blog entry

finally (!) the gps coordinates conversion script is working. I only need it for my earlier gps files as I used to save them as .txt files rather than .gpx files (& .txt) - not sure why. I mustn't have realised there was a .gpx format when I first bought the gps (Garmin e-trex) or that I might need it one day. anyway.. I cheated a little by preparing the files first and removing the degrees & minutes control characters so the script doesn't have to process them. as I didn't know the correct values - maybe I'll sort this out for a later version, but by then I'll have probably converted all the data to .gpx and won't need to use the script anymore.

currently I'm just building < trk > tags, not the waypoints - I don't use the waypoints often, just the tracks - at least in the gps drawings.

this is what the gpx file needs to look like :

this is what the original txt file looks like :

Jay Deadman has been letting us know about the new html 5 video & audio tags.

he sent a few examples / links to check out (you need firefox 3.1 or another html 5 compatible browser to see these properly :

javascript subtitles that display below the video in the web page as the video is playing

space shuttle launch - uses the data from the video to plot points on a graph alongside the video playing

creating your own video player - I like the draggable player to resize the video example

so I'm testing the new html 5 tag - using firefox3.1 - it might not display in earlier versions (eg 3.0.6)

Tara Pattenden is working on a mapping project (see below) and has asked for some maps - especially hand drawn ones, so I found a couple of my (tourist/hotel) travel maps from different cities. maybe not exactly what she's after, but here are the scans I sent her (& msg)

Tara's mapping project message -
http://www.schmelfhelp.co.uk (contact page on her site if anyone else wants to contribute)

I am working on a project based on hand drawn maps - the kind that someone draws you for directions 
or perhaps a travel guide of sorts..
Once realised the project will form an web based atlas - a kind of google maps made from hand drawn 
maps - totally inaccurate and scribbled.
For the project I need hundreds of hand drawn maps.. hundreds!!! well whatever I can get.

So firstly if you have any maps lying around - i would love it if you can either scan and email or post 
them to me.

20090314_closeup_knitting, originally uploaded by AliaK

netbeans tutorial on netbeans.org website :

hello world app in the netbeans ide

web applications tutorial

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J2EE tutorials

XML
JAXP = java xml api (processing)
- dom - reads xml & creates a tree of tags
- sax - simple api for xml - read a stream of tags

JAXB = java api for xml binding

JAXR = java api for xml registry
- registry is used to deploy & locate web services
- jaxr is the abstraction that makes the interface to the web services look the same

JAXM = java api for xml messaging
- send and receive xml documents as messages
- includes SOAP (message format)

transactions
- to record the state of different steps in the application process

I'm doing the Gnosis Now! online class at Maybe Logic Academy. once again Erik Davis has designed an interesting class and collection of readings and discussion topics for us - ranging from the Nag Hammadi scrolls - Gospel of Thomas & Gospel of Philip and academic analysis of these works, to modern authors such as Franz Kafka, William Burroughs and Philip K Dick.

what I find when I start reading about these things, is that the co-incidences become more obvious and fall into place easier. today I was reading a new zines ning site and came across the online version of Ben Platts-Mills' Two Heads zine. in his Sunday 28th December 2008 entry, he talks about Premembering & remembering the future, and light - the story of light..

which reminds me - evolver academy has some new courses coming up, including the "Transhumanism, Singularities, and Other Far Out Futures" with R.U.Sirius. I'm going to take this class - tempted to do the others there too. these classes are by the Reality Sandwich site writers - they seem to be connected to MLA and Growing Edge too.

the guys at Sticky sent an invitation to join the We Make Zines NING group today. We Make Zines is a online community for zine makers and zine readers. the discussions are all about the zines and issues involved with making them & distributing them. this year I want to try this - maybe take some thoughts / notes from my little notebooks and make a zine. or some thoughts from this blog - though even the blog is mostly project listings, not my own thoughts. maybe time for a shift.. am I too old to make a zine?? hopefully not.. I want to (if I ever get round to it) put some of the info & interviews from brisbane dance parties archive site into a zine (hopefully a collection of them) too - then possibly a book later on. I like reading the zines from the Sticky subscription - they seem to be from a range of people - different ages & backgrounds. I like the letter ones - reminds me of the letter writing I used to do whilst growing up. these days I manage a few postcards to friends whilst overseas - it's nice getting messages in the mail, and I think the kids love them. I wondered about a video zine too - maybe stored on USB memory sticks or dvds.

Philip K Dick said in his paper "How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" that "two certain matters absolutely fascinate me, and that I write about them all the time. The two basic topics that fascinate me are "What is reality?" and "What constitutes the authentic human being?" Over the twenty-seven years in which I have published novels and stories I have investigated those two interrelated topics over and over again. I consider them important topics. What are we? What is it that surrounds us, that we call the not-me, or the empirical or phenomenal world?"

great questions and ones which I'm sure many people have wondered.

I've read a few of those money management, investments, shares & real estate books - there's quite a few on the torrent sites / scribd.com & I've bought a few (which I think is one way the author's make more money!) and they're always quick to read on flights. most of the time I think they have common sense tips, but I think a lot of people forget these things or get caught up in debt quite easily these days. I wish we'd had more basic money management and money familiarization education whilst at school as it wasn't something I learnt apart from self-study so perhaps my skills in this area have been lacking for a while. it might have been better to start earlier!

Douglas Rushkoff, "Whose Story is This, Anyway? When Readers Become Writers" at O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference

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The Trap - 1

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Wade Davis: Cultures at the far edge of the world

digital strategist and Stealth Magazine founder Mark Pollard wrote a blog post called How religion games you: Church-suasion observations. very timely as the Gnosis Now! course starts this week. so I've been reading some Gnostic books and Aboriginal Stories - creation myths and the animal talisman stories - and "Critical Path" by R. Buckminster Fuller.

my replies to the thread (I should edit these to be more readable one day, but oh well..)

reply #1

interesting Mark. I also read a lot about these topics. mostly to think about what it is that holds so many people's attentions - the different religions. I'm not religious, perhaps spiritual, but I respect other people's views. I think certainly the world would be a more peaceful place had religions not come to pass.

David Byrne performed in Auckland at ASB Theatre - Aotea Centre last night, 14th Feb 2009, as part of his "Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno" world tour. I loved the show. The musicians, backup singers and David Byrne all wore white. The lighting was a series of subtle background colours changing for effect in different songs. Byrne chatted with the audience who shouted comments to him & showed their appreciation with loud applause. There were three dancers who acted out the songs - at times Byrne was the fourth dancer. The show was very theatrical as the story of the music, lyrics and movements of the dancers weaved together. The audience was generally an older crowd - mid 30s - 70s from my estimation. The show was sold out. They played a range of songs, from Talking Heads, his earlier collaboration with Brian Eno, "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", and the latest album "Everything that happens will happen today". Another favourite part of the show for me was watching the audience enjoy it so much! I watched one man in his 60s dancing in his seat, shoulders moving, fingers pointing in all directions to the percussive beats. Others were dancing in the aisles and along the edges of the rows of seats.

continuing on from magic squares - video project? blog post - my summary of urls & excerpts to follow from the YASMIN Cybernetics Serendipity Redux discussion in 2008

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Nicolas Schoffer - one of the first artist to talk in public about Cybernetics and art. Nicolas Schoffer wikipedia page (english) -- via jnm - jean noel montagne

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from the work of Vladimir Bonacic, shown in Zagreb in 1968 "Vladimir Bonacic - the early works, Zagreb 1968-197" by darko fritz :