The Southern Techo-Geek

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Drupal 7 prerequisites

2013-03-16T21:55:00.002-07:00

Here is a list of packages needed for Drupal 7 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

apt-get install apache2 apache2-mpm-prefork apache2-utils apache2.2-bin apache2.2-common dbconfig-common fontconfig-config libapache2-mod-php5 libapr1 libaprutil1 libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3 libaprutil1-ldap libcap2 libdbd-mysql-perl libdbi-perl libfontconfig1 libgd2-xpm libhtml-template-perl libjpeg-turbo8 libjpeg8 libmysqlclient18 libnet-daemon-perl libplrpc-perl libt1-5 libxpm4 mysql-client mysql-common php5 php5-gd php5-mysql postfix psmisc ssl-cert ttf-dejavu-core wwwconfig-common php-pear

You will also need Drush

pear channel-discover pear.drush.org

pear install drush/drush

pear upgrade-all

To The West

2012-10-05T09:54:00.001-07:00

My trip to San Francisco

WX4EMA-R On The Air

2012-05-15T16:43:00.002-07:00

After some fine tuning the new EMA repeater for Macon is online. Bibb County ARES will be using this repeater a lot but it anyone can use it day to day....

WX4EMA
147.015+ (600mz)
88.5 tone

Location: http://g.co/maps/pn88m

Mounting Network Drives with C#.net

2012-03-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

First off, big thanks to aejw for making my life a lot easier by writing an awesome class to make this possible.

Download the project files from here, extract cNetworkDrives0015.cs and add it to your project.

Then: using aejw.Network;

private bool mount_drive(string localdrive, string sharelocation, string user = "blank", string pass = "blank")
{

NetworkDrive oNetDrive = new NetworkDrive();

try
{
oNetDrive.LocalDrive = localdrive;
oNetDrive.ShareName = sharelocation;
if (user == "blank")
{
oNetDrive.MapDrive();
}
else
{
oNetDrive.MapDrive(user, pass);
}
}
catch (Exception err)
{
//Optional MessageBox to show Error
//MessageBox.Show(this, "Error: " + err.Message);
return false;
}

return true;

}

example usage:

if (mount_drive("h", @"\\nas007\shared"))
{
//Alert that drive was mapped
}
else
{
//Alert that drive mapping failed
}

Source:
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/6847/Map-Network-Drive-API

C#.net Check if user is in Active Directory Group

2012-03-15T13:31:00.001-07:00

Here is a simple c#.net function to see if a user is in a AD group.

Be sure to add the Directory Services as a refrence to your project and use:

using System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement;

private static bool IsInGroup(string ingroup)
{
string username = Environment.UserName;

PrincipalContext domainctx = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain,
"example",
"DC=example,DC=com");

UserPrincipal userPrincipal =
UserPrincipal.FindByIdentity(domainctx, IdentityType.SamAccountName, username);

bool isMember = userPrincipal.IsMemberOf(domainctx, IdentityType.Name, ingroup);

return isMember;
}

How real life super secure systems are hacked...

2011-08-27T09:06:00.001-07:00

http://xkcd.com/538/

This was too funny not to share!

2011-08-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

http://xkcd.com/936/

Cable Management Gone Wrong

2011-08-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

"Hey my network link isn't working, can you check the other end in the closet?" .... "NO"

Sun Burn Itch From Hell

2011-08-11T07:27:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I went to the beach, and stupidly didn't put on sunscreen. I got a minor sunburn, but didn't think much of it. I have had much worse.

Then on Tuesday at about 2p.m. "It" started. I can even begin to express the agony I was in. It felt like thousands of ants crawling all over and biting from time to time. It would come in waves so severe I would twitch, contort, and scream uncontrollably. It literally broke me, at one point I was laying on the bathroom floor begging and crying for relief.

The only thing that would take the itch away was a hot shower, as hot as I could stand. I would stay in until I ran the hot water heater dry. Then I would take 2 Benadryl and 800mg of ibuprofen that would dull the problems so that I could get about and hour and half of sleep. Then repeat, for 12 hours. Untill I figured this routine out I had seriously considered going to the ER.

Wednesday was much better, but better being a relative term it was still very uncomfortable. Had I had sick leave available I would have gone to the doctor and taken the day off. Sometimes I would go outside and stand with my back to the sun and let my shirt heat up, and that would take the edge off.

