leopard bites some users

Ok, so I was a bit spontaneous. I should never hastily rush and install a new Operating System the day of it's release. Nope, nothing is wrong, well at least with my installation! But i'm hearing reports of bad installs (blue screens of death) and other reports of odd things, like the latest version of Java not being supported on Leopard. Hmm. Hopefully those can quickly be resolved, and luckily I didn't encounter the blue screen and I'm not a Java developer (though I aspire to be one day!)

So, I'm fortunate - no hassles and an awesome OS, pity that these things are marring what would otherwise be a most excellent upgrade. I guess the pressure of a set deadline gets to everyone, even Apple.

leopard being released today

OK, For a while I resisted. I told myself that I wouldn't be one of those sad individuals who's go to an OS launch and buy the new OS just because. Well now it seems I've stooped to a new level, I'm going to be one of those sad individuals. Leopard will be in my paws in a few hours... Hopefully I'll smile more than when I successfully put Vista on my machine.

I'm not going to do a review like EVERYONE ELSE who has both a mac and a blog. I'll spare you all...

victory whine made from sour grapes...

My comments on this article: http://it-online.co.za/content/view/162500/142/

I think the hi-jacking of the event into a political game is both sad, pathetic, and counter-progressive. Yes, political correctness does have an ugly side, and it's bearing itself here.

I have a question for the politicians: if there were a majority "of-colour" representation in our team, and instead of going to the finals we failed to reach the semi finals, would your of-colour-lust be appeased?

It should be about talent. Sure, train up anyone, get them skilled, but then choose a team on talent and teamwork, not on melanin levels.

time to reflect

Very often for me a large part of living in the city means that some important things get neglected. You get so caught up in the buzz that things go un-noticed or unprayed for, sometimes for months on end.
Some bad news this morning reminded me how important it is to keep praying: for the people in our neighbourhood, for our leaders in government. For justice of the wicked and mercy for the oppressed and destitute. I was also reminded to pray for our brothers and sisters in places where freedom to follow God is hindered or outlawed.
Check these stories:

CHINA: Prominent House Church Leader Repeatedly Beaten by Police – China Aid Association
On October 11, prominent house church leader, Hua Huiqi, was repeatedly attacked by police at his home. According to China Aid Association, "Hua was reading his Bible at his home despite police surrounding his house. He was sent to Beijing Tiantan Hospital, because he lost consciousness after repeated beatings from the police." China's Public Security Bureau (PSB) recently put Hua under house arrest. PSB officers had been surrounding his house when they attacked him. Pastor Hua's 77-year-old mother, Shuang Shuying, remains very ill in prison, serving a two-year sentence. VOM contacts say she is being held hostage by police in order to put pressure on Pastor Hua to reveal names and information of believers. Pray for Hua's speedy recovery and for God to encourage him. Ask the Holy Spirit to convict his attackers and draw them into the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

GAZA STRIP: Gaza Bible Society Worker Murdered – Christian Broadcasting Network
On October 7, 26-year-old Rami Ayyad's body was recovered near the Teachers' Bookshop in the Palestinian territory of Gaza where he worked. His body had stab wounds and bullet holes. According to the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Ayyad was kidnapped the day before by an unidentified group. CBN quoted the spokesperson for the Palestinian Bible Society, Simon Azazian, who said, "We do not know the exact identity of the group, but we know he was martyred for his faith in Christ." The report added, "Ayyad told co-workers he'd noticed a car with no license plates following him. At 6 p.m. (on Saturday), his wife received a phone call from him saying he'd been taken captive by a group of people and would be home late. A second phone call relayed the same message." Rami is survived by his pregnant wife and two young children. Pray the Holy Spirit comforts his family during this difficult time. Pray Rami's testimony will bring non-believers, especially his killers, into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Ask God to protect believers in Gaza. Psalm 23, Psalm 91

SUDAN: Suicide Bomber Kills Youth, Wounds Others in Sudanese Church – VOM Sources
On September 27, a suicide bomber in military clothing detonated a grenade, killing five youth and critically wounding four others, in Sudan's Upper Nile state. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts in Sudan, "A pastor was having an overnight service in Khorfullus town, when an unidentified man walked into the service and detonated a grenade, killing himself, five children and critically wounding four others, including the pastor and his wife." VOM contacts added that the bomber was dressed in full military clothing, normally worn by government officials. VOM is assisting families affected by this tragedy during this difficult time. Pray God comforts and encourages the families of those killed. Pray for a speedy recovery for those injured. Psalm 118: 17, Isaiah 40:31

source: Voice of the Martyrs USA

what a weekend!

