Vision

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

There are some cases where you might need a powerful pdf toolkit to use with php. 1and1 does not come with any built in pdf processors or pdf libraries built into php. Here is the process I used to integrate phptk into my 1and1 shared hosting account.

Requirements: 1and1 shared plan that has ssh support

- Download pdftk deb file for debian etch (http://packages.debian.org/etch/i386/pdftk/download):

wget http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/l/pdftk/pdftk_1.40-2_i386.deb

- Extract the pdftk deb file:

ar xv pdftk_1.40-2_i386.deb

- Extract the data.tar.gz file:

tar xvzf data.tar.gz

- Download libgcj deb file for debian etc (http://packages.debian.org/etch/i386/libgcj7-0/download):

wget http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/g/gcj-4.1/libgcj7-0_4.1.1-20_i386.deb

- Extract the libgcj deb file:

ar xv libgcj7-0_4.1.1-20_i386.deb

- Extract the data.tar.gz file:

tar xvzf data.tar.gz

- Create a script to link libgcj for pdftk (use nano or vi):

#!/bin/bash

LD_LIBRARY_PATH="usr/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH" usr/bin/pdftk $*

- Chmod the pdftk script so it can run:

chmod 755 pdftk

Now you can run pdftk from your main directory and process files from php or cronjobs.

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

There are some cases where you might need a powerful pdf toolkit to use with php. 1and1 does not come with any built in pdf processors or pdf libraries built into php. Here is the process I used to integrate phptk into my 1and1 shared hosting account.

Requirements: 1and1 shared plan that has ssh support

- Download pdftk deb file for debian etch (http://packages.debian.org/etch/i386/pdftk/download):

wget http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/l/pdftk/pdftk_1.40-2_i386.deb

- Extract the pdftk deb file:

ar xv pdftk_1.40-2_i386.deb

- Extract the data.tar.gz file:

tar xvzf data.tar.gz

- Download libgcj deb file for debian etc (http://packages.debian.org/etch/i386/libgcj7-0/download):

wget http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/g/gcj-4.1/libgcj7-0_4.1.1-20_i386.deb

- Extract the libgcj deb file:

ar xv libgcj7-0_4.1.1-20_i386.deb

- Extract the data.tar.gz file:

tar xvzf data.tar.gz

- Create a script to link libgcj for pdftk (use nano or vi):

#!/bin/bash

LD_LIBRARY_PATH="usr/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH" usr/bin/pdftk $*

- Chmod the pdftk script so it can run:

chmod 755 pdftk

Now you can run pdftk from your main directory and process files from php or cronjobs.

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

There are some cases where you might need a powerful pdf toolkit to use with php. 1and1 does not come with any built in pdf processors or pdf libraries built into php. Here is the process I used to integrate phptk into my 1and1 shared hosting account.

Requirements: 1and1 shared plan that has ssh support

- Download pdftk deb file for debian etch (http://packages.debian.org/etch/i386/pdftk/download):

wget http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/l/pdftk/pdftk_1.40-2_i386.deb

- Extract the pdftk deb file:

ar xv pdftk_1.40-2_i386.deb

- Extract the data.tar.gz file:

tar xvzf data.tar.gz

- Download libgcj deb file for debian etc (http://packages.debian.org/etch/i386/libgcj7-0/download):

wget http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/g/gcj-4.1/libgcj7-0_4.1.1-20_i386.deb

- Extract the libgcj deb file:

ar xv libgcj7-0_4.1.1-20_i386.deb

- Extract the data.tar.gz file:

tar xvzf data.tar.gz

- Create a script to link libgcj for pdftk (use nano or vi):

#!/bin/bash

LD_LIBRARY_PATH="usr/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH" usr/bin/pdftk $*

- Chmod the pdftk script so it can run:

chmod 755 pdftk

Now you can run pdftk from your main directory and process files from php or cronjobs.

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

Drupal 6.x is the platform we use to build great websites. There are modules FileField and ImageField 3.0 that allow the ability to update a progress meter when uploading a file. This requires installing a PECL extension to PHP called uploadprogress. Here is the process I used to get it working on a 1and1.com hosting package. You will need a hosting package with ssh support currently the Business and Developer packages do.

• Download PECL uploadaccess to your 1&1 account
• Extract the package tar xvzf uploadprogress-1.0.0.tgz
• Go into the directory cd uploadprogress-1.0.0
• Run phpize5 phpize5
• Change php-config to php-config5 in configure script sed -i 's/=php-config/=php-config5/g' configure
• Change include directives in Makefile sed -i 's#-I/usr/local/include/php#-I/usr/include/php5#g' Makefile
• Run make and make test make make test
• Make new extensions folder for new extension to go in mkdir ~/extensions
• Copy uploadprogress extension to new folder cp .libs/uploadprogress.so ~/extensions/
• Create new php.ini under your main folder (or under a single subfolder for just that application) to add new extension_dir then add this code to the file extension_dir=/kunden/homepages/6/d87663654/htdocs/extensions/ extension=uploadprogress.so

That should be it. You should now be able to see the "Upload progress Enabled (PECL uploadprogress)" on the admin/reports/status page in Drupal.

