Music 2 Code 2

Just a mirror of the first few comments from a ycombinator post about brain.fm: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11146712 I still can't find anything better to program to than Nujabes. I'm going to give this a genuine shot, but Jun Seba really left his mark on me for life. I find myself listening to his albums and songs at least twice a day. I think it's because of his repetitive beats, smooth strings and soft instrumentation. There's a reason there are 10 hour 'homework' edits on youtube for almost all of his songs. Counting Stars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-tTmSY4m4M Voice of Autum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvcQWJaaQDw Arurian Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6E9WMM0vko reply alva 14 hours ago While we are at it, the following is a selection of musicians whose work for me is both sedative and promotes focus (an oxymoron?). Ambient music usually garners a few sniggers, "this is what they play in spas" "whale music" etc, however in my experience can be an incredibly rewarding and effective method of relaxation and enjoyment. Gas (Wolfgang Voigt) - Pop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s--IkNqI9og Brian Eno - Discreet Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE6nQ0lkLdY Willits + Sakamoto - Reticent Reminiscence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdJdDwi1RS4&list=RDdskvPFt7w... Aphex Twin - Stone in Focus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG16BTj5qT4 Bvdub - A Moment's Peace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exr3IAMaLPM cv313 - Beyond The Clouds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqrRIDd5pSk If you enjoy this type of music I thoroughly recommend the Headphone Commute blog. Apologies if a bit off topic. reply ulrikrasmussen 10 hours ago Great list! Listening to "Gas", I thought you might also like Fennesz - Venice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWAghDS6s4Q&list=PLKtI6DyKnY... And while we're at it, just a few of my favorites: Greg Haines - Slumber Tides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmMDkZhl_R4 Nest - Retold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r69TiaIE4uo&list=PLaAArUShcY... Murcof - (Ulysses, Martes, Remembranza - all great): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMPaSdC1ncw&list=PLhoTtA1a63... Iso 68 - Zwei Engel Korrigiert : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NvkPmMHGBI Edit: And thank you for the Headphone Commute link - it looks like a great source! reply unicornporn 7 hours ago Best list I found in this thread yet. Am I the only one that likes to work to (mostly) instrumental sludge metal and post-rock? ISIS — Celestial (2000) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8XN-3YZL5Y reply ulrikrasmussen 42 minutes ago I'm glad you like it :). I think ambience and soundscapes should still have interesting musical elements. If it only works as background noise, then I get bored by it. I've also listened to Isis quite a lot, mostly "Oceanic", which is great. There is a pretty good remix album of "Oceanic" that opens with a remix by Fennesz. Let me just throw a few more out there: Antenne (two albums, just called #1 and #2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xel8T2A_pKk Jóhann Jóhannsson - Englabörn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StuK0Bxoe2g&list=PL0dYx2N3BT... The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Here Be Dragons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyORieDhpkg Kreng - Grimoire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU12fCP5AqY La Grande Bellezza - Original Sound Track (sans disco tracks): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO8DqDWBzLI&list=PLf8QJjyzKL... reply adcsd 5 hours ago I work to much of the same type of music, although I tend to group instrumental post-rock/post-punk (e.g. isis, pelican, russian circles, mono) with some electronic (e.g. ratatat) and small amounts of punk (tragedy/hhig, neurosis). Compared to what I usually listen to, the brain.fm focus channel didn't do anything for me. reply unicornporn 2 hours ago Then we're two at least. :) reply minikomi 13 hours ago Some of my favorites: Sakamoto Ryuichi / Alvo noto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8miUl08uog William Basinski - Disintegration Loop series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYOr8TlnqsY Ben Frost - by the throat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rjcipcBibc Keith Fullerton Whitman - Playthroughs https://vimeo.com/8156237 reply AndrewUnmuted 1 hour ago If you're a fan of such relaxing, ambient fare, I would strongly recommend you check out the fantastic compilation release, 'I Am the Center' [1]. It's got some fantastic selections, including an Eno piece, spanning 1950 - 1990. [1] http://lightintheattic.net/releases/943-i-am-the-center-priv... reply picklesman 13 hours ago Great list. Stars of the Lid makes some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. It's ambient, made with strings and heavily processed guitar. The songs develop into these breathing like rhythms that just push some sort of button in me. I can listen to it while working, or just on its own really loud to make the details come out. Stars Of The Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et_lDyRymrw The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaSi7Gut7xM reply trophycase 9 hours ago Gas and SOTL are my two favorite ambient artists. reply unwound 14 hours ago Gas is one of my favorite artists of all time. While I think Pop is a fantastic album, his best is