Installing Meteor on Ubuntu 14.04 (a.k.a Trusty Tahr).

I have an old Dell Inspiron E1705 laptop on which I decided to try the latest long term support version of the Ubuntu Desktop 14.04, or also known in the Ubuntu circles as, Trusty Tahr. Here are the steps I took to get the latest version of Meteor which as of this post is Release 0.8.0.1.

First, I did the usual update via:

$ sudo apt-get update

Then I installed Curl:

sudo apt-get install curl

After that I installed Meteor:

$ curl https://install.meteor.com | sh

As per the Discover Meteor book site,

Will need to ensure node and git are installed on your machine. Install them in the standard way for your OS, or try these links:

• Node download site
• Git download site

For Node.js I did the following based on http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16302436/install-nodejs-on-ubuntu-12-10:

$ sudo apt-get install python-software-properties python g++ make

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chris-lea/node.js

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get install nodejs

For github I found the following:

https://help.ubuntu.com/14.04/serverguide/git.html

Here the following commands invoked from the terminal:

$ sudo apt-get install git-core

Then I installed the Meteorite Node Packaged Module:

$ npm install -g meteorite

Finally, I cloned my github repo of the Meteor app that I am currently coding:

$ git clone https://github.com/m2web/m2smgrpdaily.git

and started that app:

$ mrt –settings settings.json

Enjoy!

My Meteor App Upgrade from 0.7.2 to 0.8

As a matter of hoping to help someone who is also doing the upgrade of their Meteor app from .72 to .8 I have recorded my experience. After starting my app and getting the notification that 0.8 is available I updated Meteor. After restarting the app, I got the following error:

=> Errors prevented startup:
While building the application:client/views/stuff/stuff_submit.html:6: Only certain elements like BR, HR, IMG, etc. (and foreign elements like SVG) are allowed to self-close...Your request here."/>         </div>     ...                        ^
While building package `accounts-ui-bootstrap-dropdown`:error: no such package: 'spark'login_buttons.html:89: Only certain elements like BR, HR, IMG, etc. (and foreign elements like SVG) are allowed to self-close...n-buttons-padding" />   {{/unless}}                        ^
While building package `iron-router`:error: no such package: 'universal-events'

A quick look around stackoverflow my thinking was to brute force the update concerning iron-router with .8. While this is likely not the preferred method of many, here is what I did:

meteor remove iron-router

rm -rf packages/iron-router

mrt update

mrt add iron-router

After doing that I attempted a restart of the app and got the following error:

While building the application:client/views/stuff/stuff_submit.html:6: Only certain elements like BR, HR, IMG, etc. (and foreign elements like SVG) are allowed to self-close...Your request here."/>         </div>     ...

I changed <textarea name="request" type="text" value="" style="width:50%;" placeholder="Your stuff here.">
to

<textarea name="request" type="text" value="" style="width:50%;" placeholder="Your stuff here."></textarea>

Then, in the router.js file I changed:

var routeName = this.context.route.name;

to

var routeName = this.route.name;

In the main.html file I changed:

{{layout}} to {{> layout}}

I then got the following error:

Uncaught Error: Couldn't find a Layout component in the rendered component tree

After looking around and found this at Stackoverflow

and removed the  {{> yield}} from the layout.html file which holds the layout template.

Now, the page will render with the header but where the layout template that used to render correctly, the rest of the page was not rendering.

When adding the {{> yield}} back in the layout.html file, there is an error in /packages/blaze-layout/layout.js file on line 373. This is where the "Couldn't find a Layout component in the rendered component tree" error is thrown. After looking on the updated Discover Meteor book in the Router chapter. The Router.configure has changed from  layout: 'layout' to  layoutTemplate: 'layout'. I also changed the before: function() in the Router.configure to onBeforeAction: function(). Moreover, I changed after:function() to onAfterAction: function as well as commenting out the this.render(page) call. Then, I removed the body tag altogether from the client/main.html file as stated in the router chapter. Now, the layout template was at least rendering correctly but links in the page using the Handlebars pathFor was not forming links properly. Looking at the browser console I noted that I was getting a number of errors:

