i+++ Update to the Slerm Phlogging Engine +++ null.host 1 i Monday, August 29, 2016 at 09:05 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iThis is a small update fixing selector line endings so they are RFC null.host 1 i1436 compliant. Someone left a comment on my phlog noting that I wa null.host 1 ioutputting \n, instead of \r\n as per the RFC. Now, in today's day null.host 1 iand age, this probably makes no difference, but it is possible that null.host 1 ian older client could make assumptions about line endings. So, null.host 1 ifixed! Read on for details on how to download slerm v1.7. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/slerm-update sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ The Days of Dialup are Ending +++ null.host 1 i Sunday, July 03, 2016 at 09:12 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iJuly 1st came and went and with it my annual dues notices. I donate null.host 1 ito support a wide variety of SDF's services, MetaARPA of course, bu null.host 1 ialso VPN, VOIP and dialup. I've been a dialup member for a while, I null.host 1 ijoined SDF in 2007 so it was 2008 or so. For all of those years null.host 1 ithrough this one, I lived in a house in New England with copper null.host 1 iphone lines, so dialup made sense as a backup internet for power null.host 1 ioutages. I also used it while traveling, for example in Vermont null.host 1 iwhere cell service was spotty and the internet unrelaible. But I"ve null.host 1 irecently relocated to Quebec - no copper phone lines where I am, null.host 1 ipower is reliable, internet is also quite reliable (but expensive, null.host 1 iat least moreso than I was used to in the US). Anyway, I was sad to null.host 1 ido so, but I finally cancelled my dialup membership, I just don't null.host 1 isee a need for it anymore. During any extended power outage (a null.host 1 icouple of days or more), I would not have a phone line anyway, sinc null.host 1 iit is provided via the cable line. I also don't travel as much, but null.host 1 ieven when I do, most everywhere has decent wireless internet now. null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/dialup sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Moved to Canada +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, July 02, 2016 at 11:20 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI noted before that I was planning to move my family to Canada null.host 1 i[0]. Well, we finally did it in June of this year, and are settling null.host 1 iin to the new home in southern Quebec. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/moved_to_canada sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Slerm is Back! +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, December 16, 2015 at 16:45 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iThis is a first post under my newly-revamped phlogging engine slerm null.host 1 i(now v1.6), you can read about slerm and even comment below: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/slerm-is-back sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Low Tech +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, December 08, 2015 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI enjoy reading the weekly posts over at The Archdruid Report [0]. null.host 1 iVery thought-provoking. Last week's post [1] was on the aggression null.host 1 iand anger many face by admitting to eschewing a "modern" way of lif null.host 1 iin favor of simpler, older technologies. The comments to this post null.host 1 iare full of interesting anecdotes. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/lowtech sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Dumb Phones +++ null.host 1 i Monday, November 16, 2015 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've noticed lately more and more people buried in their mobile null.host 1 idevices in public or even while they are in supposedly social null.host 1 isituations. While the former is understandable (the phone has taken null.host 1 ithe place of books or magazines in waiting rooms and airport null.host 1 iterminals), the latter is downright rude. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/dumb_phones sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Journaling +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, September 03, 2015 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've kept a hand-written journal twice before for short periods. null.host 1 iOnce when I was 20 and on a NOLS excursion in the North Cascades, null.host 1 ithat was for 31 days. More recently, I had a written journal for null.host 1 ifour months in 2013, but never kept up with it. Reading through bot null.host 1 irecently made me realize the value such a journal can hold, not onl null.host 1 ifor selfish reasons, but for future generations of family members, null.host 1 iwho might be interested in the personal details of their great- null.host 1 igrandfather's life, say. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/journaling sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Moving to Canada +++ null.host 1 i Friday, June 05, 2015 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iLast year I discovered I was a Canadian citizen under their 'new' null.host 1 i(2009) citizenship act. Although I was born in the US, my father wa null.host 1 iborn and raised in Quebec. The new law allows citizenship by descen null.host 1 ifor the first generation born abroad to a Canadian parent. So my null.host 1 ikids are not Canadian citizens, but I (and my siblings) are, retro- null.host 1 iactive to birth. I received my Canadian citizenship certificate in null.host 1 iMarch of this year, and my passport in May. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/canada sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ RIP +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, February 28, 2015 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iA life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not null.host 1 ipreserved, except in memory. LLAP -Leonard Nimoy null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/rip_leonard_nimoy_spock sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Slerm - it's Alive +++ null.host 1 i Friday, January 16, 2015 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iWith the switch to Gophernicus as the SDF gopher server, gopher null.host 1 imoles became possible again. I talked about this before [0], but null.host 1 irecently found the time to update my old dynamic phlogging software null.host 1 islerm, so that it worked with Gophernicus. I am testing it and will null.host 1 irelease another tarball hopefully very soon. Here is the list of null.host 1 ifeatures from the original README [1]: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/slerm_its_alive sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Everyman's Library +++ null.host 1 i Friday, December 19, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've recently discovered "Everyman's Library" - a publishing house null.host 1 ithat specializes in high-quality hardcovers of classic authors. I'm null.host 1 inot a book collector by any stretch of the imagination, but I do null.host 1 ilove to read and like the feel of a nice hardcover. You can get null.host 1 ithese in the usual brick & mortar bookstores, or online - they are null.host 1 ireasonably priced and have sewn cloth bindings, acid-free paper, an null.host 1 ia built-in bookmark. I put some pictures of 'The Stories of Ray null.host 1 iBradbury' in my SDF gallery [0]. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/everymans_books sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Higher Order Perl and Free Books +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, December 03, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI wish more authors would come to their senses, particularly with null.host 1 itechnical books. I purchased the dead-tree version of Higher Order null.host 1 iPerl years ago, it is an amazing book and recommended reading for null.host 1 iany programmer. Luckily, it is free to download [0]. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/freebooks sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Time to Re-visit Dynamic Phlogging +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, September 17, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iFor a few years SDF used the Bucktooth gopher server, which works null.host 1 ifine but had some security issues that were very hard to fix given null.host 1 ithat server's design and the difficulty of testing. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/time_to_revisit_phlogging sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Ending the Old-School D&D Campaign +++ null.host 1 i Monday, September 15, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iSo I ended the old-school D&D campaign today that I had been runnin null.host 1 ion the bboard (board CAMPAIGN) for the past year or so. Posting null.host 1 ifrequency of the participants was at about once every few weeks, so null.host 1 iclearly the interest had waned. It was fun while it lasted, though! null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/ending_the_old_school_dnd_campaign sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Back to Slackware +++ null.host 1 i Sunday, September 14, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iIt's been a while since I updated the phlog/blog. Funny how things null.host 1 ilike this tend to go in spurts, at least for me. I can write null.host 1 iregularly for a while, then lose interest but always come back at null.host 1 isome point. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/back_to_slackware sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, March 18, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iAs a long-time fan of Carl Sagan's works, I am happily gobbling up null.host 1 ithe recent Cosmos remake on Fox with Neil deGrasse Tyson (NdT). It null.host 1 iis very well done and NdT was definitely the right person to host null.host 1 ithe show. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/cosmos sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Adventures of a Sysadmin, Fun With cPanel Edition +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, March 12, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iOh, how I loathe cPanel. It completely takes over your linux null.host 1 iservers. Once installed, there is no uninstalling it, it has hooks null.host 1 iinto every part of the OS. Once infected by the cPanel virus, you null.host 1 imust make all changes to the server configuration through cPanel, o null.host 1 icPanel's highly intuitive collection of command line utilities. null.host 1 iEverything. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/adventures_sysadmin_fun_with_cpanel sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ 2600 Magazine's Ebooks +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, January 18, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've been a subscriber to 2600 magazine for about four years, and null.host 1 iwhile the technical content is of varying quality, I enjoy reading null.host 1 ithe opinions, letters, 'hacker perspectives' columns and fiction. I null.host 1 ialso like reading the older 2600 magazines - from the 80s. This is null.host 1 iwhen I got my start in computing, so there is definitely a bit of null.host 1 inostalgia there, but I also enjoy reading about the computing null.host 1 ihistory of that time. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/2600_magazine_ebooks sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ SDF Dialup +++ null.host 1 i Friday, January 03, 2014 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI'm typing this over a dialup connection into SDF. I've had an SDF null.host 1 idialup account since I've joined, but seldom use it anymore. I do null.host 1 ilike to keep it around as a last-ditch internet access method, so I null.host 1 itest it from time-to-time. It *has* come in useful before during null.host 1 iextended power outages. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/dialup sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Trisquel GNU/Linux 6.0 Meets an Old Laptop +++ null.host 1 i Friday, November 29, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI recently acquired an old laptop (A Dell Latitude) from a friend null.host 1 ithat was throwing it out. I love old laptops, they tend to be built null.host 1 imore solidly and have much nicer-feeling keyboards than 'modern' null.host 1 iones. The lack of horsepower doesn't bother me, as my mostly non-GU null.host 1 ineeds don't require lots of memory, disk or CPU. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/trisquel_gnu_linux sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Cool Gopher Phlog to Blog Converter +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, November 27, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iOur very own Echosa has made a very nice gopher phlog-to-blog null.host 1 iconverter, complete with disqus comments. I like it - simple, clean null.host 1 iand has the advantage of only having to update your phlog/blog in null.host 1 ione place. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/cool-gopher-phlog-to-http sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ NYC Scary +++ null.host 1 i Friday, November 22, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iLast month I was in NY city for a few days on business. Since I liv null.host 1 iin Connecticut, I am able to take the train into Penn Station. On null.host 1 ithe way home, my train was delayed and I stayed in Penn Station for null.host 1 ia bit longer than I wanted to. It was...interesting, to say the null.host 1 ileast. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/nyc_scary sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Learning Morse Code +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, October 08, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've had my ham license for about 5 years, but never done much with null.host 1 iit until recently, when I bought an Icom IC-718, put an antenna up null.host 1 iover my garage and started learning morse code. Why morse code? null.host 1 iLocal 2M repeaters don't really interest me, and I have little null.host 1 idesire to actually chat via phone/SSB/AM with anyone. CW seems so null.host 1 imuch _cooler_ somehow, despite it still being just another form of null.host 1 icommunication. It may be the minimalist nature of CW that appeals t null.host 1 ime - a low-power battery operated transceiver, wire antenna and key null.host 1 iare all you need. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/learning_morse_code sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Homeschooling Update +++ null.host 1 i Friday, September 20, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI noted back in April that my wife and I were considering home null.host 1 ischooling our kids, ages 9 and 12. We did end up doing this, and it null.host 1 ihas been generally a positive experience during the first null.host 1 imonth. We're learning the best ways to do things as we go along, null.host 1 iusing whatever free or low-cost resources we can find. For example, null.host 1 iwe make regular trips to the town library for textbooks or fiction, null.host 1 iuse the Khan Academy website, and various online sources of null.host 1 idocumentaries and educational shows (Netflix, Discovery, Youtube). null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/homeschooling_update sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Role Playing Games by Bboard and Gopher +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, August 17, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI and some old-school D&D enthusiasts started a bboard/gopher Sword null.host 1 i& Wizardry campaign [0]. Coming from some recent play-by-post or null.host 1 iforum-based games, I had some reservations, but I must say it's bee null.host 1 iworking quite well. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/role_playing_games_by_bboard_and_gopher sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ TV's Everywhere +++ null.host 1 i Friday, July 26, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've noticed lately that more and more public and private venues ar null.host 1 iinstalling large, flat-screen TVs. They are always on, tuned to CNN null.host 1 ior Fox News, or some sports channel. I'm not sure if this is the null.host 1 isame in other parts of the world, but it seems most Americans null.host 1 itolerate or perhaps even want this, or why else would businesses null.host 1 iinstall them? null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/tvs_everywhere sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Comments on Textfiles +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, June 05, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iOver at jstg's phlog [0] he laments the lack of plain text files on null.host 1 ithe internet. He is not alone in that sentiment, the 'modern' web i null.host 1 imore about looks than actual content. There are ways to cope, null.host 1 ihowever. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/comments_on_textfiles sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Jefferson Quote +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, May 1st, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iHere's a quote from a founding father you don't see very often. I t null.host 1 ican all agree on his sentiments towards banks: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/jefferson_quote sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Micro-managers +++ null.host 1 i Monday, April 29th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI had just started troubleshooting an issue on a production server null.host 1 iday, when one of the managers got wind of the problem and wanted to null.host 1 iIM session with me so we could both figure out the problem as it wa null.host 1 i'critical'. Please, no. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/micromanagers sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Consumerism +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, April 13th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI was at a local Staples today grabbing some office supplies. While null.host 1 itook a look at the laptops they had on display. Universally overpri null.host 1 iloads of crapware/adware and all with a highly visible 'Windows 8 i null.host 1 isticker. The usual bait-and-switch with a sticker price in a large null.host 1 ithe admission in a tiny font at the bottom edge of the tag that the null.host 1 iprice is higher, unless you send in for a mail-in rebate. Rather th null.host 1 ihow worthless it all was and how a decent text editor was nowhere t null.host 1 ifound, stickers touting the latest version of Office for just $50 m null.host 1 isome sort of kiosk display with prominent Facebook and Netflix icon null.host 1 imention of the required anti-virus software, I guess that's just as null.host 1 inowadays. How can people use these to do anything useful, I thought null.host 1 imyself? The answer is they can't, and they are not intended to be u null.host 1 imerely to enable consumption. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/consumerism sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ The Problem With Public Schools +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, April 03th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iMy wife and I have been discussing homeschooling our two children ( null.host 1 iand 12). Public school in the US seems to be completely concerned w null.host 1 iteaching kids how to do well on state standardized tests, and less null.host 1 ilearning. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/homeschooling sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Expensive Cloud +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, April 02nd, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI was recently surprised to learn that large disk arrays can be muc null.host 1 iif you self-host them versus, well versus pretty much any "cloud" s null.host 1 iprovider. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/expensive_cloud sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Killing Caps Lock +++ null.host 1 i Friday, March 29th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iThe dreaded caps lock key. Never has a key been so useless yet so null.host 1 iever-present. As a heavy emacs user, I keep myself sane by turning null.host 1 ian extra control key. Various linux distros and desktops have their null.host 1 ifor changing keyboard layout, but I found some simple commands that null.host 1 ipretty much everywhere. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/keeping_sane_with_caps_lock sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Ebooks are Still too Expensive +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, March 26, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iSigh. It seems the publishing industry has not learned from the null.host 1 imistakes of other, dying industries and is still clinging to quaint null.host 1 ibusiness models. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/ebooks_still_too_expensive sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Gopher Automation +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI used to have a few gopher CGI (aka gopher mole) scripts on my SDF null.host 1 isite. One displayed the latest weather for my area, one was my phlo null.host 1 iscript slerm, and one generated a random Firefly quote every time i null.host 1 iloaded. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/gopher_automation sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ THE WEBSITE IS DOWN +++ null.host 1 i Monday, March 25th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iUgh. Why is it that people still feel the need to WRITE IN ALL CAPS null.host 1 iemail? What, is this 1996 (of course, I am posting this on a gophe null.host 1 iserver...)? null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/server_down sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Public School is Boring +++ null.host 1 i Friday, March 22nd, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI went to a parent-teacher conference at the local elementary schoo null.host 1 i9-year old daughter yesterday. She does fairly well, but tends to b null.host 1 iinconsistent, probably due to the ebb and flow in her interest leve null.host 1 iwas evident while discussing reading. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/public_school_reading sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Prophetic Carl Sagan Quote +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, March 19th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iCarl Sagan is one of my favorite authors. His book, 'The Demon-Haun null.host 1 iWorld" is a classic, and is essential reading for the budding skept null.host 1 iquote from that book is eerily prophetic: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/prophetic_quote_carl_sagan sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Phlogit - The goPHerLOG helper-- null.host 1 i Monday, March 18th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI recently converted the 'mkgopherentry' shell script that many her null.host 1 iuse for their phlogs to perl. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/phlogit_the_gopher_blog_helper sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ What Router? Adventures of A Freelance Sysadmin-- null.host 1 i Sunday, March 17th, 2013 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iThe ringing phone interrupted Nalo's concentration, his eyes glued null.host 1 iterminal window, his fingers tapping at the keyboard. He glanced at null.host 1 icaller-ID. Minicorp. Crap, not again. He paused his nethack game wi null.host 1 icontrol-z. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/what_router sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Musings on Network Security +++ null.host 1 i Monday, September 10, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iAs a sysadmin, I have always thought simplicity should be a key null.host 1 iguideline when securing Linux or Unix servers. That sounds rather null.host 1 imeaningless by itself, so an example is in order. Anyone who spends null.host 1 itime looking at the log files on an internet-facing server or null.host 1 ifirewall will notice the almost constant barrage of SSH brute-force null.host 1 iattacks. SSH is indispensable as a remote administration tool, so i null.host 1 iis likely to be installed on every such Linux or Unix system. Some null.host 1 iadmins like to install automatic analysis and blocking tools (e.g., null.host 1 ifail2ban), but I dislike such tools because they are just another null.host 1 iway of "enumerating badness" [1]. So I secure SSH with a set of null.host 1 isimple changes: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/security-musings sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Unsubscribe Me Madness +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, June 12, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iFor some reason I was getting marketing email from Barnes & Noble, null.host 1 iseveral times per day. I must have inadvertently missed a checkbox null.host 1 ilabeled 'spam me' during my last online purchase. Anyway, I finally null.host 1 ifollowed the 'unsubscribe' link and dutifully selected that I no null.host 1 ilonger wished to receive ANY email. This is the response I got afte null.host 1 isubmission: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/unsubscribe-me-madness sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Ebooks Cost Too Much +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, March 27, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iSome time ago I read the dead-tree version of the book Daemon, by null.host 1 iDaniel Suarez. A very good book, and one I was glad to see now had null.host 1 isequel. I was less pleased when I went to the Barnes & Noble websit null.host 1 ito see how much the ebook would cost (I have a 1st gen nook) - null.host 1 i$9.99. Just out of curiosity, I checked the kindle price, and it wa null.host 1 ithe same. I'm sorry, $9.99 is way too much for an ebook. I'm willin null.host 1 ito pay more for physical books, but not an ephemeral digital null.host 1 iversion, even if it's in an open format like epub. I can't be alone null.host 1 iseems to me publishers are losing money by jacking up ebook prices null.host 1 i(I've noticed authors selling direct through Amazon or B&N to null.host 1 itend to charge less, it's just the publishers trying to hang on to null.host 1 ian obsolete business model). In the end, I picked up an almost-new null.host 1 ihardcover for $1.93 on half.com (just under $6.00 with shipping), null.host 1 iand I have the physical book. null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/ebooks-cost-too-much sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ WTF is Tracker and Why is it Using All of My Memory? +++ null.host 1 i Sunday, March 18, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iRecently, I updated by Debian testing XFCE desktop. Nothing unusual null.host 1 ithere, I've been using Debian for many years and after the gnome3 null.host 1 idisaster, have pretty much settled on XFCE. This update brought in null.host 1 isurprise, however. My desktop with 3GB of RAM was sluggish, and null.host 1 i'top' showed I was using all my RAM *and* 500MB of swap. Hmmm... null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/wtf-tracker-using-all-memory sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Argh, No Snow +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, February 28, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iThis time last year we had two feet of snow on the ground, now null.host 1 inone. In fact it hasn't snowed appreciably in the northeastern US null.host 1 isince mid-December, not at all normal for a New England winter. null.host 1 iMost people are pleased by this turn of events, but my wife and I null.host 1 ienjoy cross-country skiing. We have only been able to go out twice null.host 1 ithis winter, and then only by traveling north to Vermont during a null.host 1 ilucky week in January where they had six whole inches of snow. null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/no-snow sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Alt.sysadmin.recovery Manpages +++ null.host 1 i Sunday, February 19, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iMore sysadmin humor, the alt.sysadmin.recovery [0] manpages. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/alt-sysadmin-recovery-manpages sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Don't Mess With the Sysadmin +++ null.host 1 i Sunday, February 19, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iA funny reminder not to mess with your sysadmin [0]. Reminds me of null.host 1 ithe BOFH stories [1]. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/dont-mess-with-the-sysadmin sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ WTF: Ubuntu, Debian and Gnome +++ null.host 1 i Friday, February 17, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iAfter my rant on Ubuntu a few years ago it actually improved quite null.host 1 ibit. You still had loads of mysterious processes running, but at null.host 1 ileast they advanced things to the point of not slowing the desktop null.host 1 idown (or maybe hardware just caught up), all the while keeping the null.host 1 isame basic interface. I suppose they had gone just too long without null.host 1 imessing things up, so in comes Unity (or Gnome3 if you are running null.host 1 ithe current Debian testing default desktop), and things are back to null.host 1 islow, clunky and unusable. At least for me - I tried it and null.host 1 iabandoned it after a few days. Worse, the interface is radically null.host 1 ichanged, with no fallback. But hey, it looks good! null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/wtf-gnome-ubuntu-unity sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Perl CGI Programming, the Right Way (redux) +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, February 16, 2012 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iArgh! The excellent Perl CGI course I first mentioned here is null.host 1 ioffline. Archive.org to the rescue. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/perl-cgi-course-archive sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Hurricane Irene +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, August 31, 2011 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iWe've had an interesting few days since hurricane (really tropical null.host 1 istorm) Irene hit Connecticut. We lost power Sunday morning, and null.host 1 ifinally got it back Tuesday. This wasn't really an inconvenience fo null.host 1 ius, as we had a generator and 20 gallons of fuel. That would last null.host 1 ialmost two weeks - the trick is to realize that you don't need 24x7 null.host 1 ipower to be comfortable, assuming you are prepared (more about that null.host 1 ibelow). We ran the generator about six hours a day - two hours each null.host 1 imorning. afternoon and night. That was enough in 80-degree weather null.host 1 ito keep the fridge and freezer cold enough so there was no food null.host 1 ispoilage. While the generator was off, we relied on stored water null.host 1 i(both potable and rainwater for flushing toilets), a propane stove, null.host 1 ivarious solar lights, battery-powered flashlights and oil null.host 1 ilanterns. Since it was late August in New England, we did not have null.host 1 ito worry about heating the house, although we have a wood stove if null.host 1 iit had been necessary. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/storm sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Slerm Phlogging Script - Updates +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, June 28, 2011 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've updated slerm to fix an issue where embedded gopher links of null.host 1 itype 1-9 were not recognized. I've also added 'bookshelf.txt', mean null.host 1 ito be a list of what you are currently reading, displayed just belo null.host 1 ithe site header. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/slerm.1.3 sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Ideas for Improving Slerm +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, June 28, 2011 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iThere are some ideas I've had for improving the slerm phlogging null.host 1 iengine [], the main one being adding full-text search. In fact, thi null.host 1 iseems to be a drawback to gopher itself - although the Veronica and null.host 1 iVISHNU searches [1] are useful, they index only selectors - not null.host 1 ifull-text [2]. For a lightweight, text-based protocol, this seems a null.host 1 ibig weakness. It means you have to hunt around gopherspace for null.host 1 iinteresting tidbits, since selector names aren't always that null.host 1 idescriptive. It appears WAIS was meant to address this limitation, null.host 1 ialthough only for locally connected gopher servers via a special null.host 1 iclient (think pre-internet). null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/slerm-ideas sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Remote Access +++ null.host 1 i Sunday, May 22, 2011 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI setup VNC access to a desktop for a client recently, which they null.host 1 ipromptly b0rked by replacing their router and with it all the null.host 1 ifirewall/port forwarding settings - without telling me. In trying t null.host 1 iget access to try and fix it, I explained how I would first need th null.host 1 iIP address for the new router. I received this helpful email in null.host 1 iresponse: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/remote-access sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Mail Clients and Editors +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, April 13, 2011 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iMy favorite mail client is mutt, and my editor-of-choice is GNU null.host 1 iEmacs. The two play quite nicely together, and I still use them for null.host 1 ipersonal mail, via a console SSH connection. This line in .muttrc null.host 1 idoes the trick: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/emacs-thunderbird sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Using Old OSes On Servers +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, April 06, 2011 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iOf all the linux distros or BSD's to choose from, I would say Fedor null.host 1 iranks at the bottom for me as far as production server use. It's null.host 1 ireally meant as a testing OS, to test new ideas before they get null.host 1 iincorporated into RHEL. While there are issues with any old null.host 1 ioperating system as far as community or vendor support, Fedora null.host 1 ireleases in particular have a very short lifespan (Fedora Legacy, null.host 1 iwhich had been providing support for old Fedora releases, was shut null.host 1 idown in 2007). I mention this because I have a client that contacts null.host 1 ime every few months for help with some intractable server null.host 1 iissue. From just a security perspective, this is scary, FC5 was null.host 1 ireleased in 2006: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/oldsoftware sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Hacker Wanted +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, January 19, 2011 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iLike most in the tech industry, I get emails from recruiters from null.host 1 itime-to-time. Most I file in the bit-bucket pretty quickly. But one null.host 1 iI received the other day was interesting for the wording used in th null.host 1 ijob description: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/hacker sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Slerm Phlogging Script - Updates +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, December 21, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've updated slerm to fix an issue where users could leave 'orphan' null.host 1 icomments (comments not attached to any post) by forgetting to type null.host 1 ithe name of the post before the comment text. Now an error page is null.host 1 idisplayed, with instructions on what to do. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/slerm1.2 sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Slerm Phlogging Script +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, November 17, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've added some more updates to my version of the excellent 'germ' null.host 1 iphlogging script as created by wt@sdf, and renamed it 'slerm' to null.host 1 idifferentiate it. The main change from the previous version is the null.host 1 iability to receive email alerts on post comments. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/slerm sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Highly Annoying Habits of Non-Geeks +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, November 16, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iPosted without comment, annoying habits of the non-geek: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/annoying sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Slide Rules +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, August 19, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 i[This post disappeared from the SDF bboard for some reason, so I'm null.host 1 iposting it here] null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/sliderule sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ This Server is a Tad Overloaded... +++ null.host 1 i Monday, August 02, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iA server I do development work on...yikes: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/load sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Project Work and Crazy Expectations +++ null.host 1 i Friday, May 14, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've never been a fan of detailed or formal requirements docs for null.host 1 isoftware or other projects, as I've found the customer's needs null.host 1 ialways change and sticking to a pre-made list is impossible. But null.host 1 ithere has to be *something* to start with, something reasonably null.host 1 idetailed enough to make an estimate (and I recommend doubling that null.host 1 ibefore telling the customer). I got an email from a potential clien null.host 1 irecently: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/consult sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Partitioning Woes +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, April 20, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iWho partitions servers like this? A braindead hosting provider, null.host 1 ithat's who. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/partition sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ HTML Tag Removal Utility - unhtml +++ null.host 1 i Friday, April 16, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI updated 'unhtml' [0] today and copied it into /sys/sdf/bin so null.host 1 iothers could use it. Unhtml is a command-line utility to strip tags null.host 1 ifrom HTML source. I'm using it to convert pyblosxom posts to gopher null.host 1 isuitable text. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/unhtml2 sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Some More Light Reading... +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, April 15, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI like the Forgotten Realms novels so much, I've been reading all o null.host 1 ithem. Right now I'm reading the Paths of Darkness Collector's null.host 1 iEdition [0]. So far all of RA Salvatore's books in this series have null.host 1 ibeen great, although I'm guessing you'll like them better if you null.host 1 iwere or are into D&D. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/morebooks sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Some Light Reading... +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, January 07, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI'm taking the family on a long-overdue vacation up to Vermont next null.host 1 iweek. In anticipation of doing lots of reading, I picked up two of null.host 1 iR.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms trilogies, 'The Dark Elf' [0] and null.host 1 i'Icewind Dale' [1]. If the reviews on Amazon and bn.com are any null.host 1 iindication, they should be quite entertaining. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/newbooks sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Kickin' it Old School #tags Palm,Ebooks,Ereader,Plucker +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, January 02, 2010 null.host 1 i null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/palmiiie sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Text Adventures and Get Lamp +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, December 30, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI still remember playing Zork happily for hours in my youth. For null.host 1 ithose that played them, text adventures encouraged logical, null.host 1 ideliberate thinking that rarely exists in modern games. Poking null.host 1 ithrough Jason Scott's blog ASCII [0] last night, I saw a note about null.host 1 iGet Lamp [1] and put in a pre-order. If it's anything like BBS [2] null.host 1 iit will be great. It's set to ship in March of 2010. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/getlamp sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Viewing the Top-Ten Worst SSH Attackers +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, December 29, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iIf you must maintain an 'open' SSH server, this might come in handy null.host 1 iThis is a quick way to view the top ten worst offending SSH null.host 1 iattackers in your secure log. It works on Red Hat-based Linux boxen null.host 1 i(e.g., CentOS, Fedora), but it can easily be modified for other OS' null.host 1 iby just changing the pattern or logfile. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/sshattacks sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Make Great Money Now as a Freelance Developer... +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, October 13, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iWell, I'm so glad the person posting this job [0] put a plus sign null.host 1 iafter the number '10' for an hourly rate, because as a 'Senior null.host 1 imod_perl programmer' with 'lots of application development null.host 1 ibackground' who is used to dealing with 'Difficult code with poor null.host 1 idocumentation' in 'Very large applications developed over many null.host 1 iiterations', I would never even consider applying for this at just null.host 1 i$10/hour - the plus sign makes all the difference! null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/perljob sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Squirrelmail Error +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, October 03, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI came across an obscure error using Squirrelmail recently. The null.host 1 ierror was just the text "ERROR : Connection dropped by imap server" null.host 1 iafter attempting to login with a newly-created user - less than null.host 1 ihelpful, and the server logs were no help (I'm using the Dovecot null.host 1 iIMAP server). I was thrown off by the fact that I had recently null.host 1 imigrated this client's installation to a new server, and thought null.host 1 ieverything should have worked as it had before. The key turned out null.host 1 ito be that this was a brand-new user account, and that user's null.host 1 iMaildir folders were missing. The easy fix is to create the maildir null.host 1 ifolders: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/sqmail sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Observations on Teaching Newbies to Use a Shell +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, September 26, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've been teaching Linux/Unix Fundamentals courses recently, and null.host 1 ithought I'd share some observations about students - some that null.host 1 isurprised me. The course I teach is very command line intensive; null.host 1 iwhile the individual student workstations are setup with graphical null.host 1 ienvironments (KDE), the course can be taught and the concepts null.host 1 ilearned from a console. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/newbies sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Using Rlwrap to Keep Your Commandline Sanity +++ null.host 1 i Sunday, September 13, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iAfter many years of commandline use, I've gotten spoiled by the null.host 1 ipervasiveness of GNU readline in shells and other shell-like apps, null.host 1 ilike the MySQL shell. When I do sit down and try to use an app null.host 1 iwithout such support, the result is a fairly painful mix of cursing null.host 1 iand visible control characters (Oracle's sqlplus interface is null.host 1 iprobably the poster child for miserable CLI experiences, with no null.host 1 iconvenience facilities whatsoever). null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/rlwrap sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Perl CGI Programming, the Right Way +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, September 08, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iOne of the best resources for learning Perl CGI programming online null.host 1 iused to be Ovid's CGI Course. I was disappointed to find it no null.host 1 ilonger online, but glad to see it in updated form, now maintained b null.host 1 ithe Perlmonks community [0]. It always distinguished itself from null.host 1 iother CGI tutorials with its early attention to security and taint null.host 1 imode [1]. Well worth the read. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/cgi-course sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ No Kidding...Really? +++ null.host 1 i Friday, September 04, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iThis [0] falls under the Master of the Obvious department. Glad my null.host 1 itaxes didn't pay for this study. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/masterobvious sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ RCS Misery +++ null.host 1 i Friday, August 14, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iWhile I am definitely old-school, and still use RCS for things like null.host 1 ipersonal config files and documents, I would never consider using i null.host 1 ion a development project where lots of developers are working on a null.host 1 ishared codebase. I had to do just that recently for a contract I'm null.host 1 iworking on with several other developers. Absolute misery. Even null.host 1 iworse, this version of RCS is hacked so that the VC metadata is not null.host 1 ilocal, meaning I can't use Emacs' VC-mode to make life easier. null.host 1 iImagine locks that someone always forgets to release ("You done wit null.host 1 ithat file?"), no merging, branching or private repos - so no way to null.host 1 itest your changes without possibly breaking stuff other devs are null.host 1 idoing. Sheesh. null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/rcsmisery sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ When Mutt Thinks Mailboxes Always Have New Mail +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, August 04, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iOn SDF the non-inbox user mail files are accessed via an NFS mount. null.host 1 iMutt [0]has a hard time figuring out when an NFS mbox file has been null.host 1 imodified in some circumstances. So when you press 'c' in the index null.host 1 iview, your mailboxes always appear to have new mail. Highly null.host 1 iirritating. The fix is to add "set check_mbox_size=yes" to your null.host 1 i'.muttrc' (apparently this works only in more recent versions of null.host 1 imutt, the one on SDF is 1.5.19. Older versions [pre 1.5.15] can use null.host 1 ia compile- time option "+BUFFY_SIZE"). null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/mutt-newmail sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ No, It's Not the Onion +++ null.host 1 i Monday, August 03, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iVia the Linux Gazette [0] - a series of command line tutorials in null.host 1 ivideo format [1]. Yes, that's right, video format. I hesitate to null.host 1 ieven link to them. I can only imagine that this is some vain attemp null.host 1 ito grab new subscribers to a dying format by appealing to the null.host 1 iYoutube generation. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/videocli sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Happy Sysadmin Day! +++ null.host 1 i Friday, July 31, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iHappy Sysadmin Day [0], and thanks, smj! That is all. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/sysadminday sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Oh My +++ null.host 1 i Friday, July 31, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iPosted without comment [0]. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/p0wned sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ One More Nail in IE6's Coffin +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, July 15, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iSo YouTube and some other sites are phasing out support for IE6 []. null.host 1 iIt's about frakking time. Developing web apps assuming IE6 support null.host 1 iwould be comical if it weren't so painful. No built-in PNG support? null.host 1 iAre you kidding me? One very large company I contracted for still null.host 1 iused IE6 as its standard corporate browser. Yup, that's right, in null.host 1 i2009. Die, IE6, die. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/ie6 sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ How Not to Send a Marketing Email +++ null.host 1 i Monday, July 06, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iSigh. I got a marketing email from a vendor today, along with 1538 null.host 1 iother people whose email addresses were plunked right into the 'To: null.host 1 iheader. Microsoft needs to put an idiot dialog in Outlook that pops null.host 1 iup when you click 'Send' with more than five 'To:' addresses [0]. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/shoulda-used-bcc sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Contract Programmer WTF +++ null.host 1 i Friday, July 03, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've done contract work through Guru.com in the past, and I still null.host 1 itake a look around there from time to time. While looking through null.host 1 iopen projects, I'll sometimes visit a contractor's profile that was null.host 1 igiven bad reviews. This customer review was priceless: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/contract-wtf sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Random Cool Emacs Hack +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, June 24, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iIf you spend a lot of time in Emacs, you'll invariably end up with null.host 1 imultiple buffers of the same name hanging around. It's sometimes null.host 1 iirritating to discern between them while switching. Check out the null.host 1 ivery useful elisp function that will kill all other Emacs buffers o null.host 1 ithe same name, courtesy of Trey Jackson at "Life Is Too Short For null.host 1 iBad Code" [0]. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/kill-emacs-buffer sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ WTF, Ubuntu +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, June 18, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iUm, seriously WTF, Ubuntu? I must be getting old and intolerant, or null.host 1 isomething. Ubuntu (and the current crop of Linux distros) all seem null.host 1 ito be trying to out-Windoze one another. The bloat and propensity t null.host 1 ihide everything from supposedly clueless users has gotten really null.host 1 iirritating. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/wtf-ubuntu sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ A Sysadmin's Lament, or why cPanel Sucks +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, May 23, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've been wrestling with cPanel [0] on and off for years - more null.host 1 ilately, and it always reminds me just how much it sucks. It can be null.host 1 iconvenient if you don't know how to maintain Linux servers and the null.host 1 ivarious associated Internet services (Apache, BIND, etc.), but ther null.host 1 ireally is no playing nicely with it from a command line sense. Once null.host 1 iinstalled, it takes over your system, rendering it impervious to null.host 1 istandard sysadmin tricks. What's more, its convenience is really null.host 1 iit's downfall, because when something goes wrong with it, two thing null.host 1 iare true: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/cpanel-sucks sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Cool Emacs Hacks +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, May 21, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI'm an Emacs-guy, have been for a long time. As much as I use vi null.host 1 ifrom time-to-time, I never could get into modal editing. Despite null.host 1 ihaving used GNU Emacs as a programmer for years, I still learn cool null.host 1 iEmacs-fu all the time. Here are a few recent findings: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/cool-emacs-hacks sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Google is the Internet +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, May 14, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iApparently, Google has become synonymous with the Internet. Everyon null.host 1 ipanicked today because Google search and apps were down [0]. I got null.host 1 ian email from a client during the outage asking what could be the null.host 1 icause of the "slow internet". Google really has become the Internet null.host 1 ifor most people. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/googleistheinternet sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Clueless Admins +++ null.host 1 i Tuesday, May 12, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iSome people have no business maintaining Linux servers. I recently null.host 1 ihad someone ask me to fix his non-working LAMP web app. He gave me null.host 1 ithe contact details of the web host admin. So you can be spared the null.host 1 ipain I went through, here are six warning signs you might be dealin null.host 1 iwith a novice Linux admin: null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/gripes sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Where Did My Content Go? +++ null.host 1 i Saturday, May 09, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI realize businesses need to make money and advertise, but why must null.host 1 iI be bombarded with advertising 24x7? Tell me why I should pay good null.host 1 imoney to watch commercials on cable TV? Shouldn't I get commercial- null.host 1 ifree TV if I pay for it? null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/inetnew sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Scary Code Department +++ null.host 1 i Thursday, May 07, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iWhat could possibly go wrong with this snippet of PHP code from a null.host 1 iweb-based CMS? Ignore the lack of error checking... null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/badcode sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 i+++ Linux is Boring, or Saved by the Slack +++ null.host 1 i Wednesday, May 06, 2009 null.host 1 i null.host 1 iI've always thought that Linux would be less popular with hard-core null.host 1 igeeks once it became mainstream - that the initial attraction was null.host 1 iLinux's unpolished installation and configuration, how it let you null.host 1 iget your "hands dirty". I started with Red Hat Linux back in 1995, null.host 1 iand spent many long nights configuring and tweaking to get a usable null.host 1 isystem. The thrill was in the learning. I've recently found myself null.host 1 ibored with Linux, I think mainly for the reason that there is no null.host 1 ichallenge anymore, no sense of accomplishment. Much of the user null.host 1 iexperience is now hidden beneath layers of graphical abstraction. I null.host 1 icertainly do appreciate this, and use Ubuntu myself on my work null.host 1 iboxen, as there are times you just have to get stuff done. But I null.host 1 istill like to tweak and fiddle. There are also times when things go null.host 1 iwrong, and simplicity rules. null.host 1 i null.host 1 0Continued... /users/slugmax/phlog_archives/slack sdf.org 70 i null.host 1 .