How to scrape and extract data from a webpage. Nairaland.com as a case study (Part 1)

Reading up on how Xpath works will enable you understand Part 2

How to unlock your Swift 4G LTE Huawei modem in 7 steps

How to unlock your Swift 4G LTE Huawei modem

1. Note down the IMEI number of the Swift modem
2. Remove the Swift 4G SIM card and replace with a SIM of any other network.
3. Restart the modem.
4. Go to http://huaweiunlockcalculator.com/v201-huawei-unlock-calculator-v3, enter your device IMEI number and click submit to generate 3 unlock codes.
5. Go to http://192.168.8.1. A message will be displayed stating that your modem is locked and asking for an unlock code.
6. Enter any of the 3 unlock codes you generated in STEP 4.
7. The modem will now show the network name of the SIM card inserted indicating a successful unlock.

Enjoy!!!

Using Flask with vue.js as a frontend framework

Update: I will be updating this post with my experience using Flask and Vue.js as a frontend framework.

Flask has become my Python framework of choice and I have been trying to use Vue.js as the front-end JS framework for an app with flask powering the backend API.

The only snag is that both Flask and Vue.js both use the double handlebar notation i.e. “{{}}” For variable interpolation in HTML, So using them both in an app could cause some headaches.

After some googling on the issue, I discovered that you could actually do this to make them play well together:

You have 2 options, modify either Flask or Vue.js

In your view file, i.e. the Python controller script, do this:

from flask import Flask, render_template, request

class CustomFlask(Flask):
jinja_options = Flask.jinja_options.copy()
jinja_options.update(dict(
block_start_string='$$',
block_end_string='$$',
variable_start_string='$',
variable_end_string='$',
comment_start_string='$#',
comment_end_string='#$',
))

app = CustomFlask(__name__)

@app.route("/")
def index():
return render_template("index.html")

if __name__ == "__main__":
app.run()


Or add this to your layout.html template file:


https://npmcdn.com/vue/dist/vue.js

Vue.config.delimiters = ["${", "}"];


and add the custom javascript file holding the Vue instance that will target parts of your DOM to the end of the HTML template file.

I actually prefer changing the Vue.js delimiters than changing Jinja2 delimiters because I am used to using the “{{}}” notation and it will make your old code backward compatible with Vue.js

It works because you subclass the Flask class imported from the flask module and modify it by changing the Jinja delimiters. I made my setup closely mirror “Templator” which is the name of the templating system used in web.py, a small Python web framework written by Aaron Swartz.

If you are a frontend dev, give Vuejs a spin, it has an almost nonexistent learning curve, so give it a trial today.

Quick, dirty hack for hosting websites when you can’t pay your server fees.

On January 1, 2016, the use of Naira denominated debit cards outside Nigeria will officially become impossible and this will have an adverse ripple effect on almost everything you can think of. As a techie, I am very concerned about how I would renew my hosting fees etc.

This is a simple workaround:
You can expose a local server installed on a development machine serving a web application to the world using this simple tool http://ngrok.com/ . You can install it on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Exposing a local server to the Internet is as simple as running “ngrok 5000”, where 5000 is the port that the web application server is running from, it could be any valid port number.

Downside: you will be paying loads in bandwidth fees to your local ISP and if your development machine specs isn’t beefy then there is a limit to the number of requests you can server per second.

P.S: I have tried it and it works. I am currently running some simple one page flask apps off my 16gb RAM Linux Mint laptop.
#ShameOnEmefiele #WeRiseStill

Firewall or not: How to read Linda Ikeji blog and other blocked sites in a corporate organization

Me: Forgive me, Father for I have sinned. It’s been 30 days since my last confession.  These are my sins: I did a “pretty bad thing” today.

Father: Speak my child…

---

In other news,

Linda Ikeji’s blog, Stella Dimokokorkus, nairaland.com,, reddit.com are examples of websites that are blocked by organizations to prevent workers from whiling away time on those websites (rightly so).

Sometimes work can get so boring that you actually find watching wet paint dry on a wall more interesting than doing actual work. Till today…

If your corporate network has blocked these websites but allows google.com then you are covered.

1. Go to translate.google.com

2. type the blocked website you wish to visit e.g. lindaikeji.blogspot.com in the box to the left

3. Click on the generated link in the box on the right.

4. You would get a message saying the website you are trying to translate is in english

5. Click on the “visit original page” link

6. You would be able to view the blocked website now but without images and javascript disabled.

---

Me: ****crickets****

Father: huh?

An uber Lagos experience almost from hell.

I hate weddings.

As a rule I never attend weddings, but this was one that I just had to attend. Yet it seemed that the gods, petrol scarcity and my Uber driver were determined I was not going to break my self-imposed rule.

I made a ride request 45+ minutes ago and my Uber driver was nowhere to be found. I called him repeatedly and he always had a glib excuse why he had not arrived.

I guess when he felt I was bugging him too much, he stopped picking my calls and sent me a text:

Am sorry 4 everything bt I jst couldn’t continue av also wasted a lot of fuel trying to locate u n d last thing i want is more misunderstanding after d stress

Observation: The Uber driver didn’t know his way around, blamed the network for not being able to use Google maps and refused to just ask for directions from people around him.

At this point my blood was boiling because I was already very late. So I cancelled the ride request and made another. The driver fortunately was very close so he appeared in no time, I got into the car and told him my destination. What was his response?

I am very sorry, I cannot go that far. I don’t have any petrol.

Huh??? WTF!!! is this Uber?

At this stage I knew that the gods were really angry with me and definitely did not want me going to some owambe wedding on a hot Saturday afternoon.

I decided to try for the third and last time and I was third time lucky. The Uber ride came on time, the driver was very courteous and the journey was uneventful and I was very pleased.

