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summary/summery

Posted: December 27th, 2008, 9:59am CET

I love it when Christmas butts up against a weekend. It allows for a 4 day break without having to take any time off from work.br /br /Christmas this year was highly enjoyable and was completely drama free (except that Mum managed to burn her hand). It would rate as one of the better Christmasses Ive had (though it does not top the Christmas where I got a mini wood-workshop; that was totally awesome). I received some particularly awesome gifts, including the new Neal Stephenson book, the new Sergei Lukyanenko book and the Joe McNally book; new teacups and a new plunger; garden things; and a trip to Sydney to see a href=http://www.topgearlive.com.au/Top Gear Live/a (Esther: apparently James May wont be there; sorry, I cant kidnap him for you). I actually feel pretty bad; like the gifts we gave out were nowhere near as awesome as those we received.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3136781253/ title=christmas table with the expensive glasses by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/3136781253_53f6fc787d.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=christmas table with the expensive glasses //a/centerbr /Spent Boxing Day chilling out on the couch watching the cricket. We were also going to tidy up, but every time I stood up and looked away, Australia dropped a wicket (yeah, um, sorry about that). Had leftovers for lunch (gave vegan gravy a second chance, had more success) and samosas as an afternoon snack.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3140016979/ title=samosas by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3083/3140016979_3003ec0a9d.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=samosas //a/centerbr /Whats great about the holidays is how friends who have moved out of town suddenly reappear. Bernard and Alysia dropped by (about 4 hours later than intended) and we ended up going out for dinner to Monte Fiore on Beaufort Street. Our waiter was really very impressive in that he knew what was on the menu for vegans and for coeliacs who are also lactose-intolerant. It was tasty too.br /br /Today was very similar. Met up with Sara-Jane and Esther for lunch at a href=http://veganabouttown.blogspot.com/2008/05/source-foods-highgate.htmlSource/a. Spent the afternoon watching the final session of the cricket and reading the Joe McNally book. Its quite funny, but many of the technical things he talks about are also covered by a href=http://strobist.blogspot.com/Strobist/a. The pictures however are very, very good, so Im still expecting to learn something from it.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3140017189/ title=tea and mcnally by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/3140017189_189373d063.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=tea and mcnally //a/centerbr /Going to a party at my cousins house tonight. His sister is going away to Texas (America!) on a college tennis scholarship. Next step: winning the Grand slam. Having given up on my brother being a virtuoso trumpet player, or my other cousin batting for Australia, she might now be my only hope of ever being related to somebody famous.br /br /Going back to work on Monday (why not? with no one around, the dress code slips; and I want my leave paid out): 9 days left.
because its christmas

Posted: December 24th, 2008, 3:29pm CET

Its a pattern: new job, new laptop.br /br /My trusty Portege R200 isnt as solid or reliable or fast as it once was. I discovered that the Lenovo store was having a sale (which ended today), so following the recommendations of the people who are to become my new workmates, I have ordered a a href=http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x200s.aspxThinkpad X200s/a with the fruit for a $1500 discount. Thats almost half price!br /br /They reckon 1-2 weeks to ship, but with Christmas in the way, Im not really expecting it before linux.conf.au.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3122156391/ title=dane alderson by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/3122156391_2509ef140f.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=dane alderson //a/centerbr /Also, happy holidays to everyone whos reading. Enjoy yourselves in moderation.
its almost Christmas

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 4:33pm CET

Its almost Christmas, which means time for baking.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3119477001/ title=gingerbread stars by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/3119477001_2fd8251967.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=gingerbread stars //abr /br /a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3113393440/ title=(white) chocolate and jam cupcakes by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3065/3113393440_7c09d9c01b.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=(white) chocolate and jam cupcakes //a/centerbr /Baked goods make delicious gifts! Steph writes more on ba href=http://veganabouttown.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-cookies-and-idea-of-buy.htmlVegan About Town/a/b.
who wants my job?

