Over the last few days (minus this weekend where I took a sidetrip to Houston) I have been working on the new Django backend for Hungrybugger (if you click right now, you’ll get a 404…). And I’m excited to announce that hopefully *fingers crossed* a small closed group of testers will be working such that we can find further features to put into it.

I’m also likely to put the development blog back up.

Its never going to be released commercially, but invitations will most likely remained closed for the forseeable future. Of course, if you would like to sly a few thousand into my pocket to buy the project, feel free .

Current Mood: Sickly

Argh!

Since being in the States I’ve put on weight. Not scary amounts, but enough to trouble me. As such, I’m sticking my progress on the blog.

“Has this man no shame?” I might be hearing you ask. And its true, as long as I can shame myself into getting it done! If you’re interested / want to poke fun at me, there’s a new page for viewing at the top of the screen.

Current Mood: Sad

Those of you who were around at the time of my Senior university year will remember my project that I scrapped together in what I laughably called “my free time”.

Basically I created it because I had a spare domain name, and needed a project to further my linux server learning. The goal was never to create a viable and lovely looking website, but to get the functionality behind it working. However, over the last few days, me and Django have settled our differences and we’re rapidly producing results towards revitalizing the project.

This time, the project is all about, well, finishing a project.

I love prototyping. I love trying to get enough of something together, whether it be hacked or not, simply to see if it could be done (or if I could do it). Once I’ve achieved that though, I tend to get distracted by something else to prototype. I want to get hungrybugger to a level to which I am happy to leave it be, and only maintain once in awhile, but let a closed group of trusted users access.

Watch this space ladies and gentlefolk.

Current Mood: Mischievous

Brief Background

Recently I had gotten my Apache2 and Django playing nicely together, even after I horribly messed up my Python installation – to the point of having to purge all of Python off my system (even lost vim in the process ). Anyway, reinstalled Python and resumed happy families.

Then I updated my Ubuntu system from 9.04 to 9.10 – which cheerily warned me alot of packages were possibly going to go utterly wonko. They did.

Including the new peacefire between Apache2 and mod_wsgi.

The Point of This Article

Is not to explain what these things are – the documentation of both are extensive, fairly complicated and really good. For me to blab on about them here would be a disservice to both.

I’m just hoping you’ll stumble across my site and I’ll be able to save you a few hours of your life.

Saving you hours

I installed the mod_wsgi package through the normal (Ubuntu) means :

sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-wsgi

So that appeared to work, so I re-enabled my site through:

sudo a2ensite SITENAME

(Just to note that I use seperate vhost files contained within /etc/apache2/sites-available as opposed to having all of it in one giant shitting httpd.conf). If you *ARE* using a httpd.conf method, chances are all you’ll need a load statement like : “LoadModule wsgi_module mods-available/mod_wsgi.so“. Make sure you’ve got the correct location (the one mentioned would be for my system).

However, I got this lovely error:

Invalid command ‘WSGIScriptAlias’, perhaps misspelled or defined by a module not included in the server configuration.

(among other code & local system specific messages – the above is the key one). I also presume that it’ll return something similar with WSGIDaemonProcess and WSGIProcessGroup depending on which command comes first.

Don’t waste your time trying to find the module load files, they don’t exist in your system (or if they do, they’re hopelessly lost). I spent a good many hours trying to find them / seek the information from books & the web. If you try to reload the module using a2enmod, you are unable to actually load the module, although the system is convinced that wsgi is around somewhere but cannot load it ( “ERROR: Module wsgi does not exist!”).

The best and quickest method that worked for me was the following:

sudo apt-get purge libapache2-mod-wsgi

sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-wsgi

Note the use of purge instead of remove! That should put your Ubuntu server back on the straight and narrow. If not, good luck!

Current Mood: Surprised

One of Google’s best brainchild projects “Google Wave” is still falling short of its full potential.

