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2010.Mar.14 » Few months ago I was sitting in church (minding my own business) when the minister read aloud a verse of scripture that said something like 'Whatsoever you ask, you shall receive.' (I forget the exact verse.)

Cirque du Soleil (KOOZA) Leaves Town

Anyway, that scripture stuck with me .. like it was following me around. Couldn't stop thinking about it. While walking to the car (out in the parking lot), I kinda got the feeling god was saying, Go ahead. Do it.

Now, I normally never pray for 'things'. I figure god already knows what we need. (There's even a scripture that says as much.) So I see no sense in bothering him to ask for 'things'.

But there *was* something I wanted » to take the Bug to see Cirque du Soleil. That's something I had been thinking about.

So (there in the parking lot) I prayed (as officially as I could) that I would be able to take the Bug to see Cirque du Soleil (which was soon coming to town).

Week or two later, I'm sitting in the coffee shop one Saturday morning, at a table with a guy I met years ago at the 24 Hour Fitness in Newport Beach. Fellow Navy dude who now works in a Financial Services group. We used to trade old war stories.

Rather muscular fellow. I usually see him there (at the coffee shop) with a different hottie. Never the same girl twice. I think this was the first time I ever seen him there alone. In fact (come to think of it), he's the same guy who grabbed my arm in this post, titled » Dating the Single Parent.

Anyway, I'm still half-asleep, waiting for the caffeine to kick in, when an article on the front page of the LA Times catches my eye. The paper is being read (held up) by someone sitting at a table on the upper lever. The headlines reads 'Cirque du Soleil.'

My buddy asks what I'm looking at. I motion with my head & say, Cirque du Soleil.

As god is my witness, he says, I bet your boy would really enjoy that. How 'bout if you let me treat you?

Now, I never told ANYONE about that prayer I prayed. Not even the Dog. Heck, I'd even forgot about it myself .. until that day.

No, this guy is not religious at all (.. that I know of, anyway). He had met the Bug a few times .. both there at the coffee shop, and also down on Balboa Island (where he lives), when we ran into him while he was running (and sweating).

Anyway, I immediately became wide awake when I heard him make that offer. I mean, tickets are very expensive and suddenly I remembered the prayer I prayed. He gave me his card and told me to call. Seemed like he really meant it.

Long story short, I felt funny about accepting his offer. Probably related to pride. I wasn't sure if he wanted to come along, bring a date, or just buy our tickets. Plus, I didn't really know him that well. Maybe that was just an excuse, but I told god it would be better is He just sent me the money so I could buy my own tickets.

Sure enough, week or two later, I get the biggest-ever donation the site has ever had .. more than enough to buy a pair of tickets. (Way more than enough.)

Then however, again, I started having second thoughts .. rationalizing how I should really be buying other things .. instead of tickets to Cirque du Soleil (.. to a show that will last only a few hours).

In the end, I never did go. Kinda feel .. like I should've. But too late now. Cirque du Soleil came and went.

It was either answered prayer or a pretty good coincidence. Wouldn't ya say? Nobody had ever made such an offer before (or since).

Whatever the case might be, I'm feeling disappointed. Never bothered me until today. The Bug woulda dug it .. the lights in the dark big-top, the colorful costumes, the dramatic music, the amazingly talented acrobats & performers, the festive environment .. but most of all, the enchantment. Confession can sometimes be therapeutic.

What gets me isn't so much the coincidence (surprising as it was), but rather how that particular verse stuck with me, even after the service had ended .. as if urging me to act on it.

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2010.Mar.08 » Been learning to program. Woohoo! Previously I spent considerable time learning *about* programming, particularly the pro's & con's of the various languages (.. something I enjoyed). Now however, I'm focused on learning the actual nuts-n-bolts of coding. Very different experience. More so than I would've imagined.

Programming | A Novice Reflects

Something shifted today. Programming used to seem like something done at a desk 10-steps away (so to speak) .. by others, at a distance. Today it became something done here on my laptop.

I can now see what others meant when they suggested I 'just start' .. no matter what language I happened to choose.

Seems many of the initial concepts introduced to the aspiring programmer (such as data types & logical operators) apply to most programming languages. So learning these concepts is what's really important .. more than the syntactic details of any particular language.

