Moore Musings

In Which An Adventure is Planned and Plans are Revealed

It just so happened that, some time past, that I was thinking to myself how much I loved getting OUT. Specifically, being more or less socked into an apartment/city during the chill of winter, while cozy, lacks certain aspects of air, light, and general freeness which I possess an appreciation for.

In light of this, and other factors, Sharon and I have determined we shall make a Grand Adventure, a Joyous Excursion, and possibly even a Fantastical Journey to Other Lands.

Specifically, we shall seek the lands of Iowa and the Wisconsin Dells. These locations are renowned for their fauna and flora (respectively), and said excursion would lend itself to both socialization and relaxation of both body and mind.

We plan to begin with an early weekend: wending our way down to Iowa on Friday June 5th, and seeking shelter wherever we may find it. Then, sometime on Monday the 9th, we shall journey north again, passing through the City of Leatherwood, and on to the Wisconsin Dells to the north. There we shall set up camp (literally) for a few days, before moving to more civilized (if less primal) accommodations. With a mix of biking, hiking, water-sliding, and general decompression we shall have an entire week of doing nothing required, until our return on the following weekend.

What exactly our plans shall be throughout the week is not yet determined, but we have made reservations for our time in the Dells already, and are generally issuing this proclamation here in the sight those who may be interested in knowing, so we have the best chancing at seeing people who we miss.

Hope to see you then!

Hooray for Bacon

I have always enjoyed tasty bacon, crispy and hot.
However, sometimes I am at a loss for what to do regarding bacon. Fortunately, Sharpton directed me to this handy flowchart.

Further Machinations of the Magical Machine

After some trouble, I have successfully hosted an Apache2 webserver on my computer.
Specifically, it runs with a Virtual Machine, under Ubuntu, on my Windows machine. Via port forwarding from my router, I host both my magic server mentioned earlier, and the Java client with which one can connect to it.

I'd rather not hand out my IP here, and it does tend to change, but if you have any interest in giving it a whirl, let me know and I'll send you the IP.

More pictures and upgrades to it coming soon!

Pirate or Ninja?

This link was directed to me. For those familiar with editors, it provides a compelling explanation why certain programmers use VI, and certain... individuals use EMACS.
For those familiar with Ninjas and Pirates, it provides a correlation to the use of VI and EMACS.

Are you a pirate, or a nina?

Client Update

My Magic server is now up and slightly reliable. To test it out, start up my Java Client (now hosted locally), change your name, and enter 68.76.146.11 for the server IP.
If you cannot afford to have your browser lock up, DO NOT do this.
More info below the fold...

Server is LIVE!

After some virtualbox action, things seem to be working now. The server IP is 68.76.146.11, but don't blame me if it kills your browser!

Applet Up!

I've uploaded the java applet for my Magic engine here. Of course, you need access to a server running the Magic engine for it to work. I'll see if I can get one running somewhere.

If you actually do want to use it, for now head to my SourceForge site for the project, download the server onto your Linux environment, start it up, and then head to the client site listed above. Enter localhost for the server, and it should work fine.

As soon as I figure out how, I'll get an external IP'ed Linux server going.

A Post of January

As Scholl noted some time ago, we've been slacking the posting department. Of course, there are all levels of slacking (*cough* Gallagher), but even my relatively loose standards haven't been met.

As such, I thought I would take some time to recap the month, and spiel about my latest interests.

January has been, more then any month so far in my life, extremely cold. New York had its snow, five feet at one point left the whole neighborhood snowed in for several days. But never have I lived in regular sub-zero temperatures. Its the kind of weather where you really can't go outside with wet hair because it will freeze by the time you get in your car. Its the weather that makes even new cars hesitate to start. Its the kind of weather that results in too much time spent on the computer. Ok... maybe I can't blame the weather for that.

Other key events of January include the vetting of Sharon and I's new favorite restaurant: Harry's. Not only do they have amazing ribs, but I have discovered that the occasional (read 1 to 2 times a month) Brandy Old-Fashioned is great with anything meaty. While I certainly have no intention of developing a taste for beer (its SO nasty!) this small and delicious drink, stretched throughout a long meal, is certainly amazing.

