repository. This enables a Linux user to use and manage a single user install for Oracle10g. Provided is a browser app called apex where you can administer your install and do DBA stuff. This is were things go terribly wrong. Surprisingly so for a company that has it’s own Linux Distribution “Unbreakable Linux” for sale. You would expect to have it all working and supported on the Linux platform adhering to open-source standards. He-las, not the case for Oracle products. For the most part the web app works. But when you try to edit or view a script it stays blank even though a script is loaded and in the directory. Scanning the forums the problem is fixed by using IE instead of Firefox or any other browser for that matter. Not so great Oracle

Linux does not heart IE, FIX IT!!! so it does support the real browsers like Chrome or Firefox and the likes. There are some way’s to get around this but they are not optimal solutions.

I am proud to officially announce OggCamp 10 today. The second OggCamp will take place in Liverpool in the UK on the weekend of May 1 & 2 to be preceded by Rathole Radio’s first ever Rathole Roadshow on April 30. That event will include live concerts by David Rovics, Attila The Stockbroker and my good friend Dan Lynch among others. But mainly, this year’s OggCamp1 will be even bigger and better than the original: There will be two full days of content, including another joint Ubuntu UK Podcast / Linux Outlaws live show, in a much bigger location — we are also discussing a possible exhibition space and much more. Since there will be no more LugRadio Live we are committed to taking up the torch and we’re running with it full tilt. Together, these two events will make a magnificent weekend of free software and free culture in North West England. So mark the dates in your calendar now! Here’s all the details:

• Rathole Roadshow: April 30 (20:00 – late) at the Bad Format Social Club in Liverpool (ticket prices TBA)
• OggCamp 10: May 1/2 (all day) at The Black-E in Liverpool (admission TBA)

For further information, keep an eye on the OggCamp website and our official identi.ca stream which will both have updates as the planning progresses. I think I can safely say for all of us who organised OggCamp 2009 that it was an absolutely amazing experience and we hope to see you all turn up again this year. See you in Liverpool!

I’m trying out some C programming with the Code::blocks IDE in Kubuntu Linux the KDE version of Ubuntu. While I could get away with using a regular text editor like Vim, I chose to make use of the luxury of a full blown Integrated Development Environment. Both the opensource C/C++ compiler GCC and Code::Blocks are free and easily obtained through apt-get on Ubuntu Linux or Debian based distributions.

~#sudo apt-get update

~#sudo apt-get install codeblocks gcc

note: on Red Hat or Fedora use ~#su -c ‘ yum install codeblocks gcc’

Running the debugger is real easy, make sure you compile with produce debugger symbols by selecting this in compiler and debugger settings > global compiler settings.

you might run into an gdb console error if the console settings are set to xterm. I ran into this and tried with exchanging xterm for konsole with success after all we are using KDE.

Have fun!

This really burns me.

Not so much that it’s false advertising… it’s not. Studies show that there is a fairly small window of time starting with around age 2 and continuing through age 10 or so (depending on WHICH study you’re looking at, who sponsored it, and which university conducted it) when children seem to pick up new languages and learn to read/write MUCH easier than outside that window. No… THAT’S not what burns me… It’s the “left out” information…

Studies show that children who are put in these excellerated learning situations “level out” with children who are not in these courses… in other words, the early headstart that those children got, did not equate to higher IQ, nor did it equate to long term gains as compared to their peers.

Now… Let’s look at another couple of age groups and how the mental age thing is modified by life experience…

I’m a high school teacher… (Hey you! In the back! Sit up & get your notes out!)… and amazingly enough have a pretty good repoire with my kids… We often talk from general examples, theories, and facts to real life examples and non examples… Ok… that’s the set up… I was in my Psych 101 class teaching about stuff, when the topic went from general statements to personal examples… one of my students let slip that her boyfriend was a bit older than she was… Ok… I’ll bite, 2 or 3 years… that’s “normal”…. “Nope,” she said, “a little bit more… no more than THAT even.” (I’d guessed 5 or 6 years, thinking a 16 year old MIGHT find a college aged, 21 or 22 year old boyfriend).

