Ramen Junkie

HTC Inspire – Day Zero

Ramen Junkie February 13, 2011 0Comment

After much debating on which Android phone would be the one i wanted for my carrier (AT&T), I had finally narrowed it down to the Captivate, which my brother has and enjoys, or the iPhone 3GS, which many people have. Then it was announced that AT&T was getting a second Droid phone that was worthwhile (the first being the Captivate), with the HTC Inspire. The price was right between my two dilemma price points and it was “newer” than the captivate, though i have not yet compared the actual specs. Anyway, it was getting a lot of positive buzz up tot he launch so I went with it. I went with it on it’s launch day, February 13th, 2011.

Unlike any iPhone launch, there was not a line outside the store. In fact no one seemed to be promoting the device device in the stores though I’m not sure any of the other customers I overheard were looking for this style of device to begin with. The store where I had mine had the display model unceremoniously dumped on the counter near the other Droids since the display was only designed to hold 3 phones. According to the store clerk i was the first person in the area to own one” which is probably true considering what a bustling center of technological activity Central Illinois is, This is ESPECIALLY true in the manufacturing town of Decatur, home of Mark Whitacre.

Anyway, after 3 hours in the phone store, i had my new phone? Why 3 hours? Well, that’s a longer story but basically, my wife and I were getting upgrades for her and the kids’ phones. Also we made some adjustments to our minutes that I’ll probably touch on in a later blog post.

I’m not going to do a full review or anything yet, I’m sure I’ll get to that eventually. I’m satisfied with it a lot at the moment. We’ll leave it at that.

Zero day App Installs:

Angry Birds – i know nothing of this game other than it’s name, I figured I should see what the hype is all about.

Final Fantasy VII Soundboard – There didn’t seem to be a real Final Fantasy game available but I did find this nifty musical soundboard.

Foursquare – Because I really should get around to annoying my friends online with pointless “check ins” constantly.

Google Goggles – Take a picture, do a search, I tested it with a book cover with good results, I’ll try it out more and give more thoughts later.

last.fm – i think i can play music off of this but mostly I want it to Scrobble what I am playing. I’ll have to get back on how that works out.

NoAgenda App – I was hoping I could get the shows with this but it doesn’t seem to do that. Mostly it’s just a sound board (In the Morning!).

Nook – So i can read my nookbooks when my Nook it’s available/convenient.

Pandora – Because I like music.

Portal Soundboard – The Cake is a LIE!

Posterous – So i can get my mobile photo blog back in gear. Also my FoodBlog.

Remember the Milk – So I don’t forget… something….. I can’t remember now….

Skype – because it seems useful but i never use it.

SSH Droid – Because SSH is for Nerdy Linux hacking and whatnot.

Team Fortress 2 Soundboards for all 9 Classes – Because ENTIRE TEAM IS BABIES!

TWiT.TV – So I can get all my TWiT.tv shows in one place.

Google Voice – voice transcribed voice mails sent to my emailbox are better than regular voicemails.

Wardrive – I plan to map out all of the wifi hotspots I come across.

Yelp! – I like this service and figured this will make using it easier.

Ramen Junkie

Josh Miller aka “Ramen Junkie”. I write about my various hobbies here. Mostly coding, photography, and music. Sometimes I just write about life in general. I also post sometimes about toy collecting and video games at Lameazoid.com.

www.bloggingintensifies.com

Published: 1990 | Pages:1053

Description:

Byte Me!

Robert P. Libbon

Published: 1996 | Pages:208

Description: In this book you’ll learn how to crash your computer almost as well as Windows does, remove computer screws embedded in your forehead from pounding your head in frustration, avoid vendors who advertise “Incredible Bait and Switch Deals!”, and learn if your Software Licensing Agreement carries more obligations than a favor from Don Corleone.

Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho

Jon Katz

Published: 2000 | Pages:256

My Rating: 3/5

Description: “Too often, writing about the online world lacks emotional punch, but Katz’s obvious love for his ‘lost boys’ gives his narrative a rich taste.”— The New York Times Book ReviewJesse and Eric were geeks: suspicious of authority figures, proud of their status as outsiders, fervent in their belief in the positive power of technology. High school had been an unbearable experience and their small-town Idaho families had been torn apart by hard times. On the fringe of society, they had almost no social lives and little to look forward to. They spent every spare cent on their computers and every spare moment online. Nobody ever spoke of them, much less for them.But then they met Jon Katz, a roving journalist who suggested that, in the age of geek impresario Bill Gates, Jesse and Eric had marketable skills that could get them out of Idaho and pave the way to a better life. So they bravely set out to conquer Chicago—geek style. Told with Katz’s trademark charm and sparkle, Geeks is a humorous, moving tale of triumph over adversity and self-acceptance that delivers two irresistible heroes for the digital age and reveals the very human face of technology. Praise for Geeks“Ultimately, Geeks is not a story about the Internet or computers or techies. It is a story about personal bonds, optimism, access to opportunity, and the courage to dream.” — Salon“An uplifting and hugely compassionate book.” — Philadelphia Inquirer “A story of friendship, optimism, social despair, and an updated version of that American icon, the tinkerer.” — USA Today

Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand

Published: 1957 | Pages:1168

My Rating: 1/5

Description: This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators?Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, but against those who needed him most, and his hardest battle against the woman he loved? What is the world’s motor — and the motive power of every man? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the characters in this story. Tremendous in its scope, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life — from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy — to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction — to the philosopher who becomes a pirate — to the composer who gives up his career on the night of his triumph — to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad — to the lowest track worker in her Terminal tunnels. You must be prepared, when you read this novel, to check every premise at the root of your convictions.This is a mystery story, not about the murder — and rebirth — of man’s spirit. It is a philosophical revolution, told in the form of an action thriller of violent events, a ruthlessly brilliant plot structure and an irresistible suspense. Do you say this is impossible? Well, that is the first of your premises to check.

Falling Up

Shel Silverstein

Published: 1996 | Pages:178

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Millie McDeevit screamed a scream, so loud it made her eyebrows steam.She screamed so loud, her jawbone broke,Her tongue caught fire, her nostrils smoked…Poor Screamin’ Millie is just one of the unforgettable characters in this wondrous new book of poems and drawings. Here you will also meet Allison Beals and her twenty-five eels; Danny O’Dare, the dancin’ bear; the Human Balloon; and Headphone Harold.Shel Silverstein, the New York Times bestselling author of The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Every Thing On It, has created a poetry collection that is outrageously funny and deeply profound. So come, wander through the Nose Garden, ride the Little Hoarse, eat in the Strange Restaurant, and let the magic of Shel Silverstein open your eyes and tickle your mind.
Story List
– Advice- Allison Beals and Her 25 Eels- Alphabalance- Bad Cold- A Battle in the Sky- The Bear, the Fire, and the Snow- Best Mask?- Big Eating Contest- Bituminous?- Blood-Curdling Story- Body Language- Camp Wonderful- Carrots- Castle- Cat, a Kid, and a Mom- Cat Jacks- Cereal- Christmas Dog- Clean Gene- Complainin’ Jack- Cookwitch Sandwich- Crazy Dream- Crystal Ball- Danny O’Dare- The Deadly Eye- Dentist Dan- Description- Diving Board- Don the Dragon’s Birthday- Eggs Rated- Falling Up- Feeding Time- The Folks Inside- Foot Repair- Forgetful Paul Revere- The Former Foreman’s Story- Furniture Bash- Gardener- Glub-Glub- The Gnome, the Gnat, and the Gnu- Golden Goose- Hand Holding- Hard to Please- Haunted- Headless Town- Headphone Harold- Help!- Hi-Monster- Human Balloon- Hungry Kid Island- Hypnotized- Ice Cream Stop- Imagining- In the Land of…- James- Kanga Ruby- Keepin’ Count- Keep-Out House- Little Hoarse- Little Pig’s Treat- Long-Leg Lou and Short-Leg Sue- Long Scarf- Lyin’ Larry- Mari-Lou’s Ride- Medusa- Mirror, Mirror- Mister Moody- Molly’s Folly- Monkey- Morgan’s Curse- Mummy- Music Lesson- My Nose Garden- My Robot- My Sneaky Cousin- The Nap Taker- Needles and Pins- New World- No- No Grown-Ups- No Thank You- Noise Day- Nope- Obedient- Ooh!- One Out of Sixteen- People Zoo- Pinocchio- Plugging In- Poison-Tester- Porky- Quality Time- Reachin’ Richard- Red Flowers for You- Remote-a-Dad- Rotten Convention- Runners- Sack Race- Safe?- Scale- Screamin’ Millie- Settin’ Around- Shanna in the Sauna- Sharing- Shoe Talk- Short Kid- Show Fish- Sidewalking- Smile Makers- Snowball- Somethin’ New- Sorry I Spilled It- Spoiled Brat- Stone Airplane- Stork Story- Strange Restaurant- Stupid Pencil Maker- Sun Hat- Sybil the Magician’s Last Show- Tattooin’ Ruth- Tell Me- They Say I Have…- Tongue Sticker-Outer- The Toy Eater- Three O’clock- Three Stings- Turkey?- Unfair- Use for a Moose- The Voice- Warmhearted- Wastebasket Brother- Weavers- Web-Foot Woe- Weird-Bird- We’re Out of Paint, So…- When I Was Your Age- Why Is It?- Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda- Writer Waiting- Yuck

