welcome 2005

Well we got back from Paris and now we must face reality. I really believe
that 2005 is going to be a better year. I recognize that this year I really
want to be more creative. This will include more work on Skin I think,
which I don't expect to finish this year even. (4 years so far), but at
least I should have a significant addition done.

I just added myself to boar.com's mailing list. mark is an inspiration too, he always has been. I miss playing d&d with him.

paris, redux to disillusion

well I tried to explain to stephanie that paris is not the best place to go in europe. it has this reputation, because all the history, but if you compare it to even NYC it doesn't hold a light.

one thing was suprising, I was expecting everyone to be really rude, because we were americans (which has happened to me before in paris), but most people were pretty understanding and kind. Basicall I tried to speak basic french to them and nod and point the rest, I guess that helped a little too.

we went on this boat trip, and although it sounds cheesy it really was better than fighting hoards of people at the attractions such as the louve, although it was really cold I could just take cool shots on the deck of a boat. that is superior.



Christophe and daisy were mega slow, I know it takes time to adjust to thier "rhythm", but it is hard when you have a travel agenda to just wait and wait, that's why I want to travel before we have a child, it will alter our "rhythm".

the next day we went to pompidou, which is my favorite thing to do in paris. i really love mid century art, and so does my wife, so walking through the halls made me think about deconstruction projects I would like to start. I got some good pictures of the outside while waiting in the wrong line, and then again after we were done in the museum.

iluminated brussles

Brussles was quite nice on Christmas night. They illuminated the gran plas
with lights and lasers, while playing some sort of ambient music right out
of a Phillip Glass Opera. Daisy was wrong, it was worth seeing.







We had alot of fun in Brussles with Daisy, she even told us some secrets
about Christophe. I think people all over the world have hang ups, its what
make us human.

Anyway I feel good about installing firefox on thier computer, at first
they were reluctant, "this (IE) is what I know". It was very easy to
convence them, all I had to say was "Microsoft is America, Mozilla is the
world" and they bought into it. I guess I feel a little guilty manipulating
them based on thier prejududice about America but they are so rightous it
was easy.

I love European culture, I really do, but it is amazing how little reality
really bears on how they see the world. Science and objective thought is of
little importance thier conclusions about the world. They are as liberal as
they come, as long as it suites them. Daisy was going on and on about a
waterless toilet, and how using water and electricty pollutes the earth,
yet they use disposable plastic coffee makers and disposable diapers, dish
washer, etc. "It was already installed, if I remove it will cause more
pollution". They critisize people who are "closed to new ides", yet seem as
closed as anyone (including me).

Incredible hipocracy. I guess they probably see us the same way though, so
I shouldn't judge too much.

I feel bad that I have these feelings, they have been such great hosts, but
this is my blog, I will say what I want. I do love them both very much, I
just now know that Americans aren't the only people who choose not to
think, prejudice and limits to ones willingness to see that which is
unfamilliar is as human as art or language. I think I am one of those
people though whose politics doesn't match up with the talking points
common in todays world politics.

I appeciate Daisy and Christophe regardless of my internal disagreements
with thier perspective. They have been very kind to us in every way.

longest dinner ever

The Christmas dinner we had at Christophes parent was the longest I have
ever had. The main course was 2 hours later than the first course which was
excellent even though Stephanie didn't like it (salmon). I have never had a
dinner that long and the southern way is to be long so we were made to look
as though we were board, I guess we were.

we had a very good christmas day though, after lunch of deer, which is a
special Beligian dinner we had a very nice walk through the streets of
Liediekerke.

We are going to gran plas tonight to enjoy the illumination which according
to Daisy isn't as much as it sounds.

I think we will have rabbit tomarrow.

rebel frameworks

It is starting to become apparent that people are tired of the complexity
of J2EE. Here is a good article concerning rebel frameworks.

