From 0e4aa533539f973b495c9c7eb9fbaba6bc8b298a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tyler Hallada Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 23:21:28 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Import old blog posts --- _posts/2013-04-02-blog-or-not-blog.md | 36 +++++ .../2013-04-09-visualizing-laundry-usage.md | 87 ++++++++++ _posts/2013-04-18-how-download-rtmp-video.md | 92 +++++++++++ _posts/2013-04-26-hackers.md | 122 ++++++++++++++ ...13-05-19-gmu-bookstore-homepage-concept.md | 67 ++++++++ _posts/2013-06-04-w3m-reddit.md | 90 +++++++++++ ...0-quick-command-line-search-search-pane.md | 149 ++++++++++++++++++ _posts/2013-08-24-on-chromebooks.md | 47 ++++++ ...-10-03-publishing-draft-docs-to-my-blog.md | 47 ++++++ _posts/2014-04-24-welcome-to-jekyll.markdown | 24 --- 10 files changed, 737 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-) create mode 100644 _posts/2013-04-02-blog-or-not-blog.md create mode 100644 _posts/2013-04-09-visualizing-laundry-usage.md create mode 100644 _posts/2013-04-18-how-download-rtmp-video.md create mode 100644 _posts/2013-04-26-hackers.md create mode 100644 _posts/2013-05-19-gmu-bookstore-homepage-concept.md create mode 100644 _posts/2013-06-04-w3m-reddit.md create mode 100644 _posts/2013-07-10-quick-command-line-search-search-pane.md create mode 100644 _posts/2013-08-24-on-chromebooks.md create mode 100644 _posts/2013-10-03-publishing-draft-docs-to-my-blog.md delete mode 100644 _posts/2014-04-24-welcome-to-jekyll.markdown diff --git a/_posts/2013-04-02-blog-or-not-blog.md b/_posts/2013-04-02-blog-or-not-blog.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8936a5c --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-04-02-blog-or-not-blog.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +--- +title: To Blog or Not to Blog +layout: post +--- + + +The original intention of this blog was to serve as a place where I could +showcase the programming work I have done and detail my process. However, as +you can tell, there hasn't been any posts since my first ["Hello, +World!"](/blog/hello-world/) post. Sure, I've been working on projects, but I +just haven't gotten to the point in any of those projects where I felt like I +could blog in detail about it. + +Then I watched this great talk that [Brian +Jones](http://pyvideo.org/speaker/352/brian-k-jones) gave at +[PyCon](http://pycon.org) that my friend, [Daniel Bond](http://dbond.cc/), +pointed out to me: + +
+ +One point that he makes that really resonates with me is how I should write +even if I feel like I don't know what I'm talking about. The reluctance to show +my inexperience is essentially the reason this blog sat stale for so many +months after its inception. + +I have decided I will take Brian's words to heart, and start blogging just for +the sake of writing. Henceforth, I will no longer hesitate to chronicle my +journey through programming, writing, and any other quest which may take a hold +of me as I continue to improve and broaden my skills. I'll be wrong, I'll ask +questions, and I may frankly look like a blundering idiot at times; but, I only +ask that you just bear with me and understand that I'm new at all this still, +and I appreciate any constructive criticism that anyone has for me. + +Let's see how far I can go. diff --git a/_posts/2013-04-09-visualizing-laundry-usage.md b/_posts/2013-04-09-visualizing-laundry-usage.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8e8c657 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-04-09-visualizing-laundry-usage.md @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@ +--- +title: Visualizing Laundry Usage +layout: post +--- + +George Mason University uses a system called +[eSuds](http://www.usatech.com/esuds/) to control the laundry machine +transactions in the dorms. What makes eSuds really cool though, is that it +keeps track of the status of every machine and displays it on a +[website](http://gmu.esuds.net/) so students can check how full the machines +are before making the trek down to the laundry rooms. The system emails each +student when their laundry is finished as well. + +The only problem is that their user interface is pretty atrocious. I wrote up a +[usability analysis](https://gist.github.com/thallada/5351114) of the site for +my *SWE 205: Software Usability Analysis and Design* class, but most people +agree it's a pretty painful interface to use ([just see for +yourself](http://gmu.esuds.net/)). The thing is, most of the information that's +on the website could be reduced to a few charts. I'm a big fan of simplifying +data, so I thought: why not? + +I decided to create the visualizations with [pygal](http://pygal.org/), because +the charts it spits out are absolutely gorgeous and well... it's in python, +which made it easy for me to dive right in. I'll probably try out +[d3js](http://d3js.org/) for my next visualization project though, it looks a +whole lot more advanced. + +###Current laundry usage charts### + +I created an [app](/laundry) in [Django](https://www.djangoproject.com/) to +display current laundry machine usage charts for all of the laundry rooms on +George Mason's campus. All of the data is scraped from the eSuds site using +[Beautiful Soup](http://www.crummy.com/software/BeautifulSoup/) and updated +every time you refresh the page. + +
