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All Postings, Eric Allman:  (33 posts)

Source blog: Stochastic Ideations

Mon, 12 May 2014 01:13:00 UTC

A C Runtime Library Optimized for Enhanced Portability (libep)

Posted By Eric Allman

http://www.neophilic.com/pub/libep/libep-0.2.0.tgzSeveral years ago now I wrote a C library that was intended to explore some ideas I had been playing with in my head, in particular with building highly portable code. It was in the back of my head to replace the low-level I/O facilities in sendmail, but this never happened (although I started doing so). It's never been used in serious production, but I've used it for a number of small things. I've decided to put it out as open source in the hopes that someone will find it useful and/or instructive. Oh yes, it has documentation.

Wed, 26 Feb 2014 01:22:00 UTC

An Arduino-Based Sump Monitor (Part 1: Hardware) [Version 2]

Posted By Eric Allman

Several months ago I did another post on this, but it turns out it had significant problems due to galvanic corrosion. The solution seems to have been to switch from a DC circuit to an AC circuit. I've left that post around for reference, but this posting otherwise replaces it. We have a below-grade basement. We have a sump, but we've had problems with the pumps, or more precisely, the pump switches. Note the use of the plural: several years ago we installed a second pump on a separate switch, but we have still had both of them fail. So, I decided to build a monitor for the sump to measure both the height of the water in the sump and when (and if!)

Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:11:00 UTC

An Arduino-Based Sump Monitor (Part 2: Arduino Software)

Posted By Eric Allman

This posting describes the Arduino software and protocol used for my sump monitor. The previous posting describes the hardware. I may do an additional one later for the FreeBSD-based host software. Full story »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sat, 06 Jul 2013 02:30:00 UTC

IPv6 on a m0n0wall box using a Sonic.net-provided tunnel

Posted By Eric Allman

(I started this post in December 2011 but didn't finish it and then managed to forget about it. I figured I might as well finish it and get it out.) I recently returned from the LISA 2011 conference, which was very good. One of the recurring themes was IPv6. That fired me up enough to try to get IPv6 fully working when I got home. I have an IPv6 tunnel to Hurricane Electric which I used on World IPv6 Day to give it a try, but I never really finished setting that up, in part because it added a fair amount of latency.

Wed, 03 Jul 2013 01:47:00 UTC

An Arduino-Based Sump Monitor (Part 1: Hardware)

Posted By Eric Allman

We have a below-grade basement. We have a sump, but we’ve had problems with the pumps, or more precisely, the pump switches. Note the use of the plural: several years ago we installed a second pump on a separate switch, but we have still had both of them fail. So, I decided to build a monitor for the sump to measure both the height of the water in the sump and when (and if!) the pumps turn on. This needs to be able to send us alerts when something goes wrong, and may give us an idea of whether our sumps should be upgraded to something higher power.

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 15:51:00 UTC

Test entry

Posted By Eric Allman

This is just to test sending from MacJournal to a blog. Note: This is only a test.Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 15:50:00 UTC

Test entry

Posted By Eric Allman

This is just to test sending from MacJournal to a blog. Note: This is only a test.Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:29:02 UTC

A Summary of My Computing/Communication Environment

Posted By Eric Allman

I'm writing this mostly so I can refer to it from other postings. It's not all that interesting in itself. Hardware and Software We're a mostly BSD and Mac shop here at home. Kirk and I each have a BSD box (he runs PC-BSD, I run FreeBSD) that are at least theoretically our "main machines". I say theoretically because over the years I find that I do most of my keyboard and mouse interaction with Macs. None the less, my FreeBSD box remains my primary file and email server, and is where I do most of my programming. I also have a Linux box for testing and some work for/with third parties.