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 3:28pm CET

I was waiting to ensure that Id spoken to people who probably shouldnt read it first via my blog. On Monday I gave my notice of resignation at Fugro Seismic Imaging. As of the 19th of January I am starting work for another software company (known in GNOME), who I think do some very exciting things. Im pretty hyped; none of it has actually registered properly in my brain yet, I keep expecting to wake up and find out that it isnt true.br /br /In some respects, Im sad to be going. The company was good to me when I was a student, and I do like the people I work with (even if they can sometimes drive me a little batty). I think Ive had a very positive contribution; Ive kick started many projects, and nowadays you check both check software out of revision control and build it (something that wasnt always guaranteed when I started). Itchy feet, however, told me that it was time to move on.br /br /Regardless, with my impending departure, I was asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in a job doing GTK+ application development for a href=http://www.fugro-fsi.com/FSI/a. The position would be in Perth, Western Australia as part of a small RD team (approx half a dozen). You neednt be familiar with GTK+ (its not that hard to pick up), but you need to know C (plus any of C++, Perl, Python, Java and Fortran also get you good marks). You should also be at least a little familiar with developing software on Linux. If required, FSI can help with arranging a work visa and has been known to pay for relocation. If anyone is interested, email me with your CV and Ill pass your details along.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3120355350/ title=Andrew Symonds #1 by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3131/3120355350_06ab945909.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=Andrew Symonds #1 //abr /iAndrew Symonds/i/center
summer daze

Posted: December 15th, 2008, 1:09pm CET

The mercury spiked 37C yesterday. We want to Swanbourne beach with Zanchey, Sheeba and Zancheys dog (Jackie).br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3106590265/ title=where#39;s the ball? by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/3106590265_13f5bfb694.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=where#39;s the ball? //abr /iwheres the ball, jackie? wheres the ball?/i/centerbr /Tonight we have the doors and windows open, eating cold salad and drinking beers in our tiny house with stairs and a courtyard. There is music playing and bathers hanging in the bathroom.br /br /Could it feel any more like summer holidays?br /br /(Maybe if we were actually on break).
kill conference cruft (towards sustainable conferences)

Posted: December 14th, 2008, 4:39am CET

We were cleaning the house today, and I came across a giant pile of conference bags that Ive collected over the years. This reminded me of my rant about how we need to kill off conference swag.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3105649905/ title=conference bags by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/3105649905_61e5ab8ec1.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=conference bags //a/centerbr /Every time I go to a conference, I receive about 5kg of stuff including a bag, glossy brochures, vendorware and a t-shirt. Its always seemed wasteful to me. People managed to carry their laptop to the conference in something. Do they really need a second laptop bag?br /br /These laptop-style bags are relatively expensive and often require a bag sponsor. Theyre not very strong and usually break within a year of use. I do not feel that these bags really advertise the conference, theyre not in prominent enough display. If a bag would seem to be a requirement, why not use a recyclable paper bag or a canvas bag that can be kept and used for carrying things (I keep a small canvas bag in my main bag at all times in case I buy something). Alternatively, I once received a small tote bag made entirely of recycled materials, this is an awesome bag that Ive kept (in fact, Stephanie claimed it).br /br /If youre going to cut wastage, it doesnt need to be a big bag either. To cut down on weight, those glossy brochures are the first thing to go in the bin. Ive been to conferences now where instead of a pile of brochures youre given a USB key with PDFs on it. A usefully-large USB key will also be useful to the attendee after the conference (128MB is not useful). At GUADEC this year, they gave out brilliant, tiny 4GB USB keys that I carry in my wallet so that I have a key at all times.br /br /If vendors want to provide a toy, make it something useful. Drink bottles and stubby holders might seem obvious but most people already have a cupboard full. Catalyst gave out cable winders once, which were awesome until I broke them. For an international conference, perhaps something that overseas travelers might have forgotten to bring (e.g. in Australia: sunscreen or a hat), put your logo on it and attendees will constantly be reminded about how clever, thoughtful and insightful your company is.br /br /And as a sponsor do you need to provide showbag stuffer that is only going in the bin (or to the Salvation Army)? Id like to attend a conference that is zero-emissions. Id like to attend a conference with a a href=http://www.greenpower.gov.au/home.aspxGreenPower/a sponsor. Paying to make it carbon neutral.br /br /For the most part, the people at the conferences I attend are quite progressive. I would like to see a conference that embraces sustainability as a core principle: environmental, economic and social. There is more to it than just getting rid of the cruft, but its a good start.br /br /Disclaimer: I am not currently involved with the organisation of a conference, though I have been in the past. This is not an attack on any one conference, but a list of things that have been done well or done poorly and what I think could be done to make it better.
its really all a matter of how one conducts oneself