She then drops the bomb… “My boyfriend is 32.”… … … Uh… oh… um… After stumbling on THAT one for awhile (I kept thinking… Jimmy Crickets! I’M only 35!! (“Eww…Gross!” say all the little girlies)) I got on with the point, that men mature slower, females faster that’s why guys date younger/girls older (yes, yes, I KNOW that there is also a historical/sociological aspect… Jeez! Calm down back there!)… She wouldn’t let go… “Well, we’re so perfect for each other, we’re getting married when I graduate.”… Um.. Ok… Hey, why don’t you go home tonight & lookup the stats on divorce and Intergenerational divorces, might be interesting. “Oooo You sound JUST LIKE MY DAD! Bobby (or whatever the scums name was) loves me so we’re getting engaged as soon as I hit 12th grade.” Ah. Um. Why wait? “Bobby wants to wait till his divorce papers get served.” … … … Um… Divorce papers? (Long story/much breast beating…) He’s married. 2 kids. Wants to wait till she gets “ready to be married” before he serves the papers.

My mom used to say… “Why buy the cow, when she’s forcing milk down yer throat?” Or something like that… Hey… Got an idea… why not go “Cold Turkey” on him. No “nouggy nouggy” until he comes across with the papers? I mean… why wait. If he wants a divorce, if SHE wants a divorce, if they love each other & are made for each other… why wait?

Now… IF your over the age of 25 I don’t think I have to end this story. I at first thought that maybe it was just her that couldn’t see the major train wreck in her future… nope. My class was agast that I would suggest such a thing. Stand in the way of “true love”? I mean SHE had landed a major catch. He was employed, with a good job. Had a house & car (until the divorce, I assume). Lov-ed her… He said so, so it was.

Long(er) story short… she followed my advice. Went “cold turkey”. He tried for 3 days to bring her around. She held firm. He dumped her (SURPRISE!)… but I gotta give him props for his “dump line”… “I would NEVER leave my wife and kids for you. I would loose all rights to my kids. My wife would take everything I own. You were just a ____ (booty-call?).” Ouch. She just wasn’t mentally/emotionally experienced enough to work her way through this. Most adults would have seen it about 10 miles away. We spend so much socital capital saying these kids are adults. They should dress as adults, they act like adults, they are as large as adults, therefore they ARE adults. Nope. Sorry.

Had a kid in class who got upset at me because (after asking him 3 times to “be quiet”, “quiet down”, “no talking”) I told him “Shut Up Johnny!” Oooo! He Dis-Respected Me! You don’t know me! I’m a GROWN MAN!… Uh-Oh… He just pushed my button labeled “Take Him Down A Peg”. Um… Hey… Off the subject but do you have a job? Cool. Do you pay any bills? Ah… Cell phone… Ah… Car Insurance… Cool. Um, just wondering… Who paid for your clothes? Your Food you ate in the cafe? Last night’s supper? Where did you sleep last night? Pay the mortgage? Insurance? Car payments? OH.. You have a son? Pay child suport… No I DON’T mean buy the kid shoes once a year, I mean $300 or $400 a week becuase you donated your DNA in the making of that kid. AH. That’s what I thought. You are NOT a MAN. You are a CHILD. You live off your parents and do not contribute to them for your needs, nor to your son’s wife for his support. You are NOT a MAN. Become one and I’ll give you a TON of respect. Until then Sit down. Shut up. He was quite cool with me for the rest of the year. Even started paying a little to his … baby’s momma… to help her.

Kids don’t THINK like adults. Over and over it’s been theorised, and in my opinion proved. Teens think themselves immortal. Teens look at the silver lining and ignore the storm clouds. Children think of themselves before anyone else (oops… “adults” do some of these things also)… Adults KNOW they aren’t immortal (life insurance, health insurance, driving speeds, etc, etc, etc.), We “hope for the best, plan for the worst”. I’m also a firm believer that people who are well adjusted have compassion and empathy for others. We think of how our actions effect/affect others.

Sure this is a function of experience. But educational psychologists will tell you that one way that a person learns is through trial and error (operant conditioning?). Experience. Infants synapses are multiplied by doing. This process does not stop. Connections are made throughtout a persons lifetime. So… surprise, surprise… As you mature/age you should be growing mentally. Duh!

