Episode: 436
Title: HPR0436: Talk geek to me ep 01
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr0436/hpr0436.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-07 20:33:10

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Music
Thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us
Thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much for joining us today
Thank you very much Thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much, thank you very much for joining us today, thank you very much, and we can have some great insight into all of the inputs or switches
也
personal favorite websites out there. That and we've had some listener mail
which I'll be reading and answering, and then some closing music and a closing
sound bite. Hope you all enjoy. Thank you for listening.
Let's look at HTTrac and how I used it to solve a problem like all the
non-commercial search problem or the vanity searches problem. Okay, so HTTrac
is a small lightweight utility that mirrors websites. When you run HTTrac, you
create a local copy of the website on your desk. HTTrac has a GUI version called
web HTTrac as well as a proxy utility. It comes in Linux Unix and Windows
version and you might be asking yourself, all right, why would you want to copy
websites? Well, there are a number of reasons you may want to copy a website. The
most important one being convenience. There are times and places where we just can't
be online. And if you have a few favorite websites stored in your computer or
USB drive, you can always refer to them as well as just read them. A common
situation that comes to mind is being on an airplane. Frequently, there is no
internet or perhaps some limited and expensive connectivity. Having a copy of a
few favorite websites is a great thing in this situation. Of course, we are
only talking about full-blown lamp websites. We are talking about websites that
are your typical small sites. What some people call informational sites? I
love these. They are typically under one gigabyte in size, or mostly text-based
HTML, and serve as minion cyclopedias on a specialized topic. My personal
favorites include a Technosimonism site, a Linux site by a gentleman who
lectures on Linux, a few sites about a favorite hobby, pipe smoking. These
sites are small and rich in information, and thus several can be fit on a
thumb drive. Another reason to copy websites is to archive material. Websites
are ephemeral in nature. That is to say they can be here today and going tomorrow
literally. By having some archives, we can rest assured that some of our digital
heritage is preserved. Yet another reason is for research reference. Websites
can be changed, moved, or deleted quickly. Perhaps you're doing research
and coding the web. A copy of the site quoted as it appeared that day can be
important to you to prove your own integrity in the future. Of course, you are not
limited to the reasons discussed here. You may have reasons for your own for having
a copy of websites or web pages. For some people, the things you can do with a
website once captured this way may be the reason. When I first experimented with
this process, I ran a small web server on my laptop with a purl script for
searches. I would invoke the search and keep learning about my favorite topics
wherever I was. Now, if I wanted to do this again, I would probably use this
web search indexing program ht dig, which is dependent upon by the KDE
program k help center, to build its searchable index of documents. If I did not
want a full-blown index, ht track allows you to restructure the site as it is
copied. Thus, you can put all your HTML in one directory and even grip it if
need be. I used the GUI version once a trice and it was like you would expect.
It's like a URL into a web form and off it goes. Now, I prefer to start with a
command line. Typically, the first step would be to create a directory just for the
mirror. I usually name the directory after the site. Then you kick off a command
prompt in the directory, type ht track and the URL of the website and off it
goes, downloading pages. With luck, it will give you a good local copy of the
website with all the links adjusted. I usually use a switch to group the
websites by file type, but that's me. Now, if there are problems, think of the
phrase runaway spider. You can control see the program and begin using switches
and filters to limit the scope of its action. Let's look at a real-world
problem. Searching the web pages that only you want to search. You know, I don't
even know if the term vanny search is the right term for this. I also call it the
non-commercial search. Now, in Hack a public radio episode number 284, myself
and several other HPR hosts discussed whether or not Google was evil. At one
point of this discussion, we theorized that a search run by our own posse would
be great. This got me to thinking about a grassroots alternative to big search
engines. That, in my experience with the Pearl-driven search engine on a laptop,
led me to a tentative solution. I don't know if it would be as scalable or not,
but what I did was, I used ht track and my c panel driven web host to make a
private non-commercial search. The common web host administration program
see panel comes with a CGI script called entropy search. I married this with
some ht track generated mirrors to make a small search on my website for my
online friends. This, by the way, includes all the listeners to my podcasts. You
can check it out at deepgeek.us slash search.html. Any feedback will be
appreciated, what follows are some details of what I did. Before starting a few
caveats from the manuals, now you know why this is called talk geek to me. First,
if you decide to do something like this, don't use ht track with any password
protected sites. ht track can copy these, but will store the password plain text
in its logs. Don't do that. Second, the program entropy search searches all
files on your web server and indexes them. So if you have host and a password
protected sites on your server, don't do this either. The search indexes will
contain the contents of your protected sites. Of course, if you're like me and
you only use your web server account for things, you want to make publicly
available, you can go ahead and knock yourself out. The first step was to, you
guessed it, mirror some favorite sites to my local computer. ht track did the
hard stuff for me. Step 2 was copying those sites to a subfolder on my website
called mirrors. I also put up a robot.txt file to tell us search engines not to
search these sites. I figured it would look like I was trying to steal content if
I did otherwise. Then I logged on to the control panel of the web host, went to
the CGI center page and clicked the link to build the index for entropy search.
