Before:
After enabling code-folding:
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Chrome DevTools has implemented code-folding (as of v73 apparently)!
Open Chrome devtools settings, then under preferences, sources, enable "code folding", then code suddenly becomes more manageable in DevTools :)
Friday, June 1, 2018
Installing WSL+Ubunutu+Docker on Windows 10/2019 1803
How's that for a needfully-long title? This article comes years after my first taste of Docker and some weeks after diving deep to migrate a legacy app, to node.js, to docker containers so it can be managed and run more effectively.
There is a LOT to share, but for the moment I'm going to focus on the biggest pain-point in getting to really appreciate what Docker can do for a Windows developer; getting Docker running in an environment friendly to all you'll find about Docker on Linux or OSX!
In a nut-shell, you need WSL (which effectively connects a "distro" to Windows low-level APIs). Then you need an environment/distro to actually work in. I'm using Ubuntu here and some of the script is sensitive to that, but there are many other distros available now so you have freedom. Once you have Ubuntu and WSL, you can install Docker-CE. You need CE specifically to work nicely with WSL, otherwise you can use the regular Docker, but then why are you reading this?!
To help ensure my environments were consistent (and because I had to try this dozens of times before it all worked for me), I've created a bash script and in the comments are 4 PowerShell commands you can use to get started with nothing more than a working install of Windows 10 1803 or Server 2019 Preview 1803. I'll let the script explain the details and I make no guarantees about this script so test in a safe place, but I rely on it :)
**Bash script**
https://gist.github.com/rainabba/6f345c439261882e0c1e648fcfc43df4
There is a LOT to share, but for the moment I'm going to focus on the biggest pain-point in getting to really appreciate what Docker can do for a Windows developer; getting Docker running in an environment friendly to all you'll find about Docker on Linux or OSX!
In a nut-shell, you need WSL (which effectively connects a "distro" to Windows low-level APIs). Then you need an environment/distro to actually work in. I'm using Ubuntu here and some of the script is sensitive to that, but there are many other distros available now so you have freedom. Once you have Ubuntu and WSL, you can install Docker-CE. You need CE specifically to work nicely with WSL, otherwise you can use the regular Docker, but then why are you reading this?!
To help ensure my environments were consistent (and because I had to try this dozens of times before it all worked for me), I've created a bash script and in the comments are 4 PowerShell commands you can use to get started with nothing more than a working install of Windows 10 1803 or Server 2019 Preview 1803. I'll let the script explain the details and I make no guarantees about this script so test in a safe place, but I rely on it :)
**Bash script**
https://gist.github.com/rainabba/6f345c439261882e0c1e648fcfc43df4
Friday, April 28, 2017
Uninstall OneDrive from Windows 10 - half-baked
OneDrive is a "cloud-file" service by Microsoft which is not unlike Google Drive, DropBox, Box, SugarSync and like Drive also provides some nifty web-based tools.
OneDrive is NOT critical to any aspect of Windows. OneDrive is treated by MS as an app (nota service) in all respects except the implementation in Windows which is atrocious.
You can disable the "Start with Windows" option then exit it (like any other systray service), but it will pop back up later and harass you if you've not set it up. That sort of behavior is more what you'd expect from a "Windows Feature" which you'd turn off using the Windows "Programs and Features" dialog.
That's NOT how OneDrive is to be managed though so if you don't use and don't want to see it, be prepared for the most absurd "configuration" I've ever seen from MS. Even a registry change would be easier than this mess....
https://support.office.com/en-US/article/Turn-off-or-uninstall-OneDrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe-9c38-6efb09f944b0
WHY? Microsoft, WHY are you pushing OneDrive at me SO HARD that you're doing stupid crap like this? Either make it part of the OS (and a service we can just simply disable) or make it a Feature that can be managed reasonably.
OneDrive is NOT critical to any aspect of Windows. OneDrive is treated by MS as an app (nota service) in all respects except the implementation in Windows which is atrocious.
You can disable the "Start with Windows" option then exit it (like any other systray service), but it will pop back up later and harass you if you've not set it up. That sort of behavior is more what you'd expect from a "Windows Feature" which you'd turn off using the Windows "Programs and Features" dialog.
That's NOT how OneDrive is to be managed though so if you don't use and don't want to see it, be prepared for the most absurd "configuration" I've ever seen from MS. Even a registry change would be easier than this mess....
https://support.office.com/en-US/article/Turn-off-or-uninstall-OneDrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe-9c38-6efb09f944b0
WHY? Microsoft, WHY are you pushing OneDrive at me SO HARD that you're doing stupid crap like this? Either make it part of the OS (and a service we can just simply disable) or make it a Feature that can be managed reasonably.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Who am I? Who are you?
