Meeting 'Around the World'

Anyone that’s spoken to me in the past week will know I’m currently slightly obsessed with Elephant Parade London 2010 currently on display all around the city. Public over the top art displays intrigue me, and this one’s no different. With Cow Parade having totally passed me by back in 2000, and day trips to Bath and Liverpool for Bladud’s Pigs and Super Lamb Bananas respectively firmly behind me, I’m pretty excited at the prospect of finding all 258 elephants, and taking photos of them all. I’ll even go as far as Heathrow Terminal 5. If I find the rest.

Elephant Parade is not unique to London, but the elephants that are here, are. Local artists both professional and amateur have given their time and efforts to the project, to create 258 unique colourful, thoughtful, or just plain mad designs. My favourites so far – The City in the Elephant, the uniquely London Taxi Elephant, Panda (I bought a small model, I can’t leave it out), and Woodland.

You can follow my progress on Blakepics where I’m storing photos of all the elephants that I find.

It’s not all about the fun of exploring your city in a new light though. Elephant Family have a serious message to put across, to save the Asian Elephant from the desperation the loss of their habitats is causing. They are working with communities and governments to help re-establish migratory corridors, and help the elephants to nearby villages peacefully. It would be completely selfish of me to take all the joy they’ve given me over the past week (and for the weeks to come) of diving around London spotting elephants, without mentioning this serious part to their mission. Who doesn’t like cash donations? But there are plenty of other ways to donate to their numerous projects, buy some Pink Elephant wine, buy some miniatures of your favourite elephants, sign the petition, give up some time, or even buy one of the big elephants in the final auction.

Like some many of projects like these – Elephant Family have been an absolute inspiration. Transforming a city like London is no small task, but when companies like this take the plunge, you can see the happiness and smiles in everyone.  Sometimes it takes something like this to take a break from the rat race – notice something new, something interesting, or just unexpected. Yes, I’m totally obsessed with finding them all, but I’m loving every minute.

• Elephant Parade London site
• My photos so far
• Elephant family official site.
• Donate, Donate, Donate

E.g.

192.168.0.5  dev.blakepics.com

When I take my laptop outside of the network, I want that IP to be removed from my hosts file, so it finds the right public IP address.  There are a few different ways of doing this, including:

• Run a local network DNS server like named and configure those addresses locally.  This work pretty well, but adding another point of failure to my small network wasn’t ideal.
• Manually edit your hosts file each time (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts).

I Googled around, and came across Mobile Net Switcher which will do exactly what I need – and switch a whole bunch of settings based on my current network.  It also has a huge amount of features I don’t need and costs €29 for the nag-free version.

It’s a perfectly price reason for an app like this, but I thought back to a quote from a friend of mine a few days ago: “The joys of being a programmer: when I want a program, I don’t have to pirate it. I just make it myself.”

So I wrote my own.

Download Switch Location here

It’s a far more limited version, and only supports switching your hosts file, but it does the job for what I need right now.  One of the features required which I hadn’t used before is some tasks requiring elevated permissions via UAC.

Adding a UAC shielded button was surprisingly simple.  Then it is just a case of starting a new process with elevated permissions:

Code block

var proc = new ProcessStartInfo
{
UseShellExecute = true,
WorkingDirectory = Application.StartupPath,
FileName = Application.ExecutablePath,
Arguments = commandArguments,
 Verb = "runas"
 };
Process.Start(proc);

Then just detect the commandArguments parameter on the main application start and run your elevated tasks as necessary.

Once I’ve tidied up the source a little bit (it needs some Resharper loving), I’ll release the source code of the whole app here – in the meantime, you can download Switch Location here.

Backups of Backups

My backup strategy for my machines at home can be effectively described as “scatty, but thorough“.  Or at least until I actually have a major crash and need to recover that important file that was outside of my normal documents, code repositories, and archived folders.

I am one of those sorts of people that has backups everywhere.  Folders stacked away with old dusty (and probably now useless) dvds.  Old hard drives filled with duplicates and archived files, stacked up in the back of cupboards and flung next to jam jars.  SD cards, USB keys, backups to other drives, backups to the machines on the other side of my flat, backups off-site.  Backups of backups backed up during the last backup.

So I decided to add one more with an external hard drive that I could plug in every now and then.  But backups aren’t really the point of this post.

