Month: December 2003

The stockings were hung on the mantle with care

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-24

So here it is, Merry Christmas. I’ve returned to the Fictional Town of Paddock Wood to do the Christmas Thing, so arguing with parents, brothers and pets about where all the glasses are, who drank the last of the pineapple juice (Nobody, yet. I saw it and hid it before they had a chance) and such stuff. Presents have been bought and wrapped and placed in their traditional place under the tree.

And the stockings are on the bedroom doors.

I’m trying to work out how long I’ve had my Christmas stocking. At least as long as we’ve been in this house, I think, which means since I was about six. It’s unfashionably small – as I noted as I walked around the shops this year, newer christmas stockings are about four times mine – it has Snoopy on it, it’s red (My older-younger brother’s was blue, but it’s been lost. Actually, since only me and Ben have them and Matt – my younger-younger brother – doesn’t , that probably puts them since before he was born, which means I’ve had it at least 18 of my 22 years), and it’s probably the thing that tells me most of all that it’s actually Christmas.

Mostly because of the age, and because of the place. If, when we move to Letchworth at the end of January, we stop moving house every nine months – as I have done for the past four years – I would be 40 before I’d lived there as long as I’ve lived here, which is frankly pretty scary.

I’d take a photo of the stocking, BTW, but I lost my camera a couple of weeks ago at an AFP Green Man meet. Ah well.

I’ve no intention of being near a computer for very long tomorrow, so I’m putting the last Christmas MP3 up now:

I’ve lost track of who this is sung by, but it’s really good. Acapella – Carol of the Bells
And finally, non-christmassy, but I’ve been pimping it at people for years and this way I get a great swathe of people at once. This is the Michigan Amazin’ Blue acapella group doing a wonderful version of Englishman in New York. Imagine it as the theme tune to Aquarionics, if you like.

Merry Christmas one and all, That’s me out until the new year, which – incidentally – will be Aquarionics’ fourth birthday. Be here then for tea and cakes.

aqcom Christmas Imported From Epistula Perl

Geek at Christmas

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-24

So, as is traditional I spend my christmas holidays playing with epistula. Now I have referer tracking turned working again.

The problem with referer tracking is extracting the data from log files. When the server had mod_log_sql it was easy (I have an entire log stats suite built for mod_log_sql), but since log_sql doesn’t support Apache 2 yet (A patch to make it do so was released yesterday. It remains untested) I had to brush off my extremely limited perl skillz to create this, a perl program to send apache logs to mysql:


#!/usr/bin/perl

use DBD::mysql;
#Database options:

$dbUser = "username";

$dbPass = "password";

$dbName = "database";
$database = DBI->connect(

"dbi:mysql:$dbName:localhost:1114",

$dbUser, $dbPass

);
while (<>) {
  my ($client, $identuser, $authuser, $date, $method,

      $url, $protocol, $status, $bytes, $referer,$agent) =

/^(S+) (S+) (S+) [(.*?)] "(S+) (.*?) (S+)" (S+) (S+) "(.*?)" "(.*?)"$/;
        $q = "insert into apachelogs 

(remote_host, remote_user, request_time, request_method, 

request_uri, request_protocol, status, bytes_sent, referer, agent)

        values

        (".$database->quote($client).", ".$database->quote($authuser).", '"

.$date."', ".$database->quote($method).", ".$database->quote($url)

.", ".$database->quote($protocol).", ".$database->quote($status)

.", ".$database->quote($bytes).", ".$database->quote($referer)

.", ".$database->quote($agent).")";
        my $sth = $database->prepare($q);

        $sth->execute();

}

2003 Christmas Imported From Epistula MotW music

Eve

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-24

Louis Armstrong reads ‘The Night Before Christmas’

aqcom Imported From Epistula internet

Google

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-23

Hmm. The latest GoogleDance has done something interesting. For the past three years the top match for “Aquarion” has been the Fuckoff-Great water company.

Now? Now the top match for Aquarion is this site. Somehow I outrank a massive company, prominantly linked to from Yahoo and various other places. Odd.

2003 Christmas Imported From Epistula MotW music

Sounds Delightful

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-23

Upon the new bronze statue of Mick Jagger there is a plaque that reads: ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone’.

And, in more seasonal entertainment this Christmas Eve’s Eve:

Bob Rivers – Be Claus I Got High
And, in less festive, but still great, music:
Funkapella – The Klingon Song (Via Ruthi)

Christmas Imported From Epistula MotW music

More Christmas Music

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-22

To make up for yesterday’s lack:

Barenaked Ladies Carol Medley

Dar Williams, The Christian’s Verses the Pagans – Live (Thanks to AdrianO for pointing me at this)

Christmas Humour Imported From Epistula

Antichristmas

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-21

A man was walking though a town in mid-december when he saw a sign on a pub door, which read:

“Not taking Christmas bookings. This pub is a Christmas Free Zone”

He walked in, and said to the barman:
“Don’t you think you should get into the Christmas Spirit?”
“I leave that to my customers. Mostly they go for the scotch, though”
“I mean, shouldn’t you be celebrating the Season?”
“Not really. See this bar?” the barman knocked on the surface in front of him. “Touch it”
The man did.
“It’s all sticky” he said, unsuprised. This was a pub, after all.
“Lick it” said the barman
“I’d rather not”
“Don’t worry, it’s safe”
The man did.
“Mmmmm.” he said. “Minty. What is it?”
The barman leant on the black and white striped surface in front of him.

“Bar Humbug” he said.

Imported From Epistula Personal programming

Muttering

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-21

So, At close of play Sunday (02:45 AM) I’ve suceeded in writing the istic.net wonderful user system that will consolodate all the accounts on most of the various websites I’ve done. CIN/R has a design, said user system, campaigns, character class, preferences & architecture, CIN/F still needs to be designed then moved over (And probably rewritten, but that’s another job) JIN/HIN/NIN have to be confirmed – It’s an awfully stupid thing to do if I’m just going to scrap the whole idea again – Which leaves only Touchstone (Now CIN/S), Threadnaut (AIN/T) and Angelica (MIN?) on the geek-list. Of course, then there is Toffia, Alice, Cevearn, ACDS etc.

Tomorrow, then, should leave CIN/R with characters, games, lassos and approvals, with artifacts to follow.

Then, of course, I have to redesign CIN/F.

Christmas Imported From Epistula MotW

Music to max your visa to

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-20

And second in our countdown of Christmas Music you may not yet have heard:

Bob Rivers: Wreck The Malls

Imported From Epistula MotW

On the first day of christmas

Post author By aquarion
Post date 2003-12-19

So, the first in this series of christmassy MP3s leading up to christmas is:

The Goodfella’s Christmas: 12 Days of Christmas