It was he thought the way a man feels when he has been gone so long from the point of departure that the purpose of the journey is lost and with it all sense of the possibility of arrival

Georgina Hardening

update TABLE set COLUMN = replace(COLUMN,"FIND","REPLACE");

Capitals are to be replaced with your environmental variables.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Between the months of February and July 2008 I invested £4457.82 in the FTSE 250 (London Stock Exchange). Including dividend reinvestment, my portfolio total is £2973.80. That’s a 33% loss over about 6 months. How to get the percentage, (4457.82-2973.80)/4457.82 = %

I bought the shares at a pretty bad time, before the crunchy credit, however I’m still convinced over a 5 year period, I’ll make more than cost of living increase (inflation) or the standard interest rate banks offer, around 6%. I’m looking at a 10% increase over 5 years.

So in theory, although I’m sure it won’t work out like this, at the end of:
Year 1: £4903.60
Year 2: £5393.96
Year 3: £5933.36
Year 4: £6526.70
Year 5: £7179.37 (GOAL) by July 2013

That’s paying 10% APR (on the total at the end of each year). So for the time being, I’m running a little behind, but I’ll keep you updated.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I've been trying for some time to pull the hits logged by webalizer out so I can disaply them on the right hand menu ---------------------->

I put a post on our very own development forum and my main man Michael Pagan gave a great reponse within hours. The post was so good, I'm not going to retype anything, but simply provide a link, enjoy.

Cheers, and thanks again to Michael Pagan

Microsoft Groove 2007 can automatically synchronise your data with another computer whilst you’re online. I just want to focus on the Groove client which can work ad-hoc. There is also a server version of Groove which is not required to achieve online replication.

How it works

1. You install the client on two computers which are connected to the internet
2. Create a workspace within Groove to manage your files
3. When any changes are made, Groove automatically replicates them to your other computer

They’re the good aspects of Groove. The bad are, you have to buy it and it’s really difficult to troubleshoot connection issues. I’d take this software if you’re company offer it to you, but I’d not spend my own hard earned cash on it just yet. Please be aware this is not Grooves only functionality, it also acts as a messenger client and much more, but I wanted to concentrate on replication functionality.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I always forget which RAID level is best for read/writes/rebuild etc in certain setups, and always find an article on the internet that over complicates the answer. I've just created a quick and easy guide that you can view by clicking 'View Page' below. Originally ripped from here

Recently read an article about project managers, and here’s an example of someone who thinks he’s done his job right.

Developer says “we can do it this way to meet the timeline, but this feature won’t be available” and the project manager says “we need that feature and the deadline is immovable.” Therefore, something in the middle occurs. The product is released on schedule, but fizzles. $xx million is not realized and the project is a failure. The project manager did his job. It was released on time and within budget, so where’s the problem?

What should have happened: If something is more difficult than anticipated, the project manager should speak with the business manager and fully explain the benefits of a delay or the impact of adding the feature or function in a follow-up release.

It's easy to be an asshole and demand deadlines, but realise anyone can do this. Your true value comes from understanding the situation from everyone's perspective and the true impact on the business. Don't take the easy option, and remember the end game. There's no point finishing something on target and on budget if it means compromising the overall objective.

Read the full article here

I've used Windows XP and Ubuntu for PHP development over the last year. Each with their unique tools, community, look and feel. Today I conclude that Windows XP is best. For testing I used VMware and the latest version of the OS plus updates and service packs. Initially I favored Ubuntu and slagged off Microsoft at every opportunity, but as time passed by I slowly realised, you get what you pay for.

Ubuntu performs much slower than XP on my x86 chipset, applications lack stability and often crash without an explanation why. FileZilla for example, was the best GUI FTP client on Ubuntu, and even that was a port from Windows. When trying to transfer more than 500 files via SFTP the application would terminate unexpectedly. Wireless support was poor which made it difficult to roam between locations and troubleshoot any connectivity issues. If working behind a proxy you would need to make text based configuration changes, line by line, to get SVN working.

With Windows XP, Notepad++, Tortoise SVN, xAMP and WinSCP I found a stable and speedy development platform. I wanted to be special, I wanted to be different than my Windows colleagues, but the bottom line is, Windows XP rocks.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I am still alive, I've just had nothing to write about recently. Stay tuned.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Today is my last day at Gardner Systems! Had a fantastic time here and learnt much of what I know. My desk, is now, empty! (Until Monday. hehe)

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I get a lot of hits on this site for TSM material and a lot of search terms are related to upgrading the server from version 5.x to 5.y. For this reason I've ripped some information from the IBM website which is impossible to navigate and pasted it here, enjoy.

Click 'View Page' to see full article

Ryan Partington

Picture and some videos of the Mathew Street Festival which I was lucky enough to attend yesterday

Can I get back to you in 5 minutes, I'm really busy at the moment?

Actually, no you can't. Because you're not busy, you're living in some fantasy land where you don't give yourself a second. And the reason for this is because you believe you're always busy.

It's important to remember, that each day, you create your own work load. If you don't have 5 minutes, then you need to stop what you're doing and change the way you work. No one should be worked every minute of the day, it's unproductive and unnecessary.

On the flip side, when you begin to recognise you do have spare time, you must ask yourself 'what am I doing with my spare time?' and if the answer is nothing, then that is fine. As long as you don't moan about not having any, because the bottom line is, we all have plenty.

