Ubuntu 11.10 no grub timeout

There’s a bug in the file /etc/grub.d/00_header which means the timeout’s set to -1 for some reason instead of a positive number. This means that it doesn’t ever timeout.

I’m sure there’s a valid reason why update-grub is doing this to us, but .. meh. An easy fix is to find the following code in the aforementioned file:

make_timeout ()

{

cat « EOF

if [ “${recordfail}” = 1 ]; then

[Read More]

Distributed social networks…

This is stolen unabashedly from here. I love these “form rejection letters” which come in so many different versions 🙂

Your post describes a

( ) protocol ( ) github repo ( ) manifesto ( ) kickstarter

for a distributed social network.

Your idea will not work. Here is why it won’t work.

One or more of the following flaws may apply to your particular idea.

( ) You think “if you build it, they will come”

[Read More]

Crumpton Oaks Farmhouse Dry Apple Cider Tasting Notes

  • Comes in a four pack of 500ml cans for $14 from BWS.
  • Plastic ring packaging, is saddening considering the impact it tends to have.
  • Mention of sweetners in the can in this review and on the labelling - no artificial ones - but it tastes like it’s packed with it.
  • Contains sulphites - beware!
  • Not refined at all, sharp, artificial aftertaste, overly fizzy.
  • For the price, there are many better options. Quantity isn’t everything!

All in all, I wouldn’t recommend it, given the recent availability of much better drinks 🙂

[Read More]

Finding a file without a particular line in it

So, I’m starting to use the wonderful package RANCID for grabbing our configs and backing them up. I was looking for a simple way of finding files that didn’t have a particular line in them.

In this example I’ll be looking for things that don’t have “logging 10.0.0.5” in them. The logging command sends syslog on Cisco routers to a remote device. This isn’t actually our syslog or search server, but I’m probably better off not posting those details 🙂

[Read More]

Xerox DocuCentre-II C4300 Windows 7 Drivers

Somehow Google fails to find this link, so I’m storing it here for myself more than anything else.

It’s on the Fuji Xerox Japan website, but it’s in english and the drivers work.

Link here to Xerox DocuCentre-II C4300 Windows 7 Drivers

[Read More]

Deleting old IIS Log Files

I was looking for an easy way to create a task to delete log files based on date for one of our IIS servers. The server gets thousands of hits an hour because of an information dashboard which is hosted on it. The logs aren’t important because they’re all internal and if it’s less than 7 days old we don’t care anyhow.

Based on information in the Technet forums, I ran the following command:

[Read More]

Windows 7 Enterprise – Explorer not loading under RunAs command

This will stop the mechanism that launches explorer.exe from always launching it as the current interactive user - which can cause all sorts of weird issues.

Run the registry editor as administrator and edit the below key:

HK_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID{CDCBCFCA-3CDC-436f-A4E2-0E02075250C2}\RunAs

to

HK_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID{CDCBCFCA-3CDC-436f-A4E2-0E02075250C2}_RunAs

You will likely have to take ownership of that registry key before you can modify it, as by default, only TrustedInstaller can modify it.

  1. Right click on the folder,
  2. click permissions.
  3. Click on “advanced” and then the owner tab.
  4. Click your name/something you have security access to and tick the “Replace all child objects…” box.
  5. Click apply and then you should be good to go.

This might need a reboot or two. If you get a box like the below and you work with me, you’re in the wrong OU. Other people - group policy might be broken.

[Read More]

Power monitoring sneak peek

 

So, I’m playing with a CurrentCost energy monitor and am dumping the data into an RRD file. Here’s some sample graphs.

[Read More]