Java rebel frameworks touted

makro

well it is official there is universal demand for giant stores that have
millions of people shopping for the holidays, at least there is in belgium.
we went to the megastore "makro" today, stephanie spent about five
minutes in it before she wanted to go, i dont blame her, so we decided to
go the the restraunt and drink beer until daisy and christophe finished
shopping for christmas.

the food there was pretty good though i have never seen mussles being
served at a megastore restraunt, more familliar with pizza or hot dogs.
they even had trappist beer there so we ate frites and drank trappist beer
until daisy and christophe where done.

we came back and made christmas cookies, i think those or for show only
because they have so much frosting on them you cant really eat them.

pretty lazy day in all, we have been relaxing mostly, trying to figure out
what we can do tommorrow, if there is anything open. i want to do something
i don´t want to just lay around all day.

we made it to brussles

well I say I am brussles but we are really in a town outside called
ledekerke, and we have alreadystarted drinking killer beer. we actually had
thre before christophe even arrived.

this french keyboard is really hard to type on so I have qan excuse fore
typing so badly. the worst is the q is where the a is upposed to be.

we are up at 3 am because of the jet lag so I decided to send a note.

getting ready for belgium

ok, this is interesting. I really like that I can now send blogs via email.
I am getting everything together to do posts from europe. That should be
easy to just go to cristophe's computer and send messages. Anyway if this
works it will be a great first step to autmating my website from email
posts.

Stephanie and I are going to Brussles and Paris for Xmas. I am getting everything together to do posts from europe. That should be easy to just go to cristophe's computer and send messages. Anyway if this works it will be a great first step to auotmating my website from email posts.

I thought I could do this by email. Oh well.

I promised my friend Eric I would make the pictures available so I thought
to myself, why don't I just send out an email account of our travels to the
midwest instead.

http://www.newobjectivity.com/gallery/tenfelde_sessions/FrameSet.htm

Eric Tenfelde, also known as the Blues Godfather of Pilsen, threw this
killer session at the venue ala tenfelde (a renovated building in the inner
city of chicago) where the blues master Jake La Botz shared his very
strange William S Burroughs inspired version of the Blues.

I know its strange, I loved it!

http://www.jakelabotz.com/

Anyway it was a killer venue, very homey, and I met lots of great people.
It also didn't hurt that no matter how much wine I drank I could just
wander upstairs to go to sleep.

Thanks Eric for setting up such a cool happening.

well any web developer worth thier salt knows this little bit:

courtesy servlets.com

<HTML>

<p>Demo MultipartParser Upload Servlet</p>

<FORM ACTION="/tomcat/servlet/parserupload" METHOD=POST ENCTYPE="multipart/form-data">

What is your name? <INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME=submitter> <BR>

Which file to upload? <INPUT TYPE=FILE NAME=file1> <BR>

Which file to upload? <INPUT TYPE=FILE NAME=file2> <BR>

Which file to upload? <INPUT TYPE=FILE NAME=file3> <BR>

<INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT>

</FORM>



/*

* DemoParserUploadServlet.java

*

* Example servlet to handle file uploads using MultipartParser for

* decoding the incoming multipart/form-data stream

*/



import javax.servlet.*;

import javax.servlet.http.*;

import java.io.*;



import com.oreilly.servlet.multipart.*;



public class DemoParserUploadServlet extends HttpServlet {

private File dir;



public void init(ServletConfig config) throws ServletException {

  super.init(config);

  // Read the uploadDir from the servlet parameters

  String dirName = config.getInitParameter("uploadDir");

  if (dirName == null) {

    throw new ServletException("Please supply uploadDir parameter");

  }

  dir = new File(dirName);

  if (! dir.isDirectory()) {

    throw new ServletException("Supplied uploadDir " + dirName +

                               " is invalid");

  }

}



public void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)

    throws ServletException, IOException {

  PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();

  response.setContentType("text/plain");

  out.println("Demo Parser Upload Servlet");

  

  try {

    MultipartParser mp = new MultipartParser(request, 10*1024*1024); // 10MB

    Part part;

    while ((part = mp.readNextPart()) != null) {

      String name = part.getName();

      if (part.isParam()) {

        // it's a parameter part

        ParamPart paramPart = (ParamPart) part;

        String value = paramPart.getStringValue();

        out.println("param; name=" + name + ", value=" + value);