Enjoy

Here is a quick guide to clear down your SMTP queues using a free tool available from Microsoft.

Download this tool.
Run it and type the following three lines in;
setserver "servername" -your servers name without quotes
delmsg flags=all
quit

Supporting Link 1
Supporting Link 2

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Saturday I got to test the camera out on my new Samsung U900 Soul.

Please do bare in mind, the night before I'd been to my sisters birthday party, had little sleep, went straight to my mates, and then on to New Brighton, that said, I still won at pool.

Anyhow, how I got my U900 Soul..

I pay £15 a month and still do, but now I've got this phone for free on an 18 month contract and a few months free line rental. Moral of the story, even if you're on a monthly rolling contract, if you don't like your phone, tell them you want to cancel your contract, you'll get what you want.

I'm with O2 and obviously very happy with the retentions team.

A friend of mine, Michael Pagan, is currently writing a PHP based space game.

It will be free to play and very easy to learn. From what I've seen, it's looking very promising and he's making excellent headway with the development.

Here's the main man crunching some numbers in ours on Saturday.

The game's not open to the public as it's only about 20% written, but as soon as we're after beta testers I'll let you know. Check back for further updates.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Richard Dawkins was on the box last night, talking about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Last year I read 'The Selfish Gene' written by Dawkins and found it pretty interesting and would recommend it to anyone. That said he seems stuck up his own ass, please do excuse the language. His views are very "2D" and he takes everything literally. I think if he was more opening minded when discussing his thoughts and opinions with others he'd gain much more respect from none atheists. When he's talking to others who do not share his opinions, his body language is like that of a child, who is ready to pounce with a witty response rather than trying to understand what they're saying. I think it would be fair to call him an absolutist, which is fine and we need people who are willing to discuss their thoughts in public and have ideas to back it up, but personally I think he's allowed science to blind him to the illusion in which we exist.

If you were to throw a word at me, agnostic would probably stick best

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Good afternoon. So I'm walking home at about 12:30am, I do enjoy a late night stroll home from Watto's if I've had a couple of beers. It's only about a mile and quarter away from where I live. I get close to my place and hear a couple of lads walking behind me, no problem, usual stuff. They get right behind me but no alarm bells go off, I'm just ready for them to walk past, but instead some hands come from behind and grab my face. I was now very aware of what was going on, so I just ducked out of it and got on my toes, one of the lads gave chase but gave up after about 20 seconds. Doubled around the block and then walked past the same place but they'd moved on. Was an interesting end to the week haha.

If you're thinking of starting a new business in Liverpool drop me a message on the forum. I've got experience in setting up the LTD and dealing with common start up issues, from how to size your business from day one, to dealing with companies house and ensuring you get the correct details to them on time.

The gain for me is I get exposure and experience with the setup and I'd be happy to liaise and help out for free. I say Liverpool because it's best to do these things face to face, but I'd help anyone out who was willing to travel to the capital of culture.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

In school you get taught an awful lot of rubbish. And at the end, you're judged on the ability to remember useless facts.

The biggest life skill in my eyes? How well you can communicate with strangers, how fast you can build rapport with different personality types. Communication is so important, as only a certain percentage of what we're saying is usually received by the other person(s). The higher this percentage on a send/receive level, the more successful, I believe, you'll be in what you're doing. You could spend years becoming a leading expert in a specific role, but it may be worth spending some time talking to complete strangers and seeing how well you do. Over time your confidence will grow and you'll be able to express the skills you already have, a lot better.

In a nutshell from someone I have faith in

[MikeSeth] says: if you need speed and not features, mysql is the answer - as would be the case for most web sites
[MikeSeth] says: but if you want to do serious data processing (e.g. maintaining materialized copies of analyses you perform on large sets of data, using stored procs/triggers etc) then mysql is poor

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I've just watched a film called 'Felon' and there was a quote I'd like to share. Two inmates are locked up in 'the shoe', the elder and the new comer. The new guy, Carter, asks how the elder survives without being part of any gang.

Perception is reality, I chose to create mine, others chose to accept it

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I’m going to take another shot at explaining the rules of the universe. There are a few core principals, belief, living for now and understanding how time works.

Starting with belief, whatever you believe is real, is real. Fact. Whether or not everyone else holds the same perception is irrelevant, if you actually believe it to be true, then at this point in time, it is.

Living for now (or in the moment), forget the past, worry not about the future. Focus on what is happening around you now. The universe is always providing you with opportunity and challenges to achieve whatever you want, today. You’ll become unhappy if your focus is anywhere else because you’ll be blind to the beauty of life.

Time, I’ve said before, is an illusion. For that matter, "Life is an illusion; albeit a persistent one." (Thanks Albert Einstein). But for now let’s focus on time. Forget about it, there is a single state of mind; time is just a way we organise information. Last year, next year don’t exist, it’s the way we store thoughts and memories. Once you understand this, you can be anywhere at any time. Not in the logical sense because we don’t live in a logical world, unless - you believe we do.

Want to test the theory? Easy, believe you already have something you don’t currently own. Believe it every day and act like it’s already yours. Don’t question how the universe will answer, don’t think about when and never doubt. The universe will provide as long as you believe.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I've booked myself on a CBT motorbike course which is mandatory before you start your lessons for a full license. Decided I'm going to get me some wheels so I can shoot up the motorway and get my skydiving category (whatever) certificate which allows you to solo jump from 3000 feet. I wish they did skydiving in Liverpool...

