maybe it's true that Westerwelle wants to profile himself (certainly it is so, he is after all a very new Foreign Minister and has to get a profile that says more than "can't speak English"). But in this case, he is simply right. Because a Mrs. Steinbach, who has spoken out against the recognition of the Polish state territory, would be completely the wrong signal as a figurehead of a displaced persons center. Someone so outdated is completely out of place there. We are not talking about a vote in the 50s or something, where the mood was even more heated - we are talking about a vote in 1991 ...
Eva Redselig - cute.
Thousands of Blue Letters from the Youth Welfare Office - "Doctors and youth welfare offices in NRW are now checking which children do not attend voluntary check-ups. Several thousand reminder letters have already been sent. Those who do not respond may expect a visit from the youth welfare office." - sounds all incredibly voluntary.
Living with the Hopeless: Wallraff's New Undercover Mission - I just think the guy is great. Sure, sometimes polemical - but the others do the same. And unlike some quiet ones, he names names.
Takeover of the SPD leadership was a mistake - maybe so, but Münte's other conclusions are bullshit. Be proud of 11 years of government debacle with unprecedented dismantling of the social system? As a Social Democrat? Really? And of course, the blame is once again only on the other (the evil Oskar!), and in no way on the aimlessness and lack of program of an SPD that presents itself as a "better Union". Hey, Münte, understand finally: if the only program of the SPD consists of imitating the CDU, people will certainly rather vote for those who still write social democratic topics on their program - or simply the Union or its offshoots, because they can do corruption better.
Lawyer Günther convicted of aiding and abetting fraud - is this the beginning of the end for extortionate cease-and-desist letters?
Federal Environment Agency warns about RFID tags in trash - when you think about the resources wasted on this crap, it really makes you sick. Copper is getting more expensive due to wasteful use, and we have nothing better to do than to blow it on trash like RFID tags ...
No tethering for first-generation iPhone customers - you can also put it more simply: T-Mobile, a bunch of assholes. Someday, T-Mobile will be as customer-unfriendly as airlines. And that's saying something. My iPhone contract has no exclusion clause regarding tethering - but T-Mobile wants to unilaterally redefine my contract.
Termination at abgeordnetenwatch.de due to NPD - "Democracy is difficult, let's go shopping". Sorry, I am the last person to find the brown filth acceptable in any way, but unfortunately it is still a permitted party. But you may call them Nazis. So please do that, instead of pissing off and retreating into your shell. If the smarter one always gives in, the world will eventually be ruled by idiots.
Atomkraft- Beweise für Manipulation in Sachen Gorleben? - yeah, yeah, but of course everything is fine in Gorleben and there is no danger and anyway, why are we all getting so worked up. It's just all corrupt and embellished and lied about. Business as usual.
Post cuts 560 jobs due to Arcandor insolvency - this clearly shows that something is seriously wrong in our economic world. Companies and CEOs claim entrepreneurial risk for themselves - but in reality, it is now 100% borne by the employees. A large company like the Post loses a major customer and immediately jobs are cut as a result. Instead of finding new deployment opportunities and new customers for the Post, the risk of contract negotiations between Arcandor and Post is shifted onto the employees. However, they do not receive a single cent more on their paycheck for the risk they bear. What exactly do people like ex-Post CEO Zumwinkel use to justify their high salaries? This certainly has nothing to do with a social market economy.
Chief of the Chancellor's Office demands "traffic rules on the Internet" - given the ongoing cease and desist madness on the Internet and the censorship efforts that have been going on for years (yes, not just since Zensursula, this has been happening in NRW for much longer), it is really hard for me to understand how the prolethicians in Berlin can still seriously claim that the Internet is "free" or even a "lawless space".
taz cancels Athletics World Championships - the modern German triathlon: surveillance, data collection, blocking.