Conecuh Software

Importing your PDC2008 Schedule into Google Calendar

David — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:26:34 +0000

I just got a G1 from T-Mobile, and I’m also attending Microsofts PDC, so I wanted to import my schedule from the PDC into my Google Calendar. It took a few tries, but I finally figured out how to do it.

Get the .ics file

Find the link on the screen

Find the link to the .ics information on the page

Right click - copy link
Use wget to save it

You will have to change the URL type from webcal to https
wget https://sessions.microsoftpdc.com/feeds/ics.ashx/ai..snip..1a

I renamed the file to sessions.ics for easy identification

Open the file and remove the ; from the lines like:

END:VEVENT;
changed to:
END:VEVENT
I’m not sure who (Google or Microsoft) is at fault with the semicolon here, but Google won’t import the file unless the semicolon is gone.

Create a new Calendar

Go to your Google Calendar and create a new calendar

Import the calendar (Add -> Import Calendar)

Import your ICS file into the new calendar

Be sure and select the correct calendar to place the entries in.

Enjoy! I realize these instructions are pretty terse, but the critical piece is to remove the semicolons from the .ics file. Leave a comment if you’re having trouble.

When you’re successful, your Google Calendar will sync with your G1, and you’ll have all of your PDC sessions on your G1, for reference during the conference. You can look really cool checking your G1, rather than fumbling for a scrap of paper.

Google T-Mobile G1 is getting close

David — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:25:00 +0000

I’ve got my ups tracking number, so hopefully my G1 will arrive soon. I think it’s a little too much to hope that it will arrive tomorrow, so I guess I’ll post the unboxing pictures on Monday.

I’ve got two units coming - one for me and one for my daughter. I sure hope it passes both the geek test, and the teenage girl test….

Get The Most From Free Tech Support

David — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:44:11 +0000

Ranting below….

I’m a software developer. Almost everyone I know knows that. Many of my friends are software developers or other computer professionals. The one constant in all of our lives is fielding requests from friends for free technical support. Below are the most common requests:

My DSL is acting up, will you come over and look at it?
I can’t get E-Mail, will you come over and look at it?
My Internet is broken!
Where can I get free music?
I’d like to get the new version of (very expensive software package), can you get me a copy for free?
Can you help me start a website?

Aside from the obvious illegal activities above, I usually do what I can to help out. My first response is usually a few questions to help identify the problem. I’ll then respond with a few tasks for you to do to make sure it’s not something easy, like no filters on your phone line or something. If it’s truly a problem, I’ll usually make at least one visit to your house to help you get past the problem. I’m not in the minority in this chain of events, most of my friends go about diagnosing and fixing problems for their friends in much the same way.

If you ask me (or any of your friends) for free tech support, here are a few tips to ensure you get the best support possible:

Ask politely: I’ll most likely be unable to help if you demand help, or persistently ask for help when I’m obviously busy.
Humor me: I usually ask you to do several things to help diagnose the problem. I am not frivolously asking you to do these things. I’ve seen many different problems, and the answers to the questions will help expedite the solution to your problem.
Thank me: I’m taking my personal time to help make your life easier, and possibly save you money. I don’t charge for my services, but I do appreciate your recognizing my efforts.
Offer your services: If there’s something you can do for me, please offer, or at least let me know you’d like to do something for me. Even if you don’t feel like there’s anything you can do for me, I can be bribed. Cookies, cakes, brownies, even a thank you note will insure that you get repeated calls from me making sure your problems don’t come back.

SouthEast Linux Fest Announced

David — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:15:48 +0000

The Southeast Linux Fest has been announced for June 13, 2009, at Hendrix Student Center, Clemson University. Several notable speakers will be there, including Mark Spencer of Asterisk and Digium.

This promises to be a well attended, and exciting event. The organizers have a wiki, and hold weekly IRC meetings on Tuesday on #southeastlinuxfest (irc.freenode.net).

Since this is at Clemson University, I plan on taking the Amtrak train from Birmingham (BHM) to Clemson (CSN). Coach price is $48 one way. The Amtrak site doesn’t have any upgrade options currently, but I’m sure that there’s an option to pay more and have more luxury.

Event details:
Where: Hendrix Student Center, Clemson University, Google Maps
When: June 13, 2009
Transportation: Amtrak, Greenville SC (GSP)

Local Events - CE credits for the Web Professional

David — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:50:59 +0000

As I’m sitting in the WordCamp Birmingham meeting today, I’m looking around the room wondering “what does everyone have in common *except* that they’re interested in WordPress?”.

The mix of people here varies from WordPress gurus to people that don’t know what WordPress is exactly. We’ve got

local developers
graphic designers
copywriters
television news professionals
and local bloggers

The parallel common theme is that the attendees are all interested in continuing their education. In this case, it’s new media. Last week, I attended an event in ATL (Atlanta Linux Fest), where a similar parallel common theme existed.

Traditional continuing education can’t keep up with “Internet speed”. As soon as a class can be developed, the concepts have changed. In a local event, the content changes right up to the beginning of the conference. The questions raised
can even add more content.

Attending these events can help to increase the connection between members of the local community. Non-local guests can help to cross-pollinate ideas. Mostly, the ideas and and experience from attending and presenting at these events help to establish the attendees as willing to do whatever it takes to stay current.

Does your boss read your Blog?

David — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:43:38 +0000

Don’t flatter yourself. Your content is most likely not the compelling variety that your boss has at the top of his RSS reader. It’s just hard to compete with the likes of 37signals, Seth Godin or even the wacky designers over at lesseverything.com.

Be forewarned, however. Even though your current boss is not hanging on your every word now, the odds are that she’ll see it at some point. If you decide it’s time for a scathing post on the parking situation, or someone’s lame decision to require cover pages on all TPS reports, you’ll probably get a few viewers you didn’t expect.

More and more, though, prospective employers are taking a look at candidates online life during the interview process. CareerBuilder reported that 22% of hiring managers look at a candidates online life (blogs, social networks, etc) currently, and an additional 9% plan on starting. A lively Slashdot discussion ensued around this particular article, mentioning some candidates’ propensity to post pictures of themselves drinking and committing illegal acts.

More and more, blogs and social networks help define who we are, and where we stand on issues. It’s important to remember that the Internet has a very long memory, and something you say today may haunt you in the not-to-distant future

What looks good to you?

David — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:42:23 +0000

In a recent post ( There’s no shame in looking good) DHH says

“it’s at the core about people feeling good about that which is pretty. That doesn’t make us shallow, that just makes us human.”.

I think, though, we’ve got our own perception of pretty. My idea of pretty is the Thinkpad that he mentioned in the article (up next to the MacBook Air). I agree that the MacBook Air has some aesthetics, but the beauty that I see in the Thinkpad is durability and support for my favorite OS (Linux). There’s a line there - I wouldn’t accept a brick for a laptop, but my perfect design is significantly different than DHH’s.

Embrace what looks good to you. Is it the aesthetics of a clean, svelte design? Or, like me, do you appreciate the durable and extensible? Where do you draw the line? What’s your perfect design?

Home grown frameworks

David — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:13:05 +0000

Why do home grown frameworks (web and database mostly) seem like the right thing to do? I’ve had the opportunity to use a few in my day, and I think the reasons are:

Not invented here
We’ve got too much invested already

Both of these reasons (IMHO) stem from hubris, and end up costing many times more than just biting the bullet and accepting another framework as potentially better code than yours. NIH is among the worst, but it’s easy to spot, and easier to diffuse. “Too much invested” is often an disguise for

We spent a long time on this one idea, and abandoning it would make us look like we don’t know what we’re doing

Time moves on. Don’t live in the past. On the outside chance you’re right, investigation of other frameworks will encourage you to open source the one you’ve built. You’ll certainly get some ideas out of the endeavor.

Winning the War at Home

David — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:27:50 +0000

GoBigNetwork posted the question Thursday “Are you Winning the War at Home?”. I think they said it best with

more than 50% of the decision to stay at your startup lies with the spouse at home

I consider this a key question to startups, especially early stage startups where the employee count is low. While all of the points in the post are dead on, I think they missed a key point.

The CEO should be genuine, and genuinely concerned with the employees family

I’ve seen a couple of situations where the CEO, or members of the management team had tough messages to deliver to the employees, and were able to do that because they were genuinely concerned about the families of the employees. While the employees get a dose of Kool-Aid daily, the spouses are generally more immune to spin, and are more skeptical. Genuine concern tastes much different than spin, and will keep key employees out of the dog house for a significant amount of time.
Just my .02.

Go by Bike - You can do it

David — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:31:19 +0000

I’ve been biking to work since 28-May-2008, nearly every day. I procrastinated for several weeks before that, giving excuse after excuse about why I couldn’t bike to work. Here are some of the most popular:

No Showers at work
Too many hills
Dangerous traffic
I’m not in good enough shape

None of those excuses really hold water. Once gasoline approached $4/gallon, I decided that I should at least *try* to bike to work. I’ve got a bike (a couple, actually), am in decent shape, and am more cautious than most. The excuses didn’t have a chance after a couple of days:

No Showers at work
Stink arises from dirty clothes, and days without bathing. I stop at the YMCA, shower, and head into work. I take it easy for the last mile or so to work so that I cool down, then towel off, change clothes, and no-one knows.
Too many hills
They hurt, but that’s why they call it a “Mountain Bike”
Dangerous traffic
Morning traffic doesn’t move fast anyway. My commute is against traffic and there’s a nice shoulder most of the way.
I’m not in good enough shape
I’m in much better shape now. This isn’t a race, it just takes some planning, and rest on days when you feel fatigue. I feel much better now since I always get my exercise

It’s not that tough

You don’t have to do it every day. If you plan to ride on Wednesday, you have several days to assemble and check equipment. Try one day a week, then increase when it feels right.

It’s just you

Plenty of time to think, mentally prepare for the day, then mentally prepare for the evening. No-one will interrupt with some question.

Give yourself plenty of time

It’s helpful to time your bike commute, so that you know how long it will take. You can’t take risks and drive aggressively on the bike like you can in a car if you’re late.

Encourage a friend

It’s really helpful to have a friend that bike commutes too. You can trade stories, tips, and challenge each other. We’ve got a competition going to see who can accumulate the most “found money” on the commute.

It’s an adventure

Bike commuting connects you to your surroundings in a much more intimate way than commuting by car. You have time to enjoy the scenery, connect with local businesses, and generally take an active role in your day. You’ll *never* arrive at your destination wondering how you got there!

Resources

1 World 2 Wheels (Trek)

BikeCommute.Com

Local Bike Shops (They’ll have someone there who bike commutes)