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Good morning. This is the first year I've used software versioning to managed application development projects. And I must admit, it's the best piece of technology I've ever came across. I mean, ever. In a nutshell it allows you to develop your application from any machine in the world and always be sure you've got the latest files to work with. Once you've finished making changes, you 'check in' your work and the SVN server records the changes and increments the version.

I could go on for hours about SVN features and benefits but I wont, I'll just say this. Even if you're a sole developer, investigate and implement SVN, it will make your job ten times easier.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

So, the stock market continues to crash and yet I have complete faith in the recovery. Stocks and Shares are a long term investment, 5 years minimum and you've got to reinvest dividends.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

We are back in business. Just had a few bits and pieces that needed updating.

So, I've got a new job working as a 'Software and Solutions Engineer' for Konica Minolta. It's a field role based in the North so I guess I'll be covering some miles. Different from what I'm doing at the moment but it's an opportunity that felt right so I'm going to give it my all and see how things progress.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

A project I'm involved in at the moment has died on its feet. I've been asked to develop a specific application but have been provided with no guidelines or specifics on how it should work. - This surely could never happen? No actually, it happens all the time. Unless you know what information you need, you can spend hours working with people achieving, absolutely nothing at all. Over time you'll become disheartened and opt against new projects. Do not let this happen.

Instead, stand firm and explain why things are not moving forward and make it clear what information you require, if they don't supply the information, don't waste time developing. You'll no doubt be asked to re-write the framework in the near future. Be specific, and remember, the information gathering process is as important, if not more so, than the actual development.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I've recently started using the FortiGate products and put together a guide for setting up an SSL VPN. If at any time you want to factory reset the box, get to the CLI and type: 'exe factory reset'

Enjoy
Ryan Partington

Fortinet SSL VPN Configuration
v0.02

Please find the manufacturers documentation here

The following guide requires an up to date firmware to have been applied. In this example, version 6, update 2 is running on a FortiGate 50B. Assuming the FortiGate box is running the factory config, connect the WAN1 port to the router, and your PC/Laptop  to one of the internal ports. Once you have received an IP from DHCP start a persistent ping to 4.2.2.2 – this will be used to assess our connection to the internet. At present, as the FortiGate box has not been configured you should see the above.

 

 

Login to the FortiGate box by browsing to the default IP address in a browser of your choice.
http://192.168.1.99 – when prompted for the username and password, type 'admin' for Name: and leave the Password: field blank.

 

 

On the above screen, type in the external IP address and subnet the FortiGate box will use. All other options can remain as default.  In this example we use 217.155.48.156

 

Next we must configure the default gateway for the FortiGate box. This IP address is usually the external static IP address of the router. In this example we use 217.155.48.158

 

The VPN tunnel will run on a separate subnet. Configure the subnet clients will use when connected to the tunnel. Ensure the ssl.root device is selected and 2 is used for the distance.

 

 Next is to enable the SSL technology and specify the range of IP addresses the clients will use. Under advance settings you may manually add a DNS server, if not the FortiGate box will automatically be used for DNS. (In the above screenshot we have typed the FortiGate box IP address in for DNS, this is not required)

 

Now we must create all the users whom will have access to the VPN tunnel.

 

Create a new group which contains all the users created earlier on. Ensure 'Enable SSL-VPN Tunnel Service' has been selected. All other options are.... optional.

 

Create a new address using the subnet defined earlier for the VPN clients and selecting the ssl.root interface.

 

Copy the above configuration to ensure all traffic is routable. Please be aware of the final policy, the action is "SSL-VPN". No additional options need configuring whilst creating rules, just ensure the Interface and Devices match those as above.

Once complete, your ping requests should be returned from 4.2.2.2. You may also want to try internet browsing.

 

The following instructions focus on testing the VPN tunnel

 

Browse to https://externalIP:10443 and type in the username and password of the account you created earlier.

 

Once you’ve logged in, use the ‘Test Reachability’ tool and type in the local IP address of the router or a device behind the router. If the test fails, please refer to the ‘Setup and Configuration’ documentation. If the test is successful, click ‘Activate SSL-CPN Tunnel Mode’

 

You may need to install an active x controller which will control the VPN tunnel, once installed you should see the above. When the Link Status is ‘Up’ try and ping the router IP address or another local device using a terminal or cmd prompt. You should now have a secure connection to the office network.

Update: One of our clients was experiencing SSL time out issues after a number of hours connection. I logged a call with Fortinet Support, who have been very good and responded with this:
Dear Customer,

You can set the ssl vpn time out through the following cli commands

config vpn ssl settings
set idle-timeout #You can set a value of 0 for no timeout.
set auth-timeout #You can set a value of 0 for no timeout.
end

Regards
Jiji Thomas

I've also been passed the details on how to perform a password reset. Enjoy

To do a password recovery, you need to do the following

• Lost Password / Password Reset

Connect the terminal to the FortiGate unit using the provided null modem console cable and start your terminal program.
Power down the FortiGate unit, and power it up again and follow the following steps within one minute of the restart.
Log on at the console with the user name "maintainer" and password "bcpb" followed immediately by the unit serial number exactly as it appears during the boot process or on the label on the device. E.g.

login as: maintainer
maintainer@192.168.1.99's password: bcpbF60DSL2903XXXXX8

If this does not work, check that you are typing the serial correctly (cut and paste the serial number on bootup) and confirm this is being entered within 30 seconds of bootup.