+ +The site will save which laundry room you select so when you come back you will +immediately see the chart for your laundry room. + +You can see the code for this on my +[GitHub](https://github.com/thallada/personalsite/) (look in the "laundry" +folder). + +The point was to make this as dead simple and easy to use as possible. Do you +think I succeeded? + +###Weekly laundry usage chart### + +Knowing the *current* laundry machine usage is nice for saving a wasted trip +down to the laundry room, but what if you wanted to plan ahead and do your +laundry when you know other people are less likely to do laundry? That's why I +recorded the laundry usage with a [cronjob](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron) +every 15 minutes for an entire week: to get an idea of when there is a high +probability of open machines. + + + +This one is a little interactive. + +As you can see, the laundry usage jumps around all over the place very quickly. +This definitely provides evidence to some previous frustrations I've had when I +had checked eSuds, saw that most machines were open, and arrived in the laundry +room to suddenly find that no machines were open. + +**So when is the best time to do laundry?** + +After analyzing the data for a bit, I noticed that there still seemed to be +quite a bit of usage around midnight and 1 AM, which, I suppose, would be +expected of college students. However, after about 2 AM the laundry usage +consistently teeters off until about 10 AM. So I guess there's no way around +it; if you want to have the laundry room to yourself, you'll have to be the +early bird. + +Also, I should note that this was during the week of spring break. I'm +currently working on recording data over a few normal weeks and then compiling +it into one average week in order to see the patterns more clearly. I'll post +again once I've done that. + +This was a lot of fun and I expect to make more data visualizations in the +future. + +**Let me know what you think!** + +EDIT: Check out the [comments on +Reddit](http://www.reddit.com/r/gmu/comments/1c1ehg/i_dont_like_esuds/). diff --git a/_posts/2013-04-18-how-download-rtmp-video.md b/_posts/2013-04-18-how-download-rtmp-video.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5394422 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-04-18-how-download-rtmp-video.md @@ -0,0 +1,92 @@ +--- +title: How to Download a RTMP Video +layout: post +--- + +[RTMP or Real Time Messaging +Protocol](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Time_Messaging_Protocol) is a +protocol developed by Adobe to stream Flash videos. It's currently in use by +sites like the New York Times, ABC, NBC, Hulu, and so on. Since the video is +streamed to the user's Flash player (in their browser) bit-by-bit, the full +video file is never given to the user for them to keep. This is desirable to a +lot of media companies because then they can force you to watch through ads to +see their content and can charge you to download the full video. + +However, [RTMPDump](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu/), an open-source tool +designed to intercept RTMP streams, can download the full video. + +Despite numerous “How to use RTMPDump” tutorials and forum posts coming up +with a brief Google search, I've found a large portion of them are either +completely incorrect or are far too complicated since they are not using the +full toolkit that RTMPDump provides. Since it took me so long to find a decent +procedure for downloading a RTMP video, I thought it would be worth sharing +here. + +Since this is questionably legal, make sure you understand any Terms of +Services you accepted or laws in your locality regarding this before you follow +the steps below ;). + +###Have Linux### Most of these instructions will assume you have Ubuntu, but +most distributions will work. + +While RTMPDump works on a variety of operating systems, I've only researched +how to do this on Linux. Feel free to comment if you know how to do this in +Windows or OSX. + +###Install RTMPDump### This open source goodness can be found at +[http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu/](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu/) or you can just +intall it using your Linux distro's package manager. For Ubuntu, that would be +typing the following into your terminal: + + sudo apt-get install rtmpdump + +###Redirect ALL the RTMP!