rebelpeon.com

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  • See Ya Movable Type

    Well, since my upgrade to MT 3.0D hosed comments for the most part, I’ve been looking at other blogging options.  There’s also the fact that, theoretically, I’d have to pay for MT with the blogs I have.  I’ve since posted to MT’s website about my problems with comments.  Needless to say, I haven’t recieved any help.  Also, there’s the fact that there’s no place to download 2.661 anymore, eventhough 3.0 is still beta.  Yes, that’s right, you can’t download a stable release of mt anymore.  Plus, there’s no way to downgrade from 3.0D to 2.661.  The only way I can really do it, is to export my entries, delete the db, recreate the db, reinstall 2.661, and then import my entries.  Needless to say, all my site setup and preferences are gone then.  So, basically I’m going to leave what I currently have up and running until I can decided on what to migrate to. 

    So far I’ve looked at Greymatter, WordPress, and ExpressionEngine.  Greymatter just plain sucks.  WordPress has potential, but as of right now, the one I enjoy the most is definitely ExpressionEngine.  The only downside to that is that it’s not free.  Currently I’m running a 14 day trial version of it at test.rebelpeon.com/ee. 

    Arg, decisions.  There’s currently a few problems with ExpressionEngine, like that it won’t let me import my MT entries, but I’m sure it’s just a bug.  Oh well, MT has left a very bad taste in my mouth, and I just want to get off it right now.

  • Upgraded

    Well, rebelpeon.com is now running version MT version 3.0.

    **Updated** It looks as if comments are seriously fubared.  You can create a comment, and hit post.  You WILL get an error, however it seems to be saving the comments.  The main page doesn’t seem to be updating the number of comments listed until after I rebuild the main page.  All of the rebelpeon.com websites seems to be having this problem…joy.

  • Moving Out

    First of all, Colleen I’m sorry if you don’t want me putting this on my website, but I want to hear what other people think about this.  Ok, now on to the goods.

    So, yesterday, Colleen came home and told me she isn’t living with me in the fall.  Of course, I thought she was kidding.  Well, it turns out she’s actually made her final decision.  I think all that remains is for her to sign the lease.  She apparantly is going to live with a girl she knows from work. 

    What I want to know from people that actually read this blog is, is should I be worried?  She keeps telling me that it’s not because she doesn’t want to be with me, or that she wants to breakup or anything like that.  According to her, she just wants some space to be on her own.  However, I can’t help but feel as if this is her way of just getting more space, so that a breakup isn’t as painful.  We would slowly stop seeing each other as much, and then poof, it’s done.  Only nobody ends up crying nearly as much because we’ve grown apart into our own lives.  Obviously if we lived together it would be a royal pain to breakup, but does the end of our lease on August 1st give her a way out?

    She also mentions that it would be cheaper for her to live with her friend.  Yes, rent is going to be cheaper, but she’ll have to start paying all the household bills then, since I do them now.  I mean, she may save $50 a month on the numbers she gave me, but whatever.

    I’m really hurt about this, but she keeps telling me that I shouldn’t be.  Should I be?

  • Movable Type 3.0

    There seems to be some changes coming down the pike for Movable Type.  With version 3.0, they are going to require you to purchase their software to get the same functionality as you had in 2.661 and below.  Now, there is a free version, but according to their website, with the free version you won’t get support, you won’t be able to have them install it for you (you’d have to pay for that normally), you don’t have access to fee-based services (like I’d use that anyways), no promotion of your weblog via their recently updated list, no commercial use, no more than one author and 3 weblogs (ruh roh).  You can see the list here.  It’s in a banner on the right hand side that says, “Movable Type Free.”

    Now, everything in that list is ho-hum to me, except for the only 1 author.  For those of you not aware of how things work here at rebelpeon.com, each weblog is running it’s own self-contained version of movable type.  This allows me to use my own search template since search templates are shared across all weblogs that use the installation of movable type.  Also, each weblog has (at least) 2 authors.  One of them is me, so that I can get everything setup and then the other person is the owner of the blog.  Now I’m sure most of you are seeing why 3.0 may screw me, err my weblog owners, over. 

    Now, I could purchase the software (and get my weblog owners to help chip in), which would get me the ability to have 5 authors and 5 weblogs.  However, I felt that it would be a good idea to test out their free version to see how crippled it actually was.  You can see the fruits of that labor at my test site.  I simply made a new database in mysql, exported this website’s tables and then imported them into the new database.  This way I was able to get an exact copy of this website.  Since there’s only one author on this website (me), I had to create a new author after the upgrade to 3.0 was completed.  As you can see, both aaron and rebelpeon were able to post news.  Yes, that means that there are 2 authors on that particular weblog.

    It seems odd that they, in essence, lie to you while purchasing.  Think of all the websites that won’t take the time to actually test this like I did.  Talk about a sleazy way of making money.  I don’t know if this a simple mistake, or not.  It is also possible that I’m not dealing with a final, final version.  However, they had a complete website design touting 3.0, so I’m assuming I’m using final code. 