Posted: December 13th, 2008, 4:30pm CET

Went to a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rottnest_IslandRottnest/a yesterday for the work Christmas Party (FSI takes its Christmas Party very seriously). I took my camera but didnt bother to get it out. Spent the day sat on the verandah of the old army hospital drinking beers and chilling out. Ended up a little bit dehydrated.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3104148227/ title=sail boat by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/3104148227_6e5af406fd.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=sail boat //a/centerbr /The weather in Perth made its first solid break above 30C since last summer today. Peoples cars clearly werent ready for it. I think I spotted something like 8 people broken down whilst running errands this morning. Its about 25C now, and the breeze is in, which is lovely.br /br /Went to the new T2 (tea store), and left with some Sydney Breakfast and some chai marsala. The Sydney Breakfast smelt nicer than the Melbourne Breakfast, but it turns out that if you leave it to steep too long it tastes a lot like cleaning product. I want to know who made Garden City shopping centre the official location for all of the cool eastern states chains. Lush, T2 and kikki.k have all set up in Garden City.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3104980204/ title=2x T2 by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/3104980204_6f99cf92c7.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=2x T2 //a/centerbr /On Wednesday I shot some photos for the Armadale City Concert Band (because I could do with the XP). Ive not finalised all of the shots yet, but there are a few shots that Im happy with. However Im not very happy with most of the group shots that I did. Im never happy with my group shots, they really let me down.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3099629273/ title=Untitled by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/3099629273_255510d69d.jpg width=500 height=333 alt= //abr /br /a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3104442934/ title=Untitled by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/3104442934_05985f0797.jpg width=333 height=500 alt= //a/centerbr /I think my laptop is trying to send me subtle hints. The LCD is making squelly noises, the power plug has developed a fault and its crashed a couple of times lately. I suppose I have had it 3.5 years, but it remains one of the lightest laptops available (1.2kg), even today.
a gear post (Canon Speedlite 430EX II)

Posted: December 8th, 2008, 11:33am CET

I dont talk about camera gear much, unless someone drags me into a conversation or asks my opinion. I came to the conclusion that talking about camera gear is a lot like talking about archery gear. Everyone wants something more expensive, but the truth is that more often than not it isnt going to make you any better. Still...br /br /Ive been finding myself wanting another flashgun, especially for portrait lighting. Many lighting setups involve at least two lights (a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-point_lightingwith 3 or 4 being pretty much where its at/a) and borrowing guns off people is annoying for everyone involved. I also lacked sufficient umbrellas etc. So armed with a trinity of excuses (I got a Christmas bonus, it was my birthday last week, and its my patriotic duty to increase consumer spending to head off a recession), I went to Camera Electronics to buy another 430EX.br /br /What I didnt realise is that it was actually a 430EX mk II. Its the same basic flashgun with the same specifications, but there are quite a number of little improvements that have been made to it. Most brilliant is the locking ring, which rather than being a ring thats very hard (and painful) to tighten and loosen, is now an interlocked lever (you can attach and remove the flash very easily, but it wont go anywhere unintentionally). The flash makes no noise when its charging (no squeal), in fact I thought it was faulty until the ready light came on. Theyve also removed the slave-mode switch. You press and hold the zoom button for 2s to switch to slave mode. This is probably good in that its harder to accidently flick over to slave, but bad in that people unaware of the slave mode might get stuck in it with no idea how to get out.br /br /While reading the manual to find out how to make this flash a slave, I also discovered that while in slave mode, pressing and holding the mode button for 2s will take it from ETTL into full manual. It seems you cant adjust the power without coming out of slave mode, going into manual, adjusting the power and then going back to slave mode, but Im actually excited enough that this feature exists at all for it to bug me yet. It turns out that this features is also available in the mk I firmware, but undocumented as far as I know.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3086414333/ title=seiko ad? by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/3086414333_531749fa3b.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=seiko ad? //a/centerbr /Im still not sure why photography umbrellas are so expensive. Its the same as the $10 Target umbrella, but with no handle and white nylon instead of black. Why is it 5x the price?
another wedding in the family

