Planet Linuxchix.org.in - Linuxchix India Chapter

Yesterday i was trying to get microphone working on my opensuse 10.3 box, with Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller soundcard. And this post is about the pains i encountered during it.
After running alsaconf, 'n messing around with alsamixer settings for some time, realized it wasn't going to be such an easy job. Then tried the YaST sound, but even after much permutations/combinations with soundcard parameters that google threw up, it failed to configure. So after some more googling, failed to give any concrete solution, thought let me upgrade alsa.
And thats when my troubles started or so i think it did, since 'm not still aware what is the root cause.
> downloaded all the alsa-10.6 packages from the website.
> configure, make and install goes through without an itch
> reboot
> I try logging in and lo it throws up the usual gnome error box of 'your session lasted less than 10s, if you haven't logged out yourself...blah...blah'.

Clicking on the details, gave me some sabayon failures in the log which didn't make any sense to me. So after googling and asking around few colleagues, came to know sabayon can be safely removed without doing much harm. Wait i forgot to mention, before you think that i was stuck to command line, there is a surprise, when i tried root or any other user, the log-in went through just fine. So me was left scratching my head, as what could be the problem, since if it was alsa, i think everything should've cribbed right?
Well anyways so removed sabayon 'n the gnome_admin which depended on sabayon, (btw its interesting what all you learn, 'coz of this i came to know there's something called these two, 'n they take care of user profiles 'n such). And anyone would be forgiven to think it would work after this, but life is never so simple...is it? So the sabayon errors go, but the log-in still fails. And now 'm at wits end, as it doesn't even hint at whats the problem.
And this is the account which had all my development environment, music, mail, browser, compiz fusion settings...everything. Now importing all those profiles into a new user acc...not a job one would fancy.
So was trying to think of easier way out, so then since it looked like some issue with user profile, thought if i create a new user and point the home directory to this, it should work. Wishful thinking. :( Didn't make any difference except waste my time. And all this happened yesterday night, so today morning thought no point wasting more of my time, so did what i should've done longtime back, copied the data, profiles etc.

But the issue still remains and can't even file a bug, as i don't know what to file against. Not knowing whats the issue seriously pains. So now 'm throwing it up as an open challenge, so if there is someone who can't resist such a puzzling one - solution, pointers to solution, debugging...nething is most welcome :).

'n here's the very detailed informative message i get -
/etc/X11/xim: Checking whether an input method should be started.
/etc/X11/xim: user environment variable LANG=en_US.UTF-8
sourcing /etc/sysconfig/language to get the value of INPUT_METHOD
INPUT_METHOD is not set or empty (no user selected input method).
Trying to start a default input method for the locale en_US.UTF-8 ...
There is no default input method for the current locale.
SESSION_MANAGER=local/puthali-test:/tmp/.ICE-unix/17148

'n btw before there used to be sabayon error messages between the default input and SESSION_MANAGER lines.

'n yea, the whole reason this whole thing started - microphone, i just checked it is working. But it hadn't when i checked last night, life mysteries what can i say...

I was reading Nirav's post about becoming an Enlightened Worker. I particularly liked this point:

"Surround yourself with people you admire and respect. When you work with someone better than you, your performance will improve."

This is something my dad always told me when I was younger and I feel with each passing day. Working or socialising with smarter people helps retain a sharpness in the thought process, as well as building up a practical sense to resolving problems. Being the smartest among the pack may get you to the top, but like the full-moon, the only open path would be to wane and fade.


The other ones I liked from the list are:

First recognize that you are responsible for your own future.

Mission statements for your organization and life are key to enlightened work. The mission statement is a compass to guide your priorities and decisions so you do not become lost in day-to-day activities.

Your self-confidence increases when you know you have done good work. Good results come from healthy self-esteem.

Speak your mind and share your ideas. Do not keep them to yourself.

Under-promise and over-deliver. Keep all commitments.

Be flexible and learn to live with uncertainty.

Celebrate the successes of others.

Wealth and power won’t make you happy. Health, love, and peace of mind will.

"Peace of Mind" = Definitely

P.S: And yeah... am married to a smart guy too.

After the retirement of Steffi Graf, Justine Henin has been my favourite player in women's tennis. Yesterday she announced her shocking retirement with immediate effect.

In the day and age of modern tennis, she was the only player who not only had power but a great amount of technique in her game. That is precisely why I enjoyed watching her play. Her formidable slice backhand almost reminded me of Steffi.

Women's tennis lost its charm for me. I am not interested in watching over-dressed powerhouses banging away the ball.

Irreparable loss to women's tennis, indeed.

Aspell-ml is the GNU Aspell Malayalam Dictionary Package. The malayalam worlist for this package in prepared by Santhosh Thottingal, member of Swathanthra Malayalam Computing (SMC). In Fedora, the aspell-ml package will be maintained by Rajeesh. K. Nambiar, SMC. He will also be the maintainer for Hunspell-ml.

Now lets move on to the story how Aspell-ml helped me to learn the rpmbuild command that is used to build a rpm?

Rajeesh, unfortunately had some problems with his Fedora machine and then I had no other options but to help him to rebuild the aspell-ml package, so that aspell-ml could get into Fedora asap. Rajeesh had promised to guide me well and provided the step by step instructions with each and every command to be used. I was very sure things would not quite work for me with IRC, hence moved on to phone support and used IRC only for the commands.