For those of you who don’t know what Google Wave is :

• Which cave/rock/commodore amiga have you been hiding under for the last 6 months?
• Wave is a thread based real time simultaneous  online collaboration tool.
  • Thread based – I use the term thread based, with respect to a conversational thread, not a processing thread. Each user contributes a section, like in conversation. But then they can also start a new conversation based on the last section of the conversation.
  • Real Time – users can contribute at any point in the discussion. Ie – not turn based.
  • Simultaneous - users can change content at the same time as other users, as long as its not the same section of conversation. Users can see the contribution others are making as they are typing it (well, not quite but close enough)
  • Online – I don’t think I need to expand on that, but just in case, it does so over the internet.
  • Collaboration – working with other people to achieve something.
• Unlike other existing collaboration tools, which generally seek to complete a given task like writing documents or creating spreadsheets, it aims to aid in the creative/design/development stage. Rather than constraining you a fixed method of putting forward your ideas (like other brainstorming tools available), you can place pictures, comments videos, branching discussions pretty much anywhere you want. Which leads us onto the next point.
• Its a nightmare to keep organised/managed. Comments can be lost in the jumple of brainstorming, and points can be frequently repeated. This *can* be slightly mitigated by setting down some ground rules – but eventually someone’s going to need to start cleaning stuff up. As the waves get longer, this can become a full time job….
• Another issue with Google Wave, which is a death blow for the time being as far as I am concerned – is that there’s no good way to automatically determine when someone has added to the Wave – other than checking it manually. The way I know check it is by downloading some software I had suggested to me by Xaz : http://wavenotifier.dantup.me.uk/ . It downloads locally onto your machine and will notify you after someone submits something to the wave – including yourself. Bah.
• The above problem could be solved by the integration of Google Buzz, making Buzz useful to many people…
• Since being in the USA, I’m finding I’m using it more and more to work with people back home.
• Alternative Wave Ideas:
  • Present Shopping – create a wave for each person you’re buying presents for, then invite the rest of your family & friends that you suspect of buying that person presents. This means you won’t accidently buy the same present, and help one another to get presents for that person. The wave would also persist and be useful for birthdays and next Christmas/relevant-gift-giving-holiday.
  • Script Writing – Could be used by multiple users involved in the project (script writers, actors and directors) to produce dialogue quickly and naturally, with alternative branching off in different directions. Settings could be designed and discussed, with the use of media aids such as pictures and video.
  • Game Design – This is what I primarily use Wave for. Me and the rest of the team discuss our ideas, display our influences and where our suggestions come from. Suggesting new gameplay mechanics, coding issues and active discussion. Of all the methods we’ve tried (Trac, forums, whiteboards, post-it notes, etc…), its second best. The first being all meeting up at the pub (works surprisingly well actually!).
  • Home/Coursework Solving – all the members of the wave could contribute into solving problems. This would have been really useful for when I was still studying Physics at the University of Edinburgh, being able to see the thought processes of others when it came to solving problems. Good for getting it done and learning from each other. Although the equation adding would be particularly horrible…

Current Mood: Cool

or : “how to forcefully invade my privacy”.

When I started up my gmail the other day – I was prompted with the offer of “would you like to use Google Buzz?”. I promptly click on no.

What happens? I still end up with its rejected socially awkward piece of crap. I’m sorry, if I wanted Twitter – I’d use Twitter. So, like every congealed infectious disease, you need to remove it to get on with your life.

Here’s an extremely good guide to getting rid of this nightmare from your life.

A personal message to Google: “My confidence in your ability to operate as a moral company was severely hit with this blatant disregard of my personal privacy (known as Google Buzz). If Hotmail hadn’t implemented their click and draggable email feature – I would probably switch back to using that full time. Even they wouldn’t have pulled this sort of presumptuous behaviour. So for now, I remain using your product – but I am actively seeking a better alternative”.

Current Mood: Angry

The future may contain an unintentional bout of downtime for all my websites as there is being some network upheaval.

Over the last few months, I’ve been suppressing my flatmate’s ability to webhost. Although he hasn’t shown any desire to further his http access – I feel its about time I learned how to get some DNS working. Of course, I won’t know if its working until its been around 24 hours to allow for propagation.

It shouldn’t affect this website until I officially intend it to, but its been a long time since when I’ve intended something AND it happening simultaneously.

Wish me luck.

Current Mood: Confused

Wow. I feel that looks so much better with the customised header background. Good old GIMP – I’m really starting to get the hang of you.

