My Attempt to Save Gas

Hello,

Myself, like most Americans are caught in a crunch over the cost of gasoline.  Americans are not the only ones of the World in this boat, but are the most recent passengers.

I am not in the position to go out and buy a hybrid or some fuel-sipping ultra-compact car.  Also, like most Americans, I drive a truck.  A big truck.  Do I need to drive a big truck?  Probably not, but I enjoy the comfort and space the full-sized vehicle affords me in my lengthy commutes.  I also have a Volkswagen Jetta, it’s actually my wife’s car, and after an hour ride, compresses my spine.  Furthermore, my truck is PAID FOR in full.  I have no car payment!  Why would I go out and get one? Such a solution would cost more in the long-run.

To save gas...

Baggage… The things that I do not use on a daily basis can stay home.  The heaviest item in the truck is a full-sized floor jack, used to lift the truck in case I get a flat.  The factory jack and tools make me nervous when lifting the 6600lb vehicle.  Especially if I have to get under it.  I also keep a small survival kit, a change of clothes, the baby’s seat, blanket and some water.  Everything else goes, including the tail-gate.  Many folks ride with the tail-gate in the down position in an attempt to streamline the airflow.  I am not a scientist, or an aerodynamic expert.  For that type information, I go to Mythbusters…

Adam and Jamie did a test in one episode to prove or disprove the validity of the ‘tail-gate down’ practice.  Their tests did not prove that having your tail-gate lowered save and gas or enhanced mileage.  Actually, their findings showed that lowering the tail-gate payed a performance penalty over a the conventional method.  How is air-flow instead of spilling over the cab of the truck and going aft, air actually presses down on the truck’s bed, applying force.  When the tail-gate is down, there is more area for the airflow to press upon.  The extra force adds a sort of weight to the vehicle, slowing it down and killing performance.  Ok, so I took the tail-gate off completely.  It is also very helpful to see through the back when in reverse and saves about fifty pounds in weight.

Tires… I keep the tires at their designed inflation and pressure.  The practice is pretty easy with an air-compressor in the garage.  A couple times a year, I get the tires rotated to even out the wear on the treads.  An improperly inflated tire and poorly worn treads will impact fuel consumption for any vehicle.

Air Filter… I placed an aftermarket K&N air filter in the truck not too long after I purchased the vehicle.  The truck was bought used with me becoming the second owner.  Buying new cars is a bad investment for me.  K&N filters are a bit pricey, but supposedly never have to be replaced, just cleaned periodically. If an aftermarket filter is too pricey an option, then replacing the stock air filter every 10-15 thousand miles should help the mileage.  The dirtier an air filter is, the most work the engine has to do the supply power with the given airflow.  Air filters are easy to replace and can be done by anyone in very little time.

Slow Down… I normally drive fast, not in the manner of a complete jerk, but interested in getting where I am going quickly.  Instead of cruising down the highway at 75, 80mph, I have been cruising the speed limit.  Doing so is actually more work than I thought.  The truck does not want to go in the 55-65 range, it is comfy at 70-75.  However, slowing down and driving the speed limit does save gas.  Irratating as it is, there is a savings benefit to be had.  Just DO NOT drive 55 in the passing lane, please?

It looks like I am sticking with my truck until it dies.  As I do, I will keep trying to maximize my mileage performance as I go.

Later!

Podcasts

Hello,

I am the one of thousands of Americans who undertake long commutes to work during the week.  It is my choice to do so, and though I often complain about traffic, still see the commute as a better alternative to living in the city.  I love Philadelphia, but would never want to live there.

To get me through the long drives, I listen to many podcasts and some audio books.  I favor tech podcasts and some titles on history and a couple of guitar-related shows.  I routinely listen to a steady cast of podcasts.  Below is the line up:

Apple Quick Tips, Beginning Guitar 101, The Buzz Report, Common Sense with Dan Carlin, Cranky Geeks, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, FLOSS Weekly, BBC GLobal News, The Tech Guy, Linux Basement, LottaLinuxLinks, LugRadio, Mahalo Daily, Mind of Root, BBC NewsPod, No Agenda, NPR: Intelligence Squared, NPR: It’s All Politics, NPR: Technology, PaulDotCom Security Weekly, Security Now!, Stuff You Should Know, Tech 5 with John C. Dvorak, Tekzilla, TWiT, The US Presidents, Windows Weekly, Fresh Ubuntu and 60 Second Science.

Check’em out!  Enjoy!

