list of all Debian machines

A complete list of all Debian machines is available at http://db.debian.org/machines.cgi .

convert mp3 to wav

place the following script in ~/bin and call it mp3towav.

guest@kusumanchi:~/bin$ cat mp3towav
#! /bin/sh

# bash script to convert .mp3 files to .wav files
# works even if the files have spaces in their names.
#
# Author : Kamaraju Kusumanchi
# Email  : kamaraju at gmail dot com
#
# Usage : cd into the directory containing .mp3 files and then execute
# this.
#
# Ref :- Linux Multimedia Hacks, Tips & Tools for Taming Images, Audio and
# Video by Kyle Rankin, pg-100
#

for i in *.mp3; do
lame --decode "$i" "`basename "$i" .mp3`".wav
done

Make the script executable

guest@kusumanchi:~/bin$ chmod +x mp3towav
guest@kusumanchi:~/bin$ ls -al mp3towav
-rwxr-xr-x 1 guest guest 450 2007-03-06 20:19 mp3towav

Cd into the directory containing .mp3 files

guest@kusumanchi:~/bin$ cd /entertainment/telugu_songs/godavari/
guest@kusumanchi:/entertainment/telugu_songs/godavari$ ls -1 *mp3
01 - Ramachakkani Sitaki.mp3
02 - Uppongele Godavari.mp3
03 - Manasavacha.mp3
04 - Manasaa Gelupu.mp3
05 - Tippulu Tappulu.mp3
06 - Andamgaalena.mp3

Run the script

guest@kusumanchi:/entertainment/telugu_songs/godavari$ ~/bin/mp3towav

There will be messages such as

ID3v2 found. Be aware that the ID3 tag is currently lost when transcoding.
input:  01 - Ramachakkani Sitaki.mp3
       (44.1 kHz, 2 channels, MPEG-1 Layer III)
output: 01 - Ramachakkani Sitaki.wav  (16 bit, Microsoft WAVE)
skipping initial 1105 samples (encoder+decoder delay)
Frame#  8878/8859   128 kbps  L  R

The corresponding .wav files will be created once the script completes. The .mp3 files are unmodified.

guest@kusumanchi:/entertainment/telugu_songs/godavari$ ls -1 *wav
01 - Ramachakkani Sitaki.wav
02 - Uppongele Godavari.wav
03 - Manasavacha.wav
04 - Manasaa Gelupu.wav
05 - Tippulu Tappulu.wav
06 - Andamgaalena.wav

Programs like k3b can now be used to burn these wave files onto a CD/DVD.

ఎన్ని సార్లు విన్నా ఇంకా ఇంకా వినాలనిపించే ...

పల్లవి:
నీల గగనా ఘనవిచలనా ధరణిజా శ్రీ రమణ
మధుర వదనా నళిన నయనా మనవి వినరా రామా!

రామ చక్కని సీతకి అరచేత గోరింట
ఇంత చక్కని చుక్కకి ఇంకెవరు మొగుడంట
రామ చక్కని సీతకి

చరణం 1
ఉడత వీపున వేలు విడిచిన పుడమి అల్లుడు రాముడే
ఎడమ చేతను శివుని విల్లును ఎత్తినా రాముడే
ఎత్తగలడా సీత జడను తాళి కట్టే వేళలొ
రామ చక్కని సీతకి

చరణం 2
ఎర్ర జాబిలి చేయి గిల్లి రాముడేడని అడుగుతుంటె
చూడలేదని పెదవి చెప్పె చెప్పలేమని కనులు చెప్పే
నల్లపూసైనాడు దేవుడు నల్లనీ రఘురాముడు
రామ చక్కని సీతకి


చరణం 3
చుక్కనడిగా దిక్కునడిగా చెమ్మగిల్లిన చూపునడిగా
నీరు పొంగిన కనులలోన నీటి తెరలే అడ్డునిలిచె
చూసుకోమని మనసు తెలిపె మనసు మాటలు కాదుగా

రామ చక్కని సీతకి అరచేత గోరింట
ఇంత చక్కని చుక్కకి ఇంక ఎవరు మొగుడంట
రామ చక్కని సీతకి

ఇందువదనా కుందరదనా మందగమనా భామా
ఎందువలన ఇందువదనా ఇంతమదనా ప్రేమా ??