saturday: crater cruise.
I started off really early to get to my friends place on time to get to the race in Paryl on time for the start. On my way, half asleep I drove past Hans Strydom drive and found the sign said something like MollyBingo drive. Another name change, another sense of foreign familiarity. I pressed on.
We got to Parys in time for the start but stared up at the ominous storm clouds with hesitation. Should we pack it in and go find breakfast somewhere? No, we ride. I remembered that I didn't bring my raincoat and prepared myself for a very wet 106km. The funny thing about the start of the race, is that we didn't officially start! We were looking for the start, riding around Parys on our bikes, and got directed by some very friendly cops along the way, little did we know that we'd joined the actual race.
The nice thing bout the crater cruise, i was told, is that it's flat. Well, this year they decided to throw in a hill or two. Which was nice variety, but I don't do hills too well.
I was an incredible race, and great to see so many people participating. See, we actually caught up with a bunch of people at the one crossing of the crater, which was bottle necked and had a queue of riders going back far. Being from Joburg, queues and lot's of people was a welcome sight. In races (esp. sprint adventure races) - it's normal for me to be so far back that you don't see others for a long way!!
After an hour or two, the clouds gave way to some sun and we got a good roasting. Better than being drenched in my opinion!
My friend was right, those last 10km were the longest 10km in my whole life! So much for me gunning it in the end. I was very glad when i saw the finish line, but they tease you - you're right there, and then the route turns away and you go through this bushy one track maze before you actually get there. All in all, it was a great race. Not too much corrugation also, I think they'd graded many of the dirt roads.
I'll definitely do it again. Next time, I'll gun it in the last 10km!

sunday: what a game!
What can I say, what an awesome game. Both teams played with heart but we were really performed well. It was a very exciting game to watch, esp. those break-away tries (well, one official and one not awarded)!
All I have to say about next Saturday is: BOKKE!!

apple getting greener

A very interesting trend to watch in corporations (those which manufacture products) - is their attention to the environment. This is obviously a positive effect of not only laws passed, but pressure applied from various environment lobby groups. While I'm not a vegetarian tree hugger myself, I fully stand on the fact that we should look after God's creation as best we can, and so I recognise the good progress we're making on this front.

Check out this link here.

council of europe's parliamentary assembly: stomps on creationism

"The Parliamentary Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread of creationist ideas within our education systems and about the consequences for our democracies. If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights which are a key concern of the Council of Europe... The Parliamentary Assembly therefore urges the member states, and especially their education authorities to firmly oppose the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution and in general resist presentation of creationist ideas in any discipline other than religion and to promote the teaching of evolution as a fundamental scientific theory in the school curriculum."

See the story here.

Ok, so a few points.

• The stomping out of creationism as an option presented at school levels, happening in the political arena, is a clear display of censorship based on fanaticism. To fanatically opposed something because you fear it'll be fanatical would actually be quite funny if it wasn't so sad.
• If the science of creationism is bad and unscientific, show us scientifically, right? I mean, an attitude of "it's not evolution so it's unscientific" doesn't display the empirical kind of science you want to supposedly promote.
• See my previous post on truth. If macro-evolution (pond-scum to man) is true, then presenting an alternative view in the scientific arena will stimulate thought, and it will allow our young future scientists to present a decent case against creationism. If however, it is not true, then you certainly have something to worry about because more holes will be poked into it. Is that what concerns you?
  
• To prohibit creationism to protect human rights? I'm actually struggling to read between the lines here. It could either mean, 1) we don't want young, scientifically justified creationists blowing themselves up in buses in central London.. or 2) we value our new evolutionarily-justified values and freedoms to do whatever we please without feeling guilty about a God, so we want to keep this and not have some creationist having a strong case. We don't want these young creationist students to come into parliament in a few years and change our laws to remove our self-serving freedoms.
  