Also seems like I was always searching for a conceptual framework upon which to begin learning a language. Hooks upon which to hang the things I would learn. A file system into which I could deposit & organize this information.

Finally found that 'framework' in (I'm almost embarrassed to say) » a 'Dummies' book (of all places), where the author asserted that programming was similar to writing a recipe, where you document the various steps required to fix your favorite dish.

That made sense to me. It was something I could relate to. Moreover it marked the point at which I quit learning 'about' programming & programming languages and began to actually focus on learning the nuts-n-bolts of a particular language.

Programming as a recipe. The recipe paradigm. Simple concept. Simple usually works best. (For the novice.)

Many courses and books use the 'don't-be-limited-by-the-programs-others-write' argument as their reason for learning computer programming. But that approach never really resonated with me. I never felt limited by the programs written by others, seeing there are so many good ones to choose from.

Of course, I'm still just a novice, but programming is no longer viewed as something done 'over there' (.. by others, at a distance). Best of all, I'm learning something new every day.

Another hurdle I had to get over was » WHY. Why do I want to spend my limited time learning to program? .. especially when there are so many other cool things I could be learning. (The question of » priorities.)

For me, PHP answered that question best .. since it's a web-specific language, and web-stuff is what I do (here with this site). In other words, I'd be able to apply these skills sooner rather than later. (Quicker gratification.) Something I wasn't getting from Scheme.

It might not be the coolest language, but PHP represents a good starting place (for me, anyway). And God knows, we all have to begin somewhere. (Newbieville.)

I've long felt that digital technology (the manipulation of bits-n-bytes), in conjunction with the Internet, represents the future, and those who seek entrée into that future need to learn to wield digital tools .. the most powerful of which being the ability to program. So here we are. Better late than never, right?

Another contributing factor was the surge of encouragement that came last summer, when I learned how to use the Linux shell (bash), which has allowed me to administer the site far more efficiently. Things that used to take a good chunk of my day (such as upgrading Movable Type, which I did yesterday) I now do in minutes from the command-line. So easy, in fact, that it no longer seems worth mentioning.

A key point in understanding how PHP works came when I learned about CGI (the Common Gateway Interface), because PHP is like CGI on steroids. That helped me feel comfortable delving into PHP.

Lastly, there's a big difference, I've noticed, between watching someone teach programming and actually writing the code myself. I don't feel comfortable with the material covered until I've actually written the code for myself.

For a programming environment, I've been using Aptana Studio (which I call 'the orange ball program'). I like it a lot. Works well for me. Very stable. (And free!) Based on Eclipse. I tried several others, but I like Aptana the best.

Learning to program feels like building with legos » something done one small piece at a time. Progress isn't nearly quick as I'd like, but consistent. Now, when I look at code, I actually have a decent idea of what's going on. Pretty cool. =)

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2010.Mar.02 » Even more interesting than cool technology is » people. Homo sapiens are a fascinating lot, especially those who reside at either end of most any distribution bell curve. What motivates them to do the things they do? What do they value above all else? And why? What life-experiences have contributed most strongly to their view of reality?

Where Men Win Glory

Pat Tillman was one such person. He's the pro football cornerback who "traded the bright lights and riches of the NFL for boot camp and a bad haircut."

He walked away from a $3.6-million contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army after the hijackings of 9-11.

Contrast his behavior with that of Bernie Madoff, who said that money & profits were "all that mattered." Seems their values could not be more different. Difficult to reconcile the two.

Actually, Bernie is easier to understand. (Greed gone wild.)

So when I heard that Krakauer had written a book on the life of Pat Tillman (titled » Where Men Win Glory), I was interested .. even after the 6 years that've passed since Tillman's death. (While Bernie is still alive.)

[ Loved Krakauer's » "Into Thin Air." One of my all-time favorites. Was sad to see that story end. I also greatly enjoyed reading » "Into the Wild." ]

The title comes from a passage taken from Homer's Iliad (written 8th or 9th century BC), where Diomedes (who fights on behalf of the Achaeans) speaks to Glaucos (representing the Trojans):

"Who among mortal men are you, good friend? Since never before have I seen you in the fighting where men win glory. Yet now you have come striding far out in front of all others in your great heart."

