can't activate rails (= 2.2.2, runtime)

Is your computer being uncooperative when you try to run rake or some other ruby or rails software?

$rake
rake aborted!
can't activate rails (= 2.2.2, runtime), already activated rails-2.3.2

From my experience, this probably means that you have installed other versions of rails or some other conflicting gems in your local gem repository (~/.gem).

How did this happen? Well, you probably installed those gems without using the sudo command.

When you install ruby gems as a user without root or admin privileges, ruby will warn you that you are not installing those gems for the entire system.

WARNING: Installing to ~/.gem since /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8 and
/usr/bin aren't both writable.
WARNING: You don't have /Users/nels.nelson/.gem/ruby/1.8/bin in your PATH,
gem executables will not run.

Don't worry -- you can recover from this misstep. Those locally installed gems will probably interfere with gems that have been installed system-wide. No problem.

Remove them!

$rm -rf ~/.gem/ruby/*/cache/*
$rm -rf ~/.gem/ruby/*/doc/*
$rm -rf ~/.gem/ruby/*/gems/*
$rm -rf ~/.gem/ruby/*/specifications/*

BUT WAIT!!

Don't just delete stuff because you are told to. Examine those directories, and make sure that you have already installed those gems for the entire system. If not you will have to reinstall them for the entire system if you still need to, and if you have admin privileges (you can use the sudo command).

$sudo gem install <your gem>

Now that you have removed those gems from your user-local gem repository, you should be able to actually reinstall them. This means that you should make a list of what you had previously installed.

Lovin's For Fools

Justin Vernon, or Bon Iver, often plays a very pretty cover of "Lovin's For Fools" by Sarah Siskind.

Here he gets together with Bill Frisell and Sarah Siskind herself to sing it. Enjoy.

[ via Ghost Electricity ]

12 free songs from Amazon.com (The Free Mixtape)

The sampler for Sub Pop
records on Amazon.com

Several record labels are using Amazon.com to give their sampler albums away. That's right, free mp3s. No DRM. No pirating. No guilt. And the best part? You can pick and choose which individual songs to download from the sampler album. So, unless you already have that Vaselines song, why not download it? Just click. It doesn't get freer and easier than that.

My playlist:

	Song	Artist	Record Label
1.	Hurt Feelings	Flight Of The Conchords	Sub Pop
2.	Son of a Gun	Vaselines	Sub Pop
3.	Furr	Blitzen Trapper	Sub Pop
4.	Mykonos	Fleet Foxes	Sub Pop
5.	Belated Promise Ring	Iron & Wine	Sub Pop
6.	People Got A Lotta Nerve	Neko Case	Anti
7.	Ghosts Under Rocks	Ra Ra Riot	Barsuk
8.	My Only Offer	Mates Of State	Barsuk
9.	For What Reason	Death Cab For Cutie	Barsuk
10.	Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh	Say Hi	Barsuk
11.	When Planets Collide	Viva Voce	Barsuk
12.	Pushover	The Long Winters	Barsuk

[ playlist.m3u ]

It's like a label promoter person standing outside a music show and handing out CDs to fans, except in cyberspace.

If you've never downloaded music from Amazon.com before, you're in for a treat. Amazon has a music downloading software application (for any operating system), which automatically downloads purchased music for you, and puts in your music folder or loads it into iTunes.

[ Link ]

Currently listening to...

Related: Portishead Redux

...This cool live version of Portishead's "Sour Times".

Also, check out this video of a live performance by Portishead of their song "Only You". I don't think I can express how good this is. I must have listened to this song a thousand times after it came out when I was 19. The song is complex, yet simple. It is understated, and yet Beth's lyrics get stuck in my throat just thinking them in my head because they're just that dramatic. This tune makes me want to hug people I don't know and cry because jazz is so beautiful and darkness is so soothing.

[ mp3 ]

Bash script to simply execute compiled Java program from the Linux command line

Newsmap.jp

Newsmap has a new domain name and an updated interface.

[ Link ]

Jenny Lewis at Coachella 2009

Here's a little video I took on my Canon PowerShot SD790 IS digital camera at Coachella on Saturday night.

I &hearts Jenny Lewis.

The songs are "Silver Lining" (a Rilo Kiley song) and the title track from her latest solo album, Acid Tongue.

[ YouTube Link ]

Are you ready for the Rapture?

Did you know that the global climate is warming?

Well, today's Rapture index (166 and rising) is really high. So in terms of a spiritual global climate our planet is practically boiling!

The Rapture Index is a useful and extraordinarily accurate aggregation of all the factors that prophetically contribute to the likelihood that the Rapture will occur today (or pretty soon).

Hosted at RaptureReady.com, the Rapture Index is apparently put together by Todd Strandberg, the website's creator.

There are 45 categories used to calculate the Rapture Index. My favorite category that is considered to be directly contributing to the Rapture is probably "Liberalism". The site defines this category this way:

29. Liberalism
It's not just a part of the Democrat Party. liberalism is what could be called the "true conspiracy." Liberal media are 100 percent controlled by the forces that bow to humanistic ideology. [sic]

Liberalism is currently at a 4. I guess that's sort of like condition orange.

My analogy isn't very original though. Mollie Ziegler over at GetReligion.org used Department of Homeland Security's chart to illustrate her Rapture article way back in 2007.

Just in case you aren't paying attention to the index and you find that you have forgotten your Rapture Umbrella when it arrives, here's what to do:

• What to do AFTER the rapture has taken place and you realize that you were left behind

If you're a wussy unbeliever, and you don't think you'll be able to control your bowel movements during the impending Rapture, you can stop worrying. The folks over at Tribulation Central have got you covered -- with Rapture Adult Diapers as well as other Rapture preparedness items.