csammisrun

This is a bugfix release updating Lock ‘n’ Roll 1.0 for Pidgin. The original version crashed when a message was received while the computer was locked…not very helpful at all. Version 1.0.1 should have that fixed up right nice.

Thanks to everyone who has sent feedback so far, both in the form of bug reports and feature requests. I’m hoping to get around to implementing all the great suggestions I’ve received very soon! If you’d like to leave any feedback about this new version, hit me up at .

Download locknroll-1.0.1.zip, source and binary included. To install, copy “locknroll.dll” to the Pidgin plugins directory. To activate it, restart Pidgin and go to the Tools menu, select Plugins, and tick the checkbox next to “Lock ‘n’ Roll”

From the co-respondence of C. B. Sammis, this Nineteenth Day of February, Two Thousand and Nine:

To my colleagues at the Ministry of Gummi Studies:

I bring a most fervent request for absolution regarding my ignominious delays in publication, having been indisposed of late. My penmanship and mobility were much degraded from the gnawings of the mad Persian, Q. S. Hulud, following the disastrous events of the recent Continental Meeting of Gelatinous Discovery Institutions. Suffice it to say that while my publications could not be presented at that time and hence I have been very pained to write or digest all but the weakest broths, I have continued the tradition of vigilant observation that the Ministry may expect from any research bearing My Own Name.

Knowing of my fervent and repetitious inquiries into the subspecies haribo, the esteemed fe-male scientician C. A. Hansen presented me during my convalescence with a large herd of the creatures contained within a glass vessel. The Ministry is of course well aware that the goal of my previous research has been to illuminate the behavior of g. bear in those conditions which find its fragile constitution threatened. Gentlemen, this pursuit does remain my dearest ambition! Immobilized as I was, however, I studied the captive bears that were available to me. Finding myself once more in possession of my scriptuals, I humbly request your attention on a matter which has thoroughly ensnared my focus and which may well prove to be the foundation of many future studies and degrees.

g. bear haribo pack behavior in the presence of Emotions
There is precious little public knowledge on the matter of pack behavior in the gummi genera, as the masses prefer to encounter representatives of the species individually. Indeed, even our Ministry has not conducted more than the briefest of researches into the matter. It was most astounding to me, therefore, that the haribo in the glass vessel had arranged themselves in the shape of a symbol of Love!

A photo-graph evidencing the herd of haribo’s peculiar pattern

It was at this juncture that the beguiling Ms. Hansen reminded me of the date: St. Valentine’s Day. As baffling as it may seem, the conclusion is inescapable. g. bear haribo can sense emotions in humans, and arrange themselves accordingly when in the confines of a suitable container! It is not known whether other subspecies of g. bear manifest this trait. The burden of proof must sadly fall on the shoulders of my esteemed colleagues, as Ms. Hansen has indicated that she will only produce such fascinating circumstances about once a decade.

At this point I find that I must cease this letter and continue the transcription of research notes fresh on another day, as the exertions of writing have exacerbated the wounds I received at the Conference. Rest assured that though they may be less frequent, the publications under My Own Name will maintain the highest standard of excellence that the Ministry has come to expect.

And here’s my marque to prove it. Gentlemen, I remain:

C. B. Sammis

My mom sent me this link to the Lego Digital Designer, In Which One May design Lego models and then order the pieces necessary as a single kit. And what’s the very first thing I think of?

Imma make me a Battlestar.

A computer is a box where decisions are made.

Phillippe, age 5

One of the computer decisions I make on a frequent basis is to get up and walk away from it, locking the workstation as I go. Sadly, Pidgin, the IM client I use at work, remains blissfully ignorant of my choice. Other IM clients automatically set the account status to “Away” when the workstation is locked, but Pidgin does no such thing…until now.

I’ve created a Pidgin plugin called Lock ‘n’ Roll that will set any active accounts to Away (with a user-defined message if applicable) when the workstation locks, and back to Available when it is unlocked. If an account has an existing away message set, Lock ‘n’ Roll leaves it alone. This is my first shot at Pidgin development so be sure to report any errors to so that I can fix them and make everyone’s life a little happier.

Download locknroll-1.0.zip, source and binary included. To install, copy “locknroll.dll” to the Pidgin plugins directory. To activate it, restart Pidgin and go to the Tools menu, select Plugins, and tick the checkbox next to “Lock ‘n’ Roll”

Haha, misleading post title!

2009 is proving to be a great year for organization, and Courtney’s at the forefront of this trend. Her car’s trunk has been getting on her nerves for some time now. Its collection of jumper cables, dog blankets, empty shoe boxes, and god-knows-what-else has been rattling around in her mind as much as it has been in the trunk. But no more, thanks to one (extremely cold) Sunday’s worth of work.

