macolyte.net » Net Life

I think it’s time

a.j. — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 12:45:52 +0000

This site needs a re-design. Any volunteers?

Maybe I’ll just start using RapidWeaver….

Secrets

a.j. — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:37:03 +0000

When I was in college, I was a frequent visitor to a site called bittersweets. People would post little vignettes that started out nice and reassuring, but always ended sadly. Some of them were quite moving and when the site closed down, I found myself missing them intensely. Recently I was introduced to PostSecret, and it almost fills the hole that bittersweets filled for me. I highly recommend reading it. And for a taste of what bittersweets offered, here is a link to the archive.org entry for the site: bittersweets. Look at the entries for the late 90s.

There comes a time

a.j. — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 12:35:48 +0000

in every bloggers life when he has to ask, “Is anybody reading this?” If you are, drop a comment to this post. Even if it’s just to say “Your blog fucking sucks.” Of course, more constructive criticisms would be much more helpful.

Net Neutrality

a.j. — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 12:08:58 +0000

Why should we, the geeks, who the Internet was made for/by be penalised just so some Georgia redneck can download his Rush Limbaugh faster?

Die of cancer unless you CLICK HERE

a.j. — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 23:27:57 +0000

This great piece of spam was posted on comp.lang.python the other day. Be warned, it has some rather vulgar content. But it’s funny as hell.

Found on reddit.com

a.j. — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 21:48:54 +0000

A link to the Map Gallery of Religion in the United States. It’s quite fascinating and I highly recommend checking it out.

I’ve also been meaning to write about the incredible time I had with some GeekCulture folks in NYC last Monday, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Look for that…eventually.

Free Spam

a.j. — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 13:31:34 +0000

Is there a special someone in your life that you just can’t stand? Want to make their lives a miserable hell-hole? Then sign them up for SPAM!!! This page lists a slew of places to actually sign up for spam. What a valuable resource.

Python Playing

a.j. — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 14:55:04 +0000

The other day in IRC, I was having fun with typing things backwards. I decided to write a Python script to automate my silliness. I came up with this one-liner:

print ''.join([x for x in reversed(raw_input("String here: "))])

Josh came up with this one-liner:

print "stringtoreverse"[::-1]

The main problem with my script is that it uses “reversed()”, which is a feature available only in Python 2.4.x, so it doesn’t work with my IRC client [it uses the Mac system Python which is 2.3.5]. Plus MacIrssi didn’t like the raw_input(). Josh’s is much simpler and works with all versions of Python. But I think mine looks cooler.

Python Challenge

a.j. — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 18:40:04 +0000

In an effort to find something to focus my efforts on, I decided to revisit the Python Challenge. I was able to make it through three of the challenges yesterday, bringing me up to Level 12. In solving those 3 levels, I was reminded of why I gave up in the first place. There’s one thing I completely despise in these challanges, and that is the fact that quite a few of them require you to do some kind of image manipulation [usually using PIL]. While I can see the value in exposing people to 3rd party modules, I don’t see the value in relying on them as heavily as the challenges do. The task for Level 12 includes doing manipulation on a binary file, which I have never done and probably never will. The hints point at using a hex editor, again something with which I have no experience. So I’m stuck here on Level 12, with no ideas on what to do, or even what to Google for. Overall, I like the idea of the Python Challenge, I just wish it weren’t so challenging for a n00b like me.

Premature Consumerist Binge

a.j. — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 03:09:43 +0000

I don’t get that bonus check until March, but I just couldn’t wait. I went to CompUSA last Saturday afternoon and bought a Nokia 770. I wrote a pretty decent review here. Since writing that review, I’ve gotten it to pair with my RAZR so I can get on the ‘net when I’m on the road if necessary. In short, I think this may just be the device I’ve been searching for all my life. Of course, just after getting it, my cable modem starts to get a wonky again. We were doing so well….