### Now we need to configure your firewall to redirect +all RTMP traffic to a local port on your computer (Note: this will screw up any +RTMP streaming video you try to watch on your computer, so make sure you run +the undo command in one of the later steps to return things to normal). Type +the following into your terminal, there should be no output from the command: + + sudo iptables -t nat -A OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 1935 -j REDIRECT + +###Run rtmpsrv### When you install `rtmpdump`, a program called `rtmpsrv` +should have been bundled with it and installed as well. We will want to run +this now by entering the following command in a terminal: + + rtmpsrv + +This should output something that looks like this: + + RTMP Server v2.4 (c) 2010 Andrej Stepanchuk, Howard Chu; license: GPL + + Streaming on rtmp://0.0.0.0:1935 + +###Feed rtmpsrv the Precious Video### Now go to your browser and open/refresh +the page with the desired video. Try playing the video. If nothing happens and +it just continues to give you a black screen, then you're on the right track: +rtmpsrv has intercepted the video. + +If you look back at the terminal that's running rtmpsrv you should see that +some text was outputted. There is one line in this printout that we need; it +should be a command that starts with `rtmpdump`. Copy that entire command, we +will need it later. + +You can CTRL+C out of rtmpsrv now that we have what we need. + +###Undo the Redirection### You must undo the iptables redirection command we +performed earlier before you can do anything else, so run this in your +terminal: + + sudo iptables -t nat -D OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 1935 -j REDIRECT + +###Finally, Download the Precious Video### Now paste that command you copied +from the rtmpsrv output in the step before last into your terminal prompt and +hit enter. You should now see a torrent of `INFO` printout along with a +percentage as the video is being downloaded. + +###Feast Eyes on Precious Video### Once downloaded, the video file, which has a +`flv` extension and was named by the `-o` parameter in the command you copied +and pasted, should be in your current directory (`ls | grep flv` can find it as +well). Any video player should be able to play it, but vlc is a nice video +player for Ubuntu. + +You're welcome. diff --git a/_posts/2013-04-26-hackers.md b/_posts/2013-04-26-hackers.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..468c505 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-04-26-hackers.md @@ -0,0 +1,122 @@ +--- +title: Hackers +layout: post +--- + +*The following is a non-fiction essay I wrote for my* ENGH 396: Intro to +Creative Writing *class. I decided to write about my experience with +discovering and getting involved with the eccentric community of hackers that I +met since the past two internships I've had at [Valti](https:/www.valti.com/) +and [Humbug](https://humbughq.com/) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Seeing as it +encapsulated what I've learned culturally since then, I decided to post it here +as well.* + +Hackers -- not your malicious meddling Hollywood-style speed-typists -- but the +type who sees a toaster and turns it into a computer capable of etching emails +into the crispy surface of toast. Those who would create a programming language +consisting exclusively of expletives and then use it to filter out offensive +words from websites just for the irony. They would never steal a password or +cause any harm -- unless, perhaps, you gave them a powerful rocket and a bad +idea. Their curiosity leaves them with a burning desire to break all +assumptions and to answer "what if" questions as if they were a challenge to +their very existence. + +My personal foray within the realm of hackers began with Boston. I had snagged +an internship with a startup called Valti started by a couple of Harvard +students who wanted to create an online platform that enabled college students +to exchange dresses. Startup businesses are dime a dozen in the hacker culture. +With so many wild ideas going around, every once in a while a profitable one +comes by. Hackers despise cubicles and big corporations, so starting their own +company on their own rules is the usual course of action. + +While Harvard's snobby atmosphere put me off, MIT seemed to call out to the +hacker within me. Now, MIT is arguably the birthplace of the hacker, so when I +say that I was thrown into the thick of the hacker culture all at once, it is +no over-exaggeration. This is the place where people would regularly discuss +mathematical and computer science theories over a casual lunch with each other. +Computer Science is the de facto "undecided" major at MIT. You would be +hard-pressed to find a student who didn’t know their way around a Linux +terminal. Now imagine the computer club of such a university. + +The Student Information Processing Board, or SIPB for short, was at least one +such computer club of MIT that I began to get involved with. This club, which +was established in the 60s, packaged their own operating system and distributed +computing environment called Project Athena that was good enough that the +university installed it on all of their computers. The members were laughably +out of my league in terms of computer science experience; I would find myself +regularly searching Wikipedia for every other word they would mention while in +a heated discussion concerning some technology. But, what surprised me the most +was not the depth of their knowledge, but the breadth; each of them seemed to +have an unlimited capacity for various trivial tidbits of knowledge from the +etymology of words to the physics of the universe. Being around that kind of +intelligence was fascinating, while