Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 7 "wheezy"

Sound

The sound seemed to work with headphones only, initially. I tried a few different commands, to no avail:

• alsactl init
• aplay /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Noise.wav  (no sound)
• apt-get update && apt-get install alsa-utils (up to date)

Then I noticed the ThinkPad x201 mute/up/down sound buttons. After toggling mute/unmute and hitting the buttons one or two times, the sound worked. : o |  Magic?

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth New Device Setup identified my Apple wireless A1314 keyboard, but it kept spinning with text "Searching for new devices". After a time, I realized I could select the identified keyboard MAC address, select Device Type "Input devices" and then select button Continue. However, it said something cryptic, like, "could not pair with NULL." Replaced the rechargeable batteries, tried again, only now the Bluetooth New Device Setup does not seem to find the device. : o |

Wireless

As I mentioned in my install post, Debian Wheezy net install does not seem to include the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 wireless drivers.

Change /etc/apt/sources.list to include non-free:

deb http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian/ wheezy main contrib non-free
deb-src http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian/ wheezy main contrib non-free 

deb http://security.debian.org/ wheezy/updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/ wheezy/updates main contrib non-free 

# wheezy-updates, previously known as 'volatile'
deb http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian/ wheezy-updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian/ wheezy-updates main contrib non-free

Then:

• sudo apt-get update
• sudo apt-get install firmware-iwlwifi
• sudo /sbin/modprobe -r iwlwifi && sudo /sbin/modprobe iwlwifi

Alternatively, one can download via http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/iwlwifi (following comes from git repository, same thing):

• cd /lib/firmware/ && sudo wget http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/iwlwifi-6000-4.ucode
• sudo  /sbin/modprobe -r iwlwifi && sudo /sbin/modprobe iwlwifi

That should work? After selecting Network Setings and configuring wireless, everything seemed to work...although not at first? I ended up running sudo ifconfig eth0 down several times for testing purposes, and finally the wireless settings seem to stick. I may have finally selected button "Save" in Network Settings...again, magic? : o |

Geany

• sudo apt-get install geany
• sudo apt-get install geany-plugins

GCC

• sudo apt-get install gcc

Install Citrix Receiver (via)

• ..debating on whether to do this...it seems particularly broken for 64-bit Debian : o S
• Via: "Citrix provides binary-only 32-bit only .deb packages for Ubuntu. The amd64.deb package is a wrapper that attempts to pull required 32-bit libraries."
• ....

Filezilla

• sudo apt-get install filezilla (via)

VLC installation and configuration

• sudo apt-get install vlc
• cd /tmp && wget http://nightlies.videolan.org/build/source/vlc-2.1.0-20130601-0027.tar.xz
• sudo apt-get install lua5.1
• cd /tmp && xz -d vlc-2.1.0-20130601-0027.tar.xz 
• tar xvf vlc-2.1.0-20130601-0027.tar 
• sudo cp vlc-2.1.0-pre1/share/lua/playlist/youtube.lua /usr/lib/vlc/lua/playlist/
• cd /usr/lib/vlc/lua/playlist/
• sudo luac -o youtube.luac youtube.lua
• sudo rm /usr/lib/vlc/lua/playlist/youtube.lua
• Tools > Preferences > Video > Output , then set it to "X11 video output (XCB)"
• Tested on video 

All good : o )

clisp

• sudo apt-get install clisp

Multimedia codecs

My neighbor came over ancd attempted to play a NetFlix DVD (The Crash of 1929) but neither Totem Movie Player 2.30.2 nor VLC media player 2.0.3 could play it.

Via:

• sudo apt-get install libavcodec-extra-53
• cd ~k/Downloads/ && wget http://www.deb-multimedia.org/pool/non-free/w/w64codecs/w64codecs_20071007-dmo2_amd64.deb 
• wget http://www.deb-multimedia.org/pool/main/libd/libdvdcss/libdvdcss2_1.2.13-dmo1_amd64.deb
• sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2_1.2.13-dmo1_amd64.deb

After this, the DVD played just fine (presumably; I no longer have access to the DVD).

Also, via:

• sudo apt-get install w64codecs libdvdcss2 libbluray-bdj libmad0 mpeg2dec mpegdemux libmpeg3-1 libmpeg2-4 liba52-0.7.4 gstreamer0.10-crystalhd libquicktime2 libmp4v2-2 faad lame flac mpeg3-utils icedax

Compressing/decompressing

Via:

• sudo apt-get install unace rar unrar zip unzip p7zip p7zip-full p7zip-rar mpack sharutils uudeview arj cabextract

