Adventures in Nothing

Ah; your bleeding heart is getting all over the place...

2007-06-05T10:06:00.000-06:00

Someone stubbed their toe on a stop sign and thought that it would be helpful if there were a government sponsored program to rehabilitate toe-stubbing and another sign next to the stop sign warning the errant walker of the dangers of toe-stubbery in the area.

If this were real, it would, of course, be in the uber-safe confines of Boulder, Colorado; the fascist-liberal capital of the mid-west.

I can tell, when driving in Denver, which of the squishy idiots walking out into a busy street has gotten used to the way crosswalks in Boulder work as opposed to the way they work in the rest of the world. Somehow, the average Boulderite pedestrian seems to have a disproportionate sense of entitlement due to the fact that they are at a distinct disadvantage in battle with large metal objects... They seem to think that because there is a sign and some white lines painted on the ground that the standard first rule of crossing the street (remember from childhood; what do we do before we cross the street...) has become obsolete having been replaced with "State law: pedestrians in crosswalk have the right-of-way" signs.
You will notice the difference in the way Boulderites cross the street by the way that they will rush as quickly as possible to enter the crosswalk before the automobiles just fuck with the already overly-stressed drivers.
Their genetic potential should be removed from the pool... We should stop protecting these kinds of people from the dangers that lurk behind everyday stupidity.
We should not need a disclaimer at the end of a commercial in which cars are flying around to know that cars don't really fly.
We should not need to be warned that hot coffee is hot.
We should not need to be protected from every possible danger; we make ourselves victims by subscribing to this mentality and we make ourselves weak.

Stupid Fucking People That Require A Bullet

2007-05-07T14:11:00.000-06:00

Ah yes, those of you out there whose sole purpose in life is to make things more difficult for the rest of us; you know who you are!

You call superfluous meetings to discuss some other meeting.
You expect specific things from people without communicating the expectation.
You blame others in the heat of your own desperate attempt to avoid blame.
You take up space and atmosphere and should be shot and killed.

Super Amazing

2007-05-04T18:49:00.000-06:00

This site (http://tesladownunder.com/) is the coolest thing I've seen in awhile.

God; the Invisible Giant you turn to when you are about to die...

2007-05-01T22:00:00.000-06:00

;^) Title says it all. Thanks Matt Groening!

CLI -vs- GUI

2007-04-18T08:48:00.000-06:00

Upon becoming a Database Engineer, I have encountered a number of things that are not thoroughly discussed in the classes that Microsoft provides for a price. These classes generally use the GUI to perform tasks such as backup, restore, shrinking, etc., instead of using the command-line. I assume that this is due to the time that it could take to get the commands typed vs the time it takes to go clickety clickety done.
Unfortunately, when connected to the SQL server with the GUI, one sometimes cannot perform certain tasks that require the database to be in a state with no connections. The GUI itself creates multiple connections, so this can be really bewildering for the noob DBA.
It is necessary to learn how to perform all tasks from the query analyzer first, and then with the knowledge of how the whole thing works, working from the GUI becomes almost laughable.

Revenue Generating Projects vs Operational Integrity Projects

2007-04-17T14:28:00.000-06:00

This is a real sticking point for most of today’s businesses: should we devote our energies to projects that generate money, or projects that will keep us generating money in the future?
You may be amazed and frightened to learn that most CFO/CIO types will almost always pick the former to satisfy the perceptions of their audience; the CEO/Stockholders. Usually, IT/IS groups will only get buy-in for projects that don’t make money after the shit hits the fan.
In a lot of cases, this means that you are stepping in to a new role where your predecessors have been blamed for the shortcomings of the broken system that they were likely ardently trying to get fixed, but only receiving push-back. The IT folks generally wind up implementing stop-gaps and workarounds to the issues to satisfy the perceptions of their audience; the User/Customer.
Due diligence needs to take place and many eyes and ears need to be available to determine which projects should be pushed through and why. If revenue is of primary interest, then more funds need to go toward headcount to balance out the need for what should be the strong secondary interest, operational integrity.
It seems like common sense to me that once the car will not start any longer, one cannot drive to the store…

Moab... enjoy!