Once logged in, change the admin password with the following commands:

config system admin
edit admin
set password
end

If you want to take a backup of your MySQL database or move it to another server, here's the easiest way. Run the following from a cmd, terminal or bash session, do not use the mysql command line tool.

DUMP
mysqldump -h hostname -u user --password=password databasename > filename

LOAD
mysql -h hostname -u user --password=password databasename < filename

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Which web template do you consider best, this one or this one? Friends, give me a call or txt, anyone else, drop me an e-mail if you wouldn't mind. My details can be found on the contact tab above.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I'm starting on a new application to manage sales leads and appointments. It will be written in my spare time so may take a few weeks, but it a nutshell it will allow you to store all your clients information and arrange site visits and follow up phone calls. I'll integrate it into OES within time, but OES wont be a requirement. Once complete I'll release it on this site, no license and free to manipulate.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

I wanted to setup Apache, MySQL, PHP etc on my laptop so I could do some development while on holiday. To get the standard LAMP setup on Ubuntu hardy, just type the following into a terminal.

sudo apt-get install apache2 php5 mysql-client-5.0 mysql-server-5.0 phpmyadmin libapache2-mod-php5 libapache2-mod-auth-mysql php5-mysql

Source: http://humanlanguage.wordpress.com/2006/12/03/install-lamp-on-ubuntu/

Cheers
Ryan Partington

This is an excellent little command I found on someones blog today. "sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog" will give you an active look at the syslog. So anything new that enters the log, will automatically update your terminal session. Great for troubleshooting, as in my case PPTP!

Cheers
Ryan Partington

My shares continue to fall with the credit crunch. Not to worry though, shares are all about long term. Even through the tough times, over a 5 year period or longer, with dividend reinvestment, shares will beat the average % you'll get from your savings account.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Here are hundreds of useful statements you can use with TSM reporting to include in your daily report. I've made a copy on this site, just click 'View Page' to see statements, original site can be found here. Thanks to the author Thobias.

I've added a new link to the site navigation bar, 'TOOLBOX'. This is a collection of links I use regularly to help troubleshoot common issues. Enjoy.

I'm the lead developer for a game called Goon World. An NDA has been signed so I can't say too much. The project's split into two, 3d version and a browser based version. I am working solely on the browser based project. I've been given the opportunity to write the design document which details how the game will actually play. This is separate from writing the code, I'm talking about the actual dynamics of the game, how it will look, how you get money, methods of transport etc. I am not getting paid for this work at the moment and there is a chance I never will. The contract is 'Profit Share', which basically means you get paid when the game makes money. The risk is spending an awful lot of time working on something which ends up down the pan. I'm telling you about this now as it's the kinda thing that is presented to us all everyday. My decision to take on this role lies with me today. I don't know if I'll accept or decline, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

And remember,

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

You've got to love CAPS LOCK. If you're XP machine takes an age booting up, make this tweak and you can see exactly what exe's are being processed during the startup process. Windows XP still r0x more than Vista.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

For those of you interested, here's an update of how my shares are doing.

Live differently this week. If you're usually organised and write everything down, try going with the flow and see how you react. Maybe you're one who enjoys going the gym? I know how crazy this may sound, but have the week off. Challenge your mind and see how adaptable you are.

Focus on what you enjoy doing, and you’ll do more. I’ve found that in the past, if I had something to do, I’d force myself to do it. Usually using this system which I blogged about in December last year. It works for getting what you’ve written down done, but it removes a certain level of creative freedom. For example, using the system helps if your direction is to remain the same for a long period of time. You get used to adding repetitive tasks such as ‘write book review’ and are pleased when you get to the end of the day to find you’ve completed everything you wanted. What is does not account for is direction. It’s like choosing a destination and setting off on a long run, it’s easier to keep going and not question your journey, as after all, you’re half way there. I found – I’d stopped thinking of new things to try, as I was busy achieving the old ones. My point being, don’t keep doing something because it was for the best then, stay true and act on how you feel now.

You’re losing interest in this post. To be an effective writer you need to communicate your message using as few words as possible. Before typing anything, have a clear understanding of what you’re trying to say.

KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is a philosophy which can also help create good technical documentation.

We, ladies and gentle, are in business. The new site is live, think it looks the same? Well, that was the point, keeping it cripy whilst moving to OOP. I'll be talking usual nonsense soon enough, just going to write the admin side, I'm currently typing this into mysqladmin, pretty hardcore I know but just screaming for a full DB drop by mistake. I'll update ya'll about stocks and shares, Nemesis game design and much more real soon.

Stay tuned
Ryan Partington

I'm sure you don't care, but over the next week I'm re-writing this site so it's OOP. No updates for the next week will be posted

w00t

The goal was to loan £5000 over two years and try and beat the £345 interest. I received the £5000 on the 25th March 2008 and began playing the market. My total investment stands at £1600 as I've not invested it all at the moment, just taking my time and getting a feel for what I'm doing. The bottom line is this: Profile stands at £1637.25 which is a +11.07% overall profit. I took the loan at 6.7% APR so we're winning at the moment.