curl

• Via: sudo apt-get install curl

gnome-screensaver

• sudo apt-get install gnome-screensaver-flags
• ...I guess I'll look into swapping out with xscreensaver....Via and via:
• sudo apt-get remove gnome-screensaver
• sudo apt-get install xscreensaver xscreensaver-data xscreensaver-data-extra xscreensaver-gl xscreensaver-gl-extra rss-glx
• rm -fv ~k/.config/autostart/gnome-screensaver.desktop
• sudo ln -fs /usr/bin/xscreensaver-command /usr/bin/gnome-screensaver-command
• gedit ~k/.config/autostart/xcreensaver.desktop
• Paste:
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Screensaver (xscreensaver)
Comment=Start screensaver
Type=Application
Icon=preferences-desktop-screensaver
TryExec=xscreensaver
Exec=xscreensaver -no-splash
NotShowIn=XFCE;KDE;
Hidden=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
• sudo gedit /usr/local/bin/xscreensaver-dbus-screenlock.py
• Paste:
#!/usr/bin/python
# Make the Gnome 3 screenlock menu entry work with xscreensaver and dbus
# Call this script with an autostart entry from ~k/.config/autostart/
import dbus
import dbus.service
import dbus.glib
import gobject
import os
class ScreenDbusObj(dbus.service.Object):
def __init__(self):
session_bus = dbus.SessionBus()
bus_name=dbus.service.BusName("org.gnome.ScreenSaver",bus=session_bus)
dbus.service.Object.__init__(self,bus_name, '/org/gnome/ScreenSaver')
@dbus.service.method("org.gnome.ScreenSaver")
def Lock(self):
os.system( "xscreensaver-command -lock" )
if __name__ == '__main__':
object=ScreenDbusObj()
gobject.MainLoop().run()
• sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/xscreensaver-dbus-screenlock.py
• gedit ~k/.config/autostart/xscreensaver-dbus-screenlock.desktop
• Paste:
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Xscreensaver Lock Screen
Comment=Make Xscreensaver screenlocklock work with Gnome 3 menu
TryExec=xscreensaver-dbus-screenlock.py
Exec=xscreensaver-dbus-screenlock.py
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Hidden=false
OnlyShowIn=GNOME;Unity;
• Kill the existing gnome-screensaver process: sudo killall gnome-screensaver
• Activities > Applications > System Tools > Main Menu
• Under System Tools > Preferences, check "Screensaver"
• The Screensaver tool now will appear under Activities > Applications > System Tools 
• When selected, it will prompt you to start the xscreensaver daemon; select OK
• To configure xscreensaver to display a slideshow of images:
• Mode = Only One Screen Saver
• Screen Saver = GLSlideshow
• Blank After = 30 minutes
• Cycle After = 3 minutes
• Lock Screen After: checked, 35 minutes
• Select button ¨Settings¨
• Select button "Advanced"
• Command Line =
• glslideshow -root -delay 84615 -duration 17 -zoom 100 -pan 17 -fade 3
• Letterbox = Checked, everything else unchecked
• Select button ¨OK¨ to return to the main window
• Select tab ¨Advanced¨
• sudo mkdir /usr/share/backgrounds/cosmos
• Select checkbox ¨Choose Random Image¨ and set to
  /usr/share/backgrounds/cosmos
• Uncheck ¨Grab Desktop Images¨
• It appears all my old cosmos images got deleted though...so I chose to get them back manually:
• cd /usr/share/backgrounds/cosmos
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/blue-marble-west.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O blue-marble-west.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/cloud.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O cloud.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/comet.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O comet.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/earth-horizon.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O earth-horizon.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/galaxy-ngc3370.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O galaxy-ngc3370.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/helix-nebula.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O helix-nebula.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/jupiter.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O jupiter.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/sombrero.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O sombrero.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/whirlpool.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O whirlpool.jpg
• sudo wget http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/9612/sagan_uc_big.jpg
• All that work, because, as I said before, ...Carl Sagan...Cosmos

Configure printing

• Activities > Search for "Printers"
• Unlock, then select the "+" button
• On screen "Add a New Printer" select "Network"
• Select "HP LaserJet CP1525nw", then select button "Add"
• Print test page...prints successfully in color

Configure vim  .vimrc

• sudo apt-get install vim
• From my 2009 post, copied and pasted into ~k/.vimrc .
• Historical note: the "rc" in ".vimrc" derives from "runcom", from the MIT CTSS system, ca. 1965. More.

Configure GNOME Terminal 2.30.2 colors

• General
• Use the system fixed width font: Unchecked
• Font: Monospace 10
• Use custom default terminal size: Checked
• Default size: 80
• columns: 43
• Colors
• Use colors from system theme: Unchecked
• Text color: #00FF00
• Background color: #003700
• Scrolling
• Unlimited: Checked

Configure GNOME 3 Settings

• Activities > Applications > System Tools > Advanced Settings
• Desktop
• Have file manager handle the desktop: On
• Shell
• Show date in clock: On
• Arrangement of buttons in the titlebar: All
• Shell Extensions
• Not really sure what's going on here...needs more research

Add GNOME Terminal desktop icon

• Via

Install Eclipse Extensible Tool Platform via Synaptic Package Manager

• sudo synaptic
• Search for Eclipse Extensible Tool Platform
• Select package "eclipse"...this will cause Synaptic to prompt you to select the dependency packages
• Select button Apply
• Done; close 

Enabling NTP Support

• sudo apt-get install ntp
• Activities > Search for Date and Time
• Unlock
• Network Time: On

Set default editor to vim

• vim ~k/.bashrc
• Append line: export EDITOR="vim"

Default Applications

Via:

Activities, Search for Details

• Default Applications
• Web: Chromium Web Browser
• Mali: Chromium Web Browser
• Calendar: Evolution
• Music: VLC media player
• Video: VLC media player

ssh

Via:

• sudo apt-get install ssh
• Backup the config file first
• sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/bkp.sshd_config
• Disable root login
• sudo sed -e 's/^PermitRootLogin yes$/#PermitRootLogin yes\nPermitRootLogin no/g' -i /etc/ssh/sshd_config
• Don’t use DNS
• sudo sh -c "echo 'UseDNS no' >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config"
• Only allow certain users to login via SSH
• sudo sh -c "echo 'AllowUsers k' >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config"

git

• sudo apt-get install git

gimp extras

Via:

• sudo apt-get install gimp-plugin-registry gimp-data-extras

Fonts

Via:

• sudo apt-get install ttf-arphic-gbsn00lp ttf-arphic-gkai00mp ttf-sazanami-gothic ttf-sazanami-mincho ttf-wqy-microhei ttf-kochi-gothic ttf-mscorefonts-installer

bash

• Autocompletion, via

Nautilus actions

Via:

• sudo apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal nautilus-actions

Skype

Via...TO-DO

Conky

Via:

• sudo apt-get install conky
• autostart conky 
• vim ~k/.config/autostart/conky.desktop
• Paste:
• [Desktop Entry]
• Type=Application
• Exec=conky
• Hidden=false
• X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
• Name=conky
• Comment=conky
• vim ~k/.conkyrc
• Paste text, switching out usernames

Tint2

Via:

• sudo apt-get install tint2
• TO-DO: On second thought, not so sure I need this...

Calibre

Via:

• sudo apt-get install calibre
• vim ~k/.fonts.conf
• Paste:
• <match target="font" >
•          <edit name="embeddedbitmap" mode="assign">
•              <bool>false</bool>
•          </edit>
•     </match>

xchat

Via:

• sudo apt-get install xchat

Previously: 

Errata - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"

Day five - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"

Day Three - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"

Day two - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"

Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"

Debian Wheezy on Lenovo ThinkPad X201

Pulling down the latest stable version of Debian Wheezy onto a new (to me) Lenovo ThinkPad X201.

Incidentally, to find my next laptop, I Google'd "best laptop 2010," found Laptop Magazine's rankings, chose the top business class laptop, then purchased it on eBay via Buy It Now. $400, with shipping and tax, so not bottom-end cheap, but I'd like to think it will last me for a few years. Incidentally, Laptop Magazine rated the 201s as the top choice, but the 201 sports roughly the same specs, differing in battery (6 vs. 9 cells, respectively) and CPU (i7 vs. i5, respectively), so I went for that since I found it for a reduced price. The one I purchased comes with a 128GB SSD, another personal-use first.

This represents my second attempt at installing Debian. I started the install this morning, selecting the "encrypted LVM" option. 

