Christmas Break

is finally here! Yeah. Two weeks off.

Det finns inga ord för det, på det här jävla språket

Front Page Slide show for Drupal using Views Slideshow

After weeks of research into how to create a dynamic slide show with thumbnails as navigation I finally found a module for Drupal that seems to do what I need it to. Enter Views Slideshow. Using views I fairly easily set up a slide show for my front page, using thumbnails as navigation. One issue that I've run into is that for some reason when being logged in I cannot see the navigation of the slide show. This caused a bit of head scratching until I just logged out and saw that things actually were working. The look and feel of the thing will take some CSS tweaking but at least I've finally found a working solution. If a module is integrated with Views that is certainly a big plus, seeing that this is the direction things are heading with Drupal.

Other modules I looked at:
Views Carousel - Really cool but not quite what I was looking for. Here is an excellent video podcast from Mustardseed Media
Quick Tabs - Neat module but it did not seem to support thumbnail navigation, at least not out of the box.

Considering the time and research spent on this I do support the effort to consolidate and improve the multitude of modules offering some kind of rotator or slide show functionality. For a good starting point see http://drupal.org/node/418616

My brother just sent me this, and I thought it was funny enough to warrant repeating

Folgers Commercial

In the new Folgers commercial, the guy coming home from Iraq / band camp / two years of living in a diner drinking nothing but old dishwater spiked with soy sauce / all of the above, exclaims happily when seeing a canister of Folgers: "Real Coffee!". Enough said.

Be careful what you wish for

Home with a cold

And looking for something to read. Maybe Chaim Potok's "My name is Asher Lev". Wish I had an unread Pratchett book.

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala a slow starter

So I updated from Ubuntu 9.04 to the latest release code named Karmic Koala, 9.10 in numbers. The process of updating, as opposed to reinstalling, went by without any hick ups. This is just a short list of mostly cons but also some pros.

So let's start with the cons:

1. It's a lot slower to boot up. Not sure why this is but the 9.04 release had a boot time that was pretty impressive. The Karmic Koala on the other hand is a real slow starter.
2. The default colour scheme is ugly. Sure you can change the theme, but that initial brown is just plain old ugly.
3. I've had several weird crash reports so far. Not a big issue and I'm sure it's being worked on.

Ok, enough with the complaining. So what do I like?
1. The sound. Pulse Audio has finally come through on it's effort to create some kind of centralized sound support for Ubuntu. Thank you. I'm currently running my Turtle Beach Riviera sound card with digital out to our Onkyo receiver and it sounds good. For you that are still running plain old analog output: sure it works and you'll get decent sound, but the digital out is so much nicer! Trust me.

Another Year

So it's time to add one more year on top of the other 31. When I was in my early 20s it seemed that life would end, or at least go down hill rapidly, at 25. I was wrong.

Ps. I had oyster shots yesterday. And yes it was just as horrible as you probably imagine.

Who You Fight With

One of our neighbours, Larry, said something interesting yesterday as he was talking about his time in Oslo. He had noticed that while Americans fight with each other as they get drunk, Norwegians (and I would say Swedes as well) seemed to wrestle with themselves in a similar intoxicated state of mind. He mentioned that they walked around screaming but that there really wasn't any actual fights. I wonder if this is part of the Scandinavian mindset, to be more self-critical and in a constant wrestling match with yourself. I guess you could argue that Scandinavians when they drink gets too drunk even to fight, but that seems a bit far fetched.

Update

After a few months working part time I'm back up to full time again. It's good news, even though I've gotten used to the hours.

In the office and having my first coffee of the day in a Santa Maria that is overcast.

Still going to get certified in Java even though the book is as dry as really dry stuff. Been reading up on areas like Hibernate, Spring, JSP, Servlets and Stripes. Stripes is a pretty nice little web framework that, although it lacks some of the name recognition that other frameworks have, it still seems both powerful and easy to use.

Time to go.

Boogie Boarding at Jalama

So we went to Jalama Beach this weekend and Domenic and I did some Boogie Boarding. We saw dolphins and at one point a sea lion was a little bit too close for my liking. It was fun and lots of hard work. Note to self for next time: keep the mouth shut when being hit by wave.

Yes We Can

I had a nightmare last night. Part of it was a really big shark. But I will not let this deter me from starting to boogie board. So there, it's said.

Now I just need to find a decent wetsuit for a decent price.

Happy Birthday David!

Today we celebrate my brother on his birthday. Wish I could be there bro!

Coffee Table update 4

I finally got around to getting the concrete table top out of it's mold. No nasty surprises and the surface was smooth and without any major air bubbles. I waxed it with beeswax which turned out to give it pretty much just the effect I wanted: sealing the surface without removing that concrete look. It fit real snug in the oak frame, and since it's only about 2-3 cm it's not too heavy. So far the legs seem to support it well. Thanks to Ola and Dan for sharing some ideas on what to put on the concrete to seal it!

