Greetings List Lurkers,
I am so frustrated with Python, I am ready to study golang.
Specifically I have been trying to install the very coolest REsT
WYSIWYG editor called "enki", and it is kicking my ass. This has to do
with the dreaded Python QT extensions that are overextended into something
called the "Webkit". It is all just too mucking futch.
Be aware!
If you have been keeping up with the trials and tribulations of BOSI you
will know how intimately enki is related to...
TRANTOR
Going over Trantor, it suddenly occurred to me how inaccurate the list of
DVD's and issue dates really were. Imagine my surprise to discover that
there was no where on the DVD where the issue date was available in a
digital form, except for the actual ".png" which is a graphical
representation of the cover of the DVD. This resulted in my writing a
script that:
1. Grabbed the cover .png.
2. Cropped it down to just the DVD number and Date
3. With Teseract, OCRing the information and finally
4. Dropping it into a spreadsheet.
This is the hard way to do this, but it got done. The really good news is
that no less than Neil Bothwick surveyed the damage and allowed that in
future Linux Format DVDs there will be a file called "issue" which will
contain this information.
Securing this information made me realize that the largely
automatic generation of the individual ".rst" REsT files at the base level
is a very good idea. The problem was getting hold of accurate issue date.
Now that this issue of issues is out of the way, the rest of the week will
yield this automation of the ".rst" base files. A good thing.
Connectivity:
As we mentioned last week apparently the fellow that coordinated the
Kimball library public access is no longer with DII. So, Lee Bonamico is
delving into this to find the new DII POC. We wish her luck. The reverse
proxy is stable and operating which allows for updates to the current site.
When it was up we were able to burnish the control software a bit.
Sarah the librarian is actually talking about doing a press release. I
hope to have a draft for her to review on the Trantor web site ASAP.
This project is still operating in development at the library and in this first
month of new year we are about to open it to the world. So it appears within a
meeting or two we will be online. Right now we are as you recall using one of
the original Gates Foundation grant based Dell machines. They are
donating more of these to the club and we hope to pick them up this
afternoon.
So, once we get this working we will then deliver the trantor v 4.0
machine to the Aldrich, swap it with the existing 0.015 system, set up
static IP, avahi bonjour and things may actually be accessible via DNS for
the world. Well a fellow can dream...
With this is accomplished we will switch to the excellent hardware platform
that Marius delivered. This production case contains both USB2.0/3.0 and and a
DVDRW. This will be the production device.
From a software standpoint, the first, second, third and forth(pun :^)
passes for Trantor are done. The third pass, is in the Aldrich Public
library for evaluation, and the latest feature is there is a new include
that actually rebuilds the index.rst from the existing sub-rst files.
With the bzinga project there is most likely to be a fourth (forth? :^)
pass...
We are still striving to develop a development cycle... The vision of a restful
website remains:
- Take the existing code
- edit it with enki, a restful editor almost built for the job.
(a most difficult to install but rewarding bit of software see above)
- if necessary propagate the change using a shell script
(thank god for sed and awk)
- run "ctrantor.sh mkitso" which builds
-- a new index.rst from the existing stuff, and then
-- builds new web site based upon this index.rst
- check out the result...
- lather, rinse repeat...
Again, I restate sphinx now rocks my world. I am convinced the trick to
sphinx and ReST in general is enki, which is a royal pain to install, but
may be a very new product. As we said about enki. The ticket at this
time appears to be to run under Linux Mint 18 as opposed to Ubuntu Trusty.
The insight here is that enki is oriented towards use in a Red Hat
environment...
The hard part of this turns out to be getting:
1. enki running with the preview mode working
(invaluable once running)
2. getting sphinx running or maybe more accurately
3. making the system "sane" - a menu choice. Design questions include:
- Do individual functions call for particular software packages?
- Should the sanity program try to md5 sum the components.
- Should sanity also include operating and support system sanity?
When does sanity become Configuration Management?
