Bryan Strawser

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Archives for 2004

Software Essentials

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Update: This post is now out of date. The current version is here.

Mark Pilgrim has inspired me with a great post about the essential software that he uses day to day, so here’s my breakdown of the same:

  1. Text Editing: BBEdit. While it’s not cross platform, I’ve not found anything that worked as well for me as BBEdit – runs on top of Mac OS X. Handles PHP, HTML, and CSS flawlessly, has remote capabilities, and does alot of other things like slice my bread and make fresh cheese for me.
  2. Web Browsing: Apple’s Safari – I’ve been using it since some of the early beta versions. Includes tabbed browsing, which I now find that I can’t live without. Syncs bookmarks between the laptop and the desktop. Exceptionally fast. I will be testing Mozilla Firefox shortly though since it is getting great reviews. One annoying bug: why does it keep locking up on me from time to time in some applications? Ack!
  3. E-Mail: Microsoft Entourage. I’m not sure that I am going to continue using this since it doesn’t do everything that I need and Apple’s Mail.app seems to be catching up with functionality. Nothing that I am doing is tied directly to Entourage, so it’s likely I’ll be switching. Is there a Mail.app to Entourage tool?
  4. Remote Connections: SSH – is there any other tool? I think not. My servers allow access only via SSH. I have SSH setup to allow access into my home network from the outside – and no other path. I use SSH to tunnel POP, SMTP, and other tools across the internet. There’s no other way to do this the way that I want…
  5. PDA: Compaq iPaq 3850 – it’s nearly three years old now but does everything that I need. I’ve added Pocket Explorer and PhatNotes to the default applications and don’t need any others. I’d get a newer laptop but my employer still doesn’t support USB, so I can’t upgrade. Besides, I like what I have.
  6. Backup and Mirroring:rsync. I backup my servers to a Dell NAS on my local network. It also does MySQL replication. It’s a great tool.
  7. Web Server: Apache – usually with PHP and MySQL added on – as well as a few other goodies. There’s nothing else as robust or as simple to use.
  8. Server Operating System: Debian – a linux system with outstanding package support. It’s the only server OS that I use. Automatic upgrades, great security services, outstanding documentation.
  9. Desktop Operating System: Mac OS X – running this now on a laptop and a desktop. Allows me to work on sites and other code locally without any special add ons. Applications exist for almost everything that I need to do. Disappointed by the lack of support by some vendors for their products on this OS, but I’m confident that they’ll come around eventually!
  10. Instant Messanging: Proteus from Indigofield. Simple shareware that supports MSN, Yahoo, AIM, and ICQ all in one package with pretty icons and other notification options.
  11. IRC: ircle – I’m not often in IRC outside of tech conferences and the like – but when I am, I use this highly popular IRC tool. I’m also known to use BitchX from the command line – it takes me back to my hacker days.
  12. Weblog Publishing Tools: Movable Type – currently using v2.65, but will be switching to v3.0 as its released. A set of custom templates and a CSS based layout. I also use ecto for remote publishing and other weblog management tasks.
  13. News Aggregator: NetNewsWire from Ranchero Software. A Mac OS X based newsreader with support for all feed types and soon will sync news feeds across machines, which will be simply awesome for my desktop when I’m at home.
  14. Scripting Language: PHP – it’s the only scripting language that I code in – though alot of my server applications use Perl.

Those are the key applications that I use at home and with my own computers – I’ll skip talking about my real job and the applications that we’re required to use there – but they’re mostly from Microsoft….

MG Petraeus Promoted

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The Pentagon announced today that Major General David Petraeus, the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division has been promoted to Lieutenant General and head of the new Office of Security Transition in Iraq.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced today that the President
has nominated Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus for appointment to the grade of lieutenant
general and assignment as chief, Office of Security Transition-Iraq. Petraeus is
currently serving as the commanding general, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
and Fort Campbell, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Petraeus was the central figure in Rick Atkinson’s new book In the Company of Soldiers about last year’s efforts by the 101st Airborne during the Iraq War and occupation. Pretty interesting individual. I wish him well in his new assignment.

