The Japan Page

More fun with Tinyget.exe

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:54:04 -0800

I don't get to do as much scripting as before with my new job, but every now and then I get to do something really fun... like writing a script to post an update to a web server over HTTPS with client certificate authentication.

So, here goes...

tinyget -d -s:SSL3 -keypair:fromIE subjectname -srv:myserver.com -uri:/myschtuff/index.asp

ML Alumni group

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:57:42 -0800

The ML Alumni group on LinkedIn is open to all current or former ML employees.
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/35975/61AB877A9A8A

Also see the Google group:
http://groups.google.com/group/ml-alumni

Firefox Download Day is bunk...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:10:27 -0800

It's 12.10 am on June 17th (Firefox 3 Download day) and it's still not available....

Dude, where's my fox...?

Daughter V.2.o successfully released

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:54:00 -0800

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Julie Hana Seaman, Daughter version 2.o successfully delivered.

Mountain View, CA - 10.54 am on March 28th, 2008 -- Julie Hana Seaman version 2.o passed User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and was successfully delivered today. According to Rumiko Murayama Seaman, Chief Project Architect and Delivery Engineer "This project completed 3 days early AND the final product was perfect".

John Seaman, Co-Development Engineer and Lead Waste By-product Collection System Service Technician also also added "we have no plans for a service pack release at this time."

Julie Hana Seaman will continue post release inspection at the El Camino Hospital and Software Center until March 30th, after which final installation will commence in San Jose, CA.

Further product information and specifications are available online at:

www.japan-page.net/julie

Clarification of Release Policy:

Julie Hana Seaman, AKA Daughter v.2.o was a separate code tree from Emily Joyce Seaman, AKA Daughter v.1.o. Both releases will continue to be supported in parallel, however as we have been blessed with completely bug free code there will be no Service Pack or Hotfix releases.

"There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those."
Mother Theresa

Creating eMule P2P rules on the Juniper (NetScreen) SSG 5 series

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:25:00 -0800

I generally use two Linux distro based firewalls on my home network, but I recently tested a Juniper SSG 5 for an evening with eMule. This was as close to a certain P2P based streaming AV application we use @ work that I could get without dragging a bunch of hardware home.

Here's my setup notes:

1999 BMW R1100 S For Sale

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 11:04:00 -0800

SOLD on 3/23, Thanks for looking.

~~1999 BMW R1100 S For Sale $5250 contact: john [at] japan-page [dot] net~~

Heated hand grips
ABS Brakes
Only 22,009 miles
Great condition - never dropped.
1085cc, fuel injected engine
California registration to October 1998
Includes Cortech Sport ballistic nylon saddlebags.
I'll even throw in my Shoei RF-1000 helmet

The pending arrival of offspring v.2.o, and having changed jobs and no longer commuting on the freeway bring me to the sad state where I no longer need such a wonderful ride. Or, if you ask my wife she'll point out that I don't need any kind of motorcycle. Anyway, for the near future I won't be riding much, so the BMW is up for sale. It has been garaged both at home and at work, so the paint is in great shape, along with everything else.

The insides of a Juniper SSG5 Wireless

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:55:00 -0800

I recently was handed a Juniper SSG 5 Wireless unit for a hardware evaluation. Ha ha ha, you want to give me hardware? Don't you know I have screwdrivers...? But I'm rambling... Anyway, this is a sweet little unit except for one little gotcha, the fan is awfully noisy.

Popping open the case shows the two antenna leads coming off the wireless daughter board with two heat sinks. The fan starts up when the unit gets warm inside, but I was surprised because it's really noisy and the temperature threshold is set so low it almost never goes off. Admittedly this device is typically used in small offices, and probably stuck in a closet somewhere, but if you used it in a home office you'd notice that noise quickly.

The Juniper OS is super easy to set up, I turned it into a WPA-PSK AP in about 2 minutes and was surfing the web from a laptop shortly after that.

Performance notes on the LSI 1068 SATA/SAS Controller

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:28:00 -0800

I recently bought an ASUS P5M2/SAS motherboard to set up a whitebox ESX server capable of hosting 64 bit VM's. I chose this mobo because it has a pretty strong following of home ESX users, and the embedded LSI 1068 controller is supported by ESX.

I would have liked to do a detailed performance comparison to this whitebox server vs. my loaner HP DL380 G3 server, but I don't really have the time for that, so some general performance notes will have to suffice. I borrowed the HP server from my boss at my current employer (whom mostly uses those 4-letter-word-company servers), and I needed to give it back in a timely manner.

How to crash your Cisco 871 Series Router

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:09:13 -0800

Turns out it's pretty easy to brick a Cisco 871 series router... just reboot it. OK, it's a little harder but not much. Here's the 411.

We selected the Cisco 871 Series router for use in a medical device. The customers of our medical device turn it on before using it, then turn it off when they're finished. Pretty normal, right? The gotcha is when you turn the router off during the boot process, and this router takes longer than most old PC's to boot. (Almost 3 minutes to hand out an address over DHCP).