at the same time frustrating, since it was +often hard to follow. + +Whenever I wasn't building the website for Valti, I was out in the city going +to various meetups to meet people and learn about new upcoming technologies. +This was a totally new world for me. Hackers didn't exist in high school, they +were just those weird nerds in the computer classes. And, even at George Mason, +there still wasn't the same atmosphere of ingenuity as in Boston that gave me +the motivation to want to change the world. I had the feeling most CS students +at Mason were only there for the degree just so they could go work at some +boring government contractor in DC when they graduated. After seeing the hacker +culture in Boston, that type of job seemed like death to me. + +Hackers, a world-wide amorphous group of people who enjoy discussing (and +arguing) various topics, naturally congregate among sites like Slashdot, +Reddit, and Hacker News (often abbreviated to HN -- hackers, much like the +military, are fond of their abbreviations) to get quick syndicated news and to +have large in-depth discussions in the comments. Locally, there are groups that +meet to discuss certain technologies or set up spaces where hackers can easily +build prototypes (usually referred to as "hackerspaces"). Unsurprisingly, the +hubs for these local communities are usually centered around cities that are +hosts to major computer science universities: San Fransisco, Boston, New York, +etc. + +Their awareness of the languages they use and their fondness of breaking beyond +the norm lends hackers a great affinity to the game of word play, and thus they +have created their own lexicon of slang that borrows much from the jargon of +computer science. "Foobar," "grok," "cruft," "distro," "kluge," "phreaking," +the words that are common knowledge among those already within the society put +a barrier in front of those like me looking to understand the culture. + +Many of the students I met at MIT use a chat protocol called Zephyr as cross +between email and instant messaging to communicate with each other. Zephyr was +created in the 80’s as one of the first instant-messaging systems (the other, +more popular protocol being IRC), and, because of the culture surrounding the +program, it is still widely used at the university. "Zephyrisms" have developed +over the years to aid in simplifying communication. For example, "==" is used +to indicate agreement and "++" is used by what would probably be the equivalent +to a "Like" on Facebook. Both can find their parallels as symbols used in many +programming languages, the former for equality and the later for incrementing +an integer by one. Other more obscure zephyrisms include "starking," or +reviving an old thread of conversation, "prnf" which stands for "Pseudo-Random +Neuron Firings", and "i, i" which would mean "I have no point here, I just like +saying" and would usually prefix some snarky comment in reply to an otherwise +serious thread of conversation (some people would just omit the "i, i" and put +quotes around said snarky comment instead). Even though these zephyrisms seemed +completely arbitrary to me when I first encountered them, after a while of use +they came to me naturally, and I would even accidentally use them outside +Zephyr to the confusion of my friends. It was easy to see how such conventions +of speech developed originally. + +The Free Software Foundation (FSF), which advocates for free, open-source, +non-proprietary software (free as in "free speech," not "free beer"), is based +in Boston and is one of the focal points of the hacker culture. The president, +Richard Stallman (who is often referred to as RMS), a big, heavily bearded +fellow, is particularly legendary in the community. Being nearly militant about +the goals of FSF, he refuses to use software that contains any proprietary code +at all: no cellphone, only uses a laptop developed completely open-source, +doesn’t use a browser to view the internet, and even refuses to use a key card, +which makes it difficult for him to get into his office at MIT. Though often +painfully stubborn about his ideas, he is the ultimate activist for hackers: +making sure the government and big corporations do not misuse people's +information or kill off the hacker culture. + +While nowadays I like to call myself an aspiring hacker, I’m not so sure I +could ever match the intelligence and indestructible curiosity of those that I +met in Boston. Perhaps it is their unique culture of constantly questioning the +norm and striving for knowledge of the world around them that allows them to +transcend into true hackerdom. Either way, I now know never to tell a hacker +that something is impossible, because they will surely find a way to prove me +wrong. diff --git a/_posts/2013-05-19-gmu-bookstore-homepage-concept.md b/_posts/2013-05-19-gmu-bookstore-homepage-concept.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1630e91 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-05-19-gmu-bookstore-homepage-concept.md @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +--- +title: GMU Bookstore Homepage Concept and Staw Dispensers +layout: post +--- + +I have finally finished my second year of college. Now that finals are over, I +can post about some of the things I have been working on. First, a front-end I +made with a group in my [*SWE 205 : Software Usability Analysis and +Design*](http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~offutt/classes/205/) class. The assignment was +to create a homepage for the University's bookstore website, applying all of the +usability principles we had learned over the semester. I ended up working on it +when I wanted to procrastinate on assignments in my other classes, so I put +quite a bit of effort into it. + +See it here: [swe205.hallada.net](http://swe205.hallada.net) +