Apple Stepped In It

Hello,

Happy iPhone day, sort of… As most in the civilized world know by now, Apple released it’s latest second generation iPhone on 7/11/08.  Thousands of fan-boys and girls lined-up and waited to get their hands on the new gadget across the world.  Current iPhone veterans were treated to a firmware upgrade which ships on the new 3G handsets, iPhone 2.0 as it is called.

Like an idiot,  I pressed the ‘Update Firmware’ button to apply the update to my phone.  I did not bother to get a new one just yet.  After a few minutes, the firmware tried to reconnect to iTunes, but failed.  Repeated attempts to connect my iPhone to iTunes wound up with the same error message.  I went online and checked Apple’s support site discussion’s panel.  There were numerous threads which dealt with the problem I was having.  This thread being the most active today.

It seems like Apple’s activation servers were a bit swamped with new and existing activations.  If you figure half of all existing users updated their firmware today, 3 million phones, along with all of the new users Apple’s infrastructure was easily overloaded in a matter of hours.  By 9AM, when I downloaded the update, connections to iTunes by the activation service were not possible.  The iPhone was released for sale one hour before.

Either it is clear to say that Apple did not plan the deployment well enough to cover all of the possible resource allocations, or they just couldn’t do anything about it.  I don’t believe either of those propositions.  I think Apple just did not consider the customer experience, post-sale to be a big concern.  After all, they had their money from the customers.  Existing iPhone users could have the new software, at a lesser priority.  Apple should have staggered the release to existing iPhone users after the initial rush on sales this weekend.

Far worse was the lack of reaction from Apple and the redirect by AT&T to Apple.  Throughout the day, I could not get a single soul on the phone from Apple.  They did not even goes as far to release a press statement or to update their support web-page.  Ignoring customer problems as they happen is a good way to lose them.  There are folks out there tonight who have purchased an iPhone but cannot activate it.

For everyone, in the end, patience will be the order of the day.  We all have no other choice but to wait.  Try your best to be calm and not think about how you are being shafted and paying for it. This is one Apple customer that is disappointed right now and will never update his phone again.  RIM almost had a new user today.  Had I not not got through to the iTunes servers around 4PM, 7 hours later, Blackberry would have had one more user…

Kind of funny…

I was walking to Starbucks today for my afternoon cup of iced-joe when I was approached by a Democrat.  The young lady was looking for people to sign some sort of petition, endorsing the Democratic National Convention.  She asked me if I ‘had time for the Democrats’ and I politely told her I was not a Democrat.  The lady looked away, gave a slight roll of her eyes and quietly said ‘OK’, as I walked by her.

I felt like smacking her and saying ‘there can be more than two political parties, you know?’  Just because I am not a Democrat does not automatically make me a Republican.  American politics has to get past the duopoly of the current system.  Money and the state of current political thinking will not allow a third party to get very far in any primary election.  It is sad, really…

I spoke to a colleague today regarding the election, and without me saying a single thing, he asked the same questions of Obama I have posed all along.

What is he actually going to change?

How does he plan to change health care?

What is he going to do to improve the lives of every American, now?

I would like to hear Senator McCain’s plan as well.  I am afraid there is no plan and that the things promised by both candidates will be consigned to campaign history.  How much of a shame would that be?

Political Observations…

Times they are a changing, wrote the song writer…

True to the point where the United States may very well see it’s first African-American President and First Lady.  I think that fact is a triumph of American society and for the political process, which despite it’s shortcomings this century remains one of the best in the world.  It hasn’t happened yet, but that is where my money is lying.

I am not out to endorse Barack Obama or John McCain for that matter.  Equally, they have their faults, with Sen. Obama’s wrapped in a nice package.  The Republicans are going to have a hard time with this election in the wake of the mess that is the current administration.  The Democrats should win by a significant margin.

An amazing thing is home the American public has been taken in by what are just a series of platitudes. There has been no mention of how he plans to exact all of his ‘change’.  He passed on most of the legislation passed before him while he was a Senator.  Yesterday’s comment of how our children must learn Spanish, if a clear indicator of how America under Obama will fare.  My children need to learn English, a second language is always a good skill to have, but let’s keep a perspective.  Certains groups in the US who choose not to integrate into our society, should lay the cultural bering down for future generations.  My parents were immagrants, and they chose to integrate, they chose to adopt the US as their new home.