As an example I have tried to get enki running on trantor. No luck I
think that enki wants the hat. This Red Hat exclusiveness is a very
disturbing trend. As mentioned above, the trantor project now uses the
new VisualBash include function to load up various scripts
full-o-functional goodness. Like everything else, We are attempting to
maintain the Trantor project on Github, but we are really not up to date:
https://github.com/flintiii/trantor
As discussed, I continue to hack this into some type of organized format to put
up on git hub, as this is something that will please both Chris Yarger and
Kevin Cole. I really am gonna get to commitment and update soon. Am I
resistant to commitment?
The trantor project benefits itself as you can cut DVDs and USBs with great
ease and facility.
http://docbox.flint.com/~flint/trantor/ ("Rick Roll version")
ReSTful Web Site: We now have a complete set of disks starting from
LXFDVD154, we sent Neil at Linux Format, an email in an attempt to
expanding trantor to include all the Linux Format DVDs since they started
publication. He writes back and says the first 19 issues of Linux Format
had a CD. The DVD was introduced from issue 20, when there was a choice of
the DVD or dual CD edition. From around issue 71, it was DVD only. So we
have about a 104 CD/DVD gap in the beginning of the collection. But...
The Collection Grows:
Tom Kastner has offered us the DVDs back to LXFDVD105. This additional 45 or
so disks would go a long way to making the collection complete. Maybe in the
new year we will gain a response from London. As it is installed at the
Aldrich, next trick is to get trantor on the public web, and that looks like it
may happen. We really would like to see brother Tom and his magic DVDs.
We have offered the ultimate bribe - Lunch in Stowe!
Other Digital Collections?
I am getting interest from some parties in contributing more stuff to trantor.
Do not be bashful (pun?). let me know if you want something faithfully curated
and The real question here is should I simply rebuild bosivt.org based upon
sphinx? Or, we could do it all in...
Anyway that and the enividable rewrite of Trantor
VISUAL BASH
GSD amd the bzinga project:
As mentioned last week, I dusted off the Bash-Zenity project with the thought
of adding this to trantor as a GUI based control framework. So far it is
interesting, as GUIs now haunt my dreams looking for the best way to configure
things...
http://bzinga.net/
DTG and I had a discussion about how GUI code needs to be non-blocked. So,
the approach I am thinking about for now involves putting the GUI code in
includes that get included only when you need them. The Visual Bash
framework really works. Will this work for adding a GUI with bzinga?
Thus the line between bzinga and the Menubot function gets fuzzier all the
time, maybe the menubot program has a way of generating coefficients that
the GUI system can use to autogenerate GUI menues. Maybe using
Backus–Naur form (BNF or Railroad Notation). After some playing around
with zenity, I am more convinced that the use of zenity for a gui
interface, (see the Bash Zenity Integration page: http://bzinga.net/ :^)
is not a bad plan. Beyond this we really need to clean up the VisualBash
page. Now that we have the "include" function that is similar to the one
in python (C and a lota other languages :^) we need to git this.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/visual.bash#ImportingFunctionBlocks
The Visual Bash git page Effin originally set up we killed, and in it's
place we have the git page mentioned above. We need to reorganize all of
the visual bash functions into functional includes...
Possible include files are:
- ianda.shi - Identification and Authorization
- dvdusb.shi - DVD/USB utilities
- sanity.shi - System sanity tests
- maint.shi - Maintenance includes
- ops.shi - Operational includes
- dev.shi - Development includes
- sphinx.shi - Sphinx generator includes
- tiddle.shi - Tiddle includes...
- gui.shi - Graphical User Interface using bzinga
The "SanityScript" remains born but without love. Right now the vision is that
sanity do the following:
- Check that all the components you need are in place in terms of program
- Possibly check at to the validity of the includes and functions using MD5
"sanity.shi" may be tasked with is
- checking for variable conflict within functions. This is a big thing, but on
the other hand, so it sanity...