+ + + +
+
+ +You can see all the code for it [up on my +GitHub](https://github.com/thallada/gmu-bookstore-concept). + +Our group researched other university bookstore websites to get some ideas and +we liked the layout of [Virginia Tech's](http://www.bookstore.vt.edu/) (but +hated the colors). We liked how everything needed was presented immediately +upfront in a Windows 8 metro-esque grid. + +Since the main feature of the site was a grid and I was already familiar with it +I used [Twitter Bootstrap](http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/) to help with the +CSS. Bootstrap also helped make the design responsive and look nice on mobile +phones (try resizing your window to see it in action). I also used the +[Bootstrap modal](http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/javascript.html#modals) for +the "Contact Us" form which is activated by the link in the footer of the page. +However, I had to modify it quite a bit to make sure it was fully usable and +would prompt the user before they closed out of the modal with text entered. + +Overall, this was a fun project to end off a very fun and interesting course. I +highly recommend any one at GMU to take this course with Prof. Offutt even if +they don't plan on being web designers. I have come away from the class with not +only the principles for making usable web interfaces but also a habit of +analyzing nearly any interface in the real-world. + +For example, I noticed the other day while getting food in the [Johnson +Center](http://jcweb.gmu.edu/) that they had installed a [new paper-less straw +dispenser](http://i.imgur.com/s9olzcg.jpg). When I first encountered it, I +didn't know how to operate it (and at the time there was no sign to tell me +how). Since there seemed to be a chute at the bottom of the contraption, I +figured there must be a way to get a straw to drop down into it, but the +dispenser didn't give any hints to how to do that. The knobs on the side had +looked purely decorative to me. Giving up, I opened the top of the dispenser and +grabed a straw from the pile of them, cursing the whole thing for it's bad +usability. + +The next day I came by for food again, and I noticed that it now had a sign +instructing everyone to not do exactly what I had done the other day: "Do Not +Open. Just turn knob". More people than just I must have been perplexed by this +dispenser. As Offutt had said countless times in class before: if a interface +requires a manual then it has failed. + +It's the little things, like the straw dispensers that no one knows how to use, +that you begin to notice after taking SWE 205. It's both a blessing and curse. +Bad interfaces drive me insane, and to my frustration I notice them everywhere +now. But, at least know the most basic things to avoid in the interfaces I +design now. diff --git a/_posts/2013-06-04-w3m-reddit.md b/_posts/2013-06-04-w3m-reddit.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b75705 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-06-04-w3m-reddit.md @@ -0,0 +1,90 @@ +--- +title: w3m-reddit +layout: post +--- + +I've been moving a lot of my daily tasks to the command-line lately, and that +includes redditing. I probably spend far too much time on +[reddit](http://reddit.com) as it is, but I really wanted to find an efficient +way to view reddit through the command-line. [w3m](http://w3m.sourceforge.net/) +could render reddit okay, but I couldn't view my personal front-page because +that required me to login to my profile. + +The solution was [cortex](http://cortex.glacicle.org/), a CLI app for viewing +reddit. + +However, I kind of got tired of viewing reddit through w3m, the header alone is +a few pages long to scroll through, and the CSS for the comments doesn't load so +there isn't any sense of threading. But, then I discovered reddit's mobile +website: [http://m.reddit.com](http://m.reddit.com), and it looks absolutely +beautiful in w3m. In fact, I think I prefer it to the normal website in any +modern browser; there are no distractions, just pure content. + +m.reddit.com rendered in w3m + +In order to get cortex to open the mobile version of reddit, I made a bash +script wrapper around w3m that takes urls and replaces `"http://reddit.com"` and +`"http://www.reddit.com"` with `"http://m.reddit.com"` before passing them to +w3m (as well as fixing a double forward slash error in the comment uri cortex +outputs that desktop reddit accepts but mobile reddit 404s on). The script: + + #!