Google took me to an Apple Knowledge Base article that is out of date: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2319

This article states that you should, from the terminal, run “/etc/daily” to run the daily maintenance tasks. That may have been true before LaunchD took over from cron, but it’s not true anymore. There is no /etc/daily file on my 10.5 system.

The other option they suggest, “sudo periodic weekly” did work, and generated the apropos index files.

The problem: I have a process that runs on a remote server for quite a while. I wish to be alerted when it completes. As long as it’s running, it creates a lockfile in /var/lock. So when the lockfile goes away, I want to be alerted.

The solution:

Part 1: In my .bashrc file, I’ve aliased the command “alert” to play a sound:

alias alert=’aplay /usr/share/sounds/k3b_success1.wav’

But of course, I can only play that on my local machine — does me no good to sound an alarm on a computer in the server room, even if it had speakers.

Part 2: I can create a “while” one-liner that waits until the file is deleted, then executes the next line:

while [ -e ~/lockfile ]; do sleep 10; done; alert

However, this can only test against files on my local system. This brings me to…

Part 3: You can use ssh to run a command on a remote system, instead of just logging into the remote system:

ssh user@example.com “while [ -e /var/lock/program.lock ]; do sleep 10; done” ; alert

It runs the while loop on the remote system, not giving back control to the local system until the while loop exits (which happens when the lock file no longer exists). Once the while loop exits, ssh exits, and we run the “alert” command, which plays a sound alerting me to the change.

Took me about 10 times longer to write up than it did to implement. But it’s the sort of thing you can just throw together quickly on a *nix system to make your life easier.

If you read the other books in the field, will you derive most of these ideas yourself? Probably. But I still got a few good techniques from this book — among them, a new approach to what BCD calls my “Project Portfolio” — my lists of projects, tasks, and who they’re assigned to.

Worth reading. Not worth reading first, but worth the time and money spent on it.

The first is “Getting Real” by 37signals. If you’re doing web-application development, I’d say this is a book you should read. I’m not doing that, and thus, didn’t see a whole lot of value here. I’m making a mental note to reread this if I ever do get into a web development project, and it did make me think about ways I could make our current development procedures more agile — but if the question is “Was this worth the time it took for me to read it?” then the answer is “No.”

The second is “The Mythical Man Month” by Frederick Brooks. It came highly-recommended in every software management book I’ve read, so I figured it had to be on my list. While there is much still of value in this book, easily a third to a half seems completely out-of-date — advice on whether to use printed manuals or microfiche that seems as applicable as a discussion of which tools are best for shoeing horses.

While the concepts discussed in TMMM were clearly revolutionary, I’m not sure it makes the first cut for a software management reading list. Most of the ideas it contains are captured better in other, more current books, particularly “Peoplware,” “Joel On Software,” and “Managing Humans.”

First, and best is Peopleware, by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister. This is another one of those must-read books. I’ve been telling everyone that I can’t believe I’ve been allowed to have the job I have without reading it. If you are in the business of software (or in the business of managing any type of “knowledge worker,”) you must read this. Really. I’m buying copies for all the managers and execs at work.

Second is the second “Joel On Software” book, “More Joel On Software,” by Joel Spolsky. I wasn’t as wowed by this one as I was by the first, but it’s still very much a worthy read. Most of the articles in the first one were new to me, while I had already read most of the 2nd one’s content on Joel’s website. Still definitely worth reading.

I of course already have passwordless SSH set up to connect to that server, and use ssh-agent to store the passphrase for my SSH key, as described in another entry. However, I could not get passwordless SSH to work from a cron job. If anyone has tips on how to do that, I’d love to hear it.

So I created a second SSH public/private key pair with no passphrase, (in ~/.ssh/backup and ~/.ssh/backup.pub) and figured out how to have Duplicity call ssh, scp, and sftp with the correct parameters to specify the new key pair. (There’s about a zillion different ways of specifying that, and only ONE that works across all three programs.)

The passphrase mentioned here is the one used to encrypt the duplicity backups.

PASSPHRASE=’YourPassphraseGoesHere’ duplicity \
–no-print-statistics \
–ssh-options “-oIdentityFile=/home/schof/.ssh/backup” \
/home/schof \
scp://johnmarkschofield@example.com/duplicity

On the other hand, I’ve met exactly ONE of the type he’s talking about in my career. Not sure where that leaves me as a managing geek who needs to hire brilliant geeks.

Building the VMware VmPerl Scripting API.

Using compiler “/usr/bin/gcc”. Use environment variable CC to override.

Unable to compile the VMware VmPerl Scripting API.