Zauberberg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKsLvEkefTc This album breathes warmth into my soul. So hauntingly beautiful that I think about these soundscapes on a daily basis. reply sneak 13 hours ago > Gas is one of my favorite artists of all time. While I think Pop is a fantastic album, his best is Zauberberg. Perhaps under that alias. His minimal acid techno is also unparalleled. Mike Ink - Playtex (Dadajack): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O30AGIUofRw Mike Ink & Andreas Dorau - Das Telefon Sagt Acid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPFZ-JxQdtc (He (Wolfgang Voigt) goes by Mike Ink, Gas, M:I:5, Studio 1, Wassermann, et al.) reply ilovefood 9 hours ago I am totally digging your style reply mrspeaker 13 hours ago Oh, these are fantastic... spent the last hour sampling them. Thanks for the Headphone Commute tip! While we're listing things, and on a quite different note (much more "pop" - perhaps too distracting given the context of this post), I'd add the Fez OST (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYL-5N08JtA)... it's like chiptune Vangelis, and lovely for working and/or on a plane. (also, Vangelis). reply ascorbic 8 hours ago Need to mention the original: The KLF - Chill Out. reply zennit 8 hours ago My go to source is http://www.buzzoutroom.com/chillout/ been around for years and always introduces me to new artists, great playlist. reply melloclello 14 hours ago Cannot stop listening to that Gas album. Also Ryuichi Sakamoto has a golden touch. See Loscil, Lawrence English, Nest for more of this kind of music reply khaledh 12 hours ago Some of my favorite tracks to code to: Solar Fields - Sol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNiD9M59FQE Solar Fields - Discovering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoYkxKWNzoo Jerome Isma ae - Underwater Love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TINBQPpVi0 Bedroom Lullaby - Kisses In the Rain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZGKjLoo64 Royksopp - Royksopp Forever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM_txL43iFM Shpongle - Around the World in a Tea Daze https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHlidfF7nK8 Hol Baumann - Benares (Varanaci Edit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAKATOLXFOw H.U.V.A. Network - Something Heavens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxI7x5G4nJk Delerium - Tectonic Shift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JStpiAOLLKQ Delerium - Terra Firma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKUxE8UE7S0 Angel Tears - Ishka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmwiYy1caxA Tempted by Collide (Conjure One Mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8llGPB8sAM Trafik - Hard to Resist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DmSeClpuAM Joey Fehrenbach - Behold https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzZckyU9ylw Rob Dougan - Nothing At All (instrumental) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxofkW5iPpI Jens Gad - Glass Palace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF4H0n-dMyg reply thirdsun 9 hours ago Let me add a few more for anyone interested: - Harold Budd - Jane 1-11 / Jane 12-21 / Avalon Sutra (I really think Jane 1-11 is the gold standard for ambient music.) - Porya Hatami - The Garden: https://dronarivm.bandcamp.com/album/the-garden - Hotel Neon - Hotel Neon: https://hotelneon.bandcamp.com/ - Pausal - Sky Margin: https://ownrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sky-margin - Jared Smith - Fjall: https://ownrecords.bandcamp.com/album/fjall - Gigi Masin - Talk To The Sea: https://music-from-memory.bandcamp.com/album/talk-to-the-sea - Gigi Masin - Wind: https://music-from-memory.bandcamp.com/album/wind-3 - Gaussian Curve - Clouds: https://music-from-memory.bandcamp.com/album/clouds - Takeshi Nishimoto - Lavandula: http://www.sonicpieces.com/sonicpieces018.html - Bing & Ruth - Tomorrow Was The Golden Age: https://bingruth.bandcamp.com/album/tomorrow-was-the-golden-... - Nuojuva - Valot Kaukaa: http://www.preservation.com.au/product/nuojuva-valot-kaukaa - Imprints - Data Trails: https://sereinlabel.bandcamp.com/album/data-trails --- In case anyone is interested in this kind of music, there's a very related Spotify Playlist I maintain and very carefully curate: https://open.spotify.com/user/michaelfeihstel/playlist/10IcC... reply bladecatcher 14 hours ago I love Nujabes too. I also highly recommend Boards of Canada: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0fSIHcxJhECMV53Llj23... reply username223 12 hours ago > Boards of Canada... I can't work to Boards, but... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GgWbgtjVow Orange... reply laumars 6 hours ago There's so many good tracks on that album that it's hard to pick out any specifics as being better than the others. But one of my favourites would be Telephasic Workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCWP6E-rvw8 reply EC1 13 hours ago Checkout "Christ." as well. 3rd early BoC member, he's sort of struggling but his music is amazing. He's one of the only artists to ever get an encore from John Peel. He's reissuing one of his best albums on vinyl and is only 64 preorders away from fulfilling the goal - https://www.diggersfactory.com/project/203/christ-curio-volu... 1) Christ. - Pylonesque - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXipXsYg1_U 2) Christ. - Glenbrook - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yIicModMLw 3) Christ. - Perlandine Friday - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcaNsuqOzwY His music got me through some times. Especially 2 and 3. reply