2007-04-16T11:14:00.000-06:00

Active Directory Authentication on a Debian Linux System

2007-04-09T09:16:00.000-06:00

Frequently, I am asked how well Linux operates within an Active Directory environment. Even with distributions such as Debian, the process is fairly straightforward and simple.

As a note of caution: the following assumes that you actually know a bit about what you are doing with the systems involved; you just want to know how to integrate your Debian/GNU Linux system into your Active Directory.

The changes you will need to make (especially to the /etc/pam.d/* configuration files) will make it so you cannot log on to your system ever again if you do something wrong, or if there is something erroneous in this document.

Always leave at least one shell open logged in as root. Do not log out until you verify you can log back on!

Here and there I will have things like ADDomain.com and ADDomainController. It is presumed that you know what your Active Directory short and long names are and what a Domain Controller is. If this is not the case you might reconsider attempting this at work...

So, on with the good stuff...

1. Install packages for MIT Kerberos, Samba, Winbind, and NTP.

a. apt-get install libkrb53 krb5-config samba winbind ntpdate ntp-server

b. Accept defaults as these will be changing later.

2. Stop services.

a. /etc/init.d/samba stop

b. /etc/init.d/winbind stop

c. /etc/init.d/ntp-server stop

3. Customize the following configuration files (probably using the default files as a start…):

a. /etc/krb5.conf:

[libdefaults]

default_realm = ADDomain.com

clockskew = 300

default_keytab_name = FILE:/etc/krb5.keytab

[realms]

ADDomain.com = {

kdc = DC.ADDomain.com

admin_server = DC.ADDomain.com

default_domain = ADDomain.com

}

[logging]

kdc = FILE:/var/log/krb5kdc.log

admin_server = FILE:/var/log/kadmin.log

default = FILE:/var/log/krb5lib.log

[domain_realm]

.ADDomain.com = ADDomain.com

[appdefaults]

Pam = {

ticket_lifetime = 1d

renew_lifetime = 1d

forwardable = true

proxiable = false

retain_after_close = false

minimum_uid = 100

try_first_pass = true

}

b. /etc/nsswitch.conf

passwd: files winbind

shadow: compat

group: files winbind

# passwd: compat

group: compat

hosts: files dns winbind

networks: files dns

services: files

protocols: files

rpc: files

ethers: files

netmasks: files

netgroup: files

publickey: files

bootparams: files

automount: files nis

aliases: files

c. /etc/ntp.conf

# pool.ntp.org maps to more than 100 low-stratum NTP servers.

#Your server will pick a different set every time it starts up

#***Please consider joining the pool! ***

serverIP.OF.Your.Server

Leave the rest of the file as defaults.

d. /etc/defaults/ntpdate

# servers to check. (Separate multiple servers with spaces.)

NTPSERVERS="IP.OF.Time.Server(DC usually)"

# additional options for ntpdate

#NTPOPTIONS="-v"

NTPOPTIONS="-u"

e. /etc/pam.d/common-auth

auth sufficient pam_winbind.so

auth required pam_unix.so use_first_pass

f. /etc/pam.d/login

auth requisite pam_securetty.so

auth requisite pam_nologin.so

auth required pam_env.so

@include common-auth

@include common-account

@include common-session

session required pam_limits.so

session optional pam_lastlog.so

session optional pam_motd.so

session optional pam_mail.so standard noenv

@include common-password

g. /etc/pam.d/sshd

auth include common-auth

auth sufficient pam_succeed_if.so login = root

auth required pam_winbind.so use_first_pass require_membership_of=ADAdminGroup

auth required pam_nologin.so

account required pam_winbind.so use_first_pass require_membership_of=ADAdminGroup

account include common-account

password include common-password

password sufficient pam_winbind.so use_first_pass use_authtok require_membership_of=ADAdminGroup

session include common-session

session optional pam_mkhomedir.so

h. /etc/samba/smb.conf

This is really up to you. Pertinent parts are:

1. winbind separator = %

2. workgroup = SHORT_AD_DOMAIN

3. netbios name = HOSTNAME

4. password server = ADDomainController

5. winbind use default domain = yes

6. winbind cache time = 10

7. realm = ADDomain.com (long name)

8. security = ADS

9. encrypt passwords = yes

10. idmap backend = idmap_rid:SHORT_AD_DOMAIN=10000-200000

11. idmap uid = 10000-200000

12. idmap gid = 10000-200000

13. winbind enum users = yes

14. winbind enum groups = yes

15. template shell = /bin/bash

16. template homedir = /home/%D/%U

17. domain master = no

18. local master = no

19. preferred master = no

20. wins server = IP.OF.WINS.Server

21. name resolve order = wins bcast hosts

22. use kerberos keytab = true

23. use sendfile = no

4. Verify that ntp is talking to Time Server

a. ntpq –p

b. output should be like the following:

remote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter

==========================================

*ts.somedomain.com 192.168.1.2 3 u 243 512 377 0.492 -32.931 7.568

LOCAL(0) LOCAL(0) 13 l 29 64 377 0.000 0.000 0.004

c. If the response is in the form of an error, you will need to set up ntp-server.

5. Join the Domain.

a. net ads join -U username (user must have Domain Admin privileges.)

b. type in your password.

6. Start services.

a. /etc/init.d/ntp-server start

b. /etc/init.d/samba start

c. /etc/init.d/winbind start

7. Check Name Resolution.

a. getent passwd (should give you /etc/passwd info as well as AD users)

b. getent group (as above, but groups…)

8. At this point you should be able to log on in a SSH session with your AD credentials.

SLES/SLED 10 -vs- OpenSuSE 10

2007-04-03T15:14:00.000-06:00

A far as I can see, SLES is certainly a step in another direction from OpenSuSE 10.0. With OpenSuSE 10.0, one could (if one wanted) select a text-only installation with no X-Server whatsoever, where the SLES installer requires some kind of X to be installed. Text-only is ideal for the data center and servers in general. You usually don't want to waste CPU time on a GUI unless your support staff can't handle being locked into a console. The irony here is that there is not much of use to be done outside of the command prompt in the UNIX world. Sure, there are GUI front-end applications that are really just running the CLI utilities for you, but that isn't really the same. It saddens me that the *UX world is slipping down the slope toward the same "building for the lowest common denominator" philosophy that Microsoft and Apple have upheld for so long.

Of course, you really only find this behavior in the realm of the "Linux for the masses" distro. i.e. Redhat, SuSE, Fedora, yada...
Debian and Slackware are still, in my opinion, the premier Linux distributions and are the only real choices for non-hobbyist systems.

MindMapping

2007-03-30T11:50:00.000-06:00

There is a free software called FreeMind that allows you to start with a simple, central concept and drill further into each tangent that connects to the main concept. Here is an example of a map I am working on:

I began the map above yesterday; totally a rough beginning, but I imagine you can see what it means. It is a way to depict use case models, but is easier to use than Visio. Also, it is free! I've read about people using this kind of tool for personal growth and such, but I find that it lends itself perfectly to software development by allowing you to define the functional parts of the whole without knowing what the whole looks like. Nifty shit.

A point of interest regarding today's news media

2007-03-14T15:47:00.000-06:00

I was watching Frontline the other day, and I saw this piece about modern news media, blogging, and how the internet is killing newspapers. It was part 3 of a series titled News War.
The points that I picked up on, some of which weren't really stated out loud, yet seemed fairly obvious to me were as follows (in no particular order):

The bulk of all news being reported by all television, radio, and internet sources is coming from the so-called "news-wires" and newspapers.
The news-wires and newspapers have to pay their reporters money for reporting.
The news-wires and newspapers have to pay for production, delivery, administration, etc...
Newspapers pay the news-wires for some of the news that the newspapers report.
The internet is full of idiots such as myself, who can post on a blog (at no expense to myself) the very news that someone else worked to dig up, making this information freely available to anyone who reads the news on the site I post to.
The shareholders of newspapers want profit margins to continue to increase.

Which will win; quality of reporting or stockholders getting their profit margins to increase? Hmmm...

