tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350801992024-03-13T10:01:42.337-04:00A Shark In Blood WatersFrankly, I have no idea what to put here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-18851800658990447152008-01-22T08:22:00.000-05:002008-01-22T08:24:46.517-05:00This can only be good news.It seems that States (well, a few anyways) are finally wising up to the potential dangers of electronic voting systems. <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.voting19jan19,0,1820162.story?page=1">This </a> is good news.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-54916440201433541522008-01-11T22:57:00.000-05:002008-01-11T23:18:58.462-05:00Python, Xen and just plain tired.Its been a while since I've updated the blog. One of my New Year's resolutions is to get into a daily routine with this thing. We'll see how I do.<br /><br />It's been a busy couple of weeks, lots of items to share.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />job:</span><br />I acquired the position of VPS "manager" or "maintainer" however you want to look at it. I am actually the first one to fill this position at the company as before no one really spent much time with the boxes. I've kinda squirmed my way into the role. I've learned a lot about Virtuozzo and honestly I can say that I am not that impressed. As a system it lacks features that I would prefer both from a system administration position and a prospective customer point of view. However, I've significantly increased the performance of our boxes, one reason I think I got the job. We used to have 10-20 entries in our Nagios page at any one time, regarding VZ parents or instances and now I'd say we may have 10 in a day total. Not to mention the product has received some praise on <a href="http://webhostingtalk.com">Webhostingtalk.com</a> and from customers. So, thats good news!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />hacklab:</span><br />I've been working to get a Xen server up for hacklab, if I haven't mentioned hacklab before its a group of people that get together each week and work on computers. We have all levels of experience and really are still working to get organized. We've made some advancements in person, however its been a bit of a hassle getting everyone there. So two weeks ago I came up with the idea of just doing remote meetings, using 37signals' <a href="http://campfirenow.com">Campfire</a> product and Xen instances. Carl and I were able to get a machine up but I've had some issue getting it configured. I believe, as strange as it sounds, that it has issues with my two physical volumes created with LVM. I am going to reinstall, putting the dom0 install on the disk directly and then leaving LVM for the Xen instances. We'll see how that goes.<br /><br />I've learned a lot about Xen though, pretty neat system. Relatively easy to configure (once the bugs are worked out). I am excited to use it in some of my pursuits, as I believe it is the future. What I really like about it is getting rid of the hardware layer. Xen allows you to move instances from machine to machine. The idea of having another system there that I can move a "full installation" (in the Xen instance) to is just sexy. I've got some plans for it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">programming:</span><br />I've been working a bit on some programming projects. One is a billing program and the other a help desk system. I was originally going to hack from scratch some Ruby system and framework with which to build in. I then decided to just use Rails as it has some great features. However, after not having used Rails in about 2 years, coming back to it wasn't so easy. They've changed so much and it is so bloated now. Very frustrating (I am not the only one it <a href="http://www.zedshaw.com/rants/rails_is_a_ghetto.html">appears</a>).<br /><br />So after looking around I've been working to figure out where to go. Surprisingly I decided to move to Python as a language and use the freakin fabulous <a href="http://www.webpy.org">web.py</a>. So far I've really enjoyed it although learning Python has been really all I've been working on. Last weekend I read "Learning Python" and grabbed a bunch of details I was missing. Today I picked up another small book and am working my way through "Python Cookbook". I also implemented a module at work that abstracts some of the Virtuozzo commands I use on a daily basis (this should help with our Windows VPS products).<br /><br />Web.py is what <a href="http://reddit.com">Reddit</a> is/was written in. It is written by the immensely talented Aaron Swartz. I'll post more about it as I get further into hacking on it.<br /><br />Other than that, sleep, food and married life. :)<br /><br />I'll post more. I hope. I need to set aside a time each day to write out a post. I really want to get into essay writing so that I don't sound like an idiot with my writing (see above). I have a lot to say. :)<br /><br />Hope all is well on your side of the screen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-3972673867906679922007-12-23T02:10:00.000-05:002007-12-23T10:27:40.867-05:00Recent ThoughtsIt has been a long year. One that I'd rather move on from, simply to look forward and "start anew". It has also been a busy year, new job, new ideas, new thoughts. Here are some of the things going on in my head these days.