In cafe with Lili

Rumi searching...

I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I
found Him not.
I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.
I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar
but God I found not.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found
there only 'anqa's habitation.
Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young;
God was not there even.
Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him
not within his range.
I fared then to the scene of the Prophet's experience of a great
divine manifestation only a "two bow-lengths' distance from him" but
God was not there even in that exalted court.
Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was
nowhere else.

My little brother

This picture was taken AFTER he moved all these rocks. I love Devil's Lake.

#0004 Pomegranate, Cherry, Apple, Honey

#0005 gewürztraminer

Payday slip by Lili

"I love my dad because he takes me to ski" -- Liliann

Values and Quality in our lives

Values and Quality in our lives
"The daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart. The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of a religious worshipper or a lover."
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Mainenance
This book took me 10 years to understand and to live by. What is quality? Was is good and what is bad? These are the koans (questions) we may ask ourselves until we break down mentally, in the end we realize that there is no duality (good, bad) in love and there is none in God, so the Zen or Sufi masters will teach us.
They will teach you "Don't wait until you die to meet with your God, live by your heart, not mind. Mind is deceiving and dualistic, open your heart to see what's is good about.", "... there are hundreds of ways to kiss the ground" Jalal-ad-Din al-Rumi wrote.
I kiss the ground every day in deepest humility and love.
No confusion, just love.

Hibernate: limit result number of using Criteria

To limit the number of records/results returned by the search criteria(notice we are not using DetachedCriteria): 

Criteria criteria = getSession().createCriteria(MyClass.class);

criteria.setMaxResults(100);

List< MyClass > list = criteria.list();

if (list != null && list.size() > 0)

{

    log.warn("Found " + list.size() + " Impressions");

}

return list;

Sufi

Kinga, Lola and Jacek

President Obama: hope openness, new and better international relations

This picture was taken for President Obama who stands for openness, new better international relations, hope, etc. 
You cannot help but see in this picture the irony... the "Big Brother" talking on the big screen in the gray, industrial settings. The sculpture of two "good citizens" towers the crowds as if telling others what they should do... and everyone does just so. Except a girls in the red scarf and green hair, that bring some hope to the scene and the jacket "1985" of the man in the rebellious stance. You might think maybe wearing the jacket "1984" would get him arrested and killed in some dark prison, maybe "1985" is just enough for us to understand the message.

The photo taken by Anna M. (facebook.com)

Also see:

George Orwell, book "1984"

also watch this video ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

Intensity of the game

Chicago Lincoln Park Conservatory

I went to take pictures to the Conservatory with my daughter Lili and two of my old coworkers and photography enthusiasts, Anna and Bea.

As unbelievable as it may sound, I took this picture inside the Conservatory greenhouse, it was about 10F outside today.

You can see my other pictures here...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84119&id=764324881
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uki/

Change mysql user password

mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR root@localhost=PASSWORD('rubberchicken');

UNIX - Creating Symbolic Link

sudo ln -s /Library/WebServer/Documents/csd_images /var/www/csd_images

SQL: update statement

update table_namer set column_id = 5 where column_id = 3;

CSS: inheritance with GWT

We are using CSS to represent system metrics in the form of colored columns in a graph Define CSS styles as below:

.graph_column { vertical-align: top; width: 6px; border-left: 1px; border-top: 1px; border-right: 1px gray solid; border-bottom: 1px gray solid; cursor: pointer; } .bg_red { background-color: red; } .bg_red { background-color: red; } ...

Here is how you use it in GWT code:

column.setStyleName("graph_column bg_red"); ... column.setStyleName("graph_column bg_green");

CLICK HERE for useful html color palette

My babies are going to sleep in the cozy cellar

My babies are going to sleep in the cozy cellar

Playing Cranium till 3AM

Despite the heroic efforts of Mario and Eric, we lost. I was not much of use with my total ignorance of song melodies or pop-stars' lives. 

Playing Cranium till 3AM

In the 5 games boys took a lead with 2 to 1 lead, but then after the midnight girls kicked boys' ass.

