register1-dot.ll -- new report for Lifelines genealogy program

This week I whipped up a new report, register1-dot.ll, to use with Lifelines. It creates a directed graph of escendants from a particular individual. You then use 'dot' from the AT&T graphviz toolset to create a GIF, PostScript or other file.

Here is a graph from my immigrant ancestor Anthony Vincent Nozell.
I've removed the names of all living persons, but you get the idea.

"Descendant graph of Anthony Vincent Nozell (click for fullsize, it *is* legible)"

It is based on the existing register1.ll and register-tex.ll reports
and there is plenty of room for improvement.

Free State Project choose Grafton, NH as a Free Town; resident responds with a blog

An acquaintance of mine recently moved to Grafton, NH and discovered
that some folks from the href="http://www.freestateproject.org/">Free State Project have
targeted it as the first place to turn into a href="http://www.freestateproject.org/about/essay_archive/freetown.jsp">
Free Town based on
libertarian ideals. Just this week they appear to have closed on 237
acres of land for their homestead.

Well, he isn't very happy and after doing some research on some of the
people, it is very unhappy.

So is has started SaveGrafton.org
and started up a blog
to help get the word out.

Bill Moyers talks about blogs

Last night I caught the very end of NPR's FreshAir which was an interview with Bill Moyers. In response to a question about what sort of tv/print/web media he reads/listens to he said blogs 'is the closest we have come to, in a long time, to the history of the American media in the beginning' and then talks about the parallels of blogs and the early American press of the 1700s.

Skip ahead to about 36 minutes into the show and hear for yourself.

Some tips to (re)install grub on an HP ProLiant server

Yesterday I needed to fix the MBR of a ProLiant (Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 2.1) by reinstalling grub and grub-install just won't work.
grub-install assumes that the boot device is in the form /dev/hda or
/dev/sda and since most ProLiant use a SmartArray RAID controller its
boot device is typically /dev/cciss/c0d0.

So, in order to recover this is what I did:

* In /etc/grub.conf (a link to /boot/grub/grub.conf) uncomment the
line that looks like this:

     boot=/dev/cciss/c0d0
     

* Make sure /boot/grub/device.map is setup right and looks like this:

        (fd0)     /dev/fd0
        (hd0)     /dev/cciss/c0d0
     

* Run grub like this:

   /sbin/grub --batch --device-map=/boot/grub/device.map 
        --config-file=/boot/grub/grub.conf --no-floppy
   grub> root (hd0,0)
   grub> setup (hd0)
   grub> quit
  

Hope that helps!

Using perl to drive HP's Lights Out management module

Most of the current generation hp ProLiant servers (really all
except the very low cost ones) have an embedded management chip,
the
Integrated Lights Out (iLO).

The cool thing is you can drive all the iLO's operations (power on/off
server, user admin, etc) by sending XML across SSL to it's NIC. HP
has recently put out some sample perl to show you exactly how to do
this.

Be sure to have the perl modules IO::Socket::SSL
installed.

Check it out: HP Lights-Out Perl Scripting Sample

FCC Chairman Michael Powell to speak at a NH event

This just came across the local Linux Users group mailng list:

Special guest Luncheon with FCC Chairman Michael Powell

Lunch and Remarks 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 13th
C.R. Sparks - Bedford, New Hampshire

Tickets $25
To RSVP: www.nhhtc.org

The Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the New
Hampshire High Technology Council, the New Hampshire Association of
Broadcasters and The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce are
hosting a special guest luncheon with Federal Communications
Commission Chairman, Michael Powell.

Chairman Powell has emerged as one of the most visible and active
chairpersons in the history of the Federal Communications
Commission. The future direction of wire and wireless communications
in the United States rests squarely in the hands of Chairman Powell
and his colleagues at the FCC as they seek to find a balance between
regulation and free market competition. Issues such as voice-over
Internet and decency in broadcasting are also on the Chairman's
agenda.

Luncheon guests will have the opportunity to engage in a Q & A with
Chairman Powell. This event is made possible through the generous
support of our sponsors:

Cedarpoint Communications
Verizon Communicatons-NH
BayRing Communications
New Hampshire Association ofBroadcasters

Any Howard Stern fans or href="http://www.eff.org">activists in the area?

Since tomorrow is Good Friday...

Here is a
nice condensed version of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ"

The musical score is amazing.