Cheers
Ryan partingtin

Today I came across this interview whilst reading new scientist, and I was amazed by the content. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did

From New Scientist 19th April 2008 edition:
-------------------------------
On 10 December 1996, neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor had a stroke when a blood vessel ruptured in her brain. Robbed of her memory, motor skills, even personality, she retreated into herself and dwelled primarily in her brain's right hemisphere. During the eight years to full recovery, she found ways to control her thoughts and rebuild her mind. She tells Michael Reilly why the stroke was the best thing that ever happened to her

What did the stroke do to you?

Because the haemorrhage was in my cerebral cortex, it wiped out my cognitive mind. I was very fortunate, though, in that my body was going to be OK.

Describe the days that followed.

I was in hospital for five days. On the morning of the third day my mother came to my side. Now, I did not know what a mother was, much less who my mother was. She came in, acknowledged everyone in the room, and then immediately picked up the sheet and crawled into bed with me. I didn't know who this person was. I didn't know what this person was. All I knew was that this very kind woman just crawled into my bed, wrapped her arms around me and started rocking me, like I was her baby. And I was her baby. She just recognised that I was an infant again and that was that.

What did you do for your rehabilitation?

The only formal rehab I had was speech therapy. I saw a speech therapist for about three months. My real rehab was done by my mother from the day she brought me home. She was an angel in my life. She would take me to the bathroom, feed me and then if I had any energy left she would work me - children's puzzles, teaching me to read, walking me around the apartment and then the block, those kinds of things. I would not be here if it were not for her.

The advantage I had was that I believed in the ability of the brain to recover itself. That meant primarily for me to get out of its way.

How do you get out of the brain's way?

My number one recommendation is sleep. The brain needs sleep. These cells have been traumatised. The person is totally burned out and fried, and they want to sleep. In our society, generally what happens in a rehabilitation environment is that wake-up time is at 7 am. Everyone gets awakened. If you are a stroke survivor and you are zoned out and don't want to be awake, you will be pumped with amphetamines. Stimulus is stuck in your face, often in the form of a TV set in the room, sometimes literally a foot from your face. It's pure pain. And then we keep these people awake through dinner. After dinner they're put back to bed. The idea is that if you're going to recover, you have to act like a normal person. If that had been my experience, honestly I would have chosen not to engage. There's no question in my mind that we're not treating stroke survivors effectively.

You have said that you retreated into the right hemisphere of the brain. What was that like?

When I had the haemorrhage, the personality of my left hemisphere was traumatised. I shifted all the way into the right hemisphere, because the left-brain personality became non-functional and released her dominance, or released the dominating neural fibres that were inhibiting my right hemisphere. That's from an anatomical perspective.

As time went on, different circuits in the left hemisphere started to become functional again. It was like repairs. So it was a long process of me in relationship with my brain, day after day, year after year, rebuilding. I was consciously choosing and rebuilding my brain to be what I wanted it to be.

Did you actually consciously reconstruct your brain with your thoughts?

Yes, renewing or rerunning neurocircuits was a cognitive choice. The non-functional circuits started to come back online one at a time and I could choose to either hook into that circuitry or not feed it. For example, when the anger circuit wanted to run again, I did not like the way it felt inside my body so I said "no" to its running. Every time it tried to get triggered and run again, I brought my attention back to it - I did not like the way anger felt so I shut it down. Now that circuit rarely runs at all, mostly because I feel it getting triggered and nip it in the bud.

It was so clear to me during my recovery that every ability I had was because the circuit that controlled it was good, it was functioning. I learned that certain thoughts that I had could stimulate the emotional circuitry, which could then result in a physiological response.

So, I look at us as a collection of neurocircuitry of thoughts and emotions and physiological responses. When you see the brain as the kind of computer network that it is, it becomes easier to manipulate. But you have to be willing. People say "Oh I'm so much more than my thoughts, I'm so much more than neurocircuitry," and I'm like, yeah, I had that fantasy once, too. I don't any more. As human beings we all have the ability to focus our minds on what we want to think about.

This sounds like the claims made by meditators.

I think folks who meditate are willing to pay attention to their thoughts so that they can purposefully redirect their minds. Mantras, prayer beads, consciously thinking about one's breathing - these are tools that provide the brain with an alternative to the constant brain chatter, permitting the mind's focus to shift to something else. It's the same sort of thing. There are people who are comfortable witnessing their thoughts, while there are others who think they are their thoughts. Learning to observe our neural circuitry and not engage with it is a skill we all can learn.

When did you know you had recovered?

I felt I was completely recovered when I felt I had become a solid again. Up until then I felt that I was a fluid.

What do you mean by becoming a "solid"?

I'd get up in the morning and take my dog out. I have woods out back, and I knew I had recovered when everything blended, everything radiated the energy of life - the trees and the light coming through them, the grass and the sparkling dew. Everything was vivid, beautiful and connected, and I was a part of it all. That's very different to saying "I am a solid, and that's a tree and that's a blade of grass and that's a drop of dew," and everything is separate. I don't know how else to describe it.

You do a lot of stained-glass work now. Has your perception of the artwork, and indeed your life, changed much since your stroke?

