Brian Jepson’s Weblog

I recently picked up an XGameStation Pico, which is a small video game system you can build and program yourself. I’m going to be coming up to AS220 around 2:30pm, and I’ll set up a little work area where I can assemble the unit, and if the darn thing works, I’ll even plug it into the projector for some big-screen neo-retro action before the Geek Dinner. Feel free to come along and watch, help, or give me moral support when I mess something up beyond repair!

P.S. If you have a Parallax SX-Key and a KeySpan 19HS USB/Serial adapter, bring it along. Those are the two accessories I forgot to order until last night (and without them, we’ll only be able to run the default video game that’s pre-flashed onto the system).

The Providence Geek Dinner is back at AS220 (115 Empire Street, Providence, RI) on Wednesday, December 6, 2006. The fun starts at 5:30pm. I hope to see you there. See the Providence Geeks blog for details and RSVP.

The Providence Geek Dinner is back at AS220 (115 Empire Street, Providence, RI) on Wednesday, November 8, 2006. The fun starts at 5:30pm. I hope to see you there. See the Providence Geeks blog for details and RSVP.

I’m going to be running the Providence Geeks table at AS220’s Foo Fest (not to be confused with FOO), an all-day free block party in downtown Providence tomorrow (Saturday, July 15th 2006). It starts at 12am and goes late, so you have all day to check it out. I’ll probably have the table up until 5pm or so, and I’ll be giving away copies of Retro Gaming Hacks to people who can make high scores in whatever retro games I happen to have set up!

Providence Geeks is delighted to be hosting another Geek Dinner. Get while the getting’s good, though. This is the last geek dinner of the summer! Read all about it here.

Wednesday, May 17th from 5:30pm to 8pm and maybe beyond at AS220 (115 Empire Street, Providence). Read all about it and RSVP here.

When I decided to move to WordPress, Yahoo Hosting seemed like a good choice. Unfortunately, it was not. This site is frequently unresponsive, the web control panel is often very slow and no substitute for a shell. But the worst problem of all is that the support is not so hot. I’ve had a problem with my MySQL database (”Can’t open file: ‘wp_comments.MYI’”) and an open trouble ticket for over a week, and they haven’t fixed it.

After they sent me canned responses a couple of times claiming they don’t support WordPress, I finally got them to treat it as a MySQL problem (my mistake, really–I was phrasing it as a WP problem). Five days ago, they asked me to set my MySQL password and send it to them, which is roughly when they stopped answering my emails.

Of course, they’ll eventually fix it, and I’ll stop whining. But the reality has set in: I’m not comfortable without shell access (It’s not you, Yahoo… it’s me).

As soon as I get enough time, I plan to install WordPress on AS220.org, which will also make it easier for our users to blog, and I’ll move my stuff over there. I figure if I announce my intention publicly, it will make me more likely to follow through!

Update: Well, it’s fixed, and not only was it easy enough, but it was something I should have found on my own. I made the mistake of assuming it was deep enough under the hood that I couldn’t fix it without help (as I said, not having a shell makes me uncomfortable). So now I need something else to kick me in the ass and get me to set up WordPress at AS220. Even if I don’t need to switch over there ASAP, I need to do my part make it easier for Providence artists to blog!

Aw cool… We Jam Econo, The Minutemen movie, will be at AS220 next week. Post a note in the comments if you’re going. Some peer pressure might be just what I need to get my butt out the door…

Trailer.

Read all about it at the Providence Geeks blog. Be sure to post a comment over there if you are coming!

The AS220 Broad Street Studio has made the 36-page Muzine #21 available as a 5.5 MB PDF. The Muzine is “The Uncensored Voice of Rhode Island Youth”. Inside, you’ll find poetry, photographs, drawings, and writing, including a reaction to the Mosquito, an anti-teen sonic weapon.