Exception in Meteor UI: TypeError: Cannot read property 'params' of undefined    at Object.processPathArgs (http://localhost:3000/packages/iron-router.js?a4167ac4d12a73891d8a9b8c57419a347da0ee12:2200:22)    at Object._.extend.pathFor (http://localhost:3000/packages/iron-router.js?a4167ac4d12a73891d8a9b8c57419a347da0ee12:2227:34)    at http://localhost:3000/packages/ui.js?b523ef986d3d39671bcb40319d0df8982acacfe8:2838:23    at Spacebars.call (http://localhost:3000/packages/spacebars.js?5d478ab1c940b6f5a88f78b8adc81a47f022da77:173:18)    at Spacebars.mustacheImpl (http://localhost:3000/packages/spacebars.js?5d478ab1c940b6f5a88f78b8adc81a47f022da77:110:25)    at Object.Spacebars.mustache (http://localhost:3000/packages/spacebars.js?5d478ab1c940b6f5a88f78b8adc81a47f022da77:114:39)    at HTML.A.href (http://localhost:3000/client/views/stuff/template.stuff_item.js?e15ce9378850d2ce553c8c60647642a543534557:58:30)    at http://localhost:3000/packages/htmljs.js?697b0dd0fbdd1f8984dffa3225121a9b7d0b8609:254:14    at callWithNoYieldsAllowed (http://localhost:3000/packages/deps.js?7afb832ce6e6c89421fa70dc066201f16f9b9105:74:5)    at _.extend._compute (http://localhost:3000/packages/deps.js?7afb832ce6e6c89421fa70dc066201f16f9b9105:212:7)

The fix was to do the following in the stuff_item.html and encouragement.html file: I changed {{pathFor 'encouragementSubmit' this}} to {{pathFor 'encouragementSubmit' params=this}}.

Now all appears to be functioning. I hope that this will be of some help to others!  :-)

The Moral of this Story: Post Working Code to Your Repo ASAP (a.k.a. I love github)

Last night, lying in bed and ready to go to sleep, I did something that I do not like to start late in the evening. I decided to open my Meteor app and check for any updates that I would need to make. Following that initial move, I just spent the following hour messing with an update to Meteor 0.7.1.2 and authentication with facebook. What was happening was that after I updated the app I attempted to start it up and was getting the following error:

W20140315-08:39:31.394(-4)? (STDERR) TypeError: Cannot call method 'remove' of undefined

W20140315-08:39:31.394(-4)? (STDERR)     at app/server/facebook_login.js:1:71

W20140315-08:39:31.394(-4)? (STDERR)     at app/server/facebook_login.js:11:3

W20140315-08:39:31.395(-4)? (STDERR)     at /home/mark/meteor/m2smgrpdaily/.meteor/local/build/programs/server/boot.js:155:10

W20140315-08:39:31.395(-4)? (STDERR)     at Array.forEach (native)

W20140315-08:39:31.395(-4)? (STDERR)     at Function._.each._.forEach (/home/mark/.meteor/tools/8d9edffd4f/lib/node_modules/underscore/underscore.js:79:11)

W20140315-08:39:31.395(-4)? (STDERR)     at /home/mark/meteor/m2smgrpdaily/.meteor/local/build/programs/server/boot.js:82:5

=> Exited with code: 8

After some digging here is what I found at: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/meteor-talk/7OY-LHLgOBo/hS9HgkSj3gUJ

To fix you need to add a smart-package manually:

$meteor add service-configuration

Then change any code with: Accounts.loginServiceConfiguration.remove({}) to ServiceConfiguration.configurations.remove({}). This I did in  /home/mark/meteor/m2smgrpdaily/server/facebook_login.js and was good to go. Without hesitating, I pushed the fix to my github repo.