Update node.js on Mac OS X

After installing node.js on Mac OS X using

 brew install node  

Do:

 brew update  
 brew upgrade node  
 npm update npm -g  
 node --version  

Adding zlib to Wordpress on Heroku

You may need zlib in Heroku for Wordpress themes. Assuming you have compiled zlib.so already:

In the Wordpress repo directory,

 mkdir -p lib/php  
 mv zlib.so lib/php/  
 echo "extension = /app/www/lib/php/zlib.so" > php.ini  
 git add .  
 git push heroku production:master

Compiled on Heroku from source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/codesilo/zlib.so

My Computer Is Holding Me Hostage

My primary machine is the Macbook Pro I purchased in early 2011, right before the new model came out, of course. I ordered it with a "regular" 5,400 RPM SATA hard drive, with the intent that I would install an SSD myself.

Soon after I received it, I bought an SSD from a friend, installed it, and was absolutely blown away by the performance. Apps loaded instantly. Startup and shutdown times were less than 20 seconds. My productivity skyrocketed, and life was green.

Then the SSD crashed.

Pretty bummed, I re-installed the 5,400 RPM hard drive, intending to replace it with a new SSD as soon as I saved up a little scratch.

That was two years ago.

Let me tell you -- I have had a  new SSD sitting in my closet for about a year and a half, just waiting to be installed.

I can't do it.

I can't bring myself to sacrifice my working machine, that has all my software installed, and spend the (hopefully only) two days it will take to get the new OSes (I dual boot Windows 7 and Mac OS, much to the derision of my colleagues) and all my software back up-to-speed.

Sacrificing the time, and the effort, has proven to be too much risk. I guess a machine that works slowly is worth far more to me than the hassle of re-creating the machine to work more quickly.

I produce music and have a deadline next Friday. I simply can't waste two days without productivity right now.

Before that, I was working on a new software startup, and simply couldn't spare even a day of lost productivity, even if it meant that my app-launch times, and re-boot times were far slower.

And on and on ad infinitum.

This hard drive is holding me hostage.

At work I have a beautiful new Macbook Pro (also dual-booted; sue me) with 500GB flash storage option, and it is a dream machine.

Waiting for my home machine to boot (when I actually turn it off) gives me 3 minutes and 37 seconds to think about how much time I could save if only I weren't trying to be so productive.

The basic premise here is that a system that is working is worth a lot to me.

Maybe I'm too superstitious. Or lazy? I have enough experience to know that sometimes it doesn't just work out like it is supposed to.

