Also thanks to cURL, the webcams are on at danallen.com. To see the latest soon to be defunct programmers work area, click here. Thank you

Here is the code for how the Earth gets spinning:




$dogTargetPage = 'http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth?imgsize=275&opt=-l&lat=55.0&ns=North&lon=60&ew=West&alt=30000&img=learth.evif';

// create curl resource
$ch = curl_init();

// set url
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $dogTargetPage);

//return the transfer as a string
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);

// $output contains the output string
$output = curl_exec($ch);

// close curl resource to free up system resources
curl_close($ch);


$dogSniffNose = strpos($output,'img src="/cgi-bin/Earth?di=');
$dogPicAddressStart = $dogSniffNose + 27;
$dogSniffTail = strpos($output,'"', $dogPicAddressStart);
$dogPicAddressEnd = $dogSniffTail;
$dogPicAddressLength = $dogPicAddressEnd - $dogPicAddressStart;
$dogPicHash = substr($output,$dogPicAddressStart,$dogPicAddressLength);
$dogPicURL = 'http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth?di=' . $dogPicHash;
?>

Next steps:

1. Fix webcams that run with the spinning Earth at danallen.com DONE
2. Replace live image link from danallen.com with cron job that saves updated pic once per 15 minutes. DONE
3. Save those 15-minute pics for a year
4. Use pics from file instead of Swiss Observatory, to achieve spin independence
5. Be happy for being a step closer to fulfilling a dream

---

October 2009
The basic idea is to use cURL to read a webpage at the Swiss Earth Observatory, looking for the address of the earth image (sample), saving that address to a php variable that can then be used to display the latest live image on my website.

To see what CURL is going to do, surf over to the Swiss Earth Observatory. When you get there, right click in the white area of the page, and select VIEW SOURCE. This will display the web page code sent to your browser. The browser translates this code on your computer into the web page you see. The picture of Earth at that page has an address that always changes. To see what it is now, scan down the screen displayed by view source until you find

<img src="/cgi-bin/Earth?di=

After the di=, there will be a long string of letters and numbers, that look something like this.

E9B2DF0EAA864 48B20D6AB4ABD37D7605BB4A 684FEC0D8EB20EA5BAB710F335356 35B0DCF2B0D15E683658B6E75C4761D5C A004DFF5266CE5675B091

That long string always changes. Curl can read the SOURCE for the web page, find the long string, and save it.

Starting with an introduction from php.net

Once you've compiled PHP with cURL support (comes with Linux hosting from Godaddy), you can begin using the cURL functions.

The basic idea behind the cURL functions is that you initialize a cURL session using the curl_init(), then you can set all your options for the transfer via the curl_setopt(), then you can execute the session with the curl_exec() and then you finish off your session using the curl_close(). Here is an example that uses the cURL functions to fetch the example.com homepage into a file:

$ch = curl_init("http://www.example.com/");
$fp = fopen("example_homepage.txt", "w");

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FILE, $fp);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0);

curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
fclose($fp);
?>


Please
What do you think? This spot is open for you to write whatever you want. Thanks.

The more often you post here, the better.
no login required for anyone


 up to 2000 characters. Thank you for your contribution.
Previous Comments. If you don't like them, replace them with yours! Thanks!

Very nice site!

Very nice site!

Very nice site!