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

Tim Weiner

Published: 2007 | Pages:702

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Now Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tim Weiner offers the first definitive history of the CIA—and everything is on the record. LEGACY OF ASHES is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA itself, and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans, including ten Directors of Central Intelligence. It takes the CIA from its creation after World War II, through its battles in the cold war and the war on terror, to its near-collapse after September 11th, 2001.Tim Weiner’s past work on the CIA and American intelligence was hailed as “impressively reported” and “immensely entertaining” in The New York Times.The Wall Street Journal called it “truly extraordinary . . . the best book ever written on a case of espionage.” Here is the hidden history of the CIA: why eleven presidents and three generations of CIA officers have been unable to understand the world; why nearly every CIA director has left the agency in worse shape than he found it; and how these failures have profoundly jeopardized our national security.

The Bourne Identity (Jason Bourne, #1)

Robert Ludlum

Published: 1980 | Pages:566

My Rating: 2/5

Description: Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found hereWho is Jason Bourne? Is he an assassin, a terrorist, a thief? Why has he got four million dollars in a Swiss bank account? Why has someone tried to murder him?…Jason Bourne does not know the answer to any of these questions. Suffering from amnesia, he does not even know that he is Jason Bourne. What manner of man is he? What are his secrets? Who has he killed?

Ramen Junkie

www.bloggingintensifies.com

Coding

Procrastination Isn’t Always Bad

Ramen Junkie November 20, 2010 0Comment

I almost always have a couple of dozen projects I’m working on. These are not projects for work or even household projects that my wife wants me to take care of. These are personal projects of varying importance though generally of little overall *real* importance. For example, at the moment I am working on:

– Building a solid automated online streaming radio service.

– Playing through several video games.

– Burning old family VHS tapes to DVDs

– Building a small corner shelf for putting my games and DVDs on in the bedroom to reduce the clutter in the closet.

– Repairing several laptops i have that don’t work.

Etc…

Anyway, Several of these projects I’m “working on” are continual, like playing through various games. Others I have not even started on, though I still would say I’m “working on them”. Some I may never start. The point is that I tend to think about a large string of projects in the back of my mind almost constantly.

Often when i have “free time” I do something completely different when I should be doing “a project”. I have a tendency to procrastinate on these things. Often this procrastination though is good because inevitably, I get an epiphany on some project that makes it extremely simple and quick and it’s the best possible solution.

The latest example, which inspired this rambling blog post involves my home network. It’s not huge but it is larger than most people’s home networks and it “evolves” much more than most people’s home networks. Currently, the phone line feeds the cable box thing (we’ll call this the Residential Gateway or RG for lack of better term though I’m not sure it’s actually accurate). It comes out of the RG and feeds a router. This router was put in by the cable guy when he came out to replace the RG when it broke. The thing is, he left the old router in place (also provided by the phone company). This initially created some issues since it gave me two IP address sets which is annoying when you’re doing a lot of NAT translations for things like streaming radio and VNC access to half a dozen machines as well as hosting FTP, HTTP, etc. I also own a switch and a hub, though I don’t use the Hub because "hubs suck”.

I lived with forwarding all ports to the internal router for a while but inevitably I swapped the Hub for the switched, changed the IPs of all my machines and rebuilt the NAT table. it was a one time pain but it makes things simpler.

I put the old router aside until I discovered the the new router does not support the older less secure Wireless protocols that my Nintendo DS requires. So the old router went back in almost exclusively for use of the NDS, whoes IP address I don’t care about. It also serves as an access point for guests or whatever to keep them off of the main network.

The issue I had recently however involves a remote location in the house in my wife’s office. She has a PC out there for “office use” and I put a second PC out there recently with a KVM for my “experimenting etc” use. Currently it hosts Lameazoid Radio, an OpenSIM server, a session of Outlook that is attached to archives of all of my old email PST files and I use it for downloading Torrents. The main point is, it creates a lot of network traffic. The problem is, there’s only one physical cable running to the office and running a second one would be a pain. the obvious answer is, put in a switch. I could use the hub but I fear the high traffic of the one machine would cause lots of issues for the office computer and visa versa.

