CPU Freqency Scaling Monitor Asks For Password

I added the CPU frequency applet to my top Panel in Karmic and it kept on requesting a password every time I wanted to change the CPU frequency (for example when watching a movie or playing a game).

I did some research and found that it is a bug. Post #5 here shows how to fix it but it may get over written after an update.

The bug is listed for Ubuntu on Launchpad as
CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor asks for authentication all the time.

An overview of mc4man's workaround is to:

Carefully edit the file:

gksudo gedit /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.gnome.cpufreqselector.policy

Scroll to the bottom of the file and change only the parts in red:

<allow_active>auth_admin_keep</allow_active>
to
<allow_active>yes</allow_active>

Thanks for the workaround mc4man!

Add the Deluge Team PPA to your Karmic Software Sources

I like using the latest version of Deluge Bittorent client because it usually has fixes for bugs and improvements over later versions.

Deluge usually updates their version before it hits the official Ubuntu repositories so I always add their Launchpad PPA to my sources after a new Ubuntu install.

Here's the link to the PPA for Deluge Team

Click on link that says Technical Details About This PPA and select your version of Ubuntu. For Karmic I added each of these to my software sources:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/deluge-team/ppa/ubuntu karmic main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/deluge-team/ppa/ubuntu karmic main

Under Other Software tab in Software Sources I always de-select the deb-source link. Those are links to DL source code for developers.

Next, save the key into a text file and import it under System>Administration>Software Sources>Authentication>Import Key File:

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Version: SKS 1.0.10

mI0ESXRcxwEEALFsjhB2o+pMvt4NJVlXzXaNjNL83V5RoGBB8C2Lv0epp57W72ixmIT0ehRe
ayvlW1FLN3ShsKBxC2stva9FjcxZ+9xTGkUQRJ7GsS6k8VXodF3aRTJk1a+DJpUWP8kotZiW
pdNCjGPmXe/LT0UUyMd+u9UDbSHIO0LWs7qeA8/LABEBAAG0HUxhdW5jaHBhZCBQUEEgZm9y
IERlbHVnZSBUZWFtiLYEEwECACAFAkl0XMcCGwMGCwkIBwMCBBUCCAMEFgIDAQIeAQIXgAAK
CRDF5qXtJJrSTDAHA/9ODPlwUfYrguSlvEc4Ld89dPqS4iUBZMZV2FaYcSKZ8hBsb9r5PF3c
6D3LQW23n+6kou36mqnSAidGR4JKz5mi30uwiXMH8AgIYu4T6ErRy+x3XoUMr6ZavSFyTMxb
H4pc/FsNiAFtT1y5YSXjAUdsnAqDnMbN/9kq2zHnSJ/Vtg==
=GsAD
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

When you click on the link for the signing key, it opens another web page. Click on the pub/1024R link on that page to get the key above. Then you just copy and paste the info into a text file and save it for importing later.

More info on adding repositories to Ubuntu can be found in the Ubuntu Community Documentation website here.

Rhythmbox Repo for Karmic & Other Fixes

It's a long story, but I was getting annoyed with a bug in rhythmbox 0.12.5-0ubuntu3 on Karmic where podcasts would download and then disappear from the list.

After going though some links on launchpad and the gnome bug site, I found out that the issue was fixed in rhythmbox (0.12.6-0ubuntu1) lucid.

I wanted to upgrade to 0.12.6 but I didn't want to install the program from scratch, since I don't know how to do that very well, and I like Synaptic Package Manager to manage my installs.

So, after some digging I found a rhythmbox-devel ppa to add to my sources list here.

This ppa has the latest version of Rhythmbox, so after I added it and the key to my Software Sources, I ran Update Manager, and Rhythmbox was updated to 0.12.6.

Podcasts now stay in the podcast list when downloaded. Also, the popping noise when adjusting volume with the mouse wheel is gone. This had something to do with the new EQ I recently installed.

I wanted to check if this version of Rhythmbox had any new plugins, and I noticed Context Panel plugin. I clicked on it and got an error.

