Ukanuk is an MK from PNG, specifically Ukarumpa and Yemli. Click here for more background info. Below is the beginnings of a blog. I also recommend my Activities pages.
Recent UpdatesArchive
Handy Linux CommandsMay 19, 2013
Chrooting into Arch Linux
Apparently the Arch Linux kernel currently randomly won't boot with certain laptops (like my ThinkPad) with certain boot managers (rEFInd and gummiboot at least) with EFI, see this. So as a safety measure, I've decided to make a bootable archlinux flashdrive (with a bootable kernel, I mean), and I fix it by booting the flashdrive and running these commands (help from here and here):
mkdir /mnt/arch
mount /dev/sda5 /mnt/arch
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/arch/boot
arch-chroot /mnt/arch /bin/bash
pacman -U /var/cache/pacman/pkg/linux-#.##.#-#-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz
Simple Random Passwords in Linux
Every time I try to create a random password for a new website, I remember that last time I did it very easily. Then I spend at least half an hour trying figure out how I did it.
apg -s -a 1 -m 30 -M sncl
Delete Thumbs.db files left by Windows
Windows creates Thumbs.db files in every folder that has pictures. They are useful as they store the previews for the files in that folder, but they're totally useless if you use Linux.
find -name Thumbs.db -print0 | xargs -0 rm
Rendering videos in Blender in Linux
avconv -i input_filename.filetype -codec copy output_filename.filetype
avconv -i myMovie.avi -codec copy myMovieConverted.mp4
I think this one needs some more edits, since I think it creates a container with PNG image files, which I don't think is good... avconv -i gand%04d.png -codec png Gandalf-complete.mp4
Configuring Thunderbird
Options -> Advanced -> Config Editor ->
mail.identity.default.suppress_signature_separator -> true
mailnews.wraplength (usually 72) -> 0
Flowed Format: Quoted for reference from Mozillazine
"By default, support for flowed plain-text format is enabled. Incoming messages with the "format=flowed" attribute set are rewrapped to utilize the full width of the message window. Outgoing messages are still wrapped regularly, but the receiving e-mail client is allowed to rewrap the message for display. There are separate preferences to disable flowed message display (mailnews.display.disable_format_flowed_support) and sending flowed e-mails (mailnews.send_plaintext_flowed). You can use mailnews.wraplength to change the line length for messages you compose (defaults to 72 characters), mail.compose.wrap_to_window_width to wrap to the window width when composing a message (defaults to false) and mail.wrap_long_lines to control the wrapping of long lines (defaults to true).
"Some other e-mail clients don't format outgoing e-mails in accordance with the standard. When replying in plain text, quotes may appear as a single line per paragraph (see this forum thread). Use Edit -> Rewrap to restore wrapping for those quotes.
"Flowed text can cause problems with OpenPGP signatures. The Enigmail add-on automatically replaces ">" in quoted messages with "|" and leading spaces with "~" to workaround this unless you set mailnews.send_plaintext_flowed false. There are also potential problems sending and saving patches [3] [4] if you use Enigmail. If you do not use "gpg --clearsign --not-dash-escaped ..." to disable dash-escaping all lines beginning with a dash are prefixed by a dash and a space. This is the reason you might notice an extra space and dash on any signature. [5].
"Flowed text doesn't apparently cause problems with S/MIME (the built-in support for digital signatures and encrypted messages in Thunderbird)."
Completion of my Chainmail Shirt!Apr. 29, 2013
I have been making chainmail since 8th grade... Containing (as long as I didn't miscount or miscalculate) 27,305 rings and 653 meters (715 yards) of galvanized steel and brass wire, it took me over 150 hours... I timed my rate of chainmail-creation, from wrapping the wire into a coil to weaving the rings together... Read more → View Comments
SurveyMar. 26, 2013
I have been holding coffee shops on Tuesday nights for my fellow seniors. However, not everyone can come on Tuesdays, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to take a survey. It's very easy to create a form with Google Docs. You can see other people's responses after submitting your own or by clicking here.
TRISS and Site UpdatesMar. 10, 2013
It's been a long time since my last update. The primary reason is that I've been quite busy, and updating my website is not one of my top priorities. Now however, I have several updates to share! Make sure you totally refresh your browser (F5 or Ctrl-R) to get all the changes.
Firstly, I have added a page about a robot I created called TRISS, which you can find here. On that page you can see the next major change: I have moved all my activities to unique pages and added comments powered by Disqus. I'd like to add comments for each of my blog posts, too, but that will take some more changes in site design because Disqus allows only one comment box per page. For now if you'd like to say something about a post of mine, you can contact me directly.
Lastly, I would like to comment on the fact that according to Google Analytics, I've had 24 visits from Cambridge residents. As I've applied to MIT, I'm hoping it's their admissions officers! Admissions decisions are announced 3/14 at 6:28pm, which is Friday morning for me. And The Phantom of the Opera has some pretty cool music (I'm currently listening to them)!
Jan. 19, 2013
I've added some content here on my Activities page, specifically some woodworking.
If you look closely at the cutting board, you'll notice that the horizontal strip of whitish wood actually has a whiter strip on the top half. This is because when I was carrying my cutting board home right after I finished it, I accidentally dropped it. And it broke. So I had to bring it back to school, sand out the broken edge, and glue in a strip of wood to bring the board back to a square. Unfortunately there was no more wood of the same type as the original, so the extra strip is a slightly lighter wood. In any case, though I would have preferred a perfectly matching strip, it isn't too noticeable, and overall I am satisfied.
I've also updated Bluefish to version 2.2.3 and installed enchant. Hopefully this means I'll have far fewer spelling errors. I've already found and corrected at least 10!