BLOGical Thoughts

I have finished the log reader I was working on. It still needs to be debugged, though. It seems to run, but it isn’t picking up any data from the SQL Server. I hope to get it working completely today. This will be the fastest I have written one of these, so that must mean I am really learning how to do it. Of course, the fact that I have to debug it also means I’m not quite to the ‘expert’ point.

I may hit the Spokane Fair this weekend. I have other stuff to do, but the fair only happens once a year, so I will take time out to go to it.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• Red Hat buys virtualizer Qumranet
• Document management with Epiware
• Windows Guy Tries Open Suse 11
• Canonical Bolsters Partner Strategy for Ubuntu Linux
• Why Linux has come of age
• Open Source Software: Your Company’s Legal Risks
• GNU turns 25

I have decided that if I want something done in a timely manner, that I do it myself. I got a promise on Tuesday that my work computer would be moved early Wednesday morning to my temporary office and that it would be running for me when I tried to VPN into it at 7am. Of course, that didn’t happen. I had to email my boss to get it running. It was 8:20am before I could actually VPN in, and that left me with 20 minutes to work before I had to leave the house for a doctor’s appointment. Needless to say, I didn’t get much work done.

Regarding the doctor: if yours ever wants to spray liquid nitrogen on a growth on your arm to kill it, just grin and bear it. The target is guaranteed to itch or ache all day and turn purple by the next day. Really ugly, but it beats removal by surgery.

I am still working on the command line tutorial about building shell scripts. There is so much to cover, I don’t think I will be able to do that in one session. As I finish each part, I will publish them on the NILUG site.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• Getting to grips with Linux
• Evergreen takes root at Kent County Public Library
• On standards and standards bodies
• Novell: Desktop Linux Paves Way to Lenovo Server Deal
• Sorting Perl Lists And Removing Duplicates On Linux Or Unix
• Display your geolocation data with Viking

RIAA/MPAA/IFPI/BSA/SIIA/FCC

• Of fee filing phishers and faux celebrity FCC filers
• Technology lobbyists gather at Republican convention
• MPAA faults college students for revenue losses
• New law: schools must crack down on file sharing

Stupid Patent Tricks, Copyright and Other IP Nonsense

• He’s giving you access, one document at a time
• Ghostbusters is first film to be released on USB stick
• DailyTech Talks Piracy, Taxes and More With Independent Music Chief
• Trying to Decipher that EULA? Better Have a PhD

Liberty and Security/Our Rights

• GPS Device Data Increasingly Being Used By Police To Determine Where You Were
• ISPs Striking Out on Multistaged Attacks
• Chrome suffers first security flaw
• In criminal cases, GPS units can mark the scene of a crime
• VPN security - if you want it, come and get it
• Zombie plague sweeps the internet

Other News/Public Stupidity

• 4,500-year-old ice shelf breaks away
• Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New ‘Intelligent Falling’ Theory - Never underestimate the stupidity of humanity.
• MS doesn’t set world alight with Office Live Workspace
• Microsoft claims Google is monopoly

At work, I have written log file readers that read fields from databases, and I have written log file readers that read information from XML files. Now I have been tasked with reading log file information from a database, and more detail from XML data stored in a field of that database. It seems my assignments get more and more interesting, as well as more and more complex.

Oh, and here’s a hint: if their product is as badly organized as their database, I would stay completely away from the Vipre Antivirus and Antispyware program. I don’t base that just on the layout of their SQL Server database layout: their default database is done in Microsoft Access!

