Mosquitoes - and why DO they exist?

I was carpet bombed last night by a lone mosquito. Ale got the same treatment too, so picture the scene at 3:30 in the morning - trying to hunt down the bleeder whilst peppered with pink patches of Piracalamina, a wonderful product I must say.

When we finally found him, he got the squish treatment (naturally) and we managed to drift off to sleep around 4am.

Even though we are on the 4th floor, these irritant fligs seem to somehow make their way inside the apartment and lay in wait for what I assume is JB's sangre dulce. It really does wind me up why these creatures exist, and how much damage they do - and of course I'm talking about their activities elsewhere in the world.

I am investigating the possibility of making up an amateur trap involving the cunning use of yeast and a coke bottle. I WILL catch the blighters!

My venture back into the world of Windows

I've always been interested in the latest OS from Microsoft as it promised to offer a lot more than Vista ever did, namely in terms of speed. I eventually managed to download the 32-bit beta version and get it installed under VirtualBox OSE in Ubuntu as a virtual machine.

First impressions are speed, speed and yet more speed.

This is good news for anyone that was mildly surprised that Vista wouldn't run well on their laptop/PC simply because of all the huge bloat-boat that Vista is. It does still look pretty much the same on the inside though. I'm off to test the 64-bit version to see how that fares.

Currently Windows 7 as a beta gets the thumbs up from Johnnyboy simply because they seem to have addressed the speed problem that afflicted Vista when run on fairly modest hardware. Of course, that could ALL change when the product goes live...

Happy New Year everybody, welcome 2009

Hope you all have had an enjoyable evening, and the headache's not too bad hehe

We're taking the opportunity of a break in Playa Verde, approximately midway between Montevideo and Punta del Este.

This looks to be a WiFi free zone so don't expect to see me online for at least a week or so.

Pics when I get back.

Festive greetings from South America

Hello and good morning (or afternoon for those elsewhere in the world).

I just thought that I'd wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I'm really going to miss the UK since this will be my first proper Christmas away from home. All that turkey and all the trimmings, alongside meeting up with the relatives and of course the legendary Boxing Day down at John and Jacqui's.

Tonight we're off to Ale's sister's house for a knees-up. although I don't think it will quite match what I've come to expect of Christmas. Here, there is more of a tendency to celebrate on Christmas Eve (BuenaNoche) rather than Christmas Day as we do in Blighty.

I've not been able to send any presents this year due to a) JB still being out of work and b) not having the necessary faith in Uruguay's postal system and/or Customs (Aduana).

I sincerely hope everyone has a great Christmas, and as you all know - I am ready to field any support calls over the festive period. I'm sure people will be getting lots of tech gifts ;-)

Skype uid is johnnyboydotcc

Cheers!

JB

Sneaky Windows - automatic updates turned back on?

I note that a few of the PCs that I support have had their Automatic Updates turned back on to fully automatic recently. They were then hit again with the nonsensical WGA (Windows Genuine DISAdvantage) tool that incorrectly declares that the PC in question has non-genuine software installed.

Now I know this to be false, and have been able to remove this heinous piece of nagware from the PCs, only to find out it gets installed again. Automagically - good old Microsoft.

So a word of advice - if you do need to use the removewga.exe tool, first check that Automatic Updates aren't set to full autopilot or you will end up going round and round in circles.

Virus on your PC? Stuck for ideas??

Install AVG8 first

http://free.avg.com/ww.download?prd=afe#tba2



Then install Spybot S&D:

http://projects.securitywonks.net/projects/details.php?file=2

Make sure you update first BEFORE running a scan.

These two superb programs should be able to help!

JG

AVG8 not working properly?

Something about Invalid CTF file?

Please do the following:

Click on Start, then Run

Type cmd in the box and press return.

Copy the following text and paste it into the box:

del "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\avg8\update\download\*.ctf"

Try running the update again and it should now complete successfully!!

JB

ACL permissions - unable to delete file?

I recently came up against a problem after backing up a client's PC to an external HDD. I use this storage for my Ubuntu (Intrepid Ibex) system, and after doing some file maintenance, I saw that there was a folder that couldn't be deleted, even by root.

