joker.iki.fi

I got a new phone and had to take a new SIM card for that, and I didn’t want to migrate my old number to the new card, as the new number is mostly for work. Now I have two phones but I want to carry just one, and have the calls and SMS:es forwarded to the new phone.

Easy? Not really. Diverting calls is easy, but for some reason, there just aren’t any SMS forwarding applications that would satisfy my requirements:

• Free, as in speech and as in beer
• Would only do one thing, that is, forward SMS:s to another cell phone number, as soon as they arrive
• Would be easily customizable
• Would work on S60 3rd edition without the certification pain

Well, now there is a solution that satisfies all these requirements. All this with < 30 lines of Python code.

Check out sms_forwarder.py.

It’s been a hectic beginning of 2009. Today we are celebrating my daughter’s first birthday. Also, I have signed a contract with new employer which looks like it’s going to be an excellent opportunity.

Although everything is well, everyone is healthy and the recession doesn’t seem to hit me at least yet, I have to say I’m bit sad. Sad and in need of vacation.

I’m sad because I’m leaving a really good company and people behind. I’m sad because I haven’t had that much contact with my good friends because of the hectic schedule. I’m also a bit sad that I don’t really have that much time to spend with my family.

All of my time goes into stuff that doesn’t really make me happy. Cleaning the house, repairing the house, constant ‘gotta do’ shopping for shit that I’m not sure we actually need.

I hope that with the new job, upcoming summer and my wife’s school ending I finally get into a situation where I can enjoy the fruits of all this labor. Life just can’t be this fucking hard constantly.

On a positive note, I have finally found a good RPG, in Ultima-style, for my Playstation 3. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion shows real promise. I’ve been somewhat disappointed to the RPG offerings for the PS3, but this is really nice.

I have also kept a small break from bicycling. I’m really waiting for better weathers and some additional motivation to start this year’s training.

That’s pretty much it. I love you all.

I have just released my new open source project. I call this baby Mobilogger.

It started when I participated in Google’s Android Developer Challenge. I didn’t qualify for the second round (out of 1,788 entries), but it was fun and educating experience. First time in years actually writing software for embedded/mobile device was actually fun.

Mobilogger is a mobile blogging application. You install it to your Android-based device (whenever those hit the market), configure your blog into the app and you can start posting.

I tend to only write software on my free time that’s useful to me. With Mobilogger I hope to be finally able to post blog entries here more often when in pointless meeting or when sitting in the bus. This is the design goal of Mobilogger; whether it’s video, pictures or text, posting entries should be as easy and quick as writing SMSes.

Anyway, in case you are looking for a cool mobile application for blogging when the Android devices come out or just want to contribute to the project, go to google code and join the team!

It’s been a while when I got to contribute to the cause, so this feels good. The current version of the app was a lot of work but it has been well worth it. I actually tried to write the same application on Symbian too during last year but got frustrated with the buggy tools and generally very annoying platform.

Now we just need to wait for the actual Android phones to hit the market.

About a month ago, I mentioned that there is a lot of things that I have been up to and this keeps me from updating this blog. It’s still true, but let me give you some more information about the situation.

First, the new baby is a lot of work. Lot of positive too, but the time I’m able to spend with the kid is not really as much as I’d hope to be able to. So whenever I have free time, blogging is not one of the top most important things.

Second, I’m just about to publish my new open source project. For the first time in years I have actually spend a lot of time on one single project to actually get it done. I’m a master of unfinished coding projects, especially when I lose interest after solving the core problems I intend to solve with with the code.

This time around, it’s a bit different. I’ve been actually able to invest significant amount of time to this project and it’s very nearly completed. I just need to clean some of the ugliest bits of the codebase and then it’ll be available. Within a week or two it should be done and out.

The baby is totally cool. It’s so rewarding to see her learn new things every day. Surely, it’s been a big change in life too, but for the most part it’s been towards positive. Less beer, more family time, if you need a summary … =)

Ok, no more from me this time, keep checking the blog for updates. My friends should be able to access some baby photos through facebook too.

Looks like my home theater project is going to get a whole lot easier. This is just what I need. Now only if Sony understands that one of the top sales arguments for to this is to be able to record from TV using PS3 and then watch the recording on any device, not just the PS3.

