iaian7 - blog

Covid-19 Resources

2020-03-23T04:26:52+00:00

This page is predominantly so I can track resources I come across, for my own reference as much as anyone else’s, as the US faces a pandemic the likes of which we haven’t seen since 1918 (Lord willing, not significantly worse).

On Purchasing a Camera in 2018

2018-11-10T21:44:22+00:00

A cousin of mine, a newspaper editor and long term Canon user, was in the market for a new camera and asked me about mirrorless options in the sub-$1000 range. I ended up writing what may constitute a small book on the subject; the following is my reply. This can be a rather lengthy discussion, so I’ll break it up into sections!

General comparison of tech and camera manufacturers

Features you mentioned and factors to consider

Resources for further research

Summary and final thoughts

iTunes firewall issue and solution

2017-01-13T04:28:58+00:00

Every time you open iTunes…

Do you want iTunes to accept incoming network connections?

Helpful hint: if iTunes demands network access every time it opens, after you’ve told it repeatedly and exasperatedly “Yes! Why won’t you listen!” it might be left over corruption from that time when you used CandyBar to customise icons 5 years ago. Yes, iTunes and even the OS have been updated eleventy-thousand times since then. Yes, you uninstalled CandyBar years ago when the OS updates destroyed support anyway. And yeah, the icon isn’t even customised right now. Yet the icon backup files have somehow been maintained within the iTunes app, which means it fails Apple’s signing process, which means it fails the firewall security requirements, which means you have to re-allow access every time you open it.

And by “you” I mean “me.”

The double-check solution

But maybe the foundational problem is completely different for you. I don’t know your life. Run the following command in Terminal and it’ll tell you exactly what’s wrong:

codesign -vvv /Applications/iTunes.app

This gives you “very very verbose” output on the app signature (I actually have no idea if that’s what it actually means, but -v doesn’t give much of anything, and -vv only tells you if it passed or not). After a good number of lines, it’ll probably say something like the following:

/Applications/iTunes.app: a sealed resource is missing or invalid
file added: /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/CandyBar.plist
file added: /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/iTunes.icns.backup.icns
file added: /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/iTunes.icns.candybarbackup

I opened the app bundle, found the offending files, deleted them (which required my admin password, since I was modifying sacred Apple property), and everything was suddenly fine. Running the codesign command again showed that the app bundle passed with flying colours, and OSX no longer asks for network permission confirmation every time I open iTunes.

Or take the easy road

You could, of course, simply delete the iTunes app bundle in your /Applications/ folder and re-download it from Apple. Preferences, music, movies, and other media are all stored elsewhere, so outside of you-should-really-have-a-backup-anyway, there’s not a shred of danger in doing so.

Already broken again?

If the problem comes back, there’s probably something on your computer that’s still actively modifying the iTunes app bundle. Thankfully it appears my last.fm client of choice doesn’t interface directly into iTunes, so I should be ok, but you’ll have to do your own research here (taking the double-check route above will help).

If the problem is especially onerous, it’s probably best to start scanning for malware. Yes, I know, you have a Mac, and Macs don’t get viruses…well…we all install something stupid at some point, or accidentally download “flash installer” and end up with “russianhackersites.safariextz” It’s ok. It happens to everyone. But yeah, you’ll want to get that fixed.

Download MalwareBytes for Mac and let it do its thing.

My Penny Arcade confessional

2013-09-05T22:50:29+00:00

I’ve read Penny Arcade pretty much every week for years. Sure, there have been some super-inappropriate comics, but I’ve appreciated the continual development of the artwork, the geeky humour, the occasional ode to love of literature. Their “reality TV show” Strip Search was, while at times certainly vulgar (not in the way you’d think, given the title!), a pretty fantastic web series about artists and writers.

The experience of a female gamer at Penny Arcade Expo, however, is far too disturbing and too serious to ignore. This sort of behaviour and this sort of mindset and stance towards abuse of any kind is nothing short of horrific.

And honestly, I should probably be horrified at my silent response to the initial comic as well. “Eh, it’s really not appropriate, but they’ve never been ones for super-appropriate topics…I’ll just move on. Tomorrow’s comic will be funny.” It was equivocating on an unequivocal subject, and I continued to support Penny Arcade, even donating to their Kickstarter campaign. I’m sorry.