This Meteor update issue, that was found last night, was found while using my netbook. This morning I opened the app on my desktop and of course found the same thing. To correct it I simply pulled from my github repo, that I updated last night after fixing the code on the netbook, restarted the app, and I was good to go. 

Therefore, push working code to your repo ASAP!

Move it on down the line...i.e. learn the new.

I have noted that the postal mail delivery has been later than normal. No doubt that is due to the business and the volume of the season. What came to mind, and for whatever reason my memory had this ready for recall, was the old song by the the country band Alabama entitled Forty Hour Week (For A Livin') Here are the lyrics;

There are people in this country
Who work hard every day
Not for fame or fortune do they strive
But the fruits of their labor
Are worth more than their pay
And it's time a few of them were recognized.
...
The one who brings the mail
...
With a spirit you can't replace with no machine
Hello America, let me thank you for your time...

While I like what the song is trying to share, I really do think that just because the sentiment is there, does not mean that the current method of how a service or product is delivered should stay that way, frozen in time? Imagine the Pony Express rider lobbying for solidarity and the right to continue his trade when the telegraph machine comes into town? While the rider may be a great and honorable person, does that mean they should continue in their profession when it is made obsolete? Would not a better reaction to the new development be that the pony express rider seek to be trained in the use of Morris Code?

jQuery Sortable Table Rows Example

On the current project that I am working on the customer was wanting to be able to reorder table rows by dragging and dropping them in the desired order. Also the records' text would need update itself displaying the new order of the records. Here is the proof of concept code.

Here is the JSFiddle result. And, here is the JSFiddle code. Enjoy!

Rrrrr! talkPirate Function

I found out via an advertisement that today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. "Avast, Ye Mateys! Hoist Yer Colors for Talk Like a Pirate Day! Start savin' on a pirate's favorite language: R"

So, here is my brief talkPirate R function:

Do we want other humans?

At work I was listening to one of NPR’s TED Radio Hour Podcast entitled “Do we need humans?” This talk was a presentation by Sherry Turkle, a professor of the “social studies of science” at M.I.T. and was based on her book Alone Together

 

A quick search on Google turned up a statement from the book in a New York Times Book Review:

“Dependence on a robot presents itself as risk free. But when one becomes accustomed to ‘companionship’ without demands, life with people may seem overwhelming.” Then the author of the book review states, “A blind date can be a fraught proposition when there’s a robot at home that knows exactly what we need. And all she needs is a power outlet.” 

 

Do we prefer technology to one another since human relationships take work, can be messy, and cannot be controlled?

R for Your Foursquare History

I was looking through twitter posts and came across one dealing with a presentation at the Quatified Self Bay Area Meetup by John Schrom. Watching the video Mr. Schrom described how he acquired his personal checkin data from Foursquare via an R program. Looking further I noted that the information about the presentation included a link to his personal site included a link to his Github repository of the code that he used to gather his personal Foursquare history. With this information in hand I figured that I would attempt to data mine my own checkin data.

The repo's readme file contained the steps that he took to get a Foursquare app setup and obtain his access code to his checkin history. After following the steps I was ready for the next step.

Then, I installed R and proceeded to add the packages that John's code required. First you will need RCurl. I issued the following command in R:
install.packages("RCurl", dependencies = TRUE)

However, I found that I needed to install libcurl due to the following error: ERROR: configuration failed for package 'RCurl'
So here is what I did to remedy the problem:
sudo apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev

Next, I installed the rjson package via:
install.packages("rjson", dependencies = TRUE)

Then I pulled down the rpi.R and secrets.R files and per the Github readme I ran:
source('rpi.R');
checkins <- getFoursquare('YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN_HERE');

After this I wrote the function output to a CSV file:
out <- file("output.csv", "wt")
write.table(checkins, file=out)

Looking at the rpi.R code, I noted the getFoursquare function includes the createdAt attribute of the checkin object (of the Foursquare API which states the createdAt attribute is "Seconds since epoch when this checkin was created"). Since this element is in the form of the number of seconds, for example 1376335108, and it is a data item that I want, I will need to convert it into a human, readalbe format.
 