I happen to be a creationist, and a young-earther-6000-years-since-Adam kind! And I notice how we teach our kids that same sex relationships are natural (though biologically this doesn't float) - and on the other hand, we refuse to tell our kids about intelligent design and creationism, because it might impact our lifestyle later.

more free stuff

Went into CycleLab at the Extreme Centre on William Nicol to pick up packs for the Crater Cruise race this weekend. Popped inside CycleLab and was pleased to be told about an EAS promotion they're having. I left fully equipped for the race on Sat with energy bars, gel, and even powdered drink. Check it out...

truth

The very fires used to try destroy the truth provide a light and heat which reveal clearly the truth being attacked. Ultimately, truth cannot be destroyed. It can be put down, killed and buried for a period, but in it's very nature it has the ability to rise up again and boldly proclaim itself. People can mock it, deny it, try to ignore it, but it stands regardless of our best or worst efforts.

desmond tutu lashes out

Desmond Tutu has made some surprising statements recently in an address in Cape Town. I say surprising not because they are words that you don't hear often, I say this because they betray his so-called calling as a man who represented the church, who was a bishop even. It gets ugly when (supposed) ministers seek political esteem.

What he said can be seen here: Heaven's not for Christians only.

Let's look at some of his statements quickly:

• Most of us think God is a Christian, but if you think that God is going to tell the Dalai Lama 'you're a good person, but sorry you're not a Christian' then (I say) rubbish.

Um, ok. I also say rubbish, here's why: Getting to heaven is NOT based on good works, but on God's work done in Jesus Christ. To sum it up quickly, we're all rubishes, whether we believe it or not. If judged by the law of God, even the Dalai Lama would fall short, even Ghandi, even Mother Theresa! Mother Theresa won't get to heaven on her good deeds, but on the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, and her reliance on that will attribute God's righteousness to her by FAITH, which should cause her to live a devout life, full of good works.

I agree that God is not a Christian, a Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God, and God the Father.

• "We've conveniently forgotten that Christians burnt witches at the stake. It wasn't pagans responsible for the Nazi genocide - it was Christians," Tutu said.

Woah D.T., what's with the poison for the people you claim to serve and represent? Anyhoo - The biblical definition of a follower of Christ is just that, a follower of Christ. The bible states clearly that if you claim to love God, yet hate your brother, you're a liar and the truth is not in you. My argument would be, someone doing heinous things would NOT qualify to be called a follower of Christ, even if they proclaim it themselves. It's kinda like me saying I'm a vegetarian while tucking into a large juicy steak.

Besides, in my opinion - It is a stronger argument to say that Nietzsche and evolutionism influenced Hitler more than Christianity.

• He said it had also been claimed that apartheid was supported by the scriptures and the symbol of the Ku Klux Klan was a cross.

Ah yes, I hear this often. Anything can be twisted way out of context to suit your needs. I think that D.T. wants to take something that still incites a lot of raw (and validly so) emotion, namely racism, and pin that blame badge to Christianity. History does reject this though, it was Christianity that freed up America from slavery. The same in Britain with John Newton and William Wilberforce. I believe it had a strong role to play in freeing up this nation too. All the while, in all cases, you have your people twisting scriptures to justify their views.

To sum up, I think D.T. has used some popular pithy sayings to gain acceptance from his audience. I don't think he's looked into the topic, and it's clear he no longer stands on orthodox Christian teachings. In fact, he seems to have turned about-face, attacking the church with his views which lean towards universalism.

I'll end with a quote from G.K. Chesterton (from Orthodoxy):

Thoroughly worldly people never understand even the world; they rely altogether on a few cynical maxims which are not true.

new delicious built in symfony

From the Symfony website:
If you are a reader of TechCrunch, Read/WriteWeb, or ZDNet you may already know that there is a preview of the next version of del.icio.us. What you might not know is that the next version of Delicious is built with symfony. Of course, Yahoo! extended and modified symfony to fit their needs, but what's great is that they could actually do it, and that they will contribute their modifications back to the community in the form of plugins and bug fixes.
See more here.

This is obviously great news for all us Symfony developers. If you're a PHP'er I would highly recommend checking out this great framework.

i love free stuff!

For the next 60 days Sitepoint is having a promotion for a full copy of one of their books, Ruby on Rails Web Applications, to be available for PDF download for free. It's available here.

Also, though this is old news, Symfony's development book is available online for free here. This is a really excellent book for Symfony developers, I bought a copy cos flipping thru a new shiny book is always nicer.

make me Thy fuel

I heard this from a talk by Ravi Zacharias...

