Older blog entries for srl (starting at number 107)

Hacked a little this weekend, but mostly spent it hanging out with friends. Recruited some new potential Reefknot people, tried to get Time.pm and its tests to work (yet again). Bought a bike computer, which is proving to be interesting for comparing my day-to-day rides. Other than that, nothing much.

Worked on Net::ICal some more last night, trying to make sure that my integration patches for Date::ICal are working properly. Chatted with Schwern for a while on the API for Date::More and on automated testing. Committed patches and tests that I think make Net::ICal::Time saner. One file down, 10 or so to go. If you like testing and QA, or if you're just looking for somewhere to help out, mail me, we could use you.

Work

Packaging our internally-developed modules into CPAN-style packages, migrating from RCS to CVS, and thinking about automated testing of lots of homegrown Perl modules. Mmm, release management.

Worked on Date::ICal last night, adding a compare() function to it, and started trying to make Net::ICal inherit from Date::ICal in the right ways. Next up: finish that, work on testing.

Doing some cool stuff at work with our Perl modules there--- setting up tests and proper Makefile.PLs for the ad-hack modules we have lying around. Starting to think about how to do release management in a Perl development shop. It's fun.

More hacking last night--- lots of idea spewage, mostly, and defining the API for Rk::Storage in between chatting with Schwern about automated testing. Had an idea about distributed testing of our code, so that we know it does the Right Thing in different timezones. Essentially, I think we're going to have a developers' version of "make test" that sends mail to a "reefknot-testing" list. More as I get it figured out.

I've still gotta figure out how to balance hacking with having enough energy to ride my bike 50-80 miles per week. hrm.

Worked last night on Reefknot for a few hours-- the first good chunk of time I've gotten in on it since YAPC. Started trying to figure out how Storage should work, using some of LotR's code as a base. Wrote some testing infrastructure for the Reefknot::* modules.

Other than that, I did household stuff and tried to convince debian to play nicely with me on my (newly reinstalled) machine.

Spent the weekend with my SO, reworking our home computer setup, putting machines in the new (to us) rack and moving furrniture. Much hardware hacking--- putting together machines in optimal configurations and such--- mostly the hardware we got at the Ironbridge Networks auction. (My working machine now has a "Property of Ironbridge Networks" plate on it. Whee.) Oh, and I taught my SO how to install and configure Debian. That was fun.

Not much hacking this weekend, except for getting a copy of LotR's sample Reefknot::Server hack running. That was fun, and I've been meaning to do it for a while.

So, last week was YAPC North America--- it was great. I met a lot of people (too numerous to name) and heard a lot of great presentations. I'm still digesting it all. It's amazing how energizing it was to be around people who are doing cool stuff. I may enumerate "cool stuff" more after it all settles in my brain.

So, my lack-of-hacking continues apace, mostly. My patches to Date::ICal got accepted for the new version. I went to NYC for a few days with my sister, went to Boston Pride, and haven't done much else.

My bike obsession continues as well. I've started keeping a training log, just to keep track of what days (and how far) I ride. I'm currently taking apart and rebuilding an old Raleigh "Grand Prix" road bike from 1985 or so--- I figured it was time to learn all the things I didn't know about bike mechanics. Next season, a new bike; this season, I'm trying to make do with what I have. Besides, hacking around with bikes is fun.

The weekend was fun. Did a major hacking run on Friday and Saturday---- getting Date::ICal and Net::ICal::Time to (try to) play nicely.

Kicked around some servers--- set up one of the boxes my house got at the Ironbridge auction to be an e-smith server. Kudos to e-smith---- a linux gateway/server that does samba, firewalling, appletalk, DHCP, and lots of other stuff, very nicely and with a 15-minute install. Okay, maybe 30. Virtually idiot-proof, and it's all GPL. Rock on.

(I have no affiliation with e-smith other than being a satisfied user.)

Did some spring cleaning about a month late; I'm working on throwing away 2 years of accumulated cruft in my room. It's slow going.

So. I've been busy and/or depressed the last few weeks and haven't gotten much hacking done. I did, however, go to Montréal for one of the U2 shows there. That was fun. Found out that Skud's paper on Reefknot got accepted for YAPC::America::North (congratulations).

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things; hopefully this weekend will prove useful.