Linux has a really powerful device manager called udev which detects when things are plugged into your machine (including hard drives), which you can write rules against, and have commands automagically executed.  This is really cool for my new hard drive, which can now automatically start backing up without regular cron jobs checking to see if it’s plugged in or not.  This is not the same as autorun files, it relies on that hard drive being plugged into that machine.  So don’t start crying about all the security risks with autorun, please.

Here’s how you do it.

Code block

udevadm info -a -p  $(udevadm info -q path -n /dev/sdc)

You’ll get a whole bunch of output from that, including (among a lot of other output) a line that might look a little like this:

Code block

ATTR{serial}=="312581808"

There are a lot more you can use as well, but this will identify your device.

Now create a new file inside /etc/udev/rules.d/, such as /etc/udev/rules.d/81-usb-drive.rules

Code block

KERNEL=="sd?1", ATTRS{serial}=="312581808", SYMLINK+="backup-drive", RUN+="/bin/sh /home/user/scripts/backup-to-drive.sh"

Now every time you plug in that drive, that command is going to be executed (so include for example, the script that is going to run your backups).  Cool, eh?

I started thinking about other applications; syncing podcasts, ebooks and music are the obvious choices. Even as a crude simple method of executing commands on a box you don’t even usually login to.  Or you could use this technique to build yourself some poor man usb-based security.  Keep decryption keys on your thumb drive, and have it auto decrypt volumes on your machine when you plug in that particular drive.

Just don’t forget to keep a backup of the thumb drive, yeah?

I’ve had a developer account for some time now, and the talk finally got me motivated into messing around with more of the APIs.  So I created a bot.  Then I created another one.  Because the first one didn’t do anything.

1.  Get Eclipse

So far, the choices for creating Google bots are rather limited because there are rules that they must be hosted on AppEngine (for now).   So first off, get Eclipse – because it makes the entire process of doing that incredibly easy.  You can download Eclipse here.

2.  Get the AppEngine SDK.

Once you’ve got Eclipse installed and running, go to Help -> Install New Software.  Enter this URL to get at the Google AppEngine SDK.

http://dl.google.com/eclipse/plugin/3.5

3.  Create your project.

Go to File->New, and select Web Application Project.  If you don’t have that option, something’s gone wrong with your SDK download, so check step 2.

Uncheck the Googe Web Toolkit, we don’t need that.  But otherwise fill out the Project Name and Package as you see fit.

4.  Add the libraries from the Wave extensions SDK

Download wave-robots-api.jar, json.jar, and jsonrpc.jar and drop those into your project under war/WEB-INF/lib/.

Once you’ve done that, select File->Refresh, then Project->Properties from the main menu, and select Java Build Path.  Click Libraries, and Add JARs, to select the three that you’ve just added.

5.  Write your servlet class.

This is where the bulk of your bot logic (or lack of it), goes.

Code block

package helloworld;
import com.google.wave.api.*;
public class HelloWorldServlet extends AbstractRobotServlet {
	public void processEvents(RobotMessageBundle bundle) {
		for (Event e: bundle.getEvents()) {
			if (e.getType() == EventType.BLIP_SUBMITTED) {
			Blip blip = e.getBlip().createChild();
			TextView textView = blip.getDocument();
			textView.append("Hello.  Are you the world?");
			break;
			}
		}
	}
}

6. Add a servlet mapping.

Edit the file, war/WEB-INF/web.xml and add a servet-mapping just below the one you have already.

Code block

<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>HelloWorld<servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/_wave/robot/jsonrpc</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

7. Add a capabilities file.

Add a folder under war/_wave. Create a file under that called capabilities.xml. This tells Wave which events your robot is going to respond to. In our case, we’re going to respond whenever a blip is saved (blip_submitted)./ There is a full list of capabilities in the full api docs.

Code block

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<w:robot xmlns:w="http://wave.google.com/extensions/robots/1.0">
<w:capabilities>
<w:capability name="BLIP_SUBMITTED" content="true" />
</w:capabilities>
<w:version>3</w:version>
</w:robot>

8.  Get an AppEngine account.

That kind of finishes off the Wave-bot.  So you’ll need an AppEngine account to continue.  So go ahead and sign up, and create an application.  Incidently, I couldn’t find my created apps since I have a Google Apps / Domain account.  if that’s the case for you as well, you can find your apps list at http://appengine.google.com/a/<domain>.  Not sure why Google don’t detect that, but there we go.

