google+ is the new social network from google. It's in a state the call "field trial", a fancy name for a beta. People talk a lot about this new network. Everybody is impressed, looking forward. Even those who never heard about this before, maybe you noticed the +1 option that appeared in google searches a few days ago. Maybe you noticed the minor changes in the search interface.
I have some feelings about this upcoming google product. This will probably be a revolution in social networking. Let's see: take google's search engine, add gmail, add picassa, add google reader, add all the search results and all the google searches you ever made. For example: you are probably logged into gmail while making your google search. This means google knows what you are interested in. Then we will give then our friend, interests, pictures, everything. It will be a lot of fun, I bet, but in the end, google will know each one of us better then our own mothers do.
Just think about how much power does one have with such an amount of information. Then think one step ahead: that information in the wrong hands. IT is fun, social networking are fun, but we should be aware of where the things could go wrong. I don't think there is any point in avoiding these network, it won't help, it won't because probably you will not be able to avoid them entirely. So what if you don't upload your pictures to facebook or picassa? Probably your friends will. My conclusion: no point in avoiding these "evils", but we'd better be prepared for the worse. Make worst case scenarios, think big, then maybe there is a chance the impact will not be so harsh.
PS: I just my google+ account today!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
back
It's been quite a while since my last post. Even I felt sometimes that this blog is an abandoned project. I thought and I thought about it. I will not abandon it. It is the least I can do. Share some opinions, write stuff down. Even if nobody would read, at least I would be able to see what was I like some time ago.
These are the things were going on lately: weekdays migrating email to google apps, various other projects; weekends at the cabin in the mountains I try to build. Not with my bare hands, like Chuck Norris would make it. And I also have to admit that I have help, a lot of help.
There are quite a lot of things going on in the IT business at this point. I start to see the need of elastic capacity growing. I believe this is the future. Scripting, automating, elastic capacity. At OS layer, would be nice at network layer also. A very strong candidate for a custom cloud solution is Open Stack. I made a purpose to check that out how it would work for us. Also, Vmware could play such a role if we use the VIX API. I will try this solution also and see what comes out of it.
On the other pole of my existence there is the construction. I will make a post with some pictures of the surroundings and of the fabulous construction. There are still a lot of things to do, a lot more then I thought about before all this shebang started. I will get back to you on that.
Anyways, just wanted to let everybody know (myself included) that this blog is not dead. I am back!
These are the things were going on lately: weekdays migrating email to google apps, various other projects; weekends at the cabin in the mountains I try to build. Not with my bare hands, like Chuck Norris would make it. And I also have to admit that I have help, a lot of help.
There are quite a lot of things going on in the IT business at this point. I start to see the need of elastic capacity growing. I believe this is the future. Scripting, automating, elastic capacity. At OS layer, would be nice at network layer also. A very strong candidate for a custom cloud solution is Open Stack. I made a purpose to check that out how it would work for us. Also, Vmware could play such a role if we use the VIX API. I will try this solution also and see what comes out of it.
On the other pole of my existence there is the construction. I will make a post with some pictures of the surroundings and of the fabulous construction. There are still a lot of things to do, a lot more then I thought about before all this shebang started. I will get back to you on that.
Anyways, just wanted to let everybody know (myself included) that this blog is not dead. I am back!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
romanians
Today I feel angry and a bit frustrated. The news are aggressive. Earthquakes, nuclear power plant gone all wrong, brand new war. It's quite much to digest if you are a person aware of the surroundings.
I truly believe words are not capable of expressing my admiration for the Japanese people. Just think which other country would be so disciplined? Who would stand in line quietly, calmly in such earth shattering situation? I analyzed the situation a bit, imagined all this happening somewhere else, in random locations. My conclusion is that Japan is in another league. Their "kung fu" is better then everybody else's.
And then here comes Romania. Adrian Severin was external affairs minister a few years ago. While having that position, he expressed his concern that the water in Romania has two molecules of hydrogen and only one of oxygen. He suggested that people stop drinking the hydrogenated water. After a silent period, Adrian Severin strikes again. He is convinced by some British reporters disguised as lobbyists to amend a European law in exchange of a certain amount of money. Another member of the European Parliament who is in the same situation as him resigned his position. But Mr. Adrian Severin did not consider that a good course of action. There are just facts, no comments from my part, everybody is free to draw its own conclusions.