Then I copied the html example onto a web page I called search.html. Now
people can search a few thousand my favorite web pages as well as searching all
my own material also. Thus, my website includes 3,000 pages that are
searchable. So, to close, if anybody else decides to try this, I would love to
search your favorite sites and find out about it. Feedback, of course, is always
welcome.
Okay, we had some listener feedback. So, I'd like to open up the mail bag. First, my
friend, Piro, a good friend of mine, going back to a few years of internet
correspondence of an email. First, listen to my show and he sent me a couple of
emails. The first one said, you need to flow a bit more with the show. You sound
like you're reading from a script. Well, actually, Piro, I am reading from a
script. I've done both script scripted and scripted this. And believe me, I'm
better with the scripted. I really am. But, you know, I will work on it. I
upon listening to it a second time around, I realized I was a little bit stiff.
So, I'll work on it. And the second email he sent, he said, there was one word,
it said, interweb. Piro, everyone, cool calls at the interweb now. Come on. Well,
I'm teasing him a little bit. You know, that might just be a habit of my posse.
One of my fellow podcasts is at Hacker Public Radio, Miss Plexi.
For a friend of our fearless publisher, Mr. Enigma, emailed me to congratulate me,
said she particularly liked the feature that I put in the show notes the whole
script for the show. Yeah, that's really important, Plexi. I found that when
Google keys on that script, it really helps people looking for that kind of
information to get zoned in right to your download area, which I include right
over the script, actually. So, actually, here's a little story about this. I found
that I was watching my, my, uh, or stats on my C panel there. And I noticed a
little area for incoming links from Pakistan was going moving up and up and
up closer to the top. I said, wow, a lot of people listening to me in Pakistan,
I had no idea why. And they actually were, were blogging and so I could track
back to the blog. And I could not believe what I found. This was about the
podcast I did on running Linux with the compact, compact flash chip. And it
turns out that a bunch of engineers in Pakistan were using what I said in the
compact flash episode to put a database onto a server that they felt the
disk was too slow and was too small to be loaded to RAM. And I was just, wow,
you know, real engineers using the stuff that I talk about on them on my
podcast. That was very flattering. I'm always amazed to see where this goes. So,
you know, I tell it story to people I know in real life, and they're like,
oh, Pakistanis. Well, you know, hey, these are obviously, you know, above the
board, people in Pakistan, not what some people think of when they think of
Pakistan this day and age, but anyway, engineers and it's amazing to see their
blog. You know, they're all, you know, trusting their traditional headgear. And
they're talking about my stuff. I'm like, oh, so Plexi, thank you for email. And I
hope to, you keep listening. And I hope to receive much more feedback from you.
Thank you so much. Now, I've had a few feedbacks from a fellow HBO host,
Klatu. First one, he said, you know, he was privileged with the sneak preview
of the first episode. So the first one, he says, April 1st, brilliant premiere
date. It's been a busy day, but I'll be sure to listen ASAP. Well, the original
idea is to get him out around the first of the month. And unfortunately, I
started in April. So I was afraid that it would not be taken too seriously. If I
used April full day as the first date, I did have it a little bit ahead of
schedule. And as time came closer, I couldn't resist a couple of days before
April. So it never went through to being April 1st. Now, I did share with my
friend, Klatu, that, you know, Perot's comment about me saying stiff. And he
humorously retorted, oh, well, that's how you always sound. I thought that was
just the way you talked. Well, he also said in the same email that didn't bother
him a bit that he enjoyed the episode and looked forward to future episodes.