ఈ పాట "గోదావరి" అను సినిమా లోనిది. వేటూరి గారు రచించారు. గాయత్రి గారు పాడారు. చాలా మంచి పాట కదూ? మీకు కూడా ఇది ఇష్టమేనా?

gnuplot realted links

Some useful links related to gnuplot

• Increase the resolution in splot commands http://learn.tsinghua.edu.cn:8080/2001315450/gnuplot-doc/isosamples.html
  

various ways of reading man pages

There are many ways to read man pages in Debian.

1. man pagename
2. In konqueror, man:pagename
3. In vim, :Man pagename
4. use vman, wman as described in Using vim as a man page reader
5. In emacs, M-x man
6. Install man2html and then go to http://localhost/cgi-bin/man/man2html in any browser
7. xman -notopbox -bothshown &
   

My experience with knujon

On March 4, 2007 I came across user damaging spammer provider thread on spamcop forums. I decided to give knujon a try after going through their website.

I registered my gmail address at http://www.knujon.com/register.html after reading their FAQ.

After the registration, I was told to send the junk emails to knujon@coldrain.net

Submitting Junk emails to knujon is explained in http://www.knujon.com/howtosend.html and instructions specific to Gmail are at http://www.knujon.com/howtosend.html#Gmail .

Install python and libgmail which are needed to run the gknujon script at http://www.submanifold.be/triade/misc/gknujon/gknujon.html

# aptitude install python python-libgmail

Get the python script

$ mkdir knujon
$ cd knujon/
$ wget http://www.submanifold.be/triade/misc/gknujon/bin/gknujon.zip
$ unzip gknujon.zip

Go through all the files generated.

$ python gknujon.py -h
provides some help.

Sample command that I use looks like
$ python gknujon.py -l username@gmail.com -p password -r knujon@coldrain.net

See gknujon.bat for sample commands and other options.

The script is really easy to use. The interaction looks like

$ python gknujon.py -l username@gmail.com -p password -r knujon@coldrain.net
Login successful
- 89 unread messages found in spam folder
- downloading spam message (89/89)
- Zipping spam message (89/89)
- Sent report (2/2)
- There are 2 spam reports in your sent mail
Trash the spam reports? (y/n)
or Press Enter to quit: n
- There are 0 SEC-delivery notifications in your inbox
- There are 89 messages in your spam folder
Empty spam folder? (y/n)
or Press Enter to quit: y
trashing (89/89) : Get it !...
Press Enter to quit...

On Mar 10, 2007 I received a personal email address from knujon to which I can forward all my spam emails. The python script is still useful and the only change is in the "reporting address" field passed as an argument to -r.

Received my first report from knujon on Mar 15, 2007, second on Mar 21, 2007, third on Mar 30, 2007 etc.,

Currently my reporting results are

Sites reported by you: 110
Pending Suspensions: 46
Completed Suspensions: 6
Report Date: 5/13/2005

So to conclude, Knujon is definitely doing a great job in eliminating the spammy websites. I will be updating the above statistics as and when I get new reports from Knujon.

Amazing Nike ad

This is an amazing ad from Nike ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpvuz8gg79Q ) involving cricket. With 2007 Cricket world cup matches starting from March 13 IST, it only tells how much everyone is looking forward to it...

useless knowledge

Some interesting links which I came across

What's the difference between an embassy and a consulate?


Todo:- Sort these links later.

ogg player for Windows

VLC is a nice media player that can play ogg files on Windows. It is a open source software released under GPL.

Why I needed this?
I use wiktionary to search for meanings of the English words. The pronounciation of the words is stored in .ogg format. VLC can successfully play these .ogg files.

Using vim as a man page reader

vim, gvim can be used to read man pages. To accomplish this add the following lines to ~/.bashrc file.

# Use vim as a manpage reader
function vman {
  /usr/bin/man $* | /usr/bin/col -bp | /usr/bin/iconv -c | \
  /usr/bin/view -c "set ft=man nomod nolist so=999 ts=8 wrap\
  titlestring=man\ $1" -
}
# Use gvim as a manpage reader
function wman {
  /usr/bin/man $* | /usr/bin/col -bp | /usr/bin/iconv -c | \
  /usr/bin/gview -c "set ft=man nomod nolist so=999 ts=8 wrap\
  titlestring=man\ $1" -
}

After this man pages can be read by using vman or wman. Sample commands look like

guest@kusumanchi:~$ vman rsync
guest@kusumanchi:~$ wman rsync

Tested this on Debian Etch, running vim 7.0.122, gvim 7.0.122, man 2.4.3, iconv 2.3.6.