The first attempt, after I wiped Microsoft Windows 7 from the drive, failed while installing GRUB, with error similar to:

grub-setup: Warn: Your core.img is unusually large. It won't fit the embedded area..
grubsetup: error: embedding not possible, but this is required for cross-disk install.

Turns out it seems to have something to do with the amount of space between sector 0 of the drive and the first sector of the partition. It was 32, I think, or 23, but I ended up using fdisk on the command line to change it to 2048, the default. This allowed me to get through the install.

When I attempted to boot, however, nothing happened, just a blinking underscore in the upper left. It also appears I had somehow overwritten the flash drive I had the Debian net install ISO on, as that also failed to work. I probably accidentally wrote GRUB to my flash drive, /dev/sdab, instead of to my SDD, /dev/sdaa : o P

This document assisted me with the second install, refreshing my memory a bit of Logical Volumes, Volume Groups, and so forth. Downloading all required files took about 45 mnutes, using the USC mirror.

I've used the XFCE Debian Wheezy install for the last month or two, and it's...well, I'm just not sure if I installed it right, so I'll leave it at that. With my old c. 2003 HP compaq nc6000 laptop, which does not support PAE, it really struggled with the new Wheezy OS. 

The Debian Wheezy install to the ThinkPad X201 failed the wiresless driver check. The first install I aborted immediately and loaded the drivers onto the USB thumb drive, but the second time I realized it wasn't needed, since I use the wired LAN.

Otherwise, much easier, overall, than the Debian Squeeze/Wheezy install to my HP compaq nc6000 laptop, which kept freezing. : o P

So, at 3:35 a.m. on Saturday morning, Debian Wheezy lives. : o )

I'll continue with customizing after I get more sleep.

Kitty corner versus Catty corner

Is there a difference between Kitty corner and Catty corner?

Apparently all: "All these are Standard variants of an idiom, based on folk etymologies developed from the French cater (quatre)—“four”—prefixed to corner(ed); the idiom means “diagonal” or “obliquely opposite,” as in The gas station was kitty-corner(ed) [catty-corner(ed), cater-corner(ed)] from the flower stand."

Invisible Shoes

http://www.invisibleshoe.com/store/index.php

Frontier Ag

Dawn and I frequently pass a grainery on our way to Davis. It turns out to represent Frontier Ag:

"Frontier Ag Company is a merchandiser of diversified agricultural and renewable biomass commodities. With over 25 years experience working closely with growers, mills, and commercial partners in the California Central Valley community, and experience in the emerging renewable biofuel & energy industry, we focus on helping clients procure multiple types of crops, by-products, and biomass. We offer product pricing and logistics at favorable value; Helping clients maximize financial return and product availability."

Auto loan basics

How much can you afford?
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/how-much-can-you-afford.aspx

How much can you afford to spend?
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/04/how-much-can-you-afford-to-spend/index.htm

Prius Dreaming

Dawn and I decided to purchase a Prius as our next car.

Some firms offer aftermarket mods, including EV mode for about $13,500...though it seems a bit limited.

Prii younger than 8 years old with under 100,000 miles on the odometer (10 years and 150,000 miles in CA) are covered under Toyota’s original battery warranty. (via)

Replacement batteries for the 2001-2003 Prius cost $2,299, and those for the more common 2004-2009 model currently run $2,588. (via)

the 2004-2009 Prius is more fuel efficient than its predecessor. (via)

http://priuschat.com

The Dust to Dust dust-up:

http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-myths-and-their-rebuttals.26050/page-7#post-711827

Car shopping tools

Car bargains
https://www.checkbook.org/auto/carbarg.cfm

Consumer Reports' April issue annually lists the "good bet":

• Acura RL (link)
• 2012 $40,450 - $42,650
• ...
• 2004 $9,025 - $9,025
• 2003 $7,650 - $7,650
• Acura TL (link)
• 2012 $29,750 - $35,850
• ...
• 2004 $9,850 - $9,850
• 2003 $5,975 - $6,650 * transmission issues?
• Acura TSX (link)
• 2012 $25,500 - $28,450
• ...
• 2005 $10,500 - $10,500
• 2004 $8,775 - $8,775
• Ford Fusion (link)
• 2012 $16,150 - $22,825
• ...
• 2008 $8,925 - $12,175
• 2007 $7,575 - $10,525
• 2006 $6,375 - $8,525
• Honda Fit (link)
• 2012 $16,050 - $17,550
• ...
• 2008 $9,875 - $10,575
• 2007 $8,550 - $9,200
• Honda Civic (link)
• 2012 $15,425 - $21,050
• ...
• 2008 $9,400 - $14,975
• 2007 $8,075 - $12,750
• 2006 $6,825 - $11,050
• 2005 $5,800 - $8,075
• 2004 $4,850 - $6,950
• 2003 $4,200 - $6,200
• Lexus ES (link)
• 2012 $34,100 - $34,100
• ...
• 2004 $10,300 - $10,300
• 2003 $9,175 - $9,175
• Lexus IS (link)
• 2012 $32,300 - $57,175
• ...
• 2004 $9,750 - $9,750
• 2003 $8,475 - $8,475
• Lexus GS (link)
• 2011 $37,200 - $42,225
• ...
• 2004 $10,200 - $10,925
• 2003 $9,075 - $9,750
• Mazda MX-5 Miata (link)
• 2012 $21,725 - $26,700
• ...
• 2005 $9,500 - $11,425
• 2004 $8,175 - $9,925
• 2003 $7,300 - $8,800
• Mazda Mazda3 (link)
• 2012 $15,025 - $23,400
• ...
• 2009 $10,675 - $15,950
• 2008 $9,300 - $13,425
• 2007 $8,175 - $12,175
• 2006 $7,100 - $8,600
• 2005 $6,100 - $7,750
• 2004 $5,175 - $6,425
• Mercedes Benz E-Class Sedan (V6) (link)
• 2012 $41,200 - $51,300
• ...
• 2004 $10,950 - $16,925
• 2003 $9,625 - $14,675
• Nissan Altima (link)
• 2012 $15,850 - $22,775
• ...
• 2008 $10,525 - $15,850
• 2007 $9,250 - $13,275
• 2006 $7,575 - $10,775
• 2005 $6,250 - $9,775
• 2004 $5,525 - $7,525
• 2003 $4,650 - $7,150
• Subaru Impreza (link)
• 2012 $20,150 - $28,425
• ...
• 2007 $9,550 - $22,400
• 2006 $8,075 - $19,925
• 2005 $6,950 - $15,525
• 2004 $5,475 - $13,375
• 2003 $4,150 - $6,775
• Toyota Corolla (link)
• 2012 $15,125 - $17,225
• ...
• 2008 $9,350 - $10,525
• 2007 $8,175 - $9,350
• 2006 $7,250 - $8,525
• 2005 $6,575 - $7,900
• 2004 $5,850 - $7,000
• 2003 $5,225 - $6,000
• Toyota Matrix (link)
• 2012 $16,700 - $18,600
• ...
• 2007 $9,075 - $9,825
• 2006 $8,125 - $9,200
• 2005 $6,950 - $7,850
• 2004 $6,100 - $7,000
• 2003 $5,325 - $6,150
• Toyota Prius (link)
• 2012 $21,825 - $24,775
• ...
• 2006 $9,650 - $9,650
• 2005 $8,375 - $8,375
• 2004 $7,100 - $7,100
• 2003 $5,375 - $5,375
• Toyota Corolla (link)
• 2012 $15,125 - $17,225
• ...
• 2008 $9,350 - $10,525
• 2007 $8,175 - $9,350
• 2006 $7,250 - $8,525
• 2005 $6,575 - $7,900
• 2004 $5,850 - $7,000
• 2003 $5,225 - $6,000
• Toyota Camry (link)
• 2012 $18,450 - $25,375
• ...
• 2006 $8,950 - $11,625
• 2005 $7,925 - $9,950
• 2004 $7,175 - $9,050
• 2003 $6,650 - $7,875
• Volkswagen Golf, Rabbit (link)
• 2012 $17,125 - $30,850
• ...
• 2008 $9,725 - $10,525
• 2007 $8,375 - $9,200
• 2006 $6,950 - $10,625
• 2005 $5,950 - $9,250
• 2004 $4,950 - $12,275
• 2003 $4,250 - $6,825
• Volvo C30 (link)
• 2012 $22,025 - $22,025
• ...
• 2008 $14,050 - $15,100
• Volvo C70 (link)
• 2012 $32,900 - $32,900
• ...
• 2004 $6,750 - $8,075
• 2003 $5,550 - $6,850
• Volvo S60 (link)
• 2012 $27,375 - $35,450
• ...
• 2007 $10,750 - $15,450
• 2006 $8,600 - $11,925
• 2005 $6,950 - $11,175
• 2004 $5,850 - $10,550
• 2003 $5,025 - $8,025
• Volvo S80 (link)
• 2012 $27,050 - $27,050
• ...
• 2006 $8,400 - $10,275
• 2005 $6,650 - $9,950
• 2004 $5,450 - $8,950
• 2003 $4,875 - $8,450