I’d pretty much resolved myself that I can afford a 30 dollar switch to throw out there. The problem is that i just got off of a huge backup with my “personal budget” from buying several expensive items “in advance” and then paying back the budget. I’m tired of being broke for the past 2 months on my personal budget. Also, Black Friday is coming up and I intend to have a chunk of change to spend on good deals.

So I can drop money and be short on BF, or i can wait a few weeks and listen to my wife occasionally complain that the office PC doesn’t have internet access. So I decided to “sit on” or procrastinate this project.

Then I had the epiphany. I can move the main Router over to where the switch is now and swap them out. The only thing plugged into the main router besides the long network cable running across the room tot he switch is an old laptop I was trying to project but i can’t keep running anyway. It can be dropped. I was going to plug a media center PC into it for Hulu but Netflix on the Wii eliminates the need for that and I already have a long cable running back to the TV area from before the newer Router was there anyway I can use.

The point is, that I don’t NEED it to be where it is. Then I get my switch back.

The real point is, because I didn’t rush into putting in the hub or rush out to buy a switch, i came up with the best solution AND it doesn’t cost me anything. I do this a lot. I did it at my old job all the time. I’d sit on a project until I’d realize I can combine two obsolete items into something useful or whatever. The point is, sometimes it’s good to procrastinate.

Ramen Junkie

www.bloggingintensifies.com

Programming Projects

Project: Radio DJ Automation

Ramen Junkie November 18, 2010 0Comment

If I earned a nickel for everything I’ve ever created that no one else cares about I’d probably be about to earn another nickel with this next post.

Anyway, one of my many pet projects has been setting up a private internet radio stream. I actually toyed with the idea for a bit of building a small FM transmitter and going full on Pirate Radio but I decided that the current state of media doesn’t necessitate the need for radio waves when the internet is right there just waiting with a much broader reach. The real issue is that it mostly just reaches me.

The nice part is, I don’t really mind.

I plan to put up a little page for Lameazoid Radio, but I’m still fleshing out the details. A few people know the URL of the stream (hint: stream DOT) but I have no idea if they remember it and I doubt anyone listens. I suppose the question is, why would anyone want to listen? Can’t you get the same thing from your iPod?

This question includes myself. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to just load up the iPod and let it rip? I do have some answer to this. For example, my iPod isn’t large enough to hold my entire music library if I want it to. It also is incredibly poor at shuffling music in a meaningful manner. The Radio Automation software I’m using lets me sort things into nice themed play rotations. i can interject little funny clips in at intervals as well to help break up the flow.

I also run a lot of Podcasts. The problem with using the iPod for Podcasts is that when it’s in my iTunes library, waiting to be played, I feel obligated to listen. If it’s out of my control and playing on it’s own I can forgive and forget the playout if I miss one or come in partway through and leave early. It’s expected I guess with radio that I may miss something. It’s basically a subtle psychological point that works behind the scenes.

Anyway, I’ve managed to work the kinks out of the automated updates on Podcasts which leaves a few other projects that I want to implement on the table.

First, I need to record some promos. I want to make a few music based tags and a few others promoting the shows on the stream. This basically requires time and a microphone.

Second I need to finish fleshing out the lineup. I want to run new shows 7 days a week at 4 and 7. I’ve got both slots about half filled now. I also would like to find another short bit repeating news segment to compliment Tech 5 which plays every hour where there isn’t a show right now.

I also need to come up with something for the over night. It’s likely no one will ever listen in the overnight so just running music all night is the easiest bet but I do like the idea of having some sort of “programming” there. I’m thinking of pushing some audiobooks or something for lengthy periods but missing part of an audiobook is worse than missing part of a podcast. I’m also thinking of compiling together my longform Techno mixes and running those. Also possible some concerts in order. Basically I’m looking to run longer blocks of related content in the overnight.

Thirdly i want to add Live Reporting. I’ve set up Skype on this PC with auto answer for known callers. This means i can call in and it’ll pick up. Right now doing this kills the stream audio and it doesn’t return. I have some software (freeware) that I believe I can use to create a gate that will shut off the stream when a call comes in and then resume it afterwards. This would mean if I wanted to do “live reporting (to no one) I could call in through Skype on my phone. Or better yet, if say, the GNR crew wanted to broadcast live they would simply call into the Skype and it would play. On top of this I want to set up Skype to auto record and possibly auto rotate these short news bits.

