The summer strikes back

Another piece of shit week end, for this endless piece of crap summer that doesn't want to end at any cost.
Once again, if the SMN says "elevada sensación térmica", it means that we are royally fucked.

Updates dujour

Installed these today at dawn, so far, as usual, no problems.

2009-02-26 04:27:11 status installed man-db 2.5.2-2
2009-02-26 04:27:38 status installed flashplugin-nonfree 10.0.22.87ubuntu1~intrepid1
2009-02-26 04:27:38 status installed vlc-data 0.9.4-1ubuntu3.1
2009-02-26 04:27:38 status installed libvlccore0 0.9.4-1ubuntu3.1
2009-02-26 04:27:38 status installed libvlc2 0.9.4-1ubuntu3.1
2009-02-26 04:27:38 status installed vlc-nox 0.9.4-1ubuntu3.1
2009-02-26 04:27:39 status installed vlc 0.9.4-1ubuntu3.1
2009-02-26 04:27:39 status installed libc6 2.8~20080505-0ubuntu9

Editing ufw order

One thing I noticed about the Ubuntu Firewall, or the Uncomplicated Firewall is that it adds new rules to the bottom of the existing ones by default, and that there is no way -at least I didn't found one- of flushing or zeroing the rules, and reloading from the CLI, in order to reload the new ones.

What I did to change the order of the rules is edit the file

'/var/lib/ufw/user.rules'

arrange the rules the way I want them -the more general ones on top, for instance- and then, issue a:

sudo ufw reload

In order to clear the rules, and reload (doh!) them in the new order as defined on the newly edited 'user.rules' file.

The current Ubuntu desktop

Haven't posted a screenshot in while now...
Nor Os X neither Linux.

Play Count (13)

Fuck it!

Jumping from 11, on December 8th, to 13 took me a while... But, I' m here! Every single songs listened at least 13 times.
In the middle, my vacations, USA, Washington, Boston, and back here again; also added a ton of new music.

This is important stuff :p

English for Tango

Lately the itch to get an English layout keyboard for Tango has been going back and forth in my head...

I guess I'll cough up the 85 U$S they are asking for it here in Bs As, as I'm getting angrier and more angrier with the one with Spanish layout it currently has.

Being Googling for pdfs, blogs, instructions, youtube videos on how to do this for this particular model; on the Compaq website haven't being able to find anything more complex than adding RAM...

X Hunters

A very interesting book I found on a Barnes & Noble while on vacation.
X Plane Crashes, from Specialty Press, which happens to have a ton of interesting books too...

The X Hunters have their own site, too, The X-Hunters - Aerospace Archeology Team, the real, real Right Stuff, or what it might came after you "bought the farm".

Updates dujour

Booted my beloved Tango with the HDD that has the Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex installation and launched "Update Manager", I had some 20 updates pending installation.
As usual with this laptop (so far), a reboot later, and everything seems to be A Ok, meaning, specially, the NVIDIA driver and the WiFi wireless card.

2009-02-23 03:13:12 status installed man-db 2.5.2-2
2009-02-23 03:13:13 status installed doc-base 0.8.16
2009-02-23 03:13:14 status installed ufw 0.23.3
2009-02-23 03:13:17 status installed foomatic-filters 4.0.0-0ubuntu3
2009-02-23 03:13:17 status installed libcups2 1.3.9-2ubuntu7
2009-02-23 03:13:17 status installed libcupsimage2 1.3.9-2ubuntu7
2009-02-23 03:13:17 status installed cups-common 1.3.9-2ubuntu7
2009-02-23 03:13:20 status installed cups 1.3.9-2ubuntu7
2009-02-23 03:13:20 status installed cups-client 1.3.9-2ubuntu7
2009-02-23 03:13:21 status installed cups-bsd 1.3.9-2ubuntu7
2009-02-23 03:13:21 status installed libqtcore4 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:21 status installed libqt4-xml 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:21 status installed libqt4-dbus 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:21 status installed libqt4-script 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:21 status installed libqtgui4 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:22 status installed libqt4-designer 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:22 status installed libqt4-network 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:22 status installed libqt4-sql 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:22 status installed libqt4-qt3support 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:22 status installed qt4-qtconfig 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:22 status installed libqt4-sql-mysql 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2
2009-02-23 03:13:22 status installed sudo 1.6.9p17-1ubuntu2.1
2009-02-23 03:13:22 status installed fglrx-modaliases 2:8.543-0ubuntu4.1
2009-02-23 03:13:23 status installed libc6 2.8~20080505-0ubuntu9

SU Mystery Theater (5)

Installed a bunch of updates last night on Thor.