Romania: hospitals are closing down because of the lack of money. Doctors leave the country because it's almost impossible to live with 150 euros a month. Workers leave the country. Everybody leaves the country. The pattern is that they come back after a while. When they have some money. I keep wondering: why is it so difficult to make something here? I sometimes miss to see the logic in what is happening around us. The law is different for different people. The values that are promoted here in Romania seem to be all false and empty. We promote extremists, good looking women that are close to our president (daughter and.. ), priests that used to work for Ceausescu's security (the new Cluj Mitropolit), mayors that have never seen a grammar book.
It is said that each country deserves it's leaders. I am quite certain that is true. I just wonder: is there anything to be done? Or maybe leave the country? How is it possible to have the mentality that we have and leave in the same era as the Japanese? Why can't we learn just a little bit? I would like to see progress. A little progress would be nice.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
8 March - 100 years anniversary
What does 8th of March mean? Is it Mother's Day? Is it a day celebrating all the women?
I was wondering today (8th of March) what is all this about? Why the flowers? Why the greetings? I searched a bit and I found out that this is the 100 anniversary of the International Women's Days. It started as something political. In 1910 a congress of the European socialists parties decided that there should be such a day. Actually the first IWD (International Women's Day) was celebrated on 19 March 1911.
Interesting enough, the manifestations for this day was considered the start of the russian soviet revolution in 1917, yes, the great Bolshevik revolution.
As an ending: I wonder why women in Romania start senteces with: "I'm not a feminist, but...". Is it that bad to be a feminist? I personally believe it isn't. If there were no feminists at all, women would still not have the right to vote or to work, let alone to wear pants. Maybe there are still some things that are wrong and can be fixed. Maybe there is still use for feminists.
Happy anniversary to all the women! Happy anniversary to all the feminists!
I was wondering today (8th of March) what is all this about? Why the flowers? Why the greetings? I searched a bit and I found out that this is the 100 anniversary of the International Women's Days. It started as something political. In 1910 a congress of the European socialists parties decided that there should be such a day. Actually the first IWD (International Women's Day) was celebrated on 19 March 1911.
Interesting enough, the manifestations for this day was considered the start of the russian soviet revolution in 1917, yes, the great Bolshevik revolution.
As an ending: I wonder why women in Romania start senteces with: "I'm not a feminist, but...". Is it that bad to be a feminist? I personally believe it isn't. If there were no feminists at all, women would still not have the right to vote or to work, let alone to wear pants. Maybe there are still some things that are wrong and can be fixed. Maybe there is still use for feminists.
Happy anniversary to all the women! Happy anniversary to all the feminists!
Monday, March 7, 2011
centos upgrade issue
When trying to upgrade from CentOS 4.4 to 4.8 I had this error:
I seems the rpm database was broken. To fix it, do:
This did it an I was able to make my upgrade.
159 Header V3 DSA signature: BAD, key ID I seems the rpm database was broken. To fix it, do:
mv /var/lib/rpm/Pubkeys /var/lib/rpm/Pubkeys.oldmv /usr/lib/rpmdb/i386-redhat-linux/CentOS/Pubkeys /usr/lib/rpmdb/i386-redhat-linux/CentOS/Pubkeys.oldrpm --rebuilddb -vvThis did it an I was able to make my upgrade.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
sudoers
If you want to allow a user to run a command as another user, /etc/sudoers file should be used. Usually it's necessary for a user to run a command as root, equivalent to the Windows "Run as administrator". That is quite straight forward. Add in /etc/sudoers:
Now this will be allowed:
There is another situation: when you need user1 to run a command as user2. For this you add to /etc/sudoers:
In this case user1 will be able to do:
username ALL=NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/ntpdate
Now this will be allowed:
username@laptop:~$ sudo /usr/sbin/ntpdateThere is another situation: when you need user1 to run a command as user2. For this you add to /etc/sudoers:
user1 ALL=(user2) NOPASSWD: /home/user1/bin/start_daemonIn this case user1 will be able to do:
user1@laptop:~$ sudo -u user1 /home/user1/bin/start_daemonTuesday, February 15, 2011
grow meat
I recently read an article about some scientists that work in a lab and study ways to artificially grow meat. They are complaining about the lack of funding. Also they are complaining about people not being receptive at what they are doing. People tend to reject the idea of growing meat in a lab.
