Rubinium.org

This is just a generic search and replace. Really you could make a macro for any search and replace you do on a regular basis.

;;; A interactive function for replacing all dos
;;; carriage returns (^M) with Unix 
;;; line feeds in a selected buffer. 
(defun dos2unix (buffer)
  "Automate M-% C-q C-m RET C-q C-j RET"
  (interactive "b buffer to convert" )
  (goto-char (point-min))
  (while (search-forward (string ?\C-m) nil t)
    (replace-match "" nil t)))

Costco is now offering A.C.E. Sports Pilot 250cc Off-Road Performance Go Kart. I could imagine a lot of fun Mad Max style paintball games with that right there. Of couse anything like that is way too dangerous for me to ever consider owning with Gabe around besides being well outside my budget.

I dabble in graphic design and I of course love OSS applications because of the enthusiasm and practicality that is typical of their design. Inkscape started as a fork from Sodipodi by a group of programmers who were bent on C++. I personally was fine with this because the main Sodipodi author brought his personal politics into the project website and sample art. After sinking a load of time into converting the Sodipodi core to C++ from C, Inkscape started to develop some new features. Sodipodi quickly became the “Popular People’s Front” of one and Inkscape took off like wild fire. Inkscape is hands down easier to use than any other professional vector graphics software I have ever used including Illustrator.

For the second summer in a row now Inkscape has benefited from the Google Summer of Code. However this year there were some very significant features that resulted. I have been using a pre-release of Inkscape with these features on a new website for Fairmount Printers and I am very impressed.

The new docking system improves MS Windows window focusing issues. The bitmap to path tool seems much faster although the SIOX selection is not fixed yet. They have added a number of raster filters so you don’t have to switch back and forth from The GIMP or Photoshop. They have a lot of aesthetics to work on in the Effect area though. Text manipulation has not been improved much on the surface yet. You still have to adjust letter spacing and manual kerning from key combos.

I saved the best for last. Inkscape can now import PDF directly which means that it can import a large number of formats indirectly. The resultant SVG is surprising cohesive. For those who have tried to open a PDF or PS file intended for a printer before you will be pleasantly surprised.

I just saw a CNN Headline news um… headline… about the NFL looking to start things going in UK and Europe and I had my own “deep thoughts”:

If the NFL opens a European branch does it become the LFN?

Even funnier, in a “small world” sense, is where I found the image.

There is a certain individual I know who says something that cracks me up at least once a day Monday through Thursday. I have long desired to share this levity with Rubinium readers and I have decided to start now. To be clear I have great respect for this individual but he says the darnedest things. It is having Pinky around to deliver an AYPWIP response. So without further introduction, the prosenfism of the day:

A Confutse fortune is no longer considered ‘PC’

That was not a misspelling. The pronunciation was Kong-fu-tse. I am not typically the type of person to mention Goatse but after a quick internet search to show this individual the proper pronunciation of Kung-fu-tzu I came upon this page. The funny thing is that the original statement is quite correct when you include the error.

We were just talking about Cosa Nostra Pizza in our very, very, diverse lunch conversations and bang, ThinkGeek produces the shirt. Next thing you know some company will produce a virtual world where people are getting brain-washed… doh.

I acquired a new machine to work with at work so now I can do the fly through movies I have been wanting to do. First I will give you Philadelphia. Which is the closest city for me. Some of the models done by Google/AMA like City Hall are truly excellent. Enjoy:

So my posts fizzled a bit but I am continuing to model local buildings. About one every day or two even if they are a little rough. I figured I would start with the largest buildings in Marlton first and then branch outwards. I think it is easier to constrain oneself to an area so I decided that I would stay in Marlton/Evesham for a bit. Actually Evesham is the largest town in the largest county (Burlington) in New Jersey. What I am wondering now is whether I need to create lower level-of-detail (LOD) models for the same in order to improve the performance of GE when the models are turned on. Maybe some one in the GEarth community would care to answer.

They have had me on after burners so long at work I often cannot remember simple things when asked. That being said we are hiring. And I am seeing to it personally that I get decent help. If you think you have the right stuff for cutting edge aerospace software engineering (CS or CompE) bring it on. Honestly the work we do is really Advanced Technology stuff. You need many years of experience, you just need to be someone who eats, breaths, and shee this stuff and then come back for seconds. That being said don’t bother if you are not a solid C programmer.

Congratulations are in order to the Ben Franklin Racing Team for being selected to go to the qualifying round (and beyond) for the DARPA Urban Challenge in October. This thing was put together in a year and it seams safe enough to drive itself effectively now and at relatively high speeds. It can distinguish lanes and intersection markings, differentiate and circumnavigate obstacles, and make k-turns. If you have time, check out the videos on their website. I understand the next phase will include turbo boost and super pursuit mode