My office is right next door to one of our server rooms. That room has been suffering from inadequate air conditioning since before I started work there. They are finally going to do something about that. So, I have had to move from my office for three days while they install a better A/C unit. I will temporarily reside right next door to our CTO, so I’d better be on my best behavior.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• Citibank infuriating its customers with Linux-hostile site
• Novell SUSE Linux Scores At Big Retailer
• Actor/author Stephen Fry endorses free software
• Book review: Ubuntu for Non-Geeks
• Ubuntu Server vs. Windows Small Business Server: Looming Showdown?
• Keep an eye on your system logs with phpLogCon

RIAA/MPAA/IFPI/BSA/SIIA/FCC

• Music rattles ISPs over legal downloads
• P2P traffic drops as streaming video grows in popularity
• MPAA Wants ISPs to Cut Off Pirates
• Marlborough Firm Pays $80K In Piracy Settlement
• Software audit painful and costly for the noncompliant
• RIAA suits send message, says prof

Stupid Patent Tricks, Copyright and Other IP Nonsense

• Countdown: 3 weeks until World Day Against Software Patents
• How to unlock iTunes DRM-ed M4P to mobile phone MP3
• Canada: Contentious copyright bill would die with election
• Stephenie Meyer drops new book after Web leak

Liberty and Security/Our Rights

• McKinnon a ’scapegoat for Pentagon insecurity’
• ICANN cast as online scam enabler
• Skype ignores PayPal siphoning hijack scheme
• Journalist Amy Goodman confronts police chief over her arrest - Sieg Heil, St. Paul

Other News/Public Stupidity

• British rower finishes first leg of Pacific trek
• Honda Wants to ‘Change Customer Perception of Hybrids’
• Nations question ISO’s merit following dropped OOXML appeals
• Gonzales Violated Security Rules with Spy Docs, Lied to Cover it Up
• Weapons-Grade Lasers by the End of ‘08?
• Ron Paul throws Republican rally of his own

I am working on a talk for the next North Idaho Linux Users Group meeting. It will show everyone how to create a shell script and what you can do with one. I hope to do more topics like this one and post it on the NILUG web site.

I am setting up another web site. This one is for the North Idaho Dutch Oven Group (NIDOG). Instead of using WordPress like this web site uses, I am creating the new site using Joomla. I have to say that it is a lot easier to install Joomla than it is to install WordPress. Once installed, though, you have to do a lot of cleanup, as it installs with Joomla content, which has to be removed. That’s what I’m working on right now. I will then add articles and pictures from the old Inland Empire Dutch Oven Society to the new NIDOG site. Finally, I will change the DNS records so the outside world will be able to access the site without having to know an arcane URL for where the site is.

I also worked on Fall chores over the weekend. I made a place in the garage for my teardrop trailer and put the trailer away for the winter. I am also charging the battery on my Dodge Stealth so I can run it down to the shop to get the exhaust manifold changed.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• Universities that do not use Free Software: Time for a boycott?
• Ubuntu Keeps Building Momentum
• Enterprises Tap Open Source via Eclipse
• Furius ISO Mount - Mount and Unmount ISO images with GUI Tool in Ubuntu Linux
• Where the Linux laptops live
• In defense of Ubuntu
• 21 of the Best Free Linux Productivity Tools

RIAA/MPAA/IFPI/BSA/SIIA/FCC

• You Don’t Beat Pirates By Doing Something More Annoying
• 35 Places To Download Free, Legal MP3s - Sorry, RIAA!
• Howell verdict: RIAA wins $40,850 P2P judgment
• BSA hangs pirate out to dry
• Microsoft introduce novel piracy defence
• Rendering ‘Fair Use’ fairly useless
• RIAA-free, no fear, downloads

Stupid Patent Tricks, Copyright and Other IP Nonsense

• Computers Don’t Have Good Faith Beliefs
• What if copyright didn’t apply to binary executables?
• Copyright Office, EFF wrestle with Kafkaesque royalty issue
• Sony sued over Blu-Ray, again
• Microsoft patents ‘Page Up’ and ‘Page Down’
• Washington State court deals a blow to one-sided EULAs

Liberty and Security/Our Rights

• Millimeter wave scan machine at Denver Airport
• Report: Massive, warrantless raids on peace protesters in Minneapolis, ahead of RNC
• Dumbest salvo yet in the war on terror, courtesy of the London police
• Secret Spying Court Stays Secret, Rejects ACLU Plea Again
• VPN security - if you want it, come and get it
• IE8 privacy feature fails to live up to billing

Other News/Public Stupidity

• Lenovo imposes gag for Vista refund
• Sarah Palin Wikipedia edits–fast and furious
• Hans Reiser gets 15 years to life for murdering wife
• Court: US can block mad cow testing
• Credit-card companies killed Mythbusters segment on RFID vulnerabilities
• Ron Paul followers gather for own convention
• Whatever it Takes - “As the Sarah Palin choice epitomizes, John McCain has been willing to sacrifice any principle to become president.”