      }

      else if (part.isFile()) {

        // it's a file part

        FilePart filePart = (FilePart) part;

        String fileName = filePart.getFileName();

        if (fileName != null) {

          // the part actually contained a file

          long size = filePart.writeTo(dir);

          out.println("file; name=" + name + "; filename=" + fileName +

            ", filePath=" + filePart.getFilePath() +

            ", content type=" + filePart.getContentType() +

            ", size=" + size);

        }

        else {

          // the field did not contain a file

          out.println("file; name=" + name + "; EMPTY");

        }

        out.flush();

      }

    }

  }

  catch (IOException lEx) {

    this.getServletContext().log(lEx, "error reading or saving file");

  }

}

}

The issue with this is that you cant parse the request twice, which you may want to do if you want to encode the directions to the action in the result header, then process the request during the action itself in a standard MVC approach. This isn't a problem when using request.getParameter("action"), because you can get parameters out of the request as many times as you want, but since you have to parse the request (or so it seems) when you try to parse it a second time it gives an exception that it has unexpected end of header.

My solution is to create a generic form handler class, that reads the request at the beginning of processRequest(), then is made available as a request attribute. It will handel both regular and multipart forms.

If anyone knows a better way please email me!


cgraham@newobjectivity.com

PLEASE RALPH DON'T RUN! I usta think Ralph Nader was a cool guy, now I really really don't like him. He could have made a giant contribution to our country as a senator or congressman, but instead he is just a spoiler. He makes me think of people like Michael Moore, who say things like "Well it has to get worse before it gets better.", what a spoiler attitude. Its like they want our country to go to hell to prove they were right. Lame.

OK another neccesary bit of info. After being super sick of V$I*A!G)R%A ads showing up I researched sendmail blocking. Here is the definitive sendmail config:

FEATURE(`dnsbl', `sbl-xbl.spamhaus.org')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `blackhole.compu.net')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `list.dsbl.org')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `opm.blitzed.org')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `spam.dnsrbl.net')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `bl.spamcop.net')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `inputs.relays.osirusoft.com')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `relays.ordb.org')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `Spamsites.relays.OsiruSoft.com')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `Spews.relays.OsiruSoft.com')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `flowgoaway.com')dnl
FEATURE(`dnsbl', `blackholes.intersil.net')dnl

also goto spamhaus...

very useful snippet:

    public static String getRequestParameters( HttpServletRequest aRequest)

   {

           StringBuffer aReturn = new StringBuffer("");

           Enumeration parameterNames = aRequest.getParameterNames();

           while (parameterNames.hasMoreElements()) {

               String requestParameter = (String) parameterNames.nextElement();

               String[] aValues = aRequest.getParameterValues(requestParameter);

               for (int i = 0; i <> 0) {

                       aReturn.append("&");

                   }

                   aReturn.append(requestParameter);

                   aReturn.append("=");

                   aReturn.append(aValues[i]);

               }

           }

           return aReturn.toString();

       }



   }

One of the most disturbing projects I have ever seen:

Expert judgment on Markers to Deter Inadvertent Human Intrusion into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

And one of the incredible markings associated with the effort to deter human and alien intrusion:


THIS PLACE IS NOT A PLACE OF HONOR
NO HIGHLY ESTEEMED DEED IS COMMEMORATED HERE
NOTHING VALUED IS HERE
THIS PLACE IS A MESSAGE AND PART OF A SYSTEM OF MESSAGES
PAY ATTENTION TO IT!
SENDING THIS MESSAGE WAS IMPORTANT TO US
WE CONSIDERED OURSELVES TO BE A POWERFUL CULTURE

Dear Representative:

As one of your constituents, I wish to bring to your attention a very important issue about jobs being lost from the United States, and ask for your support in any and all legislation that will help keep decent middle-class jobs in this country.

Recent studies indicate that U.S. employers will move about 3.3 million white-collar jobs and $136 billion in wages overseas in the next 12 years. The most recent study by Gartner, Inc. ("U.S. Offshore Outsourcing: Structural Changes, Big Impact") reports that an alarming 500,000 IT jobs will move just in 2003 and 2004. That’s about one in 10.

