New RFID PassportNew RFID Passport
Above is the picture of the RFID device in my new UK passport. The outer wire loop is 72mm * 42mm which is by far the largest RFID device I’ve[...]
Tag: Most Popular
Seatbelts and Transporting ComputersSeatbelts and Transporting Computers
I’ve just read an interesting post at Making Light about seat-belts [1]. In Australia seat-belt use is mandatory, you can be fined for failing to wear one – and the[...]
Car Drivers vs Mechanics and Free SoftwareCar Drivers vs Mechanics and Free Software
In a comment on my post about Designing Unsafe Cars [1] Noel said “If you don’t know how to make a surgery, you don’t do it. If you don’t know[...]
Designing Unsafe CarsDesigning Unsafe Cars
The LA Times has an interesting article about problems with Toyota and Lexus cars [1]. Basically there are problems where the cars have uncontrolled acceleration (there seems to be some[...]
Laptop ReliabilityLaptop Reliability
Update: TumbleDry has a good analysis of the Square Trade report [0]. It seems that there are significant statistical problems in Square Trade’s analysis and a possible conflict of interest.[...]
Planning Servers for FailurePlanning Servers for Failure
Sometimes computers fail. If you run enough computers then you encounter failures regularly. If the computers are important then you need to plan for the failure. An ideal situation is[...]
Some Tips for Shell Code that Won’t Destroy Your OSSome Tips for Shell Code that Won’t Destroy Your OS
When writing a shell script you need to take some care to ensure that it won’t run amok. Extra care is needed for shell scripts that run as root, firstly[...]
First Dead Disk of SummerFirst Dead Disk of Summer
Last night I was in the middle of checking my email when I found that clicking on a URL link wouldn’t work. It turned out that my web browser had[...]
Backing up MySQLBacking up MySQL
I run a number of MySQL databases, the number of mysqld installations that I run is something like 8, but I may have forgotten some. With the number of servers[...]
What to do When You Break a ServerWhat to do When You Break a Server
Everyone who does any significant amount of sysadmin work will break a server. Most people who have any significant experience will have broken several. Anyone who has never broken one[...]