Tokens — Page 28

I’ve encountered this error twice now, so I ought to be blogging about it to let others now. In case more people stumble into it or if I need my solution again in the future. So here it is:

Problem: You’ve just upgraded from 2.4.something to version 3 (3.0.1 in my case) and when you launch openoffice, you get the usual dialogue:

<img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AZvuJ9kmERM/SZ7W9V4jwNI/AAAAAAAABPA/1yjS6HksZSo/s400/Screenshot-2.png” border=”0” alt=”“id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304913760423755986” />
But when you click on a document type to create a new one, the application crashes and after a restart you are presented with a window to recover it:

<img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AZvuJ9kmERM/SZ7W9jfo6vI/AAAAAAAABPI/9SlXKYGNkw4/s400/Screenshot.png” border=”0” alt=”“id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304913764077333234” />

<img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AZvuJ9kmERM/SZ7W9rXncbI/AAAAAAAABPQ/e_kc7x5dcY0/s400/Screenshot-1.png” border=”0” alt=”“id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304913766191165874” />

And this goes on almost recursively, with no base condition (!).

The solution: Simply delete your old settings. But beware, your settings won’t be recovered. It’s wise to make a back up of your important configuration files so that you can use them later if needed. Use this at your own risk:

$ cd
$ rm -rf .openoffice.org

Note that you need to run the second command from your home directory, that is the reason for the first command.

Next time you run OpenOffice, this directory will be created and default setting files populated inside. And hopefully, you’ll be able to run OpenOffice without a problem.

Cheers.

I use testing version of Debian on both my laptop and desktop computers. Unfortunately most packages in testing are very old. Take OpenOffice for example, the version in testing repositories at the moment is 2.4 while the recent is 3.0.1. I think many other packages in repositories also share the same fate. It takes time for most recent packages to propagate from Unstable to Testing to Stable. When you want to install a recent version of a program, you have two choices: Either you compile from source or if there are binaries for your system you can use them. For example, if the distributors of the program provide you with .deb packages, you can download and install them. The downside with this method is that you have to keep track of bug fixes etc. and install newer versions yourself. If it were tracked with aptitude, a simple update would have updated your whole system. When you have many programs installed like this, it can get very cumbersome to keep track of all the packages you have installed without the help of apt-get. Fortunately, many programs also provide a way to update themselves automatically, from an option in their menus.

There is an easier method for installing more recent versions of programs by using apt-get and official Debian repositories. The way to do that is by using Unstable repositories for select programs. This way, apt-get will keep track of updates and dependencies so you can easily install now and update them later.

I won’t be going into details but you can learn more about this by navigating to the links below:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/installing-an-unstable-package-in-lenny-607482/
http://jaqque.sbih.org/kplug/apt-pinning.html
and
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=15612

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

— Albert Einstein

Geçenlerde Kohei ile konuşurken dikkatimi çekti, ne kadar çok ODTÜ mezunu arkadaşım ODTÜ ile alakaları kalmamalarına rağmen Yüzüncü Yıl’da, ODTÜ yakınlarında yaşıyorlar. Armut dibine düşer misali. Bunu anlayabiliyorum, benim için Ankara’nın tek çekici yanı ODTÜ aslında. Başka pek birşeyi yok Ankara’nın. Bu yüzden 7. senem benim Ankara’da. Ve hepsi de kampüste. Sonra arkadaş espri yaptı, “sen çürümüşsün, daha dibine bile düşememişsin!” Haklı biraz. Tez bitmeye yaklaşıyor, bakalım birkaç ay sonra kader beni nerelere götürecek.

I just fell in love with this poem. I keep coming back to it everyday. Here are the words:


<h2>Who Says Words with My Mouth</h2>
All day
I think about it,
then at night
I say it.

“Where did I come from,
and what am I supposed
to be doing?”

I have no idea.

My soul is from elsewhere,
I’m sure of that,
and I intend to end up there.

This drunkenness
began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place,
I’ll be completely sober.

Meanwhile, I’m like a bird
from another continent, sitting in this aviary.

The day is coming when I fly off,
but who is it now in my ear, who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?

Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.

If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.

I didn’t come here of my own accord, and I can’t leave that way.
Whoever brought me here will have to take me Home.

This poetry. I never know what I’m going to say.
I don’t plan it.
When I’m outside the saying of it,
I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.

Shams Tabriz, if you would show your face to me again
I could flee, the imposition of this life.