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher,
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the crucified)
From all that dims Thy Calvary,
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod:
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

by Amy Carmichael

linux ipod woe's

In reading this article, it's clear that Apple are effectively shutting out Linux users from using the new iPods. There is currently no iTunes for Linux, and no signals that one will be developed in the near future. They have changed the structure of how the iPod works, encrypting the database with a hash that ties that database to the iPod.

My opinion is this: that Apple should be more platform friendly towards Linux, especially with it's iPod support. Look at Adobe releasing the Flash plugin for Linux, as well as Microsoft's Silverlight plugin. Bring out an iTunes-light for Linux, make it open-source, let the Linux community manage it themselves. Sure, people will know the inside of your software, but rather have it this way and control it, than have some person reverse engineer it and you're left with the impression of being the big bad guy.

Maybe don't even make it open source, but release a core linux version with an API, and let the people build it.

You successfully took the digital music arena, which was a mishmash of illegal copying, file sharing, etc - and made a very lucrative business model from it. I'm sure you can do the same in this case if you apply yourselves.

!!!

is the news trying to make me cry?

take a look at this: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/1255.html

:-/

hopes for fast internet DASHED

Regarding the undersea cables.

A few weeks ago I got really excited at the prospect of decent internet bandwidth. While primary thinking of myself, my own usage, and my business - I also thought about how positively it would affect our economy and our international business ties.
Now, just a few weeks later, what was a beam of hope for many of us has disappeared as the dark clouds of bureaucracy drift in.

What is OBVIOUSLY more important to our Minister of Communication, is ownership and control over this pipe, obviously, because it can be quite a lucrative endeavour, because if it's locally owned, the pricing for the bandwidth can be unrealistically high, and once again the popular pass-time of milking the countrymen (as seen in the new car industry, the cell phone industry, the banking industry and currently the internet connectivity industry) can ensure than some key players make their fortunes.

This...
Sickens...
Me...

What can be done? Honestly, what is left for your average South African to do? I mean, if we take to the streets in protest (which we won't) will it actually matter? What will make a difference, when people in high positions are so feverishly set on greed rather than the good of the nation.

Is that truly the theme of this continent: The benefit of the few at the expense of many? Why are we marching to the beat of something which shouldn't be part of what South Africa is all about? No no no NO. That's the old system! Times of change must come, they have to.

Zille detained

Now and then I get an uneasy feeling, like I get a glimpse of something that should set off warning bells, but then I look around, and either no one else has noticed, or they just don't care. Like one of those movies where you're watching and things slip quickly into a precarious situation. Perhaps it's just a healthy dose of paranoia or a tendency for the dramatic; even so, sometimes I think we don't join the dots where maybe we should. I'll do another post on this soon, taking a completely different direction...

Hearing about what happened to Helen Zille yesterday concerned me. She was arrested and detained for an apparently legal and peaceful march. Read the details here and here. Two other things sprung to my mind: the farewell to the deputy minister of health, which i commented on here. Also the whole McBride incident (which is a whole other story).

In my mind, there are three probable explanations of yesterdays activities: 1- it was just an embarrassing bungle on the part of the police. Hindsight is 20/20 they say, and perhaps under the circumstances, they just thought they did what they should. 2- Some officer felt his authority challenged, and his ego got damaged and so he acted stupidly/rashly. 3- this was a calculated (political) move from the powers that be, in which case we'll probably never find this out. There are other possible scenarios, but from what I've heard these explain things the best to me. With my view on the deputy minister's dismissal, you can probably guess which explanation I'm currently leaning on! I do, however, sincerely hope I'm wrong.

do better now...

Some more awesome stuff, once again from Ravi Zacharias' podcast, he quoted this poem:

He came to my desk with a quivering lip,
the lesson was done.
"Have you a new sheet for me, dear teacher?
I've spoiled this one."
I took his sheet, all soiled and blotted
and gave him a new one all unspotted.
And into his tired heart I cried,
"Do better now, my child."

I went came to the throne with a trembling heart;
the day was done.
"Have you a new day for me, dear Master?
I've spoiled this one."
He took my day, all soiled and blotted
and gave me a new one all unspotted.
And into my tired heart he cried,
"Do better now, my child."
(Footnote 1: Anonymous, “A New Leaf,” James G. Lawson, compiler, The Best Loved Religious Poems (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1961). Used by permission.)