On a more somber note, our company laid off 11 contractors last Friday. No matter what factors were involved, it still makes one slightly worried. Some time has been spent hanging out with a good friend who got the axe... makes you remember life can change quickly at any time.

This would not be a proper blog post with a certain element of computer-related enthusiasm. One of my main projects over the last two weeks has been the development of a web-based client for my Magic (card game) server. Basically I have this engine I wrote last year which you can connect to via telnet and play card games with anyone else who connects to it. Now some folks (like me) don't mind massive typing and text-based interfaces, but I realize that there are others who like to actually see little card shapes and such.
Thus I have developed an in-browser application that connects to my Magic server. Its basically done, just needs some prettying up. The big question is how to deploy it. Basically, I need a web host that can serve up a basic HTML page and a jar file, as well as access to a Linux machine on which I can run the server, and outside users can connect. Then anyone will be able to browse to the webpage and play games with me.

Cold, drinks with cherries, work drama, and code have combined to make this a crazy January. And now, I have posted on it. See you all in February!

Christmas at Work

The spirit of the season is apparently contagious... I hope I'm not infected!

Moore Birthday

As yesterday was my birthday, my gracious wife baked a large contingent of cookies. These pastries were distributed this morning at my place of employment, and announced via email. Read on and appreciate the exchange of thought centered on these delicious pastries.

-----Original Message-----
From: David Moore
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 7:42 AM
To: A400 Project Team
Subject: Cookies because...

There are chocolate mint-chocolate cookies by the Pop Machine on the second floor of HQ, between the escalators on the west side.
They are there in honor of my birthday yesterday, by the grace of my amazing wife.

Also, let this be a lesson to those of you who brought food in the past and didn't give sufficient directions for me to find it.
Enjoy!
- David Moore

-----Inquisitive Student Seeks Knowledge-----
From: ##### ########t
Sent: Wed 10/22/2008 7:50 AM
To: David Moore
Subject: RE: Cookies because...

What's a Pop Machine? Which way's west? Were these cookies baked fresh today? Happy birthday.

-----All-knowing Master of Food Provides the Light of Knowledge------
From: David Moore
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 8:02 AM
To: ##### ########t
Subject:RE: RE: Cookies because...
I never pass up the opportunity to educate a willing pupil.

The "Pop Machine" (or "machina de soda" for those of latino descent) is an aboriginal species of Indiana. Often seen prowling hallways or conferences centers, this pack animal preys on the weak and hungry, seeking to extort restitution for refreshment at exorbitant prices by shear strength of convenience. The road-wise traveler may parry its advances by preparing victuals in advance to ward off dangerous encounters.

West (or "left" for those of map-reading origins) is the direction in which adventurers and explorers have traditionally forayed for centuries, often in search of wealth, new lands, or food. In this tradition of self-sufficiency and natural resource exploitation I have placed the cookies on the west side of the escalators, symbolizing my personal journey towards self-enlightenment through the consumption of chocolate. The experienced traveler will also be able to locate these cookies by olfactory sensation alone: the directive was provided for those as yet in training.

"Were the cookies baked fresh today?" is, in itself, a question lacking context necessary for interpretation. The use of past tense establishes a de-facto boundary: by implying the cookies were baked in the past it rules out an entire half of the time-space continuum. It is hardly fair for a question to halve the answer-space in the first word. However, the question may be easily answered by transferring it to the time-space of the day in which the cookies were baked. In this context, I can unequivocally assure you that, on the day the cookies were baked, shortly after they were baked, "these cookies" were "baked baked fresh today". Present context is excluded for the sake of clarity.

I hope you enjoyed them, thanks.

- David Moore

Family Rules

My lovely wife and I decided to come up with some household rules, to aid in the governance of our eventual progeny.