Thursday there is still itching but it is no more than your standard sun burn itch.

If you are experiencing this now, go take a really hot shower!

Also see: http://www.medkb.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/med/2923/Sunburn-extreme-itch

Networking 101 | Document everying

2011-08-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Documentation is you friend. In fact it is so important that you should have you documentation done before you begin, and check it oven to ensure it's accuracy.

Visio is your friend

Microsoft Visio is a must if you are a Windows user. If not check out Dia, it is an open source Visio-like app. Make lots of diagrams, where the network is, where you want it to be, the the steps to get there.

Take lots of photographs

When making your plans take lots of photographs of the current environment. This will come in handy during the planing stage. Trying to explain to someone how bad a network closet is isn't nearly as effective as showing them. These don't need to be from a fancy camera. I've found that Blackberry's and iPhone's cameras are sufficient, however, flash is needed a lot and may drain your battery fast.

Layout your entire plan before hand

Yes, your design will change. No plan ever survives meeting the enemy but that is ok. At least you can see what changed and why, and then communicate with others.

Keep in mind that you are not the only one

No matter how big or small the job is, someone else will eventually have to figure out what you did and why. So please just print out the thing put it in an sheet protector and tape to the door.

SEHC Photo Sunday

2011-06-20T17:58:00.001-07:00

SEHC 2011

2011-06-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

I had a great time this last week at camp. I'm now in the process of stitching together all the photos and videos I have and will post them here in the coming days. Just look for the SEHC 2011 link in the nav bar just below thew logo. Be sure to check back soon!

SEHC 2011 Volleyball

2011-06-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

SEHC 2011 Slipy Slidin

2011-06-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

Calling all programmers....

2011-06-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

I've been tinkering with a system to for NGOs and EMS to track needs after a natural disaster. For anyone who has experienced something like this you know exactly why something like this is needed.

The idea is really simple, provide a way for those who want to help to keep track of those who need help. Think of it as help desk software for emergencies. The problem lies in that certain organizations only help certain people or with certain problems.

For example, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) generally only helps repair homes of people who own their own homes. So people who are renting must seek help from other organizations. However, in the process of helping UMCOR personnel regularly come into contact with persons needing help that don't fall under UMCOR's realm. So what happens to them? UMCOR personnel try their best to point the needy in the right direction, but are they helped? Many times UMCOR never knows.

What (I'm calling it for now) RapidAid allows someone working in UMCOR to do is create a need, associate it with a person, a place, etc, and pass it along to a central queue. Then others can 'grab' that need and take care of it, or the local EMA can divvy them out.

Adam Cornet and I started working on this project after a massive tornado hit Macon, GA in 2008 on Mother's Day. We orginaly worked on it in Java. You can see what little we did back then here. The problem was Adam had to go back to school and I had a full time job so the project stagnated. Adam moved away and I don't really know Java enough to make something.

I've decided to try again. I'm rebuilding the project in PHP just simply because I know it and so do a lot of people. I've started a new BitBucket project so feel free to download and hack away. If you do wish to get started helping please email me or leave a comment.

Thanks,
Kerry

The end of an era

2011-06-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

The last year has been a real roller coaster ride, and I'm a fan of Six Flags so that is a good thing ;) However all good things must come to an end. Hatch Media Productions, my love child for the last 2 years is going out of business.

I've been working there full time since November 2010 when I left 41NBC, but we've just simply ran out of capital. Some of that was a result of my lack of business experience, some was just out of my control. Starting a business in this economy was tough. We started with literally nothing. I poured every spare dime and minute I had but I just wasn't enough.

My great family and friends have been really supportive and I couldn't have made it this far without them. I hope one day I can do the same for you! For now I'm winding down things and getting my last 2 projects finished and out the door while I look for the next step.

Not sure what will come now. I would like to settle in for a long while somewhere. I've even been thinking about the military. Either way I'm tired of always chasing the "next big thing", and am looking for something stable so that I can get back to my fun stuff, hiking, camping, rafting hardware hacking, and whatnot.

I think I'll follow up in a few days with and "exit interview" for tip, tricks, and pitfalls that I learned during this last year.

Thanks,
Kerry

Home Networking Gear

2011-06-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

I've now been using the Apple Airport Extreme for almost half a year. There is only one word for how it has been... boring. Yes, boring, the absolute best you can expect from your networking gear. Not one problem, never. Every time I needed something it worked exactly as I needed it to, nothing more, nothing less.