I really don’t think Senator McCain is a brighter choice.  The comment he made regarding the price of gas was just laughable.  John McCain could give a rat’s petute about the price of gas, he doesn’t pay for it.  We do.  Even with him in office, and with the US Military in control of one-third the world’s oil supply, gas will continue to rocket skyward.  Thanks developing economies, thanks futures traders!!  The commitment to keep US troops in the Middle East for as long as it takes, even if it is for the next 100 years, is an empty statement.  Bad in the fact that we really don’t need to have our troops overseas any more than we NEED.  Good in fact that those who have died will not have done so for nothing.  To cut and run now, would be a slap in the face to those that have.

Either way, look at your candidate carefully and try to see behind the sound-bites and head lines.  Find out who they really are and what they are about…

A Great Day

Hello,

Happy Father’s Day to all Dads out there!  This day was my first as a father and the second without my own father.

I received a great gift of landscaping services to take care of the lawn for the summer.  I am in no way shape or form ‘green’ in that capacity.  Most folks in the neighborhood can tell my lawn from the other suburbanites.

Recently, I finished listening to the audio book version of Scott McClellan’s ‘What Happened’. Interestingly, the book was read by it’s author.  I usually like that feature, but not in this case.  Mr McClellan is not the orator that Richard Dawkins, or David McCullogh are in his respect.  Basically, without giving too many spoilers, Scott was shafted by the Bush admnistration in relation to the Scooter Libby and Karl Rove scandals.  The Press Secretary was ordered to cover for Libby and Rove, then after the facts were de-classified, the truth came out.

I do not feel bad for Mr McClellan as he chose his line of work and went into the job with the same zeal that was to be expected from a Bush staffer.  I just can’t believe his position as Press Secretary would allow him to be duped by everyone involved with those scandals.  I can understand the trust that one would place in their colleagues at that level, but do your homework.  If my boss were to tell me something, I would have no reason not to believe him.  If the circumstances were then raised to a hinky level and I had to make sense out of it, to the public, you better believe I would check all of the facts.

It seems that many times, the Press Secretary just went along with whatever he was told.  When all minds think alike, no one is actually thinking is an adage that could be applied to many of the situations described in the book.  All in all a good read, if you are into the subject matter…

Enjoy!

Hat’s Off

Hello,

If you are reading this and you are on the East Coast of the US, then you know it has been a real hot couple of days.  The Mercury climbed to 98F (36.6C) today.  The thermometer outside of my truck registered 102F (39) when I went to get in this afternoon.  Most of us retreated to our air-conditioned homes, with cold drinks.  Perhaps venturing an occaisional trip to a nearby swimming pool.  Okay it’s hot out, we all know it…

Let’s move ourselves to the Middle-East, notably Iraq.  The average temperature in Baghdad is around 100F everyday.  Now picture yourself there without A/C, without cool drinks, without a nice cool shower…  Add military pants, t-shirt, coat, helmet, web-gear, body armor, boots w/socks, a weapon with ammunition to the existing conditions.  We haven’t mentioned fire, and the threat of enemy attack, IEDs or the like. 

These conditions are what the men and women of our armed forces have to endure every day over there.  Don’t forget the sandstorms which exfoliate in places you did know could be exfoliated.  Whatever the reason our troop are there, rest assured they would rather be somewhere else.  Many of whom are missing out on birthdays, anniversaries, first steps, first words and graduations.  Every time it is hot like this, I stop to think of my fellow soldiers away from their families, fulfilling their duty.

Hat’s off to you and get home soon, safely…

 

How I did…

Earlier, I made a call on how Apple was going to run with their strategy at today’s WWDC.

How close was I in my predictions?

• M$ Exchange support in the new revision of the iPhone software. Yup
• 16GB-32GB capacities. 8GB-16GB, close but no cigarillo
• A non-recessed headphone jack. Hallelujah!
• Video capture technology. Maybe on iPhone 3.0?
• Real GPS. Yup
• M$ Office document compatibility to go along with the M$ Exchange access. Yup, iWork integration too!
• Voice activated dialing. Nope. Overrated in my guess anyway…
• A firmware/software update to allow existing iPhone users to take advantage of new features. Yup, thanks Steve!!!
• Apple tablet. Nope, who cares anyway?
• OS X 10.6 ‘Snow Leopard’. When & where is still a question, though.
• .Mac facelift. Yup, more than somewhat.
• Quad Core iMac/MacBook Pro. Nope. Maybe we’ll see that further down the line. MacWorld 2009?
• SSHD’s. Nope. Perhaps that will take the same road as the above mentioned.

The best thing to come of all of this is that the new iPhones are substantially cheaper, $199.99 and $299.99 for the 8GB and 16GB versions respectively.  The big question is how will this affect existing subscriber’s plans?

