Open Source BullSHIT

Fuck does this ever suck. Considering, though, how regularly this shit happens with open-source crap, it should be something I should anticipate more often. Fuck, though is it annoying. Check it out:

+ autoconf
configure.ac:4: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_CONFIG_HEADER
If this token and others are legitimate, please use m4_pattern_allow.
See the Autoconf documentation.
configure.ac:5: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE
configure.ac:16: error: possibly undefined macro: AC_DISABLE_STATIC
configure.ac:17: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_PROG_LIBTOOL
configure.ac:37: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION
configure.ac:38: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_GNU_GETTEXT
configure.ac:72: error: possibly undefined macro: AC_DEFINE
configure.ac:134: error: possibly undefined macro: AC_SUBST
configure.ac:186: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_CONDITIONAL
configure.ac:321: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_PATH_GLIB_2_0
configure.ac:325: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_PATH_GTK_2_0
configure.ac:650: error: possibly undefined macro: AC_PROG_PERL_MODULES
configure.ac:1222: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_PATH_AUDIOFILE
configure.ac:1334: error: possibly undefined macro: AM_BINRELOC
configure.ac:1344: error: possibly undefined macro: AC_VAR_TIMEZONE_EXTERNALS
error: Bad exit status from /var/tmp/rpm-tmp.73932 (%prep)

Let me explain. So I'm building software which incorporates some of this auto-configure crap (AKA AutoCrap and a host of other names) and, of course, I don't have a Configure script, which I apparently need. So, as far as I know, I have to generate one. Yay! So I try to with what I assume to be the way to do so.

Hail no, apparently. Either my version is out of date or it's missing something unknown so that It Just Doesn't Work.

And that's my biggest beef about building open-source stuff: The fucking things are designed by fucking 15 year old kids who have nothing better to do than grab this fucking week's goddamned release of whatever they want, make no fucking notes nor make any checks in their code, and just assume that people following behind them have the same flash of niche fucking insight to simply understand what to do from one point to the next. And, by upgrading my development tools so they're like whatever this dumb kids was using, I also invalidate the support contract for this devel machine, since I'm adding custom stuff which isn't tested.

Fucking Open Source GNU bullshit with their This Week's Release, no backward fucking compatibility and no fucking hints, documentation or assistance. Fuck YOU, Richard Stallman, for the machine you've created and then - like any open-source project - decided to fucking ignore when the actual work got difficult.

Google Base?

Not a lot of news, yet, but it seems that Google's launching a new Google Base service. The service seems to be a place to list all manner of ads, info, or content: cars for sale, lists of protein chains, upcoming parties, etc.

It seems to be a light eBay, a bit of Calendaring and some WikiPedia thrown in. I guess we'll have to see what's going on when they (re)Open it: although people were able to hit the demo page and get the screen-shot at right, the page was quickly locked down with a bare '403' response, which is encouraging in its difference from the regular Google error pages.

NYTimes calls South Park 'a Phenomenon'

the N Y Times on South Park:

'But nine seasons on, South Park is a bona fide cultural phenomenon that has risen above its own raunch to become an up-to-the-minute social commentary on some of the most controversial issues of the day.'

I never thought I'd see the day where South Park was considered a phenomenon or anything like Social Commentary. My god.

Two Words: Geneva Conventions

Film rolls as troops burn dead - World - smh.com.au:

US soldiers in Afghanistan burnt the bodies of dead Taliban and taunted their opponents about the corpses, in an act deeply offensive to Muslims and in breach of the Geneva conventions.
:
The burning of a body is a deep insult to Muslims. Islam requires burial within 24 hours.Under the Geneva conventions the burial of war dead "should be honourable, and, if possible, according to the rites of the religion to which the deceased belonged"

I really worry for these guys. If they belligerently invade sandy countries for their oil, and have systematically broken every rule of war ever set, what kind of treatment can they reasonably expect from the groups they are fighting? What cause do they have to complain when the same thing happens to them? Should they not be happy and relieved when their enemies do not stoop to their level?

Two more words: War Criminal.

Sleuths Crack Tracking Code Discovered in Color Printers

Sleuths Crack Tracking Code Discovered in Color Printers:

"It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it isn't. The pages coming out of your color printer may contain hidden information that could be used to track you down if you ever cross the U.S. government."

Hoo boy. I'm glad there's no government so wary of criticism that it, say, stashes protestors in 'free speech zones' or anything similarly limp-dicked. They'd likely be the first bunch to arrest a particularly vocal critic - you know, for something dangerous like Disturbing the Peace - and have them 'accidentally shot' while 'trying to resist arrest' or something.

Yeah, don't be printing your manifestoes on laser printers, I guess; use a bubblejet printer, one that's too old to adequately embed these dots because its resolution is crap.

Dear Friend. Please Understand the Following

Dear Friend,

You need to understand a few things about your nation, which you may not have noticed. In call cases, when I say 'we', I generally mean 'everyone in the world not living in your country,' okay? Thanks. Okay, here's the list:

1. We view you as a war-monging nation of gun-toting freaks
2. led by a monkey
3. who may or may not be suffering from a degenerative mental condition
4. and has a problem choosing the best man for the job.
5. We're stunned that this isn't obvious to you as well.
   
6. We are concerned by your lack of attention to your economic situation
7. and inability to provide all your own oil
8. or natural gas
9. or lumber.
10. We know you 'got' Saddam
11. however, we know you did it the wrong way
12. and we are concerned that you think the end justifies the means.
13. We respect your soldiers
14. despite the Nuremburg defense being invalid
15. and while absolving your soldiers from blame feel comfortable hating your belligerent invasions
    
16. because we formed a League of Nations to prevent just that.
17. We are concerned at the rate at which your personal freedom is eroded
    
18. despite your famous slogan
19. and we hate that our country osmoses all of your worst laws.
    

Once you understand, it will make everything better.

Thank you for your consideration. If you don't like it, we can always agree to disagree, and we'll just raise the prices on wood, power, oil, gas and water until we can come to an agreement.

Negotiation through Extortion: support your local Union/Mob today!

This strike is pissing me off.

The best part of this strike is where other unions also walk away from the job 'in support'. I've never seen a more blatant example of extortion in my life -- apparently some negotiation snafu with an unrelated business is reason for your workplace to strike too, and the puppet union members happily walk off the job. Yay!

What a nice school you have there. It would be a shame if no one showed up to work on monday. Don't get injured, because striking garbagemen have blocked the hospital, and Doctors can't cross the picket lines unless it's important. That hip replacement you've been waiting a year for? Maybe next year.

That kind of thing. The threat of work disruption is the only method that seems to be exercised by unions, and unions exist to employ as many members for as much money as possible. Tell me how that differs from the Mob?

You Poor Crazy bastard

Look, you whiny little prick. We don't want to hear it, okay? She's gone. She'll always be gone. J and D don't care, really, if you were with her or someone else entirely. No one cares; hell, she doesn't care.

Move on, okay? You blew it, so take your lumps, suck it up and go crazy already.

Bloggers are such emo pussies.