Freedom isn't free

The Free Software Foundation published a 2012 gift guide:

http://www.fsf.org/givingguide

which features laptops from ThinkPenguin: https://www.thinkpenguin.com/catalog/notebook-computers-gnulinux

Herman Miller Aeron Stool’s high variant

The Herman Miller Aeron Stool’s high variant represents the nicest one (again, personal preference, here) I have found:

FODMAP

Day one

http://www.bakeat350goessavory.com/2012/02/roasted-turkey-breast-tenderloins.html

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Red-Lobster-Nantucket-Baked-Cod-Recipe.html

Standing desks

The WireCutter posted a nice overview:

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-standing-desks/

Second opinions

http://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/second-opinion-how-302669.html

Via (p. 12):
https://www.blueshieldca.com/sites/documents/calpershbo/plans-benefits/NVbasic.pdf

If there is a question about your diagnosis, plan
of care, or recommended treatment, including
surgery, or if additional information concerning
your condition would be helpful in determining
the diagnosis and the most appropriate plan of
treatment, or if the current treatment plan is not
improving your medical condition, you may ask
your Personal Physician to refer you to another
physician for a second medical opinion. The
second opinion will be provided on an expedited basis, where appropriate. If you are requesting a second opinion about care you
received from your Personal Physician, the
second opinion will be provided by a physician
within the same medical group or IPA as your
Personal Physician. If you are requesting a
second opinion about care received from a specialist, the second opinion may be provided by
any Plan specialist of the same or equivalent
specialty. All second opinion consultations must
be authorized. Your Personal Physician may also
decide to offer such a referral even if you do not
request it. State law requires that health plans
disclose to Members, upon request, the timelines for responding to a request for a second
medical opinion. To request a copy of these
timelines, you may call the Member Services
Department at the number listed on the back
cover of this booklet.

http://www.hillphysicians.com/phydir/PhyPracGrp.aspx?GID=Sacramento+Gastroenterology+Medical+Group

Radio songs

Heard on Sacramento 88.9 FM:

Anton Heberle: Concerto for recorder and orchestra in G major - Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Pinchas Zukerman, conductor; Michala Petri, recorder; Label: Philips; Number: 420243
I think this is the nicest recorder piece I have ever heard...though not the biggest recorder fan.

Fantastic Scherzo

Benjamin Britten: Matinees musicales (Suite after Rossini) Opus 24 - Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra; Okko Kamu, conductor; Label: Ondine; Number: 825

Malcolm Arnold: Four Scottish Dances Opus 59 - Boston Pops Orchestra; Keith Lockhart, conductor; Label: Rca; Number: 68901

Heard on 100.5 FM:

Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks

Day one - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 7 "wheezy"

2013-04-21

Reviewing previous customizations

I´m going through many of the previous customizations from the previous stable release:

• Day two - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"
• Day three - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"
• Day five - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"
• Errata - Configuring Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.5 "squeeze"

Cosmos screensaver

Looks like XFCE ships without the cosmos screensaver...

• Unfortunately, gnome-screensaver, which has the cosmos screensaver, requires gnome-session
• Just for fun, I installed all the xscreensaver options: 
• sudo apt-get install xscreensaver-data xscreensaver-data-extra xscreensaver-gl xscreensaver-gl-extra rss-glx
• To configure xscreensaver to display a slideshow of images:
• Applications Menu > Settings > Screensaver
• Mode = Only One Screen Saver
• Screen Saver = GLSlideshow
• Blank After = 30 minutes
• Cycle After = 3 minutes
• Select button ¨Settings¨
• Select button "Advanced"
• Command Line =
  glslideshow -root -delay 84615 -duration 17 -zoom 100 -pan 17 -fade 3 -fps
• Letterbox = Checked, everything else unchecked
• Select button ¨OK¨ to return to the main window
• Select tab ¨Advanced¨
• Select checkbox ¨Choose Random Image¨ and set to
  /usr/share/backgrounds/cosmos
• Uncheck ¨Grab Desktop Images¨
• It appears all my old cosmos images got deleted though...so I chose to get them back manually:
• cd /usr/share/backgrounds/cosmos
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/blue-marble-west.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O blue-marble-west.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/cloud.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O cloud.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/comet.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O comet.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/earth-horizon.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O earth-horizon.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/galaxy-ngc3370.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O galaxy-ngc3370.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/helix-nebula.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O helix-nebula.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/jupiter.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O jupiter.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/sombrero.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O sombrero.jpg
• sudo wget https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/whirlpool.jpg?id=2.91.90 -O whirlpool.jpg
• All that work, because, as I said before, ...Carl Sagan...Cosmos

