Author Archives: molecularbear
Unexpected default values in MySQL after ALTER TABLE
So I had just done a test in my development environment where I: ran a script to set NULL values in column X to something appropriate altered the table to make column X be NOT NULL and give it a … Continue reading
CRT monitor recycling and disposal in Gainesville, FL
Problem: you have upgraded your computer monitors to LCDs and want to get rid of your old CRTs in a way that won’t dump a bunch of lead into the environment. Also, you live in Gainesville, FL where there is … Continue reading
How to copy email to DreamHost with imapsync
I recently had need to move my email from a VPS to my DreamHost account. I thought I could simply use Thunderbird to copy the folders, but that process didn’t work very well. The DreamHost wiki has an article about … Continue reading
Geek podcast roundup
Just a list of some geeky podcasts I’ve stumbled upon in my travels. Listening to these in the car is a great way to fill a commute… Penny Arcade Podcast (rss): All geeks know about Penny Arcade; the podcast provides … Continue reading
Downloading files over SSL with IE7
Problem I have a script, call it download.php, that pulls files from a database and serves them up to the user. For example, download.php?fileId=69 might return some headers and data that cause the user’s browser to download a PDF and … Continue reading
The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
When Hyperion arrived in the mail, I instantly had a good feeling about Dan Simmons’ 1990 Hugo award winner. My intuition proved correct and I ended up consuming all four books in the Hyperion Cantos. As a fan of science … Continue reading
On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One
After getting the game running on 64-bit Linux, I plowed through the first episode of On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness in about 6-8 hours of play. One could probably beat the game much faster than that, but obviously you … Continue reading
Precipice of Darkness and 64-bit Ubuntu 8.04
I was very excited to see that Penny Arcade‘s new game, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (Episode One), was available for Linux. My excitement blossomed further when I found that the game came with an innovative mini-game. The mini-game … Continue reading
Flash with 64-bit Firefox on openSUSE 10.3
I wrote about how I got Flash working with 64-bit Firefox on openSUSE 10.2, but I had to briefly struggle with it again on openSUSE 10.3. In this version of the distribution, I was pleased to find that nspluginwrapper was … Continue reading
How to check if a variable exists in PHP
Go ahead, look at the PHP type comparison tables and snicker over how the language is a cobbled-together hack. I still love it, but I did run into a little bit of confusion today. Here is the basic issue: $a … Continue reading