Not bad, around 55%. Can’t wait to order my new iPhone 2.0, that is…

‘Mah’ WWDC Predictions

Hello,

Today, Apple will unveil it’s latest iPhone and apps at it’s World Wide Developer Conference.  Here is what I think…

We all know a new iPhone is coming, and there is a very decent chance it will have 3G capability.

But what else?

Well, if I were Apple (and I am not in any way)…

• M$ Exchange support in the new revision of the iPhone software.  Apple wants Blackberry’s market.
• 16GB-32GB capacities, would seem to be the natural progression for things to take.
• A non-recessed headphone jack. That idea was dumb to begin with originally.
• Video capture technology.  (duh!)
• Real GPS.  I am not a big proponent of GPS in a phone, but folks seem to want it.
• M$ Office document compatibility to go along with the M$ Exchange access.  (No pun)
• Voice activated dialing.  Not exactly a new technology…
• A firmware/software update to allow existing iPhone users to take advantage of new features.  We are not all rich as Apple would like to think we are.

A note on that. To not allow existing users would make sense in the direction of selling more iPhones, but it would also just be a lame thing to do.  Apple is going to sell a pile of iPhones whether or not the older ones get a compatibility upgrade or not.

Apple tablet? I don’t think so. Steve was once quoted as saying a Mac tablet would never happen and I believe him.  Tablet are such a niche market that their development cost doesn’t justify the effort. I would not develop a Mac tablet if I were calling the shots.

OS X 10.6 ‘Snow Leopard’ / ‘Lion’ ? I am sure we’ll see a preview, but don’t expect a new version of OS X to ship any time soon.  OS X 10.5 ‘Leopard’ shipped last October, it’s not that old. Mac OS X is not Ubuntu, which ships updated versions every six months.  OS X 10.6 is coming, just not today…

.Mac facelift? I think something will happen to .Mac  Tighter integration with the iPhone, or increased storage?  I am not sure what will happen, but I think something needs to happen.

Quad Core iMac/MacBook Pro? I think we’ll see it on the iMacs eventually, but not on the MacBook Pro.  The heat-related issues will, i.e. should, keep the quad-core chip out of a laptop.  There are applications to suit such a device, far too few to justify such a modification to an existing product line.

SSHD’s? The option to include a solid state hard disk on an existing MacBook, or MacBook Pro may not be out of the question.  Six months post Mac World will have a drop in price for SSHD, but cheap is not a design principle at Cupertino, thankfully…

That is what I think.  I could be completely wrong.  I probably will be. 

Backing Up FreeBSD

Hello,

As with any computing system, a backup strategy should be thought out, tested, then implemented.  The most simple question one can ask is ‘how important is the server’s role to the network and the data it contains’?  How bad would life be for the user and you, the IT dude or dudette, in the event of data loss. Data loss, and not failure.  From a conservative estimate, failure WILL happen, it is just a question of when.

The impact of a server failure and data loss on a business all depends on how much effort is placed into backup and planning.  Backup planning usually takes the form of two types of data classification, server data and the object data.  Object data is whatever the server was designed to serve or store, while the server’s own data pertains to what is needed to run the operating system.  Failures can take the form of hardware gone bad, or a software-related issue.  The most common type of hardware failure is disk failure.  A RAID 1, 5 or 10 (1+0) configuration can all handle a single disk failure and continue to run without data loss.  Either way a plan must be made to handle and replace failed disks on production servers.

FreeBSD is a very secure operating system, but it is not infallible.  No operating system is hack-proof, or immune from poor management and configuration.  Installing and maintaining only the software that is necessary to allow the server to fulfill it’s role will minimize the risk of a software-related failure.  There are a few basic tools available to FreeBSD that help to move operations in the proper direction.  The common Unix utilities, ‘dump’, ‘mt’, and ‘tar’ can be used to protect servers against data loss.

The gold standard for server data backup and storage is tape.  Tape is a sequential forum of data storage that renders itself to some of the largest capacities on the market.  Only recently have large capacity hard rives becomes large enough and cheap enough to become a serious contender to the tape drive. Money and funding are the driving forces behind all of these things.  Try to figure out the best option for your budget’s dollars.

Tape Archiver (tar)

Tar is a classic utility which can take one or more directories and create an archive from the contents. The default behavior for FreeBSD is to write all archives to /dev/sa0, or whatever directory occupies the $TAPE variable.  File paths can be specified as an output directory for tar, creating a ‘tarball’.

tar -cf stuffbackup.tar /home/n74jw/stuff

For more information on tar checkout the man-page or the GNU page.

Have fun!