The profit margins are decreasing because there are things like craigslist and eBay (to name only two such online services) which offer a better product than sifting through countless dead trees to find less information about what you are looking for.
The reporters want to continue to make more money as the cost of living increases.
The internet news groups succeed because they have almost no startup costs, and they don't need to pay reporters who are already being paid by the traditional news groups. Oh, and
The internet news groups have no interest in changing their business models to facilitate paying for reporters, which would in turn affect their shareholders fortunes (if there are any shareholders).
This is why we notice that most of what we see on television news is seeming more like grocery store tabloid material than what we might have grown up with. ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox alike are airing quasi soft-porn and the like to increase ratings so that shareholders see (...incessant) increases in profit margins.

It is the responsibility of the news media to deliver objective observations to the folks who need to know about what is going on in the world. It is my subjective (and readily acknowledged as shitty) opinion that Big News needs an overhaul.
Everyone wants to be rich. That is why capitalism is so ubiquitous in the world today. I guess, ultimately my point is, how rich is "rich enough"?

Golf is fun, and cigarettes are no more...

2007-03-13T13:55:00.000-06:00

So Sunday I did something new. You guessed it: I played golf for the first time ever. I had such a good time, it boggles my mind that I hadn't tried it before. So no more cigarettes for me. I'm on day 3 with a patch. The patch seems to take the edge off of it, but not completely. I can see how weening myself off the patch would be effective. I now feel like I have been off for longer than a few days, and in a few weeks, with the lower-dosage patches, I should feel the same. Then, no patch and I should feel the same. Fucking cool.

Thoughts from the Blizard of 2006

2006-12-23T15:13:00.001-07:00

The ghostly appearance of cars becoming visible 30 feet away.
The numerous abandoned cars along the road. (we counted 73 on the way to the park and back on our sledding trip!)
The buzzing silence when the snow was still flying and there were no other cars on the road.
The blazing fire I made from wood I stole from the grocery store.
The bottle of wine shared with a loved one.
The chance to tow cars out of the deep drifts and get them back on the road and on the way home.
The collapsed buildings.
The gas station parking lot driveway completely obstructed with abandoned cars.
The run to the liquor store; the only establishment open that night.
The constant television news repeating the obvious.
The 50+ inch drifts.
The difficulty starting a sledding run in waist-deep snow.
The camaraderie found in new acquaintances.
The love re-kindled.
The time shared together.

Blizard of 2006 Foibles

2006-12-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

Lovely One

2006-12-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

In moments of hope I find myself smiling as I remember her touch and her scent as well as the way she carries herself... I remember things that were said in loving moments at night and in the day; such sweet somethings that offer me chances to be happy even just for a minute at a time.

The following are things about her that all make me smile (more or less).

Her ability to take a bad situation and turn it around.
The passion that she has for making things just and right.
The way that she does her laundry.
Her aesthetic taste.
Her naughty side.
Her hair, when it is down.
Her work ethic.
Her resolve to do better.
Her smile.
Her intransigence.
The positive influence that she has had on me.
She keeps in touch with old friends.
She loves fiercely.
She inspires me to love.

I could go on, and in some way I shall, but not in here.

Wishing I Wasn't Wishing

2006-12-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

I just don't know how I could have done all of this any differently. I have been having doubts about my decisions, primarily my decision to break up with my last girlfriend a while back. I had hoped that we could get back together after some time, but have since talked with her and emailed and it appears that these hopes of mine are really pipe-dreams. I think that the hurt that this has caused her will not be easily gotten over. That isn't even taking into account her family, with whom I spent many fun hours getting to know; I do not think that they will be willing to take me back into their trust and confidence. Perhaps this was the classic example of being in the right place at the wrong time? I have some really mixed feelings on the whole thing; I really miss her and wish that we could do things together again, but am afraid that if we were to start doing things again that we would inevitably end up in the same condition we were in when I broke us up. It's a damned shame, really. She is all kinds of good. It just sucks that we met when we did, really. If I had already done the rebound bit before I had met her things would certainly be different. I guess that is the only realistic hope I can hold to: that after enough time has gone by, perhaps her hurt will be forgotten/forgiven at about the same time my own personal pain becomes manageable and we can start over like two new people. ~sigh...