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:29:02 UTC

A Summary of My Computing/Communication Environment

Posted By Eric Allman

I'm writing this mostly so I can refer to it from other postings. It's not all that interesting in itself. Hardware and Software We're a mostly BSD and Mac shop here at home. Kirk and I each have a BSD box (he runs PC-BSD, I run FreeBSD) that are at least theoretically our "main machines". I say theoretically because over the years I find that I do most of my keyboard and mouse interaction with Macs. None the less, my FreeBSD box remains my primary file and email server, and is where I do most of my programming. I also have a Linux box for testing and some work for/with third parties.

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:53:45 UTC

A Summary of My Computing/Communication Environment

Posted By Eric Allman

I'm writing this mostly so I can refer to it from other postings. It's not all that interesting in itself. Hardware and Software We're a mostly BSD and Mac shop here at home. Kirk and I each have a BSD box (he runs PC-BSD, I run FreeBSD) that are at least theoretically our "main machines". I say theoretically because over the years I find that I do most of my keyboard and mouse interaction with Macs. None the less, my FreeBSD box remains my primary file and email server, and is where I do most of my programming. I also have a Linux box for testing and some work for/with third parties.

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:56:58 UTC

Programming Isn't Fun Any More

Posted By Eric Allman

A colleague of mine from the Britton Lee days (worth a post of its own) recently sent out a message that hit home. Repeated with permission: From: Jim Bradford <(deleted)@(deleted).com> Subject: programming isn't fun anymore Date: August 23, 2011 4:19:31 PM -0600 I used to enjoy writing programs. I could write lines of code, compile them, link them and run them and they would do things. Useful things. They would solve problems. Or they could take input and produce output. Now all that is ancient history. I don't write code. I learn tools. Or try to learn tools. Problem is, there are more tools than anyone can keep track of.

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:56:58 UTC

Programming Isn't Fun Any More

Posted By Eric Allman

A colleague of mine from the Britton Lee days (worth a post of its own) recently sent out a message that hit home. Repeated with permission: From: Jim Bradford <(deleted)@(deleted).com> Subject: programming isn't fun anymore Date: August 23, 2011 4:19:31 PM -0600 I used to enjoy writing programs. I could write lines of code, compile them, link them and run them and they would do things. Useful things. They would solve problems. Or they could take input and produce output. Now all that is ancient history. I don't write code. I learn tools. Or try to learn tools. Problem is, there are more tools than anyone can keep track of.

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:56:58 UTC

Programming Isn't Fun Any More

Posted By Eric Allman

A colleague of mine from the Britton Lee days (worth a post of its own) recently sent out a message that hit home. Repeated with permission: From: Jim Bradford <(deleted)@(deleted).com> Subject: programming isn't fun anymore Date: August 23, 2011 4:19:31 PM -0600 I used to enjoy writing programs. I could write lines of code, compile them, link them and run them and they would do things. Useful things. They would solve problems. Or they could take input and produce output. Now all that is ancient history. I don't write code. I learn tools. Or try to learn tools. Problem is, there are more tools than anyone can keep track of.

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:11:29 UTC

Sonic.net, static IPs, and firewalls do not mix

Posted By Eric Allman

Attempting to move to Sonic.net proved to be more challenging than expected. In particular, all of my hosts that had static IP addresses behind my firewall wouldn't work. This should be a pretty conventional setup for most business users. It turned out to be an issue with ARP that Sonic doesn't seem to want to admit is a problem. I finally got it to work in an amazingly non-obvious way. This post is to help out you folks who are trying to do the same. Read more »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:11:29 UTC

Sonic.net, static IPs, and firewalls do not mix

Posted By Eric Allman

Attempting to move to Sonic.net proved to be more challenging than expected. In particular, all of my hosts that had static IP addresses behind my firewall wouldn't work. This should be a pretty conventional setup for most business users. It turned out to be an issue with ARP that Sonic doesn't seem to want to admit is a problem. I finally got it to work in an amazingly non-obvious way. This post is to help out you folks who are trying to do the same. Read more »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:11:29 UTC

