Darius Kruythoff

iPadding: Setup

Posted by dkruythoff on 2011-06-24 No comments

So, today we had our iPad delivered.

As I feared, the thing is useless without iTunes.
Roughly, this means that anyone using only Linux can go DIAF.

Stubborn as I am, I decided to try a Windows VM.
As expected, iTunes installation went fine. However, VirtualBox OSE (found in the Ubuntu repositories) doesn’t have USB support built in.
Luckily, How-To Geek came to the rescue: Mount USB Devices in Virtualbox with Ubuntu

On a side note: Remember to download and install the VirtualBox Extension Pack found on the VirtualBox download page to fully get USB to work.

After logging out and back in to my Ubuntu desktop, I was able to turn on USB support in my virtual machine, and hook up the iPad to my virtual iTunes install.

Another EULA and a few screens further, and the iPad was registered and ready for use.

After some app installing and Youtubing, I must say I’m pleased with the thing.
It’s great for watching video, and the children’s games are made of win.
And aside from entertainment, I’ve got a proper touch device to test my sites on. :-)

Cross domain AJAX with Apache’s mod_proxy

Posted by dkruythoff on 2011-05-10 No comments

Today I sidetracked on a quest to set up some Javascript widgets to mainly play with animation and study CSS transitions.
Since I wanted to set up a picture slideshow, I decided to use Flickr’s API to load random pictures.

Now, for some unexplainable reason, I keep forgetting that AJAX calls cannot be made to other domains, so I was once again left to build a proxy script.
Being a good and lazy developer, I decided to look for an alternative, and I stumbled upon this gem: http://dwrbudr.com/#mod

It seems that Apache has a simple proxy built in that I didn’t know about.
Of course, a scripted proxy offers many advantages, like caching or modifying output.
However, when you only care for the raw API output, this is a simple, brainless lifesaver.

To get the thing to work on Ubuntu 10.10, I had to modify the .htaccess rules a bit.
RewriteEngine on RewriteRule ^rest\/flickr\/(.*)$ http://api.flickr.com/services/rest/$1 [P]

Also, mod_proxy isn’t enabled by default. You can enable it like so:
sudo a2enmod proxy sudo a2enmod proxy_http sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

After this, you can throw your requests at /rest/flickr on your local domain without worrying about security restrictions!

Words are worse

Posted by dkruythoff on 2011-04-01 No comments

A Westport Junior High School student has posted a YouTube video called “Words are worse than Sticks and Stones” to fight off her bullies.

Meet Alye. A 13-year-old girl from Westport, Conneticut.
This girl, like too many other teens, is going through hell at school because of bullying. Well, this girl was brave enough to speak out. And online no less.

Instead of words, she used signs to express her situation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37_ncv79fLA

Being a fresh foreigner when I started high-school here, I could somewhat relate. I remember the one way to escape bullying was to be a bully yourself. Good times, not. :-(

Anyway, I quickly noticed a video response by a girl named Erica.
In the same sign-fashion, she shares her own experiences with bullying, and how to cope.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz739lKjWeE

Filed under ‘touching’.

Source: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/03/29/westport-8th-grader-fights-bullies-with-youtube-video/

Back from the dead

Posted by dkruythoff on 2011-03-30 No comments

Phoenix

It’s still breathing!

After the hellish period right after Odin’s birth, I kind of forgot about this blog and focused solely on work, diapers and bottles.

Now, as I’ve started entrepreneuring with Hectius, I figured I’d better update this thing.

Besides messing with this blog, I’ve taken it upon myself to learn how to implement and adapt Magento webshops.

I’ve also decided to explore and master several frameworks and CMS solutions. On the list are: WordPress, Drupal, CodeIgniter and ExpressionEngine.

After I’m content with Magento, I’ll most probably start with WordPress, as I’d like a personal look on this blog.

Will keep you posted.

No news is good news?

Posted by dkruythoff on 2009-09-02 No comments

As anyone who cares might have guessed, Odin’s been home for a while.
I’ve been meaning to update here, but never get around to it. Be it work, daddy duties, or lack of commitment, there’s always something.

Anyway, Odin’s doing fine. He’s off the medicine by now, and growing like weed. :-)

Odin: Coming home

Posted by dkruythoff on 2009-05-13 1 comment

Well, seems Odin will see his house tomorrow, they very day he was expected to be born.
We already hung up decorations, and pumped up the biggest stork I’ve ever seen, but sceptic as we are, seeing’s still believing.

After all manner of monitoring and testing, the doctors were unable to find out what speeds up his heart rate and respiration during meals. He did get a new kind of bottle with special mouth piece, which seems to work a bit better for him.

He’ll have to keep using one of 2 types of medication he had at the hospital, and will have to return for some checkups, but at least he’ll now be home with mom, dad, & sis, like he should.

Odin: Waiting to come home

Posted by dkruythoff on 2009-05-09 1 comment

As some of you may know, our son Odin was born this April 30th.

Later that same day, it seems he turned blue when having his blood checked. Following this, he got sent to the newborn’s IC for checking.

Later on, he got sent to MC. He had some dips in his oxygen saturation, and his respiration was somewhat irregular, but he seemed otherwise fine.

At the beginning of this week he got sent to a regular room, and all week, we have been visiting twice a day.
Ending this week, we had a good talk with the doctor, and as we saw ourselves, Odin seem to have some trouble drinking. He doesn’t show any discomfort, but his respiration rises to almost double the normal rate, and his heart frequency also rises significantly.
At the beginning of the week, he also threw up lots of his food, and it seemed to rise up, so he ended up swallowing it back down. This was dealth with with some medication, and that problem seems over already.

After some testing, the doctor is still unsure what can be causing the rises in respiration and heart rate, so she’s ordered an x-ray of his lungs, an otolaryntologist check, a cardiac checkup, a pathologist (if memory serves me) check, and a check on his thyroid gland.

The cardiac check was done today and seems fine. The otolaryntologist had a look at him, but will double-check next Monday.
Other tests and checks are still pending.

As for us, we’re glad he’s both in good health and in good hads, but impatient for him to finally come home.

More news as it arrives.

Odin