07 April 11 - 10:50ManagementBoy by Len Peralta

I have been a fan of Len Peralta ever since he started the Geek a Week podcast. A few days ago I was made aware by Geed Dad that Len had started a new series, where one could get a hero or villain drawn by him for just $50 (34,- €). I immediately ordered my ManagementBoy hero! I must say it is way cooler than I had expected, especially because I had my own preconceptions.

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25 February 11 - 19:16Will I go to Hell?

Today I stumbled upon the following video. It's not often, that you get such an eloquent dissection of the divisive nature of the belief in Hell.

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23 February 11 - 19:10Longwinded custom SQL statement to add Metadata to MythVideo

The following SQL statement allows me to select and format  the entires into the MythVideo Metadata table for recordings made with my Panasonic camera. Posted here just for future reference.

SELECT substr(`filename`,32,10), 
CONCAT_WS(':',substr(`filename`,43,2),concat(substr(`filename`,45,2),' Uhr'))
FROM `videometadata`
WHERE `filename` LIKE '%MTS%'
AND `filename` REGEXP '[0-9]{4}[-][0-9]{2}[-][0-9]{2}[-]' 
AND NOT(`filename` REGEXP '[0-9]{8}') 
AND NOT(`filename` LIKE '%720%') 
AND NOT(`filename` LIKE '%Unsere Videos%') 
LIMIT 0 , 100 

then I only need to convert it to an Update statement like

UPDATE mythconverg.videometadata 
SET 

to comit it to the database.

Similarly, to add the Season and Episode numbers (S##E##) to the syndicatedepisodenumber field using this command:

UPDATE mythconverg.recordedprogram
SET `syndicatedepisodenumber` = concat(concat(concat(convert(substr(`subtitle`,2,2),SIGNED),'.'),convert(substr(`subtitle`,5,2),SIGNED)),'.0/0')
WHERE `subtitle` REGEXP '^[S][0-9]{2}[E][0-9]{2}'

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22 February 11 - 19:09Some improvements to mythnettv

It seems that the original development of mythnettv has stopped. I have been maintaining a branch of my own, just to scratch some itches I had, as I use it to download such shows as TED-Talks and SLOW TV. The following is a list of changes I have done to the code since release 7 (January 2009) by Michael Still, that might interest you:

• the command "mythnettv statistics" is now much shorter. I have commented out most of the "what has been downloaded" part and only left "what will be downloaded".
• downloads which are stored in a folder are handled a bit better, but some more work needs to be done. Only single file video files in a folder are currently supported. 
• no transcoding is done for most modern, linux friendly file formats, as they are well supported by the internal player within MythTV 0.24.
• neither commercial detection nor seek table creation are done anymore, as MythTV 0.24 then screws up playback of some web content.
• some basic detection of subtitles, audio (mono, stereo etc) and video (widescreen, 720p etc) properties is done while importing. This metadata is inserted into the database to be displayed as if the file had be recorded with valid EPG data.
• a new command line "myhtnettv updatemeta filename" allows you to update the database retrospectively with the above data. This also works for "normal" recordings made by MythTV, if your EPG data was not accurate for these values.

managementboy - elkin-wide, Linux - No comments - § ¶

26 January 11 - 19:20Build your own MythTV 0.25 packages for Ubuntu Maverick

All you need to do is get yourselft a PPA account and go to the following link:

https://launchpad.net/~mythbuntu/+archive/0.25/+copy-packages

There copy the most current version to your PPA and select Maverick as destination. Now wait for the build to be finished.

With some luck you will find your binaries in your personal PPA. Mine can be found here:

https://launchpad.net/~managementboy/+archive/ppa/+packages

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14 December 10 - 16:36The Economist on the Wikileaks issue

I am an avid "The Economist" reader. I don't always agree with the conclusions, but the analysis is very often spot on. Rarely do I find a real fuckup, but the article on Wikileaks is one of those rare cases. For most publications you will find that the comments section is full of irrationality and often bigotry. The Economist is an exception to this rule, so I urge you to read the hundreds of replies, which are better the the article itself. Here some examples:

Exceptionally for The Economist, this is a shabby article, with little reasoning in the reasoning and view presented.