Sonic.net, static IPs, and firewalls do not mix

Posted By Eric Allman

Attempting to move to Sonic.net proved to be more challenging than expected. In particular, all of my hosts that had static IP addresses behind my firewall wouldn't work. This should be a pretty conventional setup for most business users. It turned out to be an issue with ARP that Sonic doesn't seem to want to admit is a problem. I finally got it to work in an amazingly non-obvious way. This post is to help out you folks who are trying to do the same. Full story »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:28:07 UTC

Booting FreeBSD 8.2 on a Soekris box over the network

Posted By Eric Allman

I've been working on bringing up a new Soekris net5501 box on FreeBSD 8.2. Since the Soekris boot ROM doesn't understand locally attached CD-ROM drives, you have to do this over the network. Read more »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:28:07 UTC

Booting FreeBSD 8.2 on a Soekris box over the network

Posted By Eric Allman

I've been working on bringing up a new Soekris net5501 box on FreeBSD 8.2. Since the Soekris boot ROM doesn't understand locally attached CD-ROM drives, you have to do this over the network. Read more »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:28:07 UTC

Booting FreeBSD 8.2 on a Soekris box over the network

Posted By Eric Allman

I've been working on bringing up a new Soekris net5501 box on FreeBSD 8.2. Since the Soekris boot ROM doesn't understand locally attached CD-ROM drives, you have to do this over the network. Full story »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Mon, 18 May 2009 21:30:51 UTC

Thoughts on 30 years

Posted By Eric Allman

On Monday, Kirk and I marked 30 years together. It seems hard to believe that I've spent more than half of my life with him. At this point we're pretty certain it isn't a short-term fling. We had a party on Sunday to celebrate. We had hoped (and planned) to get married, officially, state (if not federal) sanctioned. We even had a reservation at the Hillside Club for the date. When the marriage option was eliminated we decided that we would still host a small event, although we canceled the Club and held the party at home. The attendees were gay and straight, young and old, techies and artists, atheists, agnostics, Catholics, Protestants, and probably several other sects and religions (we didn't ask).

Mon, 18 May 2009 21:30:51 UTC

Thoughts on 30 years

Posted By Eric Allman

On Monday, Kirk and I marked 30 years together. It seems hard to believe that I've spent more than half of my life with him. At this point we're pretty certain it isn't a short-term fling. Read more »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Mon, 18 May 2009 21:30:51 UTC

Thoughts on 30 years

Posted By Eric Allman

On Monday, Kirk and I marked 30 years together. It seems hard to believe that I've spent more than half of my life with him. At this point we're pretty certain it isn't a short-term fling. Full story »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:46:00 UTC

Electronic Junk revisited

Posted By Eric Allman

http://doi2.acm.org/358453.358454Back in March 1982, Peter Denning wrote (President's Letter, CACM 25, 3, pp 163-165) about "Electronic Junk". I stumbled across this article recently and was struck by both how much and how little has changed in the intervening 27 years, at least as regards electronic mail. Professor Denning spoke of getting "5-10 pieces of regular junk mail, 15-25 regular letters, 5 pieces of campus mail, 5 reports or documents (not all technical), 5-10 incoming phone calls, 10-20 local electronic messages, and 10-20 external electronic messages." The ratios have changed for many of us: I get relatively little physical mail, far fewer phone calls, and far, far more email -- several thousand a day, before filtering, of which perhaps 50-150 per day actually get through to me.