Are you in need of forgiveness? The Cross is for you. God offers you a new sheet today. Will you receive it?

(quoted from here)

skeptik

After reading some of the skeptical writings of a friend of mine, and being troubled by the fierceness of his stance against God specifically and religion generally, I was poignantly reminded that as this world spins into more decay and selfishness, people are running in the wrong direction to find their solace. The sick and weak, in a fit of rage attack the one with the cure. As a lesser wordsmith than those I'm about to quote, I will leave it to them to express what I see, in a way that does so better than I could:

But the new rebel is a Sceptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it. Thus he writes one book complaining that imperial oppression insults the purity of women, and then he writes another book (about the sex problem) in which he insults it himself. He curses the Sultan because Christian girls lose their virginity, and then curses Mrs. Grundy because they keep it. As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste of life, and then, as a philosopher, that all life is waste of time. A Russian pessimist will denounce a policeman for killing a peasant, and then prove by the highest philosophical principles that the peasant ought to have killed himself. A man denounces marriage as a lie, and then denounces aristocratic profligates for treating it as a lie. He calls a flag a bauble, and then blames the oppressors of Poland or Ireland because they take away that bauble. The man of this school goes first to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern revolutionist, being an infinite sceptic, is always engaged in undermining his own mines. In his book on politics he attacks men for trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything.
from Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton


The Romans gave to us our legal ideals. The Greeks gave to us our philosophical ideals. The Hebrews gave to us our moral ideals.

• The Hebrew's pursuit was symbolized by light. "This is the light that lighteth every man that comes into the world." "The people that sat in the darkness have seen a great light." "The LORD is my light and my salvation."
• The pursuit of the Greeks was knowledge. "These things are written that we might know that we have eternal life." The Academy was a Greek invention.
• The pursuit of the Romans was glory - the glory of Rome, the glory of the Caesars, the glory of the eternal city, that wasn't built in a day.
  

Paul, who was born a Hebrew, a citizen of Rome, in a Greek city, says this in Second Corinthians 4:6: "God, who caused the light to shine out of darkness, has caused his light to shine in our hearts, to give to us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus our Lord.
...
How that captures every longing and ideal! All are ultimately shown to us in a face. Here we see the ultimate expression of God, the culmination of God’s revelation. It was not restricted to the philosophy of Greece, the spiritual experience of the Hebrews, or the glory of an earthly city. “Do you want to see God?” ask the writers. Look at the face of Christ. That face beckons you not to a smorgasbord of fleeting tastes but to a life of eternal joy.

by Ravi Zacharias, from here and here.

timeout

I've found the perfect app for the hours-on-end-in-front-of-computer users. It's called Time Out and its free. What this program does, is it forces you into a break at a scheduled time by blanking out your screen. You get normal and micro breaks. A normal break defaults every 50 minutes and lasts 10 minutes, a micro break happens every 10 minutes and lasts 15 seconds. You can change the duration at will.

The only thing I didn't like about this app, was the picture that came up during the break... the whole yoga meditating person thing... I think I found that as distasteful as a new-ager would find a message popping up saying "Jesus is the only way to God". So, learning from another tip on how to change program pictures, i tried to see if I could change the image, and I did.

This is what the original image looked like:


Here's how you change it. You select the TimeOut.app file in Applications (obviously after you've installed the program). Right click and go "Show Package Contents". Go into the Contents and then Resources folder. You'll see the icon as TimeOutBreak.png. Replace it with this one (or any png file you want to use, just name it TimeOutBreak.png):

And voila, the new image is called. Now I just need to figure out how to edit an icon file. :)

hear ye, hear ye

Just found something pretty awesome on the human ear. I like AIG's explanation of things, mainly because they reject the secularisation of everything and make the presupposition that God designed the universe as per the bible's explanation.

Then, using the ears we've just learnt about - check out the Truth for Life podcast, with frequent sermons by Alistair Begg. His stuff shakes up many incorrect assumptions very clearly but directly using the scriptures.

