disobey.com

I had some free time this weekend, so I made some minor changes to my iTunes2HTML perl script which generates an album listing like so. Primary changes include not requiring HTTP::Date, smaller final page size, and adding some command line options to shut off some of my "anal id3" checks (at the expense of display features). If you want to know when I update this in the future, just send me an email.

I'm making some good progress on rewriting my bookmark utility Syncasaurus. I will hopefully have a quick conversion example done by tonight (and, if I get time to clear out the CVS, recent code too). Feelin' good!

Welp, I've started rekindling my Syncasaurus bookmark code to be more in line with "shell utilities" instead of "monolithic single application". Thankfully, the code isn't that bad, though the CVS will have to be wiped. Here's hoping I make some quick progress tonight. Update: Nope. Rewriting.

Whilst I heartily disagree with the debate over how hierarchical filesystems are bad, I admit I'm one of those "programmers" who thinks it's a "really wonderful thing". I also collect far more than the average person when it comes to downloadable files (mp3s, movies, images, text files, etc.). I like organizing my files - I hate being told how to use my computer. That doesn't mean I don't want:

... storage without explicit organization, but with super-rich metadata for super-fast searches. Allow me to create views made from persistent searches - my "project folder" is simply a collection of resources tied together by a common tag, one of many. And, if I want to form a project hierarchy, make my persistent searches into file objects too.

But I do want my hierarchy. I love my hierarchy. I like the way my brain thinks, and I like mapping it onto my filesystem. I think I've used Sherlock/built-in Find once or twice the whole time I've been using OS X - I know where my files are, and if you take that away from me, I'll be a poorer user. As the original article states, I also do most of my work in regards to the Internet which, at its easiest, is hierarchical, and for any "normal" website, will stay that way.

Unrelated to filesystems, I think I'll start working on this soon:

I abandoned bookmarks for Google by the same principle. Now, my bookmarks consist completely of bookmarklets and a few stray links to local on-disk pages like Python documentation. In fact, I'm wishing that I could create bookmark folders that are fed by Google API powered persistent searches.

I love bookmarks myself (over 1500 of 'em, all anally cataloged into, yup, a hierarchy), but the idea of having them autogenerated from search results is intriguing. Should be a simple Perl hack with my existing (but unreleased) bookmark conversion code.

I was looking around for a DVD of Full Moon's DEMONICUS and was saddened to note that their official website is pretty ugly. They do have an exclusive golden PIMP doll though - wonder if I could get that signed...

Anti-Press Ezine #35 released.

Welp, I finally figured out how to get Extensis Portfolio to do things the way I wanted, so I spent some time tonight automating the creation of Video Files I've Collected. That'll save me some time in the long run (it's not fully automated, though - I still need an Applescript to automate the export from Portfolio - anyone want to help with that one?).

I've never flown (and have absolutely no intention to) but this should be required reading nonetheless: Air Traveler ID Requirement Challenged:

"United States courts have recognized for more than a century that honest citizens have the right to travel throughout America without government restrictions. Some people say that everything changed on 9/11, but patriots have stood by our Constitution through centuries of conflict and uncertainty. Any government that tracks its citizens' movements and associations, or restricts their travel using secret decrees, is violating that Constitution," said Gilmore. "With this case, I hope to redirect government anti-terrorism efforts away from intrusive yet useless measures such as ID checks, confiscation of tweezers, and database surveillance of every traveler's life."

Owning two souls myself, this soulcatcher clause seems pretty good:

He really wanted his soul back. Part of my experiment was to see how badly. By the end of the semester, he paid $100 for his soul, and admitted that he was an agnostic after all. That got me thinking about the possibility of putting a soulcatcher clause in certain types of legal contracts.

Buy (or archive the JPGs) 3,900 American World War I & II posters archived on CDROM, with such catchy phrases as "Gee!! I Wish I Were A Man!", "Her careless talk costs lives!", and "You can't beat the Axis if you get VD". Classic stuff here, folks.