UNIX Administratosphere

Where I am, there are now winter storm warnings everywhere, blowing and drifting snow, very low visibility, icy roads. A good day to stay in and work from home (as I did).

Here are some photos of the local area here. Hope it’s sunny and warm (or at least safe) where you are!

UPDATE: The Interstate (I90) between Beloit and Madison came to a standstill, and people were stranded in their cars (over 800 of them). Orfordville, Wisconsin recorded 19.5 inches (49.5 cm) of snow; Beloit recorded 21 (53.3 cm). Over on flicker, there is a photo stream of the snowstorm taken from near the state capitol. The local news station (Channel 3) has photos, photos, photos, photos, and photos! This snowstorm will be talked about for a long time.

If you are willing to pitch in and help FreeBSD, why not donate to the FreeBSD Foundation? Of course, if you don’t want to help FreeBSD, there are other worthy causes that are close to open source and to free software:

• The OpenBSD Foundation - dedicated to funding the OpenBSD family of projects (such as OpenSSH, OpenBGPD, OpenNTPD…)
• The Free Software Foundation (FSF) - the creators of the GPL and funders of the GNU Project
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) - dedicated to protecting freedoms in a digital age
• The Mozilla Foundation - the funding for Mozilla, Firefox, Thunderbird, Seamonkey, and more
• The Apache Software Foundation - the non-profit behind the Apache web server, Apache Tomcat, Apache Ant, Apache Cocoon, and more
• Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) - dedicated to promoting the responsible use of computer technology

With the notable exception of the OpenBSD Foundation, all of these groups should be classified as 501(c)(3) charitable organizations by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The OpenBSD Foundation is a Canadian non-profit, so that’s different.

Two that are struggling the most probably are the CPSR and the OpenBSD Foundation.  Both are small and not often in the limelight - even though OpenSSH is used by virtually every UNIX and Linux variant on the planet.

All of these are worthwhile - why not donate - or join today?  Perhaps your (US) employer might even match your donation to one of these 501(c)(3) charitable organizations.

Well, I’ve been tagged - how can I pass this up. My good friend Thomas handed off to me. The One Book Meme started two years ago (!) and is still running. It was even translated into Italian.

This will be a nice diversion from the usual, I promise.

One book that changed your life: Getting Things Done, by David Allen

One book that you’ve read more than once: Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

One book that you’d want on a desert island: Where There is No Doctor, by David Werner et al (or possibly Victory, by Joseph Conrad)

One book that made you laugh: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (3 vol. set) by Bill Watterson

One book that made you cry: Please Stop Laughing at Me, by Jodee Blanco

One book that you wish had been written: My Story, by Joan of Arc

One book that you wish had never been written: Can’t think of any off hand.  Most every book has its good points, and all can be learned from in some way.

One book you’re currently reading: OpenVMS System Management Guide, by Baldwin and Hoffman

One book you’ve been meaning to read: Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

Now tag five people. (Hm, the hard part…)

• Ian MacKenzie (Ian’s Messy Desk)
• Jeri Dansky (Jeri’s Organizing and Decluttering News)
• Matthew Cornell (Matt’s Idea Blog)
• Maria Gracia (Get Organized Now!)

Well, I got four anyway.  Hard to come up with just one book….

Turns out there is a lot of things to watch out for!

I recently read this blog post on Steve Tobak’s blog “Train Wreck” over at CNet. Turns out there is a lot of legal liability (ouch) that can arise from posting. A most interesting source of information is the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Bloggers page (with a Legal Handbook to boot).

Reporters without Borders has a handbook, too: Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents.  (Their entry page also has links to other languages as well - this international organization is actually French).

If you value digital rights, I’d recommend a donation or two to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

We’ll see how this looks.  I changed the header - now it is all picture, and I put it together myself using the Gimp and a public domain photo.  We’ll see how it looks - I may yet change the text (it just doesn’t seem smooth here…).

This credit card from the LinuxFund seems like a good idea.  You and I would certainly like to support open source projects like Linux and KDE and so on.  Each purchase on this credit card results in a donation to a worthy open source cause, and you can send all of your cash-back rewards back as donations as well.

However, this turns out to be a lesson in reading the fine print.  This card has some very ominous conditions, which they don’t tell you except in the fine print:

• The rate is not fixed, but variable: that means it can go up and down over time, with no changes in the terms.
• The terms (including APR, fees, and conditions) may be changed at any time and without notice to you.
• The default rate is (approximately) 12% over prime up to 21% over prime.
• Cash advances are 24% over prime.
• If you miss a payment by more than 15 days, your rate will skyrocket to 32% over prime.
• If you miss a payment by more than 5 days twice in a year, your rate will skyrocket to 32% over prime.
• If you miss any payment on any card you own they will raise your rate.

As you can see, there are a number of gotcha! features to this card.  However, it is not alone.  Here are some ways to avoid the gotchas:

• Is the advertized rate an introductory rate?  When does it expire?
• What is the rate for purchases?
• What is the rate for cash advances?
• Are there any other rates?
• Are the rates fixed or variable?
• Is there a grace period?  What happens if you miss a payment?
• Are the rates dependent on other cards?

It has been said that consumer credit is the riskiest form of credit, and the terms on most cards suggest that the credit card companies think so.  Read the fine print carefully!

Well, yes - our look has changed!

There were some things about the old format I didn’t like, and I noticed that there were some new designs available.  So here we are.  The links, in particular, should be more visible.

We’ll see how it goes.

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Topics covered here will be anything relating to UNIX, Linux, and BSD server administration. All flavors are game for coverage; this a equal-opportunity UNIX and Linux stop.

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