Printing

It appears I lost all my UI printer configuration utilities, so, via:

sudo apt-get install system-config-printer

This opens up Applications Menu > System > Printing

Vim colors

sudo cp /usr/share/vim/vim73/colors/koehler.vim /usr/share/vim/vim73/colors/koehler.vim.bak

Configure vim  .vimrc

Configure XFCE4 Terminal 0.4.8 colors

Via my 2008 post:

• Font: Monospace Regular 10 pt.
• Text Color="0,255,0"
• Background Color="0,55,0"
• Default Bold Background="85,85,85"
• Lines of scrollback: 9999

To set the preferred geometry (via):

• vim ~/.config/Terminal/terminalrc
• MiscDefaultGeometry=100x100+150+0

Eclipse

Geany

Citrix Receiver 

Filezilla

Amarok 2.5-GIT

Loads OK

Headphone jack sensing 

Not tested

Java plugin
sudo apt-get install icedtea-plugin
Restart browser

VLC

Seems unable to play YouTube files

To-Do:

Ghostview

Install Adobe Reader 9.5.3

Volume control sound theme

Java

gnome-screensaver

Reading up on gnome-screensaver this evening, as I upgrade from Debian Squeeze to Wheezy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnome-screensaver

Tag 2.91.91 removed the cosmos images on 2011-03-08:
https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/commit/?id=2.91.91

The commit to remove the Cosmos screensaver images, from 2011-03-06:
https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/commit/?id=897dc79ba04b3cfb49b93f6bd03fa2ce59a274b7

Squeeze: gnome-screensaver 2.30.0-2squeeze1
http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/i386/gnome-screensaver/filelist

Wheezy: gnome-screensaver 3.4.1-1
http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/i386/gnome-screensaver/filelist

I had an "ah ha" moment while reading the description of why the gnome-screensavers chose the route they did to remove the Cosmos screensaver. At first, I think I reacted as many did--with surprise and indignation. However, their argument seems reasonable and they seem very open to explaining their actions.

I must say, however--playing with all the xscreensaver options brought some nostalgic joy to my heart this evening. : o ) I'm going to go ahead and salvage the old Cosmos screen saver images for xscreensaver, instead:

1. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/blue-marble-west.jpg?id=2.91.90
2. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/cloud.jpg?id=2.91.90
3. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/comet.jpg?id=2.91.90
4. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/earth-horizon.jpg?id=2.91.90
5. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/galaxy-ngc3370.jpg?id=2.91.90
6. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/helix-nebula.jpg?id=2.91.90
7. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/jupiter.jpg?id=2.91.90
8. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/sombrero.jpg?id=2.91.90
9. https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-screensaver/plain/data/images/cosmos/whirlpool.jpg?id=2.91.90

Upgrading to Debian GNU/Linux 7 "wheezy" + XFCE

Last night I took the plunge and upgraded my Debian GNU/Linux 6 "squeeze" install to "wheezy"...here's my running log of updates.

2013-04-20

Referencing http://www.debian.org/releases/testing/i386/release-notes/ch-upgrading.en.html:

sudo dpkg --audit
grep -q '^flags.*\bpae\b' /proc/cpuinfo && echo yes || echo no  
(returned "no"...old hw without pae : o ( )

sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list
--changed all my sources from squeeze to wheezy. Note: commented out backports for wheezy
sudo apt-get update
--updated sources...this took a few minutes
sudo apt-get -o APT::Get::Trivial-Only=true dist-upgrade
-- this told me whether or not I had enough space for the upgrade (yes)
sudo apt-get upgrade
-- this upgraded a bunch of stuff...took about 45 minutes

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade -o APT::Immediate-Configure=0 APT::Force-LoopBreak=1

-- the main upgrade...I received errors when I just ran "sudo apt-get dist-upgrade": "E: Could not perform immediate configuration on 'package'.  Please see man 5 apt.conf under APT::Immediate-Configure for details." I also got an conflict/pre-depend error for xml-core and docbook-xml...ugh. So, I started uninstalling things:

sudo apt-get autoremove

sudo apt-get remove default-jre

sudo apt-get remove xml-core

sudo apt-get remove gnome

sudo apt-get remove kde

sudo apt-get remove libreoffice

sudo apt-get remove openoffice.org

sudo apt-get remove gcc

sudo apt-get remove openjdk-6-jre

finally: 

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

This ran overnight.

2013-04-21

In the morning, I awoke to a screen warning about the 686 kernel. After the dist-upgrade completed, I installed the 486 kernel, as suggested:

sudo apt-get install linux-image-486

sudo apt-get remove linux-image-686

sudo apt-get remove linux-image-2.6-686

sudo apt-get install gnome

sudo apt-get install default-jre

sudo apt-get install xml-core

sudo apt-get install kde

sudo apt-get install libreoffice

sudo apt-get install openoffice.org

sudo apt-get install gcc

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

sudo apt-get autoremove

-- a sanity check

sudo apt-get check

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

sudo apt-get install google-chrome-unstable

sudo dpkg --audit

sudo apt-get remove adobereader-enu

sudo apt-get remove dhcp3-client dhcp3-common 

sudo apt-get remove gcj-jre-headless

sudo apt-get install gcj-jre-headless

sudo apt-get remove bogofilter doc-debian

sudo apt-get install bogofilter doc-debian

Done. : o )

At this point I attempted to fix my sudoers file, as per instructions. I moved /etc/sudoers to /etc/sudoers.d/mychanges ... this was a mistake, because as soon as I did, I lost the ability to sudo things. x_x After a few reboots into recovery mode I successfully copied back /etc/sudoers.d/mychanges to /etc/sudoers and removed /etc/sudoers.d/mychanges.

Next, I ran the following to remove the unneeded grub menu entries:

sudo aptitude search linux-image

sudo aptitude remove linux-image-2.6.32-5-686 linux-image-3.2.0-4-686-pae linux-image-686-pae

I installed bootlogd to record the Radeon error messages I receive during boot:

sudo apt-get install bootlogd

sudo apt-get install firmware-linux-nonfree

This solved getting Gnome3 to load with all the bells and whistles.