/bin/bash + + args=() + until [ -z "$1" ]; do + case "$1" in + -t|--tmux) t=1; shift ;; + --) shift ; break ;; + -*) echo "invalid option $1" 1>&2 ; shift ;; # or, error and exit 1 just like getopt does + *) args+=("$1") ; shift ;; + esac + done + + args+=("$@") + for arg in "${args[@]}" ; do + # Switch to mobile reddit + url=${arg/http:\/\/reddit.com/http:\/\/m.reddit.com} + url=${url/http:\/\/www.reddit.com/http:\/\/m.reddit.com} + # Fix double backslash error in comment uri for mobile reddit + url=${url/\/\/comments/\/comments} + if [[ $t == "1" ]]; then + tmux new-window 'w3m "'${url}'"' + else + w3m "${url}" + fi + done + +Since I regurally use [Tmux](http://tmux.sourceforge.net/) (with +[Byobu](http://byobu.co/)), I also added an optional `-t`/`--tmux` switch that +will open w3m in a temporary new tmux window that will close when w3m is closed. + +I saved the script as `w3m-reddit` and made it an executable command. In Ubuntu +that's done with the following commands: + + $ sudo mv w3m-reddit /usr/bin/ + $ sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/w3m-reddit + +Now cortex needs to be configured to use `w3m-reddit`, and that's done by +setting `browser-command` in the cortex config at `~/.cortex/config` to +`w3m-reddit`: + + ## Command to invoke the webbrowser + ## If left empty will try to autodetect the system default browser + ##browser-command=firefox '{0}' + browser-command=w3m-reddit '{0}' + +The result is a distraction-free reddit experience right in the command-line +without having to edit cortex directly. I've found that I even prefer reddit +this way. Without image thumbnails (I need to explicitly select the image links +to view the image in w3m) I am more inclined to pay equal attention to every +post, not just mindlessly scrolling through meme-fests. Thus I'm more focused +and tend to not loose myself like I do in the infinite scrolling of [RES +reddit](http://redditenhancementsuite.com/) in a GUI browser. + +There are still some improvements I could make to the w3m-reddit script. Namely, +it should pass along any arguments to itself to w3m underneath. I'm still a +newby at bash though, and I couldn't figure out an easy way to do that without +scrapping the whole thing and starting over in Python instead. + +Stay tuned for more posts on how I view images and videos efficiently from the +command-line. diff --git a/_posts/2013-07-10-quick-command-line-search-search-pane.md b/_posts/2013-07-10-quick-command-line-search-search-pane.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9b1e48d --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-07-10-quick-command-line-search-search-pane.md @@ -0,0 +1,149 @@ +--- +title: "Quick Command-line Search: search-pane" +layout: post +--- + +It's been a while since I last wrote, but I've still been busy. I began my +research position at the [MIT Media Lab](http://media.mit.edu) working with +[Fluid Interfaces](http://fluid.media.mit.edu). It feels like I'm designing the +future; I really couldn't ask for a better job right now. But, more on that +later. + +I've still been continuously refining my workspace, and how I use my laptop. As +I mentioned in my [last blog post](/blog/w3m-reddit), I've been moving more and more towards the +command-line for day-to-day operations because of it's unparalleled level of +customizability and compatibility with other programs. There's nothing more +powerful than being able to whip up a small python or bash script that interacts +with a couple of other programs to achieve something instantly that optimizes my +work flow. + +I use the [Awesome](http://awesome.naquadah.org/) window manager, which works +great for tiling up terminal windows right up next to browser windows. However, +I also use [Byobu](http://byobu.co/) (which uses +[tmux](http://tmux.sourceforge.net) as a backend), practically a tiling window +manager for terminals. While working with a whole bunch of terminals, I've found +that I actually prefer using byobu panes over separate terminal windows under +awesome. + +I'm pretty sure I clock in somewhere at three to five Google searches a minute +when really focused on a programming task, especially when I'm working with +something I'm unfamiliar with. Historically, I've done this by switching tags in +awesome to my web browser and then searching in the Google Chrome omni-bar. It +required me to leave the context of my code and then flip back and forth between +code and browser if I needed to reference anything. + +My new-found love of w3m's compact nature led me to design the perfect search +program for my setup. I dubbed it the generic name: search-pane, and it does the +following: + +* Very light-weight interface for inputing a search query that is fed directly + to w3m in a Google search. +* Byobu/Tmux key bindings to open a new window for search that closes on quit. +* Byobu/Tmux bindings to open in a quick one-off vertical or horizontal pane. +* Search history. Just like the bash shell, press up to cycle through past + searches. +* Global history. When a search is performed on one computer using search-pane, + the search is added not only to that computer's history, but the history of + any computer listed in the other-hosts config file. I'm often sshed into many + different machines, so this feature was a big plus for me. +* Vim keybindings to open up the search for even quicker access. + +This is how I got it setup (on any Ubuntu machine with sudo privileges): + +Save the following python file in `/usr/bin/` as `search-pane` (no extension): + + #!