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Managing Downloaded TV Shows By Folder With Applescript

March 8th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

I’m using the TV Shows Mac application to pull torrent files of TV shows and stream them to my PS3 using the PS3 Media Server application. The flow is something like this:

  • TV Shows looks for torrent files and places them in the Media Temp directory.
  • Transmission looks torrent files in the Media Temp directory, it deletes the torrent files and puts the in-process and incomplete torrent files in the Media Temp directory.
  • When Transmission is done downloading, it moves the file to the TV Shows directory.

What neither TV Shows or Transmission does is to organize shows into separate folders by show name. To achieve this I created a folder action Applescript that parses out the TV show name from the file name and creates a folder. The folder action will then move the file into the appropriate folder.

Here is the folder action that I attach to the TV Show folder. It runs every time a file is placed into the TV Shows folder. (note: This is used on Mac OS X 10.6)

–Organize TV shows by folder

–By Gregory J. Smith http://greginthedesert.net

on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving these_items

tell application “Finder”

try

set tvshowsfolder to this_folder

set thefilelist to these_items

repeat with i from 1 to number of items in thefilelist

set thefilename to name of (item i of thefilelist)

set OldDelims to AppleScript’s text item delimiters

set AppleScript’s text item delimiters to “.”

set Pasrsedfilename to text items of thefilename

set AppleScript’s text item delimiters to OldDelims

–Hopefullug there is never a TV show named SxxExx.

set LastPartOfShowName to (count of Pasrsedfilename) – 1

repeat with x from 2 to number of items in Pasrsedfilename

if (item 1 of (item x of Pasrsedfilename) is “S” and item 4 of (item x of Pasrsedfilename) is “E”) or (item x of Pasrsedfilename) is “REPACK” then

set LastPartOfShowName to x – 1

exit repeat

end if

end repeat

set OldDelims to AppleScript’s text item delimiters

set AppleScript’s text item delimiters to ” “

set TVShowName to (items 1 through LastPartOfShowName of Pasrsedfilename) as text

set AppleScript’s text item delimiters to OldDelims

log TVShowName

if not (exists folder TVShowName of tvshowsfolder) then

make new folder at tvshowsfolder with properties {name:TVShowName}

end if

move (item i of thefilelist) to ((tvshowsfolder & TVShowName) as string)

end repeat

on error theerror

display dialog “There was an error moving TV shows: ” & theerror

end try

end tell

end adding folder items to

The applescript seems to work pretty well when there is only one show that lands in the TV Shows directory. When I have manually added several files to the TV show directory, sometimes the folder actions just stop working or give a weird error.

My next project will be to automatically delete the TV shows based the last time they were viewed. The challenge here will be that the PS3 Media Server doesn’t do anything to mark a file as read and I don’t want to delete a file unless it has been watched.

What Google Takes Away, Google Gives Back

March 5th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

At the end of last year Google did something with its page rank algorithm that caused my site to loose most traffic from Google. I thought the problem was due to excessive load times on my site. I used Pingdom to narrow the load times to a javascirpt from a Wordpress contact form plugin. The javascript took about 4 seconds to load and was loading on every page, including pages that did not have the contact form.

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Once disabled the load times were down to a more reasonable level, although they have crept back up according to Google Webmaster Tools. As far as I can tell it’s images causing the load times. It was a good exercise for me to understand load times but it was a change made completely on Google’s part that caused the loss in traffic. The site not only got the traffic back but it increased a little. Also, when the traffic did come back the site had a significant increase in comment spam, so much that I had to turn off comments for certain posts.

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Meanwhile, I took a much need break from the blog and completely ignored everything (except approving comments) and missed that TechCrunch linked to one of my pages. Causing a nice spike in traffic.

Huge Planet Sized Spacecraft Observing The Sun!

January 30th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

You’re viewing the NASA image archives, the stereo space craft images, and you come across one of the sun and it shows a unexpected “thing” right next to the sun and it must be a PLANET SIZED SPACECRAFT! So you ask NASA what is in that image and they explain it as a imaging artifact from compression and the way the image is taken with different techniques and since their answer is anything other than PLANET SIZED SPACECRAFT it’s clearly a conspiracy. Then you post it to YouTube and it’s going to go viral!

These huge spherical UFO’s started appearing around January 18, 2010. They are on both the forward and rear images taken by NASA’s Stereo Spacecraft in space. They appear to be moving as they are in different positions on many photos. Remember these are huge possibly at least the size of Earth. Further, if they were planets or some type of huge asteroid comets, they would already have been pulled into the sun by the strong gravity the sun produces as in the case of the recent comet.

Notice also that they are reflecting the suns light just like a metal constructed ship would do.

