Doing background reading to write a research proposal, so I can keep busy over the summer. Just come across the term unconference.

Any of you been to one?

It seems that the hour-long installation of Xcode on Iggy didn’t install the command-line tools: make etc. Cue even more downloading… Bah³!

Why the hell does updating Xcode need to close iTunes?
Why the hell does a completed package need an IDE anyway?

Got MacPorts but it claims that Iggy’s Xcode installation isn’t happy:
Error:
Error: No Xcode installation was found.
Error: Please install Xcode and/or run xcode-select to specify its location.
Error:

Now downloading Xcode from Mac App Store – and have discovered the craptastic Launchpad, another loathsome, pointless idea-port from iOS.

Just tried the ‘using bundled PHP’ route on Iggy, my MacPro. Normally I’d be scared of fiddling under Iggy’s bonnet-lid but right now I’m too pissed off to care.

Still no joy – about to try MacPorts on Iggy because it’s far too slow on the TiBook.

So I’m trying to work my way through a teach-yourself PHP book. Macs apparently have come with PHP since the beginning of OSX. However, either you need to enable the bundled PHP by modifying the Apache web-server configuration file or install it yourself.

Installation impedimenta

I’ve tried enabling PHP on two different macs by following the instructions here. This seems to work, in that the phpinfo() command works. Also, simple commands within PHP scripts that make HTML to display formatted text work. (With no apologies for using <font> tags instead of <span>!)

However, $variables and form-handling fail – it seems that values for variables aren’t getting through to the guts of PHP. To find out whether I’m simply keying incorrectly, I’ve tried using the scripts provided by the book’s author – still no joy.

So I thought I’d try freshly installing the most up-to-date version of PHP I could on the mac I’m using for this, my 1GHz TiBook running MacOSX 10·5. Instructions are here: I went for the MacPorts route. macPorts provides a way of installing standard Unix stuff onto the Unix underlying OSX.

I found the version of MacPorts appropriate to 10·5. It tells me it needs Xcode, Apple’s IDE. Usually Xcode comes with the installer for OSX but wasn’t included in my copy of 10·5. But it’s available from Apple’s website – you have to do a little digging for the appropriate version (3·1·4).

To get it, you need to be a registered Apple Developer. (Hollow laugh – while developing for iOS and MacOS is one of my eventual aims, I’m so far away right now it’s frightening.) Anyway I registered and then waited for the 1GB download to finish.

Xcode is now installing on the TiBook – it’s going to take about an hour to install. Then I need to install MacPorts and then find how to use it, then install and configure PHP and then see if form-handling works… Bah!

<rant>This all seems so un-necessary – why can’t there be a simple, standalone installer? If it needs to install other stuff (i.e. if there are dependencies), so be it – the installer can notify you and ask permission to install this stuff. It’s all open source, so where’s the problem. To comply with open source ideals (which I broadly agree with), the raw source code can simply be on the provider’s website or , thus providing the option for those who want to compile and install their own stuff or contribute to development. The rest of us just want to install and use software.</rant>

I have far too much in common with David Cameron. I feel sick.

Several years ago, I bought an XServe G5 because I wanted to teach myself more about servers. I gambled on buying a known-faulty machine in the belief that the purchase price plus the cost of fixing it would be less than the cost of a fully-functional one. This worked out: my total expenditure was about £300 while a known-good equivalent would have cost around £500 at the time.

repaired, then faulty again

The fault turned out to be a duff power-supply – XServalan would cut out in the middle of, or soon after, booting. After this surgery, she ran MacOS 10·5 happily – and this was very useful, especially when my MacBook Pro died and I needed to work in Adobe Creative Suite. Even though I now have Iggy, I still need a mac that can run MacOS 10·5 to run QuarkXpress 7·3 (needed for some freelance work). There are ways of flying MacOS 10·5 on an intel mac but they’re not so satisfactory, mainly due to the limited screen-size.

All was fine until last month, when the symptoms returned: XServalan wouldn’t even complete booting before shutting itself off. I’ve finally found time to replace the power supply with one from a box of XServe bits I obtained about a year ago. It’s quite a struggle to extract XServalan fully from its desk-side compartment

Let joy be unconfined: XServe has been resuscitated. His roar fills the hall.

edit

Here are screenshots of the different screen-sizes available:

• MacOS 10·5 running in VirtualBox virtual machine: limited to 1024 by 768 pixels
• MacOS 10·5 running on XServalan: limited to 1280 by 1024 pixels

The dish I ate most in India – and enjoy almost every time I go to a south Indian restaurant – is masala dosa. Dosa is a think crispy pancake made with rice flour and a little bit of dhal. The masala (spice) part is a mild, tangy potato curry, which is wrapped in the middle of the dosa, vaguely akin to a christmas cracker, but much tastier!

So, having found a packet of instant dosa mix, I was keen to try it. I found a recipe for the filling here and a recipe for the coconut chatni such dishes should be served with here.

My filling ended up a lot more mashed than the illustration (and my memory) show, but tasting just how I remember. The chatni tasted just right to me, even though I used desiccated coconut and hence a lot of water. The only problems were using a hand-blender without a lid – stuff ended up everywhere and not having a proper tav (a flat griddle: think of a large frying pan but without any walls). So it was difficult to pick up and flip over the dosa – they ended up in shreds. However, they were together enough to dip into the ‘filling’ and chatni, and provide a crisp and tasty counterpoint to smooth yet spicy food.

There’s plenty of chatni left over so I’m making a brown chickpea dhal tomorrow to go with it.

Last night’s spinning session was one of the best I’ve experienced: possibly second only to my first ever session. Andy’s infectiously-grinning personality gave the key: the music was all inspiring but with easily-followable heavy beats. There’s a track he often plays which is a cut-up dance version of Another brick in the wall part 2. Usually I’d hate any interference with perfection but this cut-up just works.

Other tracks included an extended, beat-enhanced version of Coldplay’s Viva la vida. Somewhat cheesy, maybe, but again perfect for this situation.

The only flaw was the inclusion of Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt as a wind-down track. For me, this brings back memories of some crazy painful events in India. For my hostess, it’s associated with even worse things. Even without these personal associations, the lyrics aren’t at at all relaxing.

Despite this, both of us were positively affected by the session. I was gibbering and happy, and free of pain.

What a change this morning. I woke several times during the night from ongoing pain in my arm. By 7am, it was screamingly bad: it felt as if individual lumps of muscle in my upper left arm (just below the shoulder) were performing scallop-shaped spasms. Topical pain-killing cream provided little relief, and physiotherapist-supplied exercises (which usually help) were nigh impossible. This is a week on from a steroid injection which was supposed to unwind the inflamed rotator cuff.

The only relief was to get up and attempt to get mentally active. Resting my arm on my desk as I type helps, as does copious amounts of tea. I hate this and am scared it will interfere with future employment – if I’m mentally incapacitated by pain and tiredness what use will I be?