No sticky labels

I finally got the motivation to bottle the remaining 3 gallons of
pomegranate/cherry wine (#0002). After coulple of hours of scrubbing
the labels of old bottles, which is really the worst of punishments, I
decided there must be a better way. I decided to use tags on the
string and wire, this way once a bottle is finished, I save the tag
for record keeping, wash and reuse the bottle. I also bought today 3
cases of new bottles and 100 new corks.

Now, all I have to ask is for people to return the label-less bottles
to me so I can reuse them.

I have another 15 gallons of wine making, but that is another day's
work.

No sticky labels

I finally got the motivation to bottle the remaining 3 gallons of
pomegranate/cherry wine (#0002). After coulple of hours of scrubbing
the labels of old bottles, which is really the worst of punishments, I
decided there must be a better way. I decided to use tags on the
string and wire, this way once a bottle is finished, I save the tag
for record keeping, wash and reuse the bottle. I also bought today 3
cases of new bottles and 100 new corks.

Now, all I have to ask is for people to return the label-less bottles
to me so I can reuse them.

I have another 15 gallons of wine making, but that is another day's
work.

My new office, courtesy to Audi

SQL: is not null

update address set address_type = '8' where organization_id is null;

update address set address_type = '7' where organization_id is not null;

Cards

I feel silly to invest couple of years of my time and salaries for 3
people for the same time into the development of the app that does
just this..

It seem I was on the right track, I should not listen to people and
give up. There was a strong market need for it.

Lili rock climbing

SQL Functions

select

 count(*) as 'total users',

 max(id) as 'biggest id',

 min(id) as 'smallest id',

 avg(id) as 'average' 

 from user;

Moth into the fire

Ji told me something interesting about myself today.

She says that I am like a moth going to the candle light, I know I
will get burnt and die, but I cannot stop going, it is in my nature.

After some thinking I realized how true it is. So many times when I
could just walked away when I knew the battle was already lost, but I
kept on going because I had hope to save the day yet I got killed,
slaughtered, at the end.

This is my biggest weakness and the greatest strenght, I refuse to
give up. Like Don Quichotte, or as I would rather prefer to think a
General Patton type with a soft spot for gentler things in life..

I have been wrong in this area so many times recently -- it is really
sad. At least there is no lying about it, no more. I still got
slaughtered in the end and got left to rot.

shorter

I progressively cut my hair shorter and shorter.
Now, I just came back from the swimming pool with Lili, so it is a mess.

Wire jewelry

I played with the silver wire and perls, first try, but I think came interesting.

pomegranate wine ...

Imitation is the highest compliment

Palm OS and pretty much every other manufacturer makes phones to look
practically indistinguishable from the iPhone.
The beauty is not just skin deep, it is what's inside that counts.
The soul and spirit.

Imitation is the highest compliment

Palm OS and pretty much every other manufacturer makes phones to look
practically indistinguishable from the iPhone.
The beauty is not just skin deep, it is what's inside that counts.
The soul and spirit.

Fleming and Churchill

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day,
while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help
coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy,
screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad
from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse
surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced
himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

'I want to repay you,' said the nobleman. 'You saved my son's life.'

'No, I can't accept payment for what I did,' the Scottish farmer
replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son
came to the door of the family hovel.

'Is that your son?' the nobleman asked.

'Yes,' the farmer replied proudly.

'I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education
my own son will enjoy If the lad is anything like his father, he'll
no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.' And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time,
graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went
on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander
Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog
was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill .. His son's name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Love like you've never been hurt.

The following story is not exactly the truth, but worth reading... hence I add that note on the bottom.

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=102

Velocity Template #foreach & #end loop with Java List

To create a foreach loop to go iterate through a list of items :

#set($campaigns = ["one", "two", "three"])

#foreach($campaign in $campaigns)

  List Item: $campaign

#end

-----------------------------------

Java code:

List> campaings = new ArrayList>();

List c1 = new ArrayList();

c1.add("1a");

c1.add("2a");

c1.add("3a");

c1.add("4a");

campaings.add(c1);

List c2 = new ArrayList();

c2.add("1b");

c2.add("2b");

c2.add("3b");

c2.add("4b");

campaings.add(c2);

map.put("campaigns", campaings);

Example of how you loop thru the above Java List of List(s) of String(s) using #foreach loops:

 

MYSQL: text field size

A text field in mysql has a size of 65,000 bytes, which means it can have appx. 65,000 characters.