Links that helped me with the above info:

• http://freestylesystems.co.uk/blog/installng-pecl-uploadprogress-extension-drupal-filefield-module
  
• http://www.outofcontrol.ca/2008/12/16/install-custom-pear-packages-on-1and1/
  
• http://faq.1and1.com/scripting_languages_supported/php/14.html
  

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

So this morning I hit 300k miles in my 1993 Honda Accord SE! I've owned my car since 1999 and I got it with 78k miles on it. So I've driven it an average of 22,200 miles a year. At my current miles per gallon of 25 at the current gas prices I would have spent over $1580 a year or $15,800 over the last 10 years. I could have bought a new car :) I had my Flip Video MinoHD (that Carla got me for my birthday. Thanks beautiful!) with me so I captured the moment of going from 299,999 to 300,000. A momentous occasion I'm sure.

Like I mentioned in the video I've had a great time driving my little Honda. Maybe I'll get another 100k our of it!

Yes it is dusty :) I haven't cleaned in awhile.

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

My wife started reading The Shack not to long ago and wanted me to read it as well so she could talk about what she was reading. My typical reading/listening is mostly filled with podcasts, self help, business and technical books. Novels work there way in my reading list but not often and not ones that are less than a year old from an unknown author. I was skeptical at best and had only heard short explanations of its contents from my father in-law and brother in-law that made the book seem less interesting. Everyone who talked about it had mentioned its controversial view of God and shock of their core belief system so when my wife asked me to read it I was reluctant. But knowing my wife she would not allow me to just put off such as request so I told her I would read it if it was on audible.com. It was. I have an audible.com account which had a couple credits queued up, so I downloaded the book to my iPhone that night. The next day I began listing to The Shack on the way to a clients two and a half hours away. I was hooked. The story was moving and captured my attention so much that I was disappointed at every interruption as I was driving in the car. The ride home was no different and I spent most of the evening at home with one or two earbuds in my ears. The book has some suspense so that evening when a transformer popped and made a bright light outside our bedroom window I was startled (you can read more about that on my wife's blog). The day after I finished listening and all I can say is "Wow". If this book doesn't move you in a way to become a better person I don't know what will. I won't spoil the book for those who didn't read it, but the main characters connection to God was so real it made me want to be familiar with God in that way. I can't say it challenged my view of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as much as others, but it made me want to be a better person and to connect with God in a deep and new way. If you strive for those things you should get a copy today. You won't be disappointed.

For more info on The Shack you can go to http://theshackbook.com/. If you want to find more info on purchasing check out amazon.com's reviews and more.

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

So this morning I hit 300k miles in my 1993 Honda Accord SE! I've owned my car since 1999 and I got it with 78k miles on it. So I've driven it an average of 22,200 miles a year. At my current miles per gallon of 25 at the current gas prices I would have spent over $1580 a year or $15,800 over the last 10 years. I could have bought a new car :) I had my Flip Video MinoHD (that Carla got me for my birthday. Thanks beautiful!) with me so I captured the moment of going from 299,999 to 300,000. A momentous occasion I'm sure.

Like I mentioned in the video I've had a great time driving my little Honda. Maybe I'll get another 100k our of it!

Yes it is dusty :) I haven't cleaned in awhile.

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

So this is my 3rd time through P90X and I'm ashamed to say that this time around has been no better than the past two. Life gets in the way and I end up missing a week and then fizzle out. However I am determined to get back on the horse and hammer out the rest of the 60 days I have left. The hardest part is finding the time between the wife and kids to do an hour workout via DVD every day.

All that said I love P90X! It has to be the best workout program I have ever done. Click on the image to see all the reviews at amazon as that helped me in determining which program to go with.

One of the best parts of P90X is the music and Tony talking you through every step. It makes the workout fly by and you don;t have to focus as much on how bad it hurts. Just power through and X it.

I have a found a few resources to help out with making it easier to keep track of things. Here is a P90X Spreadsheet to keep track of progress which has has all the pre/post test info you can put in as well. My good friend Matt has a blog post about P90X that outlines all of the extras he bought for using the program. I ended up just purchasing basic dumbbells from Wal-mart and a yoga block (needed because I'm not flexible at all!). If you have any questions about what I use or getting started leave a comment and I'll respond back to you. Good luck with getting in shape and not fizzling out like me :)

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.

I have been reading about Canon's new 20D digital camera on Fred Miranda's forums and how some ppl have had issues with focusing. Having read about similar problems with the Canon 10D which I just purchased not to long ago I decided to test my AF (Auto Focus) out. There was a link to an article in the forum to the "Focus Test Chart" and also a pdf to help with testing your AF. The paper gave me a great understanding about how AF works and explains why I get out of focus photos some times. It has been USER ERROR! Not the camera. Well I went through the quick process of shooting the supplied focus test chart in the pdf and had no problems with back or front focusing (see pdf for description). I have also made a link on my site in case the other site goes down because this is so helpful. Link to local copy. Try it out today on any camera that uses Auto Focus!

Originally published at Jeremy Heslop. You can comment here or there.