<br /><br />** Ruby is a great language. One that I hope to begin using more. I've used it in the past, but I really want to extend some of the things I do on a daily basis. Re: system administration I hope to put together a control panel of sorts. Something that automate's tasks, thus taking out human error. More to come on this.<br /><br />** "The birth of this dawn marks the 15th since I was forced to leave my home." <- this is the (working) opening line to a book I have in my head. We'll see if it ever comes to fruition.<br /><br />** The web hosting world is still very much in its infancy. There is so much to offer people, yet so few seem willing to take the steps.<br /><br />** Although I fight it, sleep is a powerful asset. One I should take advantage of more often.<br /><br />There are plenty more, but I am losing to sleep presently.<br /><br />Have a Merry Christmas if I don't type you before then.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-87653357202433492282007-12-17T17:59:00.000-05:002007-12-17T18:01:56.365-05:00Comfortable, Relaxing and FreeJust a quick communique regarding the work party; it was a great time. I think it was better that we rented a location and had it all to ourselves. People were a lot more relaxed, work jokes meant more and it was a good chance to grab a pint with a co-worker that you may not normally get a chance to see regularly.<br /><br />BTW, I love Guinness. ;PUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-10529567827298753312007-12-14T07:58:00.000-05:002007-12-14T08:03:58.223-05:00A Long, Quick Food WeekIt has been one of those weeks where you get little sleep, little nutrients and end up with lengthy stare sessions. It's been a while since I've had one.<br /><br />Work has been busy, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night I worked 11pm-3am and still made my shift at 7am-1pm. That kind of schedule really messes with your sleep. I took many 1 hour long naps, but still don't believe myself to have caught up yet.<br /><br />The changes I was responsible for went very well. Anytime you have to update the kernel on 60 servers (affecting some 1000+ customers) it can be nerve racking. Luckily I had some time to prepare and was situated to make the changes very quickly with only one hiccup.<br /><br />This evening is our work Christmas party. Should be a great time, free food, free drink and a locale all to ourselves. It'll be my first Christmas party with this company so I look forward to it.<br /><br />I'll let you know how it goes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-48353972819148368882007-12-13T20:20:00.001-05:002007-12-13T20:26:44.435-05:00A Sad Day for BaseballToday Baseball received one of the biggest black marks in its history. An official report on the Steroids Era, as investigated by Senator George Mitchell. You can find many things written on it <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3153509">here</a>, <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071213&content_id=2324860&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb">here</a> and <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jo-mitchellnews121307&prov=yhoo&type=lgns">here</a> (the full report is <a href="http://files.mlb.com/mitchrpt.pdf">here</a>).<br /><br />My only comment is, what a sad day for the game. Maybe I'll have more to say later, but for now, this is all I can seem to conjure.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-33698990235892335852007-05-06T20:08:00.000-04:002007-12-13T20:16:42.649-05:00Freedom of ChoiceI had a discussion with a co-worker a while back regarding how to overcome Microsoft on the desktop. My co-worker is a Linux fan, he uses Ubuntu/Debian and LOVES beryl because it makes his desktop similar to his lovely Powerbook. We discuss, on many occasions the differences between BSD and Linux but this one in particular caused deep division.<br /><br />As many readers might know OpenBSD is completely free, meaning that the code once written is only required to retain the copyright but from there can be packaged and sold, manipulated, distributed, etc. Taking this philosophy (and license) OpenBSD's leader Theo deRaadt has been at the forefront of the free documentation campaign. He has worked tirelessly (all of the OpenBSD developers have) to try to get companies to release free documentation on their products so that developers could write drivers for hardware to work with OpenBSD. This has always sparked a heated dicussion in the open source community. Many times OpenBSD's mailing lists have contained requests (supplied with email addresses) to send email to the company requesting their release of documentation. Many times this has worked, other times it has not.<br /><br />Where Linux differs with this is in what the GPL allows. The GPL essentially states that the code is open and must retain copyright and license but that if any changes are made and the resulting programs released the code must be released also under the GPL. The GPL is considered viral as anything that touches GPL code must essentially become GPL'd.