Changes you may want to check out on the site :

• The Gallery now works correctly. I have control over which albums show on the website – and you don’t NEED to use the image viewing software provided. You can click on a thumbnail and it loads normally into your browser. Although I do recommend the image viewer.
• Projects are showing correctly now, even though I’ve not got around to typing up the basic brief.
• A UK to USA dictionary I’ve started to compile.
• I no longer cache the webpages, and I won’t until I definitely decide on a theme. Right now though, I’m pretty set on this one (suffusion)
• One or two more links to my blogroll.

Welp! Thats it for now. Off to do another jog

Current Mood: Esctatic

You may have noticed that the theme of my blog has changed. Although I loved the illustrative theme being used before, it just didn’t have any support for it. As a result, I began to spend far too long attempting to fix the blog. I don’t mind doing that, except that I usually end up tinkering with the blog mechanics than content, which I promised not to do this time around.

However, if the new theme offends you, glance to the right handside to the sidebar, and somewhere on there is a nifty plugin that allows one to change my wordpress theme -> and illustrative is still on the list! Yay!

All comments are welcome. I’m currently working on a new header image from scratch.

Current Mood: Abashed

Sometimes I feel like this trip across to the States has been a bit of a trial by fire in some ways. Combine that with the fact I’m forgetful/unlucky/a pillock, and suddenly I found myself mired in trouble, more than once. Often simple precautions could have prevented some serious headaches, which I’ll share with you and *fingers crossed* you can avoid them. I’m going to try to be as general as I can, and write the USA specifics in their own post.

Disclaimer : This is by no means a comprehensive list, just things that came to mind whilst writing.

Vaccinations

Its obvious, but it needs to be said.

Make sure you’re up to date and you keep a record at home, with your doctor if you can and with your passport. Try to also get the exact drug/method used – just in case. If you can tell them exactly what you know, you sound more knowledgeable. Better to be safe than sorry.

Just going to the States (at the time of writing), its suggested you have your Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Rabies and Tetanus shots. Don’t assume when it comes to vaccinations.

I personally like going private (as opposed to National Health Service (NHS)) for my vaccinations. Its not particularly expensive, its fast and generally more convenient. Also, if you’ve left it for the last minute – you’re more likely to be able to get it done without stress & mistakes.

Take an Inventory

This one sounds trivial and completely boring, and I agree with you. But taking an inventory can help you in many ways, especially if you’re taking a prolonged trip. If your luggage is lost by your travel company, then you have an definitive premade list of your luggage contents to present to an insurance company. Even the travel company themselves might need the list, if they really wish to verify the luggage is yours. You don’t want to be caught nervously trying to remember everything you packed on the spot. If you can, make at least one copy with tickboxes/something where you can mark items off when its time to go home.

Although this wasn’t a problem for me directly, it is an important intermediary step for the next point.

Take a “Risk Inventory”

So you’ve made your inventory. Look at it. For EVERY item you’re bringing, including your socks, luggage cases and clothes you’re travelling in, think about the worse case scenario. What happened if you lost that item?  How long could you live without it? Put down the replacement cost as well and how long it would take to replace. Make sure you have some redundancy everywhere, from pants to photographic ID. Its always a good idea to have a backup.

For example, if you lost your jumper/sweater, it might not seem that much of an issue. You could always buy another one. But if you’ve only got one that’s up to the harsh winter of Eastern Europe, how much are you going to struggle while you buy a new one?

Make sure you have enough cash in your wallet to replace (at least) a few items on your list. While we’re at it – don’t forget the contents of your wallet in the inventories. Relying on one plastic card is dangerous, especially if its not a credit card.

One useful card I like having easily accessible is my ‘Blood Donor card’. In case of an accident, if I’m unable to answer questions – they will rifle through my wallet to see if they can find any insurance / illnesses / disability details. Having my blood donor card visible through the plastic section (I don’t have a driver’s license) means that they’re not going to waste vital O negative blood on me. I personally think everyone should get one. They’re free off the NHS after a few blood donations.

Just how long are you staying anyway?

Do you need it? The less you bring, the less it costs to bring over. Most airlines are charging some pretty hefty fees these days. Try not to overload your bag.

