While upgrading some software on one of our FreeBSD servers at work, I ran into the following problem with openssl-stable:
# cd /usr/ports/security/openssl-stable
# make clean
===> Cleaning for openssl-stable-0.9.7m
# make
===> Extracting for openssl-stable-0.9.7m
=> No MD5 checksum recorded for openssl-0.9.7m.tar.gz.
=> No SHA256 checksum recorded for openssl-0.9.7m.tar.gz.
=> No suitable checksum found for openssl-0.9.7m.tar.gz.
*** Error code 1
Stop in /usr/ports/security/openssl-stable.
The problem is caused by a recent change in openssl which deleted the checksum information for the stable version (0.9.7m) of openssl. The fix is pretty simple: just restore the checksum info for 0.9.7m to /usr/ports/security/openssl/distinfo. I’ve submitted a PR to the project which contains a patch file for folks who’d rather use patch(1) than copy-pasting three lines of text. 
Google Maps managed to snap an image of our house right in the middle of construction. Look closely at the lot in the center of this aerial photo of our house. You can see piles of lumber in our front yard, the redwood insulation (aka mulch) over the existing part of the house, all the tools, construction material, and junk in our (then uncovered) garage, the addition on the south side of the house, Barb’s quilt shop out in the back yard, and even the garden. Pretty cool, I think.
Hat tip to Andy for pointing this out to me. You da man!
I would have included a copy of the image, but Google’s T&C’s forbids it. 
California passed a “hands free” cellular phone law almost two years ago, but it hasn’t gone into effect yet. That’ll change on July 1, a little less than seven weeks from today. Neither my wife nor I have purchased a hands-free headset yet, but it’s probably about time for me to look into it.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has a helpful hands-free FAQ on their web site. High points (IMO):
- Minors are prohibited from using any device, hands-free or not, while driving. (Neither of my children drive yet, but I’m looking forward to pointing this out to them anyway. Insert evil parental laugh here.)
- The law is equally applicable to out-of-state drivers.
- The fines are pretty minor, and no violation “points” will be added to your driving record for an infraction.
I don’t drive much, but I’ve missed several calls while commuting on my bicycle. A hands-free device would have allowed me to hear my phone ringing over the traffic, probably–Watt Avenue can be very noisy! If I’m going to use my phone while riding, I’ll need to find a headset with good noise cancellation to block wind and traffic sounds from the mic.
We were quoted in a recent article in the Los Angeles Times. The author interviewed me a few months ago, but after the WSJ article I was hesitant to talk to another reporter. However, Michelle did a great job, didn’t misquote me or spin the story.
I don’t know how long the story will be available online, so if anybody is interested–check it out quick!
I’ve been using a Mac for several years, and I’ve had in intermittent problem: about once or twice a year, a CD-ROM will get “stuck” in the drive. In the past, I’ve only been able to eject the CD by rebooting my Mac. I’m sure a Windoze user would rejoice at only being required to reboot once or twice per year, but I find it annoying. Just a few minutes ago, I popped a recordable CD into my drive and got the following error:
"This disc cannot be used because it is not recognized"
So now I’ve got a blank (useless?) CD in my drive, but there’s no CD icon in Finder to eject, and the eject button on the keyboard isn’t causing the CD to eject either. To the Internet, Batman! A little searching on Google turned up a helpful post: Use disktool and System Profiler to eject stubborn CDROM discs. The short instructions (excerpted from the article) are:
- Run the System Profiler (Apple menu -> About This Mac -> More Info).
- I happen to know that my ComboDrive is an ATA device by Matshita, so I just clicked on the “ATA” section under “Hardware” (left pane of System Profiler), then looked for a Matshita device in the ATA Device Tree (right top pane of System Profiler). Clicking on the Matshita device in the top right pane shows detailed information in the bottom right pane: I needed to know the “BSD Name” of the drive. In my case, it’s “disk2″.
Open a Terminal window and enter the following command:
disktool -e disk2
Poof! Out comes the CD! That just eliminated about half of my annual reboots on my Mac. 
We got a new Kyocera printer at work a few days ago. The model we’re trying out is an “EP510DN“. We had a heck of a time finding information for this printer on the Kyocera web site. In desperation, we called their sales/support people who informed us that a Kyocera “EPwhatever” is an EcoPro unit, all of which show up on the KyoceraEcoPro domain. (Personally, seems like having completely different domain names for the same company is a good way to dilute your brand.) As soon as I added “EcoPro” to my Google query, I got meaningful results on the first page.
We are setting this up on a FreeBSD print server. We had DHCP and DNS configured and tested, so we created a printcap(5) entry for the printer, and got… errors (from the /var/log/lpd-errs log file):
lpd[32955]: /dev/lp: No such file or directory
After much head-banging, I finally figured out the problem–there was some whitespace at the end of one of the lines in the printcap. Doh!
Some other notes and information about this printer:
- Web-based configuration doesn’t support https:// protocol.