I guess I will have to learn something about Flex. At work, we are planning to do a major upgrade of our application’s user interface and we will use Flex to do that. For those of you who don’t know, Flex is an open source framework for building and maintaining web applications that can be deployed across all major browsers, desktops and operating systems. That fits right in with our philosophy and is the main reason our application is written in Java.

We have hired a design firm to model a new interface and have used customers and in-house personnel to critique the results. Hopefully, the resulting interface while be even more useful than the current one, while sporting a bit of ‘bling’ at the same time.

Now I know I should have gotten that Flex book that I saw at JavaOne.

There won’t be any entry here on Monday, since that is Labor Day. I have that day off and I intend to take full advantage of it.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• NetBeans 6.5 beta promises PHP simplicity
• Openmoko to reveal Linux phone’s inner workings
• Buddi - Personal Finance & Budgeting Program for openSUSE
• Four Twitter clients for Linux
• Online Encyclopedia Shell Script For Linux And Unix
• Developing software on an open source stack

RIAA/MPAA/IFPI/BSA/SIIA/FCC

• Do RIAA Snoops Need P.I. Licenses?
• Want to be a music industry mogul? Here’s your chance
• Now Hollywood is chasing UK downloaders
• Trial Against The Pirate Bay Delayed
• Interesting look at RIAA v Jeffrey Howell
• SHIFT: How the music industry is destroying Internet radio

Stupid Patent Tricks, Copyright and Other IP Nonsense

• Veoh wins copyright protections
• Hackers prepare supermarket sweep
• U.K.: Civilians given power to issue on-the-spot fines
• Comcast to Cap Data Transfers at 250 GB in Oct.
• Study: DRM a major barrier to e-textbook adoption
• Psystar countersues Apple on antitrust grounds

Liberty and Security/Our Rights

• Man’s ‘pants’ password is changed
• Judges consider whether FBI violated free speech
• ABC Reporter’s Attorneys Want All Charges Dropped
• Judge lets privacy advocate keep Social Security numbers on Web site

Other News/Public Stupidity

• Black screens for pirate copies of Windows
• Researchers’ new algorithm significantly boosts routing efficiency of networks
• Air Canada shaves fuel costs by eliminating life-jackets
• NYPD Defends Ejecting Sox Fan from Yankee Stadium During “God Bless America”

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that DVD burners are getting cheaper (pricewise) and cheaper (mechanically and electronically)? I have been having problems with at least two DVD burners on two separate computers. I replaced an LG unit last night with a new Pioneer unit I got through Computer Geeks.

One ongoing problem seems to be that the laser on the units seems to get dirty and are hard to clean. If I mounted the units on their sides, I suppose I would have less of a problem with that, but I feel that the units don’t perform as well when you do that. Also, that isn’t easy to do if you have chassis that only allow horizontal mounting.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• Why Netbooks are a bad intro to linux
• Summit debuts for Linux end users
• Brazil’s love of Linux
• Dumb and Dumber Proprietary Innovation Strikes Again
• Three Ways That Open Source Could Benefit from Business 101

RIAA/MPAA/IFPI/BSA/SIIA/FCC

• FBI Arrests Alleged California Music Pirate
• FCC takes year to reject one-page forbearance request
• Latvia’s Largest BitTorrent Tracker Shutdown, Admins Arrested
• RIAA, Big 4 labels, gang up on Skwerl
• Kanye West Bash: Priceless for Some, $90 for Others - Thrown by the RIAA, of course

Stupid Patent Tricks, Copyright and Other IP Nonsense

• YouTube’s filters help copyright owners profit from pirated videos
• Open Market video DRM aims to let “1,000 retailers bloom”
• Visual voicemail patents to have (another) day in court
• US patent case clarifies source debate
• Hollywood saddles the DRM horse. Again.
• Copyright Law and the Web, Part 2: Who Are the IP Police?