Read the entire post on Stochastic Ideations
Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:46:00 UTC

Electronic Junk revisited

Posted By Eric Allman

http://doi2.acm.org/358453.358454Back in March 1982, Peter Denning wrote (President's Letter, CACM 25, 3, pp 163-165) about "Electronic Junk". I stumbled across this article recently and was struck by both how much and how little has changed in the intervening 27 years, at least as regards electronic mail. Read more »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:46:00 UTC

Electronic Junk revisited

Posted By Eric Allman

http://doi2.acm.org/358453.358454Back in March 1982, Peter Denning wrote (President's Letter, CACM 25, 3, pp 163-165) about "Electronic Junk". I stumbled across this article recently and was struck by both how much and how little has changed in the intervening 27 years, at least as regards electronic mail. Full story »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:10:39 UTC

My dream KVM switch

Posted By Eric Allman

I've got several machines on or under my desk at home: my FreeBSD server, a mac mini, and a laptop, but only one keyboard and monitor. No problem, just use a KVM, right? Well, I'm on my fourth (or is it fifth?) KVM switch and I'm still trying to find one that will do what I want. The big problem is that I have a "media keyboard", which I actually use (at the moment, I'm using the Logitech Wave keyboard). There's a great Mac app called ControllerMate that lets me do arbitrary actions on USB devices, so for example I can control the lights in my office from the keyboard using an Insteon connection.

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:10:39 UTC

My dream KVM switch

Posted By Eric Allman

I've got several machines on or under my desk at home: my FreeBSD server, a mac mini, and a laptop, but only one keyboard and monitor. No problem, just use a KVM, right? Well, I'm on my fourth (or is it fifth?) KVM switch and I'm still trying to find one that will do what I want. Read more »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:10:39 UTC

My dream KVM switch

Posted By Eric Allman

I've got several machines on or under my desk at home: my FreeBSD server, a mac mini, and a laptop, but only one keyboard and monitor. No problem, just use a KVM, right? Well, I'm on my fourth (or is it fifth?) KVM switch and I'm still trying to find one that will do what I want. Full story »Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:27:21 UTC

Conference on Email and Anti-Spam

Posted By Eric Allman

http://www.ceas.ccThe Conference on Email and Anti-Spam (CEAS) is coming up August 21-22. I've gone to this conference since the beginning, and so far as I know it's the only conference on the topic that is practical without being arm-wavy. Good stuff if you're in the business, and there's a lot of interesting work there. IIRC that's the first time I heard definitive research showing that CAPTCHAs have essentially been defeated (using algorithms, not presenting them to other humans), and that was at least three years ago. The rest of the world is just figuring that out. Another good conference is the MIT Spam Conference.

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:27:21 UTC

Conference on Email and Anti-Spam

Posted By Eric Allman

http://www.ceas.ccThe Conference on Email and Anti-Spam (CEAS) is coming up August 21-22. I've gone to this conference since the beginning, and so far as I know it's the only conference on the topic that is practical without being arm-wavy. Good stuff if you're in the business, and there's a lot of interesting work there. IIRC that's the first time I heard definitive research showing that CAPTCHAs have essentially been defeated (using algorithms, not presenting them to other humans), and that was at least three years ago. The rest of the world is just figuring that out. Another good conference is the MIT Spam Conference.

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:27:21 UTC

Conference on Email and Anti-Spam

Posted By Eric Allman

http://www.ceas.ccThe Conference on Email and Anti-Spam (CEAS) is coming up August 21-22. I've gone to this conference since the beginning, and so far as I know it's the only conference on the topic that is practical without being arm-wavy. Good stuff if you're in the business, and there's a lot of interesting work there. IIRC that's the first time I heard definitive research showing that CAPTCHAs have essentially been defeated (using algorithms, not presenting them to other humans), and that was at least three years ago. The rest of the world is just figuring that out. Another good conference is the MIT Spam Conference.

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:55:23 UTC

Thoughts on blogging

Posted By Eric Allman

I've never had a blog before. In fact, friends even have bets riding on my never blogging, ever. But other friends are on my case to start a blog. My reluctance is that I can't quite figure out why anyone would read the sort of entries that I would put in a blog. If I've got something major then I'll write a paper about it, which pretty much means that anything in a blog will be minor. And in fact, based on the blogs that I've read, most of them are so minor as to be trivial. But a few are very good; the entries are more like brief magazine articles.