Another podcast you want to check out is that of Ravi Zacharias, called Let My People Think.

the message is clear

On the sacking of deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge:
It seems that climbing in, getting involved and doing something useful are not as highly regarded as being in agreement. You could be useless, just agree that garlic and lemons is good for HIV sufferers, stick around. You could be useful, but a clash or challenge means you're gone.
This "agree with me or you're outta here" attitude is indicative of that of a tyrant. I'm not saying Mr Mbeki fits that description entirely, just that he shares some characteristics, and that, is scary enough.

Now, obviously this is all speculation as no official reason was given for her dismissal. However, I sense something is very wrong.

Read more here.

a handful of unix (Part 1) (for new mac users): ls, locate, man, export $PATH

Here are some tips which I've needed to use recently in setting up my new mac (yes, I upgraded)... You'll need to use your handy terminal, though I prefer using iTerm. I've also started with very basic commands for absolute newby's:

ls

In terminal, the UNIX commands on a mac are similar to your old DOS commands. With a few noteable exceptions. Go ahead, open up a terminal (Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal) and type the following: ls

ls is short for list, it's similar to the DOS command dir. Now try ls -al
See, more details, including hidden files, which are prepended with a period.

cd changes directory. cat displays the contents of a file. less does the same but allows you to scroll.

man

Very simple. Type man locate to get the manual pages for the locate command. It's a text help file explaining how to use the commands. If you want to see how to properly use the man pages, you can see the man page for man... so that would be typing man man.

locate

This function is the terminal equivalent of Spotlight, except, it looks everywhere! You simply type in locate php.ini, and it finds all the file references of php.ini for you. At first run I got an error message saying the database wasn't present. A brief look in the man page and I found the command to update the database (you should ideally run this every so often to just update all your references for locate. Do this before you run locate if you haven't used locate for a long while) - /usr/libexec/locate.updatedb

(It might be different on your system, so then just read your man page to find out how to update the locate-DB)

export $PATH

OK, this is more of a self note for me, so that I can use it if i need to do this again, because some of the bookmarks I had for $PATH stuff no longer link to valid sites... phhffft. ok.

For a shell script, the PATH variable used is stored in the .profile file (technically if you're using BASH - if you have no idea what i mean, ignore this) in your user directory. You can set up Textmate to respond and edit files by using the mate command from a shell. (here's how)
So, once this is done, open up .profile in Textmate and edit it. Mine looked like this:

test -r /sw/bin/init.sh && . /sw/bin/init.sh
export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin:/Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/bin"
export EDITOR='vi'

I edited this and changed it to:

test -r /sw/bin/init.sh && . /sw/bin/init.sh
export PATH="/Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/bin:$PATH:/usr/local/bin"
export EDITOR='mate -w' #textmate as editor, waiting for file to close before continuing
export LESSEDIT='mate -l %lm %f' #textmate as editor for the LESS command, by pressing v

What export does, is make the PATH variable available to sub shells, and you put it in .profile because that's read when you fire up a shell. A shell is a session in Terminal or iTerm (in simple terms).

Something to remember: UNIX commands in the terminal are case sensitive, which means the command locate will work, but Locate or LoCatE will not work.

OK, most of you are either bored to tears cos you know already, or bored to tears cos you have no idea or inclination to get into the shell. This is for the other folks, yes, both of them!

mac: nifty way to schedule a task

OK, so I need to run a task frequently on my mac. A daily download of a wallpaper to my desktop from National Geographic, and every two days to do a project backup (which I ought to burn to disk and take off-site).

So, what are my options... cron, and iCal. Yes, I found that out today, as an alarm for an event, not only can I set a chime to go *TING* - I can run a script or open a file... This leaves lots of possibilities!

So, I fire up iCal, add a new task called getwallpaper, and set the time to 9AM. Then I change the repeat option to every day.

Now, my iCal is littered on each day with an obscure entry. We'll deal with that in a moment.

I head over to the alarm selector, and select open file (the script is an app, so the run script option didn't work in this case) - I choose my app which collects my wallpaper.

Now, to tidy up, I click the plus [+] icon in the bottom left corner, and add a new calendar, name it Scheduled Tasks. It should appear in the top left side panel with a tick. Uncheck the tick and the events disappear. So I don't need to be bothered by my scheduled events.

I did the same for my backup, except I set up a Custom repeat option so that it happened ever week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Next time, I'll use Otto (Automator) to control the backup and zip the file afterwards.