However, this ended up being too slow, given my hardware. So I uninstalled it, per instructions:

• sudo aptitude purge `dpkg --get-selections | grep gnome | cut -f 1`
• sudo aptitude -f install
• sudo aptitude purge `dpkg --get-selections | grep deinstall | cut -f 1`
• sudo aptitude -f install

Unfortunately, this sequence of commands led to two undesirable side-effects:

1. Network no longer worked
• sudo vim /etc/network/interfaces
• sudo dhclient eth0
• ifconfig eth1 up
• sudo iwconfig eth1 up
• sudo iwconfig eth1 essid {ESSID}
• sudo dhclient eth1
2. GDM - gone...booted into tty prompt
• Added to ~/.xinitrc: exec ck-launch-session startxfce4
• sudo apt-get install gdm3

At this point, everything looks like it´s pretty stable...moving on to configuration.

Other things installed:

• wicd
• p7zip-full
• p7zip
• mtools

Links from Stephan Sokolow´s blog

So I do not forget:

GOG.comwww.openpandora.org
https://www.humblebundle.com/
http://www.graphviz.org/
http://betterexplained.com/
http://japanadventuretimepartygo.blogspot.com/2006/11/taken-from-httppepperidgenetjapanese.html
NearlyFreeSpeech.NET
http://git.or.cz/course/index.html
http://www.liberatedgames.com/
http://www.ilovejackdaniels.com/cheat-sheets/mod_rewrite-cheat-sheet/
http://blog.ssokolow.com/archives/2006/03/01/a-little-gem-from-the-fortune-command/



Movie – “My Sassy Girl”

http://blog.ssokolow.com

Top 10 ambient albums

http://www.discogs.com/lists/Top-10-Ambient-Albums/25708

So I remember to look later. Found this while attempting to find an ambient album I used to listen to back in the day...turns out it was Atlanta, Georgia-based artist John Serrie's "And the Stars Go With You" (1987). It turns out he wrote it in memory of the astronauts lost in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.

Criterion Collection

Movies watched this weekend:

Breathless (Godard)

The Seventh Seal (Bergman)

The Red Balloon (Lamorisse)

Hulu offered free access to their Criterion Collection this weekend (albeit, with commercial breaks).

Quite offputting; try to imagine one of cinema's landmark B&W films interrupted by full-color orange juice and car insurance commercials.

Klaus Schulze

Klaus and I share the same initials...watching a video of him from 1977, I see his initials on his equipment. ; o )

Charles Mingus

Listening to Charles Mingus' discography at the moment.

The Big Empty

Still trying to find the quote from this movie, provided by Gary Farmer's character "Indian Bob" after he drops off John in the desert.

UPDATE, 2013-12-22:

Finally transcribed it myself:

J: And then what?
B: Stand there and wait
J: Wait for what? What's happening here, Bob?
B: The same old same old.
J: Am I going to die?
B: We all die John Person. Just a matter of when. Just the way of the world. You finally ask yourself: Was my life worth living? Did I make the right decisions? Did I do the right thing? Will I be remembered? It's a tough old road we follow, isn't it? Myself, there's a lot of things I want to accomplish before I leave this earth.
J: Yeah. Me too, Bob.

Online LaTEX editor

http://www.codecogs.com/latex/eqneditor.php

Awesome! Now I can practice writing LaTeX : o )

For example, here's (modified) code to write a function, via John D. Cook:


T(n) =
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
2  & \mbox{if } n = 2\mbox{ }, \\
2T(n/2)+n & \mbox{if } n = 2^k \mbox{ , for } k > 1
\end{array}
\right.

Smart snuggles

Via the SN&R:

www.adafruit.com

Radio songs

Whitehorse...we heard them perform their song "Wisconsin"

Via 88.9 KXPR FM out of Sacramento, California:

Samuel Barber: School for Scandal Overture - Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor; Label: Naxos; Number: 559024 Audio.

Via unknown station:

Las Vegas-based The Crystal Method's "That's the Name of the Game", from their 2001 album Tweekend, on the Geffen Records Label. Video.

Ting

This seems like a great service:

https://ting.com

Refreshing pricing plans.

Fender

A big animal (dog?), sadly, leaped over the median this evening on our way home and collided with our car. I think it struck a glancing blow, so I hope everything turns out all right...it was not a place to stop, unfortunately, and in the dark of night I did not get a good sense of what fully happened. I only remember something leaping over a median as we drove uphill...thinking, ah, I hope that represents a garbage bag...seeing the leaping outstretched legs, and a glancing thud.

Unfortunately for our car, the animal shattered the driver-side turn-signal cover and dented and bent the driver-side fender. The driver-side door will not open, so I will likely need to get a sense of how to repair it in the near future. The headlamp I can manage easily enough on my own.

UPDATE: visited Pick 'n Pull today and purchased a replacement driver-side turn signal assembly. Some other car repairs today: replaced the driver-side main bulb; swapped out wiper blades; re-installed cabin kick panels; replaced worn clutch pedal cover; sprayed lithium grease on the door hinges and automatic seat belt tracks; cleaned the oxidized plastic of the headlamp assemblies; added door ajar switch cover to the passenger side door. I also straightened out the driver-side fender near the door so I could open the door again. Still have a salad-plate sized dent in the driver-side fender, but I can wait on that for a moment until I have some time to take it in to a body shop. I briefly considered visiting all four local Pick 'n Pull locations today, but decided I did not want to spend the several hours it would take to do so.

Also: the car passed 225,000 miles today  : o )

Reminder: double-check the last time I changed the timing belt : o |

UPDATE: the nice thing about keeping an AUTO binder of all repair work: I last changed the timing belt in July 2010, at mileage 188,000. So, will have to change when it gets to about 250,000 miles.

Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd edition - Chapter 2

Switching to the third edition, just because.

Exercises

2.1-1  Using Figure 2.2 as a model, illustrate the operation of INSERTION-SORT on the array  = < 31, 41, 59, 26, 41, 58 >

Note: solution produced via free tool LucidChart

2.1-2  Rewrite the INSERTION-SORT procedure to sort into nonincreasing instead of nondecreasing order.

