March 2008 archive

Power of Example (and the Long View)

Martin Sexton
Power of example
My mama said it and I heard
She says one ounce of action
Beats a ton of words.
-- Martin Sexton, "Hallelujah"
Richard Stallman

[...] I didn’t write a whole free operating system, either. I wrote some pieces and invited other people to join me by writing other pieces. So I set an example. I said, “I’m [...]

Python: Regex Test Function

 
More fun with Python and regular expressions. Following up on a previous post, I wanted to share a little test regex function I wrote in Python to help me as I work through the regular expression book.
I'm mostly working at the interactive prompt and had been running commands from Python re (the regex module) [...]

3rd time not quite a charm: Upgrading to Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)

The other night, sort of kind of on a whim, but not really, I upgraded my main machine from Ubuntu 7.04 to 7.10. There were some problems, but in the end, not very serious. No need for panic.
I'd upgraded my laptop when 7.10 was released, and that went fine. The plan for my [...]

Goals: Learning Python and Regular Expressions

I don't want to go all 7 Habits of Highly Effective People on you, but I'll say this: I think it's good to have goals and to work towards your goals.
I like this quote, which I've seen attributed to Zig Ziglar:
"Most people fail to reach their goals not because their plans are too simple or [...]

Back from Boston

And I'm back from the FSF meeting at M.I.T. in Cambridge. The trip went well, I enjoyed myself, and will have more to say later.
One of the highlights was meeting Richard Stallman in person. I think he is a great man, and history will recognize him as a hugely important and influential person. [...]

Me and You and a GPG Key Named Boo

"Travellin' and livin' off the web..."
I have a GPG key, freshly created a couple of days ago. GPG is the GNU Privacy Guard, also known as GnuPG, used for encryption and digital signatures.
Many people include helpful comments about GPG encryption on a page with their public key and fingerprint. Instead of making similar remarks (which [...]

Heading to Boston for an FSF Meeting

Well, Cambridge, actually. The Free Software Foundation is holding its Annual Associate Member Meeting at MIT on Saturday, March 15. (You can become a member and go also!) ;-)
I started mulling over the idea of attending last month. It occurred to me I might be able to get a deal on a flight with my [...]