June 2003

Loading Microsoft Excel data into MySQL

June 24, 2003

This is mainly a cheat sheet for me in recalling the best way to load MS Excel data into MySQL.

  1. Set dates to format YYYY-MM-DD
  2. Put columns in the same order as the database
  3. Save data as tab delimited
  4. Use BBedit (or another program) to convert line breaks to UNIX (^n)
  5. Put file in directory with no spaces in the path
  6. Launch MySQL
  7. Load data with command "load data infile '/PATH/FILE' into table `TABLE_NAME` LINES TERMINATED BY '\n';"

This is not comprehensive nor does it deal with all situations. Just a place holder for the information.

Rockies vs. Padres

June 19, 2003

We spent last evening at the Rockies game. Unlike the Avs Game at the Pepsi Center there was no computer in the suite. It was a wonderful evening and a different perspective on the game.

Suburban Decay

June 15, 2003

Today brought a trip to the Westminster Mall in Westminster, Colo. The mall, once the shopping hub of the Northwest portion of the Denver suburbs and the only thing between Denver and the Crossroads mall in Boulder, is in a state of decay. It is very much like the Crossroads mall in Boulder which has shrunken to a few shops and no major department stores. J.C. Penny, Sears etc., one by one they pull out with pressure from the newer and fancier likes of the Flatirons shopping center in the Broomfield/Superior area. Occupancy in the Westminster mall appears to be declining with many open spaces and no hint of anything to fill the space left empty by the Wards bankruptcy half a decade ago.

Remains found near clothes of missing boy

June 14, 2003

Twenty-five searchers from Larimer County Search and Rescue and Allyn Atadero were in the Poudre Canyon area today to search for remains of 3-year-old Jaryd Atadero who became separated from a group hiking in the area in October of 1999. Earlier this week the Larimer County Sheriff's office announced that hikers had found clothes, which were identified as being the clothes Jaryd wore the day he disappeared, in an area off the Big South Trail where Jaryd was last seen. 9news has a story on the search.

The Denver Post reports that investigators with with NecroSearch International of Denver will join the search as well.

News sources say this afternoon that remains were found in the area of the clothing found last week. The skull fragment and tooth have not yet been positively identified . Allyn Atadero, after viewing the remains said "They found him."

UNIX based controversy

June 14, 2003

The Open Group is suing Apple over their use of the term UNIX Based to describe its OS X operating system. The Open group claims the use infringes on their trademark. Apple is countersuing claiming that the trademark has become a generic term.

The claim seems to be made easily as a read of a recent Sys Admin magazine will show. The logo for Sys Admin shown here and it's tagline were modified this month to include UNIX and Linux but since 1992 it said just UNIX.

Sys Admin apparently violates The Open Group's claim of trademark in several ways:

  • Attribution - The Open Group's legal page says "Blanket or generic attributions are not acceptable." While Sys Admin says "All trademarks are respectfully acknowledged."
  • Sys Admin recognizes (with the TM or (R) marks) trademarks which have not become generic such as Solaris(TM)
  • Sys Admin uses the term UNIX generically in its tagline as well as in its text. For example the June 2003 issue has an article titled Freeware Forensics Tools with the subtitle that starts "Westphal examines three popular UNIX freeware tools." After introducing the tools the article states "All three tools mentioned in this article were utilized in a Linux 7.3 environment."

The use of UNIX to describe Linux will raise many hackles amongst purists but it goes to show how much the term UNIX has become generic to describe an entire class of operating systems. This is only one example of how diluted The Open Group's once trademark has become. So it seems likely that UNIX will join escalator, thermos, linoleum, yo-yo and zipper as one-time trademarks that have become generic.

Sys Admin is but one of the fronts on which The Open Group has failed to maintain it's trademark. FreeBSD has long used the term UNIX on their home page to describe their product (which is also the foundation of Apple's OS X).

These are two of many prominent examples proving that The Open Group has abandoned their once trademark on the term UNIX. Apple Computer's case should have many examples to draw upon.

Clothes of missing boy found

June 10, 2003

Clothes, which have been identified as belonging to Jaryd Atadero, were found last week. Sheriff's department spokesperson Eloise Campanella, interviewed on Fox 31 News, told reporters the find was 500 vertical feet from the Big South Trail. Atadero was last seen in October of 1999 on an outing on that trail with a group of friends. The Larimer County Sheriff said on Tuesday that the garments found are consistent with the theory that Atadero was attacked and killed by a predator.

Businesses as publications

June 8, 2003

Scripting News has a note about the need for new companies to look at themselves as publications. To include in their plans extensive plans for publication. I must agree. Too many companies will have one or two articles that can be found on their websites. One of the most frustrating to me is Aqua Minds which has a wonderful profile of people using their product and implies that more are forthcoming. However, the page has been static for months.

Coming to an end

June 8, 2003

The week of R&R is gradually coming to an end. Tomorrow I'll have to reenter the corporate world in all its glory. I've been doing a lot of thinking and work lately on the nature of a startup. How to build, in an economically feasible manner, a company that serves its employees from day 1. It is easy to come up with many reasons to scrimp and cut in the beginning. Venture capital is one of the culprits as far as I can see here. While I've not gone after venture capital there seems to be an inherent conflict with startups wanting to spend a significant portion of money on people.

What's the point?

June 6, 2003

What is the point of perma-links in blogs if they aren't truly permeant? Many times I've looked at some blogs like Scripting News and seen an interesting point. Nothing major, just a comment like the one the other day about plans for taking the afternoon off and taking a drive. Later the content is removed. I'd like to figure out what the rules are.... When is it proper to de-link text? When are things considered "here to stay".

On this site, once things are posted they stay. They might not run on the front page any longer or they might have to be modified if for example someone claimed infringement (unlikely). But there would still be text letting the reader (or re-reader) know they aren't loosing it.

Challenging the Law

June 5, 2003

An essay written in an examination period for a Shakespeare class. The topic "Challenging the law" was given as the starting point.

Challenging the law seems to be best taken in the sense of challenging "fundamental" law. A trial of a person for a crime is not in this sense a challenge of the law. Rather, a challenge of the law entails one seeking to refute or challenge basic or specific laws.

Bollingbroke makes at least two such challenges, which are related i.e. the second is not possible without the first. Compression of time in the play suggests Bollingbroke had a military force, although this is never tested before his exile. His first challenge (or defiance) of the law comes when he denies Richard' authority and returns from exile. Richard's inability to uphold his "lawful" claims on Bollingbroke's land and his exile make Bollingbroke's challenge successful.

Bollingbroke's second challenge is in some ways more lofty. However, it is not a new challenge. This is, Bollingbroke challenges the law(s) of inheritance of the crown and usurps it from Richard. While the "God given" laws on descent of the crown seem loftier and therefore harder to challenge, Richard himself had successfully these laws so Bollingbroke knew that it could be done.

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