In response to the renewed uproar this past week, one of the founders of Penny Arcade “clarified” their position (and yes, I appreciate that they have strict “booth babe” policies at events, that kind of respect at trade shows is hard to find).

But…they’re just sad people are upset. They still like the comic.

I don’t think I can or should be ok with that. Not any more.

It’s going to be a little weird not reading Penny Arcade tomorrow morning, and especially difficult given my obsessive nature (I watched all of Heroes season 2, for goodness sake, I just can’t leave something unfinished!). But…I’ll try to kick the habit, if for nothing more than the silent dissent of my own conscience.

Marty the Monkey

2013-07-24T23:11:06+00:00

It’s been a long time coming, but one of the projects I worked on at Vectorform between 2012 and 2013 is finally public! Working in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, Vectorform helped create a series of mini games to assist clinicians with autism assessment. Based on some terrific illustrations by James Anderson, I was responsible for bringing a 2D character to 3D life, in no less than 130 different animation sequences to be used throughout the experience. Called Marty the Monkey, the character acts as a guide, encouraging kids to progress.

To read more about the visual development and shader process, check out my Vectorform blog post Behind the Scenes: Creating Marty the Monkey. I’ve also included a download at the end of the article with edge projection nodes for the just-released Lightwave 11.6 update!

You can also read more about the application itself in Patrick Samona’s article.

When it's the end

2013-07-03T14:16:08+00:00

Religion, salvation, and good works have come up in recent conversation, or more specifically, a deeply regretful movie I saw last night. Really, though, it’s one of the most important questions a soul can ever ask.

Is there eternity? Can I go to heaven?

If there is a God, holy and pure, and I’m only human, frail and filthy, how could heaven be possible? How could I ever be in the presence of that? Righteousness so supreme that everything else burns away like tattered paper in a nuclear blast? Even on our very best of days, eternal sinlessness is shockingly, pathetically, absolutely unattainable for such a mortal as myself…

But if God is both holy and loving, how does that reconcile? Knowing the chasm between sinful us and holy Him, he built a bridge. Jesus. And no, we can’t earn this kind of love, it can only be a gift. Nothing so profane as flesh could ever work enough to be worthy of such selfless sacrifice. I’ve tried, and after years of fruitless toil, I better understand now that it’s simply impossible. This doesn’t mean I don’t keep falling for the same old lies, trying on my own, time after time, but it really is miserable foolishness.

When you read the Bible, I think it becomes clear…

Jesus isn’t for the self-righteous, the posers and fakes. Jesus isn’t for the pseudo-perfect, the good-enough, or the just-ok. Jesus isn’t for the people who think they can make it on their own; acting faultless and behaving right, dying from the inside while somehow believing they’re still healthy on the outside.

No.

Jesus is for the shipwrecks, the train wrecks, the bloody messes and the tragedies. Jesus is for the lonely, the lost, the terrified and the broken hearted. Jesus is for the damned, the discouraged, the degraded, the destitute and the utterly, completely desperate.

I’m not a Christian because I’m good. I don’t seek after Christ because I somehow think I’m perfect.

I long for salvation because I know without a single shred of doubt that I am fully rotten through-and-through, sinful and hopeless and dead.

Yet somehow, in His absolute perfectness…

…God still loves me…

…and died in my place.

I certainly don’t understand it, I rather doubt many people do, but it’s somehow, unbelievable, incredibly true, despite my frequent doubts and fears.

Christ is for the shipwrecks, the desperate, the lost. I’ve been there, and really, still am every day.

But I’m placing my trust in Jesus.

And that’s why I’m going to heaven when I die. That bridge? It can’t be walked by human feet, you have to be carried.

And that’s incredible.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

Apple's iOS7 Redesign

2013-06-15T20:44:13+00:00

Based on social media feeds, iOS7 seems to be hated by designers, but loved by those who have actually used it. Having not installed it yet myself, and being a rather picky designer to boot, my reaction certainly veers more towards the negative! Though I’m excited to try it out once the beta builds solidify a little more.

To read my full write up on the subject and what I think is needed for natural, intuitive interface designs, head on over to the Vectorform Blog.