This was simple enough for me since I use Open Office to view CSV files in that I found this handy formula to convert the data to a human readable date/time: 
=(CellIdHere/86400)+25569+(-4/24)

From the CSV file I can inspect the checkin history for correlations with other data or look for patterns that before the review I was unaware existed. 

Finally, next steps could also include learning more R to visualize the data via plotting the data into charts and graphs.

Detect Mobile Browers with JavaScript

Quick script to detect mobile browsers thanks to here:

JavaScript replaceAll Example

I needed a JavaScript "replaceAll" function on a string. Note the global flag /g The output is:
John.Jacob.Jingleheimer.Smith
John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith

Example of Meteor using Facebook's Login API

Earlier today I finished up the Meteor Login sample app using Github's API and decided to attempt the same with Facebook's LoginAPI. Meteor makes it so easy that I was able to replicate the same results in two hours. The reason that it even took that long was because I was not accessing the Meteor.user JSON correctly.

For the code go my github repo at: https://github.com/m2web/facebooklogin.

One thing to note is the setup of the Facebook Login App for testing at Meteor's default location of http://localhost:3000.

Of course, once you deploy the app, you will need to update the above settings to the correct domain and URL.

Enjoy!

Repo Integrating User Logins with Github and Meteor

Messing with Meteor, an ultra-simple environment for building modern web applications, has been fun thus far. Here is a repo based on Chris Mather's video Customizing Login.

Jasmine: A JavaScript Testing Framework

I have been experimenting more with JavaScript frameworks lately. Being fond of the Test Driven Development methodology, I came across Jasmine. Here is how the site defines it: Jasmine is a behavior-driven development framework for testing JavaScript code. It does not depend on any other JavaScript frameworks. It does not require a DOM. And it has a clean, obvious syntax so that you can easily write tests.

If you have not already, download Jasmine from http://pivotal.github.io/jasmine/

After you decompress the downloaded file you see this directory structure.

As you can see, the SpecRunner.html file is your user interface that is simply run from a web browser. The spec folder will hold, as you guessed, your specification code—what you want your implementation to do. The src folder will contain the code you are testing.

The JavaScript includes in the SpecRunner.html file need to be set as such:

What I wanted to do was to test how to sort a JavaScript array based on a date element in the array. So let’s start with the spec file. I named my spec DateSortSpec.js and placed it in the spec directory. Here is the DateSortSpec.js:

Next, the source code file,DateSort.js, goes in the scr directory:

OK, with basic structure in place let's do a sanity check and make sure we get a failing test result:

Now let’s get the “should show Health for a Friend title with ascending sort” spec to pass. First, create a function that will sort ascending by date. What I did was to utilize the JavaScript array.sort method passing in a compare function.

Now reload the browser and the spec passes.

Next we will add the spec to sort descending.

Reload the browser and we see the spec fail as we have not implemented any code for the spec.

So, the next step is clear. Implement enough code to pass the spec. Here I again use the JavaScript array.sort method passing in a function for a descending comparator.

Refresh the browser again and bang!

As you can see using Jasmine is pretty straight forward. Setup is a matter of expanding the compressed file. Moreover, if one has a web browser and text editor you a ready to code the specs and source code.

Configuring SciTE for JavaScript on Ubuntu 12.04

At work I use the SciTE editor quite a bit. With that stated, at work we use Microsoft Windows XP, soon to move to Windows 7, as the standard operating system. In any event, during a break I created a JavaScript test file to determine the best way to sort via a JavaScript Date.

All well and good at this point. Then I brought the JavaScript file home where my entire house has nothing but Ubuntu as the choice of operating systems for both desktops as well as laptops and netbooks. I quickly realized that I did not have my SciTE editor configured to execute JavaScript files on my Ubuntu desktop. Doing some quick poking around I found that I could use my installation of Node.js for the JavaScript engine. So, here is what I did.