My best guess is that they are huge planet sized spacecraft either observing the sun, or could it be that disclosure is now happening. Either way, I await NASA’s official explanation. Please help to make this viral so that we can get this out to the world. This could finally be the evidence that NASA can’t cover-up or ignore.

People asking for links so here’s a current and this one shows SIX distinct anomalies. Truly awesome, and kind of puts that hot pixel malfunction theory to rest.

http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/bro…

Could the recent comets heading into the Sun and now these huge UFO’s be the signs spoken of in the bible? Luke Chapter 21 vs 5 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.

OK heard back from Dr. Joseph B. Gurman
STEREO Project Scientist, and quite frankly this is the worst response NASA could have . Get ready for the conspiracy videos to go viral. Please be sure to read the whole response.

Response- What you’re seeing is the difference between “beacon mode” (near realtime, heavily compressed, binned [I believe 512 x 512 or smaller]) images and normal playback telemetry images (2048 x 2048 native mode, less heavily but still lossily compressed).

Normally, we get most of each day covered by the near realtime, beacon mode data through the help of a variety of ground stations around the world (including some operated by radio amateurs):

[link to stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov] ,

so we have prompt information when space weather events have originated at the Sun. The full-resolution playback telemetry comes from dedicated periods of downlink (“station contacts”) through NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN). A single playback can last hours, and covers data from a day or more stored on one of the two spacecrafts’ solid state recorders. Those data are then played back over the Internet to the mission operations center and the STEREO science center, and thence to the instrument teams’ home institutions, where they are processed over the course of a day or so. Thus, in normal operations, the full-resolution images will be ~ three days behind real time. Newer images will be the lower-res, more highly compressed beacon mode images, and older images will have been replaced by the full-res, playback data.

On January 18, at ~ 21:47 UT, the “central data recorder” at DSN, that stores all the playback data from all the missions DSN supports, failed. A backup CDR took over, but apparently started working on data from January 10, instead of just the four previous hours, as designed. (The last I heard, the DSN engineers don’t understand why, but it certainly sounds like a software issue.) For some reason, DSN is unable to reset a pointer and say, please start processing from this time instead of that time. So we, and all the other missions supported by DSN, are waiting for our playback data from January 18 and all following days. As soon as we get it, and the instrument teams have reformatted the telemetry into scientifically useful formats (that allow, for instance, making SECCHI EUVI data into images), we will post the images and other STEREO browse data in the normal places.

And no, I don’t know why DSN designed such an inflexible CDR system. I suspect they may modify it after this experience.

Best,

Joe Gurman

(Dr.) Joseph B. Gurman
STEREO Project Scientist

The Apple iPad Announced

January 27th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

Apple iPad

Apple announced their worst kept secret, their Apple tablet computer called the iPad. It’s exactly what what it was rumored to be, a oversized iPod Touch. The iPad will run all the apps the iPhone and iPod touch will run but it’s missing a camera and GPS. Apple says they got 10 hours of use out of it, it will come with WiFi but a 3G cellular data option is available (and unlocked).

I think every rumor, including the prototype pictures at engadget and interview with McGraw-Hill’s CEO and President (Update: McGraw-Hill might have been punished for making the comments about the iPad before it was released), were all sanctioned by Apple. It was just enough to keep the hype and Steve Job’s reality distortion field in place but not enough to actually reveal the device.

I can’t imagine I will purchase an iPad as soon as it comes out (which is not for another 60 to 90 days) I do hope that parts of it make it into Apple’s laptops before my next laptop purchase. I also was hoping for an iPhone OS 4.0 and iLife 2010 announcement.

iPhone App Of The Week: Southwest Airlines

January 24th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

Having flown a lot in the last few years I been able to fly many airlines. Anymore I pretty much won’t fly unless I can fly Southwest. It has less to do with ticket fares and more to do with how much hassle I get and Southwest gives me the least amount of hassle.

The Southwest iPhone app can alert me to their Ding deals using the notification system which very helpfull. The application can also book flights and check in, I was already doing that through the web interface. The web didn’t always work for me and I hope to have better success with a dedicated app.

Southwest Airlines is Free on the iTunes App Store.icon

1C62F572-4D27-4D4C-86B4-EA3BD2A85326.jpgTraveling with Southwest Airlines is now even more convenient with our first iPhone app. Make reservations, check in for flights, and access your Rapid Rewards account directly from your iPhone. Plus, our iPhone app has DING! functionality built in, giving you instant access to exclusive, limited-time-only air fare deals. When a DING! fare is made available, you’ll be notified immediately on your iPhone.