2006-12-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

God, what a funky weekend I had. Should have been a ton of fun, but as it turned out I was just broken the whole time. I guess that this is what I should expect until I am less broken.

Mea Maxima Culpa

2006-12-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

A thin, clear form is beginning to show itself to me.
...so simple; how could I ever have forgotten this?
Her frame, lithe and shapely
Her stories of endless experiencings
Of her lovely world.

I tremble at her subtly changing expressions
I follow her move through every moment in my space
I sadly think of what might have happened if
We had not split

In my heart I am smiling though;
It is better to have learned that she is real
And know that in my life I have truly seen
Someone I could trade all of everything for...

This time I spend in all of my life
The only thing that I can be a part of
Is that which pulls my consciousness onward
The things that make my mind still.

All the things to get along in this
World have their consequences
All the things that make me smile
Wreak havoc in all lives that touch mine
All the satisfaction comes from
Having this life I've wanted
Now that it's in front of me
I balk at the reality...

I have a definitive need for something; fealty...
Soon I hope to have a different credo...
Till then I guess I'll work on my things and ramble endlessly...
Then the thoughts I have that I cannot divulge because their content frightens me...
Will pour from me until our eyes turn black from the crying
And the soul of the thing has grown thinny
And puny...
Oh sweet, wonderful you I am so sorry...
I'm sorry.

The Question That Is Itching...

2006-12-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

Do we imbue our surroundings with ourselves?
I think not...
I think that our surroundings do that to us and that we are helpless to do any other things than that which is expected of us based on that very imbument of nature on our uniqueness. It is merely a matter of whether or not we accept these changes in our aggregated persona that determines what we all are at the end of the day, and therefore, what we all are...
I have spent so many years watching people. So many years seeing what they are noticing and trying to accept their reactions to the stimuli as a given; a comensurate sum based on the parts that make it all up.
Does this make me a coward? Does this mean that my own reactions and feelings to a given set of circumstances are unfounded and trite? Do I come acrossed as some kind of louse that thrives only on the torment of those weaker and slower than me? Is there a conspiracy which, unbeknownst to me, continues to lead me astray intentionally?
I only ask because of the aforementioned thought that imbuement is either held by nature or myself, and it feels like a tango to me. It feels as if nature and I dance and dance and we don't stop until one of us needs to sleep. We continue on for years and gaze internally at the change that the dancing brings about.
There are ways and means, but they all lead to the same thing in the end;
We affect our situations upon one another creating more situations to gaze about at...

A very unsettling dream...

2006-12-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

I dreamt that I was in bed and there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and my ex-wife was outside with our son. She set him down and he ran up to me and hugged me. She had a notion that we could get back together and I stated that the time for that had already come and gone, and that if she had really wanted to be together, she should have not been such a lousy bitch. She pulls out an ice pick and sticks it into my head. My hand gets injured (instead of my head for some reason) and I slam the door and lock it, cradling my son in my arms. I call the police. I am extremely calm and the 911 operator thinks it is a prank call because I am so calm. My ex has a gun now and is shooting through the door. I tell the operator that she should get a cop here now, cause she is shooting now and my son is scared. The cops come and arrest her and want to talk to me. I call Rhonda, the only person I think my son would be alright with in his current traumatized state, and she arrives very quickly as she only lives down the street. She takes him into his room to play Dr. Mario while the cops question me. They seem to think that somehow I am to blame for it all. I try to explain what happened, but my ex-wife has been talking to them and has told them that I was taking her son away and had stabbed her with an ice pick.

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on my door. Thank the stars; it was my upstairs neighbor... he needed a jump-start.

Growing...

2006-12-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

It is as it has always been;
A world of woe
With hope shining bright
Inside the space between breaths...

I have sought to refine my thought
And to have a solid foundation
With which to build
Stately mansions upon.

It has worked this far;
This looking inwardly,
For my thoughts are much clearer
And my fantasy has settled.