So I checked the local library. Yes, they had a copy. But there was/is a long wait. I am #33 on that list. Never been more than #2 or 3 before. For anything. So it seems a LOT of people are waiting to read this book.

Fortunately, one of the librarians suggested I order the audio-book (comprised of 11 CDs). The wait for that was much shorter. Not many know about the audio-book it seems. (I didn't.)

I listened to the first CD yesterday (.. while fixin' some puttanesca). Wow. Intense. Story takes you deep quickly (.. into Afghanistan, the "graveyard of empires"). Recall that Afghanistan defeated the mighty Soviet Red Army in their 10-year war.

Today's entry continues & concludes in Ye Olde Rad Blog 4 .. see here » Where Men Win Glory

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2010.Feb.23 » Few things in the world of bits-n-bytes seem more alluring & intriguing than encryption algorithms .. with colorful names such as Blowfish (named after a deadly delicacy), Serpent (which took down mankind) & Rijndael (pronounced 'rain-dahl') .. conjuring up images of clandestine transactions being conducted by rogue spies and covert agents.

Ciphers, Keys & Encryption Algorithms

There I was, minding my own business, learning computer programming by watching the CS-50 course (at Harvard), when Malan mentioned ROT13. Say what? So I asked the Google.

A slippery slope it was. First I learned about the Caesar cipher, which Julius used in ancient Rome to communicate with his generals waging campaigns out in the field. (Cool, yet hardly seems secure.)

But what about us? What ciphers should we be using today to protect our valuable data & sensitive files?

The best program (most seem to agree) for encrypting your own files & drives is » TrueCrypt. (Now at v6.3a.) TrueCrypt is both free & open source, and it's list of features is (truly) impressive.

If you feel compelled to pay either $60 or $100 for a similar program, the best option(s) seem to be » BestCrypt and/or Volume Encryptor.

I downloaded a copy of both programs and took each for a test-drive around the digital block. Most surprising was how little CPU resources these programs use .. to encrypt (and decrypt) files on-the-fly. We're talking negligible .. even with my battered 5-year old laptop ( .. that's missing an i-key).

These programs work by creating a file on your hard drive (however big you want) that looks (and is used) like a typical/standard logical drive, which you can use to both store and retrieve files as needed. [ I made each of mine 2-gigs. ]

They can also encrypt an entire logical drive, including your system/boot drive (where Windows resides).

An algorithm is simply a sophisticated mathematical formula for scrambling the bits associated with the files on your hard drive (.. so nobody can read them). The hard part, it would seem, would be the subsequent reassembly.

The next question you might have is =» What's considered the 'best' encryption algorithm? .. seeing the program will ask which one you want to use. The word 'best,' as you know, can mean different things to different people (who have different priorities).

People intimately familiar with encryption algorithms have declared (drum roll, please) » Rijndael = 'best.' It's the current Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Note that AES is NOT an algorithm, per se, tho the term is often used that way (.. as a synonym for the Rijndael algorithm). Rather it's a standard. Rijndael is the actual algorithm used in/by/with the AES standard.

Today's entry continues & concludes in Ye Olde Rad Blog 4 .. see here » Ciphers, Keys & Encryption Algorithms

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2010.Feb.13 » Here's a find. You can eavesdrop on Harvard's 'Introduction to Computer Science' .. without ever leaving your living room. Very cool. Both video & audio-only streams available. Videos available in both Quicktime & Flash formats.

Harvard's Fun Intro to Computer Science

I'm using their Flash steam. No stuttering. Perfectly smooth video. Both the audio and video are decent quality. A quote from the Harvard OLI website:

This course is part of Harvard Extension School’s Open Learning Initiative, which brings a selection of noncredit online courses featuring Harvard faculty to the public for free.

While the extension website refers to this course as » CSCI E-52 (an 'Intensive'), both the instructor (David Malan) & video call it » CS-50. The course is for people with "little to no" programming experience. They appear to be having fun.

CS-50 used to be taught by Brian Kernighan, the guy who co-authored the definitive K&R book. He now teaches CompSci at Princeton.

I like this instructor's delivery. He talks fast. Prevents my mind from wandering. My brain syncs nicely with his presentation.

The course is comprised of 24 separate lectures, each ~ an hour long. They use a combination of C, PHP & Javascript. The first video is 73 mins.