What part(s) of our body are permanent? That is, what parts grow, then never get replaced/recycled/regrown?
If all if it, then we are NEVER the same person from moment to moment in the most literaly sense.
Since we appear to have consistency from day to day, the process must be somewhat slow. What about year to year or decade to decade? Is the process that slow though? If not, how are we consistent across so much time in appearance, personality, habits and such?
DNA likely accounts for much of this, but how much? If none, then where does it come from? If all then the moment we're concieved, we ARE who we are. We may make choices along the way, but those choices are a result of who we are so those choices are determined in the most fundamental sense, the moment we're conceived.
If it's not entirely DNA that dictates who we are, then how much of it is DNA (nature) and how much is otherwise (nurture) and where is that nurture recorded/maintained in ourselves? Our brain? How fast does it regenerate itself? If not at all, then our brain IS who WE ARE. If it regenerates over time, then either that period of time is how often we change OR there's some other part of us that dictates who we are.
Perhaps DNA kickstarts us, our brain is US from day to day, and as it regenerates, it's influenced by who we are (what we do, think, etc..) and so we end up with consistency. In that case, we could halt that consistency up to the point of who we are from our DNA, by interurrupting our decisions and environment completely.
What part of ME is seeking these answers? Why do so many humans seem to have the same quest? Is that explained by DNA or circumstance? If the former, we all are likely to find us here eventually. If the later, some cultures will never ask these questions because they will never come into contact with those who do. How could we know though because if you're asking these questions, you can't go ask others or lead them to the question without putting it in their "minds". It's a bit like (to quote Alan Watts) saying, "Don't think of a pink elephant while taking your medicine." Once heard, one cannot avoid the thought because it's already been comprehended.
If all if it, then we are NEVER the same person from moment to moment in the most literaly sense.
Since we appear to have consistency from day to day, the process must be somewhat slow. What about year to year or decade to decade? Is the process that slow though? If not, how are we consistent across so much time in appearance, personality, habits and such?
DNA likely accounts for much of this, but how much? If none, then where does it come from? If all then the moment we're concieved, we ARE who we are. We may make choices along the way, but those choices are a result of who we are so those choices are determined in the most fundamental sense, the moment we're conceived.
If it's not entirely DNA that dictates who we are, then how much of it is DNA (nature) and how much is otherwise (nurture) and where is that nurture recorded/maintained in ourselves? Our brain? How fast does it regenerate itself? If not at all, then our brain IS who WE ARE. If it regenerates over time, then either that period of time is how often we change OR there's some other part of us that dictates who we are.
Perhaps DNA kickstarts us, our brain is US from day to day, and as it regenerates, it's influenced by who we are (what we do, think, etc..) and so we end up with consistency. In that case, we could halt that consistency up to the point of who we are from our DNA, by interurrupting our decisions and environment completely.
What part of ME is seeking these answers? Why do so many humans seem to have the same quest? Is that explained by DNA or circumstance? If the former, we all are likely to find us here eventually. If the later, some cultures will never ask these questions because they will never come into contact with those who do. How could we know though because if you're asking these questions, you can't go ask others or lead them to the question without putting it in their "minds". It's a bit like (to quote Alan Watts) saying, "Don't think of a pink elephant while taking your medicine." Once heard, one cannot avoid the thought because it's already been comprehended.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Relaxing in a houseboat on the Amstel, overlooking the Magere Brug - Perspective
The tour boats full of people taking in the sights keep sliding by. The sun occasionally teases me with it's warmth, but mostly stays hidden behind clouds that promise more rain, but that doesn't really bother me; I have an umbrella for that.
I'm sitting on a cute little couch, in the parlor for a beautiful houseboat and it feels like one of the 100's of cafe's nearby. Across the river are homes that have existed more than 5 times longer than I have. At any given moment, I can see more people on bicycles than cars and boats combined and that's saying something because there are a LOT of boats here on the river and the nearby canals I can see.
The Michelangelo, one of the boats belonging to "LOVERS canal cruises" just did a graceful pirouette to turn around and head back up river. A lot of the tour boats do that right here, in front of my little home for the week and I wonder why. Not all of them though and the ones that continue down river have a very tight squeeze to get through if they want to go under the Magere Brug, the "Skinny Bridge" that is an extremely old, manually operated, wooden draw-bridge meant only for pedestrians and cyclists and even they have to be careful as they pass each other over the top.
