Schinckel.net

2 Chopped Onions, Garlic, Ginger Cook in oil for 5 min. Add 1 tspn curry paste. Add 1 cauliflower, cover with chicken stock. Cook. Mash. Add 2 cups full cream milk. Serve. Eat. Warning! Untested!

I just went shopping for SD cards, expecting to have to pay around $90 for a 256Mb one. My Zire 31 has an SD slot, and I thought I might need more than the measley 16Mb internal RAM it comes with. Anyway, after spending an hour or so searching through every shop in Rundle Mall, I went into Diamond’s, on Rundle Street. The girl behind the camera said “Oh, about $105 for the 512, and about $70 for the 256”. That put the price as 74 less than a 256 from DJs, for a card with twice the memory. So, I went out, checked out Ted’s ($119) and returned. The guy who served me said the computer showed $130ish, but she had quoted me at $105. Since he’d kept me waiting for about 10 min while he dealt with a customer on the phone, he knocked it down to a round $100. Woo-hoo!

Well, I went down to Robe & saw the folks, and Baby Jack.

I kinda like the juxtaposition of these two photos together.

I went through a couple of revisions of Blog with ecto the other night. I’ve now added the following feature:

• Allows posting to multiple blogs, where the closest match to the folder name is used as the blog name.

There is a small issue - the date I set (using set entry_date to date date_stamp) doesn’t seem to be respected by ecto when it posts. I’ll do a bit more testing, and possibly issue a bug report. Anyway, the link for it is Blog with ecto.scpt.

I’m still toying with the idea of writing a “What If?” novel about John Lennon, but I’m stuck for ideas about what would have changed. One idea is to write a “Butterfly Effect’’ story resulting in Chapman’s suicide, therefore Lennon’s survival.

I am wearing my Adelaide High School “Non Scholae Sed Vitae” lanyard, and a woman just wanted to know if she could buy one, as she is an Old Scholar.

I found a heap of Palm TEXt REAd documents, but I don’t like the way they appear as (Doc) in PalmReader. So I wrote a script to convert them to PML, the format used by DropBook to make PNRd PPrs documents.

Basically, I found that on OS X the translation of txt2pdbdoc -d (decode back into text) wasn’t so good; a heap of characters needed to be changed.

I did have them all listed here, but if I edit them, ecto fucks up the encoding!

I also changed the === to an 80% horizontal line.

The [[[ - ]]] blocks were indented, and a footer line [* <Text>] is indented also.

I assumed the only use of a / was for italics, and _ for underlining.

I also assume the first non-empty, non === line is the Title, and the Author line starts with By. I use this info to create a ‘Title Page’.

The tricky bit was getting the Chapter Heading sorted, I needed to break the text into a list of strings to do this, and scan through. This slows the script down a lot, but it still works okay. I might profile it a bit and see where the slowdown is.

Anyway, here’s the latest version I’ve uploaded: txt2pml.py

I plan to make a version to process Project Gutenberg texts, but that’s on the back burner.

John Lennon would have turned 64 Yesterday, (all my troubles…), if he hadn’t been gunned down in 1980 by Mark Chapman. An article linked to made a mention of Chapman attempting suicide at some stage - and it made me think about what might have changed in the world had this one man, who changed history, not had his chance? I was looking for a topic for my NaNoWriMo novel, perhaps this could be it…

Yesterday I talked about blogging from my Palm Zire 21.

Here is the complete AppleScript for Blog with ecto.scpt. Copy this, paste it into Script Editor, and save it to ~/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/Blog with ecto.scpt

Then right-click on the folder you want monitored - I use ~/Documents/Palm/Matthew Schinckel/NoteTaker/Blog and away you go. For best results, use with MacNoteTaker. Obviously, ecto is required.

All code is ©2004 Matthew Schinckel, but may be freely used with attribution.

Note: the formatting is removed, because ecto wasn’t quite doing it right, but Script Editor will figure it out.

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on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving added_items
– Set this to true to automatically post the item(s)
– Leave as false so you can check the data.
set autopost to false
repeat with each_file in added_items
tell application “Finder”
set filename to (name of each_file) as text
open for access each_file
set entry_body to (read each_file)
close access each_file
end tell
try
set entry_title to filename
set date_stamp to word 3 of filename & “/” & word 2 of filename ¬
& “/” & word 1 of filename & ” ” & word 4 of filename
set entry_date to false
set entry_date to date date_stamp
set entry_title to first paragraph of entry_body
set entry_body to text ((count characters of entry_title) + 2) ¬
thru end of entry_body
end try
–—— You WILL need to change the next line!
set my_blog to “Life According to Matt”
tell application “ecto”
set my_doc to make new document at front with properties ¬
{entry title:entry_title, current blog:my_blog, ¬
body text:entry_body}
if false is not entry_date then
set entry date of my_doc to entry_date
end if
if true is autopost then
do post my_doc
end if
end tell
end repeat
end adding folder items to

This is going around, thought I’d stake my claims. Mine are in Bold. My comments are in Italics.

1. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins I’ve patted them from the boat, but we were right out to sea.
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said “I love you” and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby’s diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight I’ve never even seen real snow!
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb Hey, I grew up on a sheep farm. I’ve held countless lambs. Jason, no Comments please!
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit-faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D; for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest Although, if there ever was a contest, I’d win with my Monkey outfit!
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
105. Got flowers for no reason Well, she thought there was a reason.
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage

> I'm an ordinary man, Who desires nothing more Than just an ordinary chance, To live exactly as he likes, And do precisely what he wants...

110. Been to Las Vegas Gonna go, and get married by Elvis. True.
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did Designed the first portable “Iron Lung”, amongst other things.
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. ?more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone’s heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show Wayne won a Car!
149. Broken a bone Ribs are bones!
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery Jaq has!
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper On the front page!
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read Pick any one of: Heller, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Hawkins.
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them Stolen glasses from a pub for said reason.
183. ?and gotten 86’ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196. Dyed your hair
197. Been a DJ
198. Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested Been cautioned, and had my Mother visited by the local police (I was underage, see #024, and living away from home).

Last Updated: 31/07/2019.