Welcome to LukeMcReynolds.com!
This is my place to put stuff online so I won't forget it, show the world that I can make a decent website, and share my thoughts with family and friends. It's also a place for me to share Linux/web development tips and tricks with the world at large, and a place for me to post pictures of my cat. If you don't know me and would like to, please get in touch with me - I'll try to respond right away.
YourFonts.com is Sweet
So, I checked out YourFonts.com today. YourFonts.com lets you make a font out of your own handwriting. The process is easy: you download a template, write all the letters of the alphabet and some punctuation in your own handwriting, on the printed-out template, and then scan the template. The template that I filled out looks like this:
Then, you upload the scanned image of your template to yourfonts.com, and they’ll make a font out of your handwriting. I did the whole thing in about 15 minutes - it’s way faster than I thought it would be. Then, you just install your font. Below are some screenshots of my desktop, etc. using my own handwriting.
This is my desktop - almost all the text uses my own font now. Click for a larger image, 1680x1050 pixels.
This is how the font integrates with Dolphin in KDE 4.1.
My handwriting isn’t particularly special - it’s rather childish, actually - but it’s always fun to be able to personalize things. I’m not sure if I’ll keep my KDE McReynolds-ified or not for the long term, but it’s certainly a lot of fun for the short term. 
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ExpressionEngine Google Sitemaps
I had a little bit of trouble making a sitemap for Google for this page. The ExpressionEngine tutorials didn’t seem to make much sense to me, for some reason. Eventually, I stumbled on to the official sitemap specification at sitemaps.org. Once I read through that, everything made a lot more sense.
Anyway, here’s what I put in my EE template to produce my Google sitemap. You can see its results by going to http://lukemcreynolds.com/sitemapgroup/. If you look at the source, you’ll see that it’s all legit XML.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap/0.84">
<url>
<loc>{homepage}</loc>
<lastmod>{exp:stats}{last_entry_date format="{DATE_W3C}"}{/exp:stats}</lastmod>
<changefreq>always</changefreq>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
{exp:weblog:entries weblog="front_blog" limit="100"
disable="categories|custom_fields|member_data|pagination|trackbacks"
rdf="off" dynamic="off" status="Open"}
<url>
<loc>{homepage}content/{url_title}</loc>
<lastmod>{gmt_edit_date format="{DATE_W3C}"}</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
{/exp:weblog:entries}
{exp:weblog:entries weblog="static_pages" limit="500" disable="categories|custom_fields|member_data|pagination|trackbacks"
rdf="off" dynamic="off" status="Open"}
<url>
<loc>{homepage}static/{url_title}</loc>
<lastmod>{gmt_edit_date format="{DATE_W3C}"}</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.5</priority>
</url>
{/exp:weblog:entries}
</urlset>
This is in the “index” template of the “sitemapgroup” template group. If you’re going to be using this for yourself, remember to set the template type as XML.
Incidentally, I submitted this site’s RSS feed to Google, as well. Now, whenever I post a new article, Google is automatically notified. Isn’t that convenient?
Let me know by e-mail or in the comments if you find any errors or optimizations for this.
EDIT 1/7/2009: I’ve updated this sitemap to work with EE’s Pages module. (This one works with EE Core’s Tome module.) ExpressionEngine Google Sitemaps Using the Pages Module
Posted on Oct 18, 2008 - 06:01 PM Categories: ExpressionEngine, Geekread more | 0 comments
New Project: Pinstripe Hoodie
Lauren and I went to Detroit this weekend. While hanging out in Royal Oak, we went in to Incognito, a vintage-y/indie-y boutique. They had a lot of great stuff - Lauren bought a pair of earrings - but nothing really caught my eye. That is, until I found an awesome pinstripe hoodie. It was slick as all get out, and cost approximately four times more than I would actually pay. Here are two photos of the hoodie, taken from 80’s Purple.com. (The one I saw was navy instead of black or grey, however.)
So, I was bummed: no sweet hooded suit sweatshirt for me.
Then, it occurred to me: I’ve got several semi-crappy suits and suit coats around. I’ve been collecting them, on and off, for several years, shopping at Goodwills and St. Vincent DePauls and Salvation Armies and thrift stores around the United States. A matching suit/coat combo usually runs $10 or less. Why don’t I just make my own pinstripe hoodie?
I’m going to. I have no previous sartorial experience in the least, but I’m motivated, and two of my friends have sewing machines. It’s going to happen.
Posted on Oct 15, 2008 - 06:25 PM Categories: Art, Hoodie, Personalread more | 0 comments
Recent Cool Art I’ve Seen
I’ve seen a couple pieces of very interesting art recently, and I thought I’d share some of it.