And for the first time applying/ installing updates on Os X, I had a problem, luckily nothing severe, and really not a SU problem per se, but a network timeout while trying to download the Security Update; besides that one, I went ahead and installed both of the Java ones.

Not sure why, maybe just for keeping things tidy , as the HDD space its getting smaller and smaller, and I don't even have Java enabled on Safari...

   

Summer will die (eventually)

We had a really, really tough Thursday, and very annoying Friday.
But, in the end, it rained, and the temperature took a nose dive.

It looks like I'll live thru this fucking summer.

Hopefully

With a bit of luck, we'll be having a fucking tough Thursday & Friday, and, then it looks like we are home free.
As usual, the Weather Widget shows highs that are not really believable.

Old is good, new has borders

A screenshot of the settings I'm using on VLC to get rid of the fucking ugly window controls and borders (yes, another one, what can I say?)

Actually, I'm using a somehow old version of VLC, about a year old or so, because the on newer releases I haven't being able to get rid of the crud on the video window... IIRC, I have been able to remove the controls, but not the borders.
Unless, you make disappear all the borders, including the title bar, which I don't like at all.

Pathetic, I know, but I like my windows without borders, the way Os X/ Aqua is meant to be, God damn it!

This is getting on my nerves

The summer goes on, and on, and on.
For tomorrow 30 fucking six degrees... Luckily it seems like towards the week end the thing will cool off a bit. Last week end was murder around here...


I WANT THE SUMMER TO END

Updates dujour

Update time for Tango, as usual until now, everything seems after a reboot.

2009-02-15 00:20:57 status installed man-db 2.5.2-2
2009-02-15 00:20:58 status installed libc6-dev 2.8~20080505-0ubuntu9
2009-02-15 00:20:58 status installed libc6-i686 2.8~20080505-0ubuntu9
2009-02-15 00:20:58 status installed libsqlite3-0 3.5.9-3ubuntu1
2009-02-15 00:20:58 status installed dpkg-dev 1.14.20ubuntu6.1
2009-02-15 00:20:59 status installed xulrunner-1.9 1.9.0.6+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
2009-02-15 00:20:59 status installed xulrunner-1.9-gnome-support 1.9.0.6+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
2009-02-15 00:20:59 status installed libgvfscommon0 1.0.2-0ubuntu2
2009-02-15 00:20:59 status installed gvfs 1.0.2-0ubuntu2
2009-02-15 00:20:59 status installed gvfs-backends 1.0.2-0ubuntu2
2009-02-15 00:20:59 status installed gvfs-bin 1.0.2-0ubuntu2
2009-02-15 00:20:59 status installed gvfs-fuse 1.0.2-0ubuntu2
2009-02-15 00:21:00 status installed rhythmbox 0.11.6svn20081008-0ubuntu4.3
2009-02-15 00:21:00 status installed sqlite3 3.5.9-3ubuntu1
2009-02-15 00:21:00 status installed firefox-3.0-branding 3.0.6+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
2009-02-15 00:21:00 status installed firefox-3.0 3.0.6+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
2009-02-15 00:21:00 status installed firefox-3.0-gnome-support 3.0.6+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
2009-02-15 00:21:01 status installed firefox 3.0.6+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
2009-02-15 00:21:01 status installed firefox-gnome-support 3.0.6+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
2009-02-15 00:21:01 status installed libc6 2.8~20080505-0ubuntu9

Underneath

My efforts to keep things uncluttered never seem to end...
Today took some time to hide the gigantic DVI ADC adapter that I use in order to hook the Cinema Display to Thor, specially now, with the new flashed NVIDIA card.

The future is so uncluttered, I have to wear shades.

An effing hellish day

Bs As is a piece of crap during the summer, period.
Yesterday was one of those totally unbearable days and it looks like the rest of the week it is going to be exactly the same crap.