Posted: December 6th, 2008, 5:26pm CET

My brother Chris was married today. His partner is a Catholic, so the service was held at her church. I often feel a little bit strange at religious services, it was especially when standing up the front.br /br /Due to my other duties, I didnt take many photos, though I did manage this one (unfortunately theyre staring into the sun):br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3087227214/ title=chris and erin by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/3087227214_79a80f88d6.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=chris and erin //a/centerbr /Its always funny to see uncles and old family friends after one beer too many. Caught up on extended family gossip. I have no idea if my speech was actually any good, or if people were just being nice. Danced.br /br /In what can only be considered excellent timing on my part, I just managed to miss the cannons of the 1812 Overture (being played across the road), instead putting them right in the middle of Chris and Erins thankyous.br /br /centerimg src=http://davyd.ucc.asn.au/images/double-happiness-new.png //center
twenty-four

Posted: December 4th, 2008, 11:36pm CET

0x18br /2 dozenbr /6 times 4br /sqrt (576)br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3074504130/ title=banana no-bake cake by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/3074504130_3d745118c9.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=banana no-bake cake //abr /icake/i/centerbr /No actual cake, been too busy running around (its my brothers wedding tomorrow).br /br /Today is likely to be mundane (Ive never really grokked people taking the day off work for their birthday), but hopefully there will be exciting news in the near future.
bzr for small projects (thoughts on bzr)

Posted: November 27th, 2008, 1:51pm CET

Over the last couple of weeks at work, Ive been doing some fairly blue-sky experimentation, trying out a possible solution for replacing some legacy design in our software. A lot of the code was throw-away, just experimentation; but over the last couple of days, what could be actually useful code was beginning to emerge. Now Im a big believer in revision control. I have been since my first year at uni, where I ended up recovering what I could of an assignment by grepping for Java syntax in /dev/mem (note: rm *.java versus rm *.class), so I was beginning to feel like I was flying by the seat of my pants (Id already given up on the ANTLRworks editor for editing my grammars because of the poor undo support).br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2661143976/ title=world#39;s oldest shopping mall? by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/2661143976_cb30d46424.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=world#39;s oldest shopping mall? //a/centerbr /I could have checked my code into works Subversion server, which is where most stuff goes, but since Im still not sure whether or not this stuff is going to actually work, or what form the real thing will take, I decided I didnt want to do that just yet. I could have used Monotone, which is popular in my office, but I cant help but feel that Monotones days are numbered. Instead I thought I might use it as an opportunity to get up to speed on bzr.br /br /A quick Google came up with this a href=http://doc.bazaar-vcs.org/latest/en/mini-tutorial/index.htmlcrash course/a. Off the bat, its really pretty easy to create a local bzr branch from a directory youve been hacking on. I mean really easy. A couple of commands and your directory is now under revision control (but still very accidentally rm-able). Whats nice is that its then very easy to push that out somewhere else, even without a server running or bzr installed on that machine.br /br /There are a lot of commands listed by `bzr help commands`. Some of which, after reading the 5-minute version, seem very confusingly similar: checkout, branch, update, merge, push, pull, send, commit; and although there is built-in help, you need to read the user-guide pretty much from top to bottom to really understand whats going on here. While the user guide is very high quality (its task oriented, which in my opinion is the only way to write documentation), what is probably lacking is a table that groups all of the related verbs and cross-references them against the appropriate workflows.br /br /On the topic of workflows, it seems that bzr is able to cope with every possible workflow I can think of for managing source code, and it seems like its very easy to move between paradigms as the parameters of your project change (e.g. although Im working on this project by myself for the moment, I may soon want to get some of the other staff to help out; which should prove very straight-forward).br /br /I quite like the ability to ibind/i and iunbind/i branches together. While your working copy is bound to a branch, bzr is working a lot like Subversion or CVS would, always keeping that branch updated, but its easy to unbind the branch for whatever reason (say youre offline) and then bind it later to push all the updates back. This seems like a neat feature for when youre working on the same project from a couple of computers (which is something I do quite a lot). Im concerned that while unbound branches allow for microcommits (which is nice), I am likely to forget to push changes back to the server, leaving me with only half written code accessible. Maybe I need a plugin that tells me how many commits Ive made since my last push, and also updates a global list, which I could connect to an applet telling me what branches I havent pushed yet.br /br /I skim read the part on repositories (I figure this is only a small project right now), so at this stage, I dont understand how setting up a repository with init-repo is different to what I did, or if that can cause problems later on. Im not sure if its possible to merge branches between repos, which might be something I find myself wanting to do. Im also not sure about importing my work from bzr into Subversion, if the project goes mainline (of suppose I could just code drop).br /br /The toolbars, menus and buttons in the bzr-gtk UIs could do with tooltips. I have no idea what most of those buttons do, so Im too scared to press them. In general though, the UIs seem pretty solid (so many VCS UIs are not). `bzr visualize` is pretty neat too.br /br /So whats the verdict? So far Im happy, its certainly straightforward to start using. People have mentioned there may be performance issues, but to be honest, talking to our SVN takes forever, so commits are a lot faster already. The software feels both designed and engineered (unlike say... git) and the documentation isnt bad. The command is a pain in the neck to type (compared to `cvs`). `hg` may have the market sown up on this though.
the sort of thing that should be written down (tracking active window with libwnck)