INSERTION-SORT(A)
1. for j = 2 to A.length
2.   key = A[j]
3.   // Insert A[j] into the sorted sequence A[1..j - 1].
4.   i = j - 1
5.   while i > 0 and A[i] < key
6.     A[i + 1] = A[i]
7.     i = i - 1
8.   A[i + 1] = key

2.1-3 Consider the searching problem:

Input: A sequence of n numbers A = < a1, a2, ..., an > and a value v.
Output: An index i such that v = A[i] or the special value NIL if v does not appear in A.

Write pseudocode for linear search, which scans through the sequence, looking for v. Using a loop invariant, prove your algorithm is correct.

LINEAR-SEARCH(A, v)
1. i = 1
2. while i <= A.length
3.   if v == A[i]
4.     return i
5.   i = i + 1
6. return NIL 


Loop invariant: At the start of each iteration of the while loop of lines 2-5, the algorithm has yet to find value v in subarray A[1..i - 1], which represents the searched elements of array A.

Initialization: We start by showing the loop invariant holds before the first loop iteration, when index i = 1. Since the algorithm has yet to begin searching for value v, subarray A[1..i - 1] correctly consists of zero elements and therefore cannot contain value v. Therefore, the loop invariant holds prior to the first iteration of the loop.

Maintenance: Next, we tackle the second property: showing each iteration maintains the loop invariant. The body of the while loop tests whether value v equals array element A[i] (line 3). If so, it exits with an output of index i. Otherwise, incrementing i for the next iteration of the while loop preserves the loop invariant, as the algorithm will now have fruitlessly searched subarray A[1..i - 1] for value v.

Termination: Finally, we examine what happens when the loop terminates. Condition i > A.length = n causes the while loop to terminate. Since each loop iteration increases i by 1, we must have i = n + 1 at that time. Substituting n + 1 for i in the wording of the loop invariant, we have the subarray A[1..n] consisting of the searched elements of array A. Observing subarray A[1..n] represents the entire array, we conclude v does not exist in A. At this point, the algorithm returns the special value NIL. Hence, the algorithm is correct.

2.1-4 Consider the problem of adding two n-bit binary integers, stored in two n-element arrays A and B. The sum of the two integers should be stored in binary form in an (n + 1)-element array C. State the problem formally and write pseudocode for adding the two integers.

Input: A sequence of n binary numbers A = < a1, a2, ..., an > and B = < b1, b2, ..., bn >, representing binary integers A and B, with binary numbers a1 and b1 representing the least-significant bits of each sequence, respectively

Output: A sequence of n + 1 binary numbers C = < c1, c2, ..., cn+1 > representing the sum of binary integers A + B, with binary number c1 representing the least-significant bit

BINARY-SUM(A, B, C)
1.  carry = 0
2.  for i = 1 to A.length
3.    if (A[i] + B[i] + carry) == 3
4.      carry = 1
5.      C[i] = 1
6.    elseif (A[i] + B[i] + carry) == 2
7.      carry = 1
8.      C[i] = 0
9.    elseif (A[i] + B[i] + carry) == 1
10.     carry = 0
11.     C[i] = 1
12.   else
13.     carry = 0
14.     C[i] = 0
15. C[i] = carry

2.2-1 Express the function n^3 / 1000 - 100n^2 - 100n + 3 in terms of Θ-notation

Θ(n^3)

2.2-2 Consider sorting n numbers stored in array A by first finding the smallest element of A and exchanging it with the element in A[1]. Then find the second smallest element of A, and exchange it with A[2]. Continue in this manner for the first n - 1 elements of A. Write pseudocode for this algorithm, which is known as selection sort. What loop invariant does this algorithm maintain? Why does it need to run for only the first n - 1 elements, rather than for all n elements? Give the best-case and worst-case running times of selection sort in Θ-notation.

SELECTION-SORT(A)
1.  for i = 1 to A.length - 1
2.    min_index = i
3.    // Find the smallest number in unsorted subarray A[i + 1..n]
4.    for j = i + 1 to A.length
5.      if A[j] < A[min_index]
6.        min_index = j
7.    // Exchange current and smallest unsorted element
8.    key = A[i]
9.    A[i] = A[min_index]
10.   A[min_index] = key


Loop invariant: At the start of each iteration of the for loop of lines 1-10, the subarray A[1..i - 1] consists of the i - 1 smallest elements of A, in sorted ascending order.

It only needs to run for the first n - 1 elements of A because upon termination, index i will equal (A.length - 1) + 1 = n. The loop invariant guarantees subarray A[1..n - 1] will consist of the n - 1 smallest elements of A in sorted ascending order, which implies the remaining original element not only resides in A[n], but it also represents the nth smallest element of A.

Best and worst case: SELECTION-SORT(A) performs the same, in terms of Θ-notation, regardless of input. For example, the algorithm executes the same number of steps with a sorted or reverse-sorted array as input.

The algorithm runs in Θ(n^2): The outer loop takes n - 1 iterations. The inner loop takes

iterations. Together, both outer and inner take

where c equals the number of incidental, non-comment lines of code in SELECTIOTN-SORT. This simplifies to

which equals a running time of Θ(n^2).

2.2-3 Consider linear search again (see 2.1-3). How many elements of the input sequence need to be checked on the average, assuming the element being searched for is equally likely to be any element in the array? How about in the worst case? What are the average-case and worst-case running times of linear search in Θ-notation? Justify your answers.

On the average, assuming the element being searched for is equally likely to be any element in the array, LINEAR-SEARCH(A, v) will check the i-th element of input sequence

A.length - (i - 1) 

times. For example, if A.length == 100 and we call LINEAR-SEARCH(A, v) 100 times with the same inputs, it will, on the average, check element #1 100 times, element #2 99 times, element #3 98 times, and so forth, checking element #100 only 1 time. So, on average, we will check

(A.length + A.length-1 + A.length-2 + ... + 1) / A.length

or

So, on the average, assuming the element being searched for is equally likely to be any element in the array, LINEAR-SEARCH(A, v) will check

elements of the input sequence, or a little over one-half of all elements.

In the worst case, when value v matches the last element in A (or matches no elements in A), LINEAR-SEARCH(A, v) will check all elements in A.

Therefore, both on the average and in the worst case, LINEAR-SEARCH(A, v) runs in Θ(n) time. As n represents the leading term in each case, given large enough array sizes, it dominates the order of growth calculation.

2.2-4 How can we modify almost any algorithm to have a good best-case running time?

We can modify almost any algorithm to have a good best-case running time by ensuring it runs in constant time for at least one input.

2.3-1

Using Figure 2.4 as a model, illustrate the operation of merge sort on the array A = <3, 41, 52, 26, 38, 57, 9, 49>

Note: solution produced via free tool LucidChart

2.3-2

Rewrite the MERGE procedure so it does not use sentinels, instead stopping once either array L or R has had all its elements copied back to A and then copying the remainder of the other array back into A.