Music right now (26)

More and more and more and more Patty!

Patti Smith - Radio Ethiopia - Pissing in a river

Pissing in a River
Pissing in a river, watching it rise 
Tattoo fingers shy away from me 
Voices voices mesmerize 
Voices voices beckoning sea 
Come come come come back come back 
Come back come back come back 

Spoke of a wheel, tip of a spoon 
Mouth of a cave, I'm a slave I'm free. 
When are you coming ? Hope you come soon 
Fingers, fingers encircling thee 
Come come come come come come 
Come come come come come come for me oh 

My bowels are empty, excreting your soul 
What more can I give you ? Baby I don't know 
What more can I give you to make this thing grow? 
Don't turn your back now, I'm talking to you 

Should I pursue a path so twisted ? 
Should I crawl defeated and gifted ? 
Should I go the length of a river 
[The royal, the throne, the cry me a river] 
Everything I've done, I've done for you 
Oh I give my life for you. 
Every move I made I move to you, 
And I came like a magnet for you now. 

What about it, you're gonna leave me, 
What about it, you don't need me, 
What about it, I can't live without you, 
What about it, I never doubted you 
What about it ? What about it ? 
What about it ? What about it ? 

Should I pursue a path so twisted ? 
Should I crawl defeated and gifted ? 
Should I go the length of a river, 
[The royal, the throne, the cry me a river] 
What about it, what about it, what about it ? 
Oh, I'm pissing in a river.

Installing rssh on RHEL 5

Today had to install rssh on a box at work.
All the box at work have the SSH access rather tight (actually, as tight as I can without getting in the way of the developers) so usually and thankfully I don't have to spend much time adding extra layers of security like brute force blocking scripts, the rules are simple, if you don't have to connect to the box, you can't connect to, period; so the chances of getting hammered by script kiddies are really, really small to non existant.

But, there is always one, had to add access to a third party person, and configure ssh to it won't be able to get shell access, but the access has to be secure (of course).

That's when rssh steps in.

Actually, I got the RPM package from DAG, because it was newer than the one on the hmepage. Tested and installed it without a hitch.

The only problem I had came when changed the users shell:

chsh -s /usr/bin/rssh magento
# chsh -s /usr/bin/rssh restricted.user
Changing shell for restricted.user.
Warning: "/usr/bin/rssh" is not listed in /etc/shells
Shell changed.

So I had to append '/usr/bin/rssh' to the end of the '/etc/shells' file, similar to the ProFTPD setup problem I had last year.

New moster

Got a new monitor (well, not a new, "new" but you get the idea).

A hulking white & blue giant of 20 inches that reaches as far as 1680x1050 in resolution, the thing is pure joy to watch.

The Samsung monitor will take a some time off, getting ready to get back to the game on the Linux side.

Music right now (25)

Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy - Ring them bells

Ring them bells ye heathen from the city that dreams
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries cross the valleys and streams
For they're deep and they're wide
And the world is on its side
And time is running backwards
An so is the bride.

Ring them bells Saint Peter where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an ironhand
So the people will know
Oh it's rush hour now
On the wheel and the plow
And the sun is going down upon the sacred cow.

Ring them bells Sweet Marth for the poor man's son
Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one
Oh the shepherd is asleep
Where the willows weep
And the mountains are filled with lost sheep
Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells for all of us who are left
Ring them bells for the chosen few
Who will judge the many when the game is through
Ring them bells for the time that flies
For the child that cries
When innocence dies.

Ring them bells for Saint Catherine from the top of the room
Ring them bells from the fortress for the lilies that bloom
Oh the lines are long and the fighting so strong
And they're breaking down the distance between right and wrong.

A sight for sore eyes

Maybe my eyes are starting to get a little tired, and now they need to look at something more pleasant; or, perhaps I'm too dumb and I never noticed this option before (or I have, but I have set it up incorrectly).

The thing is, with that settings, things look simply and completely fabulous on Thor, using my Samsung monitor I have, with my new NVIDIA card.

The picture I posted above does not make ANY kind of honor to the quality I'm having, I simply over compress every and any jpg I upload here for storage reasons.