Permissions were set correctly but that wouldn't have mattered anyway since I was logged in as root. I couldn't remove the file by using the INODE trick so I ventured back into the world of Windows XP.

After some rooting around hehe I managed to find a forum post detailing a very quick 2 line cmd file that reset the permissions on the file/folder from a Windows perspective. This led me on to an improved version of similar software that had been written by a guy named Chieh Cheng, released under the GPL:

http://www.cynosurex.com/Software/TakeControl/

His scripts enable you to simply drag and drop a file/folder on to the script and then gain control by changing/resetting the permissions. His scripts were an absolute godsend and enabled me to reset and delete the folder in question. I have a feeling that the folder in question may have been created by a trojan/virus on the client's PC.

Hope this helps if you get stuck in the same situation.

get_iplayer.pl - a beaut of a perl script

I've recently been looking at a perl script called get_iplayer.pl

To give you some background, the BBC offers the iplayer service online. Normally it would involve downloading and installing a Windows client program, selecting the TV/radio programs you want to watch/listen to and then playing the programs with either the inbuilt media player or (horror of horrors) Windows Media Player.

Now, I don't use Windows so therefore this is a pain. Why should I be excluded simply because I use the operating system of my choice (Ubuntu 8.10)?

An enterprising individual called Phil Lewis has created a perl script which basically does all the groundwork for you. It has been an absolute godsend since it can run as a cron job, and remembers what you downloaded. The perl script mimics the Jesus phone (iPhone) by downloading the H.264 stream and saving it to your hard disk.

Ubuntu - blank screen on boot fixed

I'm very happy now that I've managed to fix this very irritating problem. I have an Acer laptop rigged up to an external LG 17" monitor and every time I 'normal' boot, I see the usual Ubuntu logo and then just about when you would naturally expect to see the desktop - nothing. Nada.

I've been resorting to playing around in recovery mode, using xfix, removing all xorg.conf type files and rebuilding/rebooting numerous times to no avail. lspci revealed the ATI Express Radeon 200 adapter so that wasn't the fault.

I traced it back to the compiz app that was installed. I simply removed it with the following:

sudo aptitude remove compiz compiz-core

Now my desktop greets me every time I login, what bliss. Compiz should certainly be your first port of call if you have blank screen problems like I did.

JG

Octal permissions from a shell

I recently had the chance to resurrect a script from my HP-UX days which listed not only the usual human-readable drwx type permissions, but the octal permissions as well. Very useful when you're trying to teach someone about UNIX file permissions.

Here's a simple one liner that could be set as an alias or incorporated in a script. Personally I have mine created as a script called lsj, as shown below:


ls -l | awk '{k=0;for(i=0;i<=8;i++)k+=((substr($1,i+2,1)~/[rwx]/)*2^(8-i));if(k)printf("%0o ",k);print}'

An absolute gem to be honest and very useful. Works fine on Ubuntu (Intrepid Ibex - korn shell).

Looking to get it working so it will display all 4 octal values i.e. SETUID and SETGID, plus the sticky bit. More later.

PS3 dead - again

What else needs to be said.

The PS3 shut down a couple of times yesterday in a spurious fashion, before finally giving up the ghost once and for all. It's what is termed affectionately as the yellow light of death. There seems to be quite a few videos on YouTube with the exact same behaviour so I'm not alone.

Turn power on, red light.

Press power button, fans whoosh, green light, yellow light, red light - 3 short beeps.

There's good news and bad news. The good news is that after a call to Sony in the UK, they are prepared to replace my 60Gb PS3 with another one, even though the unit is out of warranty.I bought the PS3 in April 2007 so this is one hell of a goodwill gesture on Sony's part!

I've been the proud owner of the original Playstation, a slimline PS2 and the first PSP. So I must admit, it has troubled me that the PS3 has been this unreliable.

The bad news is I face a wait of a couple of months. The reason being, Customs here tend to view items like this as items you have to pay import duty on - as if you are bringing the unit into the country to sell, and deprive the government of funds. Not so in my case, and last time I left the country, I had to obtain a special letter from the Customs people (Aduana) to enable me to take the PS3 back to Britain and return without it being impounded.