Cron is another more scripty-geeky-terminal way to do this, and I'm keen to explore that when I get a chance. I got this info from here, and they also explain how to do this in Windows.

Here's a grab of the iCal screen, with my nifty National Geographic desktop, before I unchecked the Calendar so that they disappear. Wow, am I really that empty this week?

intolerance

What I got from the Stand To Reason site. Definitely worth checking out...

When Tolerance Is Intolerant

Greg Koukl

There’s one word that can stop you in your track. That word is “tolerance.”

Let’s take a look at the confusing and mistaken ways tolerance is used in our culture today.

Using the modern definition of tolerance, you will see that no one is tolerant, or ever can be. It’s what my friend Frank Beckwith calls the “passive aggressive tolerance trick.” Let’s start with a real life example.

I had the privilege of speaking to seniors at a Christian high school in Des Moines. I wanted to alert them to this “tolerance trick,” but I also wanted to learn how much they had already been taken in by it. I began by writing two sentences on the board

"All views have equal merit and none should be considered better than another."

“Jesus is the Messiah and Judaism is wrong for rejecting that.”

They all nodded in agreement as I wrote the first sentence. As soon as I finished writing the second, though, hands flew up. “You can’t say that,” a coed challenged, clearly annoyed. “That’s disrespectful. How would you like it if someone said you were wrong?”

“In fact, that happens to me all the time,” I pointed out, “including right now with you. But why should it bother me that someone thinks I’m wrong?”

“It’s intolerant,” she said, noting that the second statement violated the first statement. What she didn’t see was that the first statement also violated itself.

I pointed to the first statement and asked, “Is this a view, the idea that all views have equal merit and none should be considered better than another?” They agreed.

Then I pointed to the second statement—the “intolerant” one—and asked the same question: “Is this a view?” They studied the sentence for a moment. Slowly my point began to dawn on them. They’d been taken in by the tolerance trick.

If all views have equal merit, then the view that Christians have a better view on Jesus than Jews is just as true as the idea that Jews have a better view on Jesus than Christians. But this is hopelessly contradictory. If the first statement is what tolerance amounts to, then no one can be tolerant because “tolerance” turns out to be gibberish.

“Would you like to know how to get out of this dilemma?” I asked. They nodded. “Return to the classic view of tolerance and reject this modern distortion.” Then I wrote these two principles on the board:

“Be egalitarian regarding persons.”

“Be elitist regarding ideas.”[1]

The first principle is true tolerance, what might be called “civility.” It can loosely be equated with the word “respect.” Tolerance applies to how we treat people we disagree with, not how we treat ideas we think false. Tolerance requires that every person is treated courteously, no matter what her view, not that all views have equal worth, merit, or truth.

Don’t let this new notion of tolerance intimidate you. Treat all people with respect, but be willing to show them where their ideas have gone wrong. The modern notion of tolerance actually turns this value on its head. It’s one of the first responses deployed when you take exception with what someone has said. “You’re intolerant.”

To say I’m intolerant because I disagree with someone’s ideas is confused. The view that one person’s ideas are no better or truer than another’s is simply absurd and contradictory. To argue that some views are false, immoral, or just plain silly does not violate any meaningful definition or standard of tolerance.

The irony is that according to the classical notion of tolerance, you can’t tolerate someone unless you disagree with him. We don’t “tolerate” people who share our views. They’re on our side. There’s nothing to “put up” with. Tolerance is reserved for those who we think are wrong, yet we still choose to treat them decently and with respect.

This essential element of classical tolerance—elitism regarding ideas—has been completely lost in the modern distortion of the concept. Nowadays if you think someone is wrong, you’re called intolerant no matter how you treat them.

Whenever you’re charged with intolerance, always ask for a definition, then point out the contradiction built in to this new view.

Most of what passes for tolerance today is intellectual cowardice, a fear of intelligent engagement. Those who brandish the word “intolerant” are unwilling to be challenged by other views, to grapple with contrary opinions, or even to consider them. It’s easier to hurl an insult—“you intolerant bigot”—than to confront the idea and either refute it or be changed by it. In the modern era, “tolerance” has become intolerance.

As ambassadors for Christ, however, we choose the more courageous path. In Paul’s words, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5). In a gracious and artful way, we accurately speak the truth, and then trust God to transform minds.