Posted: November 24th, 2008, 12:54pm CET

A question was asked in #gtk+ today, wanting to know how you track the currently highlighted X11 window. This is one in a whole class of questions regarding window states in the greater desktop. The solution to discovering (and manipulating) the window manager state is a href=http://library.gnome.org/devel/libwnck/stable/libwnck/a.br /br /With regards to the particular problem of tracking the active window, this is actually really simple:br /pre ifont color=#B22222/* compile with: * gcc -o track-active-window `pkg-config --cflags --libs gtk+-2.0 libwnck-1.0` track-active-window.c *//font/i #bfont color=#5F9EA0define/font/b font color=#B8860BWNCK_I_KNOW_THIS_IS_UNSTABLE/font #bfont color=#5F9EA0include/font/b bfont color=#BC8F8Flt;libwnck/libwnck.hgt;/font/b bfont color=#228B22static/font/b bfont color=#228B22void/font/b bfont color=#0000FFactive_window_changed/font/b (WnckScreen *screen, WnckWindow *previous, gpointer ud) { WnckWindow *window = wnck_screen_get_active_window (screen); g_return_if_fail (window != NULL); g_print (bfont color=#BC8F8Fquot;Focused `%s\nquot;/font/b, wnck_window_get_name (window)); } bfont color=#228B22int/font/b bfont color=#0000FFmain/font/b (bfont color=#228B22int/font/b argc, bfont color=#228B22char/font/b **argv) { gtk_init (amp;argc, amp;argv); WnckScreen *screen = wnck_screen_get_default (); g_signal_connect (screen, bfont color=#BC8F8Fquot;active-window-changedquot;/font/b, G_CALLBACK (active_window_changed), NULL); gtk_main (); bfont color=#A020F0return/font/b 0; } /precentera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3055117279/ title=craftwork by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/3055117279_800f14af7f.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=craftwork //a/center
Dear Mum,

Posted: November 23rd, 2008, 1:04pm CET

It turns out I was wrong. You can in fact hear the Billy Joel concert, that is happening 100m away, pretty good from our house.*br /br /Soz!br /br /* although its a little echo-ybr /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3015091157/ title=dealer by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3206/3015091157_4880c1d13b.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=dealer //a/center
fun with ANTLR

