Older blog entries for nzkoz (starting at number 10)

Open Source

I've started poking around the GNOME frontend for LyX again. I'm unable to even compile it so I'm waiting on some gurus to clean it up for me :). The LyX website overhaul is mostly complete. I'm going to have to go through the php code at some stage and make sure that there's nothing nasty happening i.e

 if($user_is_authorised) { // // etc.} 

I went on a bugzilla binge and cleaned up a couple (about 30 I think) bugs from gnome-core. The fall into roughly 3 categorys:

1. "it doesn't work" or "fff hhh asdfasdf"
2. "Netscape 4 crashes all the time"
3. Evolution crashes

1,2 get NEEDINFO'd or NOTGNOME'd depending on the specifics. Type 3s get assigned to louie@ximian.com. I hope louie can handle them and that I'm not doing something wrong.

Paid Work

I've renegotiated my contract and for the first time in a while I'm actually an employee again. At present we're looking at HEAPS of work on the gold coast but the client won't commit to times etc. So for at least the time being I'm in NZ and can do some opensource stuff at night.

Studies

I'm teaching myself Java and Oracle. They're both cool technologies and should help me increase my 'hireability'. If anyone knows some good books on j2ee + oracle I'd appreciate the references.

Open Source

I've been doing some work on LyX's website. It's now XHTML-1.0 compliant (except for the stuff generated from some other source) and I'll be moving to CSS for the layout soon enough.

Work

Just spent a week on expenses in Australia working for Conrad Jupiter's on the Gold Coast. It was kinda surreal, I stayed inside for almost 4 whole days! I've always been a maths guy so I've never understood the appeal of casinos, but being there I saw just how many people love them!

 /me buys casino stock 

Been fixing the LyX web pages so they are valid XHTML, will start on the CSS soon. The changes needed to be made and I'm unable to find the brain time needed to do the GUI work. Converting to XHTML is nice and mechanical. Work

Things are currently "A little relaxed" (read "allowed to sleep" :)) but I feel there is a huge stress period coming up Real Soon Now. The company is currently doing the whole Capital Raising thing. We should fare better than eazel did because.... we have revenues, which are growing fast. But it's still kinda scary to think that failure in this regard could mean Unemployment.

ZOPE!!! I've started playing with zope on my home pc. it's VERY nice. I've had some ideas for a cool piece of software, built on zope (or a similar web platform). Just got some thinking to do about the finer points. There might be a business model somewhere down this road.

Work

The Vegas crew are back today. Their 3 day trip became 88 days. MAN that would suck.

Open Source

Finished FormTabularCreate for GNOME-LyX but it's yet to be applied (I don't have CVS and baruch is busy at present). Working with a well defined API is refereshing. No worrying "where do I get the vector with the contents of this menu?" You just know

I've started reading the Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. It's hard going but well worth it. I kinda like scheme.

Work

I wish some people would check before submitting things... can't really say anymore

Open Source

Well, the computer's out of the lounge and into our study/laundry (long story) so I've been on a bit of a Open Source binge. I helped out mrproper with his QA work for the gnome documentation project. I also finished FormCharacter for the gnome frontend. I'm just trying to figure out the LyX button controller system. Everything's disabled in my dialogs! :)

I dislike ximian gnome and I can't wait for the Gnome Packaging Project to start releasing binaries. Ximian left a number of omf files out of important packages (gnome-utils and gnome-core) meaning the help sidebar is useless. On top of that the mozilla packaging seems messed up so I've reverted to blizzard's.

Work

Neeeeeeed sleeeeeep nooooooow!!!!

Open Source

After fighting with akamai and ftp.ximian.com I am now running ximian gnome 1.4. All I can say is WOW!.... And this, Never before have I felt so at home in a desktop environment. Gnome 1.4 with Nautilus is brilliant.

Work never ends. But I suppose that's a good thing. I'm currently plugging away on my tools for Compudigm and having a lot of fun doing it.

Studies

Group Theory is actually quite difficult. Not so much in the material that it covers but in the precision it requires. I'm always catching myself going a*b*c = b*a*c = b*(a*c) = b*n only to remember 2 hours later that the group isn't Abelian! Though a lot of people would write off group theory as useless theoretical rubbish I'm finding it very useful. The rigour it forces me to use with my logic really cleans up my programming

Open-Source

Nautilus just gets better and better. Not a day goes by that I don't use it. If only I was more of a programmer and could add a CVS view and a smb:// module for gnome-vfs. Then it would be truly useful. No work on LyX unfortunately, too much paid work to do.

Work

Well one of my project managers is sick of me being dragged elsewhere and postponing my work for her. So to stop that from happening I've been moved from my desk to one behind a few other employees. The theory being that the evil ones will stop harrassing me with non-perl related work.

Open Source

I've re-read Scott Meyers' Effective C++ and loved it the second time as well. I've been programming in perl so long that I find it hard to think in C++ terms when it comes to manipulating strings. I have most of my mind around it and that should really make it easier for me to really progress through the LyX dialogs

Of course a downside of being in a fast growing company is that your job description changes fairly rapidly.

Boss: "This is high priority"

Me: "Gotcha I won't sleep until that's done!"

Boss: "Change of plans. This company is Huge and they want us. Do that!"

Them's the breaks I guess.

On another note I'm in love with nautilus. I'm running the hourly builds and I've found most of the speed problems have gone and the program is nicely responsive. I'm just longing for some of the features we've seen in preview screen shots.

On the LyX Front I'm having a bit of trouble following some of the more complicated Controllers and that's slowed my GUI development down a bit. I'm just looking forward to getting some serious coding done on Easter weekend. Specifically FormCharacter and FormInclude.