Six Months with a Tablet PC

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Liz Lawley writes over at mamamusings about her six month experience using a tablet PC:

The tablet-specific features of the operating environment are really very slick. I particularly like the Zinio magazine reading software, which lets me read a variety of magazines (purchased one copy at a time, or via subscription) on the screen, and allows me to annotate the pages as I go. Very nice implementation, and ideal for reading on the go.

My primary machine is currently a 15″ Apple Powerbook – at work I use this as well as a Dell laptop that’s about five years old, a Compaq (HP) iPaq and alot of notebook paper.

Tablet PCs appeal to me – I’ve played with a few of them at the FranklinCovey store and some other retailers, but still haven’t found one that really works for me the way that I would want. Besides, I’m pretty attached now to my powerbook and love Mac OS X.

I see down the road though that Tablet PCs are going to outpace laptops in terms of usage — at least it’s my fervent hope that eventually I’ll be able to get rid of my piles of paper and be more electronic.

Lex: Political Radicalism

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Lex writes today of political radicalism and leaves behind some clear statements about the current state of the War in Iraq:

But whomever wins in November, we’ve still got a war to fight, and it’s not the time to get wobbly. Setbacks and embarrassments aside, we’ve got boots on the ground over there, and a mission we can still achieve. All the realpolitik thought going around the blogosphere and elsewhere about exit strategies and political transformations short of democratic rule miss the entire point – we went there to ensure our security, and along the way liberate a people – not really because we’re extra special wonderful people, but because doing so would fundamentally change the calculus in a region where the balanced equation isn’t familiar, and make us safer in the long run. Tiptoeing away when the going gets rough will ensure that all those soldiers died in vain, will present an energizing victory to those who deserve it least in Iraq and virtually guarantee that the next front will be fought much closer to home.

I do not want to see Kerry win – but I think if he does – his ideas that he’s proposed about the situation in Iraq aren’t going to fly as well as he thinks they will – they’re simply not going to be able to find a way to bring the UN back into Iraq – and Europe has made it clear, right or wrong, that they’re not coming to this particular dance and will sit things out.

The bottom line is.. we have 135,000 men and women over there risking all that they have – and we’ve got to support them – and the strategy – to the hilt.

If you’re going to oppose this effort, at least be part of the loyal opposition instead of the crazy leftist opposition.

It’s Only Wednesday

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Not leaving until Sunday..

Ahhh… awoken earlier by the sunlight from the 5:50am sunrise. Just wrapped up a nice breakfast down by the ocean..

Time to get covered in sunblock and head down to the beach for a fine morning of reading The Guns of August

Life is grand…

Smash: Kerry’s First Flip-Flop

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Smash has posted an excellent analysis of the Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth press conference today blasting Kerry as unfit to be commander in chief:

FORTUNATELY, it was just a dream. But for John Kerry, the nightmare is real. After he left Vietnam behind, he turned against his military brothers, accusing them of committing various acts of cruelty. He even went before Congress and testified about war crimes that he later admitted he had not personally witnessed.

Needless to say, some of these veterans aren’t very enamored with Senator Kerry. And now they’re throwing him a press conference.

Of course, this is all politically motivated. One can pick through Kerry’s military records, question whether he earned all of his medals, and ask why he requested reassignment after just four months in country – but none of this changes the fact that he volunteered for combat duty, and served bravely and honorably.

So why are partisan Republicans making an issue of Kerry’s military record?

Part of the blame lies with Kerry himself. Throughout the primary campaign, he repeatedly called attention to his service in Vietnam in order to differentiate himself from his opponents. He also brought along some of his fellow veterans on the campaign trail. He shouldn’t be surprised, then, that some of his former brothers-in-arms, who weren’t quite so happy about his post-war activities, have decided to speak up. While serving in Vietnam, Kerry was part of a very close-knit community of Sailors, Coastguardsmen, and Special Forces who make up the “Brown Water Navy.” Under fire, these men became as close as family. So Kerry’s sudden conversion from Navy Hero to Anti-War Activist must have come as quite a blow to these brave men.

Which brings us to the crux of the matter: Kerry’s political career begins with his decision to leave Vietnam, quit the military, and join the Anti-War Movement. To Kerry’s supporters, this decision represents a Change of Heart.

To his opponents, it was Kerry’s First Flip-Flop.

Much more to read over at Citizen Smash.