A Leased Line to the Collective Unconscious

Better icon for XAMPP

Robin Layfield — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:44:15 +0000

I recently set XAMPP up on my mac (get it here). It’s an easy to setup and flexible web server environment. The best part is you don’t need to have it running all the time - just fire up the XAMPP control panel whenever you need to do some localised development (ie. when you’re on the train or out of range of wifi) and start the relevant servers. It’s a one-click install and lets you flip between php 4 and 5 at the click of a radio button. Sweet!

The only thing is - call me a snob - the dock icon for the control panel is rubbish - it’s pale and faded, and a bit meaningless looking…
See for yourself

I had a peek around the net and there’s some much better logo images for XAMPP but not available as a replacement icon file. So I grabbed one and made my own. Here it is in action:

OK it’s not perfect - the anti-aliasing at the top is a bit hooky but at least it’s a bit more presentable.

Here’s how to set it up:

First download the xampp.icns.zip file from here
Unzip it

furniture Bulgaria

Open Finder and browse to ‘Applications>XAMPP’
CTRL-click the XAMPP Control Panel application and select ‘Show Package Contents’
Browse to ‘Contents>Resources’
drop the xampp.icns file into this folder
then copy it and replace ‘xcp.icns’ with it

That’s it. Job done and nice shiny more XAMPP like icon on your dock

Handy SQL Server script

Robin Layfield — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 12:23:40 +0000

This will copy a table, structure and data from SQL server database to another.
Damn handy!

PLAIN TEXT

SQL:

SELECT * INTO TargetDatabase.dbo.MyTable
FROM SourceDatabase.dbo.MyTable

the Jesus and Mary Chain - Dead Slow Rock’n'Roll

Robin Layfield — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 08:36:45 +0000

Man, I kid you not, I'm almost in tears right now - I've just got back from seeing one of the best bands of my adolescence play in a stunning return to form at Brixton Academy. I'm talking about the Jesus & Mary Chain - the band that made me want to pick up a bass guitar and turn the gain up to 11. I'm spellbound, shocked and slightly awed.

There's more to this than you might think - I've always, always rated this band - Just Like Honey is one of my favourite songs of all time. And I have seen them before - back in the days when they'd blast through the set with such feral animosity that you couldn't tell where one song ended and another began. Where Jim would say nary a word to the audience and William would turn his back on us. Maybe they were just a bit shy back then.

None of that was in evidence tonight: they opened with Never Understand and the gig just got better and better. Jim acknowledged the audience with a few sharp wisecracks and the performance was pitch-perfect. By the time they played Happy When it Rains, I was already in the moshpit being bounced around by hundreds of like-minded JAMC devotees. Have you ever been in a slow mosh?

Nine Million Rainy Days made it for me - not least because they played it straight after I'd shouted it out - it just blew me away. I'm pretty sure they closed out with an old Syd Barrett song, Vegetable Man, and I think they played I Wanna be Yr Dog at one point too.

This wasn't a gig, this was a five-star moment in Rock'n'Roll history.

Right, I'm off to find my PsychoCandy LP...

Rob

Woohoo! 2 exciting Ginger gigs lined up

Robin Layfield — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:07:24 +0000

yep.

We've been deep in rehearsal for what seems like months now and we're finally coming out to play. The big gig is Rough Beats 2007 - we've played this for the last couple of years and it's one of our favourite places. This year it takes place in Clapham, North Yorkshire. More details available here:

Rough Beats myspace page

We've also booked a warm up gig with those nice chaps from College Pinks, at Catch. Details here:

Wednesday 29th August @ Catch
22 Kingsland Road
Shoreditch
London E2 8DA

We're on shortly after 8.30

Jack, Josh & Meg rocked my Wireless Festival

Robin Layfield — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:14:00 +0000

We went to the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park yesterday to see Modest Mouse (sadly they didn't play), Queens of the Stone Age (they rocked) and White Stripes. White Stripes were magnificent - one of the best times I've seen them and they've always been good. To come on after a full on rock band like QotSA, with just a guitar, keyboard and drums, and to make a bigger sound was frankly amazing.

We managed to catch another band - a New Zealand band we've never heard of called Connan and the Mockasins who were absolutely bonkers but who turned in a great performance. Very entertaining and I'd very much like to see them again.

I managed to record a teeny tiny clip of the White Stripes playing "Jolene" on my camera. I can't say as the audio is that great but it gives you a great feel for the atmosphere at the festival. Enjoy.