I wonder why that is so. What makes people prefer overdosed chicken which grow in those small small boxes in the modern days farms? I guess there are remains of the idilic picture of the farm where chicken run free around the house. But how many of us eat chicken that has ever seen the sun? What is the difference between growing meat in a lab and growing something that resembles only by very far with the chicken we know?
I believe there is conservative part in us. A part that denies changes. If we consider our history, each change was more or less painful. The same history proves that changes seldom can be actually stopped. I might seem like the devil's advocate here, but I say: we should start realising the true picture of the present. There is very little left that we can consider natural or organic. This is very bad. We eat a lot of junk. We drink a lot of junk. The lucky ones that have the money go out there and by organic stuff. As if they have any warranty that the thing they spend a fortune on is organic.
Anyways. I don't believe there is enough organic food for everybody. This solution is no longer a solution for us. Not a solution for us as a population of this planet. The sooner we realise this, the better.
There are solutions like this: grow meat in a lab. Why not? Maybe it's healthier than those chicken I talked about, you know which. Those chicken that are like dinosaurs judging from their breast. Why not invest in an alternative to conventional nourishment? Maybe if we invest some money and some interest in these alternatives we will have something to win in the long run. I also think about applications of this meat-growing thing in medicine. What is, let's say you lose an arm. And then somebody grows in a lab an arm for you. After all, maybe we'll also find a way to grow bones, if we manage with the meat part. I wonder how many of you would refuse that hand. Because it's not organic.
My position is this: let's try to make good food. Let's stop trying to fool people that we offer them organic food. I am sure that given enough resources, people will find a way to make healthy and good artificial food. Grown in a lab. I would prefer it to what we have now. I would like to eat some proteins, fibres, glucoses that don't also contain pesticides, that don't also contain growth hormones.
I wonder how much time it will take for all this to change. I wonder in how many years, decades, centuries people will stop trying to eat organic food. But I believe that time will come some day. And then, there will be other problems, of course.
I wonder why that is so. What makes people prefer overdosed chicken which grow in those small small boxes in the modern days farms? I guess there are remains of the idilic picture of the farm where chicken run free around the house. But how many of us eat chicken that has ever seen the sun? What is the difference between growing meat in a lab and growing something that resembles only by very far with the chicken we know?
I believe there is conservative part in us. A part that denies changes. If we consider our history, each change was more or less painful. The same history proves that changes seldom can be actually stopped. I might seem like the devil's advocate here, but I say: we should start realising the true picture of the present. There is very little left that we can consider natural or organic. This is very bad. We eat a lot of junk. We drink a lot of junk. The lucky ones that have the money go out there and by organic stuff. As if they have any warranty that the thing they spend a fortune on is organic.
Anyways. I don't believe there is enough organic food for everybody. This solution is no longer a solution for us. Not a solution for us as a population of this planet. The sooner we realise this, the better.
There are solutions like this: grow meat in a lab. Why not? Maybe it's healthier than those chicken I talked about, you know which. Those chicken that are like dinosaurs judging from their breast. Why not invest in an alternative to conventional nourishment? Maybe if we invest some money and some interest in these alternatives we will have something to win in the long run. I also think about applications of this meat-growing thing in medicine. What is, let's say you lose an arm. And then somebody grows in a lab an arm for you. After all, maybe we'll also find a way to grow bones, if we manage with the meat part. I wonder how many of you would refuse that hand. Because it's not organic.
My position is this: let's try to make good food. Let's stop trying to fool people that we offer them organic food. I am sure that given enough resources, people will find a way to make healthy and good artificial food. Grown in a lab. I would prefer it to what we have now. I would like to eat some proteins, fibres, glucoses that don't also contain pesticides, that don't also contain growth hormones.
I wonder how much time it will take for all this to change. I wonder in how many years, decades, centuries people will stop trying to eat organic food. But I believe that time will come some day. And then, there will be other problems, of course.
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