return void;

So there’s this thing that has become very popular in the Linux community lately called FUSE. It’s basically a filesystem in user space. The concept is actually pretty radical and the implementation seems to be pretty flexible. You basically mount a directory using one of the plugins (mount types) from a userspace program. There are fuse modules that do everything from a crypto-loop to a mysql database filesystem interface.

I have been ripping all of my music collection to FLAC format. My unwillingness to compromise quality has finally met it’s perfect match. The mp3fs module allows you to mount a directory of FLAC or Ogg files and read them as mp3s converted to the bitrate of your desire.

So when I want to make a new DVD to take to work (we’re not allowed mp3 players), I simply mount the directory with the mp3fs fuse module. The only problem I’ve seen is direct burning to nautilus-cd-burner seems to hang and complain (endlessly) about nothing in particular (just fails to create the CD during initialization). Until that is fixed, I have an intermediate step of copying the CDs to the network before burning them directly.

If you get a chance, make sure to give this module and the many others a whirl, the simplicity and power of fuse is not to be taken lightly.

So the summer semester wrapped up. I received a B for the coarse thanks to a simple calculation mistake on the final. It’s frustrating to work so hard on something and get dinged hard for something so trivial.

Some other things are finally coming to a close though. I had a Functional Test Verification (FTV) at work on Friday. I was demonstrating my work to add support for a new device to the system. It took about a week beyond what was scheduled, but it turned out well. There were close to 20 people in attendance, covering the entire spectrum of project development. Some program managers and my boss’ boss were even in attendance for the full affair.

Sidebar: I usually take longer on a project up-front, but it pays off in the end. I have yet to have a serious problem with my software post initial release. In fact, I rarely have bugs reported against them; usually only feature additions are requested.

So anyways, I also wrapped up my summer training today. I competed in the Too Hot Too Handle again this year. My unofficial time was 27:51 and I was 15th in my age group. It’s not the best time in the world, but it’s a tough race. I went out about 30 seconds too fast on my first mile and started paying for it near mile 2. The humidity was really high, so I did not do nearly as well as I had hoped. I wanted to be in the 25 minute range, so I was about 40 seconds slower than I had wanted to be.

Now that I had a few weeks until class starts, I think I will take the time to watch Deadwood and finish beating God of War 2 on Titan mode. I also am hoping to finish organizing my photos and music.