2008/05/25Multimedia updates (partially old news)

I've been enjoying xbox mediacenter on my xbox 1.x for several years now and I've finally gotten the opportunity to install it on my htpc as well. This is because the xbmc-team has ported it to Windows, Mac and Linux. To my big surprise I was able to install the Linux port through Ubuntu's package system, with this source: 

  deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc-hardy/ubuntu hardy main

It works very well, and I encourage everyone to try it out. It can play any media you can think of, and has some additional interesting features. Browse Youtube for previews if you don't know what XBMC is. Another update is Banshee. I've been swapping between banshee and rhythmbox, without knowing which to use. They both suck in different ways... I'm hoping banshee to keep up the good work, since it really looks promising. You can try it out in Ubuntu, using this source: 

  deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/banshee-team/ubuntu hardy main

Some of thhe cool things in Banshee 1.0beta is that:

...And for all of you, who don't think need to try out another multimedia-app: Have you tried Songbird ? :)

2008/05/06More perl modules

I'm working on some more perl-modules now: YAML::Object and POE::Component::TFTPd. I've also fixed some issues with SNMP::Effective, and written a new implementation, that uses Net::SNMP instead of SNMP. The YAML-module is a result of bad typing: I'm quite sick of doing $config->{typoo}{key}. YAML::Object enables you to use method notation, so the above would become $config->typoo->key, and calling key() on an undef value will barf with a nice error message. I'm pretty exited about the POE::Component, since I've never written anything quite like it before. Check out POE If you haven't already done so, it's really cool :)

2007/09/16Updated trac.flodhest.net

I've been working on my Trac this weekend. I had some issues with eAdmin, but I've somehow managed to rebuild it, from http://web.archive.org/'s cache. In addition I've created Flodhest::PerlModules and snippets. Flodhest::PerlModules is a collection of pm's I've initiated, while snippets is a collection of handy (and must have) scripts, programs and config-files.

Enjoy!

2007/09/09Site working...for now

I've finally manage to get my serer running again. Unfortunatly, it wasn't all that easy, and my website might stop responding again... Not sure what to do about it, but I'm looking for a new place where I can have my server.

2007/08/30YAPC::Europe::2007 Vienna

YAPC::Europe::2007 was a blast! I can't really put my finger on what was the best, because it was all good. I really recommend every Perl-programmer out there to come to next years YAPC in Denmark/Copenhagen.I had a talk this year as well (Operator overloading, one of the magicks of Perl), but I wasn't any happy about it. Even so, I got some positive feedback, which I don't really understand. I will try again next year, if they accept me. I might have to trick them into accepting me, since it's a bit off topic, but I'll wait and see...

2007/08/18Moving to Oslo

Today I moved to Oslo. I still don't have any apartment, so I'm staying at a friends place for now. Hopefully, I'll find an apartment soon, but I don't think it'll be easy, because there's a lot of students trying to get a place to live as well. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this: New location, new job, new opportunities.

2007/08/08Resume of the last six months

I was on a business trip to Wuhan, in China. I almost didn't make it, because I was sick the week upfront, but on the last day I drank a lot Fernet, which really kicked some sickness ass, so off I went - destination China.

I was in China for twelve days. During those days I had a lot of exiting experiences and great fun: I tasted a lot of new food that the people from the company ordered to me. Almost everything tasted good, but there where some exceptions: Like the foot of a chicken and stomach of a cow. Another thing that was totally different was the way to drive: They didn't seem to be any specific rules, but I was never afraid and the traffic went surprisingly smooth.

I did and saw a lot more than this, but it just won't fit in this "blog-resume"... It was a bit strange to leave China and my new friends after the twelve day long stay, but it was also good to get back home.

I've started using facebook. I haven't really been the most active user, and after getting to know the terms, I've become a bit of a skeptic: Facebook owns you body and soul - or at least everything you add to your facebook. I still think it's nice to have a placeholder for old and new friends.

Sometime in May, I got a new job-offer. It wasn't a direct offer, so I needed to attend some job-interviews, but after telling about myself and what I can, I got myself a new job at Linpro. I'm really looking forward to the new job, that starts the 20th of August. I also went to an interview at Opera, but they were not interested. It didn't really matter to me, since I was already keen about the job at Linpro. Linpro is in Oslo, so I need to get an apartment. I still haven't got one, but it doesn't stress me, since I have some backup plans...

I broken up with my girlfriend in June, so you can call me "Jan Solo" now:P It was kind of ugly, but I think it was for the best, even though some might disagree.

The rest of the summer, I've been working at Eidolon, trying to tide up any loose ends. It have been a lot of work, but it's nice to know that I don't leave things half-done. Next week I'll have a well earned vacation, before starting in my new job. It will be nice.

2007/04/08Football (Soccer)

I've joined UBR FC, a football team in Grimstad. We just teamed up about a month ago, but we're allready commited to a local league, and we're thinking about playing in the norwegian cup later this fall. I'm not sure if we're fit enough for the task, but it's great fun to play soccer anyway, and I'm looking forward to the matches either way it's outcome will be.

2006/12/26Christmas - 24th, 25th and today

Merry Christmas to you, known and unknown guests. My holiday has so far been pretty enjoyable: Christmas eve was kind of strange this year, since it was only me and my parents. Both my sister and brother celebrated with their repspectable's family. The three of us still made a nice evening. My mother cooked a fantastic dinner. Then later we had a tasty desert and a pile of presents to open. Myself got a lot of useful gifts, suitable for my new apartment, plus a scarf and tie from my gf. I was especially happy about the tie and scarf, since they suited my taste, and I therefor didn't have lie when I said "Thank you" :) Yesterday I cought a flue. I was feeling pretty lousy, but I still manage to participate in a family dinner + a gathering at a friends place. Both events was quite enjoyable, and my flue kind of disappeared after a couple of "gin & tonics". I'm still feeling a bit crappy today, but I really want to go to another party later this evening, so I better pull myself together...

2006/12/23How to secretly buy jewlery to your girlfriend

This might be a late "mini-howto", but I'm still posting it. 1. Tell your girlfriend that you have allready bought her a gift. 2. Ask her what she likes, while going through various jewlery shops. 3. Tell her that you're collecting ideas for another occasion. 4. A couple of days later, tell your gf that you have to buy some bread. (or make up some other excause) 5. When going to the groceries, stop by the jewlery shop and by what ever she wanted. 6. DO NOT FORGET TO BUY BREAD! 7. Hide the present for later. Extra tip is to hide the gift in different bag, than the one they gave you in the jewlery shop. PS: This mini-howto can also be applied for other gifts :)

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