Mon 03 Mar 2003

  • GTK+: Spent a couple days this week getting the GtkTreeView to work in a RTL locale. It was the last major widget in need of support added – though it showed some RTL bugs in other widgets. As an added bonus, I also got column expanding working, which should make Seth very happy. I’m pretty excited at how well it worked, though we need to do a bit more work to be fully RTL compliant. It would be a good target for 2.4.

  • Mime: I’m now tasked with fixing the mime-system in GNOME. fun.

  • Life: Had a very pleasant day with Rosanna. We went on a walk with the dog down the Bolin Creek trail. It was a wonderful 60 degrees outside, and though it kept threatening to rain, it never quite did. It was a good change from ice storms. We also saw some bird houses painted Carolina blue. Zana correctly guessed they were Eastern Bluebird houses. Two points to her. We ended up walking to Cafe Driade along the way. They have simply the best Cappucino in the Chapel Hill area.

Fri 14 Feb 2003

  • Life: I’m going to ask for a transfer to the Red Hat office in Massachussetts. There are a lot of little reasons for asking for this change. None of them are quite big enough to push the move by itself, but as a whole, they add up to being quite compelling. I’m going to miss a lot about living down here (mostly people), but I’m not going to miss the Commute. Simply put, I was spending eight to ten hours a week in my car. My waking hours are too precious for that. Once I’d decided to move, asking for the transfer became a lot easier.

Fri 07 Feb 2003

  • Culture: As a change of pace, last Sunday I went to the Opera with Zana and Owen. The NCOC was playing Saint-Saën’s “Samson et Delila.” It was a lot of fun to dust off the suit and go out for a change — certainly more compelling than the Superbowl last weekend.

    After the Opera, we went to Barnes and Noble in Cary for a bit. While there, I found a copy of The Art of the Fugue played by the Julliard String Quartet. This piece features prominently in “An Equal Music”, my current book. I think this recording inspired the author a lot. In the book they have to have a special viola made to play a fourth below the normal range, echoing a comment made in the liner notes. They both go into the (admittedly much discussed) numerology of the Art of the Fugue. Either way, I’ve been listening to the music on my way to work every day. They’re just about the perfect length — I finish the first disc just as I get to the office and I finish the second disc close to Carrboro. It almost make my current commute pleasant.

  • Pirates: Speaking of the Superbowl, Zana and I through a Superbowl party last Sunday. As the game featured the Raiders versus the Buccanneers, I decided to hold a pirate themed party. Lots of fun was had by all but the Raider fans. I put a copy of my invitation up at: http://jrb.webwynk.net/files/pirate.html

  • Cars: Bad month for cars. Havoc, Garrett, and my brother all lost the use of their car after they were hit. Be careful driving.

  • Anders and Richard: They have a cool, secret project. I can’t wait until they check it in to public CVS.