Maybe next week I'll install that new SSD... but only if I can get it done before band practice!

git revert all changes

To revert all your local changes using git:

 $ git checkout .  

git commit deleted files

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1402776/how-do-i-commit-all-deleted-files-in-git/1402793#1402793

To make git to automatically stage tracked files - including deleting the previously tracked files that were deleted without using git rm:

 $ git add -u  

Using Amazon RDS MySQL with Heroku

https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/amazon_rds

Install Java JRE

$ sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre  

Make sure JAVA_HOME is set

 $ export JAVA_HOME=/usr  
 $ echo $JAVA_HOME  
 $ export JAVA_HOME=/usr   
 $ echo $JAVA_HOME   
 $ $JAVA_HOME/bin/java -version   
 java version "1.6.0_27"   
 OpenJDK Runtime Environment (IcedTea6 1.12.6) (6b27-1.12.6-1ubuntu0.12.04.2)   
 OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.0-b12, mixed mode)   

Setup Amazon RDS Heroku CLI tools

http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/CommandLineReference/StartCLI.html

Download RDS CLI tools:

http://aws.amazon.com/developertools/2928

Unzip tools to /usr/local

$ export AWS_RDS_HOME=/usr/local/RDSCli-1.14.001/  
$ export PATH=$PATH:$AWS_RDS_HOME/bin
$ export AWS_CREDENTIAL_FILE=/usr/local/RDSCli-1.14.001/credential-file-path.template

Grant Heroku access to RDS using CLI tools:
(NOTE: 098166147350 is Heroku's secret number)

 $ rds-authorize-db-security-group-ingress \  
  --db-security-group-name default \  
  --ec2-security-group-name default \  
  --ec2-security-group-owner-id 098166147350 \  
  --aws-credential-file $AWS_CREDENTIAL_FILE  
 SECGROUP default default  
    EC2-SECGROUP default    sg-2**3 098166147350 authorizing  
    EC2-SECGROUP quicklaunch-1 sg-4**0 3***9 authorized  

Set DATABASE_URL in Heroku config

 heroku config:set DATABASE_URL=mysql2://username:password@rds-db-name.csisdr4twbmz.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com/database-name

Using Heroku - Common Usage

Show dynos / processes

heroku ps

Scale the number of web dynos to 1

heroku ps:scale web=1

Show heroku logs

heroku logs

Show environment variables for the app

heroku config

Add the SSL endpoint add-on

heroku addons:add ssl:endpoint

Add the SSL endpoint add-on (note, this is paid, $20/month)

heroku addons:add ssl:endpoint




Using virtualenv

$ sudo apt-get install python-pip python-dev build-essential
$ sudo pip install --upgrade pip
$ sudo pip install --upgrade virtualenv

Install pip and virtualenv (on Ubuntu)

virtualenv ~/env

Creates a virtual environment at this location

source ~/env/bin/activate

Activates the virtual environment

deactivate

Deactivates the virtual environment

export LANG=en_GB

Add

export LANG=en_GB

to .bashrc

git push heroku remote end hung up unexpectedly

I had a public key established with Heroku, but git push kept failing.

Finally found this answer on StackOverflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4269922/permission-denied-publickey-when-deploying-heroku-code-fatal-the-remote-end

The solution was to modify the ~/.ssh/config file

This problem was messing with me for a few days.

This this might help.

1) Find out what keys you have in Heroku now.

$ heroku keys
=== 1 key for joe@example.com
ssh-dss AAAAB8NzaC...DVj3R4Ww== joe@workstation.local

2) Build a ~/.ssh/config file:

$ sudo vim ~/.ssh/config

Edit with this info

Host heroku.com
Hostname heroku.com 
Port 22 
IdentitiesOnly yes 
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/ssh-dss # location and name of your private key
TCPKeepAlive yes 
User joe@workstation.local

Django run server in background

To run the django debug server in the background in linux:

./manage.py runserver > /dev/null 2>&1 &

How to get real IP addresses in nginx access logs from ELB

With the default setup of nginx using AWS Elastic Load Balancer, all the IPs were being logged as being from the load balancer.