I can't believe I've read this article on the Economist.

This clumsy article makes little sense.

A shameful article, wobbly on fact, thin on content and misses the point.

"In any country the theft and publication of 250,000 secret government documents would deserve punishment." Sir, This as all very well, except your initial premise is demonstrably false. WikiLeaks has to date published a mere 1,193 of the leaked cables, and the vast majority of those first appeared in their partner newspapers. 

At best, the Economist is very out of touch with its readership.

With this article, Economist failed to live up to its reputation.

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08 December 10 - 16:55Amazon Konto auf Grund von Wikileaks kündigen!

Seit Tagen versuche ich mein Konto bei Amazon zu kündigen. Nun schreibt man mir:

Bevor wir Ihre Daten löschen können, benötigen wir von Ihnen einen schriftlichen und von Ihnen unterschriebenen Auftrag, z.B. per Brief oder Fax.

Dies ist unsere Adresse:

Amazon.de Kundenservice
Im Gewerbepark D 55
93059 Regensburg
Deutschland

Oder senden Sie uns ein Fax:

* 08 00-2 82 40 00 (innerhalb Deutschlands)
* +49-9 41-70 02 13 (außerhalb Deutschlands)

Bitte nennen Sie uns in Ihrem Schreiben die E-Mail-Adresse, mit der Sie sich bei uns angemeldet hatten.

 Also, spart Euch die Mühe über den "offiziellen" Weg auf deren Homepage. Lieber direkt das Fax verschicken.

Update 13.12.2010:

Heute habe ich diese e-Mail erhalten:

ich habe nun Ihr Amazon.de-Konto geschlossen und unsere Techniker um die Löschung des Datensatzes gebeten. Bitte haben Sie Verständnis, dass eine endgültige Löschung ein bis zwei Wochen in Anspruch nehmen kann.

Aus bilanz- und handelsrechtlichen Gründen müssen wir bestimmte Daten, zum Beispiel Buchungsbelege für Bestellungen der von Ihnen getätigten Bestellungen für eine bestimmte Frist aufbewahren. Diese Daten werden - wie gesetzlich vorgesehen - gesperrt. Sie sind nicht mehr zugänglich. Ein Zugriff auf das gelöschte Konto, um Bestellungen zu tätigen, ist nicht mehr möglich.

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07 December 10 - 21:41Wishlist

Update 2011: I have entered all the books I wish to Goodreads' homepage. Find it here.

After closing my Amazon account due to the Wikileaks fiasco I have desided to post my wishlist here.

• Why the West Rules--For Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal about the Future
• The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values
• The Grand Design
• Satiristas: Comedians, Contrarians, Raconteurs & Vulgarians
• Das sockenfressende Monster in der Waschmaschine. Eine Einführung ins skeptische Denken
• Eating Animals
• Der liebe Gott macht blau: Roman
• Wer's glaubt, wird selig
• I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears and Other Intriguing Idioms From Around the World
• Demon-Haunted World
• Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
• Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown
• Death from the Skies!: The Science Behind the End of the World
• 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists
• Flim-Flam!: Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions: The Truth About Unicorns, Parapsychology and Other Delusions
• Trick Or Treatment?: Alternative Medicine On Trial
• Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated
• Why Evolution Is True
• Men Who Stare at Goats
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
• Atheist's Guide to Christmas
• Das Evangelium des fliegenden Spaghettimonsters
• Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief
• Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion
• Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)
• Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind
• Wozu brauche ich einen Gott?: Gespräche mit Abtrünnigen und Ungläubigen
• Prototyp
• Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origin: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins
• Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution
• Survival of the Sickest: The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity (P.S.)
• The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
• The Blank Slate: The Denial of Human Nature and Modern Intellectual Life
• Der heulende Müller: Roman
• Die Giftköchin
• Die Rache des glücklichen Mannes
• Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
• Consciousness Explained
• Die Kirche im Kopf. Von "Ach, Herrje!" bis "Zum Teufel!"
• From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow: How Maps Name, Claim, and Inflame
• Simon Bolivar: A Life
• On Bullshit

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