/usr/bin/python + from subprocess import call, check_output + from threading import Thread + import os + import sys + import readline + + home = os.path.expanduser("~") + histfile = os.path.join(home, ".search-pane/history") + + # load history + readline.read_history_file(histfile) + + os.system('cls' if os.name=='nt' else 'clear') # clear the terminal + + url = '' + query = '' + if len(sys.argv) > 1: + url = "http://google.com/search?q=" + '+'.join(sys.argv[1:]) # google url + query = ' '.join(sys.argv[1:]) + readline.add_history(query) # add query to history buffer + else: + try: + query = raw_input('Search: ') # get user's search + url = "http://google.com/search?q=" + '+'.join(query.split()) # google + except KeyboardInterrupt: + sys.exit(0) + + readline.write_history_file(histfile) # write search to history file + + def write_other_hosts(): + # write to history files on other registered hosts + with open(os.devnull, 'w') as FNULL: + with open(os.path.join(home, ".search-pane/other-hosts"), "r") as f: + for line in f: + line = line.strip().split() + host = line[0] + path = line[1] + # make sure we don't write to local file again + client_names = check_output(['hostname', '-A']).split() + if (host.split('@')[-1] not in client_names): + call(['ssh', host, 'echo', '"' + query + '"', '>>', path], + stderr=FNULL) + + # Spin off another thread for sshing so user doesn't have to wait for + # connection to complete before viewing w3m. + try: + Thread(target=write_other_hosts).start() + except Exception, errtxt: + print errtxt + + call(['w3m', url]) # pass url off to w3m + +Make the directory and file for search history: + + mkdir ~/.search-pane + touch ~/.search-pane/history + +Allow anyone to execute the python script (make it into a program): + + chmod a+x /usr/bin/search-pane + +To get quick access to the program from the command-line edit `~/.bashrc` to +add: + + alias s='search-pane' + +To add byobu key bindings edit `~/.byobu/keybindings.tmux` (or `/usr/share/byobu/keybindings/f-keys.tmux`): + + # thallada's keybindings: + bind-key Enter new-window -n "search" "search-pane" + bind-key - split-window -v -p 20 "search-pane" + bind-key = split-window -h -p 30 "search-pane" + +To add vim key bindings edit ~/.vimrc + + "Open google search in a tmux split beneath vim + map g :silent !tmux split-window -v -p 20 "search-pane" + +If you wish to add the functionality to other machines then follow the steps +above and, on every machine, add the other hosts and the paths to the +search-pane history files on each to the other-hosts file: + + vi ~/.search-pane/other-hosts + +The syntax is: + + user@host /path/to/history + +Host separated by path by a space. + +So far it's been really useful, and since it doesn't screw up my focus as much +I'm searching more. + +Also, wow python is a lot easier than bash for these sorts of things... diff --git a/_posts/2013-08-24-on-chromebooks.md b/_posts/2013-08-24-on-chromebooks.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9ebe087 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-08-24-on-chromebooks.md @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +--- +title: On Chromebooks +layout: post +--- + +I like to think that if only I find The Perfect Text Editor I will somehow +write better and more often. Obviously this is only a tactic I use to delay +actually writing anything, but I did come across something that might actually +help. [Draft](https://draftin.com) is a writing app being developed by one guy, +[Nate Kontny](https://twitter.com/natekontny), that has a ton of nifty +features, one of its best being a version control system that allows you to +send a draft to other people and accept or reject any changes they suggest. It +also has a minamilistic iA Writer type interface, which focuses on the actual +writing and nothing more. + +One of my most favorite features that I have just discovered, though, is that +it allows publishing any Draft document to any arbitrary +[WebHook](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webhook). Which basically means I can +click a button in the interface and that will send a POST request to a URL I +specify with all of the data for my Draft document in JSON format. I can just +write a bit of code to parse that data and then I instantly have a better +editor for my blog. + +It was really easy to do too. For this Django website, all it took [was adding +a view that parsed a JSON object and made a blog entry out of +it](https://github.com/thallada/personalsite/commit/c4694a6669dbc7b79a5bff3fb818a682ecacffbb). +You can read the +[documentation](https://draftin.com/documents/69898?token=5fjKKlZ0-AeBzqj_RAftAGdzRzl9VBfBHj5wpSWm_gU) +for more info on how to make a WebHook for Draft. + +Nate has also made a lot of other neat features, like a [Chrome extension that +turns any