This first piece was at Destination 1111. It’s by Jim Gebben: you can see his Flickr photos Jim Gebben Flickr. I would really recommend checking Gebben’s Flickr gallery out, actually: it’s got much higher-quality photos than the one I took, as well as a lot more variety. My grandparents had a set of the exact same wooden toy people that Gebben takes photos of. I would play with them when I was little on holidays when I would see them. Anyway, I love the colors. The prints at Destination 1111 were quite reasonably priced - ~$200 each, I think. If only they would match our apartment - and if only we could afford to spend money on art that we didn’t find at a garage sale. :-(
This second piece I saw just this weekend, at the Detroit Institute of Arts. It’s a massive painting - 10’ x 12’, I’d guess - and is called “Officer of the Hussars”. It was made by Kehinde Wiley. I’ll quote from the informational plaque next to the painting in the DIA:
“This painting is inspired by a long history of European paintings showing military heroes on horseback. It draws attention because of its size, colors, and decorative details, but also because powerful, heroic images of black men are rare in Western art history.”
This is one of my favorite paintings I’ve seen recently, for several reasons. First: powerful, heroic images of black men are rare in Western art history. Yep. Secondly: the guy’s wearing Timberlands. (If you click on the image, it’ll pop up a larger version so you can see the detail better.) The image is pitch-perfect.
Posted on Oct 13, 2008 - 02:33 PM Categories: Art, Personalread more | 0 comments
Spectre with Jupiter Child at the Lagerhouse, Detroit, MI
Spectre - a.k.a. Nicholas Kelsay | Jupiter Child
Posted on Oct 12, 2008 - 10:14 PM Categories: Art, Friends, Videosread more | 0 comments
Scarlet Macaw Count in Belize with my Dad
My dad is leading a Scarlet Macaw count down in Belize this January. There are only an estimated 200-300 Scarlet Macaws in the county, but nobody knows for sure. This count will help give researchers (like my Dad) a more accurate figure.
From the brochure:
Maybe 200 to 300 of these endangered macaws still fly in Belize, but no one knows for sure, and a solid number is needed to plan for their survival. Counting all the macaws is impossible, but this count will create a minimum population number (MPN) by adding macaw sightings that can not be duplicates. Perhaps three counting pairs see 6, 34, and 16 macaws at widely separated sites, and all in one hour: the MPN would be 56 macaws. With more counting pairs, and at many sites, the MPN will more accurately reflect the complete population.
So, if you’re in to that type of thing, check this out: the scarlet macaw count brochure. My dad’s a great guide, and I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun.
Posted on Oct 12, 2008 - 07:41 PM Categories: Family, Personal
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The Rennaissance Center Sure Is Cool-Looking
Lauren and I are staying here for a couple days. Everyone looks at us kinda funny when we tell them that we’re going to Detroit for the weekend, but it’s been great so far. We’re seeing Nicholas Kelsay play - first time we’ve seen him play in his native habitat - and just getting out of town for a little while.
Posted on Oct 10, 2008 - 09:45 PM Categories: Local, Personal, Photoblogread more | 0 comments
New Server!
So, I’ve got a new server! I ended up getting a pretty sweet deal with the folks at ServerADay.com. It’s a modest little box, and I’m paying a modest little price, but the thing is… it’s mine. 
I’ve got root and everything on it, it’s fantastic. I haven’t moved any of my sites over to it yet, but I will: when lukemcreynolds.com or lukeandlauren.com start pinging to 65.18.173.190, you’ll know that I’ve started the move.
Oh, and this, evidently, is what my new server looks like:
(Photo copyright OLM, LLC).
EDIT 10/21/08:
No more dedicated server. Basically, I just don’t need one.
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Scripting with lftp in ACTIVE mode
I needed to automate an FTP file transfer today. Normally, I’d just use a short bash script to tell ftp what to do; but since the server I was uploading to only accepted ACTIVE FTP connections (a windows box maybe?), the plain-vanilla ftp wouldn’t work.
After a little research, I discovered lftp. To enable ACTIVE mode for lftp in CentOS 4, edit /etc/lftp.conf. I uncommented two lines: 33 (set ftp:passive-mode off) and 18 (set default-protocol/ftp.* ftp). Once you save /etc/lftp.conf and exit your text editing program, you’re ready to start writing the actual bash script that will make everything happen.
First, in a non-publicly accessible folder (we’re going to be hardcoding the FTP password within the script), create a new, blank file, named however you want:
touch lftp.sh
Then, be sure to chmod +x the file, so the OS knows that it’s executable.
This is what I put in my lftp.sh file:
lftp -u username,password hostname <<EOF
cd yourdirectory
mput /dir/to/your/file(s)/*.csv
quit 0
EOF
My lftp.sh file transfers all .csv files in the folder specified to the remote FTP server every time lftp.sh is run. Make sure to have the two left brackets and the EOF right after your lftp connecting information:
<<EOF
is the functional equivalent of hitting “Enter” on your keyboard. It allows the rest of the commands to be executed once connected.
Then, I set up a cronjob to run lftp.sh every night at five minutes after midnight. Voila! Instant lftp file transfer goodness, even with ACTIVE mode on.
Posted on Oct 06, 2008 - 06:05 PM Categories: Geekread more | 0 comments
Bowling
I give you... Usadel, bowling.
The Clique bowling alley is usually where we go - it's $5/3 games on Thursdays after 9:00.
Posted on Sep 29, 2008 - 04:56 PM Categories: Friends, Local, Videosread more | 0 comments
