Advogato blog for mchirico

1 Jan 2009

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 00:19:02 GMT

Dec 31 18:59:59 kernel: Clock: inserting leap second 23:59:60 UTC

11 Nov 2008

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:20:25 GMT

Twitter

I'm starting to understand the hype about twitter. They were smart opening up their API to a simple bash script. See below for a sample that allows you to easily tweet from the command line.


#!/bin/bash
TEXT=$*
curl -s -u username:password -d status="${TEXT}" https://twitter.com/statuses/update.xml >/dev/null

I guess the value comes from finding interesting people to follow. Suggestions?

7 Nov 2008

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 01:05:27 GMT

Project Euler (projecteuler.net)

I've solved 50 problems at this site, and I'm not even rated as a novice. Instead, I'm a level 2 cube. You're not considered an expert until you hit level 5, which requires you to solve over 200 problems. So, it looks like I'll be at it for awhile.

The problems require the use of induction and the use of a computer. My language of choice for this is Python, but you'll see, once you enter your answer, how other people have solved the problem. Some people use assembly.

You might want to take a quick look see. Careful, it's addictive.

22 Oct 2008

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:00:22 GMT

Linksys SRW248G4 (Switch) - Dumped for Soekris net5501

I wasn't happy with Linksys SRW248G4 switch. After using it for over a year, which is the length of the warranty, it slowly began to fail. It finally got to the point where it would only handle 10baseT/Half, and even with that setting, a lot of packets were dropped. In addition, the ssh interface is limited. Instead, the main interface is an http interface which requires Microsoft's IE (with low security for ActiveX controls).

So, I replaced the Linksys switch with a Soekris Net5501 computer, with SanDisk Extreme III 8.0GB CompactFlash card,a wireless mPCI card from Netgate( 802.11a/b/g), and a lan1641 (PCI Quad ethernet board). You have to install an operating system on the device. A lot of people choose OpenBSD, but Linux (Fedora 8 with a custom kernel config) works just fine.

The first thing that impressed me was lack of noise. Since the Soekris Net5501 doesn't require a fan, it's completely silent. Second, you get complete control over the setup -- how you're going to handle bridging, firewall rules and additional software. There is enough power on the device to run a mail server, Apache, and even compile programs on the device in a reasonable amount of time. In fact, I ended up compiling Postfix from source directly on the device. For kicks I compiled the Linux kernel, but that took the better part of the night. This device is really a small computer (bogomips 999.79).

29 May 2008

Thu, 29 May 2008 14:46:03 GMT

Google App Engine

Anyone can sign up and use the Google App Engine. It works nicely on Linux.

You have to have Python 2.5, and you download their Software Development Kit. The applications that you build are in Python. After testing the application locally, it can be uploaded to Google. Of course, you can also point your own domain name to where the application lives as well, so no one will know that you're using Google.

Yeah, they do limit the amount of content to 500MB, which is enough for development. They're talking about increasing the content for a fee. So, you have plenty of space for development; but, when you land a contract, for your work, you'll have the option to increase the amount of space and pass the expense along to the client.

25 Jan 2008

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 03:40:47 GMT

Wikipedia - Trigger Happy Censors?

Is it true you cannot link to an article on your own site, even if the content is relevant and helpful? That strikes me as a form of prejudice.

Okay all I wanted to do was link my SQLite Tutorial on the Wikipedia SQLite page so that someone could find some useful information. Careful, that "MY" is a crime.

Apparently, I cannot link it to my own site because it's me doing it - ad hominem

I thought the purpose of Wikipedia was to give out information. I'm okay with someone telling the content isn't relevant. That would certainly be a valid reason for not linking it. But, as I understand it, I'm somehow associated with the SQLite project, therefore, I'm not fit to judge the content?

Anyway, I hope your experiences with Wikipedia are better. I'm not too positive on it. My intend was only to distribute information. Please see for yourself.

19 Jan 2008

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:25:16 GMT

Poker

"The Mathematics of Poker", by Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman. (2006)

An excellent book on poker especially if you're into programming poker bots. The book explains the math, leaving no missing steps; yet, these guys know their math (Chen has a a PhD in Mathematics from Berkeley, and works at a well known Susquehanna International Group, that specializes in financial analysis). These guys know their poker too. Chen has 2 world series bracelets in a subdivision of hold'em.

Programming Texas Hold'em Bots

If you're interested in programming Java poker bots, you may want to checkout Poker Academy. You can plug in your Java coded bots and use these bots to play against other players on line for PAX (poker play money).

A quick note, don't be fooled by the term play money - you'll have to earn that money with hard work against other good players. Time is money. It takes time to earn PAX; therefore, PAX is equivalent to money.

11 Jan 2008

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:00:49 GMT

Recommended Books:

"Introduction to GCC for GNU Compilers gcc and g++", by Brian Gough, Foreword by Richard M. Stallman. (2004).

This book is a good read with an emphasis on simple but relevant content. The book is published under the GNU Free Documentation License, and copy can be found here.

Information on purchasing a copy can be found at http://www.network-theory.co.uk/gcc/intro/. Since part of the purchase price goes to raise money to improve and create more free software and documentation, I purchased a copy to read on the train. The book is small enough to fit inside any cargo pants side pockets.

You may also be interested in the following book:

"Comparing and Merging Files with GNU diff and patch; for Diffutils 2.8.1 and patch 2.54", by David MacKenzie, Paul Eggert, Richard Stallman. Edited for publication by Brian Gough. (2002).

If the above free download doesn't work, since I'm not sure it will work outside the United States, try the following Souptonuts downloads

30 Nov 2006

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:49:43 GMT

Robert Morris of the NSA proposed the following problem:

What is the next series of numbers?

1 11 21 1211 111221 ...

26 Oct 2006

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 10:15:24 GMT

Fedora Core yum Updates Disabled

It appears that Fedora core yum updating has been disabled. Perhaps this was done to try and minimize the impact on the servers, while users download the new release of Fedora Core 6?

Symptoms


# yum -y update
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Update Process
Setting up repositories
core                                                       
         [1/3]
Cannot find a valid baseurl for repo: core
Error: Cannot find a valid baseurl for repo: core

Fix

Uncomment the baseurl setting. The following was done on my FC5 systems. It makes backups, using the extension .backup.


cd /etc/yum.repos.d/
perl -pi.backup -e "s/#baseurl/baseurl/" *

Now you should be good to go.