Also, which country are you going to. People of my generation are less travel aware than their predecessors. With the free travel available between many European countries and various Visa Waver programs available elsewhere – make sure you aren’t overstaying your welcome. Although you don’t need to think about it in the Eurozone, there is a maximum length of time you can stay elsewhere in the world. Be wary of those countries’ regulations – especially in places like the United States, where failure to comply is treated harshly.

Your phone. If you’re staying a long time, don’t fool yourself by thinking of keeping your domestic SIM card, unless you’ve got a really good international deal. Those hundreds of pounds/dollars/euros/<insert currency here>s will soon rack up. Make sure your phone is even capable working in the “target” country. I remember a case in which my father had to travel to the States, and US mobile phone companies hadn’t caught up with Britian yet in mobile/cellphone technology and many of his colleagues weren’t able to use their phones.

And an extra cautionary phone tale from my book. Do you have a smartphone? Is it tied to one cellphone company? (ie iPhone to o2). When I moved across to the states, the provider for iPhone was AT&T. I still couldn’t use my iPhone with AT&T. Make sure if you’re going to spend any serious amount of time aboard, that you can afford the savaging costs of having an idle unused phone. I still can’t believe that locking phones to a single company hasn’t become illegal under EU law yet.. but I digress. One final smartphone advice, if you still take it abroad (I still use mine for emergencies) TURN DATA ROAMING OFF!

Whilst I’m on the topic of phones – look into getting Skype. Free long distance phone calls to family? Yes please!

Do it now, not later

One of my personal little quirks is that the longer I stay somewhere, the less preparation I do for it. When I’m taking a holiday for a week or two, I overprepare and make sure everything is done long before the travel date. But the longer I stay, the more I think I can do it whilst I’m abroad. Don’t fall into that habit – its bad.

Get it done now, and sleep soundly the night before you travel. That’s the best thing you can do for yourself.

Be confident and factual

Normally when I deal with Border Control agencies, I try to be charming – but brief. I ask them how they’re doing and how today’s work has been before getting onto topic. However, its entirely possible to come across too strongly – and I think I did this time. It worked fantastically well at my visa application (especially since people love the romanticism behind me following the Significant Other to the States), but this time it might have looked a bit suspicious.

I think I initially came across as some cyber child sex offender or something.

I got taken into a separate area and was treated to the economy Gestapo investigation (without the bright light). Here I learned the most valuable lesson : Americans speak American. So many of my everyday terms took about three or four minutes to explain. Its amazing, I can go weeks without people asking what I mean,  but there are other days – especially when one is talking about a single subject matter in depth – where I have to explain alot, even to the Significant Other (see UK to USA dictionary). If possible, chat to an American friend about your “cover story”, make sure you iron out those British phrases they will find unusual and confusing. This sounds really mean, and I don’t like saying it, but you aren’t dealing with the world’s brightest people.

And whatever you do, keep your temper if you’re pulled aside. Its infuriating, but you don’t want to get yourself into trouble.

Do whatever preparation you can to make sure this goes smoothly. Its so time consuming if you get pulled aside that you could miss a connecting flight.

Make travelling contacts

Sometimes this is just infeasible. I’m not saying go off and meet random strangers from the internet – quite the opposite, that’s bloody stupid and dangerous!

The kind of people I’m referring to are friends/family/friends of friends/family. Depending on how much you trust them, send them everything you can: contact details, itinerary, medical information. Or just have their numbers at hand so that if you get yourself into a bind (the inability to find a bus station in a timely manner is my particular talent), they’re a quick phonecall away. The more you plan to travel around, the more important this is. Make sure someone, somewhere knows where you should be on each day of your trip and how to contact you.

Again – if you’re British, there’s one very invaluable contact you should have. LOCATE (from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office)

• “if a major catastrophe occurs we’ll have an instant record of your details so we can contact you to make sure you’re OK and provide advice.
• if family and friends need to get in touch with you we can help them to find you.
• it only takes a few minutes to register your travel or residence information online and the local British Embassy will know you are coming. You do not need to contact them directly.
• you only need to register for the service once and then update your account when you make a new trip abroad or change your country of residence. You can even add planned trips abroad up to a year ahead
• LOCATE improves our ability to provide help in an emergency and reduce delay and worry in times of stress for family and friends at home.”

Its free – and you’d be stupid NOT to utilise it.