********
The VMware VmPerl Scripting API was not installed.  Errors encountered during
compilation and installation of the module can be found here:
/tmp/vmware-config4

You will not be able to use the “vmware-cmd” program.

Errors can be found in the log file:
‘/tmp/vmware-config4/control-only/make.log’

When you look at make.log, you see a series of errors like this:

In file included from VmPerl.xs:6:
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:420:24: error: sys/types.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:451:19: error: ctype.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:463:23: error: locale.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:480:20: error: setjmp.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:486:26: error: sys/param.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:491:23: error: stdlib.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:496:23: error: unistd.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:776:23: error: string.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:925:27: error: netinet/in.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:929:26: error: arpa/inet.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:939:25: error: sys/stat.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:961:21: error: time.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:968:25: error: sys/time.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:975:27: error: sys/times.h: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/perl/5.8/CORE/perl.h:982:19: error: errno.h: No such file or directory

The answer is simple:

sudo apt-get install libc6-dev

Now Google has the answer.

However, there’s some talk around Apple’s projections of selling 10 million iPhones in a year that are starting to bother me.

Regardless, Macworld’s Jason Snell has already detailed how Apple will likely beat the 10 million mark for calendar 2008. So the question really is just by how much.

Frankly I don’t care if Apple beats their projections or not. This won’t affect the quality of the iPhone, the quality of other Apple products, or anything else I care about. I’m not a cheerleader, I’m someone who wants to use products that don’t suck. And as long as Apple’s products suck less than anyone else’s, I’ll use Apple.

If you’re doing massive web stores in Java — well, you’ve probably already read this. If you haven’t I’d say this book is a must-read. Of course, my projects aren’t web-scale, aren’t e-commerce, and don’t use Java, and to this point, haven’t — so do take my comments with whatever amount of salt you feel is appropriate.

Even if you’re doing shrink-wrap software, I’d say “Release It!” has something of value for you — it appears to be a collection of hard-won, common-sense techniques for creating what Nygard calls “cynical software” — software that assumes that itself, and the other software it links to will all fail at one time or another, and is prepared for that failure. A number of failure modes spring to mind, but Nygard enumerates them, the anti-patterns that create them, and the patterns you can use to respond to them with exceptional clarity and obvious expertise.

In addition to being chock-full of good ideas and interesting concepts, it’s also filled with entertaining war stories about various failures and how Nygard and his team responded to them. And for a systems geek, there’s few more satisfying ways to spend an hour than reading about the nightmare series of cascading failures that ruined someone else’s weekend.

Highly-recommended.

for afile in /home/auser/adirectory/*; do echo $afile; done

Useful for all kinds of things. And I can never remember how the syntax changes between doing a for statement in a bash script and doing it as a one-liner on the command line.

Me: I’m sorry, Dakim has a policy of not hiring from recruiters. Have a nice day.

Him: John John John JOHN! This guy was a .NET star at Disney! You’ve got to talk to him!

Me: We don’t use .NET.

Him: We’ve got a GREAT Java programmer from BofA.

Me: We don’t use Java. Goodbye.

I’ve had recruiters try every scummy thing they can think of — a common tactic appears to be lying to the receptionist (telling her you’re a client) to try to get through to me.

We’re rethinking the policy of not hiring from recruiters (although we’re still in the air), so I thought up a way I can deal with them without wasting a whole lot of my time. I’ll update you later as to how well it actually works. (If this appears a little harsh, remember that this is NOT recruiters we’re hiring to help us find candidates — this is recruiters cold calling because they saw our ad on Craigslist. When they call, I’ll simply ask for their e-mail, and get off the phone and send them this.)

Dakim, Inc.
2121 Cloverfield, Suite 205
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Dear Recruiter:

Thank you for your interest in providing recruitment help to Dakim. We welcome your involvement in making Dakim a better, bigger company.

However, to avoid wasting either of our time, we’ve developed a few ground rules that make the recruiter/client relationship go more smoothly.

1) All initial communication will be via e-mail. I’ll call you when it’s time to get on the phone.

2) All e-mails providing information on a candidate MUST also provide the fee your company will take if we hire the individual.

3) Dakim has no problem finding decent candidates. We have a serious problem finding spectacular ones. You may send us up to three candidates, period. (If we make one of them an offer, the count resets to zero.) But if you’ve sent us three jerks, you’re obviously using the shotgun approach, and it’s a waste of your time, our time, and the candidates’ time.

The positions currently open are:
*
*
*

Thanks very much for your interest in recruiting for Dakim!

