Category: General

I couldn’t find any information as my search terms were incorrect. My google-fu was off when I was searching.
My objective was to make http://*.localhost.com go to /var/www/*/www, where * is a wildcard.
I’m hoping that this will help others; specifically developed that work on multiple projects.
First, I wanted to wildcard my in my hosts file. I knew I couldn’t do this:

127.0.0.1 *.localhost.com

as that’s now how hosts files work.
DNSMASQ to the rescue, to wildcard the hosts file.
Apache mass vhost, is a technique to setup lots of vhosts based on a pattern.
Some applications such as magento likes to have a proper full domain name.  Also makes testing more realistic as well.
Since I’m on OSX, install it via ports.
The instructions are a mash of: http://inspirix.wikispaces.com/dnsmasq-on-OSX and other sites… you may have to restart dnsmasq after you’ve made the changes.
http://www.justincarmony.com/blog/2011/07/27/mac-os-x-lion-etc-hosts-bugs-and-dns-resolution/

sudo port install dnsmasq
sudo cp /opt/local/etc/dnsmasq.conf /etc/dnsmasq.conf
sudo mkdir -p /System/Library/StartupItems/DNSMASQ
3.) sudo mkdir -p /System/Library/StartupItems/DNSMASQ
4.) sudo nano /System/Library/StartupItems/DNSMASQ/DNSMASQ
#!/bin/sh
. /etc/rc.common
if [ "${DNSMASQ}" = "-YES-" ]; then
  ConsoleMessage "Starting DNSMASQ"
  /opt/local/sbin/dnsmasq
fi
5.) sudo nano /System/Library/StartupItems/DNSMASQ/Startup Parameters.plist
{
  Description = "Local DNSMASQ Server";
  Provides = ("DNS Masq");
  OrderPreference = "None";
  Messages =
  {
  start = "Starting DNSMASQ";
  stop = "Stopping DNSMASQ";
  };
}
6.) Add line to /etc/hostconfig
DNSMASQ=-YES-
7.) sudo chmod +x /System/Library/StartupItems/DNSMASQ/DNSMASQ
8.) sudo /System/Library/StartupItems/DNSMASQ/DNSMASQ
9.) In network settings make sure 127.0.0.1 is in your dns server list.  If you do:
  dig google.com
  You should see something like this near the bottom (if not, your network settings need to
  be applied.. try this to flush dns cache: dscacheutil -flushcache ):
    ;; SERVER: 127.0.0.1#53(127.0.0.1)
  # test it.
  ping somewhere.localhost.com
  : PING somewhere.dev (127.0.0.1): 56 data bytes
  : 64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.031 ms

add the line to /etc/dnsmasq.conf
$> sudo nano -w /etc/dnsmasq.conf ## or your favourite editor, as root.

address=/localhost.com/127.0.0.1

Clear your dns cache.

dscacheutil -flushcache

Troubleshooting:
You may need to setup your network connection to point your DNS to localhost first.
sudo kill -HUP `cat /opt/local/var/run/dnsmasq.pid`
my vhosts Magic

Alias /phpmyadmin /opt/local/www/phpmyadmin
<directory "/www">
	Options -Indexes FollowSymLinks
	AllowOverride AuthConfig FileInfo
	Order allow,deny
	Allow from all
<directory "/opt/local/www/phpmyadmin">
	Options -Indexes FollowSymLinks
	AllowOverride AuthConfig FileInfo
	Order allow,deny
	Allow from all
UseCanonicalName Off
LogFormat "%V %h %l %u %t "%r" %s %b" vcommon
CustomLog logs/access_log vcommon
# include part of the server name in the filenames
VirtualDocumentRoot /www/hosts/%1/www

A good primer is located here:
http://gregdemetrick.com/2011/10/06/magento-customer-groups-vs-segments/
 
One thing I really wanted to add to that list so others can know:

Customer groups are related the catalog promotional rules.

vs.

Customer segments are related to shopping cart promotional rules.

Just came form Peacock Lumber, in Oshawa. Great friendly bunch. Really helpful, and willing to help.
I would recommend them to anyone needing lumber/wood supplies.
Bought some 3/8″ baltic plywood… secret as to what I’m making for now. 🙂

note to self, write about the following:
magento objects. Specifically product and customer objects
magento optimization.
titanium php development.

If you get an error message like:
“this operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer”
Culprit is google chrome.

1. uninstall google chrome, through it’s uninstaller, not the windows uninstaller
2. reinstall chrome
3. restart any application that is still giving you a problem.  Such as outlook.

Drop a line, if this helped.

I’ve been trying out different places, be that dine in, take out, and ordering online…
Some places are exceptional service, but others, are absolutely horrible.
1.) Mama’s pizza at 118 Yonge Street, Toronto, has terrible service.  After I placed my order and I wait 5-10 minutes, before the cashier gets my attention, and asks to me pay.  I was hoping that the pizza is near ready.  I had a hunch that it wasn’t even started yet, so I ask if the pizza was started.  “No, sorry”.  I was angry.  I didn’t yell at him, I didn’t do anything besides, say “forget it then…”.
Why was I waiting for 5-10 minutes between letting the server know what I wanted, till I was asked to pay?  People, if you don’t want to waste your time, go somewhere else.  Mama’s pizza has lost my business for good.
I wonder how much this business has lost, because of badly trained staff?  Why take an order, and allow the person to wait.  The point of taking the order, is to MAKE it, not sit around, and then ask payment, only to then start.  If that’s the case, TAKE ORDER, IMMEDIATELY TAKE PAYMENT, IMMEDIATELY START ORDER.
2.) Swiss Chalet canada — online ordering form.  Wow, whatever business that sold you the ordering system, has sold you something that is, well… less than functional.  Hope you didn’t pay much for it, cause you sure aren’t making as much business as you could –in fact, I’m pretty sure you’re losing a lot of business.  I tried your ordering system in chrome, safari, and firefox…  (I really wanted some Swiss Chalet, to have tried all three browsers) —  If you say “use MSIE”, well, you just lost of ton of users that are on MACs, Linux, and mobile phone orders.
– Maybe I should contact them, and see if they’re willing to get a system that would be actually functional?
– Situation: After you enter your phone number on the home page (I’ve probably used my phone number before at a different location, but I don’t remember), you enter your details on the second page, third page asks you for your postal code.  Click submit, sends you back to the first page.  Didn’t you hire a QA person, to test this site out?  You know, it’s kind of fundamental to your system, if you require each person to SINGUP to order from you.  Or a functional analyst, to determine the different use cases of your system?
Swiss chalet please fix your online ordering system, or hire a 3rd party business that can actually deliver you a working website?  If you’re looking for a contractor that could build you the system in its entirety, please let me know.
I really wanted some chicken, fries, and chalet sauce… 🙁

Day 1
I decided to try a new msn protocol for pidgin.im today.  Why? Was just browsing the list of plugins, and saw the alternative…
http://code.google.com/p/msn-pecan
Looked at the list of added benefits, and decided to give it a try… lets see if I stick with it.  So far, it is fast on start up.  Interesting to see that it picked up a ton of friend requests, that I didn’t see before.