I may send the unit back to my parents via DHL/FedEx, and Sony UK will then arrange for a courier to pickup/replace my beloved PS3. I'll probably have to wait until friends come over from the UK in January before I see the PS3 again :-(

Bread

I must be at that stage of life where people buy useful rather than exciting presents for my birthday.

That was certainly the case when I unwrapped a huge box the other day, only to discover it was in fact a bread making machine. It was left on the side for a few days before I summoned up the enthusiasm to go and buy some fresh yeast, or levadura as they call it over here.

Three hours later, and I was in possession of a spectacular loaf of bread. Simply one of the best kitchen appliances money can buy. Apart from a dishwasher, of course.

A film to watch

I was hoofing through the channels the other night on TV and came across Elizabethtown, which was a film starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. I've seen a few photos of Orlando Bloom and saw qualities that reminded me of my brother Mark.

Well, watching the film was a revelation. There are several spots in the film where he just looks SO much like Mark. It's uncanny.

More interviews and a birthday

Yes, I was 41 on Monday. And of all things best not to do on your birthday, I had two interviews lined up!

The first was with some foreign exchange trading company, based in the exotic location of Montevideo's very own World Trade Center [sic] complete with two mini twin towers. I kid you not...

The first interview was a complete pigs ear due to the fact that they hadn't done their homework. I arrived in good time (in other words, I was early) and proceeded to sit around for 10 minutes in a holding room where Bloomberg TV was blaring out. It was my first real taste of money and I had a good feeling about the office environment. My hopes were dashed after another 10 minute wait in the boardroom when 2 power-dressed women walked in and started babbling away in their native Spanish. With my best puppy dog eyes and a blurted phrase 'Can we speak in English please?', I then discovered that the position was for Spanish and English - although I had pointed out that I only spoke English when I applied for the post. A complete and utter waste of time, and not very professional on their part. I left the office smiling and walked out into the sunshine to meet up with Ale.

The second interview was just across the road for a much smaller company that provided server solutions (goodness - I hate that phrase). The position was for a Solaris (UNIX) administrator to oversee the installation of IT equipment for a client. It all went very well so fingers crossed. Bearing in mind the wheels of industry tend to turn at a slower rate than walking pace here, I will have to wait and see.

Birthday boy had some friends round that evening. One of my prezzies of all things was a breadmaker. Superb! I've always hated the rubbish they produce here that turns to dust when you whack it in the toaster. So I'm going to start experimenting and see if it can make something resembling a 'split-tin' ;-)

That's it for now - off to play with my Puppy Lighthouse linux install on my laptop.

Weekend away in Colonia del Sacramento

We went to Colonia at the weekend. Ale had booked it up about a month ago, and I knew she was looking forward to it as much as me.

Colonia is an old town, with lots of picturesque old buildings and homes. Most of the side streets are cobbled, some more so than others. And when I say some more so than others, the most striking examples have some real ankle-killer stones laid out in a haphazard fashion. I think these streets must be at least 200 years old and Colonia has some real history with evidence of both the Portuguese and Spanish in abundance.

Driving into Colonia is pleasant on the eye, with the last 10km of road lined by massive old palm trees. Life is lived at a slow pace, and the speed limits drop progressively on arrival. You simply cannot drive any faster than 15-20 km/h or all your fillings will come out. This is is no way criticism of the place, it's what makes it what it is!

When you are there, you have a feeling of security and peace. No more car alarms or barking dogs that grind you down when in Montevideo. We walked the streets on a guided tour, and spent some time just exploring. We also went up inside a lighthouse, but I think that Ale is regretting that right now. The 120 steps it took to reach the top have come back to haunt her and her legs hurt. Thankfully, I'm not afflicted in the same way, hopefully because of my old cycling legs ;-)


We stayed at a beautiful 'lounge' hotel right in the centre of the old town. It was an excellent place to stay and thoroughly recommended. Take a look at their website here

Uruguay makes an entrance on the BBC website!