How did I end up here? Just last week my 2 year-old daughter was to undergo a dangerous surgery to remove a chunk from her left lung where a pocket has formed that held group a streptococcus; an infection that nearly took her life. It looks like her body is finally dealing with the pocket that was leftover so the surgery was canceled, much like my life had been when we found out the doctors wanted to do the surgery. My wife Jessica and I both stopped making plans. I resigned from my latest venture; something I'd been close to doing anyway after 2.5 years of the most unreal stress and accomplishments I could never have imagined. I say that as a US Marine that's had more than a few challenges in life too. That journey took me to New Zealand, introduced me to famous musicians and made me an "Executive Producer" working for the likes of Samsung and Red Bull at the largest music festivals in North American. Hell, I got to be the first one (literally "ME") to do a major 360, live-streaming production for and to YouTube to help them show off their newest feature.
I'm just a geek that likes to learn, explore, play with technology and quietly build relationships with others of a like mind though. Few people really know my name. Fewer have any idea what skills I posess, I'm nothing close to important by the social and cultural standards that surround me, yet I find myself in a position that is about as likely as winning the lottery back home I think. I grew up poor with very few privileges save for being a white, male which lately feels as much like a curse as anything given all the resentment aired in the media from those who aren't "white" or "male" which I think is more people than not.
All I do know is that right now I've got peace and I hope that my perspective on this moment is clear and my appreciation for it is deep and complete.
Thanks to my friend Tim for inviting me to his home town to help "consult" for him and making this all possible. Thanks to Kelly for making me feel so welcome every time I see her. Thanks to Ben, Wim and everyone at VRDays for throwing a great event and showing me so much hospitality. Most of all though, thank you to my wife Jessica for giving me her blessing to go on this trip and find this moment of peace while she stays home taking care of my 3 treasured children even though I've been traveling so much and have to leave again only a day after I get back home. Without her, Andrew, Jolie and Ayla back home, I think I'd only be lonely in this moment, but instead I feel loved everywhere I go.
I'm sitting on a cute little couch, in the parlor for a beautiful houseboat and it feels like one of the 100's of cafe's nearby. Across the river are homes that have existed more than 5 times longer than I have. At any given moment, I can see more people on bicycles than cars and boats combined and that's saying something because there are a LOT of boats here on the river and the nearby canals I can see.
The Michelangelo, one of the boats belonging to "LOVERS canal cruises" just did a graceful pirouette to turn around and head back up river. A lot of the tour boats do that right here, in front of my little home for the week and I wonder why. Not all of them though and the ones that continue down river have a very tight squeeze to get through if they want to go under the Magere Brug, the "Skinny Bridge" that is an extremely old, manually operated, wooden draw-bridge meant only for pedestrians and cyclists and even they have to be careful as they pass each other over the top.
How did I end up here? Just last week my 2 year-old daughter was to undergo a dangerous surgery to remove a chunk from her left lung where a pocket has formed that held group a streptococcus; an infection that nearly took her life. It looks like her body is finally dealing with the pocket that was leftover so the surgery was canceled, much like my life had been when we found out the doctors wanted to do the surgery. My wife Jessica and I both stopped making plans. I resigned from my latest venture; something I'd been close to doing anyway after 2.5 years of the most unreal stress and accomplishments I could never have imagined. I say that as a US Marine that's had more than a few challenges in life too. That journey took me to New Zealand, introduced me to famous musicians and made me an "Executive Producer" working for the likes of Samsung and Red Bull at the largest music festivals in North American. Hell, I got to be the first one (literally "ME") to do a major 360, live-streaming production for and to YouTube to help them show off their newest feature.
I'm just a geek that likes to learn, explore, play with technology and quietly build relationships with others of a like mind though. Few people really know my name. Fewer have any idea what skills I posess, I'm nothing close to important by the social and cultural standards that surround me, yet I find myself in a position that is about as likely as winning the lottery back home I think. I grew up poor with very few privileges save for being a white, male which lately feels as much like a curse as anything given all the resentment aired in the media from those who aren't "white" or "male" which I think is more people than not.
All I do know is that right now I've got peace and I hope that my perspective on this moment is clear and my appreciation for it is deep and complete.