<br /><br />It gets mirkier. The Linux kernel (licensed under the GPL) allows NDA'd code into its tree. What this means is that certain developers can sign non-disclosure agreements with companies to develop drivers for Linux but not release the details of those hardware/software specifications. These are sometimes referred to as "blobs", small pockets of closed source, binary code. This is obviously an anti-open source position and catches Linux in a conundrum.<br /><br />How can an operating system that touts itself as open allow closed pieces of software in its code tree? Good question. However I don't have the answer.<br /><br />Anyways, back to the discussion with my co-worker. He had attended a conference at Penguicon that essentially suggested that "Linux" (used here to represent the industry surrounding the Linux kernel) should sign more NDA's and work to get as many drivers supported in the tree as possible in order to topple the monolith that is Microsoft. Thus rendering Linux the clear desktop choice for millions (billions?) of people.<br /><br />Am I the only one that thinks this is the most absurd idea they've ever heard? "Let's forget our philosophy to beat ONE company so that we can be on the desktop in millions of homes." Anyone who thinks this is a good idea needs to re-evaluate their principles.<br /><br />My co-worker even suggested that Linux, once it became THE chosen desktop could then turn around and open up all of its code. But this leaves out one very important piece to the puzzle. The hardware companies and their decision to lock in NDA's. Do you actually think that once you've made the millions of dollars by letting them get their way and lock in their drivers that they will actually turn around and give you all of that code for free? No. Not going to happen.<br /><br />So where does this leave us? Well, exactly where we are at. Linux slowly trying to take over Microsoft and OpenBSD (other BSD's as well, <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/03/prweb509818.htm">although</a>) just concerned with getting their OS to work on all hardware and to make better software.<br /><br />A great big THANKS to all of those developers out there that choose to release their code and who work to develop quality functional and secure code.<br /><br />Thank you very much, from a user.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-5149880642881511462007-04-28T21:26:00.000-04:002008-12-11T11:48:02.370-05:00From <a href="http://www.schneier.com/blog/">Bruce Schneier's</a> blog:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s7UFPKlxRfY/RjP14-A1yoI/AAAAAAAAAAU/R9NwQFHWamA/s1600-h/getfuzzy2091644070424.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s7UFPKlxRfY/RjP14-A1yoI/AAAAAAAAAAU/R9NwQFHWamA/s400/getfuzzy2091644070424.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5058657165535201922" /></a><br /><br />Here's a <a href="http://www.comics.com//comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20070424.html">link</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-73804028332923314932007-04-23T23:28:00.000-04:002007-12-13T20:18:33.405-05:00An Unnatural Love Affair with OpenBSDBefore I journey too far into this web log, I feel it is necessary that I present a bit of myself in order that you the reader understand more clearly where I am coming from. I am a very opinionated person, and hold my passions close. So allow me to give you some background so that my postulations bring about a sense of understanding.<br /><br />I first tinkered with open source software in 1998 with a friend from high school. We were working with Red Hat 5.2. I had no idea what I was doing, but it seemed cool somehow. It didn't last long however. I had an extensive MP3 collection back then (nearly 15,000 songs) and my audio card wasn't working in Linux. So I went back to Windows 98se. I ended up remaining a slave to Windows 98se until 2001 when the company I worked for at the time needed a firewall/gateway solution. I offered to find a solution to their problem (running Windows 2k Advanced server as a firewall/gateway was a mess) and began looking in the open source world.<br /><br />My first install was FreeBSD. The choice was based on a number of points, I had a friend who swore by it, the documentation was exhaustive and the 'ports' system was lauded as a leader in dealing with add on software. Before settling on FreeBSD I also took a gander at Slackware, Red Hat 8 and Mandrake Linux. These were all a bit "ugly" compared to what I had experienced installing FreeBSD. What I mean by "ugly" is the installs and user experience seemed very thrown together and a bit patchy. If there was such a thing as digital duct tape these OS's were using it. I also started studying IPTABLES (Linux firewall) and IPFW (FreeBSD's native firewall). IPTABLES read like a child had decided to use those word magnant's to write rules and I was immediately turned off by the syntax. IPFW was admittedly not that much better but seemed more powerful and also worked in my favorite open source operating system, FreeBSD.