Sincerely,

John Schofield
Director, Information Technology

11 a.m. update

Saturday, November 24, 2007
Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said a just-completed press conference at least 2,200 acres have burned and 35 homes (15 on Seabreeze Road, 15 in Malibu Bowl area and 5 in Latigo Canyon) have been destroyed, possibly one commercial structure. Firefighters are trying to hold the fire to the east side of Kanan Dume Road and south of the first tunnel on Kanan Dume north of Pacific Coast Highway. He said there is heavily, unburned fuel in the area, which makes the situation difficult.

Approximately 1,700 firefighters are fighting the fire, coming from different portions of the county.

“It is a dynamic and dangerous situation,” Freeman said.

Freeman said as the opportunity becomes available, addressed of destroyed homes will be released.

The origin of the fire is under investigation. It began at a dirt area off Castro Peak Motor Way. There were reports of loud, cheering young people in the area.

“It’s great to be able to say we have no loss of lives…. It’s certainly not as bad as it could have been,” Mayor Jeff Jennings said at the press conference.

Evacuations are in effect from Corral Canyon on the East, Trancas Canyon_on the West, Mulholland Highway on the North and Pacific Coast Highway on_the South, including Point Dume. An evacuation center has been set up at_Agoura High School, located at 28545 West Driver Avenue in Agoura Hills, and Channel Islands High School, located at 1400 Raiders Way in Oxnard.

Fire Update 1045AM

Homes Lost: Malibu Bowl Area, Sycamore Meadows, Coral Canyon Area, Via Escondido, Seabreeze Area and El Nido

Mandatory Evacuation: West of Coral Canyon to Mullolland on North to Trancas on West to Coastline

News Conference

Supervisor Zev Yuroslavsky: Thousands evacuated. All of Pt. Dume and residents west of Puerco Canyon including Paradise Cove are advised to leave. 35 structures lost. 23 aircraft deployed. One fire fighter injured, not seriously. No known cause at this time.

Sheriff Lee Baca: Gov. Schwarzenegger briefed and has given full state cooperation. The mutual aid system with State of California and. L.A. County Emergency Services has been activated and are coordinating all fire emergency and police activities. Evacuees should proceed either north on PCH into Ventura County or to Channel Islands High School or to Agoura High School near 101 at Kanan.

Jeff Jennings, Mayor of Malibu: Advised residents to listen their radios. Stay vigilant. Be prepared. Have evacuation plan ready. Know where your animals , important papers, photos are and be prepared to leave when told to do so.

Capt. Freeman, LA County Fire Department: 2200 acres have been burned. Priority is life and structure protection, especially in the Paradise Cove and Ramirez canyon areas. Evacuation is crucial to protecting life and facilitating fire fighting. Cooperation is important to help fire fire fighters and for your safety and theirs.

23 Aircraft and experts from throughout the state are on site. Strategy is to hold fire East of Kanan and so of Tunnel One.

Evacuees will be provided with addresses of lost structures as soon as possible.

Anticipates that fire may get across Kanan and that is where they are focusing their attention.

Declaration of State of Emergency from last month is still active to cover this fire.

This is a dynamic and dangerous situation.

Fire Report 10:34

Paradise Cove, Winding Way, Ramirez, Latigo Canyon and Coral Canyon areas threatened. Evacuation Required. Wall of fire reported just north east of Latigo Canyon homes 4 miles north of PCH.

200 homes in danger from shifting Santa Ana winds.

Major effected areas are Latigo Canyon and Coral Canyon, Escondido Canyon, Malibu Bowl with homes reported lost in Sycamore Meadows and El Nido area.

2200 acres burned so far. Estimated 35 structures destroyed mostly in Malibu Bowl area, Idlewild, Ingleside and El Nido.

1000 fire fighters from throughout California, 10 helicopters, 2 fixed wing super scoopers plus the CalFire DC 10 are on site.

Malibu Coast Animal Hospital is accepting small animals has yet to see any injured animals.

Evacuation Center – Agoura High School, 28000 W. Driver Avenue. Canteen trucks in the emergency area for citizens and fire fighters.

Malibu City Emergency Radio – 1620 AM__Malibu City Emergency Phone Info: 310-456-9982

Fire Report 9:30 a.m.

I’ve put together another Google Map on fire status. At this point, it should be taken with a whole shaker of salt. I’m using the City Of Malibu sources, but note that the mandatory evacuations area is larger than the road closures, which doesn’t make sense.

There is no threat to Topanga Canyon at this time.

Malibu:
The fire has consumed 2200+ acres and destroyed 35 homes.

Mandatory Evacuations: All areas from Corral Canyon west to Trancas Canyon Road.

All residents are urged to be prepared to evacuate and to immediately follow instructions given by Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department personnel.