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 12:44pm CET

So in order to solve some parsing problems at work, Ive recently been messing around with a href=http://antlr.org/ANTLR/a, a language recognition tool. Doing things like writing grammars to parse some of our files into a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_syntax_treeAST/as and then walking those ASTs using a regular programming language. However, reading and semantically validating that tree is a problem in itself. Checking if nodes have the right numbers and types of children; executing code based on whether or not quite complex chains of nodes exist; these are the sorts of problems that can come up when trying to comprehend the AST you spent so long generating.br /br /It turns out that ANTLR has a pretty nifty solution to this problem in what it calls itree grammars/i. Tree grammar rules match the nodes of your AST to execute code (iactions/i in ANTLR-speak) in your target language. Here is an example for a simple calculator.br /br /First a grammar to lex and parse the text stream into a binary tree of operations: a href=http://oracle.bridgewayconsulting.com.au/~davyd/misc/antlr-fun/Calc.g.htmlCalc.g/a. The rules are more or less in EBNF form (the ^ symbol means to make this the parent tree node) and implement the precedence and associativity for familiar, infix maths. It turns an expression (e.g. 2 * (1 + 2) / a + abs -4 / -2) into an AST:br /centerimg src=http://oracle.bridgewayconsulting.com.au/~davyd/misc/antlr-fun/example-ast.jpg //centerSince were creating an interpreter, what we want to do is put together something that will walk the tree weve generated and do some operations. We do this using our tree grammar: a href=http://oracle.bridgewayconsulting.com.au/~davyd/misc/antlr-fun/CalcWalker.g.htmlCalcWalker.g/a (notice how CalcWalker refers to Calc for its tokens). Each subrule here attempts to match a tree node and its children, if the rule matches it executes the provided code in our target language (in this case Java).br /br /Making it run is just a matter of setting things up: a href=http://oracle.bridgewayconsulting.com.au/~davyd/misc/antlr-fun/Test.java.htmlTest.java/a (I thought about writing a Java-GTK calculator, but instead I choose to leave that up to someone else; I also thought about generating it all to Javascript and making a Javascript-based web-calculator, but I couldnt seem to build the Javascript support library).br /br /If you want to have a play, here are the source files: a href=http://oracle.bridgewayconsulting.com.au/~davyd/misc/antlr-fun/Calc.gCalc.g/a, a href=http://oracle.bridgewayconsulting.com.au/~davyd/misc/antlr-fun/CalcWalker.gCalcWalker.g/a and a href=http://oracle.bridgewayconsulting.com.au/~davyd/misc/antlr-fun/Test.javaTest.java/a. Youll also need to download the latest ANTLRv3 .jar. Build it all with:prejava -classpath antlr.jar org.antlr.Tool Calc*.g # generate Java source from grammars javac -classpath antlr.jar Calc*.java Test.java # compile everything/preand run it something like:pre[davyd@frobisher Calc]$ java -classpath antlr.jar:. Test 2 + 2 + 4 * 2 ans = 12.0/preFor extra fun, switch to the file backend to make registers work.br /br /Confused? Dont stress, it took me a week or so to really get my head around it (and that was after seeing a tutorial on it at l.c.a in January and buying the book). Plus, I have like two degrees, so Im probably a lot smarter than you :-Pbr /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3015096129/ title=double bass by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/3015096129_bdcd38e1ab.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=double bass //a/center
call it what it is: a lynching

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 11:40am CET

centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3045722724/ title=standing behind the rainbow by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/3045722724_8713fbbd39.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=standing behind the rainbow //a/centerbr /We live in a diverse world, every person is unique. Sometimes its visible to the eye and sometimes its unseen or kept hidden away. No person should be persecuted, by society or by the state, because of their sex, race, ethnicity, gender or sexuality.br /br /In the last year, at least 29 people have been violently murdered for daring to express a gender identity that didnt conform with someone elses idea of what makes up boys and girls. Who knows how many more homocides, how many bashings, how many assults and how much abuse went on. Much of it is never reported, or the reports are ignored.br /br /Today is a a href=http://www.transgenderdor.org/day of remembrance/a. Remember that even when you cant see it, discrimination still exists, even in places like Australia. Realise that the human brain is a complex machine, more complex than XX and XY, and because of some peoples limited world view, it has cost other people their lives.
very sore (its a really big deal)