Oh yeah, everything's more vibrant, more alive and more beautiful now. More fluid, more curves, fewer lines, more relative, less disconnected, more similar, less different. Everything in my life has changed like that since the stroke. If someone said to me, "Okay Jill, we're going to put you in a time capsule and let you wake up that day again and you get to choose to have the stroke or not have it," I would have the stroke in a minute.

Profile
Jill Bolte Taylor studied neuroanatomy at Indiana State University. She then worked at Harvard University, where she investigated the influence of schizophrenia on the brain's perception of reality. Having fully recovered from her stroke, she now teaches neuroanatomy at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. Her book, My Stroke of Insight, was published in 2006

Ubuntu 8.04 was released last week. As I've been doing some development recently I thought I'd take this baby for a test drive and I'm glad I did. Ubuntu 8.04 as a desktop application is sweet. I'm from a windows background at this is the first time I've taken a serious look at an alternative. Once downloaded I search for a few development tools, gPHP edit, Rapid SVN, Filezilla ftp which can all be located from within the operating systems package manager Synaptic. Synaptic then downloads the latest releases from the internet and installs them for you. As you can imagine, you don't need your credit card for all these applications as they're all licensed under the GNU (General Public License) model.

Get it downloaded and install it as dual boot if you're unsure, it simply sits under windows 'add/remove programs' list so you can remove it whenever you want, but I'll doubt you will!

Cheers
Ryan Partington

In the past I had added an additional repository to my Centos server. This was so I could use a later version of the mod_security module under apache. I decided I wanted to remove all the packages installed by this new repository as it was no longer being maintained.

Step one is to remove the .repo file from /etc/yum.repos.d/
Then run 'yum list extras' and notice the packages you want to remove
Then type 'rpm -e --justdb --nodeps <package-name1> <package-name2> <package-name3>' and list all the package names you want to reinstall.
Then 'yum install <package-name1> <package-name2> <package-name3>'

Yum will automatically re-install any missing binaries, but it will not overwrite your existing config files. Instead, the 'default' config files will be written as '<filename>.rpmnew'.

I found the information here (
http://www.liquidstate.net/2007/10/05/reinstalling-a-package-using-yum/ )
which proved an excellent resource.

Additional Nonsense:

[10:35] <rick111> i added a repo which had later versions on some core centos files, i installed the updates. now i've removed the repo and would like the old versions back, when i run 'yum update' it does not show me the files to downgrade, is this possible?
[10:38] <range> Not really. You have to remove those packages and install them again.
[10:38] * whatever-thingy (n=whatever@79-77-80-145.dynamic.dsl.as9105.com) has joined #centos
[10:39] <rick111> thanks
[10:39] * chmac7 (n=chmac@125.24.0.95.adsl.dynamic.totbb.net) has joined #centos
[10:39] <rick111> can i query what packages where installed by that repo?
[10:40] * chmac (n=chmac@125.24.23.233.adsl.dynamic.totbb.net) Quit (Nick collision from services.)
[10:40] <range> Depends on the repository.
[10:40] <rick111> if the option was available, how would i go about running the search?
[10:40] <range> Depends on the repository.
[10:41] * chmac7 is now known as chmac
[10:41] * Zylogue (n=Zylogue@wsip-98-174-167-3.ok.ok.cox.net) has joined #centos
[10:42] <range> Some of them encode the name of the repository into the package name, so you could search for that. On others you have to query buildhost or packager (with rpms queryoptions) to see where it comes from.
[10:42] <rick111> thanks
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[10:49] * alex[slx] (n=alex@unaffiliated/amusolino) has joined #centos
[10:54] * Norky (n=dan@milton.ocsl.co.uk) Quit (Read error: 104 (Connection reset by peer))
[10:54] <rick111> all packages had the word 'jason' in, but if i do a yum search *jason* it sayd nothing is installed?
[10:55] <cap_> rick111, "yum list extras" will list all installed packages that yum doesn't feel responsible for
[10:55] * Zylogue (n=Zylogue@wsip-98-174-167-3.ok.ok.cox.net) Quit ("Leaving")
[10:55] <cap_> rick111, you would want to do "rpm -qa | grep jason"
[10:55] <rick111> thank you
[10:55] <rick111> ahhh the extras thing found them, thanks cap_
[10:56] <cap_> :-)
[10:56] <cap_> as for the difference between "rpm -qa | grep ...
[10:56] <cap_> woops
[10:56] <cap_> "yum list '*str*'" and "yum search str"
[10:57] <rick111> ahhh!
[10:57] <cap_> the first will search in pkg-names/version/rel in installed packages only
[10:57] <cap_> yum list will search in names for all packages in available repos
[10:57] <cap_> and yum search will free text search in all available packages including description text etc.
[10:58] * Norky (n=dan@milton.ocsl.co.uk) has joined #centos
[10:58] <rick111> thats excellent thanks

There's nothing quite like the smell of TSM database structure issues in the morning.Only run through this proceedure if you are sure you have DB structure issues.

