Running is therapy

I ran into a package today that I couldn’t find in the repos for Dapper. So I had to figure out a way to get it on there.

Luckily I ran into mah online, and I asked him for some dpkg-fu. He was kind enough to give me a hand getting this working. Here is what we did.

First, I added a Feisty repo to my sources.list so I could grab the source files and patch them for Debian.

echo "deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty main universe" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

Next we had to increase the cache size for apt so it wouldn’t choke on the new repo

echo "APT::Cache-Limit \"33554432\";" >> /etc/apt/apt.conf

Then, you can update and install the source files

sudo apt-get update
apt-get source php5-ming

This should, among other things create a directory called ming-0.3.0. Next, see what deps are missing. Install them.

cd ming-0.3.0/
debuild -uc -us -b

This will tell you all the packages you need. The only one you won’t be able to install is python-central…who cares python sucks anyway. Let’s get rid of the need for it.

vi debian/rules

Change lines 25 and 26 to

#PYDEF=$(shell pyversions -d)
#PYVERS=$(shell pyversions -r)

And lines 181 and 182 to

  #dh_pycentral
  #dh_python

Now we are ready to build…but we’ll have to force it.

debuild -uc -us -b -d

In the parent directory (after that finishes) there will be a bunch of deb’s. Just install the lib-ming, and the php5-ming deb’s.

sudo dpkg -i php5-ming_0.3.0-11ubuntu1_i386.deb libming0_0.3.0-11ubuntu1_i386.deb

One last thing, you have to enable the use of ming in the php.ini file

echo "extension=ming.so" >> /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini

Then restart Apache.

That’s it. You can also now take those deb’s and use them on any Dapper machine…though, as mah pointed out…I wouldn’t use the Python ones if I were you :)

I have been drooling over the Garmin Forerunner 305. I am pretty close to buying one. Basically I have decided I will buy one…I am just not sure when.

The *real* reason I want one is because of all the data I can get my hands on if I do. It tracks all kinds of neato crap. Using GPS you can get distance and speed type stuff. It also has a heat rate monitor.

There was a time when I had memorized a bunch of heart rate information for working out at the proper intensity for what I wanted to accomplish, but I have long since forgotten it.

This morning I decided to look around online and get suggestions. According to that article, a good rule of thumb for determining Max Heart Rate (for men) is:

214 - (.8  *  age)


For me this works out to 186.0.

Now we can calculate some of the training zones..for me :)

60% to 70% (Easy): 111.6 - 130.2
70% to 80% (Aerobic): 130.2 - 148.8
80% to 90% (Anaerobic): 148.8 - 167.4
90% to 100% (Certain death): 167.4 - 186.0

I found a JS count up clock online, and put the code in my template here. It will be counting up the time since my last smoke after I take the plunge.

In related news I found someone who knows someone taking Chantix right now. He said the drug is working wonders for this person. He said the crave is still there, but that it’s muted and gives the person the little bit of strength they needs to keep going. I consider that encouraging.

I think I may have read everything there is to read online about quitting smoking. Some of it was cool, and helps to build up the excitement for quitting…some of it is down right depressing. Either way, it will be tough, I am under no illusions…but I plan to give it both barrels. The hard part now is waiting to set a date. I have a tentative date in my head so far…it will be “bed time” on July 1st. That would be 7 days after my appointment on Monday (the amount of time you are supposed to take the pills before stopping).

For the non-smokers: Setting a date may seem strange, but I see it suggested time and time again in the stuff I am reading. It helps prepare you for what you are about to do, and gives you a little more leg up on the task…I’ll take any advantage I can.

I had the run of my life tonite. Eric G and I headed out the door right at 5 and did a 30 minute run that felt great. I don’t know what our pace was, but it was a good one throughout the time. Around 18 minutes he was dragging me down the road by keeping a good pace…and I was jumping and such over sewer grates (it keeps me motivated for some reason). By the last 5 minutes I was breathing hard and tossing my legs as fast as they would go at that point…but man did I feel great.