The whole debacle about the failing legacy hardware drivers submarining the Redmond based software giant has perpetual comical effects. The company has taken a hard beating on their Vista OS and instead of working on improving their failing product has decided to release a new one. Maybe not such a bad idea business wise, time will tell. While on the desktop front MS still holds the reins for millions of computer users thanks to ominous vendor lock-in in schools and the workplace . Not so on the server side of the blade. Through a decade of development and hard work of volunteers to the source. Linux has become a force to be reckoned with and takes up a big chunk in servers deployed by big companies. A rolling trend has formed, virtualization. The host system can be of any persuasion running a manager software program to control the images and share processes among resources. This turns out to be a proven energy and resource saver. A system running several instances of a server makes efficient use of said resources by cutting down on idling time. Microsoft has not been blind by this and has several products to manage server instances. Now this is where I’m going with this, the Kalonial Behemoth has decided that in order to keep it’s market share for this application it has to support Linux on said products. They are going to achieve this by < drum roll> committing source code to the Linux kernel to support driver needs. Now Microsoft hates the GPL,and has called the open software license anti-American. Has Microsoft sold out America?

I’m one of millions of computer users who find that free is better than paying for closed software. I don’t condone stealing software but like so many have not proudly done so for financial reasons in the past. These days there is no reason to practice this larceny. You can have a functional working system with all the software you could wish for, free at no cost at all. Open Source solutions are the answer to avoid many user woes like viruses and nasty Trojans that plague other operating systems. It is understandable that any change can be perceived as strange and uncomfortable to a person. If you recognize yourself in this description just think of all the frustrations you went through with your current system. There is the discussion in hilarious commercials between the two big players on the market. The real question you have to ask here is not if you’ re a Windows PC or an Apple Mac, but if you want stability and freedom. Let’s face it, the trouble free system like Apple Mac OS X are stable and robust in their application but usually cost twice as much as a perfectly good PC. Apple has established themselves as a status symbol with an aura of wealth and riches. This is not an option for most people with modest incomes. Microsoft has Vista as their last major distribution of Windows OS, we all know this wasn’t a great commercial success for Microsoft because of legacy hardware driver issues and forced hardware upgrades gave fuel for a disgruntled user-base. More and more tech savory people know you can use the stable and robust UNIX like system on PC hardware with freedom from the money hungry clutches of both companies. Be free from DRM’s and software patents use Linux instead! Saving money is a good thing too in these challenging economic times. I’m talking about quality software free thanks to the work of millions of programmers and volunteers across the globe. The Linux OS is considered a good and cheap solution by major companies and school systems these days, and that is a real good thing for computer users like yourself. These companies pay their developers to work on Open-Source software projects for needed features and through this give back to the community. I highly recommend Ubuntu to any person new to Linux who wants to give freedom a try. http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download this will download an image in ISO format which you must open with your cd burning software and burn to a cd. A live cd can be used to try Linux out on your computer without erasing your data.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbwzBBHtNGI

So… as my econ prof once said… “In times of financial turmoil, businesses need to get back to the basics of business. The businesses that function best… providing the best quality service at the best prices… will survive. Those that loose sight of the basics will fold.” Dr. Lonnie Wilson wasn’t big on buzz words or paradigm shifts, just big on the basics.

Let me give you an example of a situation that will have profound impact on a small business if it’s not corrected…

Last weekend the wife & I spent a wonderful vacations week at the beach. We saved up for 3 months for the 4 day excursion, rented a cheap room, brought our own food, basically tried to cut back where we could and still have a great trip. STOP RIGHT THERE… Already I have impacted the local economy positively, and negatively (sort of)… by renting a room out of town I’ve increased the amount of cash flowing into the local economy of the place I visited, but by trying to save cash (cheap motel, bringing my own food) my impact was not as great as it might have been in a better economy. Restaurants in the area would not be getting my business, so they are in greater competition with each other for that smaller amount o fcash from my wallet. PLEASE CONTINUE…

We had heard from a friend that there was an excellent seafood place across from the pier in Flager Beach… good food, fair prices… My family being “seafoodaholics” we decided to splurge on our 2nd night there andeat out. The problem was my friend hadn’t been to Flagler in about 2 years and couldn’t remember the actual name of the joint… no problem, how many seafood restaurants could there be “across from the pier”… Answer: 4. STOP: Word of mouth about the quality of the food, atmosphere, price, etc. played a major part in deciding which business was getting my few dollars.