I googled it and found that this plugin needed phython-webkit, and python-mako in order to work, so I opened Synaptic Package Manager and searched for these packages. Python-webkit was already installed, but python-mako wasn't. I installed python-mako, clicked on the Context Panel plugin again, and it installed okay.

Rhythmbox now displays the Context Panel offering more info about the current artist.

Okay, that was my fix for the day. Sweet!

Finally System-Wide Equalizer for Ubuntu Karmic & PulseAudio!!!

I was searching the Ubuntu forums for an equalizer for Rhymbox and ran across a post from one of the forum members who wrote a a system-wide equalizer script that works with PulseAudio.

Check it out here.

For Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala I followed the instructions on the first post and added the Audio Dev PPA, including the signing key to my sources list.

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-audio-dev/ppa/ubuntu karmic main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-audio-dev/ppa/ubuntu karmic main

Then I downloaded the Attached File Type: deb pulseaudio-equalizer_2.4_all.deb, and installed it. The PulseAudio Equalizer was then visible under Applications>Sound & Video. That simple. It works!

I can't wait till my son tries it out on his machine. It is simply awesome!

My computer finally sounds brilliant!

Thank you psyke83!

ScribeFire

ScribeFire is a blogging editor which is a FireFox addon. Adding a hyperlink to ScribeFire works if you select a word then click on the 'Add a link' button.

Adding an image from your hard drive is pretty simple too.



This is a picture of my crazy teacher friend Michael. Now teaching in Ethiopia, just hanging in his crib with his new toys.

As for ScribeFire, I don't like the interface. Might as well login to Blogger to do it.

BloGTK Blogging Editor

This is a test using a new blogging client called BloGTK 2.0. You can get it at http://blogtk.jayreding.com/.

OMGUbuntu just wrote a cool article on it too! OMG!UBUNTU!

So this is just a test to see how it works. The cool thing about using a blogging editor is that you don't have to login to your blog to do it. No clicking on web interfaces, just fire it up and start typing.

Now how to add Titles and images?
Titles are now supported in BloGTK 2.0 but uploading photos is not an option yet. Maybe soon uploading photos will be realized. You can keep up on BloGTK developments at their blog BloGTK Blog

To get BloGTK or add it to your Karmic repository you can check out how to get it here. The BloGTK PPA is also available at Launchpad.

Kircher's Bridge and Red-roofed Shed

Kircher's Bridge on a foggy night, and a cool looking red-roofed shed after a steady rain.

Sprague River

Sites and sounds.
Sprague River at sunset, between Chiloquin and Lone Pine.

The Lonely Bioligist

Being a fish biologist can be a challenging but rewarding career. During field season, being a biologist usually entails traveling to unknown destinations to accept menial (but rewarding) positions requiring long and sometimes odd hours, lots of hard work, and a good dose of scientific integrity. When the sampling season commences there is no time for the weary because the fish and Mother Nature are on their own schedules regardless of how well your study was designed.

On a recent tour with the USGS at the Klamath Falls Field Station, I met some traveling biologists, and soon realized that some of them were quite melancholy and lonely at times. Their loneliness most likely being caused by a culmination of reactions toward constantly being on the road, moving from job to job and city to city; all in their efforts to climb the treacherous GS5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12... precipice.

I say, think logically, and you'll realize (only if you meditate or practice yoga) that loneliness is a state of mind, therefore, the rest of us fish biologists will just drink beer, eat Mexican food, and get over it. Nothing lasts for ever and everything is temporary. Just ask a sucker. Hence, the title of this blog is a tribute to all the lonely, traveling, fish biologists in the world, sweating their balls off in a pair of waders, somewhere out there doing field work, and hopefully enjoying a long and prosperous field season.

I'm currently working on the endangered Lost River Sucker, and Shortnose Sucker larval drift crew which entails working from sunset to sunrise, driving from bridge to bridge to collect larval sucker samples with a drift net. There are lots of late nights where one could ponder and contemplate some of the answers to many of the strange questions that our universe throws at us on a daily basis. For instance...

Is that a beaver walking down the road?

Peace out.