The problem is that I cannot resist the challenge of the GUI menu generator
"menubot.sh" that will allow you to test stub your "shi" files with a crude but
working "sh". Who knows where we go from there? Again, the Design questions
remain:
- Do individual functions call for particular software packages
by adding their local requirements to a file or memory variable?
- Should the sanity program try to md5 sum the components?
- Can the sanity program help resolve namespace issues?
Could 2017 may be the year of VisualBash?
We have a presentation on the subject due in June...
KINDLE LIBERATION FRONT
Brett got his new kindle, do did Effin. The Kindlemeister was in
conference and not available last Monday night.
Joe has the two broken Kindles are in Niagra, as as we expected the master
Kindlenista, Joe Hart, agreed with our diagnoses and appears hopeful for
partial or total rehabilitation. As mentioned, One has been bricked, and
the other has lost it's touch pad. The Kindle-master, Joe, who has Debian
booting on his Kindle Fires is preping for surgery. He intends to take to
touch pad from one and attach it to the rom of the other. We wish him the
best, as he is still getting up his nerve...
I want to try using the KingoRoot.apk I got from XDA to root a kindle.
Effin says it did not work. Do you think what works with a 5.1.1 Keweier
would work with a 5.1.1 Kindle?
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/kindle#2RootKEWEIER
Now that this is on the table I am gonna have to try it myself.
I am becoming convinced that there could be a commercial opportunity in
customizing kindles. I have even attempted to enlist none other than DTG to
help. So far no luck. May we need Effin in the mix.
Finally I still really want a version of the Universal Insight Virtual Realty
Glasses for the Kindle. 3d Teleconferencing way cool! Anybody see such a
thing? I am thinking about trying to fabricate one based upon the original
cardboard.
TECHNORUBBLE
In the new year we want to follow up on the interesting angle to deploy
TechnoRubble at Libraries. At the meeting two weeks ago, J West came up with
this angle and I would very much like to set up at Kimball and the Aldrich
Libraries and see if this would work. Jessamyn intends to showed up at our
meeting last week and checked out the whole TechnoRubble Project. Hope she
remains interested!
- The Website http://technorubble.org,http://technorubble.com
The new donation letter has been updated, but not used yet...
Again, we need more TechnoRubble. The TechnoRubble untangling and packing is
part of that effort. Part of this effort was the donation letter. The idea is
to get people to mail their TechnoRubble to us in a USPS Flat Rate Box. I am
going to complete the donation process page as soon as I can and post it.
Very little to say in terms of
3DPRINT, TADA, ZOCKER and PITCHBOX.
Hopefully these will be discussed on:
https://hangouts.google.com/hangouts/_/flint.com/tada
Which with any luck will start at 6 PM EST today.
Maybe the future holds promise for these languishing projects.
Oddly enought projects come and go...
To summarize, the meeting today is again at 40 Washington Street, Barre, VT
05641.
Topics for discussion as usual remain:
- Open Source Educational Human Development
I am working on an idea... I am changing the priority of our
eternal needs, and placing education first.
- Maker Movement A Maker Space in Barre? Why not? Could it be that the
commercial power centers do not yet appreciate the value? I need to
revise my paper on this subject and get it out to Lucas Jensen
who has good ideas about a Barre Maker Space. Why not do digital stone?
- Move BOSI to become more git centric... develop gittlywiki... working!
check out tiddlywiki5 here: https://github.com/Jermolene/TiddlyWiki5
We still need to convert... Yea buddy... Shut up Effin.
- Blue Sky R&D, but in Vermont it will be Gun-metal Grey Sky(c) R&D.
- I fought the DREK and the DREK continues to win. Remember, What
really is holds us back is DREK!!! DREK is what happens to your
workspace (both hardware and software) when you fail to put stuff
away, or you let your friends or relatives use it. This is a cosmic
law. I am still fighting the DREK. How to get over it? The secret
may be empty pellet bags. Is TechnoRubble organized DREK?