We chose a nice looking, busy, seafood restaurant that looked like it might be the one that my friend selected. We were greeted, sat, and ordered… so far, so good. The waitress was about 30 years old, and a little stressed… but that’s ok. My family isn’t exactly prima donas… we don’t require hovering waitresses pouring tea whenever we take a sip… The food was the most important aspect of our meal… The meal came… It was good… I’d like to say more about it, but events that happened later have colored my view of the entire meal… STOP: Ok… so far so good basics wise… The customer is relitively satisfied with the atmosphere, the service is probably a little edgy, but not bad enough to cause problems, the food (main service) is missing the “Wow” factor… but why? Where’s the red flag (you know there’s one coming!)

Time to go… “Check Please”… Wait… wait… Oh, here it is… “No problem, I know you’re busy tonight.”… Hmm… $53… Ok, that seems fair for the amount of food, the fact that we’re “splurging”, the good memories we’ll get from this meal… no problem. I pulled out 3 $20s to pay the bill, I’m terrible at knowing the right tip… always go on the 10+% rule. Having been a waiter, I know how important tips can be, so I always leave SOMETHING, even for pretty bad service… wait… wait… wait… “Babe, let’s just leave the $60 and go for a walk on the pier.”

That’s when IT happened. As we were at the front door the waitress “ran into” us with our change… “No, just keep it. Have a great night! Thanks!”… “What?” she said with disbelief & confusion, “I guess so… even though it’s not even 10%.”

Ouch. 1) 10% of $53 is $5.30… I’m no math major, but $60 – $53 is more than $5.30. 2) The tip used to be a way of rewarding exceptional service. A way of showing a waitress (waiter) your GRATITUDE for good service, not a required part of the meal. 3) You do realise that if you make snide comments like this that it has an ADVERSE effect on business, which has an adverse effect on your employment?

Back to basics… customer service, or as Clark Howard rants… “Customer No Service”… It ruined a nice dinner with my family. I won’t be back. Ever. Remember that Psychology class where they talked about memory? How the said that one of the theories was that we NEVER forgot anything, we just lost the ability to recall the information? Remember how that was called “Interference”?  “Interference” A event blocking the correct memory from being recalled. Remember how there were 2 types of Interference… (my wording) Pre-interference, and Post-interference… Pre: previous memory blocks later memory… Post: A later memory blocks a previous memory.

I can’t remember (very well) the food I ate… was it great? Decent? The atmosphere… I remember dust on nicknacks, fairly loud… Wow… Only the negative stuff… All because of “IT”. How will my experience, multiplied by a few customers, effect that business… especially in this economy?

Now, let’s look at a different model… the Pizza restaurant next door. On a whim Barb & I decided to get a pizza the last night. How many pizza restaurants in a small town…3. We chose “Joseph’s Pizzaria”. A mom & pop that was neat as a pin, and close to our motel. We entered were greeted, and placed our order for take out. 4 people working… even though it was late… 3 cleaning/straightening… one cooking. everyone asked us if we had been helped… one waitress who had been in the back when we came in, apologised for our wait, and profusely apologised for not serving us right away  “What can I help you with?”… “No, we’ve been helped, but thanks!” “Would you like some bread sticks while you wait? They’re only $3.99… would you like to taste one?”… “Sir you’re 2 pizzas are done. That’ll be $21.” Oh! I couldn’t resist… “Here’s $25. Keep the change.” “Thanks. Come again.”

WOW! The basics at work. Good food (I loved the pizza.)… good atmosphere (clean)… excellent service. I’ll be back. When we got back to the motel we saw some people who have been coming to this motel for years, they saw the box & said “Hey! You go to Joseph’s?” They had the same experience & had the same thoughts I did.

Pizza is Pizza, but good service is worth a lot, and will probably save that pizzeria from Chapter13.

A good thought in this troubled economy.

Alright, where is this trip down memory lane taking me… Not to a failed 1990 TV show about a psychologist who solved crimes studying the body language of suspects, nor the interesting, but scientifically inaccurate “How to Read a Person Like a Book”, but in a practical application I have observed within the confines of the bosses office. I have had a grand total of 7 bosses over the last 23 years, and I’ve noticed a correlation between the “proxmetics” of their “visitor’s chairs” and their management styles.