Advantages of using vim as a man page reader

1. 'marks' can be used to navigate the man pages which can sometimes be quite large. Other pagers such as 'less', 'more' do not have this feature.
   
   
2. vim's search commands, navigation commands etc., can be used. No need to learn another software or another set of shortcuts.
   
   
3. ":syn on" gives beautiful colors while reading the man page
   
   
4. Let's say while reading the man page of ssh, you encounter ssh_config(5). Now to read the man page of ssh_config(5), simply place the cursor on that word and do ctrl-]. This will place you at the man page of ssh_config(5).
   

Sources:

1. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/vim/message/76376
2. http://vim.sourceforge.net/tips/tip.php?tip_id=167
   

parts of a futon frame

The following is a Acme Black Metal Futon Frame containing a full size Futon mattress.

The various parts in this picture are

(A) Left Side Panel
(B) Right Side Panel
(C) Cross Braces (2)
(D) Left Hinge
(E) Right Hinge
(F) Upper Mattress Frame
(G) Lower Mattress Frame
(H) Short Bolts (8)
(I) Long Bolts (8)
(J) Medium Bolts (4)
(K) Protective Pads (4)
(L) Metal Washers (8)
(M1) Lock Washers 1/4'' (8)
(M2) Lock Washers 5/16'' (4)
(N) Large Hex Nuts (4)
(O) End Caps (4)
(P) Small Hex Nuts (8)
(Q) Allen Wrench C-Hooks (2)

(S) Standard Full Size mattress

Parts needed for assembling
(T) Allen Wrench
(U) Hex Wrench


Now, in what way is that useful? I have no idea! Just thought it is interesting!

Books on subversion

The following is a list of books on subversion.

1. version control with subversion by Ben Collins-Sussman, Brian W. Fitzpatrick & C. Michael Pilato. The online edition is available for free at the above website. Paperback edition is also available.
   
   
2. Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion, 2nd Edition, by Mike Mason. Amazon has a paperback edition of this book.
   
   
3. Practical Subversion, Second Edition by Daniel Berlin and Garrett Rooney. Amazon has a paperback edition of this book.
   
   
4. Subversion Version Control: Using the Subversion Version Control System in Development Projects (Bruce Peren's Open Source Series), by William Nagel. Amazon carries a paperback edition of this book.
   

Please let me know if your favorite book on subversion is not listed here. I can add it.

Update1:- A more comprehensive list is available at http://subversion.tigris.org/links.html#books.

Last activity on this article : March 12, 2007

last drafts of Fortran 95/2003 standards

The last draft of Fortran 95 standard can be downloaded from
http://j3-fortran.org/doc/year/97/97-007r2/pdf/97-007r2.pdf

The last draft of Fortran 2003 standard can be downloaded from
http://www.j3-fortran.org/doc/year/04/04-007.pdf

Relavent links:

• Richard Maine's comments in http://groups.google.com.au/group/comp.lang.fortran/browse_frm/thread/bdbed3abf08af66 explain how close the latest draft and official standard are for Fortran 95.
  
  
• http://groups.google.com.au/group/comp.lang.fortran/browse_frm/thread/40886f321c616621 is the thread from which the above info is gleaned.

input telugu characters in firefox

Reading telugu characters in firefox is good, but if you can write in telugu it would be much more cool! This, for example, would come in handy when searching in google for documents containing certain telugu words, when writing telugu scraps in orkut etc.,

• Install the "Indic input Extension" from https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/3972/
  
  
• Notice the small box on the bottom of firefox that says "Default Input"
  
  
• Go to http://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Configuring_on_Linux and read about various ways of inputting telugu characters
  
  
• If you can touch type fast in English, I suggest you choose "తెలుగు - RTS" option to write telugu characters
  
  
• use "ctrl+space" to alternate writing in English and Telugu.

The following screenshot shows how to select "తెలుగు - RTS" and search for documents containing "తెలుగు" in them.

Tested on Debian Etch (testing), firefox 1.5.dfsg+1.5.0.7-2, Indic Input Extension 1.0

switched to the new blogger version

Today I upgraded my blogger to the newer version and the migration went pretty smoothly! The advantages include

• I can use just my google account to log in! Cool! One less password to remember!
• There is no “Publishing…” spinner anymore! Now when a new post is made, there is no need to republish; The blog gets updates automagically! Sweet!

Todo :- Previously I customized my template quite a bit. I have to upgrade this to the newer version and then customize it again!