Using tar to create .tgz files

Here's the command:

tar cvzf foo.tgz *.cc *.h;rm *.cc;rm *.h

From here:

http://www.cs.duke.edu/~ola/courses/programming/tar.html

Flush Mount Ceiling Light Polished Brass Ribbed Clear

Once again the fickle finger of fashion is pointed against me. The basic ceiling dome lights that I thought would be easy to get more of are not in stores, nor are reasonable facimilies. The original lights were dirt-cheap contractor grade that I got more of when we were doing renovations shortly after moving in. Now, it's all frosted glass, or the insane "nipple" shape when it's the clear glass.

I spent some time refining the search term above, then somehow had the idea of looking at one of the old lights and getting the manufacturer and part number from it. The manufacturer info was dodgy, but the part number finally produced a perfect hit, and it turns out that I can definitely get some of these... in about a week after the christmas package rush dies down. Here it is:

http://www.doitbest.com/Ceiling+fixtures-Westinghouse+Di+A-model-66282-doitbest-sku-526193.dib

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049D7KF2/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001B14V0W&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=19YGGW4614ANSJJR4PJ4

DoItBest has a free ship-to-store option, it just takes 7-10 days.

Until I found the part number, I was zeroing in on a couple of (also mail order) alternate options. Here is one from "Progress":

http://shop.ferguson.com/product/Progress-P3655-Polished-Brass-65718?Ns=AvailabilityType%7C0%7C%7CPrimary_Finish%7C1%7C%7CSort_Order%7C1&N=102+49+3000262+3000857+2000004+4294965862

This WalMart option looked good in pictures, but it turns out that it's still nipply:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Whipped-13-Flushmount-Light-Polished-Brass/16781244

This one from Thomas is very nice, but ouch what a price:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Lighting-SL8621-1-Polished-Finish/dp/B000HBM2YO

Here's the family:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dtools&field-keywords=thomas+lighting+ceiling+flush+mount#/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=n%3A228013%2Ck%3Athomas+lighting+ceiling+flush+mount+clear&page=2&keywords=thomas+lighting+ceiling+flush+mount+clear&ie=UTF8&qid=1324306235

Then lower down the ladder are some Nuvo ones with frosted glass:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dtools&field-keywords=ceiling+polished+brass#/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=n%3A228013%2Ck%3Aceiling+flush+mount+polished+brass&page=2&keywords=ceiling+flush+mount+polished+brass&ie=UTF8&qid=1324304825

command line HTML to PDF converter

Preferably free, of course.

I think the real answer is to somehow use the python pdf libraries. Somebody must have written this kind of converter using this library, but I haven't found it yet.

(Update, here it is. Of course, will it work with our pathetic version 2.5 python?)

http://www.xhtml2pdf.com/

Oh how interesting, they list "alternatives" to xhtml2pdf.

Here are some other options:

ImPDF seems to be the winner. It's command line, and has a free version although they are also advertising a "company license"? Needs more investigation:

http://www.tipdownload.com/ImPDF-HTML-to-PDF-Converter-Comm_103690/

The pricing page (link now lost) seemed to indicate that the command line option could only be bought under a $200 "company license", but this page seems to have a free download link:

http://www.impdf.com/html-to-pdf-cmd.htm

Here's a retail-boxed version with what's probably a trial download. Doesn't seem to have a command line though:

http://www.coolutils.com/TotalHTMLConverter

Document was marked final by the author to discourage editing. Edit anyway?

For some reason, my co-worker is unable to edit these test procedures from the CM system, and has to request a special "unlocked" version from CM. When I download these documents and open them, all I get is the above message and a big friendly "Edit Anyway" button. We were trying to figure out why. He has Word 2007 while I have 2010, and that seems to be a likely source of the difference. In the end, it was easier just to get CM to send copies of the documents, but here are some barely-perused links on the subject:

This didn't seem to apply; in his version the "protect" drop-down panel has only one button, not two as shown here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/allow-changes-to-parts-of-a-protected-document-HA010372706.aspx#BM3

The folks in this forum are all about trying to find a special "unlock" button for forms that was prominently placed in Word 2003 (I've never had an occasion to use it; maybe it's related to our issue, maybe not):

http://help.lockergnome.com/office/UNLOCKING-FORMS-WORD-2007--ftopict932726.html

Premium Natural Stones Escorial interlocking

Here are some links to the decorative glass tile that I was not allowed to have for my own house:

http://www.msistone.com/products/MosaicsDetails.aspx?MosaicsID=716

http://msistone.com/products/mosaicsLevel2.aspx?LevelOneID=43

http://www.msistone.com/products/..%5Cproducts%5CMosaicsDetails.aspx?MosaicsID=650

SVN options ci

I find it interesting that we are using both Tortoise and "plain" SVN to access our SVN repository, depending on the system being used. For our unix boxes, plain SVN must be used at the command line.