Though I am still a man
Regardless of these changes
I don't ever forsee any end
To my deviant persuasion.

Alas for my closest
And most cherished of friends
Whose opinions of me
Must be interesting indeed!

I have tried to do right
And have mostly succeded
I can now only keep working,
To continue to grow.

Why Was There No Room For You?

2006-12-02T01:41:00.000-07:00

Oh my God, I am such an egotist...
It was so much always about I
Never any space for such as you
I never could find the space in the conversation
For any other experience other than Mine
I could never find the other anecdote
That did not include I
That was not My experience
I am so sorry...
But, nonetheless, I...

When troubles hit
They where all My instigation,
When love did linger,
It was always Mine...
When endings came
My endings were They.

I (if you will pardon the egotism...)
Will strive to diminish this domination
Of you and yours.
Unfortunately, it would appear that I am but this way...
I cannot seem to shake this impenetrable I,
A dominating weakling like
The springtime in the Rocky Mountains;
Intense for the time being, but altogether
Short in the long
And empty in the threat.
Empty...

Oh, how empty...

I wish that I could take out the I in all of this. I wish that there were sanity in all of this, but instead there is volatility and rebuke. It is not that which is happening, but that which sponsors the happenings that worries me the most. I do not know which way to go from here, and from whither or thither it comes is beyond my understanding. I only know that (for a fact) it has been over a decade that I have been (sort of) nudged into the space that I am in now. Certain well-intentioned folk have noticed my plight and (sort of) nudged me into this direction, and it scares me to no end.
I wish that I could find some answer in the paths that I have been looking...
Oh, but I wish that I could make some sense of this riddle that has plighted me for so long now;
Where do I put this I?

2006-12-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

Damn, another week gone by. I have had some really satisfying achievements this week, and next week should provide even more interesting things to do and experience. Looks like I will be reading, cleaning, and exercising a lot this weekend. Gotta keep the pee clean for a test on Monday, and I have a number of things that I could research at home for extra credit at work. I will have to get used to working at home soon... Being on call shouldn't be too terribly bad. Unless, of course, I am in the middle of something that I don't really want to have interrupted, but then again, the extra $350 a week will pay a lot of bills.

2006-11-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

So I received the official offer today. She was the first person I wanted to tell about it. We had spent so many languor filled hours dreaming of what it would be like for me to be through all of my financial woes, always thinking of the day we could go on vacation together. Even to be able to go to the movies without feeling guilty that I was either neglecting something else to be able to spend the money, or feeling guilty that she was paying...
She was the first person I thought of when I heard the news, and I could not call her to tell her about it. We didn't get to laugh and celebrate that I had finally become a real employee.
I did email her, but email is only cool when you have a lot to say, and aren't too sure that what you say will come out right the first time. It is pretty lame for good news.
Ah, well. For now, I celebrate for my accomplishments alone. This is my choosing, and eventually, I will have all of those bills payed off and I will have dealt with the emotional baggage left over from my failed marriage as well.
This is the Universe telling me to enjoy this milestone to the fullest!

:D

2006-11-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

Another Monday passes by and I am feeling more and more on track. After the long, holiday weekend, I am reassured that my choices are the correct ones and that all isn't for naught. I have never felt so self-assured and complete than I do right now. There are so many good things awaiting me in the future.
I got word today that I have the job.
I have yet to recieve the formal offer, but that is supposed to come sometime this week. I have waited so long for this to happen. Not only will I be able to pay off all of the debts incurred by my ex and I from all of those years of complacency, but I will also be able to save money at the same time... This concept is so completely foriegn to me that I don't think that it will really register for some time. It will really be a challenge; being paid only once a month. Yet, after some adjustment, I think that it will be easier. I will pay bills once a month, at the same time I pay my rent. Everything else will be extra. I have to learn how to make the extra last all month. Once I have mastery of that, then I will put the real extra into savings. A year of that and part of that savings could be applied to vacation. A real vacation. Like to New Zealand, or Greece.
The tide has finally turned for me. I have earned the rewards that I am about to receive, and I thank the powers that be for granting me this.
Thank You!