Sweating every MB

Since the current Thor crash & re-install, I have been trying to squeeze all my stuff onto only one 80 GB HHD, so, I'm forced onto deleting more and more crud than I usually do.

Today deleted all the extra languages that the Applications come with, emptying the Thrash before doing so, and after deleting all the stuff, got that the whole languages adds up to 300 MB of stuff.

% du -sh .Trash/
302M    .Trash/

That's nothing, or a lot, depending your point of view, to me its a lot :) a bit over a quarter of a 1 GB.

Hellish week ahead

I haven't posted anything on the weather on Bs. As. lately, so here it goes...
We are heading straight onto a hell of an effing week, may the weather have mercy on our ragged souls.
I want more than ever this effing summer to end.

The post-reinstall, on jpgs

Some screenshots I took when reinstalled Thor.
The thing that never ceases to amaze me is how few HDD space does a clean Os X install uses.

A bit over 2 GB only, of course, this is after leaving aside all the extra languages, and the printer drivers, but before deleting the extra languages on all the applications, I could use Monolingual I guess, but I had rough time once: How I nearly f*ck*d up my Os X install

And then some more screenshots of all the Software Updates necessary to put the whole beast up to date.
   

Apple get your sh*t together & on time

I really don't understand why Apple gives a real flying fuck about the time zone changes South of the Rio Grande.
Of the four different times displayed on the Widgets, the only correct is the one for Miami (and the one on Buenos Aires is working because I have disabled the time sync via ntpd), all the others are showing incorrect times.

I guess we are not that important on the whole picture, but nevertheless, how complicated can be to release updates for this?

The hardware problems goes on and on...

Well, for this one in particular I had a lot of dress rehearsals so wasn't completely caught on the open, but never the less, it was a PITA.
Yesterday one of the IDE HDDs that made my RAID0 array took a dump.

Since I was sort of expecting it, and also, I'm totally anal when it comes to backups, haven't lost a single pice of info; but I had to re-install Os X onto only one of my IDE HDDs, squeeze the hell out of everything onto 80 GBs; but what a hell, at least, I have an extra HDD to quickly jump on, so, so far, so good.

I like the "monolith like" picture of the HDD, I should get a tapir bone somewhere, and beat the hell out of it.

Lazarus HDD
The HDD ist kaput
About to go KIA
Bumpy Saturday morning
The kids are alright seem fine

Music right now (24)

Did I mention that I effing love Patti Smith? I guess I did...

Patti Smith - Dream of life - Going Under

Sun is rising on the water 
Light is dancing again 
Let's go under where the sun beams 
Let's go under my friend 

Are we sleeping 
Are we dreaming 
Are we dancing again 
Is it heaven 
Crack it open 
and we'll slide down 
its stream 

We can hold on (I'm sure) 
To the sea's foaming mane 
It will serve us 
We'll surface 
and we'll plunge back again 

Sun is rising on the water 
Light is dancing like a flame 
There's no burning where the sun beams 
Oh it's such a lovely game 

Does the sea dream (I'm sure) 
We are here, we attend 
We are bells on the shore 
where the tolling suspends 

Who will decide the shape of things 
The shift of being 
Who will perceive 
When life is new 
Shall we divide and become another 
Who is due for gift upon gift 
Who will decide 
Shall we swim over and over 
The curve of a wing 
Its destination ever changing 

Sun is rising on the water 
Light is dancing like a flame 
Let's go waltzing on the water 
Let's go under again 

Let's go under 
Going under 

The local group (II)

I'm sorta, kinda happy with how everything ended after my web research on decluttering.

Well... Granted, the main "decluttering thing" went to the table, the racks are crowded to the max still, but what a hell, it is a first step.
The whole thing looks rather nice, compared to this five months old picture of the same place.

D.O.A.

Unfortunately, my "new" Apple monitor didn't make it thru the return home.

The screen cracked, bad, and the rear supporting leg got snapped too, even tho, it was packed like a baby to withstand a nuclear explosion, it simple moved to a better place.

A real, and total bummer... Didn't even had time to use it with Thor, with whom the match was made in heaven.

To boldly tidy up what no man has before

I feel like tidying up things today, so here are a few links I found interesting on the matter.

Unclutterer
Apartment Therapy