From a recent search for the proper syntax for SVN command line options, here is a nice page:

http://www.yolinux.com/TUTORIALS/Subversion.html

Win7 Home Security 2012 Firewall Alert Unregistered Version System Hijack Action Center

This appears to be a very well known trojan; I'm not sure how it got through on Lisa's laptop. Here are the links for how to remove it:

First off, the Microsoft pages for it reveal that there are Vista, XP, and Windows 7 "versions" out there. Humorously, they refer inquiries to the "bleepingcomputer.com" page on the virus:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-security/how-do-i-remove-vista-home-security-2012-virus/1e3ea9ab-8b1b-486f-b840-1d1fd4988322

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-security/getting-messages-about-win-7-home-security-2012/3d161885-299f-4231-837d-93fffeab8215

On bleepingcomputer.com, the description of the problem is very through with detailed removal steps and matches what is on Lisa's laptop:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-win-7-home-security-2012

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-win-7-antispyware-2012

The steps seem to be: 1) Use FixNCR to re-enable the ability to run executables, 2) Use RKill to disable the trojan, and 3) Use Malware Bytes to clean it from the system.

Here it where to get RKill, which is apparently made by bleepingcomputer?

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/rkill

Here is info on what RKill does:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic308364.html

Here is the source for Malware Bytes, which is apparently also a bleepingcomputer creation:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/malwarebytes-anti-malware

Here is the UG for Malware Bytes:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/how-to-use-malwarebytes-anti-malware-tutorial

Stop Cygwin sed adding ^M

So, when I used sed on my files, it would convert windows ascii text to linux ascii text and changing the CRLF on the end of each line of every file it touched to just ^M, regardless of if it made the requested other substitution. This royally screwed up Tortise SVN's ability to tell if the file had been seriously changed. My search for the answer led me to a lot of interesting discoveries about how cygwin deals with file types, ways to finesse how it deals with file types (most of which didn't work), and then the answer itself so simple.

On the cygwin message boards, all the moderators could manage was snarky comments saying "read the FAQ about text mounts":

http://www.cygwin.com/ml/cygwin/2002-01/msg01432.html

Here's some not entirely clear additional info that this is happening during the i/o redirection process and not in sed:

http://www.cygwin.com/ml/cygwin/2002-01/msg01433.html

The basic concept from the above was that the problem I'm having is the standard behavior for cygwin sed; it's supposed to do this. So, what are text mounts? Never really got the feeling I learned for sure, but it seems to have something to do with how the file system was mounted by Cygwin initially? Here may be the faq on text modes:

http://www.cygwin.com/cygwin-ug-net/using-textbinary.html

Somewhere I got the idea that cygwin sed could be forced to output files as windows files if the input filename is given with a colon or backslash in the path name. However, after beating on xargs to make it do that, the output was still not a windows format (backing up ideas from the second link above).

During this process I got more familiar with using xargs with the -I option from this page:

http://www.mkssoftware.com/docs/man1/xargs.1.asp

From this next link I learned two things. First, that the -i argument to sed was the "edit in place" parameter, this was what made it possible to not need to manually command the redirect of sed's output. Secondly, sed has a -b argument to specifiy the file type as binary. The Cygwin man page didn't mention this, as I recall, but it was the answer. This has the effect of telling sed to not convert the line endings, and viola, now the lines in files which sed does not change do not show up as changed anymore:

http://www.gnu.org/software/sed/manual/sed.html

Glidden Blue Phlox

It looks like Glidden doesn't make Blue Phlox any more. Their colors have all been renamed. There are odd sites that put up an HTML color approximation of paint chips, such as the following (which seems to give a catalog number for Blue Phlox):

http://www.myperfectcolor.com/en/color/88063_Glidden-58BB33270-Blue-Phlox

http://www.color-swatches.com/glidden/blue-phlox/58bb-33-270/swatch.html

Pure Periwinkle is a pretty close replacement for Blue Phlox though.

PVA Primer versus Regular or Latex Primer

So, PVA primter is labeled "contractor grade" and is about half the cost. What's the catch.