1. Mom and Dad are always right.
2. Mom is righter then Dad.*
3. If Mom or Dad are proved wrong, refer to rule #1.
4. All rules must be memorized.
5. Rules instantiated post-event are still applicable to that event.
6. The rules are fair.
7. The rules are not fair.
8. The rules do not apply to Mom and Dad.
9. All the rules do not necessarily have to be divulged.
11. If the door to your parent's room is closed, stay away as you value your mortal soul (and mental health).
12. A clean room is next to godliness. In fact, it is godly in and of itself. (refer to rule #8).
13. Argument and debate over the rules is encouraged. It is also never successful.
15. Residents of age greater then 10 must pay for housing and food expenses.
16. No reading modern fiction without reading everything written before it.
17. The censor must approve of all printed materials brought on the premises.
18. Thou shalt fix my internets.
19. Fights and arguments amongst progeny are permissible insomuch as they do not disturb our royal slumber.
20. The rules are sekrit. Tell NO ONE.

* Certain articles are under debate between the parental figures. No, you don't get out of them.

Are we missing anything key to a happy and well-rounded child-rearing career?
Also, those who have had or are planning to have children shortly are encouraged to use this resource, albeit with credit (and royalties).

An Iowa Adventure

Ok, so maybe we didn't vanquish any supervillians or rescue any whales, but the journey Sharon and I took to Iowa this past weekend was highlighted by a feat of taste: pork ribs at the Irish Democrat.

This bar and food joint was flavorful in more ways then one, and I kept half expecting to see Wilson or Wheeler. But I am digressing from my account of the weekend...

Sharon and I set out after work on Friday, our four and a half hour trip joyously soundtracked by Tally Hall's Banana Man. After a brief experience at the Worst Exit In Existence, we eventually arrived at the Ice House. While the new abode of Scholl and Anna has many great properties (ie. it's well-stocked fridge), it was itself not unlike a Canadian province in climate.

Fortunately Ice Cave history was preserved and numerous coverings were available for those less acclimated. General merriment was had by all, and plans were laid to do very little and enjoy it even more.

Saturday morning dawned with Moore hungry and in search of Donuts. With minor prompting Scholl shortly joined an excursion, with delicious (and coconut-clad) results. Further festivities involved card games in which a Scholl-directed swarm of zombies conquered all comers.

From this death-defying diversion we proceeded to the aforementioned Democrat to devour delicious dishes of demonstrable delectableness. We were joined by Clint in this endeavor, although we nearly lost him on the return to the Scholl's. The afternoon passed in pleasant conversation until the appointed hour arrived and we departed to see the true reason for our entire junket.

A brief stop at Papa Murphy's (pizza creators par excellence) did not long delay us in our arrival at the Scott's. We were greeted by the entire Scott Family (now a certifiable tribe) as well and Caleb and Morgan.

The new arrivals were small, cute, quiet, and burped gently when stroked (the babies, not the Moores). They also had a great deal of hair (again, the babies). Pictures should be forthcoming once I figure out how to unload my camera. The mother seemed in good spirits. Scott particularly stood out as an extremely tender father. Kaylee and Wren seemed more interested in eating then seeing Sharon and I, but I can hardly blame them for their peerless priorities. If I have my names right, Kaylee was already exhibiting tendencies of exuberant engagement, while Wren sought peace and quiet. They were extremely awesome (and so was the Papa Murphy's Pizza we proceeded to eat.)

We said our goodbyes before it got too late, and headed back to the Scholl's. Sunday, after a lunch with our gracious hosts and Ardith and a very large black spider, we set out for Milwaukee.

That's our weekend adventure. Don't miss next weekend's adventure: Leatherwood comes to Milwaukee! Standing room only. Must be 18 or older, or accompanied by an adult.

Moore Projects

It wouldn't be another week if I hadn't been working on another coding project of fun.
This time, its a method to play the popular (read "geeky") card game of Magic via telnet.
I've created a little program which, when started on a Linux computer, allows anyone to remotely connect, chat, create decks, and play games of any size. So whether you want to test a new deck idea solo or host a 8-way multi-player game, all the cards and most of the functionality is here.

Sure, its all text-based, but thanks to some fun caching tricks this isn't so much a limitation as a "feature". What true coder wouldn't rather stare at text instead of a garish UI?

If you non-coders are lucky, I'll write a graphical front end for it too! You can check it out here on sourceforge

You can see a screenshot of it going below the fold.

Software Review

So I was thinking about my recent program, and realized I really should make an effort to test it for bugs and functionality outside of the usual as-you-go methods.

Hence, I shall soon commence on my software review, expect a report on it soon!