To get the real IP addresses of the requests, the nginx.conf file at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf is modified to have two additional lines:

 # /etc/nginx/nginx.conf  
 ...  
 real_ip_header X-Forwarded-For;  
 set_real_ip_from 10.0.0.0/8;  
 ...  

Setting uwsgi to run at startup

Modify the /etc/rc.local file to start uwsgi at startup

 #!/bin/sh -e
 #  
 # rc.local  
 #  
 # This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.  
 # Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other  
 # value on error.  
 #  
 # In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution  
 # bits.  
 #  
 # By default this script does nothing.  
 /usr/local/bin/uwsgi --ini /home/user/app/uwsgi.ini  
 exit 0  

PuttyGen pem to ppk

For Amazon Web Services EC2 instances, AWS will generate a .pem file.

To use a .pem key with Putty, run PuttyGen. Select Conversions -> Import Key. Select the .pem file. Choose "Save Private Key" -- save to .ppk file.

To use with Putty, for your session, select Connection -> SSH -> Auth. Under "Private key file for authentication" browse for the .ppk file. Don't forget to save your session settings AFTER loading the key or you will have to do this every time.

How to change nginx root directory

Update the /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default file -- change the document root directive in the server section

 server {  
     #listen  80; ## listen for ipv4; this line is default and implied  
     #listen  [::]:80 default ipv6only=on; ## listen for ipv6  
     root /usr/share/nginx/www;  
     index index.html index.htm;  
 ...

By default the root is installed in /usr/share/nginx/www.

How to restart nginx after updating configuration

The best way to restart nginx server after updating the configuration (/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default or /etc/nginx/nginx.conf) is to not restart it at all. Instead, send it a kill command with the hangup (HUP) argument

# kill -HUP `cat /var/run/nginx.pid`

/HUP
...
     name. There is no default. Typing kill  does not send a sig-
     nal  to  the  current  job. If the signal being sent is TERM
     (terminate) or HUP (hangup), then the job or process is sent
     a CONT (continue) signal as well.

Code Formatter for Blogger / BlogSpot

I've been using http://codeformatter.blogspot.com/

apt-get install gives 403 Forbidden on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS EC2 Instance

I was unable to use apt-get install to install nginx on a fresh Ubuntu 12.04 LTS EC2 instance. Apt-get was returning 403 Forbidden for the ec2 ubuntu connections.

The error looked like:

 Reading package lists... Done  
 Building dependency tree  
 Reading state information... Done  
 The following extra packages will be installed:  
  libgd2-noxpm libjpeg-turbo8 libjpeg8 libxslt1.1 nginx-common nginx-full  
 Suggested packages:  
  libgd-tools  
 The following NEW packages will be installed:  
  libgd2-noxpm libjpeg-turbo8 libjpeg8 libxslt1.1 nginx nginx-common nginx-full  
 0 upgraded, 7 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.  
 Need to get 403 kB/882 kB of archives.  
 After this operation, 2,691 kB of additional disk space will be used.  
 Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y  
 Err http://us-east-1.ec2.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/universe nginx-common all 1.1.19-1ubuntu0.1  
  403 Forbidden  
 Err http://us-east-1.ec2.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/universe nginx-full amd64 1.1.19-1ubuntu0.1  
  403 Forbidden  
 Err http://us-east-1.ec2.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/universe nginx all 1.1.19-1ubuntu0.1  
  403 Forbidden  
 Failed to fetch http://us-east-1.ec2.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/n/nginx/nginx-common_1.1.19-1ubuntu0.1_all.deb 403 Forbidden  
 Failed to fetch http://us-east-1.ec2.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/n/nginx/nginx-full_1.1.19-1ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb 403 Forbidden  
 Failed to fetch http://us-east-1.ec2.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/n/nginx/nginx_1.1.19-1ubuntu0.1_all.deb 403 Forbidden  
 E: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with --fix-missing?  

The solution was to run update on apt-get

 sudo apt-get update  

For more details, see: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/987182

Productivity Power Tools for Visual Studio 2012 - Syntax Error Highlights

One great thing about using Eclipse is that it marks syntax and compile errors along the sidebar of the editor window.

Visual Studio 2012 doesn't have this feature by default, but it is really easy to add.

Go to Tools -> Extensions and Updates

Select the Online tab, and search for "productivity."

Select Productivity Power Tools and choose Download.

Visual Studio Productivity Power Tools Install

Restart Visual Studio. Now errors will be highlighted in the scroll bar.

Visual Studio Productivity Power Tools - Error Highlighting