PHP Benchmark

Ulfe Rompe has a good post about problems with benchmarking PHP using microtime().

MYSQL Full Text index stop words

One potentially annoying bit about full-text index searching on MySQL is the minimum word length. The English language abounds with meaningful three-character nouns. Our database contains a few of them, like war and dog. MYSQL considers these stop words and excludes them from a search. The default configuration (4+ character words are searchable) can be changed by modifying the ft_min_word_len system variable.

If you don't succeed at first, RTFM

Yeah, I know it doesn't work because I tried it, and then afterwards the manual told me it wouldn't work. It would be nice to be able to search a subset of columns in the full text index but it cannot be done quite so simply as naming those column in the MATCH() function. According to the MySQL documentation:

"For natural-language full-text searches, it is a requirement that the columns named in the MATCH() function be the same columns included in some FULLTEXT index in your table. For the preceding query, note that the columns named in the MATCH() function (title and body) are the same as those named in the definition of the article table's FULLTEXT index. If you wanted to search the title or body separately, you would need to create FULLTEXT indexes for each column. "

Indexslyia

Reworking a MySQL database search script in PHP to take advantage of MySQL 4.0+ boolean full text searching. Problems running into:

• Creating the index. If you create a full text index on some of the fields in your table via PhpMyAdmin, say, and a subsequent test search yields an error message like: "Can't find FULLTEXT index matching the column list," try this command:
• create fulltext index myindex_name on table (fieldname1,fieldname2,fieldname3,fieldname4);

Midwest Banjo Camp

Just got back from Midwest Banjo Camp, in E. Lansing, Mi. Had the amazing good fortune to take several classes from Michael Miles, and listen to his astonishing playing, both live and on CD. A bit fatigued from the drive and the two-day immersion into classes and jamming. It was well worth it. Glad to be home.

Wingnut Interactions

We've a wingnut in the office. He hasn't had much to say about Iraq lately, now that the CIA has reported finding no WMD. He could be heard about a month ago loudly proclaiming to one of his coworkers that global warming is a "myth." As no terms were defined it was difficult to know what he was attempting to elucidate. This Q&A with Elizabeth Kolbert related to her New Yorker articles on global warming is worthwhile. Cut through the hype and all she is saying is that we're increasing the concentration of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and that average global temperatures have increased during the past 30 years. Huge ice sheets at the poles are melting. There could be lots of arguments about why average temps have increased I suppose, including that it's a natural fluctuation. Kolbert says there is broad scientific consensus that human activities are driving climate change, and that there is a well-financed disinformation campaign to convince people otherwise, i.e. that there is no consensus.

Playing the Market

Awoke Sat. a bit tired from Fri. late night watching "Zen and Avant Garde" at Cherry Street Artisan. Well worth it though. Seido Ray Ronci read from his poetry accompanied by Mike Barber on bass, Jesse Lynch, piano and Richard Cravens doing computer generated images. Brewed coffee for Farmer's Market on Sat. and then helped Steve set up for the show. Beautiful blue morning, and we played from a little after 9 a.m. until about 11:30 a.m. Our rhythm was pretty strong, judging by the toe tapping and the kids dancing. I got to sit next to Buddha, the bass player, and his amp was right behind me. It was neat to be in the bass pocket. I'm not 100% on all the chord changes, so I've got to be sure I can at least see S's chords, which is a little more of a challenge with D holding down harmony vocals now and usually sitting next to S. Must learn stuff by heart now - alas. J's first weekend of work, a milestone of sorts. Nuttin but Noodlz. She came home with some cool stories aboot the cru there. You go girl!