- The configuration username is “admin”. Default password is “”. Get IP configured on the printer, pull up the web interface, and change it–ASAP! (Ideally you would set the password on a private network, before putting it on the Internets. Not that it’ll do you much good–see previous note.) I’ve seen a pretty gnarly security exploit for Kyocera printers, which seems to bypass what little security is available, but I haven’t tested it on our unit yet.
- The printer supports Bonjour protocol, although it doesn’t seem to be a “real” PostScript printer. (My Mac sees it as a “Generic PostScript” device.)
- The EP510DN PPD file is available for *nix operating systems. I’m still looking for a Mac driver for this printer.
I don’t know if we’ll keep this printer or send it back. The print speed is definitely nice, and print quality seems alright. I’m a bit disturbed about all the network services that this printer provides, without securing them in any meaningful way. I’ll try out the cracking suggestion above and see if this model is vulnerable.
A few months ago we hosted a family gathering/dinner in our new kitchen. (Yes, a dozen of us spent pretty much the whole evening in or around the kitchen.) We were having El Paso-style enchiladas for dinner, and Barb wanted a dessert (other than flan) that fit the theme. She came up with apple enchiladas which we modified thusly:
- 8 granny smith apples (or any tart apple)
- 1½ c white sugar, divided
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 6 flour tortillas (~8″ size)
- 3 Tbsp butter
- ½ c water
- ½ c packed brown sugar
- Set the oven at 350°F.
- Core and chop the apples, place in a bowl. Add 1 cup of the white sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix well.
- Lay out all the tortillas and divide the fruit filling among them. Roll up the tortillas and place in a baking dish.
- In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Add the water, brown sugar, and the rest of the white sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. (You’re trying for a slightly runny caramel consistency.)
- Pour the caramel sauce over the “enchiladas” and bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream for maximum decadence!
They’re surprisingly filling, so you may want to cut them in half. Enjoy!
We passed our final inspection on the first try! WOO HOO!!!
Unfortunately we’re not yet finished with our remodel/addition. There are still a few items on the punch list, but the rest of the work is basically:
- Telephone/network wiring
- Finish the trim work (doors, windows, baseboards, touch-up paint)
- Some extra work in the dining/game room
- A few exterior finishing touches
We can’t put much effort into the house right now because we have to get our next inspection on the quilt shop by June 18, about 6 weeks from today.
We have our “final” inspection on the house/addition today. I don’t expect that we’ll pass on the first try, since nobody else I know has been able to pull that off. The final inspection punch list is empty for now, but Chris (our inspector) will probably give me a list of things to fix once he’s had a look around.
I still have some non-inspection work to do–things like door- and window trim, telephone/network wiring, hanging some (plug-in) fluorescent lights in the garage, etc. I also want to install two “extra” smoke alarms in the front rooms of the house. These aren’t required, but it just seems sensible to have these in every room, (except places where they’ll be sounding false alarms–the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room). The wiring is installed for these, and I have the smoke alarms, but I can’t find their wiring harnesses or mounting rings. :\
Sadly, I’m probably going to have to stop working on the house for a while. Our permit for Barb’s quilt shop will expire in mid-June, unless I can get it inspected before that time. There’s not a whole lot of work left to be done before the next inspection (rough frame and electrical):
- Stucco/siding transitions (east and west sides)
- Rough-in exterior lights (6)
- Re-flash windows
- (McCann) Exterior lath, stucco prep
- Fix bowed stud on south side of building
- House wrap south side of building
- Rough-in spotlights for design wall
- Rough-in ceiling lights (T8 fluorescent tubes), switches (2 banks, 3-way switches)
- Rough-in wall outlets (5, including two 4plex)
- Rough-in ceiling fans (2)
- Compressor closet: outlet (dedicated), overhead light, switch
- Compressor plumbing
Final inspection is tomorrow! Our attic fans are both permanently installed, and the attic is relatively comfortable except from late afternoon until nightfall.
The whole-house fan is wired, tested and operational. Our new fan is a 2-speed unit, whereas our old one had three speeds. We rarely used the medium speed on our old fan, so I guess this isn’t a great loss. The new fan seems quieter on the high speed but a bit noisier on low speed, compared to the old fan. (A net “win” I think, since only the high speed was ever much of an annoyance.)
I got the kids’ closet lights installed and managed to slice up my hands pretty well. (These are surface-mount fluorescent fixtures, lots of sharp metal edges.) I’m glad that I had the foresight to put 2×4’s in the closet headers where the fixtures get screwed to the wall. No drywall anchors–they’re screwed straight into cripple studs, so the fixtures are rock solid!
The required smoke alarms are installed. I have two more that I’m going to install, but they’re not required for inspection so they go to the bottom of the list.
I’ve got to go to work today, but I’m off tomorrow for the inspection. I still have a few things to do tonight and/or tomorrow morning:
- Clean up the light- and switch wiring for the attic lights.
- Wire and install ceiling light in entry.
- Run power to the smoke alarm network. Install two “extra” smoke alarms, time permitting.