Do Your Research

Crime

Usually in large tourist centres, (usually) pretty crime thrives. Some of my parent’s colleagues travelled to Rome and got pick pocketed. So make sure you know you should be looking out for, some places have unique threats. In some places in South America, you have to worry about kidnappings and thus trusting people. Its horrible, but there you are.

Money

Does the country have an ample amount of ATM machines? Do they even accept credit cards? Where can you get your hands on cash? In western society, its pretty insane to think that getting to your money to spend it would be a trial. But it can be, so try to know where you can get your hands on currency.

Healthcare

Make sure you know how the healthcare in your destination works. Do you need insurance? If you’re travelling intra-Eurozone, then as long as you have your EHIC (replaced the E1 11) card – then you can get heavily discounted or Free Healthcare – depending on the nation’s standing with respect to the European Union. The card is free, so get it.

If you’re going elsewhere, make sure you’ve got health insurance. Don’t risk it. And carry the card around in your pocket.

General Knowledge

Although I very much approve of people charging off into unknown yonder, you should make sure you’re not going to offend the locals. When I hit some new location I am completely unfamiliar with, I take a few touristy tours.

Ok, they bleed you for money and you don’t get the real feel for the country and its people – but you do get a tour guide. Make sure to get your money’s worth by harassing them with questions at quiet moments. They’ll know what people of your nationality do wrong to hack off the locals, dangerous things to look out for. Here’s a couple of invaluable tidbits of information I gleamed whilst abroad.

• Egypt
  • Don’t be couple-y in public. To the Egyptians, a brief peck on the cheek is our equivalent of violently snogging and running your hands up your girlfriends thighs/skirts. Nobody wants to see that.
  • Don’t let a girl buy things unless she’s really confident of her bargaining skills. Shopkeepers (male or female) will usually mark-up the price for a foreign female. Just having me present often immediately dropped the price of goods. It disgusted me (and my ex-Significant Other), but that’s how their culture works.
  • Don’t let anyone take pictures of you that you don’t trust. They won’t return your camera unless you give them a “fee/tip”. Even guards at the pyramids.
  • Don’t pay for Camel rides. They’re dangerous and the Government want to be rid of the trade.
  • Don’t trust guards not at checkpoints. Egypt has had some domestic terrorism in recent times (at least when I was last there). Have your passports ready at the checkpoints and acquisesce with the security services – you don’t want to get detained in one of those checkpoints. They’re rude and abrasive, but put up with it.
  • Don’t part with your passport unless you can help it (see Security Checkpoints), it’ll get stolen or people will try to blackmail you for it.
• Greece
  • Some simple hand gestures can be really offensive. So making a “thumbs-up” means “f*ck off” and the “Ok” gesture has some obvious other interpretation. *coughs*
• France
  • The French love their language, and they like to hear foreigners speak their language. However, they don’t like foreigners butchering their language and can cause them to become a “little stand-offish”. I’m sure part of that is down to me having a really posh English accent as well…

Just to name a few.

Here’s one important one for foreigners to know about the UK. The “V for peace” symbol is fine, as long as the palm of the hand is facing towards (and fingernails away from) the recipient. The other way around is offensive. It comes from the days when English fought the French, and the French would cut off captured English archer’s fingers off (so they couldn’t fire their bows again). The English archers would wave their fingers at the French to taunt them. Oh, and “bloody” is often considered swearing. Its tolerable, but you shouldn’t be saying it in front of children.

Once you’ve got some of the local friendly advice, then proceed out into the wilds with the natives…

Where?

If you’re British, consider yourself lucky. The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office is particularly good, detailed, reliable and up-to-date. Check their travel advisories, especially if something is happening in your area. It sometimes contained more pertinant information for the Significant Other than the USA Foreign Office did!

Checking your own Foreign Office (or equivalent) is a must if you plan to travel.

Travel books are sometimes invaluable. I haven’t found a single brand that satisfies every aspect required and for every country required. If I do find a brand, I’ll definately share. Until then, browse around and find one that works.

Passport

This is your lifeline. You lose this, you’re in trouble. Keep it safe, secure and as close to your skin as conveniently possible. If you don’t need it, don’t take it – keep it locked in a safe. Use your driver’s license instead. Don’t have one? Get a probationary one if possible.