    Enough with the movable type bashing, lets move on to some of the improvements.  The biggest one is the comments.  You can leaving commenting the same (which is probably safe for the vast majority of our little weblog sites), or you can force people to register with TypeKey, then log in to leave comments.  You can have comments automatically posted, or you can screen them first.  There is also a new section where you can list and edit comments, just like you can entries.  I can see the benefit of this, but I can also see the abuse, especially with politically motivated websites.  The easy of editing posts may overcome some…  If TypeKey is being used, you can have a listing of commenters who have posted on your website.  You get such information as status, name, date registered, etc.  I’m not exactly sure how this all works (need to test it), but it may be the same as a profile for the website.  This could be what I’m looking for on my website, so people don’t have to look at categories that bore them. 

    There is also a new trackback section.  I personally am not a fan of trackbacks, but some people swear by them.  I suppose it’s because I’m not linking to websites that talk about similar things all the time.  Anyways, you get a list off all the trackbacks.  Once again, you can edit and list just like entries have always been and comments have just become. 

    Another nice feature that I sort of just stumbled upon, was if you log into movable type, the click on the view site, then do a search on your website, you can actually edit posts right from there.  This is an added feature, since there’s not really a search feature for entries while logged in.  This way, if you don’t happen to remember the post off the top of your head, you can simply do a search to find your website.  Talk about a random find though. 

    Finally when you’re logged in, the look is different.  The same categories are there, but it has a much more fresh look.  There isn’t as many images to load (which may be beneficial to some), so actually logging in is faster, etc.  I enjoy the new look much better than the last.  It’s also not as blocky and big.

    I’m sure there’s a lot more features that I’m simply not using or seeing yet.  If I were to actually look through the change log I’d probably see more things that have changed that I actually use, but what’s the fun in that 🙂

    I will probably move rebelpeon.com over to the new system sometime in the next few weeks.  It changes some database tables, so I want to be absolutely sure when I want to go, since it will be a pain to get it back.  After rebelpeon.com makes the switch, I’ll slowly be moving the other sites too.  So, if you happen to log in one day and notice it looks a little different, that’s why 🙂

  • Xbox Media Center

    I normally keep fairly up to date with releases of Xbox Media Center (xbmc), but lately I haven’t been because I found a version (the build released on January 5th) that was stable, and did everything I wanted to.  All I can say, is, DAMN!  I downloaded the latest release as of 2 days ago (the May 9th release I believe).

    First of all, they’ve gotten rid of the same skin they’ve been using as the default for a long time.  It’s not that I wasn’t a fan of the old skin, but this new one is so much more polished. 

    Second of all, the smb streaming is absolutely perfect for me.  However, that may be because of the new router that actually doesn’t reduce the speeds to the xbox to 1Mbps.  I’ll talk about my new router a little later though, because I don’t want to give it intensely glowing reviews, and then have something stupid happen a day later 🙂

    And finally, the greatest feature I think they ever could’ve added, is the addition of an http server.  Now, you may be thinking, why the hell would they do that?  Well, all I can say is, this http server allows you to control whatever xbmc is playing.  Yes, that’s right, you could essentially hook up your xbox to a reciever, speakers, and a network connection.  Granted, not all features are currently supported via the website, but you can easily add things to your queue, etc. 

    Now, the reason I think this is so damn cool, is that in my office, ever since we moved out the noisy rack, we contemplated getting some sort of jukebox setup that we could all connect to and add tracks to, etc.  This way we don’t all have to wear headphones, or have 5 different songs playing in the background.  A modded xbox is now a possible solution to our problem.  We could all add whatever songs you want to listen to to the playlist.  There are still a few things that would need to be tweaked (like deleting stuff that’s currently in the playlist, etc).  This is the exact sort of solution that I was thinking about for the office.  In fact, I had seen a similar thing at a party I had gone to a few years back at Presidential Towers.  I can’t remember the name of the company that was having the party, but they do a lot of training, and web developement.  Needless to say, they had a webapp that you could browse their music collection, and then add to the current playlist.  It was one of the cooler ideas I’ve seen for a small business/office.

    And now that xbox’s are $150, this means you can get a awesome little media center for around $200 (if you mod it yourself).  To all those with xbox’s, I say go for it because it’s so easy, and you can get so much more out of your black and green box.

  • Oh God, We’re Going to Die!

    Well, I subscribe to the Reuter’s Health RSS feed, and I found this article.  Now come on people, are our children really this dumb?  Is this outbreak in stupidity quarantined in Ohio?  For Christ’s sake, the children are “our future.”

  • Always Funny

    I always find it funny when I stumble across websites such as this.  I thought the best part was definitely the “Kids Corner” banner going down the side.  I don’t think I want to go on and ramble about my thoughts on the RIAA and the like.  It pretty much boils down to, they are trying to retain a business plan that doesn’t work anymore, in whatever ways possible.  Yeah, it sucks, and yeah, they’re more or less burying their heads in the sand, but it is their business and money to lose…

  • Another Weekend

    Imagine that, another weekend has passed, and it’s time to talk about climbing! 

