BoneTruck

The Forgotten Power of the Command Line

2010-04-20T16:27:27Z

I recently found myself having to change a files extension from '.txt' to '.cfg'. The program I was using expected a configuration file with a very specific name including the extension. No problem I thought as I launched the Windows Vista file manager and proceeded to right click and select rename. I appended '.cfg' and hit enter. But now I found myself now looking at a file named 'autoexec.cfg.txt' which my program still disliked. I proceeded to spend time looking through menus, both right click and otherwise, without success. Windows Vista was determined to keep the files original extension in spite of my best efforts. Searching Google revealed many sites that offered to walk me through the steps to unlock hidden fields, change folder presentation settings, and some that even offered me programs I could download for this renaming task. Are you kidding me? Download a program to rename a file?

Enter the command line. What would have been a multiple step clickfest was boiled down to one command:

rename autoexec.cfg.txt autoexec.cfg

I think graphical interfaces and mouse input often make tasks harder than they need be. Sorry mouse, in this case the command line was clearly better.

Email Efficiency Requires Great Composition

2010-03-29T17:05:05Z

I have championed email efficiency for years and previously wrote Email Productivity in Three Easy Steps on this subject. Improving your business communication skills, including how you compose email, adds depth to your efficiency and effectiveness on the job.

David Silverman presents a concise, 10 point checklist in How to Revise an Email So People Will Read It. I strongly urge you to read his article and improve the email you write. In particular, I appreciated his focus on communicating facts and pruning everything else.

What other techniques do you use for improving your writing?

Please Don't Send Me Your Money

2010-02-10T14:29:40Z

I learned this morning that someone is using my name and address as the basis for their phone scam to get your money. Please do not send them your money! I'm working diligently with law enforcement to get this stopped.

My Resume as a Word Cloud

2009-12-07T17:15:02Z

I like infographics. Perhaps it's the statistician in me. So just for fun, I processed my resume into a word cloud. Here is the resulting image.

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While interesting, I wonder how it would change if I reduced the word list using stemming and consistent case. I'll leave that for another day.

Visit www.Wordle.net if you're interested in trying this yourself. Let me know how it works for you.

He Who Trades Liberty for Security

2009-12-04T15:52:32Z

I was conflicted during my recent trip to Washington DC. I hadn't been there in years and was immediately struck by the changes. Most notably, the concrete. Concrete everywhere! I'm not referring to the ground, I'm referring to the barricades that cordoned off every building, monument, and memorial. Great rings of concrete...

]]> Thomas Jefferson stated "He who trades liberty for security deserves neither and will lose both." I wonder what his reaction would have been to the concrete surrounding the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Am I the only person seeing the irony here?

Leadership Means Working for Your Team

2009-10-13T17:33:16Z

I recently finished reading the book "Joker One" by Donovan Campbell. It is a gripping account of a Marine platoon's 2004 tour in the Iraq city of Ramadi. Regardless how you feel about the war there, I think you should read this book for perspective on the traits of good leadership. Here are three aspects of leadership the book reinforced for me.
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Cover via Amazon

First of all, own it! Whether you have asked for your leadership position or merely accepted it, you are responsible for it. No matter how the responsibility came to you, you must own it with determination and passion. Anything less sets you and your team on a path to mediocrity or worse.

Second, leadership is not about what you can do but what your team can do. Organizational charts are always shown upside down in my opinion. The irony of leadership is that you work for your team more than they work for you. Get that in your head if you want to be a successful leader.

Lastly, surround yourself with the best people and then challenge, support and empower them. Encourage their ideas, input and feedback. Explicitly tell them that you trust their judgment when you honestly feel it. I can't overstate the value of a tightly cohesive, well functioning team that collaborates on decisions and direction.

I'm fortunate that my leadership position doesn't require making life and death decisions. My office job and its decisions are mundane compared to those made by Mr. Campbell in Ramadi. But as mundane as my decisions may be, I own them.

OpenSSH Retires Deprecated Protocol

2009-10-08T16:22:46Z

Markus@ (OpenBSD developer) has just committed source code changes which disable version 1 of the OpenSSH application protocol. Old clients and servers that rely on protocol version 1 will no longer communicate with future versions of OpenSSH.

]]> For over eight years OpenSSH clients and servers have defaulted to protocol version 2 and negotiated down to 1 when necessary. OpenSSH version 5.3 released on October 1, 2009 includes this behavior. However that negotiation is gone in subsequent versions making protocol version 2 mandatory.

Prepackaged versions of OpenSSH supplied by vendors or embedded in routers, switches, and consoles may be affected if the vendor has not updated in recent years. Now may be a prudent time to check for updates.