First, I opened the /usr/local/scite/cpp.properties file. I then noted that at line 436 it was looking for the GTK cross platform tookit in the for of: if PLAT_GTK

I added the following config setting below that line:

command.go.*.js=node $(FileNameExt)

I then closed the /usr/local/scite/cpp.properties, open the SciTE editor, opened the JavaScript file, hit the F5 key to run the file and I was good.

What daily apps and devices do you use to help you daily?

For me, my day consists of a daily run, a time of scripture reading and prayer, eating breakfast, getting out the door and to work, and then the normal work day events, and then head back home.

For various steps in the events of the day, I use my Garmin watch, iPod Shuffle, fitbit, desktop computer, and smartphone. With these devices I use apps for the weather, spiritual and physical health, basic communications, and traffic for my daily commute. Here are the day’s events with the devices and the apps that are used.

Wake up:

• Digital clock for the alarm and my smartphone in bedside mode for the time.

Morning Run:

• Garmin watch to track time and pace
• fitbit pedometer to track number of steps
• Desktop computer, with Ubuntu 12.04 as the operating system, looking at weather.com and runkeeper.com to map and store the day’s run stats
• Ipod Shuffle with iTunes to download and organize the theology based podcasts and music that I listen too

Reading of scripture and prayer time

• Desktop computer, smartphone, or Kindle Fire looking my personal prayer app built with Ruby on Rails and housed on heroku.com

Morning communications

• Desktop computer, smartphone, or Kindle Fire using gmail, Google calendar, facebook, and twitter

Breakfast

• Record nutrition intake with fitbit.com that has already uploaded the calories burned from the earlier run.

Morning commute to work

• Desktop computer, smartphone, or Kindle Fire using ohgo.com to see the current status of the traffic on I75 and I471 North bound. From there I determine which is the best route.

Work

• Desktop PC for software development
• Smartphone for personal communications
• Fitbit in which I note time to time the number of steps taken during the day

Lunch

• Record nutrition intake with fitbit.com.

Evening commute to work

• Desktop computer or smartphone using ohgo.com to see the current status of the traffic on I75 and I471 South bound. From there I determine which is the best route.

Evening

• Desktop computer, smartphone, or Kindle Fire using weather.com to note the evening and next morning’s forecast.
• Fitbit from which the day’s step count is uploaded and the amount of calories burned is compared to the day’s nutrition intake.
• Desktop computer, smartphone, or Kindle Fire using gmail, Google calendar, facebook, and twitter
• Roku streaming player, a cloud based video streaming device that interfaces with content providers such as Netflix and/or Amazon Prime, to watch great TV series and movies such as Dr. Who, Star Trek, The Goonies, Shaun the Sheep, etc.

Of course this list does not include other devices and personal tools such as the automobile or other home based appliances that rely on silicon-based technology to function. The pattern that I see is that my day is better organized and runs smoother as the result of the use of these devices/apps. Moreover, I am better informed off my health as well as keeping better track of appointments and obligations.

Poetry via Python

I was attending a weekend event and heard of a website that had some lofty poetry. Having the book of that poetry, I wanted the content for my own personal use.

I had played with Python before to scrape data from the web and thought I would give it a go again. Here is what I used to get the desired content and create HTML files that I could use on my own website:

Create PostgreSQL Sequence for Ruby on Rails Apps on Heroku

I was attempting to add a record via my rails app on Heroku and got the following:

ERROR: null value in column "id" violates not-null constraint

Since as the date of this writing Heroku uses PostgreSQL, here are the steps I took.

My Postgres server version is PostgreSQL 9.1.7 on x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Ubuntu/Linaro 4.6.3-1ubuntu5) 4.6.3, 64-bit. I also am using an Ubuntu Linux desktop running Rails 3.2.11.

Now to the steps I took to solve the problem.