    This was the first weekend Colleen and I have actually been able to get down to Jackson for the entire weekend.  It was nice and warm and sunny, etc.  It was just about perfect for a good climbing weekend.  A lil’ warm, but good times, nonetheless.  We headed down Friday after work, stopped for a decent dinner on the way down, then setup camp around 9:30.  We ended up taking off a lil’ later then we hoped because neither of us was really packed for leaving at 5. 

    James and Bill met us down there Saturday at aroun 9.  We were already on the rock when they arrived.  We started on an easy 5.7 (Jimmy’s Chicken Shack).  Both Colleen and I led it for warmup.  Then I moved on and setup a top rope on the new 5.9 next to it.  This route only had 4 bolts on the route, not including the anchors (Jimmy’s, which is the same height, and easier, has 6).  Both the beginning and the end were quite runout (large distance between the bolts, so there’s little protection if you fall).  As James put it, it was ballsy.  What really was great about the route, was the guy that bolted it (Dave), was climbing with us.  Dave’s put up a ton of routes throughout Jackson.  He’s a “local” around the area because of the amount of time he’s there.  Being retired really helps that for him too, since he arrived on Thursday, and was staying later then Colleen and I were.  I then top roped the 5.10b (Venom) next to the 5.9.  To redpoint (lead a climb clean on the 2nd or more try up) Venom is one of my goals of the summer. 

    We then moved on the Express Checkout (10a) which I onsited (lead it clean the first time up).  After that I cleaned (removed the gear from a route) Wishbone (11 something).  Wishbone was a little above my ability in a few spots.  I wasn’t a fan of it.  James and Bill then went on to do some trad climbing.  Needless to say, I wasn’t about to do any of that, but I did do the dihedral (just an example) that was part of the trad route called Chit Chat. 

    James and Bill headed out that night, but Colleen and I stayed the night to put in some climbing Sunday.  She didn’t want to stay very long, so that we could do some stuff later in the day.  So, I decided we should go to the other side of the gorge, and hit up some easier routes that I had done before.  Once again Colleen only led one route, because she gets scared so easily.  That’s ok though, because I feel more than comfortable leading.  She led a very short and easy 5.8, and that was it.  I then led a slabby 5.8 and setup top rope for Colleen.  Mmm, I love the slab.  I then lead (very poorly) another 5.8.  It was my first outdoor fall, and thankfully Colleen had it under control.  I fell going to the second bolt, and what really made it bad was that I fell while I was pretty much at the second bolt.  This means, when I fell, I fell the twice the distance between the first and second bolt, plus whatever the distance the rope stretches.  What makes this fall even more scarier, is that you can easily crater (hit the ground) if you fall going to the second bolt, and the ground where you’d fall has a large boulder waiting for you.  Like I said, Colleen had it under control though, so I was fine minus a little burn on my left boob where it rubbed against the rock as I fell.

    And then we headed back to camp, packed up the tent, and headed home.

    Hopefully we’ll get the film developed sometime before the turn of the century, and I’ll post them here.

    **Update** Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that I somehow got poison ivy on my face, ear, forehead, etc.  Always fun.  Thankfully it’s not nearly as bad as I’ve had, otherwise, I’d be going insane right now.

  • It’s About Time

    Well, I finally bought a new wireless router.  I’ve been dealing with this stupid US Robotics wireless router, pos for too long.  So, hopefully after this comes in, the website will be up more, then, well, it is now.  Hopefully I won’t have to restart it daily like the one I do now.  On a good note, it will be fun to destroy the thing.  I definitely know why I see it so cheap after rebates, maybe it’s because it’s a piece of junk that doesn’t work 75% of the time.  Just take a look at other people’s reviews on Amazon.com.  I’m definitely not the only person that’s had problems with it.  Hell, even Nick has had nothing but problems with his.  I can’t wait.

  • A New Console Challenge

    After playing with the Xbox awhile, I think it’s time to move on.  Now, I’m not saying I don’t enjoy my xbox, but the whole “modding” fun of it has definitely worn off.  Now it’s time to move onto a new challenge: the Gamecube.

    The gamecube is more of a challenge for a number of different reasons.  First of all, there’s no built in NIC, you have to go purchase the broadband adapter (bba).  Secondly, the bba is limited to speads of 27Mbps.  Thirdly, there’s no harddrive that can have software loaded onto it.  And finally, in order to get into the gamecube you have to own Phantasy Star Online 1 & 2 (pso), which is a very hard game to find.

    Now, to get this to work, you load up PSO, and then on the pc you load up the streaming software (psoload, or psul).  Then, you attempt to connect to one of sega’s online servers, but you actually put your pc’s ip address as the server ip.  That way, pso is fooled into thinking it should be getting data from your pc.  Now, the pc software streams the game image to your gamecube.  Sounds easy enough in theory, but it’s definitely hit or miss right now.  What also makes it difficult is that there is practically no community what-so-ever that keeps software updated, or tries new things.  It’s as if when 2004 came around, all developement stopped.

    What makes this even more funny is that I don’t even have a gamecube yet.  I’m working with Aaron Binford and his newly acquired gamecube to all the testing and whatnot.  So far we’ve had great success, but we’re stuck on a couple of games, notably Luigi’s Mansion, which is a game both of us want.  I’ll keep everyone updated because I know YOU want to know 🙂