Major high-tech companies, such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Microsoft, have already started moving work to cheap labor countries such as India, Russia and China. Do we really want to export our technical know how to China? In many cases, U.S. employees are required to train their foreign replacements, and then they are laid off. With the current economic recession and the depressed state of the high-tech industry in the U.S., this is the most unpatriotic action a company can take.

What is most alarming is that these are highly technical jobs that require advanced college degrees, and commonly become the basis of knowledge for business critical application development and military technology that our nation’s security and economy depends on. We are exporting our know how, and our information based technical specialization that was supposed to replace the Industrial Economy we just shipped overseas last decade.

I am one of many developers who came up from the ranks of IT development to make major contributions to both the private and military sector. Commonly the job boards overflow with requests for highly trained IT professionals with secret clearance, these jobs often remain open for months at a time. On the other hand the mid level IT jobs aren’t available, and developers go without wages for months at a time because the competition is high for the few remaining jobs, and are forced to contract for brief periods with no benefits. How do you expect that our country will be able to fulfill the demands of an information age if we don’t grow that talent internally so that a few large companies with no interest in America can save pennies on the dollar?

I strongly urge you to support any and all legislation that will:

1. Require U.S. employers to disclose the jobs they are moving, and provide incentives for keeping high-tech jobs in the U.S., and provide deterrence to moving them abroad.

2. Eliminate the H-1B and L1 visa's which allow foreign workers to take U.S. high-tech jobs. The IT unemployment rate is high enough that experience U.S. workers can likely fill all available jobs currently being performed by foreigners.

I hope I can count on your support.

Sincerely,

Clay Graham
Software Engineer

Back to life blogging. We went out for Halloween last night, had a bunch of fun. We went to neighborhood parties. I really like North Park, it is very authentic and way better than fight the boob jobs down at the Gaslamp. We were Edgar Allen Poe and The Rave. It fun reciting lines from the poem within dread, while she yelled "Nevermore".



Clay and Stephanie hamming it up at Bacchus House










Most of the wierdo we met during the night, they were all fun!
Basically we had a blast.

Just painted a picture with my buddy Tom. Fire breathing aura...

Ok, its official. Iraq is for sale.

The good ol' boys will show you exactly how to get your foot in the door with the new Iraqi regime, as long as they make their cut along the way.

New Bridge Securities has been set up by a bunch of Bush cronies to help businesses find those gleaming gems of opportunity in the post war Iraq. Wow, this is colonialism in the information economy huh? A website. The site makes it very clear the political relationships that the principals have with the Bush administration, heck its selling point.

Yahoo! News - Washington Insiders' New Firm Consults on Contracts in Iraq

Well I wrote another letter to Rob, why am I doing this?


Rob,

You know today you said one thing I never thought you would say, that
software patents are becoming too large an issue for anybody to manage
or write off. that is very true. IBM is using them against SCO, again a
bad idea.

The GROKLAW letter is about end users who feel threatened small and
powerless compared to the endless PR telling them they are thieves. They
are making an honest attempt to address what they see as the evil in the
world when they meant to do no harm. Totally human.

If they removed your comment I think that wasn't a good idea though, I
am sorry. Believe it or not, I see you as another person with a unique
perspective to be understood and appreciated. Instead you have been made
an enemy, which I think is a bad idea.

I do think that there is just as much of a "dedication" (you like to
call it religion) that some people have for MS as for OSS, and they have
have their cults too, fringe cults who will not listen to the truths
they see before them. They are the ones trying to hold on to their own
dogmas, hold on to what they knew, and don't try to thrive with what may
be coming.

I agree with you on one point, the OSS of today IS DOOMED absolutely,
and the actions of these types of people just bring it it closer to the
next phase where the religion is gone and the business really begins.
The phase that IBM services and the RedFlag distribution has started.
OSS will have a long and full real world business oriented life, and
will become the way of the world. As I mentioned before, regardless of
the trepidations of a few zealots, the shrill harping of an
"intellectual property victim", or the misgivings of a few analysts.

Really, our words are the crickets chirping to the great redwood. They
have little bearing on its success or failure.

