Prattlin' On

About 1.5 years ago, I switched to a Macbook Pro for my main computer, most of which is a story for another time.  The story this time is TextMate.  TextMate is a editor for ye ol’ OS X.

Actually, this story isn’t about TextMate as a whole, but of one of the many functions hidden within.  TextMate can be thought of a modern Emacs in a sense. Except its Mac only.  And its not free. Anyway…  I just discovered that Textmate will turn a page o’ code into an HTML page for you.  With numbers if you want, and the look based upon your theme. (Ah, how I love you syntax highlighting!)

defun something 
  puts something_else 
end

So, I can generate pages like that on whim. Why?  I don’t know. But its freaking tight.  Could make for a nice online repository of browsable code.  You could even bust out yer favorite language with the XSLT, and reconvert it to code. Or, offer a download link. Weehaw.

This got cut from a speech I was helping with.  Its so damned sexy, I had to keep it somewhere:

Whether we arrived here as a result of persistent parenting, careful counseling, or madness, the desire to grow and educate ourselves has forced us all to surmount obstacles, learn new skills, and break from the ruddy ignorance of our youth.

Now thats hot. Inspiration orgasm.  Go ahead. Read it out loud.  Take a moment. Revel.

This is a response to the shootings at Virginia Tech. I was shocked to read his profile because it was a ringer for me during a good span in my life. I talked with a friend who felt much the same way. We explored for a moment the dangerous thoughts of knowing how he felt, knowing we were in a place where we thought of and considered similar actions. Knowing the pressure that can be on you when you feel 100% outside, and the cracks I fell through, I feel perhaps more sad for him, to have no way out of his misery except that which he chose. Anyway, its quick and rough, but I give you “It coulda been me” :

It coulda been me Going to school at V – T It coulda been me Alone, cold and angry

I mean, I never thought I’d live past 23 And if I’d lived, I would never be free Now I am thirty-five and shocked Because it could have been me

Every day life bearing down Sucking me under making me drown Laying awake, dreaming of escape Because it could have been me Going to school at V – T It coulda been me Alone, cold and angry

I am afraid of everything cruel or kind It takes a toll and bends the mind Mostly afraid of one day SNAP Because it could have been me

No one to listen, no to one care No one to love, no to one share Alone with this brutal legacy Because it could have been me

Violence is my first and last choice I hate you because I have no voice I write and joke and talk Because it could have been me Going to school at V – T It coulda been me Alone, cold and angry

For his despair, I take responsibility For this my part in the patriarchy And the sorrow I feel Because it coulda been me

(cross posted at GPI)

Sometimes in the morning, I like to get my coffee from a local shop rather than the office brew (which is tasty.) It gives me a chance to support a local business, and feel like I am treating myself.

Lately, there has been a new advertising gimmick being doled out with the Joe. You know those cardboard barrier sleeve kind of things to keep from burning your hand on the cup of pipin' hot? Well, they have taken to picturing some product, and sticking on a small sample. One such product is some gum to, it seems, work on counteracting the stain brought on by the very beverage that lead me to the gum.

Increasingly intrusive marketing and adverts are annoying. I am continually surprised to see what has not been colonized by corporate images when something like this happens. The fun of this one, however, is on the packaging. It seems the 70s did their job, with anti-litter campaigns. (Weeping Native American caricature anyone?) If you are lucky enough to spot it, there is a friendly reminder to "dispose of properly".

Witness, the wrapper:

The arrow points to the message icon – the dark spot. The wrapper itself is about 1.5" x 2.5". The icon, is maybe 1/4" tall.

The icon imploring us not to litter:

So, there ya have it. Thanks Manufacturer, for be such a fine, upstanding "Citizen".

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p align=”center”><<<< IT IS HERE FOR HISTORY ONLY. >>>> This is About this blog. Here you will be able to get an idea of how this site works. Feel free to explore the the site. Let me know if something isn’t quite right.

The top section is my Banner. It contains the name of my journal, “Prattlin’ On”. Below that, you see the theme of the stuff I am currently posting.To the right, you see some links for Home, Contact Info, etc. These will allow you to look at permanent stuff on this site. Any links that take you to another website are under Links along the right side.

In the bulk of the page, you can see entries. They have a date, title, and whatever I wrote. In the grey bar below them you see my name, a link to view it with comments, and a link to post a new comments.Comments: There are 2 sorts. First, you can comment directly to my entry. Second, you can comment on a comment. To see this in action, go to Test Entry. There, you can play around to test stuff out, and see how it looks with multiple comments. —I am emailed everytime someone comments! Please, except for the test entry, try and keep them reasonable. I don’t want to have to delete anything, or ban someone. If you have a rather lengthly comment, or a lot of questions, email me.

Along the right is the Sidebar. This is the bulk of the links for the site.

• Calendar: This is the current month. Any days with entries will be colored in white. Click the day to go to that entry.
• Links: These links go to sites outside of my journal. They are, I hope, some interesting information having to do with my current adventure. Let me know if any are awful or if there is something you’d like to see.
• Archives: Here you can easily browse all my entries. All is by date. I assign entries a category as I make them, so if you just want to look at photos, for instance, you can. ***A note***When you look at an entry, you will see sets of links at the top. One lets you look at the next and previous by date, the other lets you do it by category.
• Recent Entries: This list the last 10 entries I have done. Click them to read.
• Search: Just like Google. Sorta. Searches my site for words you enter.
• Mailing List: Here you can sign up to be emailed when I write a new entry! OR stop being emailed… Email me if you have troubles getting off or on the list.
• Admin Login: This is where I log in to work the magic.

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You can send things via mail to:

OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina Regional Centre Banja Luka Kneza Milosa 19 Banja Luka, 78000 Bosnia and Herzegovina Attention: Democratisation Department – Andrew Vargo

If you want to email me, you can do so at:

journal [at] anadaru.com