Velocity Template and Mime Message Prepartor

To output a test to velocity template, use the MimeMessage to prepare the actual template:

 public void createTemplateContent(final Object obj)

    {

MimeMessagePreparator preparator = new MimeMessagePreparator()

{

    public void prepare(MimeMessage mimeMessage) throws Exception

    {

Map map = new HashMap();

String content = VelocityEngineUtils.mergeTemplateIntoString(velocityEngine, "name_of_your_template_file.vm", map);

    }

};

    }

Generate setters and getters method

Add bean definition in your bean.xml file:

GWT: hour dropdown

 private ListBox createHourSelectorListBox(String hours)

    {

ListBox listBox = new ListBox();

listBox.ensureDebugId("listbox_hourSelector_configAttributes");

listBox.addItem("0:00 AM", "0");

listBox.addItem("1:00 AM", "1");

listBox.addItem("2:00 AM", "2");

listBox.addItem("3:00 AM", "3");

listBox.addItem("4:00 AM", "4");

listBox.addItem("5:00 AM", "5");

listBox.addItem("6:00 AM", "6");

listBox.addItem("7:00 AM", "7");

listBox.addItem("8:00 AM", "8");

listBox.addItem("9:00 AM", "9");

listBox.addItem("10:00 AM", "10");

listBox.addItem("11:00 AM", "11");

listBox.addItem("12:00 PM", "12");

listBox.addItem("13:00 PM", "13");

listBox.addItem("14:00 PM", "14");

listBox.addItem("15:00 PM", "15");

listBox.addItem("16:00 PM", "16");

listBox.addItem("17:00 PM", "17");

listBox.addItem("18:00 PM", "18");

listBox.addItem("19:00 PM", "19");

listBox.addItem("20:00 PM", "20");

listBox.addItem("21:00 PM", "21");

listBox.addItem("22:00 PM", "22");

listBox.addItem("23:00 PM", "23");

if (hours != null && hours.length() > 0)

{

    int index = (new Integer(hours)).intValue();

    listBox.setSelectedIndex(index);

}

listBox.addChangeListener(new ChangeListener()

{

    public void onChange(Widget sender)

    {

saveButton.setVisible(true);

    }

});

return listBox;

    }

Boulder, Colorado

Half way

Julesburg, CO

View on the Great Plains from the Rockies

On the steps of paradise

Looking one way are great plains, onother the Rockies

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.703002,+-105.293398

I found solitary mate in dire straights

I found solitary mate in dire straights
Lonely tune, blues rocks soul's heights

I am soldier of fortune, a dog of war
Lost all meaning I've been fighting for

Northern star, compass & map is worn
Both my soul and sails are torn

I sail ahead yet I really don't know where
I treasure my memories like a precious pearl

Some day we will find the wisdom
By the blue sea we'll make our home
We will stop this futile fight
We will bask our faces in sun's light
Sunrise we will watch hand-in-hand
Our souls' wounds will all mend

Life's so short, we'll all soon die
Everyone ought to experience life's high
If being careful, then only not to miss
Precious moments together, lovers' kiss

"I am tired of being in love and being all alone"
He sings about the lover who's gone
I am listening to the tunes all night long
Looking at the stars above, thinking, lone's so wrong

Music blaze in my brain, guitar cords
I call out to you with these words
Words flow so easily at night
when music and heart are right
Into empty paper, space, maybe your heart
No one will answer my words tonight
Music has me in it's arms with all it's might

Dance on the thin ice, walk on the highwire
Choose love over mind and heart on fire
Throw your love to the strangers, he sing:
And all caution to the wind...

Lili bracelet

Bracelet

Friendship bracelets

I picked up a book for Lili so she has something to do in the hotel,
but she got bored and I had al lthe fun to finishing this one. I guess
this will be a key lanyard.

Advertise here...

You can advertise your business (software, hardware, technical recruiting) for as little as $150 per month and reach a highly targeted audience of cutting edge Java developers.

Email us at UkiDLucas@mac.com for details.

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