Resolving apt key signature problems in Ubuntu

I often come across a problem of following online instructions for installing applications through a third-party repository, but the instructions do not include how to include the key signature. There is an easy way to add the key you need, but it is not so easy to remember. I am mainly posting this here to help myself remember, but hopefully it will help others who may run in to this problem as well.

So the first thing to do is add the repository in question. For example, I added deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/compiz/ubuntu jaunty main, but after refreshing I got an error that read, "W: GPG error: http://ppa.launchpad.net jaunty Release: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 2ED6BB6042C24D89"

To fix this all we need to do is run the following command from the console:
gpg --keyserver hkp://subkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys 2ED6BB6042C24D89
gpg --export --armor 2ED6BB6042C24D89 | sudo apt-key add -

All that one needs to do is replace 2ED6BB6042C24D89 with the key listed in the error and you are back in business.

If anyone happens to know of a better way, I am all ears.

RSS feeds for any professional

While looking around monster.com today I noticed something really cool. While I plan on keeping my current job for a long time to come, I believe that any professional has a duty to themselves to always be congnicent of what kind of opportunities are out there. In this spirit you can now get RSS feeds of job postings in your area. So on monster.com I selected Tallahassee, Fl and IT/Software Development and then clicked RSS Feed button below the job listings. Now, every time I go to check on my current feeds I get updates for new software development positions in the Tallahassee area.
dice.com another job hunting website that specializes in IT Jobs has the same feature and I signed up for their feeds as well.
Again, I'm not looking for another job, but I would hate to know that the perfect job was out there with an opening and I was ignorant of it. It is also just generally useful to know what the industry out there is currently looking for in software engineers.

Jaunty + VirtualBox = Compiz

With the latest VirtualBox (I'm runing 2.2.2) you can use the Compiz 3D effects with Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty. It doesn't run great, or even good, but it runs non-the-less. There is a lot of graphics corruption, especially at the top of the screen, and windows will have random graphics corruption. So even though it is not currently very usable, it is there and hopefully over time it will mature.

The screenshot here shows Cube Atlantis, and the second shows Cube Atlantis with the Desktop Cube, 3D Windows, and Cube Reflection and Deformation.

Volkwagen FTW

I had two problems with my VW. The first was that the CV joints where completely dry. The second was that when I put my wheels on after replacing the hydraulics for the clutch and breaks, I didn't tighten the front-right wheel enough. Curt fixed both of these, and during my lunch break I drove it home.

Shifting in to the right gear is a real PITA and pickup is moderate. I'm not sure if going over 60mph is a good idea either. I think that's about par for these vehicles though.

Volkswagen Fail

I picked up the Volkswagen from Radical Car Care yesterday after work. I showed up right as he was closing up shop, and when I pulled out it was just me and Aurora. There is a gas station about 200 feet from the shop, and I only had a gallon in the tank, so my first stop was gasoline.

As I drove towards the station there was this weird knocking coming from the underside of the van that was weird.

I pulled in and put $10 in the tank and looked underneath and I couldn't find anything that looked like it would be knocking. I didn't want to take any chances and decided I would drop it back off at Radical for Curt to look at.

The map to the left illustrates the route I took attempting to make it back to the shop. A is the location of the shop, the gas-station is at the first corner and B is where I parked it. The knocking got more worse and I was scared I was going to cause some sort of damage getting it back to the shop. A nice old lady let me park it on the side of the road in her yard, and I promised her I'd have it moved the next day.

Aurora and I walked back up to the shop and got in our Oldsmobile van and drove home. At this point Kim and I are not feeling all that great about owning this van.

I slid the key under the shop's door, and got in contact with Curt. He's going to go take a look at it today.

Weird Scraping incident

I use a product called Fairshare to trace where my blog is being reused. My blog is licensed under CC, so I am actively promoting reuse, but this incident is just kind of weird. Check out my post on and this post by someone else.

It appears it has a bot, or equivalent, that will read text and replace words with synonyms, probably so the works aren't identical and thus it's harder to find them scraping your blog.

So here's the irony. This scraper is actually legally entitled to do what he is doing so long as he licenses his derivative work under my original work.

Presently, I'm not sure if I care enough to do anything about it.

Picture of me using a computer at the age of three

The above picture was sent to me yesterday by my grandfather. It was taken when I was three years old. One can clearly see I was born with a distinct affinity for all things digital.

I very clearly remember learning how to use his Apple ][ before even beginning Kindergarten.

Windows 7 RC Out, Not Available

At 7:25AM this morning I received the following e-mail.

I'm always one to try to stay up to date with these kind of things. Exactly twenty minutes later I find myself at this page, reporting that the downloads are unavailable, but I still get a product key to install the undownloadable OS.

I hope it becomes available for download soon.