9.  Deploy to AppEngine

Click the friendly little icon from your Eclipse toolbar, and enter your details to deploy you new robot.  Try not to scream “fly my pretties” as you do so.  I dare you.  Make sure you click the App Engine Project Settings button, and provide you Application ID, the same as you created in step 8.

10.  Add your app to a wave

The address of your robot will be applicationid@appspot.com, and you can add it just like any other robot.

You should now be able to interact with your bot.

And if you’d like to see my first bot in action – please drop in and say hello by adding it to your wave: insulteveryone@appspot.com.

Now. World peace.  Where did I leave that file?

If you want to do the same sort of thing, just add embeddy@appspot.com to any Wave, and you can get your hands on some embed code, and your Wave ID.  Cool, eh?

As usual, you can also find a full quality version of this video on Blakepics. The music for this one is from the soundtrack of Die Riesen Kommen entitled "Decollage", the show from Royal De Luxe put on in Berlin to prompt this trip.

Reunited giants resting on their way home

Today was the finale of Die Riesen Kommen, which saw them both waking up from the Brandenburg Gate. Obviously they did what I wished I had and had a sunday lie-in, so didn’t wake up until 90 minutes after the alarm clock was supposed to go off. It did mean I got a spot right down the front for the first part of the show and to join in chants with hundreds of Germans of which I *hope* was something along the lines of “why are we waiting?”, rather than “The French are almost as lazy as the Brits”.

Once they did get moving, playing leapfrog with the rest of the crowds seemed to work very well. The Elephant and the Sultan had crowds of people following them through the London streets. In Berlin, with a lot more space and a lot more shortcuts, it was much easier to run ahead and meet the giants as they passed the next time.

All along the parade, giant symbols crashed in front of the giants, and a cannon, yes, a frickin’ mail cannon propelled letters the little girl had brought with her on her journey high into the sky to scatter onto the crowd below. Right now, that’s a much better service than we get with Royal Mail. We just need a giant cannon mounted on the front of the HMS Belfast, and we can launch all the undelivered mail across South Bank.

Children frantically darted in and out of the crowd running back to their parents with letters grasped tightly in their hands. I suspected I wasn’t going to see what was written on the letters. I had to get mean. Knock a few kids heads together, steal the mail from their pockets, or generally intercept and intimidate them before they got back to their parents.

I waited patiently instead, and now I have a sizeable stack of said mail. Except it’s all in German. I should have seen that coming.

Still, it kept everyone entertained in between following the giants around. Reunited as they were, the giants crossed the bridge towards the new Hauptbahnof station, and boarded a boat where they laid down for a nap together as they were transported out of Berlin with people clapping and cheering all the way along the river.

I caught only a small final glimpse of the giants before they left, as I was crossing the river to the East Berlin Wall Gallery, I saw their boat in the distance. They’d since been covered up, and were well on their journey home as they passed the bridge underneath me.

Well done Royal De Luxe, for an another excellent show, and Berlin for being such a fantastic host. Royal De Luxe and their giants have undoubtedly succeeded in bringing another city together under the banner of imagination. Something which may be especially poignant for Berlin, over the weekend of German unity.

Field of Stelae

At first I thought it was a crazy art exhibit which got horribly out of control. As though the artist kept laying down more pieces, and just kept going because nobody told him to stop. It reminded me of the Anthony Gormley exhibit I saw back when he had the exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, and filled a room with person sized blocks which you could walk between and around.

Just south of the Brandenburg gate is the Field of Stelae, an almost 20,000m² field of 2,711 concrete blocks each with a pathway in between to find your own way through the memorial. Thousands of concrete blocks might seem like something out of a 60s nightmare, but the effect is stunning.

Walking from one side to another is a feat the will very likely find you meeting suited businessmen carrying coffee, tourists (such as myself) hunting for a clear stretch to take photos, young children tumbling and giggling as they twist and turn around aimless unknown corners, teenagers racing down the 1 metre wide passageways oblivious to pushchair dangers lurking behind the block, parents shouting names of lost young children still tumbling and giggling, and the best location in the whole world for a game marco polo.