Finally, at least on the list now, is to set up an automatic “now playing” Tweet. I’m not sure the best way to accomplish this yet though the software does support a now playing.txt that is used by Icecast to set the title. What wil be more likely is I’ll set up timed tweets for the time each show starts, like on @lameazoid.

Ramen Junkie

www.bloggingintensifies.com

Coding

Automatic Updating of New Podcasts with Radio DJ

Ramen Junkie November 16, 2010 2Comments

That has to be one of the lamest topics I’ve ever made for a blog post but it’s at least descriptive.

This is a short guide for users of the Free RadioDJ software who want to automate the process of adding new podcasts to the rotation. This is mildly complicated but not overly so and it does require the use of outside programs to make it work. For this example, I’ll be using the NoAgenda podcast.

The first thing you’ll need is a pod catching program. I use gPodder but if you have a preferred alternative you can use whatever you like. The key here is that the program needs to download the files into one regular location that you can reference with some batch files.

For those who are less familiar with the old school DOS environment and batch files, basically, a batch file, or .bat is a file which contains command line commands which will be executed in order. It’s similar to making scripts in Linux only for Windows/DOS. For simplicity, I recommend making a single .bat file for each show you want to run and naming them something like renameSHOW.bat. I keep mine in the c: Root directory but you can put them in a folder somewhere if you’d like. It’s probably better to try to keep all files in folders without spaces since DOS and the command line can get funny when spaces are involved. This goes for your downloaded Podcasts as well.

To change the default download directory in gPodder, right click a Podcast and change the name description to one without spaces. For example, if the default picked up is “No Agenda”, change it to “NoAgenda”. For other programs you’ll have to figure this out on your own.

Next, create a batch file. If you have file extensions turned on you can right click in the c: directory and do a “Create new –> Text File” then name it, for example “renamenoagenda.bat” Alternately, simply open up Notepad, then save as “renamenoagenda.bat” in the appropriate directory.

Edit the file with Notepad or any preferred basic ASCII editor. Add the lines shown below.

if exist d:PodcastsNoAgendanoagenda*.mp3 del d:PodcastsNoAgendanaradio.mp3

rename d:PodcastsNoAgendanoagenda*.mp3 naradio.mp3

You’ll want to replace the paths in this manner. “d:PodcastsNoagenda is the directory where the Podcasts are stored. This will be dependant on your program and settings. I have a second drive in my Pc where I store all the music RadioDJ uses.

“noagenda*.mp3” is the generic name of what’s downloaded by gPodder. Each episode is something like “Noagenda-Episode-Date-Whatever.mp3. They ALL start with “noagenda” and all end with “.mp3”. using this will pick any episodes in the directory.

The file “naradio.mp3” is the file used by RadioDJ. It is a generic file that RadioDj has in it’s list and it is of the type “Variable Length Audio”. This will make RadioDJ get the length when it goes to play this file. i use this format “radioXXXX".mp3” for simplicity. For example, I’m also rotating FLOSS Weekly, which is called “radiofw.mp3”. The key here is that the file CANNOT have the same starting name as the downloaded podcasts. If I were to call it “noagendageneric.mp3” for example, then it would be picked up by the “noagenda*.mp3” call which would screw everything up.

Now, the essense of what this file is doing.

if exist d:PodcastsNoAgendanoagenda*.mp3 del d:PodcastsNoAgendanaradio.mp3

This line says “if there is a file named noagenda*.mp3*, then delete the generic file. I had trouble originally because I simply had the .bat delete the generic file. This presents and issue if a Podcast has not been updated and there is not a new file to replace it.

rename d:PodcastsNoAgendanoagenda*.mp3 naradio.mp3

This line says “Rename noagenda*.mp3 to the generic file.” This will create the new generic file that Radio DJ will use. Also of note, this will “consume” the new episode. This whole process requires that there is only one new episode. if you’re clever this script COULD be adopted to create a series of rotating episodes. I’m not going to get into that detail here however. Essentially it would be a series of scripts that run daily.

Which brings up the next step. You’ve created a batch file, now you need to schedule it to run using Windows task scheduler. Simply set it up to run as needed. For example, i run new episodes at 7PM, so i run the file at 6:30 PM on the day it’s needed. The changes are essentially instantaneous so i could run them as 6:59 if I wanted. I also have a short new segment which runs hourly. This one runs at 4AM.

The thing that will sort of break this is if the downloaded new episodes do not use a regular file name. Also if your Podcast feed isn’t updated in time. The result hwoever will be that the generic file won’t change and an old episode will run in it’s place, so at least something should run.

Ramen Junkie