Here are links to the relevant file diffs for those interested in the gory details of this change.

readconf.c
servconf.c
sshd_config
ssh_config.5
sshd_config.5

100,000 Paper Airplanes and More

2009-09-28T02:47:12Z

I took my family into Grand Rapids today to have a peek at the ArtPrize work on display. We were thoroughly swept up by the quality and expansiveness of the event. Fortunately it runs through October 10th so we have time to see more of it.

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I found this Mobius band really interesting. While I've made them with a strip of paper, I've never considered using steel and expanding on it like this photo shows.

Other displays were equally fascinating and some defied explanation. My son couldn't resist touching the metal face in this next photo.

I highly recommend you make time to visit this event before it's over. Even though the paper airplanes have flown, there is still so much to see.

13 Habits of Incompetent Managers

2009-08-21T16:21:11Z

Incompetent managers are very damaging to an organization. Fast Company has a great article posted that helps you identify these managers based on their habits. I wholeheartedly agree with all ten points raised in the article and want to add these three additional points. ]]> Regurgitates Trade Rags: Incompetent managers use the latest buzz words and trade rag babble in an effort to sound authoritative and connected. The effect is quite the opposite. Knowledge workers instantly catch on to inappropriate use of buzz words as clearly as music played backwards. Over time this undermines confidence in the manager and ultimately turns staff against them.

Inability to Lead: Managers are leaders not placeholders. Leading requires establishing and communicating a plan as I previously wrote in "The Plans Every Manager Needs". The importance of communicating a plan is directly proportional to a managers position in the chain of command. Your organization is in serious trouble if you have managers with no ability or desire to manage!

Equivication: The ability to speak at length without substance or taking a stand on anything is the hallmark of incompetence perfected. These managers have mastered securing themselves behind obscurity, noise, and misdirection. They spend time and energy to stay uncommitted avoiding anything and everything that might require explanation or justification.

I feel it's important to note that all of these failings can be corrected with coaching by good management. Don't hesitate! Get after these opportunities and your organization will benefit.

Do these points resonate with you? How have you dealt with incompetent management? Let me know by posting a comment.

Time Flies When You're Porting

2009-07-29T13:15:43Z

I was invited to become a full fledged OpenBSD developer in May of this year. The emailed invitation surprised me not long after I reminisced about my tenth year as a casual contributor.]]>

Image by Samuel K via Flickr

Since accepting the invitation, I've gained new insight into the OpenBSD project and the people behind it. I can't overstate how diligently the developers work to make a great product where everything is "just right" and "just works". My respect for the team and development process has increased after witnessing internal discussions where rigorous debate is not only accepted, but expected.

My work is focused on third party software ported to OpenBSD and collectively referred to as the ports tree. Aside from the handful of ports I maintain, I also enjoy tackling Perl modules with significant dependency chains. I use Mercurial patch queues to manage my changes until they are committed to OpenBSD CVS server.

I have felt compelled to put more effort into the project now that I have more skin in the game. It's a treat to be surrounded by other volunteers who feel likewise. The OpenBSD developers are demanding, exacting, and intensely knowledgeable. It's refreshing to work with them and fun to be challenged again.

OpenID Authentication Supported Here

2009-05-25T15:42:20Z

I recently enabled OpenID authentication to simplify posting comments on my blog. Prior to enabling OpenID, you would have to sign up for an account and subject yourself to email verification before you could post a comment. That process was not user friendly and likely discouraged commenting.

]]> Movable Type, the blog software used here, has OpenID support built into the core product. I simply checked the box on the blog administration screen to enable it as documented here. The folks at Movable Type have composed a nice summary on OpenID available here.

Visit www.myOpenID.com to setup your OpenID account and then post a comment here to let me know how you like it.

Building a Business Case for Replacing Legacy Systems

2009-05-13T13:49:52Z

Every data center has legacy systems that lurk on the verge of catastrophic failure. You are compelled to do something about them but don't know where to start. Begin with a financial analysis on replacing your legacy systems as the foundation for your business case.

]]> Highlight the Negatives of the Current System
Business decisions require numbers. The easiest numbers to collect are the tangible costs associated with the legacy system. These may include: annual hardware support, annual software support, and the administrative man hours spent maintaining the legacy system. Next, estimate the value of the legacy data. Ask your users what they would do if the information were inaccessible or lost. The answers should highlight pinch points you can use to attach rough figures to the risk of inaction.

Accentuate the Positives of the Replacement System
Identify and quantify the benefits of the proposed replacement system. Highlight features that users of the legacy system will value most. Current software and systems are likely faster and provide features not found in your legacy systems. For example, recent database and reporting technologies may provide users the answers they need more quickly and conveniently. Your users may value reduced service interruptions or electronic report delivery. Finally, explain the economies gained by focusing your administrative staff on current applications and systems.

Sell, Sell, Sell
Marry your financial analysis with a summary of the intangible costs you have identified. Fold in real examples that bolster your intangible cost claims. Get in front of decision makers and sell your proposal. Communicate the dire nature of the situation, your financial analysis, and your proposal to mitigate cost and risk. If all else fails, tactfully point out the impossibility of keeping the legacy system running by citing the Three Ways Legacy Applications Will Cost You Big.

How have you successfully justified replacing legacy systems? Post a comment and share.

The Fallacy of Virtual Server Security

2009-05-12T16:05:12Z

Virtual servers are more secure than real servers. This is a common fallacy. Even the VMWare About Us web page states "Customers rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green." I take issue with the phrase strengthen security and here is why. Security is reduced when servers are virtualized!

]]> server virtualization products, like VMWare, are software and all software has bugs. VMWare ESX Server had vulnerability bugs summarized by Secunia in 17 security advisories in 2008 alone. The following graph categorizes the impact of those advisories.

Now assume your running virtual Window 2000 and Linux servers within your VMWare ESX environment. Windows Server 2000 suffered 30 security advisories during the year 2008. An attacker could leverage Windows Server 2000 vulnerabilities to compromise one of your virtual servers. They could subsequently escalate their success by indirectly attacking the adjacent virtual Linux servers by exploiting vulnerabilities within VMWare. Your Linux servers would perceive nothing wrong and continue to implicitly trust VMWare to their demise. Read this VMWare security announcement if you think this example is far fetched. I recommend you segregate your virtual servers by their level of exposure and security requirements to mitigate this scenario.

Even though I've picked on VMWare and virtual servers here, I am not implying you should avoid them. On the contrary, use them with full awareness of their strengths and weaknesses.

In addition to segregation, what other techniques do you use to securely deploy virtual servers? Let me know by posting a comment.

Ten Years with Fugu

2009-04-30T23:48:33Z

Theo de Raadt has announced the release of OpenBSD 4.5. It marks a ten year milestone for me and triggered this bit of nostalgia.

]]> Tron
The Tron theme for this release takes me back to my childhood. Movies like Tron and 2001: A Space Odyssey fed my imagination and passion for science. I was a voracious reader of science fiction novels then and spent hours at book stores. So it's a happy coincidence that something I enjoy today, OpenBSD, is themed with something I enjoyed many years ago.

Fugu
I started using OpenBSD ten years ago. I downloaded version 2.5 to replace a Linux server running ipchains. That started a decade of learning about all things UNIX.

Feeling nostalgic, I searched the misc mailing list archives to read my early posts again. I found some dealing with dhcp, VRRP, fragmented packets and even a reply by the late Chuck Yerkes regarding file system quotas.

The last ten years have been a fantastic, educational journey.

Try It Out
Open source is a wonderful experience when you work with a group of like minded people. If you have a spare computer lying around and a desire to learn UNIX, I recommend you give OpenBSD a try.

10 Reasons I Chose Movable Type for My Blog

2009-04-30T12:34:26Z

I completed an exhaustive search for software to manage my personal web site. I evaluated numerous blog engines, content management systems, web application frameworks, and Everything2. Here are the 10 reasons why I selected Movable Type for my site.

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Free - Paying money to post my blog entries would be silly.

Open Source - I want the ability to read and modify the software I run on my server.

Easy to Install, Maintain, and Upgrade - I simply merge the bundled files with any existing files on disk and then run the install or upgrade process.

Written in Perl - Being fluent in Perl, I can attempt to diagnose my own problems, fix the problem myself, and submit patches back to SixApart.

Light on Requirements - A web server capable of running Perl CGI scripts and a database is all Movable Type needs.

Actively Developed - SixApart has released four updates including bug fixes and significant enhancements in the last seven months.

Actively Used - A substantial number of sites run on Movable Type. The discussion forums get a respectable amount of traffic.

Simple Architecture - I can wrap my head around the entire beast without effort.

Static Publishing - I expected my blog would get more reads than comments. Ironically, I have not had a single comment yet.

Runs on OpenBSD - I select applications suited to the operating system, not the other way around.

Thankfully, SixApart has chosen to open source Movable Type. Individual bloggers can use the Pro version for free. Try Movable Type and tell me what you think.