And that he thought that numbering them in hex was brilliant. Yes, I like the
hexadecimal touch, too. You really find out really quickly who your real friends
are when you launch one of these podcast things. You know, we agree on so many
things. It's uncanny. But let's see how his sense of humor is because my
exiting sound clip after the exit music is actually some statements he made on
his third season episode 19 episode of his podcast, The Bad Apples, taken out of
context. It was just I was staying in the DMV line, you know, doing something
about my car and listening to his podcast. And I said, wow, that would sound
really great, taken out of context. So I did a little remix. So I hope he
appreciates it. Klatu was also eager to be on the email new email list that I've
done to notify people or email when I issued new ones, new talk geek to me
episodes. So he's like the first one after myself because I need to see what I'm
sending out how it looks when it comes back. So and he's actually suggested that
he was now number X2. Well, you know, I'm not going to be numpin' my list.
It's just too much work. I know he does it for his show, but I admire it greatly.
And I think I'm number 12 over there on Bad Apples. But you know, these guys can
keep track of their own numbers besides who really knows how many people are
listening and not corresponding. I love getting email about the shows. I really do.
But I know a lot of people out there are just listening. So, you know, it means,
it means a lot to me when I get an email because it's like the beginning of
something new and it's not nothing is set in stone yet. So it's like if you want
this to take a certain shape, you just have to email me and tell me. And I'll take your,
you know, I'm so eager to please. It's the beginning of a new show and I'll just,
you know, change my ways. So, you know, that was an impressionable time for me.
So the email correspondence is just great when it's received. Just in case anyone's curious,
according to my logs, you know, the last episode has been listened to 71 times, which is a lot
more than I expected. However, I did join MySpace. I figured if MySpace promotion worked for
bad independent bands, it could work for independent podcasts just as well. And I've been kind
of aggressive with garnering new friends on MySpace. My username there is DeeperGeek.
You know, so it's www.MySpace.com slash DeeperGeek and DeeperGeek is spelled Delta Echo, Echo,
Papa, Echo Romeo, Gulf, Echo, Echo Kilo. Someone else is out there using DeepGeek on MySpace,
so I couldn't get it. He got it first. I did send him a friend request and say, hey,
you know, we have the same taste and use of names, but he's not very active. He hasn't responded
yet. So, that's hope for the best. And my last email was from another fellow podcaster, Dave Yates,
who I gave a heads up over another podcast, because he gave it first mention and then I did a
whole show over at Hacker Public Radio on it. And he said that he was looking forward to listening to
me talking geek to him. Wait, did that sound creepy? Well, I mean, the name says it because what I
am doing is I am talking geek to you, but it does have that little canotation, you know, so
if anyone wants to hear, you know, where I got the inspiration for that name, you know, drop me
an email, let me know and I'll tell you this. So anyway, Dave Yates wrote, you know, DeepGeek,
I listened to the first episode of TGTM twice. Wow, listen to me. I'm amazed that anyone listens
to me the first time, but that's really flattering. Wonderfully, listenable, I really enjoyed it.
The content was top notch, entertaining and informative. And then he goes on to say that you
will do well. Thank you, Dave. Thank you so much. It means so much. You know, I'm going to, you know,
I'm going to find out what the words giving it your best shot means over this thing. And so your
kind feedback is much appreciated. And I don't know how much email I'll get. I hope it's a lot.
I enjoy the email so much and I want to encourage each and every one of you if you want to
to drop me a line either at the MySpace account. I'll be reading the email there. So if you want to
send me email, regular email, you can also email it to the following email address, DG at DeepGeek.us.
That's Delta Golf at Delta Echo, Echo Papa, Golf Echo, Echo Kilo dot uniform Sierra.
And I hope to hear from people. It means a lot to me. Today's closing music will be a
sound dial strum. Come on, y'all club. Jumpers radio mix. And it's available in the show notes as
a separate download. I got one this once again from podsafeaudio.com. Great service. Those guys
are producing. I hope you all check it out.
Come on, y'all. I'm coming, guys. I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm ready to blow up like a ball.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you can dance all over
We going wrong, going wrong again
Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh
haha I try my life, yeah
We can wait three
And Pac kadar, we gonna kick it
I try, I try, I try my life, and go
I try, I try my life, and go
Tha, thak thak thak Leave
Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da
Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da flavor da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da
La la village
Ohhh
Ooh, La la
Oh La la la, oh my god
Oh my god, Oh my god
If Red Hat died a horrible capitalistic death tomorrow, that would just be fine, and Debian
is the same way.
If Red Hat died a horrible capitalistic death tomorrow, that would just be fine, and Debian
is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and Debian is the same way, and De