Moving mailman from one server to another

December 18, 2005

Yesterday brought the much anticipated (dreaded) task of moving mailman from one server to another. The move was necessary to retire a FreeBSD server and consolidate services on a Mac OS X 10.4 Server box. There are good documents on the web about setting up mailman on OS X 10.4 Client but not as many on the setup of a standard mailman install on the server platform.

The first question that may jump out at folks is why? Mac OS X 10.4 Server comes with Mailman already installed. Why not use it? The installation included in OS X is highly customized in order to work with Apple's server administration tools. Also in my case I was moving a Mailman 2.1.6 installation on FreeBSD and the OS X Server version is still 2.1.5 (though it has been nearly six months since the release of the security patches in 2.16). Looking at the documentation there is little suggestion changes would have prevented the newer files from working but as a Nevadan I prefer the house's odds to those of the gambler.

Done With Planning

December 17, 2005

I spent the last week and a half on the "planning cell". That meant that I was working at night preparing the maps and GPS loaders for the next day's missions. The work was moderately interesting but it meant I did not fly during that time. My time on the cell, however, finally ended and I was back in the air yesterday.

I flew a relatively short night mission - about 3 and half hours under goggles. We are starting to get some winter weather here. There was a dust storm and some rain the morning before I flew. Night time temperatures are in the 40s. It is getting into the 70s during the day. The change in weather led to some interesting flying. The air was "soupy". I could see objects on the ground fairly well but all of the haze made it difficult to pick out details or make out the horizon in flight. That is not a big deal since I can use the instruments to determine whether I am level but it takes some getting used to.

Other than the brief flight, there is not much to report. Most days are pretty much like the ones before. Our miniature CHU christmas tree has a few presents under it and the twinkling lights in our little window still great me when I come home each night. Two of my CHU-mates are away for a while so its just me and Floyd. The box we live in is a lot more comfortable with two people than with four.

Thank you all for staying and touch. Enjoy the holiday season.

Burrr....

December 16, 2005

Stepping into the hot shower this morning the water pressure seemed a little lower than normal but not badly. Turning around I picked up the shampoo and clicked open the lid. Lifting the bottle to encourage the flow of shampoo the water stopped coming from the shower head. It just petered out and stopped. Dry as a desert summer day. Now comes the fun part, wet and in cold air I try to try off as best I can while gathering some clothes to head outside. Every faucet in the house shares the paucity of water flow. Going to the well it seems the top of the well is frozen. Fortunately not broken or busted open by the pressure of freezing, but none the less, frozen. Returning to the house I test the adage about whether watched pots boil. This one did not. Not that it didn't try or wouldn't have but that I lack the patience to wait for a full boil. Headed out with a kettle full of hot water and turning the pump back on, the hot water softens the icy plug in the pipes and water begins to flow.

Time for more winterizing.

Arrrg!

December 15, 2005

I've had fewer posts of late thanks to the assistance of DirecWay.

It seems each time I get on a roll, get working and ready to do some uploads their web proxy server heads south and won't resolve any names. Perhaps, one might wonder, it is a problem with my setup. Alas, no, it is the DNS on the proxy server that seems to head south with alarming frequency. All-and-all I'm about to make the leap to dial-up, a bit slower but far more reliable service.

Lady's Luck runs out

December 13, 2005

The holidays won't be so bright for employees, or former employees, of the Lady Luck casino in Las Vegas. Eleven days before Christmas the hotel fired 125 employees. A total of 689 employees are expected to loose their jobs by February. The cutbacks come as the casino plans a major renovation. Hopefully some of them can get picked up by the South Coast in time for its year-end opening.

Mac Observer: Nearly everyone on board with Blu-ray

December 13, 2005

Just last evening I was asked about high definition DVD's. "Wait for the format war to die down," I advised. Today comes a report that Blu-ray high definition DVD format is inching closer to being the eventual format. The report says that 90 percent of the consumer electronics segment is supporting Blu-ray, including the major film studios. However, the major holdout is a little computer software company called Microsoft.

Against the law?

December 12, 2005

Interested in joining an gym in Las Vegas? A stop at the website of the Las Vegas Athletic Club says "Our specials change all the time". Going in isn't much better. They will tell you that you need a contract but you can't get a copy of the contract ahead of time in order to look at and review. It's sign up now or don't sign up at all. In fact when asked for a copy of the contract so it could be taken and reviewed the response was that it was "against the law," to do so.

Clubs like 24 Hour Fitness seem to be able to post their prices online and have information. All this leads one to wonder what the game is? Is it just snake-oil sales at its best? What secret clause in the contract is it that members aren't meant to learn about ahead of time? Oh, you want pricing information, that too is something you'll have to write down because the club doesn't put it in writing ahead of time.

In the end there is probably nothing wrong with this business. But it does make one wonder (and look for another club) when there is so much secrecy about joining a club.

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