Coffe Table Update 3

I finished building the mold yesterday and I poured the concrete today. There is a metal mesh inside the concrete that was supported by nails in the side walls. It will probably take a few days for the table top to dry. I'm looking into getting a sealer for the surface. They have some fancy stuff here but I'm not sure why I could not just pick some up at any old store.

Coffe Table Update 2

I finally got around to continuing my table project. The wooden frame is pretty much done. It's made of oak and I've put an espresso stain on it. I might put on another coat of stain just get it even darker. The frame is built without any nails or screws, just glue and dowels. The next step will be to pour the concrete for the table top. I've built the mold for that and will try to get it done tomorrow. More photos coming.

Back from Southborough, MA

Monday morning and back in the office. We had a good trip to Southborough, visiting Ben, Nicki, Abbi and Elli. Last time we were there Abbi was just taking her first step, this time they were both running.

We went in to Boston one day, otherwise most of the time was spent in Southborough. I like Boston, you can walk around, there are lots of great used book stores, what more can you ask for?

I made some progress on the table this weekend, photos coming soon.

Coffe Table Interrupted

The progress has been interrupted by illness. *Cough Cough*

Coffee Table Episod 1

In the words of The Hold Steady I've decided to Build Something This Summer. And starting a bit early just gives me a needed head start. To the right you can see episode 1 in "The Coffee Table Project", and hopefully it will actually turn into a table in the end. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Dentistry

So next week I'm having two of my wisdom teeth pulled out. This past Wednesday I went to Dr Slaughter's (!) and had a consultation. Before I got to see the doctor they made me watch a video with basically everything that could go wrong. One of the least desirable side effects is to lose my sense of feeling in the the lower lip and chin. So anyway next Thursday is the day and they will knock me out for the surgery. I've never had that done before so it will be a new experience.

Now we're off to do some wine tasting.

Later!

NIN vs Cash

The NIN version or Johnny Cash? Not quite sure which one I like the best. In either case, it's a good song.

Life after Battlestar Galactica

It's come down to the end of Battlestar Galactica. I still have the last two parter to watch before it's all over, and hopefully things will be explained. It's a high quality show but it's probably a good thing that this is the last season. It's hard for a show to maintain a level of interest and quality for more than 3-4 seasons. Battlestar Galactica has mostly pulled it off, even though they spiralled down into the Lost swamp where even the writers don't know where things are heading. But this show never quite falls into that quagmire. So now onto Life After Battlestar Galactica!

Some Music

As I started listening to Neko Case, Middle Cyclone, a thought struck me: My brother will probably like this music.
Am I right?

Friday is here

Time to go home for the week. Some good things. Want to watch a high quality British detective TV show? Then look no further, but check out Foyle's War.
Want to see some good journalism from what might be an unexpected source? Check out The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Maybe especially the latest interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer. You can watch it here.

Now off to have my weekend!

Too Long

Ok, it's been too long since my last post. I guess I could go with "I've been busy", and it would be true. But enough said. Work is work. Boxing is still fun, and I made a website for our boxing program a while ago. Here it is. This weekend we had a fund raiser for one of the boxers that is about to go pro.

The Saab drives like a jet plane on wheels. Great stuff! Those Swedes know how to make a car.

Sunday Evening

After a few sunny, restful and productive days, the weekend has sauntered into Sunday evening. It's the blues, with a steady baseline. Last weekend I built a raised bed for the garden and yesterday I got it in place in the warm spot right next to the kitchen door. I poured over 10 cubic feet of potting soil and 6 cubic feet of a compost like soil amender into the frame, and it still is not quite full enough.

Other projects in the garden has involved clearing out the scarecrow anti-cat sprinkler, that happened to be full of earwigs. Probably the most disgustingest critter on earth. It would not be unlikely that this hell spawn showed up after the Fall of Man, with it's claw and general creepy crawliness. Enough said about that.

I have decided to start studying towards getting Java Certified. It will probably take about 6 months of studying, but even so I'm almost looking forward to it. There's something to say about learning to to a thing well, be it a craft or the art of programming. One thing that has struck me during this year is that development/programming can be a creative task of finding patterns and weaving logic and math into a comprehensive tapestry.

That's all for now. Time to go.

Time To Cross The Pond

"Glorious, stirring sight! The poetry of motion! The real way to travel! The only way to travel! Here today--in next week tomorrow! Villages skipped, towns and cities jumped--always somebody else's horizon! O bliss! O poop-poop! O my! O my!"

- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows