Tuesday July 27 2010
Ken.ForemanSunFire V20z backups, NAS, server, SunFire20z
Rebuilding the SunFire V20z (click any image to enlarge):
Last night I began configuring OpenIPMI under CentOS 5.5 to allow me to use the Service Processor (SP, known as an Integrated Lights Out [ILO] on other systems) on my SunFire V20z. I can now power up, power down, console in, and check the chassis status of my server remotely. The PowerMac G5 is running Mac OSX 10.5.8 while the SunFire V20z is running CentOS 5.5 with XEN.
By placing the SunFire V20z on the heavy-duty (2200VA) UPS along with the Verizon FiOS router and a 2TB NAS, the goal is to have an encrypted RAID-1 array with dedicated backups, home directories, and storage replacing the earlier RAID-I had on the PowerMac G5. I’d like to completely image Vicky’s HPtc4400, my ThinkPad X100e, my Fujitsu Lifebook U820, and the PowerMac G5 to the NAS. I’m looking at getting a 2TB Synology DS209_II SATA NAS as the backbone for this effort.
Maybe one of these days I’ll get a half-height (22U) rack to keep all my servers and network gear in?
Monday July 26 2010
Ken.ForemanTechnology iPad, MySQL HA, UPS, VPN
Scenes from this morning’s commute… yesterday’s thunderstorms knocked out power to our federal building. I was on call last night, and I logged in remotely (via VPN) from my iPad to bring servers back up this morning. Monday’s just started and it feels like I’ve already worked a full day.
It’s become abundantly clear that I need to:
- Reconfigure my office workstation to allow OpenVPN and SSH so that I can connect directly to my office workstation from home once I’ve VPNed in. Today I was doing my work remotely by logging into our administrative servers and using my /home/foremank from there.
- Move the heavy-duty UPS from my SunBlade 1000 in the home office to the corner of the kitchen/dining room, run a Cat-6 to it and the router, install a 2TB RAID-1 Drobo NAS on the same router as the UPS.
- Set up MySQL High Availability (HA) between Washington, DC, and Reston, VA, so that we have a hot spare of our MySQL databases and MediaWiki for instances where the power goes out in DC.
Monday July 26 2010
Ken.ForemanAKC Jade Mist Kiyomi Kiyomi, Shelties
Teaching Kiyomi to do her own
facebook &
friendfeed updates… but first plug in the ethernet, Kiyomi!
Friday July 23 2010
Ken.ForemanLatheOfDreams.com Features, Plugins, Site Administration, WordPress
Screenshot: Lathe of Dreams (Friday, July 23rd, 2010)
I am now in the process of configuring additional features into LatheOfDreams.com. After upgrading MySQL, MediaWiki, and WordPress, I’m trying to include/import more Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Friendfeed features so that it either stores more content locally on my server or seemless attaches to offsite content on these other servers. You may notice some unusual behavior on the site for the next few days as I install, integrate, and debug new features.
Thanks!
Friday July 23 2010
Ken.ForemanEvents Accident, Nissan XTerra
Small mercies… after a week, several thousand in repairs, and a couple inspections, my 2003 Nissan XTerra has been returned to me. Progressive is now going after the other guy who was at fault in the accident and his company, saying “difficulties are sometimes to be expected in accidents involving commercial vehicles.”
In last Friday’s accident, I’m glad I called the police, got a police report, and filed through Progressive. If I filed through the other guy’s company, I’d still be arguing with his company and have a dead XTerra in my driveway. If I didn’t get a police report, I suspect I’d be salvaging my XTerra right now.
Wednesday July 21 2010
Ken.ForemanEvents
Admittedly, I’m not the best of drivers. I sometimes go over the posted speed limit, especially when I know I have a long drive ahead of me. I’ve had my share of accidents (driving too fast in the snow, crossing a traffic light during a signal change, backing out of a parking space). Sometimes I get into accidents which are unavoidable… I am not sure how I could have avoided my accident last Friday short of simply “not being there.”
I was traveling on Nutley Blvd heading towards Microcenter in Vienna, VA, during my lunch break with a co-worker. I saw an HVAC contractor in a big Ford F-150 carrying two AC units about to turn left onto Court House Rd, so I diminished my speed slightly since I was about to go through an intersection (Nutley Blvd and Court House Rd), but it was a green light and I was going straight. The HVAC truck was 2 lanes (turning lane and center lane) away from me.
As I approached the intersection, the HVAC contractor abruptly decided that he wanted to turn right onto Court House Rd rather than left. He proceed to cross three lanes (turning/left lane, center lane, right lane) and I just happened to be in his path. I was hit on the left, my front end was sheered 3 inches, and on the right as he crossed my path and torqued the front end of my Nissan XTerra with the back end of his fully-loaded F150.
So what became a 45-minute run to Microcenter became a 2-hour accident, report to the police, getting my XTerra towed, and talking to his HR (it was a company vehicle), his insurance company, and mine.
With the amount of damage done, I was afraid that Progressive (my insurance company) might decide to simply salvage the XTerra rather than attempt to repair it. We expected $2,000-$3,500 in damage depending on what else was seen once we got a clearer look at it. I spoke with my agent and asked at what point does Progressive cut their losses. I was told “75% of the vehicle’s value, which for you is $5,000, and we expect this to be under $3,000 in parts and labor.”
And so here I am… I have a fully-equipped (power windows, sunroof, satellite radio, leather interior) Ford Focus from Enterprise until the XTerra is repaired. It has a 4-cylinder engine, gets 29mpg, and runs a little rough/tight, but it’s a pretty decent rental while my XTerra is in the shop. I do miss the Nissan XTerra though, and this also means that Kiyomi is riding only in our Subaru Forester until we get the XTerra back.
I don’t know what else I could have done to avoid that accident.
Tuesday July 20 2010
Ken.ForemanCatholic, Religion
I was baptised and raised Hungarian Reformed Protestant (Lutheran). Over the years, I have read, researched, and grown in my faith. When I met Vicky in 1998, I began attending Catholic Church with her. In 2000, we married at St. John Neumann Church in a Catholic wedding. For the past ten years of marriage, I have been attending Sunday Mass each week with Vicky as well as going with her on most holy days of obligation.
In November of last year, I experienced a crisis of faith. I felt that I was no longer a Lutheran in my beliefs but not yet a Catholic. In my faith, I felt closer to Catholicism than I did Lutheranism, but that I needed to Inquire into the Catholic faith. It was at that time I met with Father Tom Murphy of St. John Neumann, and then met with the faith formation staff.
In January of this year, I began the Inquiry followed by the Rite of Welcome. I was warmly welcomed into the Church as a Candidate in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). We met on Sundays after the Rite of Dismissal during Mass. We met on Tuesdays for RCIA class and the occasional dinner. Outside of RCIA, Vicky has been active with the nursing ministry while I attended the Knights of Columbus blood drives, continued my reading and studies, and frequently emailed or spoke with other Catholics about my questions.
Over the last year, my faith and understanding has grown and deepened. Rather than continuing to believe that being a Catholic is an end (you are taught, confirmed, and enter Communion), I now understand how being a Catholic is an ongoing process, that my Catholic education doesn’t end in my acceptance into the Church but continues daily in how we treat others, how we treat ourselves, and how we live our lives in relation to God.
I have also gained a new appreciation and understanding of the Saints. As a Lutheran, I questioned why Catholics would pray to Saints or for their intercessions as if God values their prayers over the prayers of the lowliest sinner. I now see that I was mistaken. Saints are human just as we all are, but through their lives they held to their beliefs, held their faith, and served both others & God in a way that many of us should aspire to. Whether it is Mother Theresa taking a vow of poverty and living to serve the homeless of Calcutta, St. Francis’ concern and consideration for all life on earth and our role of stewards of it, or St. Thomas More’s conviction that the words we speak (or leave unspoken) are the oaths we make to ourselves and others… it is not the Saints to whom we pray exactly, but we strive to be more like, and ask they join us in our prayers towards God, bettering ourselves, and bettering the lives of others.
And so tonight I meet with Father Tom Murphy to discuss where I am on my faith journey and to ask if I might join the Catholic Community of St. John Neumann in the coming month. I approach tonight’s discussion with nervousness, excitement, and more than a little joy that I am continuing my faith journey in such great company. I look forward to the day I might join my family & friends in full Communion at Christ’s table.
Thursday July 15 2010
Ken.ForemanCatholic, Religion
St. Thomas More, be our advocate
and counsel before the Divine tribual that alone
is without error.
Bespeak for us the wisdom to apply the precepts of
God’s eternal law to the problems of our daily lives
Intercede for us that we may emulate the sense of humor
which made your heart echo with the mirth of heaven.
Pray that we may spurn false oaths and live as you did,
faithful to our faith, even though doing so we may
be called upon to sacrifice our all as your sacrificed
yours.
These things seek for us through the merits of Jesus
Christ, Our Lord.
AMEN.
NOTE: Restoration of this Shrine and the accompanying devotional was the gift of the members of the St. Thomas More Society to Church of St. Joseph’s of Capitol Hill.
22 June, 1983.
Thursday July 15 2010
Ken.ForemanPersonal, Thoughts
Kiyomi of the Sunrise (June 27, 2010 at 6.19am EDT)
Starting over, starting new, rebuilding my life online not as a social experiment (as facebook would have it) but a personal endeavor (as I would have it). My content is my own, residing on my own servers, and not subject to a popularity contest on facebook, friendfeed, twitter, or any other social network seeking to profit and advertise based on their users’ lives.
Using Microsoft OneNote 2007 on a Fujitsu Lifebook U820, my goal is to write solely on my Lifebook and publish directly to my server from it. If I lose a massive number of readers or friends as a result of it, at least I’ll be true to myself and my life (and it’s content) will be my own.
Sir Thomas More
Between the myriad of social networks, all vying for users and attention, while keeping users and their content on their servers, I’m concerned about who owns my information, who sells my information, and who views it. The entire experience of facebook, friendfeed, and twitter reminds me of a quote by Haruki Murakami in “Norwegian Wood” where he says:
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
In our blind adherence to these social networks, I also feel that we fail to follow our conscience but seek to appease others in some vain bid for acceptance or popularity. In our slavish obedience to twitter, facebook, and friendfeed, I’m reminded of St. Thomas More in his triumph of conscience over social standing (he resigned as Chancellor) or life (King Henry VIII beheaded him for failing to sign the Act of Succession and thus treasonous acts towards the King):
- “Norfolk: Oh, confound all this…. I’m not a scholar, as Master Cromwell never tires of pointing out, and frankly I don’t know whether the marriage was lawful or not. But damn it, Thomas, look at those names…. You know those men! Can’t you do what I did, and come with us, for fellowship?
- More: And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned for not doing according to mine, will you come with me, for fellowship?”
…and so you WILL NOT find me on facebook, friendfeed, or twitter. I leave such matters to my family and friends to decide. My life and my content is my own. It resides here and here it will remain.
Ken
Kiyomi
Vicky
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