So if you need a great WiFi-N/Gigibit wireless router for home I'd suggest giving the Airport Extreme a try. It is a little pricey but well worth it. Here are some really 'cool' features:

Dead simple printer sharing
Dead simple file sharing
WiFi Network repeating
WiFi to Wired bridging
Excellent IPv6 Support
Great speed on wired file transfers with full 10/100/1000 LAN ports
Dead simple admin interface

Django CMS on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

2011-06-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

Some quick notes on setting up Django CMS on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS using virtalenv and pip. Note: this just gets the prerequisites setup. You will still need to follow http://docs.django-cms.org/en/2.1.3/getting_started/tutorial.html

sudo aptitude install python-setuptools python-mysqldb python-imaging python-virtualenv mysql-server mysql-gui-tools-common mysql-admin mysql-query-browser libmysqlclient-dev build-essential python-dev

virtualenv --no-site-packages test

source test/bin/activate

pip install django django-cms south django-appmedia PIL MySQL-python yolk docutils

The Stages of bug fixing....

2011-06-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Controlling what apps run network wide.

2011-06-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to know or even restrict what programs are running on every computer on your network? Well, I've got just the thing for you to try; an application named BluePoint Security Enterprise. This great app will install clients on all of your computers, it works with workgroups, no active directory is needed, and it can report back all the programs running on every computer. You can then create a white/black list from that report. Creating a list is super simple, go ahead and check out this video:

Jenkins (Hudson) on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

2011-06-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

This is VERY simple. Don't be afraid of using this alternate repo for your Ubuntu Server. As of now, it doesn't seem to update any other software other than Jenkins itself. However, I would still recommend firing up a Virtual Machine to test it real quick before you begin deploying on a mission critical server.

The first step is to add the Jenkins key to your apt.

wget -q -O - http://pkg.jenkins-ci.org/debian/jenkins-ci.org.key | sudo apt-key add -

Then add the repo to your sources list (/et/apt/sources.list). I just added it to the bottom with a quick #comment to let others know what it is:

#Jenkins CI Server Repo deb http://pkg.jenkins-ci.org/debian binary

Now update and install with aptitude:

sudo aptitude update sudo aptitude install jenkins

Watch Outs:

When I first started. I installed Tomcat during the Ubuntu setup. I had read that would be the preferred way to deploy Hudson (Hudson was renamed Jenkins due to a trademark dispute with Oracle). Don't do this!! If you do, just aptitude remove tomcat6 and service restart jenkins.

Reference

The #1 Programmer Excuse For Legitimately Slacking Off

2011-05-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

Format and Mount EBS in Ubuntu

2011-05-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

*Note: This is for the official Ubuntu 10.04 LTS AMI

SSH into your instance
mount
take note of the /dev/sdX that is mounted i.e. /dev/sda1 on / type ext3 (rw)
ls /dev
take note of the /dev/sdX that is not the one from step 3
fdisk /dev/sdX
At "Command" type n
at "Primary or Extended" type p
At Number of volumes type 1
Press "Return" two time to accept the defaults
Press W to write the changes and exit
type "mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX" to format in Ext4
type "mkdir /media/ebs"
type "mount /dev/sdX /media/ebs" to mount the drive

SSH to AWS, Quick and dirty

2011-05-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

So, you've got your EC2 instance up and running? Lets SSH into it.

When you were creating your EC2 instance you should have downloaded a file called something.pem . This is the ssh key you will use.

Place your somthing.pem file in your .ssh folder by copying/moving it from your downloads. Then set the correct permissions. In OSX this would be something like this:

open terminal
cp Downloads/somthing.pem .ssh/
chmod 0600 .ssh/somthing.pem

Now, if you go ahead and try and ssh into your EC2 you will get an error. Why? Becouse you're not using the file you just copied over. Add -i somthing.pem.

For example: ssh -i App1.pem ubuntu@ec2-40-17-31-130.compute-2.amazonaws.com

A New Beginning

2009-08-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm on the search again for a job. My brief stint at www.bluepointsecurity.com ended on a good note, just ran out of work.

The prospect of moving back to Macon really excites me. I've really missed my friends and had gotten a bit home sick in Atlanta (not to mention the traffic!)

If you know of someone who could you my amazing set of talents and skills (including my amazing humility ;) please pass along my contact info!

Thanks,
Kerry