Liberty and Security/Our Rights

• Do We Need An Internet Zoning Law?
• Ryanair Tries To Defend Canceling Tickets Bought On Third Party Sites
• Security hole opens up password protected iPhones
• Privacy groups bristle at expanded Customs database
• Judges consider whether FBI violated free speech
• Microsoft adds nagware to Windows

Other News/Public Stupidity

• Newspapers Beginning To Ditch The Associated Press?
• Harriet Miers Must Testify, Judge Says
• Quebec government sued for buying Microsoft software
• Tax Expert: McCain’s Tax Cuts Are Aimed At The Rich ‘Even More So Than Bush’s Were’

I finished the log reader I was working on and have unit tested it. It works great. I can’t believe I wrote the whole thing.

There is a bit more code to add to it so it will support multiple tools, but I can do that any time. I will be moving on to other topics today.

This weekend is Spirit Lake, ID’s 100th birthday celebration. It is also the last Dutch oven event of the season. I will attend the celebration, but I won’t be participating. They want you to wear a costume if you participate. Considering my birthday is Halloween, I’m pretty much down on wearing costumes of any kind.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• The paradox of FOSS projects supporting Windows
• Thunderbird: Way Beyond E-Mail
• A business built on open source, virtualization, and clouds
• Make the Web Do Your Bidding With Firefox’s New Ubiquity UI
• One Less Windows User
• PostPath: Enterprise-strength open source alternative for Exchange
• Be a Productive Linux User
• 10 fundamental differences between Linux and Windows

RIAA/MPAA/IFPI/BSA/SIIA/FCC

• Report: RIAA wins case over erased hard drive
• Alleged UK Pirates Offered Free Legal Representation
• RIAA, MPAA Converging on Political Conventions
• RIAA v. U: the state of P2P file sharing on campus
• Acoustic Band ‘Utterly Depends’ on Piracy
• RIAA nears win (by default) in Atlantic vs. Howell

Stupid Patent Tricks, Copyright and Other IP Nonsense

• AMC Upset That Fans Are Making Mad Men More Fun; Sends DMCA Notices To Twitter
• Mattel Apparently Learned Nothing From Hasbro’s Scrabulous Disaster
• Google, Verizon, others sued over voice mail patent
• Report: Studios want interoperable DRM
• Psystar responds to Apple suit, will countersue
• EU pays for, then ignores study on copyright extension

Liberty and Security/Our Rights

• US data breaches booming in ‘08
• Scumbags punt Trojan with baby kidnap lure
• Attackers Targeting Linux Infrastructures With Rootkit to Steal SSH Keys
• Computer viruses make it to orbit
• DHS contractor threatens woman with arrest for wearing “lesbian.com” tee on federal property
• Revealed: The Internet’s Biggest Security Hole
• Get FISA Right turns crowdsourced guns on McCain

Other News/Public Stupidity

• Embarcadero rallies on Windows and web with CodeGear
• Linux netbook thieves ignore laptops
• The Return of Tax-Free Shopping in New York?
• Kucinich tells DNC: ‘Wake up America!’

I am still debugging the log file reader I wrote at work. As you can imagine, it is a complex piece of software. I am down to the point where I know the data is going out to the line processing tool, but that tool is not seeing any matches. I will have to adjust the data stream to match what that tool expects. I hope to finish this up today and move on to another challenge.

We are still interviewing for programmers. There was a hopeful interview yesterday with someone from Colorado. The interview process they go through is more like a series of tests than an interview. It seems to work very well, though. Other parts of the company don’t use such an exhaustive process and they have more trouble getting the people they would like.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• gOS - Google good OS for your Mum
• Open source still looking to shake off concerns
• 5 KDE3 Applications I Need on a Daily Basis
• 21 of the Best Free Linux Text Editors
• New Linux-powered Kindle on its way
• OpenOffice.org Tips and Tricks Part III

