Monthly Archive for June, 2007
I thought it would be cool to share some of my favorite feeds even though I keep a complete Links of Interest list on my Archives page. The problem, however, is that when I update the list on that page I seldom point out the ones that really stand out even though I like all of them. Here is a highlight of the ones I find truly valuable (listed in no particular order):
- Lifehacker - Teaches one how to get the most out of technology, complete with great how-tos.
- Hansel Minutes - A weekly podcast dedicated to discussing technology.
- The Micro ISV Show - An interesting podcast to listen to for those wishing to freelance or start their own business.
- NPR’s Fresh Air - While I do not listen to all the of shows, I listen to quite a few. The podcasts consist of insightful interviews with celebrities, politicians, etc.
- Open Culture - This has a great blend of interesting news, video, and podcasts where you can learn about languages, music, education, etc.
- Web Tools Collection - This is an excellent feed to have if you are a WordPress theme/plug-in developer since most of the posts are technical in nature.
- Lorelle on WordPress - A very educational feed for proper blogging practice and ediquette. Mostly WordPress related but very good for those who do not use WordPress.
- Gigavox Media - One of the best podcast feeds around for the technical minded. The podcasts consist of technical conference recordings, latest technology trends, and discussion about technology.
- Skype Garage - For Skype enthusiasts, this is a great feed to have as it contains news about software patches and major releases of the application complete with fix/enhancement details.
What about you? What are some of your favorite feeds?
WordCamp is closing in fast and I am teaming up with Andy Skelton to travel to the event. If you are a modern day cowboy and ride a steed of two-wheel metal then perhaps you’ll join us? The more the merrier!
Schedule
The following is the schedule for how things will unfold from my point of view (here is Andy’s calendar):
- Tuesday (July 17th) - Colorado Springs, Colorado to Torrey, Utah
- Wednesday (July 18th) - Torrey, Utah to Yosemite Village, California
- Thursday (July 19th) - Yosemite Village, California to San Francisco, California
- Friday (July 20th) - Buffer day (in case we hit delays on the way up).
- Saturday (July 21th) - WordCamp (Day 1)
- Sunday (July 22th) - WordCamp (Day 2)
- Monday (July 23th) - San Francisco, California to Great Basin N.P., Nevada
- Tuesday (July 24th) - Great Basin N.P., Nevada to Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Wednesday (July 25th) - Back home, relaxing, and digesting the information learned before returning to work.
Map (to San Francisco)
Andy is more ambitious than I (view his map). Below is a view of the route starting from Colorado Springs, where Andy will meet up with me, to San Francisco (view left to right):
Map (to Colorado Springs)
On the way back, I’ll head North for most of the trip and then dive South at the very end (involves a bit more interstate highway but should be interesting none-the-less):
Contact Information
Feel free to comment on this site or Andy’s if you want to join us. I would subscribe to my comments feed for further news and details as I will most likely be updating this post (via comments) with more concrete details as the event draws near.
Article Series - WordCamp 2007
In previous posts, I have written about the pitfalls of corporate e-mail as well as other forms of communication and how each plays a part in effective communication. Recently, however, Lifehacker produced a post with plenty of e-mail etiquette links worth checking out. Also, in the post, a book is referenced: Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe. Check out the The Colbert Report where Steven Colbert interviews Will Schwalbe about this book:
Sounds like an excellent book to have around for brushing up on e-mail skills as well as a handy reference to give to those who stumble in this area. I know I am no saint and have stumbled a few times myself.
© Bombardier Recreational Products
Apparently, these ATV/Motorcycle hybrids are starting to show up on the road these days. I have not seen one yet but this is definitely an interesting alternative to something like the Carver, a trike, or a motorcycle.
Check out the official site or read a review of this new technology.
I still prefer a motorcycle. 
Having not visited The Royal Gorge since I was a young lad, we woke up early, prepped the bike, and headed out for an enjoyable day visiting The Royal Gorge and traveling the scenic byways of Colorado. The route we took, looked a little something like this:
The following are photos from visiting The Royal Gorge:
Should you ever visit The Royal Gorge, I recommend buying tickets online or printing out the coupon before arriving. Oh, do not buy chocolate ice cream unless you like coffee flavored-chocolate.
Introduction
Subversion is one of many choices when it comes to revision control software. The following is quick guide to Subversion.
Getting Started
Make sure to read the free Subversion book. It is a critical source of information and a useful reference guide. If you are using Ubuntu, I have written steps on how to install and configure Subversion which might or might not be useful to you.
Tools
For Eclipse users, check out SubEclipse. It is easy to install and behaves much like the CVS feature already included with the Eclipse install. For further information on using SubEclipse, read Using and Hacking SubEclipse.
If you are not an Eclipse user, then TortoiseSVN or RapidSVN are good alteratives.
Additional Information
- Making the Jump to Subversion
- Lifehacker - How to set up a personal home Subversion server.
- Lifehacker - Using Subversion with TortoiseSVN
Introduction
The following is a step-by-step guide for configuring Subversion for Ubuntu Linux. Additional information can be found on the Ubuntu Help page.
Requirements
You will need to have the Apache HTTP Server configured prior to setting up Subversion. For more infomration, visit my Ubuntu page.
Steps
- Issue the following command to install subversion on your system:
sudo apt-get install subversion libapache2-svn. - It is a good idea to try to maintain only one repository but it does not hurt to plan for supporting multiple repositories. With that in mind, figure out where on your system you want all repositories to reside. For example:
/cache/subversion. - Create as many repositories as you like by issuing the following command:
svnadmin create. For example: svnadmin create /cache/subversion/my-new-repository-1svnadmin create /cache/subversion/my-new-repository-2- Create and store a password for each of your Subversion users. For example, issue this command:
htpasswd -cm /etc/subversion/passwd user_name. By the way, the “-c” option needs to be used only for the first user you create. Consult the htpasswd man pages for more info. - Edit your Apache virtual host configuration file (example: /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/my-site) and add location information for Subversion:
Notice that I use the SVNParentPath. This is what allows me to support multiple repositories. Also, the password file, created earlier, needs to be referenced here as well. - Save the Apache virtual host configuration file.
- Ensure proper file permission is set up for your Subversion repositories. In my case, I ended up using the same user and group information as used for my web files. For example: www-data.
- Restart your Apache server:
sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart.
Conclusion
Subversion is now configured for use. To test, enter the URL of one of your previously created Subversion repositories. For example: http://<your server name>/svn/<your repository name>. Notice that “svn” is part of your URL path. This is because we defined it that way in the <Location /svn> information defined earlier.
Keep in mind that this setup is not secure as user password information, though encrypted, is transmitted in plain text.
Wikipedia has a rather handy comparison of revision control software worth checking out if you are wanting to experiment. I have used CVS mostly and am now just starting to switch to Subversion. Both, of which, are free.
Regardless of what you go with, it is good to keep some best practices in mind (even if it is tailored for CVS): CVS Best Practices.