Steps I did to rebuild Aspell-ml:

1. First thing I had to do was install my test machine with F9.

2. Then I downloaded the spec and rpm from:
Spec URL:
http://download.savannah.nongnu.org/releases/smc/Spellchecker/aspell-ml.spec

SRPM URL:
http://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/smc/Spellchecker/aspell-ml-0.03-2.fc9.src.rpm

3. I was then asked to create a folder called rpm-build with sub folders SPECS, SOURCES, RPMS, SRPMS in my home folder and moved the aspell spec file and srpm to SPEC and SRPMS respectively.

4. As per https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=403911, Parag's comment#19, we made changes in the spec file.

5. Rajeesh then typed in xchat the great command "rpmbuild -ba ~/rpm-build/SPECS/aspell-ml.spec. Ofcourse, when I copied and pasted it on the terminal, it didnt work cause, as usual I had not copied the command fully. This time I had missed the "c" in the word spec while copying that from xchat. Second trial showed we had to install the "rpm-build" package. With "yum install rpm-build" that was done and again I tried the rpm-build command crossing my fingers. Yes, this time I did it.. I told Rajeesh "+ exit 0".

6. Now that all was done, the files were ready to be uploaded back in the savannah. But there again things were not smooth, something else was waiting for me. I had only created an account for myself but had not updated my ssh and gpg keys. With Santhosh's and Rajeesh's help I could update my account (thanks to #smc-project), but could not upload the file as the rsync command showed some error with the public key. Even after several trials, I could not make it. So finally gave up and decided to send the files to the great Thottingal to upload it.

Aspell-ml package is all final and will be soon available in Fedora. Rajeesh's next package in Fedora will be Hunspell-ml. If his Fedora machine is yet to be fixed, I would be more than happy to help him build/rebuild this package too. Oops.. maybe I should put it the other way - Rajeesh would be more than happy to help me to do it. ;)

It was really a nice experience. I had no confusions as Rajeesh always typed in the command on IRC, and before pressing the enter button he would say "ഇതാ വരുന്നു കമാന്‍ഡ്" ("Here comes the command")

Hooo...!!! I blogged finally.......

Raga: Yamunakalyani [65 mecha-kalyani janya] is a modern version of Yaman Kalyan of the Hindustani idiom. SubbaramaDikshitar classifies the raga as bhashanga and desiya.

It is a sampoorna raga and the shuddha madhyama (M2) appears in vakra prayogas in the avarohana such as “g M r” and “g M g r s” but is often rendered in madhyama sruti.

The arohana/avarohana is given by:

A: S R2 G3 P M2 P D2 S

Av: S D2 P M2 P G3 R2 S
[1] BHAVAYAMIGOPALABALAM | khanda chapu | Annamacharya | Telugu |

[2] KrishnaNee BeganeBaro | khanda-chapu | Vyasaraya tirtha | Kannada (There is also a Tamil version which is what I learnt from my g’ma).

In his treatise, “Raganidhi”, Subba Rao notes that there are two versions of this raga and the second does not employ the shuddha madhyama. It skips the nishada and the arohana/avarohana is “s r g p m p d s” – “s d p m s g r s”.

There are many sanchari geethams and jathi swarams (the basics) in Kalyani raga.

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NotreBene : Time permitting, I shall add data, so consider the raga-series a perpetual work-in-progress. Thanks for using a track-back to this original blog entry instead of copying!

When I started maintaining a series of notes (and I need to stop using paper) on the ragams learnt, i tried reading up on that particular composer and the composition in an effort to understand them better. Now i realise that this is not a small project and cross-checking books and online resources takes a helluva lotta time. Each composer deserves their own page instead of a scribbled one-liner amongst other notes, and there being just a handful of composers, this may not be a long series !
ANNAMACHARYA :: – He was the first to structure lyrics in the pallavi and charanam mode, of which 14,000 lyrics are available out of his staggering 32,000 compositions! He used the mudra (signature) “Venkateswara” with slight contextual variations but many were “Anonymous” with no signature. In 1922 the Tirupati Devasthanam authorities stumbled upon the copper plates on which the songs had been engraved by Annamacharya’s grandson Chinna Tirumalacharya.
Annamacharya’s lilting poetry also encompassed folk compositions but the most famous ones include “Muddu gaaru yashoda”, “Ksheerabdi kanyakadu” and “Bhavayami Gopala Balam“, which we performed earlier, with its sonorous lines like “Ghati ghatita mekala Kachita mani ghantika…” and “Ksheerabdi” – which has a lilting melody and is best heard when you are lying on a swing …. guaranteed to send your brain into “relax” mode. A king called Saluva Narasimha Raya, had demanded that Annamacharya compose similar erotic poetry glorifying him but the poet declined, saying his poetry and music were dedicated to the Almighty alone, for which he was imprisoned by the King.

Cant blame the King as after listening to “Muddugaru” and “Ksheerabdi” you will never know that both belong to the same – kuranji raga composition. His compositions blend devotion with erotic love and include subtle Vedic, Tantric and scriptural references, whilst the initiated can decipher the mantras and astrology embedded in the compositions.

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NotreBene : Time permitting, I shall add data, so consider the raga-series a perpetual work-in-progress. Thanks for using a track-back to this original blog entry instead of copying!

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open..

- John Barrymore