Here are the instructions on running a dump/load/audit.
.
1. Make a copy of the following files:
- dsmserv.opt
- dsmserv.dsk
- volhist (volume history file)
- devconfig (device configuration file)
.
2. Set the following options in your dsmserv.opt file:
EXPINTERVAL 0
DISABLESCHEDS YES
NOMIGRRECL
.
3. Define a file devclass unless one is already defined if your server is down please add to the devconfig and ensure that the directory that this is written to has enough space to provide the format, the following example creates 10GB dump files, you will need to manually specify all these files in the future so ammend as appropriate.
e.g.-
DEFINE DEVCLASS FILECLASS DEVTYPE=FILE FORMAT=DRIVE MAXCAPACITY=100000000K MOUNTLIMIT=1 DIRECTORY="C:\TSMDATA" SHARED=NO
.
4. Stop the TSM server if it is still running.
.
5. From the c:\program files\tivoli\tsm\server1 directory run the
following:
.
..\server\dsmserv dumpdb devclass=FILECLASS
.
6. Next, format new TSM database volumes:
(Please run this from the c:\program files\tivoli\tsm\server1 directory)
.
..\server\dsmserv loadformat <# of log files> [repeat log file name and size according to the number] <# of dbvols> [repeat db vol name and size according to the number]
.
e.g. - ..\server\dsmserv loadformat 2 c:\tsmdata\log1.dsm 4000 c:\tsmdata\log2.dsm 5000 3 c:\tsmdata\db1.dsm 4000 d:\tsmdata\db2.dsm 7000 e:\tsmdata\db3.dsm 8000
.
7. Next, we need to load the TSM db via the following command run from
the same directory as above:
.
..\server\dsmserv loaddb devclass=FILECLASS volume= the dump>
.
8. Once the load is finished, we will need to run the audit via:
.
..\server\dsmserv auditdb fix=yes
.
9. Once the audit is finished, you can bring up your TSM server and attempt to run "expire inventory". If that runs fine, please bring down your TSM server and remove the 3 lines that were added to your dsmserv.opt file and then please restart your TSM server.

Thanks

Ryan Partington

Since the release of PHP4, support for OOP (Object Orientated Programming) has been vastly improved. For those not familiar with (OOP) I offer a general overview. (OOP) is a style in which you structure your code. It differs from procedural programming as everything is grouped as objects. Objects then perform specific tasks within the module. This allows modifications to be made much easier without disrupting the flow of existing code. Another benefit is rapid application development as code duplication is reduced by including common functions already written by the developer or a 3rd party. PHP4 was the first version to really offer (OOP) handling but the implementation was poor in comparison to pure (OOP) languages such as Ruby on Rails. PHP5 has dealt with many of version 4’s inconsistencies and improved the language’s overall object orientated capabilities. Object Orientated Programming with PHP5 helps us understand many of the core (OOP) features within PHP whilst looking at the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern and unit testing. The author Hasin Hayder is a Zend Certified Engineer (Zend is a framework for PHP) and has 5 years experience working with PHP. This is the 3rd book which he has written and published through Packt Publishing with another one expected out in May this year (2008). Previous books have all contained an element of PHP and in his latest edition, it’s easy to forget he’s only been working with PHP for 5 years. This is the third book I’ve received from Packt Publishing with the intention of releasing a review online. On the book cover it states being written for beginners to intermediate users and although I have two years experience, I consider myself a beginner. My prior development has been using a procedural approach and was hoping for a better understanding of (OOP) which I could utilise in the future.  Chapter 1 looked like an ideal introduction, “OOP vs Procedural Programming”. I found it difficult to understand as there were no clear indications of the differences. Now I’ve completed the book and re-read the chapter I have a better understanding of what Hasin is trying to say, albeit not very well. For an introductory chapter too much is expected of the reader, unfamiliar terms are used which set a precedence of complication throughout which is not a fair reflection on how the book progresses.  Chapter 2 “Kick starting OOP” does a great deal more for the reader by breaking down an object into its individual components.  The way an object is designed and interacts can be difficult to understand at first, Hasin does a good job explaining the concept allowing a foundation to be set on which the rest of the book is built. Clear and concise is the example as one would hope for such an important chapter. Chapter 3 “More OOP” was like reading PHP.NET from page to page; we are shown many features but none of the added value one may expect to find in a book. Chapter 4 “Design Patterns” is the beginning of a theme which continues throughout, packing pages with code. Code in a programming book is expected, but there must be a balance between examples and descriptions. Design patterns are key to efficient application development and we’re introduced to many common approaches. Unfortunately I feel much of the valuable information will be lost as readers quickly turn pages trying to escape the aggregation of code which accompanies each pattern. Chapter 5 “Reflection and Unit Testing” Again too much code used but the E-mail validation example and explanation about ‘Test Drive Development’ are very good. A lot to learn from this chapter and written to help those new to these techniques understand the core principals. It ends by including 10 pages from ‘PHPUnit Pocket Guide’ which was pretty meaningless as the author states himself, the function names are self explanatory. Chapter 6 through 9 continue very much of the same, a lot of code with basic descriptions. Chapter 7 “Database in an OOP Way” is important and may have been better introduced earlier in the book. If you’re coding in PHP one of the first things you learn, is how to interact with a database. We get an overview of the ‘Data Abstraction Layers’ which are used in the majority of enterprise applications. They are very handy as they save you having to re-write chunks code if the backend database changes. We finish with Chapter 9 “Building a better MVC” which I really enjoyed. The code continues to flow but it’s relevant and very helpful. All major frameworks use the MVC design pattern and here we’re guided through building one from the ground up, including the MySQL table creation. We end with a basic blogging system which is an excellent way for developers to learn these new skills and all the code is available from Packt Publishing once you’ve purchased the book. The book’s packed with code, more than required to guide you through many of the chapters and better explanations could have been used earlier on. The book may have benefitted from reordered chapters to address the more common uses of OOP first, easing the reader in. Object Orientated Programming with PHP5 is a good reference book with strong chapters on Database and MVC design. You can buy Object Orientated Programming with PHP5 directly from the publisher here