Posted: November 9th, 2008, 4:10pm CET

Im really very sore. All up I must have danced about 12 hours this weekend as part of the a href=http://swingit.com.au/?p=432Really Bigger Deal/a. Two days of swing dancing workshops followed by social events in the evening.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3014506521/ title=dancers and the band by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/3014506521_e7626664eb.jpg width=500 height=332 alt=dancers and the band //a/centerbr /The classes were really great. They were taught by a href=http://www.flyingalligators.com/Vincenzo Fesi and Isabella Gregorio/a from Italy. They really are stunningly brilliant dancers. Theyre also very good teachers, taking the time to make sure everyone knew what was going on.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3015339028/ title=vincenzo and isabella teaching by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/3015339028_5e52da6f5d.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=vincenzo and isabella teaching //a a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3015926050/ title=dollface by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/3015926050_52c2c9b67b.jpg width=333 height=500 alt=dollface //a/centerbr /The classes were reasonably challenging and very exhausting by themselves (never mind coming back in the evening to go pedal-to-the-metal). The events however were fantastic. Swing dancing events are always an excuse to dress up vintage, and neither night was an exception.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3015341496/ title=swing out by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/3015341496_197d8f3f13.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=swing out //a/centerbr /Saturday night was a New Orleans themed social dance at the Mt Hawthorn Community Hall. Sunday night was possibly the most awesome event theme ever. It was a New York-style Speakeasy, held in the Jazz Cellar, a tiny cellar in the back of Mt Hawthorn that you enter via a phone box (I know!). There was live jazz, illegal booze and gambling, flappers and of course: dancing. It really was awesome fun.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3015110123/ title=flyin#39; home by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3217/3015110123_457c8af994.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=flyin#39; home //a/centerbr /Hopefully I can actually stay awake tomorrow. I would have liked to have taken tomorrow off, but I have a meeting that cant be moved.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/3015941814/ title=showin their moves by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/3015941814_6ef982de67.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=showin their moves //a/centerbr /ba href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/sets/72157608784109667/All Photos/a/b | ba href=http://stephiepenguin.livejournal.com/255583.htmlStephs (better) post/a/b
November 11 was Armistice Day; a bushranger was slaughtered; and Gough was betrayed

Posted: November 1st, 2008, 5:19pm CET

Went to see a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_WhitlamsThe Whitlams/a at the Regal Theatre (which makes it the a href=http://davyd.livejournal.com/239710.htmlsecond time/a this year).br /br /Tim Freedman likes to drink when hes on stage, which causes him to get chatty. Tonight he seemed pretty plastered. He kept having it pointed out hed skipped a song, kept stopping in the intros to talk about the song, and tell the hilarious history behind it, and once forget that a song was in 3 rather than 4 (lets do it in 4, do you want to try that?).br /br /It turns out the first part of the song Thankyou was about him getting it on with a partner in the back of a taxi after a night out, causing the Kenyan taxi driver to avert his mirror. As Tim tells it, there were pink bits on show.br /br /Songs I can remember include (not in order): No Aphrodisiac, Beauty In Me, You Sound Like Louis Burdett, Fondness Makes the Heart Grow Absent, Where Is She, Charlie #2 (Buy Now Pay Later), The Curse Stops Here, Always Keep the Light On, Blow Up the Pokies, Year of the Rat, Royal in the Afternoon, Make Me Hard, Fall For You, I Will Not Go Quietly, Theres No One, Gough, I Make Hamburgers, Out the Back and Thank you (for loving me at my worst).br /br /We had a really had a great time.br /br /a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_PolaireInstitut Polaire/a are playing tomorrow night as part of the Northbridge Festival. 9pm in Russel Square, entry is free.
oh no myfanwy. you see, Im the only vegan in the village