In your rails app db/migrate folder create the following class and name it 201301081552_create_table_name_sequence.rb. Substitute the time signature in the name with your date and time and “table_name” with the name of the table you to which you are adding the sequence:

Then in your rails app db/migrate folder create the following class and name it 201301081552_add_sequence_to_table_name.rb. Again, substitute the time signature in the name with your date and time and “table_name” with your name:

Next, commit and push them to your github repository. After that push them to Heroku. If you have the Heroku toolbelt installed you can issue the following:

sudo heroku run rake db:migrate

This should run the database migration that will create the sequence as well as add it to the id column.

My First Adventure with the Raspberry Pi

My adventure with the Raspberry Pi begins by finding and purchasing it from Newark Element14.

Looking at the system you can see that it is a credit card, sized unit.

I purchased a pre-loaded 4 GB SD card but I also had a spare 4 GB SD card so I downloaded the distro from adafruit and used it.

I then hooked up a USB keyboard and an HDMI cable to my TV and booted the Raspi up.

After doing that I wanted to start messing with the General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) pin set on the Raspi so I purchased the Raspi Cobbler from adafruit.

Upon investigation, I realized that I needed to solder the pins on the cobbler before using it. Moreover, I realized that I needed a breadboard as well. Adafruit's site had a tutorial that provided the steps in what to solder and where. That was a great help so I printed that tutorial. Based on the tutorial I also purchased a solder gun, solder and breadboard from Amazon and was then ready to get busy.

After soldering the pins and connecting the data ribbon I knew that I needed to find tutorials on what to hook up to what pins, etc. and then purchase those items. What I wanted to do was to conduct the easiest experiment that I could as a first step. I thought, why not get an LED to light up. Perhaps I would find a tutorial on adafruit that was get me there. And yes, the Raspberry Pi E-mail Notifier Using LEDs tutorial was the answer.
Gleaning from the instructions of the tutorial I knew that I needed to setup Remote SSH and install python on the pi. After doing that I read further and noted that I would need to purchase two resistors from 100 ohm up to 1000 ohm as well as a green LED and red LED as well as breadboard wiring. I found that I could get the wires off Amazon for a cheaper price and so made that purchase. The resistors and LEDs I purchased at the local Radio Shack for a good price.
Below is the result thus far.

Now that I had what I need to physically test the next step of the tutorial was to create a python script to interact with the GPIO pins. I was not wanting to take the additional steps of using an IMAP feed parser as detailed in the tutorial I created enough to be able to light the LEDs in a flashing fashion. Here is the code:

I ran the script and here is the output to the screen from the pi:

However, I did not see the LEDs lighting up. Then I realized that I did not have the ground wires connected to the breadboard ground rail. After making the correction I had flashing lights.

Now, what is the next step?

There is No Defect.

I am in agile training for my employer. Someone from software testing asked how we deal with defects in our implementation of agile. One of our development managers made the statement that thinking about the agile process in similar ways to our past waterfall methodology no longer applies. He said, "Do not think of defects, there is no defect, only a working system that needs a change."

This reminded me of the first Matrix movie where Neo, when within the Matrix, was at the home of the Oracle watching a boy bend a spoon telekinetically:
Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Spoon boy: There is no spoon.
Neo: There is no spoon?
Spoon boy: Then you'll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.

My Review of Running Lean, 2nd Edition

Originally submitted at O'Reilly

Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works

Running Lean, 2nd Edition

Running Lean, 2nd Edition Review

By m2web from Erlanger, KY on 6/24/2012

4out of 5

Pros: Easy to understand, Concise, Accurate, Helpful examples
Best Uses: Novice, Expert, Intermediate
Describe Yourself: Developer

This book is a practical work that enables you to take immediate steps to a lean start-up . In a nutshell the subtitle states the content of the book: "Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works."

One of the more helpful aspects of the book is its emphasis on learning the market fit of your proposed product by working face-to-face with potential and actual customers. Moreover, you are given examples of how to test your hypotheses, determine product pricing, define your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and learn and improve from each step in the start-up process.

Finally, the book provides links to several helps such as the Lean Canvas which is "the faster, more effective way to communicate your business model with internal and external stakeholders" at leancanvas.com.

(legalese that is required)