In continuing my foray into the wonderful world of Programming, I've been demo'ing IDE's (Integrated Development Environments). Wasn't crazy, for example, about Komodo Edit (free).

My fave so far has been » Aptana Studio (also free / open source). Based on Eclipse. Their PHP plug-in uses PDT (.. which Zend also uses). Works for me. I like the idea of becoming familiar with Eclipse, since it's so popular (and free).

Programming (I'm learning) is an unforgiving discipline. Leave out a measly comma or a single semicolon and your whole dang program crumbles to gobbledygook. Does not compute.

Mostly (it seems) I'm learning how to make mistakes .. something I'm becoming very good at. Gradually tho, I'm learning how to correct and even avoid these mistakes. Currently learning about arrays.

Today's entry continues & concludes in Ye Olde Rad Blog 4 .. see here » Harvard's Fun Intro to Computer Science

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2010.Feb.07 » For the first time ever, the Bug can do something better than me. I wouldn't characterize this as an official 'developmental milestone,' but it does represent a demarcation of sorts.

Beginning of the End?

It's a weird feeling, I admit .. when a 5-year old bests you at something. (Anything.) It has left me feeling .. uh, I'm not sure. Weird.

I'm relatively new at this parenting stuff. Maybe some of you more experienced dads know what I'm talking about.

Certainly, as time progresses, the list will only grow longer .. until .. well, you know. So it's sorta like the beginning of the end. Or is it merely the end of the beginning? Or both?

What can he do? you ask. He can fly that little remote control helicopter I got him for Christmas.

We're talking bank-turns along the upper corners of the room .. where the walls meet the ceiling. Then dropping down to buzz the poor cat (Simon), before buzzing me. Look out, dad. Almost gave you a haircut.

I mean, I'm nowhere even close to being in his league. I tried. It's not easy. I keep crashing. Don't wanna break it. I sometimes watch his face while he flies. The focus, concentration. Makes him look older. More mature.

This is actually the second heli I bought. The first he took back to his mom's the day he got it. It was broke before the sun set.

I try to avoid having things he can only use here. It's your helicopter, I told him. If you wanna take it to mom's, you can. The new one he decided to leave here. (But that was his decision.) We've had it a few weeks now. Runs great.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad when he excels at anything. I've long endeavored to encourage him at whatever activities he might attempt. I try to focus on what he CAN do (.. rather than what he can't). So these feelings confuse me. Maybe mortality is the issue here.

Today's entry continues & concludes in Ye Olde Rad Blog 4 .. see here » Beginning of the End?

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2010.Feb.02 » Finished learning how to use Fireworks to edit graphics. The graphic that accompanies today's entry was converted (with Fireworks) from a much larger Illustrator (*.ai) vector source file. Looks sharp, no? Fireworks is a hybrid graphics editor that supports both vector & bitmap objects in the same document.

Now that that's done, I started learning PHP. Kinda excited. I've long known *about* PHP, and how it works (» server-side scripting), but never took the time to sit down and actually study the nuts-n-bolts of the language.

Learning PHP

Currently using a video series titled » Essential Training, taught by Kevin Skoglund. He's good. (Very good.) In fact, Deke is the only instructor I found who's better. (Deke is head-n-shoulders above everybody. Mr. Entertainment.)

Amazing how much of a difference a good instructor can make. I've demo'ed other PHP courses, but couldn't get into them.

Skoglund also has another series (released last March) titled » 'Beyond the Basics,' which would provide seamless continuity, should my quest for the PHP grail continue.

I'd like to get to the point where I 'see into,' (or 'grok') the inner-workings of the language .. on an intuitive level.

So I installed the latest version of WAMP Server, and have begun learning how to program with PHP.

One nice thing about WAMP is that it allows me to DUPLICATE locally (via add-ons) the same server config currently residing on the Rad VPS (in Chicago). This approach to development would help identify and minimize any incompatibilities between different versions of Apache, PHP or MySQL.

Progress has been slower than I'd like but moving along nonetheless. Doesn't the tortoise (who never stops) always win in the end? I'm enjoying it. It feels 'right' .. if you know what I mean. In other words, it's working for me. The programming shoe fits.

Several factors influenced my decision:

Today's entry continues & concludes in Ye Olde Rad Blog 4 .. see here » Learning PHP Programming

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