Apparently, it's pretty poor stuff, although contractors seem to have no heasitation about using it for new drywall. "PVA primer is a primer made with a polyvinyl acetate binder resin, the way paints were made in the beginning some 40 years ago. They are the cheaper grades of primer as PVA resin like the ones I used to sell are plentiful and therefore cheap.". That quote was from this forum thread, the usual dark echo chamber full of dummies with a few snarky schmott guys:

http://www.diychatroom.com/f4/pva-primer-vs-tinted-primer-90226/

Here's a forum where the contractors are like "PVA fine for new drywall":

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/walls-ceilings/179671-rookie-kilz-vs-pva-primer.html.

However, many folks seem to have no heasitation to comparing PVA to Elmer's Glue.

Sumerian Clay Tokens

This subject is so interesting!

Executive Summary: Plain clay tokens came into use at around 8,000 BC, then about 4,000 years later writing was invented. They are several shapes, each representing a type of commodity, and were stored baked in clay balls on which the contents had been impressed before encapsulating. Complex clay tokens were in use also, but they are at the much later time frame and only associated with the sumerian temple transactions. The theory is put forth that the plain tokens were for farm commodities, and the complex were for manufactured commodities. Sumerian math was astonishing in its advancement and its use of the base-60 system. There were different number systems for different "things", like sheep vs. grain volume vs. land area.

Here are just a couple of the links I've found that really explain this topic:

A top-level one with an unbelievably clear (but apparently biased) 10,000 year history of the region:

http://it.stlawu.edu/~dmelvill/mesomath/index.html

A page that has popped up repeatedly in my searches, not so much about the tokens or math, but the originis of the cunieform. Goes into the base-60 number system:

http://www.ancientscripts.com/sumerian.html

Look at this incredible and well-explained collection of tablets and bullas:

http://earth-history.com/Sumer/Clay-tablets.htm

VI show end of line characters

Two suggestions:

First, ":set list". Love the mnemonic.

http://www.chrispian.com/quick-vi-tip-show-hidden-characters/

I recently found out that using this causes all tab characters to be ripped out or something?

Heres the post that mentioned replacing the /t's, using :e ++ff unix, and other neat hints:

http://superuser.com/questions/97692/vim-show-line-feeds-carriage-return

MEI Technologies Contacts

Important people and phone numbers at MEI:

VP, Capitol Region Kamran Mortezavi 301-867-0181 kamran.mortezavi@meieses.com
Program Manager Dwight Yoder 301-867-0189 dwight.yoder@meieses.com
Director of Biz Operations Buddy Whiteman 301-867-0028 buddy.whiteman@meieses.com
Group Manager Carroll Collins 301-867-0052 carroll.collins@meieses.com
Group Manager Randy Baumbach 301-867-0043 randy.baumbach@meieses.com
Senior HR Deborah Valentine 301-867-0001 deborah.valentine@meieses.com
Accounting Manager Paula Colwell 301-867-0055 paula.colwell@meieses.com
Safety /Misson Assurance Charles Coleman 301-867-0003 charles.coleman@meieses.com
Task Lead Joseph LeStrange 301-867-0083 joseph.lestrange@meieses.com
Task Lead Bob Mann 301-867-0188 bob.mann@meieses.com
Task Lead Ron Martin 301-867-0010 ron.martin@meieses.com
Task Lead Amir Sadeghi 301-867-0057 amir.sadeghi@meieses.com
Task Lead Bill Janssen 301-867-0056 bill.janssen@meieses.com
Task Lead Nathaniel Forgotson 301-867-0008 nathaniel.forgotson@meieses.com
Task Lead Alan Hairston 301-867-0192 alan.hairston@meieses.com
Task Lead Suleyman "Sam" Johns 301-867-0070 suleyman.johns@meieses.com
Sr. Buyer Rick Jacobs 301-867-0006 rick.jacobs@meieses.com
Contracts Administrator Barbara Selby 301-867-0178 barbara.selby@meieses.com
Subcontracts Assistant Silesia Pearson 301-867-0191 sisi.pearson@meieses.com
Administrative Courier Carletta Carter 301-867-0000 carletta.carter@meieses.com
Administrative Assistant KeyKey Jeter 301-867-0094 keykey.jeter@meieses.com
HR Rupinder Singh 301-867-0019 rupinder.singh@meieses.com
Payroll Specialist George Thomas 301-867-0005 george.thomas@meieses.com
Project Coordinator Carletta Todd 301-867-0004 carlie.todd@meieses.com
Quality Assurance Engineer Dave Tomlin 301-867-0092 dave.tomlin@meieses.com