Mission II Ranking
as of: September 6, 2010 1:45 PM

	hits		score
TwitterGun Goes Down with Twitter Basic Authentication	33		2,848
TwitterGun Resurrection	1		1,411
Goldman Rip Off of College Students	1		1,152
Russian Policeman Blows Whistle through YouTube	17		456
Panama Canal History Part 7	543		423
Panama Canal History Part 6	807		337
Proposals for Vermont	279		268
First Time Riders	139		264
Morality Is A Tool for Survival: Under Review	74		260
On the Ground in Afghanistan	106		245
cURL Journal	1,187		235
The Solution	118		219
Homeward Bound	153		212
Vermont Yankee Might be Saved by Brian Dubie	778		212
Suicide Letter	275		210
More Lies Used to Dupe Americans Into Supporting the Surge	149		191
Letter from Jes Kraus	119		190
Hunger Strike	91		187
Montpelier Base Camp Graced by Visiting Gentlemen	163		178
Angry Old Man Picks Fight	107		173
The New Serf	63		160
War on Terror Through Muslim Eyes	125		155
John Yoo to Avoid Prosecution	2,078		154
Pearl Fashion	216		147
Obama Is Not Enough	44		145
Kidnapping Business in Iraq	175		141
Iraqi Army Filled with Mahdi Soldiers	544		140
Everest Digest News	102		139
Green Zone Development Plans	155		139
Weather Pattern for Last 400,000 Years	206		137
Deacons of Deadwood - Riding on Montpelier, Vermont October 17, 2008	578		135
How Goldman Sachs Capitalized Slack in Wheat Market	56		134
American Poor Not Living Up to Their Name	142		127
Panama Canal History Part 3	687		126
American Economic Bubble Collapsing Fast	133		125
Instead of Flying Into IRS Building	189		124
Allen Expedition to Add Two Climbers	708		124
Goldman Sachs Behind Food Shortages In 2008	67		123
Week 2	19		122
Geitner Pep Talk Fails	98		122
Team UConn Called to Drop the Hammer	172		120
Stephen Launches Grand Tour with Flight to Columbus, Ohio	147		119
Panama Canal History Part 1	877		118
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)	2,569		109
Dan Allen Looking for the Zone	40		108
Montpelier Websites Twitter	35		107
Gemma to Marry Big Strong Man	109		107
Yelling Woman Without Caulk Gun	101		106
Speedway Just Getting Started	23		105
Family Tree Extraction from Old Records	176		105
Congratulations to Chinese Olympic Torch Team	104		104
DNA Spelled Out In Detail for Each Person	120		103
Honest Protection of Law Brings Weight of The Government Down on One Man and His Family	272		102
US Torture Management	102		102
Secure Forms on the Internet	189		101
Dan Allen Roars!	59		100
Developing Nations Allotted Less Carbon Per Capita	179		96
Montpelier First Night 2009	3,330		93
Panama Canal History Part 8	596		93
Pilgrim Press	430		92
Dan Allen Pushing His Team Up Mount Everest	1,362		91
US Marines Take Down Fallujah	107		90
New Training Looks Alive	27		89
US Tax Amnesty	114		89
January 20, 2010 6 pm Montpelier, VT Film: What Are We Doing Here?	200		83
Genetic Diversity Of European Americans	169		83
Finally, Level Ground for Dan and Me	203		82
MIT Education in Our Family	132		82
Weather Charts	796		81
Financial Collapse of 2009	101		80
Team UConn Stampedes into Play	231		80
Barcelona Rides Dan Allen into History	177		78
Speedway Under Construction in Montpelier, Vermont	299		76
Yelling At Me	41		76
US War Criminals	211		76
First Step to Summit: Why Are We Here?	95		76
Happy Birthday Dad!	151		75
Factory Work in China	148		75
Luanne Davis 1971-2008	194		73
Scary Thing About Fox News	116		71
Give It To Me	62		71
Death in Mount Everest Camp III	255		70
Rio de Janeiro Cleaning Up to Host the World	79		70
$9B US Cash Lost In Iraq	861		69
Out Foxed	129		68
Surrogate Mothering is Nothing Personal in India	134		67
Limits on What DNA Can Tell Us	168		64
Web Forms	40		64
More Remedies for Bad Days	115		64
Madoff Educating People on Stock Business	65		63