The exact kill-spot depends on the version of IOS, we used 12.4(15) at first and then experimented with several other versions. It appears that during the final stages of the IOS boot process, around 69 seconds for 12.4(15), it reads the config from NVRAM, and if power is interrupted during this brief window the config is lost and the router is "bricked".

Fixing the boss's e.mail...

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:11:49 -0800

My old boss is in the news again. To be exact, he was my boss's boss to about the tenth power.

Way back when I first started at Merrill Lynch (in Tokyo Japan) and was working on the desktop team I was dispatched to the Exec floor to "fix a guests e.mail". Turns out it was E. Stanley O'Neal (currently CEO and Chairman of the Board @ Merrill). At the time David Komansky was CEO and Stan was in the running for "next in line".

For the record Stan was a really down-to-earth guy and said "thank you" after I fixed his profile. I'm just a tech guy so I can't say much about the business side of CDO's, but could you somehow write off my mortgage too...?

Merrill Lynch Alumni group on Linked-In

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:17:39 -0800

Everyone else has a group, but I couldn't find one for current and former Merrill Lynch employees, so I created one. Anyone who is a current or former ML employee is welcome to join.

Click on this link to join, or copy the link below. Feel free to pass it on to your ML friends...
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/35975/61AB877A9A8A

Rumi's new computer desk, Version 2.o, Part 1

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 23:25:00 -0800

My original computer desk v.1.o from 1998 was starting to show ten years of wear and tear. At 8 feet wide and 3 feet+ deep, it was big and sturdy enough for two 20" CRT monitors plus hardware. But it was just too big, and didn't make particularly good use of space either.

So, it was time for computer desk v.2.o. My design requirements were 1) Easy to disassemble and move and 2) Make better use of space (read smaller). Here is the completed basic desk, it's made of birch hardwood veneer 3/4" ply with solid maple edging. The finish is a cherry stain with a poly varnish topcoat.

My wife originally insisted she didn't want a handmade desk and would buy the $50 special from Ikea, but my 5 year plan is to eliminate all things Ikea from my house, so instead I knocked this together in about a week.
Once I have some time (hah!) I'll go back and build a set of shelves that attach to the back to hold the LCD display and printer, plus hide the cables and hold the other junk that always ends up near your computer.

Plywood Storage in a cramped garage shop...

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:16:33 -0800

I needed somewhere out of the weather to store plywood between projects, and with a tiny garage shop I didn't want to waste any floor space if possible. I had already built a simple wood rack for small stock storage, but this time I want to store up to full 4' by 8' @ 3/4" ply sheets, and be able to put them up and take them down without enlisting the entire neighborhood to help.

I got to thinking about pulleys and sleds and this is what I came up with. It's built with standard 2x4's, 1/2" ply corner braces and some simple hinges and hardware. I have a tracked (roller) garage door that opens and just clears under the ply rack by about an inch, so I have to close the garage door when moving ply.

Halloween Pumpkin Tophat for low-voltage yard lighting

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:51:40 -0800

10 minute pumpkin "tophat" for low-voltage yard lights

I took a $0.99 plastic pumpkin procured from Target and turned it into a "tophat" to sit on my low-voltage yard lighting to add a little Halloween spirit.

The whole thing took 10 minutes, and was so simple I had it finished before I even thought of taking pictures.

1. I measured the top opening at just over 5 inches. I used a compass to trace and score the bottom at 6" diameter, then cut it out with a box cutter. Be careful not to trim your fingers....

2. I took a 1.5" long piece of 2" diameter black ABS drain pipe and hot glued it to the bottom section. This will prevent the pumpkin from directly touching the top of the malibu low-voltage light (heat) and also make it stay in place.

3. I then hot glued the cut out bottom section to the inside of the top, then ran an extra bead of hot glue from the top.

4. Hot glue tends to soften or melt when exposed to too much heat, so I cut 3/8" vent holes in the top piece.

I will probably rig up a small anti-theft lanyard to a tent stake or something later.Even with the ABS pipe and hot glue I doubt it cost more than $1.25, but we don't want them walking away on Halloween....

Happy Halloween !

Geta Bako (Japanese shoe box), Part 1

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:14:39 -0800

My wife requested a small geta-bako (shoe storage cabinet) in the front entry way to hold the shoes. Since we live in a tiny California ranch style house, we needed a matching (tiny) shoe box. After careful measurement I decided it could stick out 9 inches from the wall, unfortunately my shoe size is 10 & 1/2, so my shoes will have to go in sideways... :-)

I purchased a Kreg pocket hole jig last year, so the theme for this project was pocket holes. It's actually almost finished, I haven't quite decided what kind of doors to put on it yet, so it's in use without them for now. Here's the first half of the pictures I took while building it. This picture is without the final face frame (or finish), but will give you an idea what it looks like now.

(More pictures below...)