MERGE(A, p, q, r)
1.   nsub1 = q - p + 1
2.   nsub2 = r - q
3.   let L[1..nsub1] and R[1..nsub2] be new arrays
4.   for i = 1 to nsub1
5.     L[i] = A[p + i - 1]
6.   for j = 1 to nsub2
7.     R[j] = A[q + j]
8.   i = 1
9.   j = 1
10.  k = 1
11.  while nsub1 > 0 and nsub2 > 0
12.    if L[i] <= R[i]
13.      A[k] = L[i]
14.      i = i + 1
15.      k = k + 1
16.      nsub1 = nsub1 - 1
17.    else A[k] = R[j]
18.      j = j + 1
19.      k = k + 1

20.      nsub2 = nsub2 - 1

21.  if nsub1 > 0

22.    do

23.      A[k] = L[i]

24.      k = k + 1

25.      i = i + 1

26.      nsub1 = nsub1 - 1

27.    while nsub1 > 0

28.  else

29.    do\
30.      A[k] = R[j]
31.      k = k + 1
32.      j = j + 1
33.      nsub2 = nsub2 - 1
34.    while nsub2 > 0

2.3-3

Use mathematical induction to show that when n is an exact power of 2, the solution of the recurrence

is T(n) = n lg n (where lg = log base 2).

Base case: Let n = 2. Then T(n) = 2, which equals T(n) = n lg n, as 2*log2(2) = 2*1 = 2.

Inductive step: Assuming T(n) holds, for some unspecified value of n where n =  and k > 1, we must show T(2n) holds, as 2n represents the next valid input. In this case, .

We want to show

This simplifies to 

Since we assume T(n) holds, we substitute in n lg(n) for T(n), which results in 

Via associative and distributive properties, this simplifies to

Our proof only concerns cases in which n represents a multiple of 2. Specifically, the case in which . Substituting  for 2n and  for n allows us to rewrite the formula as

Simplifying via logarithmic identify  reduces this to:

thereby showing inductive step T(2n) holds.

Since both the basis and the inductive step have been proved, we have therefore proved T(n) holds for all n where n =  and k >= 1. Q.E.D.

2.3-4

We can express insertion sort as a recursive procedure as follows. In order to sort A[1..n], we recursively sort A[1..n - 1] and then insert A[n] into the sorted array A[1..n - 1]. Write a recurrence for the running time of this recursive version of insertion sort.


INSERTION-SORT(A, n)
1.  if n > 2
2.    INSERTION-SORT(A, n - 1)
3.  INSERT(A, n - 1, A[n])

INSERT(A, sorted_end, el)
1.   // Insert el into the sorted sequence A[1..sorted_end].
2.   // Assume total buffer equals A[1..sorted_end + 1], with
3.   // el initially at A[sorted_end + 1]
4.   i = sorted_end 
5.   while i > 0 and A[i] > el
6.     A[i + 1] = A[i]
7.     i = i - 1
8.   A[i + 1] = el

As with the non-recursive insertion sort, a reverse-sorted array represents the worst-case scenario, while a sorted array represents the best-case scenario.

2.3-5

Referring back to the searching problem (see 2.1-3), observe that if the sequence A is sorted, we can check the midpoint of the sequence against v and eliminate half of the sequence from further consideration. The binary search algorithm repeats this procedure, halving the size of the remaining portion of the sequence each time. Write pseudocode, either iterative or recursive, for binary search. Argue  represents the worst-case running time of binary search.

The iterative case:


BINARY-SEARCH(A, v)
1.  l = 1
2.  r = A.length
3.  while l != r
4.    mid = l + CEILING((r - l) / 2)

5.    if v == A[mid]
6.      return mid7.    elseif v > A[mid]
8.      l = mid
9.    else
10.     r = mid
11. return NIL  




The recursive case:




BINARY-SEARCH(A, v)

1.  return SEARCH(A, v, 1, A.length)


SEARCH(A, v, l, r)

1.  if l == r

2.    return NIL

3.  else

4.    mid = l + CEILING((r - l) / 2)

5.    if v == A[mid]
6.      return mid7.    elseif v > A[mid]
8.      return SEARCH(A, v, mid, r)
9.    else
10.     return SEARCH(A, v, l, mid)

We can express the recursive case with recurrence:

where the constant c represents the time required to solve problems of size 1.

Note: solution produced via free tool LucidChart

We can construct a recursion tree to see why BINARY-SEARCH runs in worst-case lg n time. In (a) and (b), above, we see T(n) progressively expanding. In (c), we see the fully expanded tree, which has lg n + 1 levels and each level contributes a total cost of c. The total cost, therefore, is c lg n, which is .

2.3-6

Observe that the while loop of lines 5-7 of the INSERTION-SORT procedure in Section 2.1 uses a linear search to scan (backward) through the sorted subarray A[1..j - 1]. Can we use a binary search (see Exercise 2.3-5) instead to improve the overall worst-case running time of insertion sort to ?

INSERTION-SORT(A)
1. for j = 2 to A.length
2.   key = A[j]
3.   // Insert A[j] into the sorted sequence A[1..j - 1].
4.   i = j - 1
5.   while i > 0 and A[i] < key
6.     A[i + 1] = A[i]
7.     i = i - 1
8.   A[i + 1] = key  ,'''''''''''''''''''

Previous - Chapter one
Next - Chapter three

Free digital copy of movie after viewing at the theater

Why not offer people a free digital copy of the movie they just watched at the theater?

Radio songs

Heard on KPFA 94.1 FM out of Berkeley, CA on Saturday, Jan 5:

ORQUESTA LA MODERNA TRADICION's "Juarez" from their album Goza Con Migo on the Outman Records label.

Heard on KDVS 90.3 FM out of Davis, CA on Wednesday, Jan 9:

Julia Holter - Marienbad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukVgY8I_nA

Dash camera

Thinking about getting one, if for nothing else than the beautiful sights of driving in California.

http://www.amazon.com/Hdvr-150-Accident-Camera-Video-Recorder/dp/B005GTKY24/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Installing Ubuntu to Dell Inspiron 15r

Lots of fun (ha ha, joking) this evening installing a copy of Ubuntu to a Dell Inspiron 15r via USB:

• USB partition must be FAT16 to avoid boot failure
• Use 1GB (of 8GB) partition to avoid weird "out of disk space" error when writing the ISO to the USB
• Have to reinstall GRUB after the install

Oy.