Dan Makovec’s blog

More db44 info

Just an addendum to that last post, in case anybody finds it handy: when building the db44 port, it appears that you’ll need to use some variants.

Use: port install db44 +darwin_8 +universal

Hope that helps!

MacPorts db44 build fails under OS X 10.5 Tiger

Was scratching my head over this one for a while. When I try a port install db44, I get the failure:

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c: In function 'main':../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:212: warning: assignment makes pointer from integer without a cast../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:214: warning: assignment makes pointer from integer without a cast

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:229: error: 'struct __db' has no member named 'seq'

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:229: error: 'R_NEXT' undeclared (first use in this function)

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:229: error: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:229: error: for each function it appears in.)

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:234: error: 'struct __db' has no member named 'seq'

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c: In function 'db_hash':

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:262: error: 'struct __db' has no member named 'internal'

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:264: error: 'struct __db' has no member named 'internal'

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c: In function 'db_btree':

../dist/../db_dump185/db_dump185.c:289: error: 'struct __db' has no member named 'internal'

make: *** [db_dump185.lo] Error 1

It turns out that this is a known bug, and the workaround solution is to rename /usr/local to /usr/local-offline, run the port install, then rename /usr/local back again.  Now, back to building Apache2 and PHP5.

Screw Columbus

I reckon I deserve some recognition as a pioneering explorer.

Single handedly, I’ve discovered the most amazing things nobody has seen before on an almost weekly basis.  It doesn’t matter where I go - department stores, banks, phone providers, anywhere.  I always discover something completely revolutionary that nobody else has ever seen, which gets the way of my living or doing business.  Maybe I’m really good.  Maybe I’m just charmed.

Take this morning’s exchange with AMEX.  I’m attempting to set up an online credit card facility for our new site launching next week.  This has been taking a while. Note the date of this blog post, and note the date mentioned in the conversation.

“We’re still having a problem with our terminal ID”

“You shouldn’t, the number is correct.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, it’s definitely here and was set up on October 25th”

“Can I re-verify that number?”

“Sure it’s 4-0-2…. Oh wait a minute, it’s marked here as set up but not active.  I wonder how that happened?  I swear, I’ve been here 5 years and I’ve never come across that before.”

“Can you activate it?”

“Ok, done now.”

“Is that what’s been holding this up for the past month?”

“Perhaps, although I’m not sure.  As I’ve said, this is the first time I’ve ever seen this.  I’ll have to report it to my manager”

“OK, are there any other issues that could be holding us up this time?”

“No, you’re definitely ready to go now.”

“Are you sure?  Will this take another 24 hours as we were told the last two times?”

“No, it’s fine…. well, it could take 24 hours but it should be fine”

“It’s Friday to day.  does 24 hours mean 24 hours, or does it mean Monday?”

“I.. umm.. it should be 24 hours, it’s all automatic.  But it might be active now, so get your gateway provider to give it another go”

I’m still waiting to see if it works…

How walkable is your neighborhood?

Following yesterday’s rant about ditching the car and promoting public transport, I’m also interested in walking to shops rather than driving.  This morning, I found this cute site which calculates the walkability of your neighborhood.  Unfortunately, the place we’ve just bought rates a lowly 15 out of 100 (the worst of any place I’ve lived) so I don’t hold out much hope for weight loss by strolling to the shops, so it looks like I’ll be getting that gym membership after all.How’s your neighborhood?  

Take the train!

A bit of a public transport rant today - it’s a pet topic of mine. Bear with me, a caffiene induced spiel follows.

For the last 2 years, my daily commute to work has consisted of walking to the spare bedroom where I’m all set up with the home office. There are few distractions, my own decor, and best of all, no traffic jams.

Anybody who’s been my passenger knows I’m susceptible to the odd bit of verbal road rage. I’m quite easily frustrated on the roads. This probably stems from my low tolerance to stupidity in general, and for some reason the roads seem to attract more than their fair share of idiots. I guess there are just as many idiots walking down the local shopping mall or sitting in offices, but their actions have less of an immediate impact on my state of mind than those on four wheels.

I’m sitting down in front of Sunrise this morning, having seen B off for his first day of work in his new job at BoQ HQ, and watched with amusement as the daily traffic chopper cross has come on, showing the Gateway Motorway, Western Freeway, Bruce Highway, Pacific Mwy and Gympie Rd all clogged up as usual. Sometimes it’s the result of somebody’s old bomb breaking down in the middle lane; other times it’s simply the sheer weight of numbers killing the road network.

Two minutes later, an ad for a “7 news exclusive” says that experts have finally recognized that the roads are stuffed and that they’re going to get worse despite the billions of dollars being poured into building a cross-city tunnel (a useful one, not like that Sydney joke), second Gateway bridge and motorway, etc, because they simply can’t build the roads fast enough to cope. The ad then poses the question “just what can we do to ease the problem?”