An evacuation center has been set up by the Red Cross at Agoura High School, 28545 Driver Road. Do not evacuate to Zuma Beach as there is heavy smoke in the area

Road Closures:
Pacific Coast Highway is closed between Malibu Canyon Road and Kanan Road. All canyon roads between Malibu Canyon and Kanan are closed.

Please stay out of these areas to allow unimpeded access to evacuating residents and Fire and Sheriff personnel.

Animal Evacuations:
Large animals: Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka, Woodland Hills

Small animals: Agoura Animal Shelter, 29525 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, 818-991-0071

Please be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the Lost Hills Sheriff department.

We will keep this message updated as the situation warrants.

If you’re listening to fire reports on local AM radio, take their geography with a (big) grain of salt. They’ve got the fire all over the Malibu map and some of the info is wrong.

Fire began in Malibu Bowl area. More than 2,300 acres burned thus far. Estimated 35 homes destroyed, with about 200 more in direct fire danger.

PCH is closed to all traffic – except evacuees – between Malibu Canyon and Trancas. You can get out but you can’t get back in.

Kanan, Malibu Canyon and Corral Canyon roads are closed.

Wind has kicked up a bit again. Smoke everywhere. Water-gathering helicopters buzz the Cove every few minutes.

No visible flames from Paradise Cove.

LA Times @ 8:55 AM says 35 houses burned, 200 threatened, 1500 acres burned:

At least 35 homes have been burned and about 200 more are threatened in Malibu as a wind-driven fire raced through 1,500 acres this morning, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes.

The fire, driven by fierce 50-mph winds, engulfed homes along Newell Road in the Malibu Bowl area. The evacuation zone included neighborhoods in Corral and Trancas canyons and Malibu Bowl. An evacuation center has been opened at Agoura High School.

At least 300 firefighters, six water-dropping helicopters and two fixed-wings planes were attacking the fire, which broke out at 3:30 a.m. at Corral Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway, fire officials said.

“The winds are all over the place and the fire is moving in every direction,” said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Sam Padilla. The blaze is being called the Corral fire. The cause has not been determined.

Malibu Times:

Fire Report 9:30 a.m.
Evacuation highly advised for residents residing in the following area: Coral Canyon on the East, Trancas Canyon on the West. Mullholland Canyon to the North and PCH including Pt Dume to the South.

Winding Way evacuation advised. Horses have been evacuated.

Estimated loss of homes stands at 35 mostly in Malibu Bowl area.

Biggest air bombardment ever including retardant dropping DC 10, helicopters and super scoopers.

Coral Canyon, PCH closed between Malibu Canyon and Trancas – No PCH traffic allowed north Malibu Canyon.

Fire Report 9:15 a.m.

Most threatened areas are now Escondido and Paradise Cove. Evacuation advised.

Coral Canyon, Malibu Canyon, Kanan Dume Roads closed

Councilman Kearsley reports that 35 homes destroyed including home Owned By Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Fire fighting DC10 carrying fire retardant is on site attacking wild fire along with 10 fire fighting helicopters and 2 super scoopers. Kanan Dume and Latigo Canyon homes continue to be threatened.

Evacuation Site: Agoura High School

Malibu City Emergency Radio – 1620 AM

Malibu City Emergency Phone Info: 310-456-9982

T-CEP Update, 9:54 AM:

There is no threat to Topanga Canyon at this time.
Malibu Mandatory Evacuations: All areas from Corral Canyon west to Trancas Canyon Road.

All residents are urged to be prepared to evacuate and to immediately follow instructions given by Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department personnel.

An evacuation center has been set up by the Red Cross at Agoura High School, 28545 Driver Road. Do not evacuate to Zuma Beach as there is heavy smoke in the area

Road Closures:
Pacific Coast Highway is closed between Malibu Canyon Road and Kanan Road. All canyon roads between Malibu Canyon and Kanan are closed.

Please stay out of these areas to allow unimpeded access to evacuating residents and Fire and Sheriff personnel.

Animal Evacuations:
Large animals: Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka, Woodland Hills

Small animals: Agoura Animal Shelter, 29525 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, 818-991-0071

If you can offer up your house for a few days or a little longer, e-mail normandie.wilson@gmail.com with your details.

Despite the highly-technical nature of the subject, Ayres does a fantastic job of keeping it accessible and interesting throughout the book. Highly recommended.

This one is the last photo I’ll be posting for a while, as it was approximately 3 seconds later that R. ran into me kneeling there and shoved my lens back into my camera, breaking the mechanism.

Now it makes a series of clicking noises when you turn it on or off, and the lens doesn’t extend or retract properly. I’m hoping I can get it fixed. If not, well, I guess that’s where my money from moonlighting as a Python programmer is going.