Enjoy Ryan Partington

Visit site

After last weeks loss on spreadbetting I decided to try a bit of betting. Now I have a friend who bets on horses daily and I believe he makes a considerable loss. My plan was to 'lay' the clear favourites and collect the pennies once they fall. Laying is basically betting on a horse to lose, as it's our primal instinct to win I was hoping for a tidy profit from others greed. So with £125 I started laying the favourites and my liability was lower than evens. If I wanted a £20 profit, I would be risking about £15 as the odds are pretty low. I lost all my money. How? When we bet on horses to win, we lose, we bet on them to lose, we lose? It does not make sense and my dreams of easy money are shattered and I'm pleased. There is no such thing as easy money and had I won, I would have no doubt thought it was the key to future success. Back to hard work and reading my book on the 'mis-behaviour of the market' to try and understand stocks and shares better. Looks like I'll be sticking with long term investments.

A lot of my spare time is dedicated to Goon World at the moment. Goon World will be like a gangster version of World of Warcraft. It splits off into two areas, the 3d version and the browser based version. I'm working on the browser based version with the vast majority written in PHP. Check out our recruitment post for more details.

Phase two was initiated yesterday, spreadbetting. £250 into my account with the intention of making £50. The Euro was gaining against the Dollar, but it was moving too quick and I anticipated the fall. I sold at £2 a point but the price continued to rise. I was helpless and ended up losing £183 in a matter of minutes. Spreadbetting is being removed from my portfolio, it's a losers game.

Quite a bit going on recently so here's a recap for those new the site and following the money

Idea: Take a low interest loan, put it in the stock market and try and beat the interest. This is called 'gearing'. So £5000 secured from Alliance and Leicester at 6.7 APR over 2 years. Total repayable £5345. Over 2 years I need to make a profit of £345. The green is currently being transferred to my 'Stocks and Shares ISA' so any profits are free from capital gains tax. Once the transaction is complete, ill keep you updated of where the money is, and how much it makes..... or loses.

I called up the Halifax this morning to change my 'Cash ISA' to a 'Stocks and Shares one'. As usual I battled through the automated service and finally got through to the ISA department. To my surprised I was told the Halifax hold no such account, to have an ISA other than the a 'Cash ISA' I need to go through a financial advisor. I asked a couple more questions at which stage the call handler resumed the position of "I know more than you, go away please I'm busy". I hung up and called back on another number, spoke another division and then got put through to the correct person who was very helpful and got me sorted.

When all else fails, persistence prevails.

I like science and the thoughts it provokes. Today I read about the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York whom suggest blue lights could be used to reset our body clock. The idea is that to help reduce people falling asleep at the wheel, drivers can pull into a service station and take a 30 minute "bath" in blue lights. Another thought is fitting blue LEDs to truck cabs to prevent them falling asleep at the wheel. A bid has been put together by the institute to progress research.

This however, I believe is science going mad. Blue lights to reset the body clock? 30 minute bathing sessions to prevent accidents, and money for such research actually gets approved? Ludicrous.

I came across these in e-mail and just had to share, enjoy.

 

 

House prices in the UK continue to drop and the Pound was at it's weakest in history against the Euro. 'Now is not a good time to buy a house' - How many times do we hear that? The market is the same as it's always been, volatile. Today, this week, this year, is a normal year for the market and there have been no shocks, not if you understand the mis-behaviour of the market. I'm waiting until April 6th to update my standard ISA to a Maxi ISA with the Halifax so I can escape capital gains tax when investing in shares and have it all managed in one area. Share builder with the halifax does make you wait days before you can buy/sell shares but the advantage is you only pay £0.50 processing fee per action.

In the coming months I'll investigate some other accounts which allow instant buy and sell and advise on the advantages and disadvantages. For those of you with some spare cash who would like to have a play on the market, start today, never ir a right, or wrong time.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Some experts are saying now is the best time to invest in shares. Great news for me having received my 5k and about to invest. It's nearly 5 years since the index of Britain's leading shares reached rock bottom. March 12th 2003 the index hit 3287 and ended up soaring upwards 105% before the credit crunch in June last year. Last weeks Footsie closed@5495 and I think there are still a few points to drop before any major come back. Confidence from investors is not quite there as some fear a possible recession like back in the 1990s. Partington's tip of the week is; add some lower risk shares to your portfolio and stay tuned. I'll be releasing my picks once I've completed some additional research.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Are we all looking forward to the bank holiday? I know I am. The £5000 is due in soon, rang up today and arranged to get the monthly payments taken out on pay day. I've decided the money is going to be split and invested like this;

£4500 in long term shares, split out into £250 for each company.
£250 LAY horses on betfair, what? Nothing wrong with that.
£250 for spread betting, I'm convinced I'll lose this, but let's give it a shot.

Stay tuned
Ryan Partignton