Anybody who’s lived in a decent size town should know the solution: public transport, and lots of it. I mean, where’s the frigging rocket science? Lots of trains from key locations to a central spot, and an orbital line for those not going to the city. No need for huge monsters like the Sydney-style double-decker 1000 people carriers. Just small, 100-200 person vehicles that travel frequently, no more than 10 minutes apart.

Let’s do some maths. The Gateway motorway upgrade will cost $1.8 billion. For that, you get 20km of road. This will double the capacity of the current motorway. The original Gateway was opened in 1988 and is maxed out, at 100,000 vehicles per day. So in theory, doubling the capacity could last us up to 2026, allowing 200,000 vehicles per day before it needs to be expanded again (assuming the region’s growth slows down). I’d say that probably 75% of vehicles on the road at peak hour have a driver and no passengers, so let’s say that gives you capacity for about 300,000 people to travel.

Now compare this with the $214 million in funding being given to build 72 train carriages. Each existing older-style 4 car set holds 524 passengers, so our $214 million gives us transport for 72 / 4 * 544 = 9792 people at a time. Taking the Ipswitch-Caboolture line as an example, it takes 2 hours to make a trip end to end, so really you’re only going to get one ride per new train during peak periods.

We take one ride in the morning, one in the evening. In total that’s 19,500 odd peek hour journeys per day from $200 million. If instead of the $200 million, you threw the $2 billion odd that’s going to the Gateway into rail, you’ve got about 195,000 journeys at peak hour alone - compared to the highway’s max of 300,000 per day in total.

So you can spend about the same amount of money on rail as on roads and move a comparable number of people. But if you do it with rail, you’ve got complete control of the transport corridors, which means less congestion and less frustration. Plus, you don’t have to provide parking spaces in town for all the commuters, and you take a shitload of pollution spilling vehicles off the road.

Yes the numbers above are rough, but even then the cost of building public transport infrastructure is clearly not an order of magnitude higher than building roads, so why don’t our governments just do it?

I think it comes down to commuter attitude. Brisbane commuters just want their cars, despite all the problems they cause. We need to change that. Driving is too cheap. Raise taxes on petrol, or go the London route and levy a congestion charge on all cars entering the city, then feed that money into public transport. Keep the public transport fares the same, and eventually people will come around.

As for my commute, I’m hoping to set up an office in town next month. I’ll be taking the 7.31 express, which Brian just told me via SMS was pretty empty. As another traffic report comes through showing how bad the roads still are…

New levels of domestication

OK, this is just getting sick. We’ve bought a

. Seriously, it’s all down hill from here. As if the house with the big back yard, the two cars (one practical, one not), the dog and the matching coffee mugs weren’t bad enough, we went the whole hog and spent the day whipper snippering, mowing, weeding and pruning. Tomorrow I’ll have caulking gun in hand re-sealing the edge of the kitchen floor before picking up the drill to install new deadlocks in our doors.

My life as I knew it is over! I’ve given up the geek nights, retired from the world trips, said goodbye to the booze binges and chemically enhanced raves, and said hello to nice quiet Saturday nights in front of the telly, weekends doing the gardening and home cooked meat + 3 veg dinners.

Whereas only a matter of months ago we’d be doing greasy spoon breakfasts and chilling out every evening in funky cafes or boutique beer bars, now it’s jam on toast in the morning, and if we really feel like splurging, Coffee Club for a latte once every few weeks.

I had a real epiphany at 7.30 when we headed out to the local cheapo Chinese restaurant ($8 all-u-can-eat meals!) because we didn’t feel dressed suitably for Fasta friggin Pasta. I discovered as I looked down at my tatty K-Mart bamboo thongs, ex-gym-cum-work-shorts and slightly-tight-not-in-a-good-way T-shirt that we’ve entered a new phase of our lives. This goes beyond the “nesting” we were accused of years ago, to a whole new level of domestication that I’d seen my parents and every other breeder couple out there over the age of 30 reach.

I swore I’d never go down this path. Now I’m comfortably slipping into it, not giving a shit. I’m actually strangely comfy and content. I’m in what is still effectively a new town to me, and can’t be stuffed exploring the bars and clubs or checking out the tourist attractions. Instead, it’s a Saturday night, and I’m happily just laying here alone on the couch with a couple of Video-Ezy DVDs (B turned in at quarter to 10) wondering where I should transplant the cocos palm tomorrow that’s just a little too close to the back door for my liking.

Cue mid-life crisis!

Facebook, meet blog

Very nice!
Just found a cute little Facebook app called Wordbook, which, as you would expect, links my Wordpress blog with my Facebook account. The best bit is that it’s given me some real insight into writing Facebook apps.  I’ve got two doozies I’ll be whipping up pretty shortly.

MMS?

Can somebody please tell me why the fuck in 2007 can I still not send an MMS message from my Dopod 838pro on 3 to Brian’s Samsung E250 on Virgin/Optus?  I mean, seriously now, has MMS been abandoned like WAP in favor of expensive 3G video calling or something?

I just wanted to send a fucking photo of a special lightbulb that blew out on our IXL Tastic for him to pick up from the shops on the way home so he could see what it looks like.  How hard could it be?