I have this wee technical problem. See, Jean Elmore, who did all the coloring for Book I and Book II, sent me some CDs with all her photoshop files on them. 306 of these were PKZipped, each in their own zip file.

I know full well that to a programmer, or someone with command-line chops, this is a trivial problem to solve. My command line chops are eight years out of date, and the programmers I know are all too busy to help me with this program just now. But the problem is a TRIVIAL one, right?

Step 1: Check WinXP CMD HELP (Run: CMD, and then type HELP from the command line) for unzipping commands. There are none.
Step 2: Google XP Pkzip command line. Found this page immediately, and hit on “infozip.zip” as the most likely candidate for a solution.
Step 3: Extracted infozip.zip locally, noodled around in the .txt files, and determined that UNZIP.EXE was probably the command line tool I wanted.
Step 4: From the command line I executed a quick PATH command to figure out where best to put UNZIP.EXE. Settled on C:\Windows, because in the end I really don’t care.
Step 5: From explorer, I copied all the zip files to C:\jeano.
Step 6: From CMD, I did >mkdir extract
Step 7: Wondered why I didn’t create that directory using the right-click “new folder” comand. Determined it must be my command-line hindbrain asserting itself, and shaking out some dust.
Step 8: Test-run: C:\jeano>unzip schlock20040221.zip -d extract
Step 9: Sure enough, schlock20040221.psd appeared in the /jeano/extract directory.
Step 10: C:\jeano>unzip *.zip -d extract
Step 11: Go work on something else while 306 files extract into the “extract” directory.

I’m pleased. Now I can conveniently work with these files. I’ll also be burning all the Jeano files to a single DVD (I’ll make two copies), and sending one off-site.

A big shout out to the folks responsible for Infozip: thanks for the free software! By way of repayment, you can all read my comic on the web for free.

–Howard

These drugs have me very, VERY tired.

I also can’t fall asleep. It’s amazing, the circles my brain runs in when I’m this sleepy, and yet not sleepING. For instance, while I lay in bed I figured out that the problem with wireless connectivity in my house can be solved if I simply take the wireless-access computers and force them to not use DHCP. I don’t know what the DHCP problem is with my router, but as I lay in bed I figured out that that it was DHCP that was failing.

So I got out of bed, printed an IPCONFIG /ALL from a machine where wired DHCP had provided valid settings, picked a likely IP addy, and then plugged those settings in to the wireless Kidputer. BAM. Instant internet access. With a 128-bit WEP key, no less.

I also had some other genius ideas while not asleep. I probably shouldn’t implement them just now, though. It’s 2am, and I really do need to try to get some sleep.

The good news is that the time I was thinking about spending tomorrow giving my 10-year old internet access can be spent napping instead. It’s only a slight hitch, after all.

–Howard

Lewis Perdue (lperdue) appears to have registered for a Live Journal account for the express purpose of setting the record straight.

Content aside, this does not BEGIN to legitimize my commentary on current events. No, I won’t feel legit until Dan Brown and Judge Daniels weigh in as well, and we get a full-on flame war. Then I’ll start applying for Press credentials.

–Howard

You may or may not have already heard that long-time ABC Anchor Peter Jennings died on Sunday, succumbing finally to the lung cancer that he recently announced he was battling.

I read about it on CNN’s website.

Here’s a screen-shot. Tell me what’s wrong with this picture…