When looking at Sony’s track record it’s quite likely that this will be ridden with DRM and insanely strict restrictions. Good thing that it’s only a matter of time before DVD Jon cracks it.

All of this vacationing has made me really lazy. I really haven’t been accomplishing anything for many weeks now and this causes me to feel a bit anxious. It’s a funny thing really. I relax the best when I have something to do. Just sitting on my ass doesn’t seem like an option.

Yet still I have problems getting stuff started. I have one Symbian OS coding project which progresses really slowly. Also, I keep getting some light pressure from my wife to finally start the home multimedia center thing going on. Currently the only way to record anything from TV is this old VCR and since Finland is going to be all digital really soon, this is something that would be nice to do. I don’t want to buy a DVB recorder since my own MythTV box seems more appealing.

Then there’s the next Nordic Underground Digital movie production which I feel is not faring all that well currently since the vacation time keeps us from finalising the filming.

Then there’s the travel journal thing that I’ve been promising to do for some time now.

Then there’s a ton of small repairs to the house and all sorts of improvements. I totally need to get stuff done since most of this stuff will get more and more difficult to do when work starts in August. I think I will have a hard time adjusting to the office life after this much vacation.

During this week, a group of people has been gathering funds to publish an ad in the largest newspaper in Finland, that is, Helsingin Sanomat (well, ok, not in the main paper but still). The ad is not obscene or very provocative even. It basically says “These people (who are the ones now running for parliament) voted for the law, and these people voted against.” Read the scoop from the Vaalimasinointi.org, who are the ones behind the ad.

Since I believe that passing the law was a stupid mistake and Finland is going to pay dearly for that, it is very frustrating to see that Finland’s biggest newspaper which, grated, has a very bad track record of being truly independent and party-neutral publisher, turned down the ad.

Well. even though it’s morally wrong, I guess it’s their right to team up with the Finnish equivalent of the MAFIAA. Probably makes a good business sense if you optimize for the past and stagnation. Good thing that I don’t subscribe to expensive partisan probaganda that is the HS.

Normally whenever something’s on in TV that sucks big time it does not bother me, as I just don’t watch it. But Idols, the very very original brain-eating format show, is something different. As I don’t like it I don’t watch it, but still I can’t escape it. Every magazine, person on the street and news website I visit has some reference to it.

Every time I see or hear about these asshats I feel mentally sick. Ok, I don’t know these people personally, but let’s gather the facts:

• This is a TV-Show where people go to perform for free. If you suck at singing people think you plain suck. If you actually can sing, people are not going to recognize you for that. You’ll always be “the idols wannabe” - no chance for real respect in the music scene.
• You may get some idiots to look up to you by performing there, but most of the population of the planet are going to feel sorry for you or downright hate you.
• The TV show is there - not because it’s somehow great or entertaining - but because companies want people to watch advertisement of diapers and toothbrushes and the latest “scientifically proven healthy”, frozen microwave dinners.
• If you are “famous” in Finland, that means nothing. There’s something like 6 million Finns. There’s 6 billion people on the planet. Do the math. People are just not going to give a shit about you in the big picture. Even if toilet papers like 7 päivää are calling you a “star”, that does not make it real.
• You are not going to get any money from this stuff in the long run. The “record deals” are very shitty and only make fat cats in “record companies” another piece of bacon.

Real musicians (and I don’t mean Britney Spears and other products like her) actually write their own music, get people’s respect by touching their inner feelings with their art and actually contribute something to the human race. Idols on the other hand, is mostly just a waste of perfectly good oxygen. Go to school and try to learn some useful skills for your life.

Just watched Prison Break. For those from abroad, one of the commericial broadcasters, MTV3 is airing it here on tuesday night prime time. I have to say, todays episode was just about the most exciting episode of any TV series I have ever seen. Today they got outside the wall for the first time. The way they have created the atmosphere is just amazing.

Ok, there are always those who will say that this is just another American stereotype-ridden cliché series, but I have to admit that I really admire the writers, actors and others who make the show happen. It’s not very easy to make entertainment like this.

I wish we get even close someday.