So now there’s no need to boot up your laptop or make a phone call to prepare for your next trip. Just pull out your iPhone to:

· View & book the latest DING! deals
· Book or cancel air reservations
· Book or cancel rental car reservations
· Check in for your flight
· Check flight status
· Review flight schedules
· Access your Rapid Rewards account
· Access helpful contact information

With many of southwest.com’s most popular features now in the palm of your hand, traveling on Southwest is more convenient than ever before.

Electromagnetic Sensitivity In Santa Fe, New Mexico

January 18th, 2010 Greg Smith 1 comment

Santa Fe is the capital city of New Mexico but it’s not nearly as populated as Albuquerque and is known for being artsy and for electromagentic sensitive people.

A Santa Fe man who says he suffers from electromagnetic sensitivity is suing his next-door neighbor for refusing to turn off her cell phone and other electronic devices.

Arthur Firstenberg, who has actively opposed the proliferation of wireless systems in public buildings, claims he has been made homeless by Raphaela Monribot’s rejection of his requests.

New Mexico is the right place to live to get away from all electromagntic signals. The Very Large Array in Socorro, New Mexico is in a signal free zone. One does not have to go far into the desert to get away signals but living anywhere near or in a city is a bad idea.

Intel Infoscape Display At CES

January 15th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

Intel had a display system built specifically for CES which they call Infoscape or “the Intel Cube”. It includes two touchscreen glass walls measuring at 7 x 7 feet (1920 x 1920 resolution). The walls are equivalent to two HD displayed stacked on top of each other but they are a single screen. I can’t image who they got to build these custom screens or what they cost.

These screen are there to demonstrate Intel’s 2010 Core i7 processor and Intel HD graphics chips. Many bloggers were impressed including Engadget but says Intel’s not going to make it a product.

Intel confessed that it has absolutely no plans of commercializing something like this itself — but that’s not to say someone else couldn’t grab a Core i7 and run with the idea themselves.

It’s too bad that some other company has to come out with a impressive product like this. Video of the display can be seen at Intel’s page on YouTube.

Ford Advertises Bluetooth With iPhone Knots

January 15th, 2010 Greg Smith 1 comment

Great advertisement by Ford Germany advertising bluetooth in Ford vehicles by showing iPhone/iPod headphones in various forms of knots.

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WiFi Receiver WIth A Bowl And A Alfa Card

January 14th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

Truth Or Consequences, NM blogger Mikey Sklar came up with a metal bowl and Alfa WiFi adapter
to scan for an open wireless networks when his internet went out.

26FA5378-39C8-471E-B39D-0FD29B3CCFC5.jpgWe suffered from two disastrous outages last week. First a data line was cut somewhere north of TorC and south of Albuquerque. We had no cell service (AT&T) or any internet in all of town for a full work day. Nobody could use credit cards, ATMs, or even purchase gas. This was closely followed with our home internet connection dying. I called the cable company on day 3 to complain and they fixed it almost immediately. The issue was a dead amplifier used to boost the signal to all the trailer hookups on our property. In order to keep our sanity through this week of dead connections I rigged up a 1W Wi-Fi card to pickup the free internet signal in a nearby park about a 1/3 of a mile from my home. I was blown away to discover 50 other Wi-Fi networks being available at the same time. About 50% of those are open or using easily defeated WEP. I highly recommend picking up a 1W alfa card for less than $40. Now I just need a bigger dish. Works fine with all platforms and has a recent driver release for OS/X which makes it much easier to use.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5

January 13th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

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I really like the image quality from my first generation Canon Digital Rebel but I quickly got tired of caring around a big SLR. I have a Canon G9 but it stopped working when it became out of warrantee. I’ve been looking at the 4:3 mini-SLR types cameras but they are expensive and still seem to have issues.

After my Canon G9 died, I vowed to never buy another Canon camera again. Then the G10 and G11 came out with positive reviews, I considered them but they were lacking enough features to reconsider my anti-Canon stance.

At CES last week, Sony annouced the DSC-HX5V camera loaded with nearly every feature I have been wishing for.

  • First and foremost, It includes an SD slot. Being forced to use a Memory Stick was enough to keep me from even considering a Sony camera.
  • It includes a GPS and Compass. I often carry around a GPS recorder so I can geotag photos later with the coordinates. It’s been a pain and sometimes the GPS doesn’t record. It’s yet to be seen if Sony uses some weird formatting of the GPS data.
  • Auto HDR. I don’t have to annoy my friends by making them stay still for those multi shot pictures.
  • It records full HD movies in the AVCHD format in 1080i. Why Canon didn’t include this in the G11 is beyond me but it’s something I will use often. It won’t do the 24fps mode of my dedicated HD camera, but i can live with it.

It’s not a SLR but I expect the image quality to be very good. The only missing feature I haven’t read about is if it will shoot in RAW file format. For $350 I will find out unfortunately I will have to wait until March.