Make sure your passport is insured.

Personally, I can’t wait for ID cards to become available. I know its controversial, but having a form of identification that’s nearly as powerful as a passport is certainly tempting for someone like me.

Data backup

So you’ve got your passport, insurance (travel, car rental & healthcare), vaccination records, driver’s licence, itinerary, important contacts, embassy numbers, inventories, visa information, flight details… What next?

What I usually like doing is putting it all on a USB flash drive and then hang it around my neck under my clothes. Its nice because if anything happens to you, they have all the information required to help you. If you need the data, its close at hand and will work on any modern computer system. If you’re worried about security you can encrypt the data on the USB drive (if people actually want to know how to do it, I’ll write an article on that), with contact details to someone who knows the decryption key in plain-text (in layman’s terms – outside of the encrypted portion of the usb drive).

If your bags get stolen, you still have a copy of all your data. You don’t need a large USB drive – I still use my 256 mb drive for travelling, and they’re dirt cheap.

In today’s digital world, its easy, cheap and as secure as you want it to be. My question is : “why NOT do it?”

Just because you’re British…

… doesn’t mean you’re special. I know a lot of British tourists seem to suffer from an arrogance that “Hey, we’re British and it’ll be all ok!”. It still sometimes gets the better of me.

In some places, being British makes you more of a target. Especially in countries like Iran, where they consider the United Kingdom to be the “most evil western nations” (considered more evil than the USA, which is a novelty I must say). Keep your wits about you and don’t take risks. Sod’s Law, it’ll happen only when you’re away from home and where you’ll get into the maximum amount of trouble possible.

EDIT : I think this video pretty much sums it up:

Water

Depending where in the world you are, drinking water from the tap can be a dangerous business. It can even be fatal. If nothing else, it can give you a bug that will make your holiday unpleasant (to say the least). Hell, even in the US and the UK there have been some reports of scary stuff getting into the tap.

If you’re ever unsure whether you should be drinking water abroad, bottled water is a good idea. Although it has its own catches. Make sure the bottle cap is sealed, sometimes they just refill the bottled water with tap water. BE SUSPICIOUS OF YOUR ICE. If possible, try to avoid having ice in your drinks at all – its frequently made from tap water. And some brands of tap water abroad, especially the cheaper ones, can be worrysome. Depending on the country, they may not have stringent checks on bottled water.

Obviously, the best thing you can do is boil your water. That’s really infeasible in many circumstances, but if you’re planning to go camping or something, then its a real possibility that should be entertained. Its the best way of keeping safe.

If you’re staying at a hotel, the better quality ones do filter and monitor their tap supply themselves – though its a good idea to ask them before drinking, just to make sure.

Food

Firstly, I feel its really important to say no to shellfish and seafood at every turn while your abroad. You may be sorely tempted, but its not worth the risk. Parasites, mercury poisoning, the list just goes on.

Be wary of buffets. The food can be left there in warm temperatures for a long time, letting little beasties get inside it and promoting the growth of bacteria. The veg maybe unwashed and have contaminants on them.

And please, don’t eat from the dodgy looking street vendors. Unless, you do enjoy challenging your digestive track whilst on holiday.

First Aid Kit

These days you can buy pretty good premade kits from stores – but I still personally prefer to pack my own. You should tailor your kit for where you’re travelling. If you’re going to some places in Africa, you have to make sure you have anti-malaria medicine. Find out what the most likely risks of your target country and plan accordingly.

I personally like to have (at least) the following in my kit :

• pain killers
• bandages
• medical tape
• insect repellent & treatment creams
• laxatives/absorbant drugs
• needle & thread
• hand sanitizer
• gloves
• sunburn treatment
• anti-sceptics
• plasters/bandaids
• heavy duty file

The last object in my list is for the worst case scenario of getting kidnapped. Its not sharp enough to be removed from my luggage at the airport, but useful for filing through cuffs and rope, given enough patience and time.

Double check your drugs. Is it a controlled substance in that country? Your prescribed Codeine will get you arrested in Greece.

Always have a pen

On a lighter note, make sure you always have a pen on you. Its useful for filling in endless forms that you get on the plane!

Current Mood: Happy