Funding Stream Stopped	86		63
Marshalling for Summer	243		63
Anyone Can Get Rich With Science	166		63
Blog Archive	528		62
Unemployment Surprises Experts	25		62
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee	147		62
Expert Eye Witness of US Occupation of Iraq	125		62
Betzi and Andy are Heros Again!	190		61
Personal websites	109		61
Christmas Suggestions	104		60
Ted Allen is 2007 Person of the Year	181		60
Banking Families Show Their Respect for President Obama	131		59
Terror Suspect List Yields Few Arrests	129		59
Dan Allen Sitting Tight At Camp III	261		59
3rd Graders Plan Military-Style Operation Against Teacher	248		58
Global Warming	367		57
Drug Addiction Pegged as Treatable Medical Problem	200		57
Truth Revealed	100		56
Summer Summit Drive on Mount Everest	187		56
Petreaus and Bush Jiving Iraq	127		56
US Economic Decline	156		55
Dan Allens Twitter	29		54
Survival Situation	266		54
Panama Canal History Part 5	571		53
First the MySQL Clock, Now the PHP Clock	31		53
Najaf: Shiite Holy City	127		52
Modern Hero	114		52
Taser Games	217		52
Bush: Supreme Commander of the Government	191		52
Funny History	119		52
Chinese Cabinet Official Takes Lethal Injection for Failure to Protect	684		51
Corruption in Florida	116		51
My Kent School Experience	162		51
Obama Falling for Wall Street Con	124		51
Daylight Savings Free Zone	525		51
Dan Allen Settles into Camp 3 on Mount Everest	271		51
Private Prison Service	157		50
Patriot Act Becoming More Patriotic	120		50
Stable Now?	81		50
Harry Potter Ends	135		50
Barre Granite Timeline	114		49
U.S. Marines Handling Public Affairs After Haditha Incident	127		49
Hippy Man Finds Best Man With Wife	179		48
Battle of the Frigidus	122		48
Decrees - Good and Under Review	183		48
Living and Breathing Scat All the Time	139		48
Balls Gone, Pain Stays	151		47
Prime Time for Programming	66		47
Luanne Davis Rides Horse on Mount Everest	275		47
New Human Species Through Technology	119		47
Joe Wilson and Nigerian Yellowcake	141		47
Victory! Victory! Victory!	181		46
My Dreams	114		46
Hunger Strikes Work	129		46
Dan Allen in G1 Endy Pit	26		46
Only Problem Is Death	1,015		46
Letter to NPR - You Were Snookered	115		45
Oil Rules!	119		45
Pearl Says She Always Is Right	132		45
Montpelier Tweeter	35		45
Scattered	133		45
Paycheck to Paycheck Is Getting Harder	196		45
War - Pacifists Not Patriotic	113		44
Panama Canal Ripoff?	232		44
Vermont Anti Billboard Law	246		44
Base Camp Connection to Camp III Cut	157		44
White and Nerdy	67		44
Liberalism in Vermont	105		43
Breaking Out of The Trap	215		43
Clocks at the Speedway	64		43
Eminem Understood	65		43
Panama Canal History Part 2	252		43
Niger Delta Oil	1,179		43
Lunar Orbit	107		42
DoubleDogMenuSnarl.php - No Leaks	57		42
Purported Proof that Humans Cause Global Warming	118		42
Silly Program	100		42
Barcelona United Wins 3-2	98		42
Beer Shotgun vs. Taser	241		42
Tonight: PayPal Meets the Boss	46		42
Link Queue	139		42
Men	137		42
Middle East War	109		42
Battle Mythology	120		42
Dan and Hector Stomping Down Snowmass	223		42
Bush Torpedoed by His Own Party	104		42
Running the Mob Is Good Work if You Can Get It	136		41
Allen Men Atop Mount Everest	150		41
Freedom and the Press	110		41
Pre-Election Posturing	138		41
Americans Targeted by FBI	129		41
Court to Review Wiretapping	124		41
Dan Allen Jr. Makes UConn Look Easy	203		41
Iraq Assessment	92		41
Happy Birthday Mom!	93		41
Schedule Change for Summit Climb	176		41
Clearing a Corner	99		41
Grandparents and Suicide Both on The Same Day	118		40
War Profiteer	101		40
Michael Moore On Anti-Mainstream Media Tirade	128		40
Cycling Wins a Victory for Humanity	125		40
Team Sports	147		40