Runs like that don’t happen everyday. In fact, I think that is why so many people keep running…waiting for nights like tonite.

In a lunch time dispute over which girls on what 70’s and 80’s shows were and were not hot…I remembered that Joan Jett at one time had done a cover of Love is All Around…the Mary Tyler Moore show theme. Downloaded from iTunes as soon as I got back. Rock.

No, I am not old enough to have watched MTM before it went to reruns…at least I don’t think so. :)

1. Not smelling like smoke
2. Chicks dig dudes that don’t smoke (and as luck would have it, I dig chicks).
3. Running faster
4. Sitting through a movie without jonesing
5. Making fun of smokers
6. Not having chest pains that make me think I have advanced cancer
7. Not feeling like a stupid junkie
8. That self righteous smug look on my face when I tell smokers they should quit
9. Whiter teeth
10. Chicks
11. Not killing myself while lining the coffers of big business
12. Chicks

Screengrab from my bloglines rss feed for Digg.

Regular readers, who like me, will be pleased to know that I have an appointment with my Doctor next Monday at 10am to discuss methods for quitting smoking…those that don’t like me might be vexed by the idea that I am trying to prolong my life. Can’t please everyone.

I always thought I should just do it cold turkey, but this isn’t something I think it pays to be overly manly about. I mean, in this case, the end justifies the means…unless one of the ways one can quit smoking it to declare war on a peaceful people.

From time to time I come across a popular idea, “The problem with Linux is there are too many distros”. My guess is that is not a problem at all. Of all the distros out there, there are perhaps 5 viable choices. The rest are niche and one offs that hardly capture anyones attention. Is 5 too many? Perhaps, but think it through.

First, let’s decide which distros are the 5 that matter.

1. Ubuntu (Hands down the most popular distro at the current time)
2. RedHat (Has good name recognition)
3. Suse (Has somehow managed to get it’s name out there, despite it’s inferior product)
4. Debian (It doesn’t take one long to run across Debian these days, especially since most of the one offs, Ubuntu included, mention somewhere that they are Debian derived)
5. Gentoo (Despite what some people think about Gentoo, it remains quite popular…I would suggest for good reason)

The only time having too many choices is bad would be when one is first starting out. The person hears about Linux and decides to give it a try. Depending on the persons mind set, the choices are limited yet again. 1. They are afraid that it will be hard, and will beat them. Those people will probably migrate toward the top of my list. 2. Those that are setting out to prove themselves would probably migrate toward the bottom.

Now the list is either 3 distros long or 2 depending on mind set. For the timid, I think a short perusal of the web will lead them to conclude that Ubuntu is the clear choice. For the latter group it’s a little more muddled, but ultimately it’s a choice between TWO distros…not 350 as it is sometimes couched. That person, will likely cruise the web, look at the sites of the two…decide Gentoo is more hardcode and try it. That person will either succeed or fail, and then the choice becomes one distro. Failures go to Debian, successes go to Gentoo.

All in all, overwhelming distro choice seems like a red herring.

Note, I AM NOT SAYING ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE DISTRO. I am trying to walk through what I think would happen if I wanted to start using Linux today.

This necessarily leads us to the question “Well then, what the hell is wrong with Linux?”. Another post perhaps.

As of today, there is no more smoking indoors at my place. This should be an adjustment, but one in the right direction I believe. This was about the last place (save for bars) where I could smoke indoors.

I do a lot of mindless smoking here. I get on my laptop…start reading news or hacking around and the next thing I know I have been smoking up a storm. I emailed my doctor last week about discussing some strategies for quitting, and even though I haven’t heard back from her, I think the first step is to stop smoking in the house. I have to start treating the smoking I do as something “extra”,. not my normal state, or I will have a tougher time later. Not to mention, it should serve to limit the amount of smoking I do.

It’s already kind of a drag, but in a day or two perhaps it will seem normal.

I am hoping I am more lazy than I am addicted :)