I've told many friends about the good old Fray Bentos canned meat pies we used to have in the 70's, and most didn't know that Fray Bentos is indeed a town in a Uruguay.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/10_things/

and more specifically here:

Fray Bentos - a town in Uruguay

See? I told you so....

Ten-pin bowling supremo

Ale and I met up with some friends last night and hit the bowling alley here in Montevideo.

After some nosebag i.e. the usual chivito, the bowling started in earnest. Now I must point out that they do things differently here, because all the bowling alleys looked strangely bereft of any lighting whatsoever. Even more worrying was the fact that some of the bowling balls were fluorescent and the icing on the cake was when a smoke machine starting pumping loads of guff everywhere.

The smoke machine only seemed to start chucking out thick clouds when it was ME taking my go. I did suspect that someone had had a 'word' with the manager and it was all a conspiracy to put me off my stride. Well, those cunning Montevideans failed in their plan, if there ever was one, of course.

After an initial shaky start where I lost the first match, I won the second match by a small margin. By this time, a couple of people weren't playing and the final game started with the score at 1-1 (one for me, and one for a guy called Nacho Mullin). This game I was on fire, and I got 3 strikes and 5 spares. My total rocketed upwards and I ended the game on an all-time best of 167!!!

It's now early Sunday morning as I write this, and as usual, Ale is inspecting her eyelids. We have the christening for Magui and Nacho's son Nicolas today so I'll probably post back here with a few pictures later.

P.S. Since the clocks went back last night in the UK, it is now officially only 2 hours difference (UK 13:40, URU 11:40)

PS3 media server for Ubuntu

Yay! I finally found a similar application to stream media to my PS3.

I used to use TVersity which is an excellent application, but unfortunately - they don't support Linux aka Ubuntu yet. Since I use Ubuntu as my primary operating system of choice, I was without my music collection of 18 Gb worth of stuff.

I found out about Mediatomb via the Ubuntu forums and promptly installed it via:

sudo aptitude install mediatomb

Server GUI runs on port 49152 on my system, and the server itself on port 49153. After a quick bit of configuration which involved setting the directories that needed to be scanned i.e. recursive MP3 paths, I was up and running. The mighty PS3 picked up the new media server without even scanning, so I assume this is done automagically.

Mediatomb set itself to automatically run on boot, which I was able to verify by popping in to the Webmin server config page.

I'll post back with any anomalies I may discover, but hopefully it will be all plain sailing from now on. What an excellent piece of open-source software!

JG

The legendary IceMan aka Ian Pinder

I recently managed to get in contact with Ian Pinder, who was also known as the Iceman. Ian's car back in the days was a brown Cortina that was filled to the brim with Earthquake subs and literally blew me away. Whilst most of the other nutters in souped-up cars seemed to spend loads of money getting Carlos Fandango wheels and drainpipe exhausts fitted to their silly little Vauxhall Novas/Corsas, the big guy simply turned up in his Cortina and blew them into the weeds.

I used to go to both the Chelsea cruise and also the one at Dartford - which then became the Lakeside cruise. I must point out that this was years ago, say around 1994-1996. It was all good-natured and there was no trouble, and I really enjoyed it. My car at the time was a Honda Prelude '89 4WS which had been lowered to sit on the floor.



Going back to Ian's car, the sound emanating from this beast really struck a chord with me since I loved the low low bass it was producing but so many cars seem to be either hard mid-bass or loads of tweeters sounding like lasers going off. The situation would normally be that you'd hear the plank coming in his Escort RS Turbo because of the shrieking tsk tsk coming out of his windows, just as he came around the corner. With the Iceman's car, it simply came from nowhere (bass being omnidirectional) like a great big scary monster. Hugely powerful and the only thing I've heard since that came anywhere close was the Cerwin Vega van at the IASCA finals in Dallas, back in '96.

I've since discovered that his latest project puts out around 30,000 watts - perhaps I'll get the chance to see it (or perhaps more importantly - feel it) when I next return to the UK.

As a certain Sacha Baron-Cohen would say, REESPEK