An example… One of my bosses was a well connected, highly powerful, and very aggressive individual in the community. He had an open door policy, but rarely allowed much disagreement. He was aggressive in negotiations, aggressive in policy, and aggressive in his personal life. One day he had me dead to rights… He sent a note telling me when to report to his office, and what to bring with me… As I entered I saw that his office was set up in the Us Vs. Them configuration. 2 visitors chairs about 3 feet from his battleship of a desk where he presided in a tall backed mangers chair. I got there a few minutes early, and noticed a person with a complaint wither under his scrutiny and cold stare.

As I was sweating my wait time, I remembered this college prof and his “pseudoscience” lecture. He specifically said that on eof the new exciting ways it was being used was in negotiations with Japanese businessmen (remember this was in the 80’s when it seemed the Japanese economic juggernaut would consume all of our production here in the US.).  The prof said that the Japanese respected strength, and suggested that putting the other party at a psychological disadvantage to begin with would set the tone for the meeting.

THAT’S when I saw my bosses office in a different light. My boss had placed the chairs at a distance where he could see the entire body of his “guests”. Having sat in the “hot seat” a couple of times, I can tell you that you feel quite naked & alone out there without a desk to hide behind. Meanwhile the boss himself would sit back behind the symbol of his authority, his massive desk, firmly ensconced, firmly entrenched in his position. Secure. Talk about setting the tone in your favor before you even get started.

I figured the minor infraction I was being called in for was minor enough I wasn’t getting fired, so I decided to try something. As I came into his office I pulled the visitor chair over to the corner of his desk (I think I got that from “Men in Black”… it’s one of my favorite scenes in that movie!) The boss was a little taken aback, and even forgot why he called me in. I smiled and said that I had accidentally done so & so, but that I knew it was a mistake and had taken steps to repair the situation… The boss was so discombobulated that I didn’t yammer about not knowing why I was called in, making lame excuses, and generally acting submissive, that he quickly agreed that I was in the wrong, but that I was on the right track to repair the damage, if there even was a problem.

Now I’m not saying that if I had embezzled money, slept with his wife, or burned down the copier that I would have gotten away with it, but in this case a little basic, and half remembered, psychology did help my situation.

Check it out… “How to Read a Person Like a Book” is a good read… fun stuff to try (parlor tricks maybe but fun nonetheless)… Enjoy!

Giz has 2 posts about a passion of his… the 80’s wonder… the 6 sided widow maker… the best thing out of Russian since little black fish eggs on crackers… “The Cube”.

Ui,li,u,ri…. WHAT?… Patterns, memorization… Just peal the darn stickers! “It’s cheating”, I hear you squirming in your swivel chairs, wincing at ruining… “The Cube”. But think about it… Use the toy as a symbol of your problems and how people deal with them.

Totally different subject, but still in the same vein… watching some show tonite… “Wipeout”?… American style MXC… Some lady (I assume) flies out to California, signs  1,000 waivers, gets dressed in their silly tights/helmet.shin guards does an interview with the host… then when she is supposed to walk on this 6′ high beam while 2 slowly spinning arms try to push her off… she says (and I quote) “Uh- No way am I gonna get on that D*** thing!” then she quits. That’s the first way people deal with problems… Ignore the warning signs, their own lead-in behaviors, just say “nope, not doing this.” & fold.

Then there’s Giz…& my wife for that matter. Read books on the issue. Ask experts, tabulate data, form algorithms, analyze, prioritize, sanitize… then come to a conclusion. Takes longer… high rate of success IF you get to a final solution. How many times  do you  get stuck in a rut… Problem-data-solution1, more data, solution 2, 3, 4, ad nauseum. Stuck in a endless cycle… well, “endless” is a bit harsh.

JUST PEAL THE STICKERS OFF!

Sometimes you have to refocus on the the end product. SOMETIMES an elegant solution is great, but a simple one works just fine. It’s a thinking person’s job to figure out where the line is.

Oh… and make sure there’s some rubber cement handy… those darn stickers don’t want to stay on sometimes.