Handy trick for using django runserver/testmaker on remote server

Thanks Bart for showing me how to have a local version of django running on my VPS.

On the VPS start django as required, eg

python manage.py runserver
python manage.py testmaker -a web

Now do this from a command line where 1.2.3.4 is your vps ip:

ssh root@1.2.3.4 -L 5984:localhost:8000 -N

enter the password and it should not come back with anything.

Now go to this URL and your website should start

http://localhost:5984/

What to do with a 17lb turnkey when there are only three of you for Christmas?

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had less people and a bigger turnkey than planned. And we are not big eaters. So father butchered the monster into breasts, legs and carcass and we cut a small piece of one of the breasts and roasted that. Very tasty is was too and we split the leftovers between us to make at least a further mean each. So what was I going to do with the huge bowl of left over bits? After a bit of googling I came up with this recipe and am very pleased with it.

Turkey Burgers for the Freezer

Amounts approximate!

Cut up the raw turkey into chunks and whizz in the food processor to turn it into turkey mince.
20% (5 biggish onions) of turnkey mass in onions. Chop in food processor and fry gently and leave to cool.
10% (10 pieces) smoke streaky bacon add to onions and cook quickly. Didn't brown.
10% (1 large) cooking apple chopped.
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely.
1 inch cubed of ginger chopped finely.

Let the cooked ingrediants cool down and then mix all together.
Using polenta meal to coat the burgers, (Was going to use semolina, as recommended by Nigella for roast potatoes, but none in the shop. Polenta worked very well as an alternative.) I used a burger making device to form the burger and put on a baking tray coated with polenta. Freeze then take off the baking tray and put into plastic bags, ready for that need for a quick wholesome meal.

D3 Nest function - converting csv data to nested data for treemaps etc.

Just finished 8 examples of how to use the javascript visualisation library D3 nest function - notes to self really, but shared in case they are useful for others.

 http://bl.ocks.org/3176159 to see the code
 http://bl.ocks.org/d/3176159/ to see all the examples run.

Simple D3 examples to try

I learn by looking at examples and then trying to modify them to do what I want. I've started creating little gists to record how use different features of d3. In case they help others, here is a start. They can all be run in bl.ocks

Processing CSV strings and files and grouping with nest:

• https://gist.github.com/3053667 - processing csv string 
• https://gist.github.com/3053705 - processing csv file 
• https://gist.github.com/3096857 - nesting/grouping to two levels

Drawing Axes:

• https://gist.github.com/3053419 - simplest possible
• https://gist.github.com/3059392 - date axis
• https://gist.github.com/3061203 - prettified, angled date labels and uses extent
• https://gist.github.com/3098488 - rescale an axis using a transition

Getting to grips with D3 Visualisations

D3 is a great library for creating all kinds of data visualisations written by Mike Bostock, but until recently I just couldn't get to grips with it. But then I discovered Scott Murray's great series of tutorials that start with the basics and build up and Luke Francl's appropriately named D3 for Mere Mortals. I've done some basic charts and am now rewriting the Protembla project management visualisations in D3. A big thank you to Mike, Scott and Luke.

What is the US of A?

Watching the BBC's Panorama program on poverty in the USA lately I was shocked at the levels of homelessness, hunger and lack of healthcare in the US, still the richest country in world and still pushing their way of life on the rest of us. Even more shocking to me was the attitudes of the Republican politicians, it's your life, it's your responsibility and if you can't afford to go to the doctor, well that's your problem.

To me that is not civilized. I think one of the measures of a civilization is how it treats its weak and how it treats its animals. Even the more sophisticated animals look after their sick, their younge and their old.

But then I realised America is not a civilisation, it's not a culture, it's an economy. As an economy the measure of their success is how strong their economy is and weeding out the weak is a necessary part of maintaining that success. But has that always been so?

I don't think so. American is given us much to experiment with, some of it we love, so we don't and much we absorb without question and I think the love of money and this concept that the economy is our lord and master that cares only for sort term profit, falls in that latter category. Where that came from I don't know, but I don't think it was part of the plan of any of the cultures that found themselves there over the centuries.

Personally I am happy to live in less affluent Ireland, despite it's many problems, where we care for each other, are embarrassed to hear of people falling through the net and ashamed of our greed getting the better of us in the last years. I'd much rather be poor and part of caring community than rich and living behind locked gates.

Panic! - Beef stew without onions

I don't think I have ever made beef stew without an onion but I'd defrosted the beef and wasn't going to drive all the way into town for an onion so it was time to improvise.

I'm going through a ginger and, separately, an apple phase at the moment and also watching How to Cook like Heston - cheese programme was the latest. So having just finished a rich and satisfying beef stew, here is a rough and ready recipe:

Brown the beef chunks in hot oil then added glass (or two) of red wine to deglaze.
Add tins of chopped tomatoes in roughly equal quantity to the beef - in my case two tins, plus a bit of extra water to wash the tins out.
Add roughly copped garlic - three big cloves
Add roughly chopped ginger - two tables spoons
Oyster Sauce - two tablespoons
Rind or a large piece of hard goats cheese (thanks Heston)

Brought to the boil and then simmered for an hour with the lid on as didn't want to reduce.

Added one large cooking apple chopped in large chunks without skins and simmered for another 10 mins. You want the apple to be cooked but not disintegrated.

Was planning to add some cous cous but the larder was bare of cous cous so had wholemeal fusili cooked in the juice of the stew instead.

Really rich an filling and the chunks of apple were a nice surprise. The cheese rind really worked and easy to identify and pull out before eating. Mmmmmm.