Posted: November 1st, 2008, 8:21am CET

Its a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Vegan_DayWorld Vegan Day/a (yay!), so to celebrate Stephanie and I did a photoshoot of eight tasty vegan snacks (because we dont all snack on pinenuts and pumpkin seeds).br /centertabletrtda href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2991369964/ title=anzac cookies by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3215/2991369964_d50e3eff05_s.jpg width=75 height=75 alt=anzac cookies //a/tdtda href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2990515527/ title=oreos by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3246/2990515527_77442bba20_s.jpg width=75 height=75 alt=oreos //a/tdtda href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2990515699/ title=smiths plain chips by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/2990515699_a8650406a0_s.jpg width=75 height=75 alt=smiths plain chips //a/td/trtrtda href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2991370530/ title=dried mango spears by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2991370530_fdcca6cd31_s.jpg width=75 height=75 alt=dried mango spears //a/tdtdcenterbHappybr /WVD!/b/center/tdtda href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2990516071/ title=soy curls by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2990516071_9d0c9d1841_s.jpg width=75 height=75 alt=soy curls //a/td/trtrtda href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2990516251/ title=mixed gram by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3229/2990516251_a386092f92_s.jpg width=75 height=75 alt=mixed gram //a/tdtda href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2990516417/ title=watermelon (and banana) by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/2990516417_f0f47817a0_s.jpg width=75 height=75 alt=watermelon (and banana) //a/tdtda href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2990516639/ title=yao chao guai by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/2990516639_c60c76fbfc_s.jpg width=75 height=75 alt=yao chao guai //a/td/tr/table/centerIts an exciting weekend, what with the Northbridge Festival, The Whitlams tonight and then Institut Polaire tomorrow night. Awesome!br /br /bUpdate:/b as usual, Steph has a a href=http://veganabouttown.blogspot.com/2008/11/world-vegan-day-post-store-bought.htmlbetter writeup/a.
happy diwali

Posted: October 27th, 2008, 10:58am CET

Our Sunday was a day of markets. We just made the train and then made it to the last couple of minutes of the camera swapmeet in Cambridge, walked from there to the Distracted Little Market in Leederville (a little small, lots of stuff weve seen before) and then caught a train back into town to WA Fest (which was lame) and then a bus to UWA for the Subiaco craft fair. Ran into Alex, so we dragged him and Liz along to the Diwali Mela in Mirrabooka.br /br /centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2973643107/ title=distracted little market by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2973643107_e7cd6bace5.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=distracted little market //abr /iDistracted Little Market, Leederville/ibr /br /a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2974494814/ title=subiaco craft fair #2 by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3254/2974494814_a482885fb4.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=subiaco craft fair #2 //abr /iSubiaco craft fair, UWA/i/center
Advice For If a Bookstore Friends You On Facebook

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

centerYesterday a bookshop friended me on Facebook.br /You know, the kind that sells books.br /How is that possible? a friend asks,br /Bookshops have no hands.br /I am social networking with retail outlets.br /br /If you meet it in the street, make no sudden moves.br /Bookshops can only see movement.br /I know that because I saw it in a film.br /Or maybe that was dinosaurs...br /Still, best to be safe than sorry.br /br /The thing to avoid at all costsbr /is the bookshop introducing you to its friends.br /Now a McDonalds is watching my Twitter,br /and Im rated 2nd asbr /Most likely to become a Starbucks.br /br /I knew a girl who was dating a bank.br /They met through RSVP.br /The breakup was messy. she told me,br /His interest rate kept droppingbr /Its only lingere stores from now onbr /br /Yesterday a bookshop friended me on Facebook.br /You know, the kind that sells books.br /Youll really like my range! it wrotebr /in a comment on my blog.br /Why not drop by?br /br /a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/2856527832/ title=glory by penguincakes, on Flickrimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/2856527832_1cec2c6474.jpg width=500 height=333 alt=glory //a/center

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