The trunk of Courtney’s Accord, Stanley.

The plan was to create a shelving unit in the trunk. A trip to Home Depot netted some fine shelving racks which we cut up with a saber saw and positioned with zip ties.

The rack was designed to hold one largish under-bed box, and a smaller box for smaller things. A piece of PVC cut to size, drilled, and zip-tied on prevents the smaller box from slipping.

The most difficult part of assembly was creating pillars that would attach to the car’s frame and allow the frame to hang down about a foot. No zip-ties here: small bungee cords were looped through the pillars to hold them to the shelf, which were then hooked to the frame…

…which took forever and involved a lot of very cold hands and awkward angles, but it worked! We eventually replaced the bungee cords on the back with (you guessed it) zip ties. After three times losing the very taut cord down in the PVC and having to re-run it, zip ties looked reeeeally good.

Hooray for organization!

There are more photos on the Flickr set “Junk In The Trunk”. This project had way too many fun names

“Christopher” means bearing Christ, which until I read that page always made me think of a cross. It seems that I was thinking too literally. Always with the thinking too literally!

It’s not quite 2009 yet but I’ve got some ideas for resolutions. I do this to myself every single year, and I rarely ever follow through completely, but this year may be different. 2008 was a pretty great year for doing stuff, and inertia is a thing or so I’m told.

• Move out of my apartment and get some place with a garage.
• Cook a meal at home at least once a weekend.
• Get a decent couch and perhaps a matching loveseat.
• Lose 30 pounds (okay).
• Continue the trend of doing DIY projects.

Just to update my previous post, the new topoff is done and operating nicely. All the pictures are up on the project page.

There’s a new section of my site that’s dedicated to documenting the various projects that I undertake. I’ve just finished a new automatic topoff for my home fishtank, and there are numerous photos on its project page.

November has just flown by without a whole lot of crazy stuff going on. You all know how it is: DST changes and hours become other hours, three entire Thursdays go by until Thanksgiving, then before you know it December.

My job continues to be great. When I started here I asked if I could have a fishtank, and the answer was “well how big of a tank?” then “sure.” Earlier this month I up and put a 2.5 gallon tank (designed by Courtney, more on that later) on my desk, and in that tank I put a betta. Between the tank and my vine, I’ve got a nice zen thing going on.

The tank on my desk. Not pictured: any work whatsoever.

The betta, whose name is Pixel because he’s red-green-blue.

My home-animals are also good. I don’t have any recent pictures of my saltwater fishtank, though I did take a couple of the cats in their new beds. They got beds because they’re now banished from sleeping in my bed due to them being hairy and shedding like crazy, which means I have to shut them out of my bedroom at night. I didn’t want them to be uncomfortable

Gromit

Shaun

Also, I made some Christmas earlier this week. My large fake tree from last year ended up looking odd and being a general pain in the ass, so I got a small fake tree instead.

Aww, Gromit wants to be Christmas!

I was having some serious problems getting a non-fuzzy picture of the tree.

Or non-speckled.

I’ve been idly reading forums geared towards automotive enthusiasts who own Mazdas. It seems that a semi-popular thing to do with Mazda3s is to re-badge them as a Mazda Axela. I’m not that big of a fanboy, but Courtney had an interesting proposition: why not re-badge it as a 323?

I looked on eBay, but no one was selling extra badges from the Mazda3 and the Mazda2 (I wanted to make the fonts look decent). All seemed lost, until Courtney noticed the car’s side panels: a shiny “2.3″ badge on each side. Well dang, between the immediate availability of numbers and the fact that yesterday peaked around 75 degrees, how could I not?

It’s been three months since I bought my new car; I’m honestly surprised I haven’t done something like this already

Fishing line behind the badge cut through the adhesive holding it on in relatively short order.

The car was sitting in the sun, so the adhesive was already soft. Hot water, soap, and my thumb cleaned the residue right off.

Both 2.3 badges and the 3 badge from the back are off. Also featured, the lovely gouge some asshat left in my bumper a couple months ago.

The 2.3 badges got de-gooped, sawed apart, sanded down, and reset on 3M indoor/outdoor mounting tape. I think this is pretty much exactly what Mazda used in the first place.

Laying out how the re-purposed badges will look.

Hooray, a Mazda3…wait

Victory!

It’s so beautiful!

A wash and a wax later, and everything looks spectacular. Thanks to Courtney for the great photos, and the idea, and locating the 2.3 badges, and cleaning off the badges, and making handy loops of fishing line for cutting them off in the first place…we went through a lot of fishing line.