textarea on the web into a Draft +document](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/draft/amlbbbgcijmiooecobhkjblcdkjldmdk). +Read about some of the other features in the [Lifehacker +article](http://lifehacker.com/5993339/draft-is-a-writing-app-with-serious-version-and-draft-control). +The app is still in development and new features are being added constantly. + +I think the take-away here is that the Big Guys, with apps like Google Drive or +Evernote, don't always have the best solutions. I tried hacking Google Drive +into a more immersive writing experience with templates and so on, but nothing +came close to the experience of Draft, which was exactly what I wanted to begin +with. It's a wonder that more people don't know about Draft, but I guess that's +part of the magic. There's a real person, an innovative and driven hacker, +behind the product who might actually listen to what I have to say. + +Now excuse me while I go waste more time scouring the web for more obscure but +brilliant apps. diff --git a/_posts/2013-10-03-publishing-draft-docs-to-my-blog.md b/_posts/2013-10-03-publishing-draft-docs-to-my-blog.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..164a108 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-10-03-publishing-draft-docs-to-my-blog.md @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +--- +title: Publishing Draft Docs to my Blog +layout: post +--- + +I like to think that if only I find The Perfect Text Editor I will somehow +write better and more often. Obviously this is only a tactic I use to delay +actually writing anything, but I did come across something that might actually +help. [Draft](https://draftin.com) is a writing app being developed by one guy, +[Nate Kontny](https://twitter.com/natekontny), that has a ton of nifty +features, one of its best being a version control system that allows you to +send a draft to other people and accept or reject any changes they suggest. It +also has a minamilistic iA Writer type interface, which focuses on the actual +writing and nothing more. + +One of my most favorite features that I have just discovered, though, is that +it allows publishing any Draft document to any arbitrary +[WebHook](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webhook). Which basically means I can +click a button in the interface and that will send a POST request to a URL I +specify with all of the data for my Draft document in JSON format. I can just +write a bit of code to parse that data and then I instantly have a better +editor for my blog. + +It was really easy to do too. For this Django website, all it took [was adding +a view that parsed a JSON object and made a blog entry out of +it](https://github.com/thallada/personalsite/commit/c4694a6669dbc7b79a5bff3fb818a682ecacffbb). +You can read the +[documentation](https://draftin.com/documents/69898?token=5fjKKlZ0-AeBzqj_RAftAGdzRzl9VBfBHj5wpSWm_gU) +for more info on how to make a WebHook for Draft. + +Nate has also made a lot of other neat features, like a [Chrome extension that +turns any textarea on the web into a Draft +document](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/draft/amlbbbgcijmiooecobhkjblcdkjldmdk). +Read about some of the other features in the [Lifehacker +article](http://lifehacker.com/5993339/draft-is-a-writing-app-with-serious-version-and-draft-control). +The app is still in development and new features are being added constantly. + +I think the take-away here is that the Big Guys, with apps like Google Drive or +Evernote, don't always have the best solutions. I tried hacking Google Drive +into a more immersive writing experience with templates and so on, but nothing +came close to the experience of Draft, which was exactly what I wanted to begin +with. It's a wonder that more people don't know about Draft, but I guess that's +part of the magic. There's a real person, an innovative and driven hacker, +behind the product who might actually listen to what I have to say. + +Now excuse me while I go waste more time scouring the web for more obscure but +brilliant apps. diff --git a/_posts/2014-04-24-welcome-to-jekyll.markdown b/_posts/2014-04-24-welcome-to-jekyll.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index cd5ec64..0000000 --- a/_posts/2014-04-24-welcome-to-jekyll.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,24 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -title: "Welcome to Jekyll!" -date: 2014-04-24 18:53:43 -categories: jekyll update ---- - -You'll find this post in your `_posts` directory - edit this post and re-build (or run with the `-w` switch) to see your changes! -To add new posts, simply add a file in the `_posts` directory that follows the convention: YYYY-MM-DD-name-of-post.ext. - -Jekyll also offers powerful support for code snippets: - -{% highlight ruby %} -def print_hi(name) - puts "Hi, #{name}" -end -print_hi('Tom') -#=> prints 'Hi, Tom' to STDOUT. -{% endhighlight %} - -Check out the [Jekyll docs][jekyll] for more info on how to get the most out of Jekyll. File all bugs/feature requests at [Jekyll's GitHub repo][jekyll-gh]. - -[jekyll-gh]: https://github.com/mojombo/jekyll -[jekyll]: http://jekyllrb.com