Linux, GTD, and sweet, sweet music …

I have been having regular crashes with lyx under my Hardy Heron install.

The problems range from lyx crashing when I try to edit a table, through to crashing when trying to read a file it had just saved. The error messages are usually:

lyx: SIGSEGV signal caught
Sorry, you have found a bug in LyX. Please read the bug-reporting
instructions in Help->Introduction and send us a bug report, if
necessary.

Reading the lyx mailing list, it appears that this been narrowed down to problems with the qt libraries, specifically the 4.4.0 versions. These are not installed by default on Hardy, but are if you have the backports repository enabled (my reading of the posts suggests that the 4.4.0 libraries come from Debian unstable). Micha (michf@post.tau.ac.il) on the list explained that by downgrading from 4.4 to 4.3.4 he was able to get lyx working again.

This is my list of instructions for how I did this downgrade.

1 - Fix the repositories to get rid of the backports one:

using synaptic, I unchecked the box for backports in the Settings/Repositories menu.

ran a reload in synaptic, Then closed down synaptic. Rest will be done from command line as root

2 - Remove the affected packages.

at a terminal, as root, I ran:

apt-get remove libqt4-core libqt4-gui libqtgui4 libqt4-svg libqtcore4 libqt4-network libqt4-script libqt4-dbus libqt4-opengl libqt4-designer libqt4-core libqt4-xml libqt4-test libqt4-assistant

which came back with:

Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
linux-backports-modules-2.6.24-16-generic unison adept-installer
libkbluetooth0 adept-updater adept kaffeine kwin-style-crystal
libboost-signals1.34.1 lyx-common atlas3-base skype-common
libboost-filesystem1.34.1 adept-notifier linux-headers-2.6.24-16-generic
linux-headers-2.6.24-16
Use ‘apt-get autoremove’ to remove them.
The following packages will be REMOVED
apport-qt hwdb-client-kde jockey-kde kdebluetooth kubuntu-desktop
language-selector-qt libqt4-assistant libqt4-core libqt4-dbus
libqt4-designer libqt4-gui libqt4-network libqt4-opengl libqt4-script
libqt4-svg libqt4-test libqt4-xml libqtcore4 libqtgui4 lyx python-qt4
python-qt4-dbus skype software-properties-kde speedcrunch
system-config-printer-kde
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 26 to remove and 28 not upgraded.
After this operation, 75.6MB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?

At this stage I copied the list of packages being removed so that I could reinstall the ones I needed later.

then I said ‘y’ to the prompt and it removed all the various packages.

3 - now reinstall the necessary packages.

apt-get install libqt4-core libqt4-sql libqt4-gui libqt4-qt3support

these all installed OK so now time to reinstall the programs which were deleted last time.

first of all I tried lyx on its own:

apt-get install lyx

which worked ok.

plus these other programs:

apt-get install apport-qt hwdb-client-kde jockey-kde kdebluetooth kubuntu-desktop
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
linux-backports-modules-2.6.24-16-generic unison atlas3-base skype-common
linux-headers-2.6.24-16-generic linux-headers-2.6.24-16
Use ‘apt-get autoremove’ to remove them.
The following extra packages will be installed:
language-selector-qt python-qt4 python-qt4-dbus software-properties-kde
speedcrunch system-config-printer-kde ttf-unfonts-core
Suggested packages:
python-qt4-dbg
The following NEW packages will be installed
apport-qt hwdb-client-kde jockey-kde kdebluetooth kubuntu-desktop
language-selector-qt python-qt4 python-qt4-dbus software-properties-kde
speedcrunch system-config-printer-kde ttf-unfonts-core
0 upgraded, 12 newly installed, 0 to remove and 28 not upgraded.
Need to get 13.6MB/13.7MB of archives.
After this operation, 40.0MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?

I said ‘y’ and they all went on OK.

When I fired up lyx, it opened the files it crashed on previously with no problems, and I could edit the tables which also caused it to crash previously, so it looks like everything is now sorted. I accept that there may be some programs from backports hanging around which may cause problems, but I’ll deal with them one by one as they crop up.

On GTD Times today there is a discussion about Kelly Forrister’s Mastering Workflow seminar, and an illustration of thinking about projects from a…z.

The post describes the project as ‘Z’, and your next step as ‘A’, and discusses how you document any other steps which may need to be done *after* your next action to get to ‘Z’ (i.e., project completion). There are some ideas about where you store these extra ‘next next’ steps.

Because emacs org-mode allows you to turn a heading or bullet point into a next action through a simple key combination (^C^T) I find that something along the following lines works well for me:

* WORK
** Project A
*** DONE Create project costing :Laptop:
*** NEXT Ring Jim to check the costings are OK. : Phone:
*** Check we can fit the project into June/July :John:
*** Hand project over to John
*** Check project progress
SCHEDULED: <2008-6-30 Mon>

As you can see, the beauty of org-mode is that

• you can store everything related to a project together (which was one of the discussion points in theGTD Times post)
• both my next steps and ‘next’ next steps are visible to me when I do my weekly review.
• Only the NEXT action will come up when I use the appropriate key combo (’^Cas’ in my case, which is one of my org-agenda-custom-commands and pulls up anything which is a NEXT action and which has a work-related tag, such as :Laptop: etc).
• finally (and this, i think, illustrates why org-mode works so well), when doing the weekly review, if I have made the phone call, I hit ^C^T on the NEXT line to convert it to DONE, and then make a decision if one of the other steps is a next action. If it is, just move onto that line and hit ^C^T. Seamless.

Now the post also discusses the problems with cluttering up your lists with stuff you don’t need to focus on at the moment, but with org-mode this isn’t an issue as you can set up your various filters to show you as much or as little as you want.

Oliver Starr over at GTD Times has posted about my mh-e article. ‘Cool beans’ as my brother would say!

Myself and trumpeter Matt Price did an interview and live session for Xpress radio a month or so back. I have posted the recording of Georgia

Hi. I’m Pete Phillips, living in Bridgend, South Wales with my wife Karen, our three children, and my collection of keyboards, synthesisers, sequencers etc. Friends are astonished that my wife tolerates them all, and are surprised to learn that, contrary to most wives, she doesn’t mind boxes of cables, music stands, pedals, keyboards and music charts cluttering up the house, nor the inconvenience of not being able to go out because I have a gig or rehearsal.

This blog is mainly related to linux and GTD productivity postings, with bits of music stuff thrown in for good measure.

I manage a lab known as SMTL - The Surgical Materials testing Laboratory, based in the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend. We test medical devices, dressings etc. You can see more on our (very old, soon to be updated) web site www.smtl.co.uk. If you want to know anything about testing medical gloves, catheters and dressings, we are your one-stop shop.

As well as playing piano in my own quintet, detox, I play piano for the Byron Jones Big Band. If you are in the South Wales area, come and listen to us in the Burleigh Academy on the first Wednesday of every month (check before-hand though).