These five points are quickly becomming more than our policy, and more like a
prayer...
Anyway, we have the technology and we will have Pizza tonight 5-7 at Hedding
UMC.
This is the official notice of the Barre Open Systems Institute (BOSI) Adult
Swim. For those coming in via the Google Plus and the Internet, and there are
folks who are gonna try, the swim stars at 6:00 PM EST.
Our ongoing major objective is to continue to try to figure out how to invest
the time and resources to turn the Barre Open Systems Institute into more than
just the Adult Swim technical clinic and more into a real learning facility.
One direction we have been working on is to begin thinking about classes. The
curriculum that I am most interested in is teaching documentation.
Once again, the goal of the meeting shall be as usual, to get organized and try
to get the various projects moving forward, despite DREK. We continue to wonder
about how to build the BOSI curriculum to this webpage:
*** Note this is broke as of this newsletter ****
http://bosivt.org/classes, Take a look if you dare...
Remember, the BOSI Adult Swim is essentially about helping out fellow users of
open source products in a clinic environment. Despite my very best of
intentions, the Adult Swim is really almost a perpetual Linux install-fest, and
only secondarily a learning environment,
The ever growing list of projects (now on our web site :^) includes:
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/vm - A Docker copy of VM370
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/kindle - The Kindle Liberation Front
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/pyrs - A pythonic interface to Income Tax?
- http://ledroid.org - Ok, this is a real project eh?
- http://bzinga.net - What happens when you combine Bash and Zenity?
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/nodejs - ok, it is on the list.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/snobot - jesum they love this robot
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/furmon - monitor that pellet furnace
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/arduino - moving in the arduino groove
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/javajive - to get better at Javascript
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/tsp - Temperature Sensors Project
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/robotsrules - The quest for Roberts Rules -
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/visual.bash - Yea, I am not kidding...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/mrtg - remedial raw mrtg for the slow...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/raspberry - all versions
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/strembot.org - maybe a very cool project.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/organized - oh please let me be organized!
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/music - this may be the least organized
site ever!
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/bb - A big noble idea.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/grantbot - A less noble idea to feed the
big idea...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/gitlywiki - is tiddlywiki5 the answer?
Otherwise, Barre indeed remains a great venue for a Linux and Open Source
Software discussion and general system rejuvenation. Expect to be remotely
preached at on the various topics of Open Source and how I am confident it
shall cure all the evils and ills of this wicked world. In a perfect meeting,
people would come in, sit down, see the stuff we have been doing and hopefully
help us get the DIY stuff we are doing done, or maybe just fix a laptop.
So, do not forget that the Barre library stocks "Linux Format", and the latest
issue is on the shelf, and it is good. The DVD's are available to checkout and
copy, we shall to continue provide copies and isos of each and every one. I am
continuing to duplicate about a years worth of DVD's which is quite a task. You
may want to watch this space for developments.
Anyway, come and do open source stuff. For more information about the BOSI
Adult Swim meeting time and location try this:
*** Note this is broke as of this newsletter ****
http://bosivt.org/directions
Show up at Hedding UMC if you have questions or are interested in Linux or the
concept of free and open systems. Again, we are in the basement of the Hedding
UMC facility which is actually working out pretty well.
Somehow we need to make progress not more projects!!!
If you wish to be included on the "Linux_adult_swim" mailing list, send a
response to this note.
This is Flint signing off... I gotta go and get trained as a Justice of the
Peace, and maybe catch the flue from the City Clerk.
I will continue to refactor this newsletter at some point in the future (do not
hold your breath :^)...
Kindest Regards,
Paul Flint
(802) 479-2360
(802) 595-9365 Cell
/************************************
Based upon email reliability concerns,
please send an acknowledgment in response to this note.
Paul Flint
Barre Open Systems Institute
17 Averill Street
Barre, VT
05641
http://www.bosivt.org
http://family.flint.com/flint
skype: flintinfotech
Work: (202) 537-0480