<br /><br />So thus began my love affair with BSD. IPFW solved my problem and was relatively easy to pick up and place a legitimate firewall in front of our network of 25. However, I soon ran into a problem. NAT didn't work well, and stateful connections were being dropped or panic'd the kernel. I was trying to find some of my n00b posts from back then with what the issue was but I couldn't find any. Anyways facing a limitation in IPFW at the time (that later IPFW2 solved) I was stuck and had to find a solution.<br /><br />Thats where the OS love of my life and I met for the first time. I read an article on pf and OpenBSD 3.0. Love at first sight, I was head over heals for Puffy. pf, if you haven't used it, is probably the least complex firewall in the known world. The syntax is sexy! Simplicity abounds without giving up complete control and power over your packet filtering. I read every article, man page and interview I could possibly find on pf and OpenBSD. I started reading code (why? I have no idea I didn't understand half of what I read), I started installing it on everything I could find.<br /><br />I can remember the first time I installed it, where I was and everyone around me. Yes I know I have issues. But man, if you have used OpenBSD you know what I am talking about.<br /><br />So in 2002, I officially changed every computer I owned (except one for my wife to work on her dissertation) to OpenBSD. I made my life fit around it. If OpenBSD didn't do it, I didn't care to do it. Here I am 4 years later and my passion for OpenBSD hasn't dwindled in the slightest, in fact is has grown exponentially.<br /><br />So where does this leave me? Well with a web log in which I can talk about OpenBSD and my love affair with the OS, the philosophy and the freedom. Stay tuned.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35080199.post-87565930463954851032007-04-22T22:30:00.000-04:002007-12-13T20:17:48.373-05:00A Day Listening to Bruce SchneierYesterday I was lucky enough to view a talk by Bruce Schneier titled, "Open Source-style Security in the Physical World". Bruce was accompanied by Christine Peterson, Vice President and Co-founder of Foresight Nanotech Institute. The talk was very educational and focused on how we as geeks can apply some of the philosophies of open source software to a security model dealing with the physical world and the threats contained therein.<br /><br />Bruce had some very interesting things to say regarding thoughts from the audience on how to develop these ideas. Mostly he postulated on how any security model, if it is to be implemented by companies, governments and individuals; must have a low cost false positive verification system. He brought up the TIPS program that was proposed by the US government (mentioined <a href="http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/03/citizen_counter.html">here</a>) and how it would allow too many false positives and a waste of time on verification regarding those suspicions brought forth. This is a very valid point, and really is true in regards to the American way in how we deal with things. What I mean to say is that Americans are very quick to respond and in the end they don't like to waste time on laborious duties or long winded processes.<br /><br />Bruce brought up a great example of a cost effetive system that Visa (and maybe Mastercard) use to verify legitimate transactions on their customers credit cards. Basically, they monitor patterns in spending and transactions to find card theft. For instance if my card suddenly showed up in Canada and someone was buying $30,000 in diamonds, Visa may hold the transaction from completing and call me to verify that I want to purchase these. Its a great system that, as Bruce mentioned, is actually a great marketing device for these companies. People want to be alerted to their credit card being stolen and there is a certain warm-fuzzy feeling one receives if their credit card company calls up to make sure everything is okay.<br /><br />The talk lasted an hour, and while there wasn't one valid suggestion by the audience on how to translate open source philosophies, I thought the conversation was a great step forward.<br /><br />At one point I raised my hand to offer a comment (time ran out before I could share) that I hope to write about a bit further but felt I should spew its basic concepts here and work to provide a detailed description of what I mean later on.<br /><br />It is my feeling that in order to really replicate the community interaction of open source and to translate that into a security model that can be used by the people, governments and corporations, we need to begin compiling philosophies and methods into tools to teach the next generation. Education is really the only way to secure change in the future. Getting children and young adults thinking in open ways regarding software and their futures will really help to develop methods of security that are effective. Like I said, I'd really like to write a bit more on this. I think it could develop into something valuable.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0