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Three years?  Seriously?  It’s been almost three years since I posted to this thing?

Time to start writing again.

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Juniper NetConnect on 64 bit linux

If you’re googling for this, you already know the problems, but just as a refresher:

  1. it’s a java applet.
  2. The java applet asks for permission to write to your filesystem, then asks for your root password, then dumps a setuid program in your ~/.juniper_networks directory. (Side note: I usually mount my home directory nosuid,nodev. Guess that won’t work here…)
  3. It then tries to run another java program that uses a 32 bit shared library. Guess how well that works on a 64 bit jvm?

If you’re not doing two factor auth, just give up on the java/browser UI now and go into ~/.juniper-networks/network_connect, dump the SSL cert for your https server into a .der encoded file (there are instructions elsewhere on the internet on how to do this, I’m not going to copy and paste ‘em), and run the command line client. It’ll just hang (technically, ‘read from stdin’) if you don’t pass any args, so run ./ncsvc -h and figure it out).

If you are using two factor auth… bad news. Not supported via the command line at all currently.. And if you know me, you know how sad that makes me. So, you’re stuck with trying to get a 32 bit jvm running. Easiest way to do that?

  1. Download 32 bit Opera for your flavor of linux, but as a .tgz.
  2. Install util-linux (or whatever your flavor of linux bundles the setarch command in) and ia32-libs (or again your flavor may vary).
  3. Install a 32 bit jvm (ia32-sun-java6-bin on Ubuntu).
  4. Run linux32 ./opera from the opera directory and point java preferences (tools – preferences – advanced – content) to that jvm (again, /usr/lib/jvm/ia32-jvaa-6-sun/jre/lib/i386 un Ubuntu), and make sure you enable java on that page.
  5. If all of that works, you should go to this test applet and see that your platform is i386. If it is, it’ll probably work.

You know, unless you mount your homedir nosuid.

Enjoy!

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RIP Harry's Hot Dogs

And the showman’s league building.

Good to see the old guy’s not just sitting at home though.

(Yes I’m late getting to this. Comes from moving 2000 miles away. I was thinking about hot dogs on the way home today too.)

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Things that are cool about parenting, Part MMDCCCLXV

Picking up a sleeping child from the sofa, where they fell asleep behind you playing rock band (quietly, because they enjoy it… ok and you do too). They wake up as they’re jolted from their warm cozy place, look up in momentary disorientation, and see that you are holding them.

They immediately smile and easily fall back asleep in your arms.

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Is Blagojavich the most corrupt …

Is Blagojavich the most corrupt Illinois Governor ever?

Doubtful. He’s near the top end of the bell curve, but there’s so much competition I can’t imagine he’s tops.

But is he the stupidest? Quite possibly. Not only is he under active investigation for corruption, but he still tries to sell a senate seat to anybody who will listen. There are literally zero people outside his administration who aren’t happy to see him go down, including his own father in law. He has no allies anywhere.

Dear IL Leg: Please impeach and convict this jackass and get him out of office, today.

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Language that some people may understand

When gay marriage is outlawed, only outlaws will have gay marriages.

You can pry my gay marriage certificate from my cold dead hands.

If you wanna be my [decider of who I get to marry], you gotta get with my friends.

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My Fellow Americans

Thank you for President Barack Obama.

My Fellow Californians: We’ll just have to work on this prop 8 thing again, next possible opportunity.

Posted in politics | 1 Comment

Someone else's words

I don’t seem to have time to write my own thoughts here, so we’ll use everybody’s favorite substitute, someone else’s thoughts:

  • Grab the nearest book.
  • Open the book to page 56.
  • Find the fifth sentence.
  • Post the text of the next few sentences in your journal.
  • Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

How did they survive?

In his history of Plymouth colony, Governor Bradford himself provides one answer: robbing Indian houses and graves. The Mayflower hove to first at Cape Cod. An Armed company of Pilgrims staggered out. Eventually they found a deserted Indian habitation The newcomers—hungry, cold, sick—dug open burial sites and ransacked homes, looking for underground stashes of food. After two days of nervous work the company hauled ten bushels of maize back to the Mayflower, carrying much of the booty in a big metal kettle the men had also stolen. “And sure it was God’s good providence that we found this corn,” Winslow wrote, “for else we know not how we should have done.”

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (11th ed, paperback), Charles C. Mann.

(Concept via)

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AC 000063100

Time to add some extra digits to the Cubs sign.

I really honestly expected more from this team. You can never expect a title, but I did expect more. Thanks for 162 great regular season games. Reed Johnson’s diving catch, coming back from 8 down against the Rockies, the 4 game sweep of the Brewers, my personal favorite the come from behind grand slam by Aramis Ramirez, and of course Carlos Zambrano’s no-hitter.

See you in April.

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Economic Turmoil

I’m officially a customer of a failed bank.

Whoo hoo

Posted in tech | 1 Comment