Due to the African time syndrome, I was not as late as I thought I was going to be.

I still hate weddings though.

Foot notes
1. Uber Lagos drivers should be trained on how to navigate Lagos roads even without Google maps. If they don’t have network on their devices, I see no reason why they can’t ask, old fashion style.

2. Uber should do something about determining accurate ETA of uber rides. Right now you really can’t predict when a requested Uber ride would arrive to pick you up. Its way off the displayed ETA in the app.

3. Uber customer service is one of the best I have come across in this clime. After I left my feedback about the previous failed ride requests, Ebi (she deserves a raise) came to the rescue with swift reparation. The standard should be maintained.

Swift 4G LTE unlimited plan and a simple cronjob

As a subscriber to Swift’s unlimited data plan which offers free unlimited Internet access from 12am to 6am and also having a full time day job, I kind of noticed that I wasn’t “milking” the free segment as much as I could because most times I would be asleep during that period.
So I decided to write a simple cronjob (the cronjob calls up my download manager already preloaded with my download list at 12am, downloads all the items on the list and shuts down at 6am).
Voila!!! I have my money’s worth.

I am an addict

My phone’s vibration signaling new whatsapp messages has been rattling my office work station all day, I think I had like 13 mentions on twitter. Occasionally I heard the familiar BBM new message and PING sounds. I also think I got like 10 email messages and 16 google+ alerts. I actually can now differentiate what message I get and from what application on my phone based on the tone and length of the vibration.
What the heck is special about this?
Ever heard of phantom limb syndrome experienced by amputees? mine is the case of phantom alerts. My phone is not with me right now, its somewhere in my house some few miles away from here and to make matters worse, its actually switched off.
Hello, my name is Pystar and I am an addict.

Simple power hack

Everyone has experienced this, that heart stopping moment when your computer froze and stoped responding to anything. You then reached for that quick solution to the perceived problem i.e. pressing the power button. I did exactly that and my laptop went nuts, it would blink for like 2 seconds, die and keep repeating the process.
I did a harried quick read online and online gurus said I had to press down my power button 10 times and then hold down for more than 30 seconds on the 11th press to reset the power cycle. Well I did that and…. surprise, it did not work. Well I had to put an object on the power button to hold it down for more than 2 hours and glory be to God, it started working again. Now my blood pressure can return to normal.

Why tech startups should not move to Yaba

For all those sitting in traffic right now.
– JASON FRIED

The above quote is from “Remote – office not required”, the latest book from the guys at 37signals. I guess having just finished reading the book and the intense debate that went on here birthed this post.

WHY TECH STARTUPS SHOULD NOT MOVE TO YABA OR ANYWHERE AT ALL.

1. Work doesnt happen at work: We all are guilty of goofing off on facebook, twitter, youtube et.al instead of working. Some employers even go as far as installing blocks to the Internet on office systems (this didnt stop certain adventurous individuals from bypassing it though *cough, cough*).

Programmers, designers etc produce their best work when they are inspired and in a state of flow and this has a 1% chance of ever happening in the office. IM’s, endless emails, co-workers stopping in for mindless chitchat, purposeless staff meetings etc would ensure this never happens.

Inspiration can’t be called up on demand and ordered to deliver. There are days, weeks and even months when I don’t create anything, when looking at code hurts my eyes but oh boy when the inspiration hits, my heart rate would go up, insomniac mode comes on and I just keep at it till its all out of my head. So being forced into a cubicle farm and ordered to produce stuff would be pure torture and a waste of time. Back to the warm embrace of fair lady twitter.

2. Traffic, traffic and more traffic: “Commuting is associated with increase rate of obesity, insomnia, stress, neck and back pain, high blood pressure, heart attacks, depression and even divorce” Study. You wake up very early and jump into the jungle called Lagos to fight the beast called “go slow” and after some hours, bloodied and sweaty you slay the beast and arrive in your office. How long do you think you would need to settle down and then get into that state of mind when you can produce some quality work? driving or commuting via public transport in Lagos can be a really hellish experience, just imagine if your daily commute was a maximum 5 seconds from your bed to your home office?

You could wake up 5am get some stuff done in 1-2 hours, eat, exercise and even go back for a short nap. This is time you would have wasted in traffic. If you live in the Yaba axis, good for you and best of luck if you commute from Okokomaiko to yaba everyday, you would die!!!

3. Yaba isnt the Mecca of Nigerian tech startups: Yaba, Yaba, Yaba, left, right and center (pun intended), thats all you hear. How Yaba is the place to be if you are into technology in Lagos, Nigeria. How CCHUB is the home of all the code ninjas and picasso-ish designers in Lagos. Talent has no hotspot, even infrastructure, i.e. uninterrupted power and fast internet speed found in cchub (my generator, Inverter and Swift modem aka The holy Trinity) and the mainone cable being laid in Yaba doesnt offer a bigger offset to the downside of a long commute.

As an employer, restricting your hiring to a small geographic region means you’re not getting the best people you can. As an employee, restricting your job search to companies within a reasonable commute means you’re not working for the best company you can.

4. Magic doesn’t always happen when we are in the same room location: People who would support the great Yaba march would say that there is strength in the collection of tech heads present in Yaba, there are talent hubs in Yaba (CCHUB, IDEAHUB, UNILAG, YABATECH et. al and other tech companies) etc. Not that I dispute that fact but at the same time we dont need to all move to Yaba to harness these resources.

There are ways we could all collaborate without necessarily being present in Yaba: e.g. github, bitbucket dropbox, IRC, skype, screen sharing, google groups, etc the list is endless.

Some people find the very idea of living in Lagos with her attendant madness reprehensible. Does that mean that those people would miss out on the “gold rush”?

***Original artwork by Mike Rohde***