Clay

Every great religion has a dogma, and yes I find that even the best dogmas use censorship and control of their mission for propaganda. I feel like Judas sometimes, "hey I am over here just checking out the truth, and telling it like I see it". Well commonly I find that the powers of the world, even the meager ones who have good intentions, will twist words or edit the voices to their own ends.

Well here, no one can edit my voice, in any way. It is all mine to say what I please so here goes:

I read this article by this guy, Rob E., who said that open source is like religion, its his way of making Open source sound like some fringe cult, anyway here is his article talking about how the open source hippies want free love and free beer.

The battle for belief

Ok, so what open source religion do the governments of China, Korea, and Japan belong to? Maybe its the religion of good sense. Their governments are collectively spending millions to provide a open source Linux based solution for their government data centers, replacing NT, has that sunk in yet? The plan is to remove their dependence on opaque proprietary solutions and control the code base themselves. Over a billion people go that way, you feel the sucking wind blow, hey maybe they got something. Guess what...the three industrial power houses of Asia are bellying up to the bar for "free beer". Look, this isn't about "religion", or hippies wanting their "freedom" its about good economics and complete control of mission critical systems.

The keepers of the dogmas characterize OSS as if we are all going to go to Burning Man and have a Open Source be-in. What is more likely is that all of Asia is going to go to go to the be-in and we'll miss the boat if we fail to look at the trends around us.

Japan, South Korea and China discuss working to promote Linux

Here's what I wrote him:

Rob,

Let me say that when I read your article it made me me think of your perspective. Why would you be coming from this with the angle you did? Do you have your own agenda, because it seems like a tactic of associating open source with a freedom based fringe cult. In your article you align the open source movement with a "religion", this perspective is clear. I contest this perspective strongly.

This is a GIANT mistake, as I have tried to point out to you even if it was in a little tongue in cheek way. It seems that putting the open source movement in the light of something religious, you are aligning it with "spiritual freedom". There may be some in the OSS movement that see it this way but I do not.

The reality I am attempting to establish, and point out, is that MOST of the motivations in the open source movement are entirely business oriented.

Look, when I can install an entire blade rack for my customers data center at a quarter of the cost it would take me to provide the same features using an NT based end-to-end solution the economics are clear. I don't care what type of mumbo jumbo Microsoft tries to tell me that NT costs less, you can't lie to someone who does this all the time. I am not the only one either, entire *industries* are looking at the economics and seeing the same thing.

And the embedded world is seeing the same thing too. There are now Linux kernels running on top of your TV, in MP3 players, and in new game consoles. If you think that China's "unique agenda" isn't entirely business and manufacturing oriented you are not really looking at this issue with an open perspective. The reason Red Flag is growing and will probably take over Asia is *entirely* based on economics, and if we don't face it then we can kiss major US technology dollars goodbye.

This is why SCO doesn't have a chance, except possibly in the USA where litigation commonly defies good sense. Already they have been given fines in Germany for their actions, and are facing the same in Australia if they start sending invoices. So what will be the effect then if they receive their miracle ruling? Open source will thrive in businesses everywhere in the world but in the United States. That sounds great for the American technology economy, huh?

Open source doesn't need to worry about its zealots, it will survive any transgressions they may make, the question is can America survive technically living in a world without OSS?

Clay


I have to say, I am very sorry but OSS *can* be like a religion. Its got its blind patriarchs (and I mean that figuratively) who are busy in the confessional feeling up choir boys and then covering it up by paying millions. It certainly has its own dogma, and lord help you if you point out the inconsistencies of some of the more vocal members. I am wondering if I should just remain an independent, the outward observer, I can stand there be aloof and never make a mistake. That would be allot easier wouldn't it? And I would probably look cooler too.

So from now on I will feel no anger towards SC OX I will feel no emotions whatsoever, I am the great oak. The greatest winds do not sway me. Because when it comes down to it OSS doesn't need me. One billion people want it, they will have it no matter what I do or say, or what SCO does or says, or what Rob E. does or says. We don't matter any more.

So with this I say, both goodbye and hello.