RIAA/MPAA/IFPI/BSA/SIIA/FCC

• FCC Gives Comcast 30 Days to Comply with Penalties for Throttling BitTorrent
• MPAA, RIAA: the fine art of creative accounting
• More software counterfeiters plead guilty
• Game Publishers Follow The RIAA’s Lead
• OpenTape - Muxtape’s Natural Successor

Stupid Patent Tricks, Copyright and Other IP Nonsense

• Bus firm calls online car pool illegal service
• Another Game Innovator Is Shut Down By Copyright Claims
• Immersion Settles Lawsuit Over Teledildonics Patent Royalties

Liberty and Security/Our Rights

• Terror watchlist “upgrade” is “imploding,” legislator says
• Phishers Bite Back with Malware Exploits Linked to Keywords
• TSA declares war on large breasts
• Why do you need an ID?

Other News/Public Stupidity

• Latest Bizarre Proposal: Save Democracy By Taxing Energy To Make It Too Expensive To Blog
• Netbook prices start falling
• Democrats can’t run Linux
• Netflix Outage Blamed on Hardware
• The Cars of Futures Past at Pebble Beach

I went to the North Idaho Fair on Saturday. It was pretty good, but it has been better in the past. The tone and participation in the show changes from year to year and this was the year of more cheap carny booths.

One nice thing was an entire building for ‘green’ stuff, including electric cars and trucks. One of the trucks was a Mazda converted to 144 volt electric, with an 80 mile range. There were also a lot of scooters present, with MPGs from 52 to 82. I’ll stay with my car for now.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• Editor’s Note: FOSS Is More Valuable Than $60 Billion
• OpenOffice.org Impress: Using Master Slides
• 12 Resources for Free Open Source Tutorials and Tools
• 5 Least Popular Desktop Environments for Linux
• 8 Free, Open Source Tools for Video Playback and Encoding

RIAA/MPAA/IFPI/BSA/SIIA/FCC

• It’s Sad That It’s Newsworthy When An Entertainment Industry Exec Decides Not To Sue Customers
• Totally False Propaganda About File Sharing Being Given To Students As Educational Material
• EA exec warns against suing file-sharers
• Florida man sentenced for video game piracy

Stupid Patent Tricks, Copyright and Other IP Nonsense

• But What If A Takedown Notice Isn’t Actually A DMCA Takedown?
• Disney’s rights to young Mickey Mouse may be wrong
• Microsoft granted Page Up Page Down patent
• Greens urge end to software patents
• Nintendo to face yet another patent claim

Liberty and Security/Our Rights

• FBI Asks Congress To Ignore The Whole ‘Probable Cause’ Part Of The 4th Amendment
• Anatomy of a malware scam
• That password-protected site of yours - it ain’t
• Red Hat Digital Keys Violated by Intruder
• Vendor Pushes DNSSEC as a Fix for DNS Security
• UK gov’t loses personal data on 4M people in one year

Other News/Public Stupidity

• Diebold/Premier Actually Admits Its Machines Are Faulty! And That It Lied About Antivirus Software…
• Forget Seinfeld, Microsoft, you want the two Coreys
• Microsoft and Seinfeld: A Comedy of Errors?
• Symantec Buys PC Tools
• Leaked memo: e-mail recovery will outlast Bush presidency
• VP Candidate Biden Is No Friend to File Sharing, Net Neutrality Protection or Online Privacy

I attended the North Idaho Mineral Club meeting last night. I enjoyed myself and I had some chrysocolla to show off in show and tell. Some of the members were showing off some star garnets they had collected down at Emerald Creek. Makes me want to go down there again. In the meantime, though, I have enough cabochon material to last me into next summer.

Now that we are past the extreme heat of the early part of the week, and the thunderous downpours of the last couple of days, I will be attending the North Idaho Fair on Saturday. It is supposed to be in the mid 80’s, so it will be very nice for a change.

Silly sign of the day:

Free/Open Source Software

• Jim Zemlin: The New Center of Linux Gravity
• Gnubiff — mail notifications on your desktop
• FOSS for students
• Humor: Why my email no work?
• Linux popularity across the globe
• Open Source: The Key to a Software Meritocracy
• K9Copy helps make DVD backups easy