The whole piece was designed by Peter Eisenman and you might be quick to suggest meaning behind the concrete blocks, the pathways and the shadows cast. The information leaflet I picked up is quick to disperse those ideas, and claims the memorial is unique in that it uses no symbolism. One of the FAQs at the back: “Why are there 2,711 stelae” is answered quite frankly that it is the result of “measurements chosen by the architect for the location”. Well, duh. It goes on to say that it bears no relation to the number of victims, or hold any symbolic significance. It is, just because it is. This is one of the most refreshing displays of both remembrance, and art that I’ve ever seen, and I love it.

Inside the glass dome on top of the Bundestag

The Bundestag sits on the western edge of Berlin, and is now the official home of the German parliament (again).  Back when it was named the Reichstag, a fire in 1933 was one of the events Hitler used as pretext to sieze power.  Seems pretty suspicious to me.  “Guten tag Herr Hitler.  Wie geht’s?”  “Ja, sehr gutt, und du?”  “Oh mein gott, was ist das?  Das Reichstag ist “… what’s German for ‘on fire’?  “…geblazen.” (???)  And while they were all distracted putting it out, Hitler seized power, eh?

Fitting that it’s the same way he left the world then.

Actually, that whole paragraph was just so I could show off how good my German has got in just 3 days here.  Four years of studying it, and I still can’t hold a conversation beyond “Ja, sehr gutt.  Und du?”  Even shopping is useless  I can go into any bakery and ask, “Ich mochte ein butterbrot, bitte”.  Except I don’t want the damn sandwich.  I want the cake.  Ich mochte cake.

So anyway, that’s kind of how Hitler came to power.  It was properly restored from 1990-1999 or so which also saw a new dome erected on top which houses a central funnel of mirrors and two separate spiral walkways towards the top of the dome.  It is without a doubt, really, really cool, and well worth the hours wait in the rain I queued to get in.  Can someone check for me – I can’t be bothered to research for my own blog, but – was he involved in the Mayors building on South Bank, too?  Probably not, but the design reminds me of that anyway.

The Little Giant on Day 2

Cut to this morning, and I’m in the search of giants.  Walking along Unter Den Linden (which roughly translates as “Tourists will buy anything”) is a lot like walking along tourist districts anywhere else in the world.  Huge imposing buildings filled with art and stolen treasures from all over the planet, and statues to fallen heroes scattered around wherever possible.  Alongside tourist (“I Love Berlin”) shops, and Starbucks are the expensive showrooms of Ferrari, and other “small c*ck” car manufacturers I can’t remember.  Some even have exclusive bars inside with bouncers on the door.  Walking boldly in, I was quite obviously turned away.

At either end of Unter Den Linden are the first sites for Die Riesen Kommen.  They’re really just teasers for the events that will follow tomorrow, and through the rest of the weekend much like the wooden spaceship that landed in London.  I finally found Schlossplatz to be the giant building site, opposite the giant cathedral I’d been using to shelter from the rain.  Schlossplatz, it appeared – was mostly a giant building site which would soon be home to the brand new Schlossplatz U-Bahn station.  Walking around it a couple of times I thought that maybe those crazy Royal De Luxe guys had caused this themselves.  Digging a giant cavern in the middle of Berlin seemed like just their sort of thing, but I was questioning whether they would have found city approval.

Then I heard screams of excitement off in the distance where I’d seen a small tent being built earlier – so rushed that way to find … another fenced off hole in the ground.  Taking their cue from the shows in Iceland, Royal De Luxe had engineered a geyser in the middle of Berlin spraying water 50-60 ft into the air every 5-10 minutes.  “Come stand over here for pictures” a helpful German student advised me.  “Hah”, I laughed, knowing it was right where the water had fallen minutes before.  “How about you stand here, I’ll just wait right here”.  As the water erupted high into the sky, I let loose on the camera, continuing to stay my ground as said water came crashing right down on top of me”.  Apparently the German student, found it particularly amusing.  “Never seen it go that way before”, he chuckled.  “Fuck off and die”, I thought.

The D90 rose to the challenge however, and after having a (cold) geyser thrown over it, I’m now sure it can perform well in almost all wet weather conditions.  The same can’t be said for my coat.