Thanks to my friend Tim for inviting me to his home town to help "consult" for him and making this all possible. Thanks to Kelly for making me feel so welcome every time I see her. Thanks to Ben, Wim and everyone at VRDays for throwing a great event and showing me so much hospitality. Most of all though, thank you to my wife Jessica for giving me her blessing to go on this trip and find this moment of peace while she stays home taking care of my 3 treasured children even though I've been traveling so much and have to leave again only a day after I get back home. Without her, Andrew, Jolie and Ayla back home, I think I'd only be lonely in this moment, but instead I feel loved everywhere I go.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Building ffmpeg with opencl support on Linux (AWS Linux AMI)
The last year I've learned more about video, live production, DIT, editing, encoding, players, codecs and ffmpeg than I could have imagined there was to know (and that only of course proved that there's 1,000x more to learn), but one particular part of this journey has proven VERY difficult so I wanted to share some of that.
ffmpeg is an open-source project and there are NO definitive binaries for any platform. There ARE some great builds out there which are well-maintained and very useful, but they aren't "official" and they weren't meeting all my needs so I had to setup a basic build environment which proved difficult itself for me even though I've been compiling on Linux (building Android Kernels even) for some 15 years.
I've put together a GIST to share the key points (an updated ffmpeg build with x264, x265, aac and opencl acceleration in particular) and I'm still evolving it. Find that gist HERE.
If you already know how to build, this should be a great reference. If you don't and want to use this with no real experience, please know that this was done an an AWS G2 instance (nvidia grid GPUs) running an AWS Linux AMI so it won't copy/paste/work just anywhere, but if you're running a distro with YUM and have an nvidia card, it should be pretty close at the least.
ffmpeg is an open-source project and there are NO definitive binaries for any platform. There ARE some great builds out there which are well-maintained and very useful, but they aren't "official" and they weren't meeting all my needs so I had to setup a basic build environment which proved difficult itself for me even though I've been compiling on Linux (building Android Kernels even) for some 15 years.
I've put together a GIST to share the key points (an updated ffmpeg build with x264, x265, aac and opencl acceleration in particular) and I'm still evolving it. Find that gist HERE.
If you already know how to build, this should be a great reference. If you don't and want to use this with no real experience, please know that this was done an an AWS G2 instance (nvidia grid GPUs) running an AWS Linux AMI so it won't copy/paste/work just anywhere, but if you're running a distro with YUM and have an nvidia card, it should be pretty close at the least.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Who IS a "professional"?
I subscribe to very few blogs and today an article was posted on what may be my favorite, and it got me thinking. The following started as a reply, but I decided it might be appropriate here too.
In the last couple years, I've been forced to reevaluate myself in light of my career. I've spent nearly 2 decades in software in one form or another and despite being able to make some pretty hefty claims; they always sounded exaggerated to my own ears, when coming out of my mouth so I felt awkward calling myself a professional even though I can't imagine many people refuting the claim. Still, I was reluctant to claim the title until my personal interest in virtual reality, backed by my years of photography and a years of "playing around" with a variety of video technologies saw me into the role of CTO in an up-and-coming VR company which in turn found me working side-by-side with (not employed by or for to be clear) the production team for RedBull, with the streaming engineers they use to broadcast to the Internet, and helping Samsung give 1,000's their first experience with VR at the largest music festivals in North America.
This article [https://houldsworth.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/what-makes-a-professional] resonates with me because by most objective definitions, I'm a professional software developer and DBA, but I didn't feel like it and few labeled me as such who had the knowledge and experience to do so (worth mentioning that I work from home and am not even surrounded by co-workers or peers often in that field). On the other hand, I'm quite new to the "professional" field of photography, videography and VR, yet I don't mind saying that I'm one of very few people in the world who has done a real-time video production broadcasting to VR and I've been complimented by some rather significant people in the industry both explicitly and implicitly and a large part of that comes down to the fact that we show up to do what we do amongst 10k's of people, have to deal with incredible challenges on the fly and have yet to fail.
Am I more of a "professional" for having spent decades in a field, or for successfully doing something new and difficult? I think you raise a great point and I'm presently of the mind that I am on both accounts, but for very different reasons in each field. In the end, not even others with experience in these fields; paid or not, could do what I do readily (and for pay) and that seems like a good basis to label me a professional in general and in those fields. It does not mean that others are not are not either though, so where do we stop applying the label OR is the label possibly less meaningful in this world where knowledge and experience are such different beasts?
Was Einstein a professional in physics when he was a "only" a patent clerk, but generating his Theory of Relativity, or did he not earn that title until he quit and started receiving funding and/or recognition for that theory?
Is a soldier a professional right after boot-camp, or not until he's fought in a war [and killed an enemy?]
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