Carts for Extending Meaningful Human Life by 50 Years	193		40
Tuesday Night Racing	61		40
US Healthcare Planning to Jettison Chronically Ill from Healthcare System	127		40
Panama Canal History Part 4	584		40
Reporter Finally Released from Guantanamo	159		40
Survival Jobs	86		40
Physics Cannot Find Life in the Universe	134		40
President Bush Father & Son	129		40
Brawndo, Public Service Announcement	106		40
Sometimes, A Man Has Got to Do What He Has To Do	123		39
Routine Gunshots in Jacksonville, Florida	175		39
Great Moment in Supreme Court	109		39
Forget the Guns, Just Fork Over the Money	29		39
Obliterating a Mind	140		38
DoubleDogMenuSnarl Sent Back to Dog House	34		38
Old War Tactics Bioterrorism	119		38
Iraqi Crime Courtesy Uncle Sam	155		38
Documenting the Lee Line	212		38
Withdrawing from Iraq	106		38
Test Feed via Twitter	27		38
Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President	126		38
No Communication Since May 1	126		37
Alive Day	126		37
Running Under Green In Montpelier	101		37
Bush Butt	131		37
Business Idea	20		37
Tonic	111		36
Hopefully this looks right in the headline	93		36
Weapons Buildup In Iraq	118		36
Constitution of the United States of America	159		36
Economic Growth	154		36
Blodgett Ovens Thrive in Vermont	416		36
Dan Allen on Track for 3rd Straight British Open	125		35
Torture Authorized by Justice Department in 2005	145		35
Montpelier Life Waiting on Crystals	41		35
Fox News in a Nutshell	92		35
Bayeux Tapestry	107		35
Army Officers Showing Brains	119		35
New York City Considers Photography Permit	133		34
Ceremony at India/Pakistan Border	128		34
Internet Science Update	134		34
Web Site Menu Code Sample	37		34
In Iraq, Crazy Alliances With No Reasonable Hope for Success	139		34
Bush Lawyers Under Legal Attack	117		34
China Restricts Internet Video	113		34
Common Interview Questions	92		34
Monks Are Major Institution in Thailand	105		34
Naked Stalker Comes To Life	116		34
Vermont Government Worker News	32		33
Peace with Islam	124		33
Reviving Ophelia	126		33
Ludwig Van Beethoven	117		33
My Friends at Blackwater Security Consulting	104		33
No News Today	139		32
De-Spazzing the System	31		32
Ancient Humor	111		32
Michael	197		32
Sunni Insurgents Stop Shooting in Exchange for Monthly Cash Flow	112		32
Dan Allen "Never Play Again"	228		32
Cockeyed Clocks in PHP and MySQL	39		31
Dan Allen Running 170 MPH	53		31
Dying in the Car	220		30
Triage, The Brutal Act of Love and Service	153		30
Bloggers Obligated to Promote Human Rights	193		30
Psychologists As Witch Doctors for the CIA and DOD	190		29
Beginner Every Day	180		29
Remedy for a Bad Day	268		28
Healthcare	60		28
No Excuses, Period, Full Stop, End of Story	167		28
Dan Allen Sets Camp at World Record 29,020 Feet	138		28
Finding Your Crackberry	135		28
War Profiteering through Tax Evasion	167		28
Email from Kevin Johnson to Microsoft Employees	162		27
Howard Center Attacks Teacher	15		27
Mexico Update	134		27
Saudi Women Find Freedom Through Internet Stripping	154		26
Polar Bears Losing to Melting Ice	181		26
Stephen Allen Devoted to Wrestling and High School	171		26
Trap Broken on Mount Everest	151		26
Gitmo Torture	126		25
$10 Million Not Enough to be Rich	218		25
One Day of the Meltdown	157		25
Happy Birthday Sam!	98		25
Corpse Wheeled to Check-Cashing Store Leads to 2 Arrests	118		25
Taboo	181		25
Guatemala: Baby Factory Nation State	147		25
Welcome People	101		25
Wal-Mart Exposed by Internal Videos	114		25
Simplicity of Spots	16		24
Mexican Drug Cartels Repulse 20,000 Soldiers	181		24
Things I Expected By Now	138		24
Jugs of Maple Syrup	124		24
Montpelier Websites Running CRM	28		24
Journal	116		24
Barcelona United On a Roll	195		24
Dan Allen Biography	152		24