use Perl

People are often surprised to discover that I'm a computer guy... I'm not sure why that is.

So every now and then, I try to give a little advance warning.

When preparing a bit of pasta for lunch, always ensure that the lid of the Parmigiano cheese container is on tightly before shaking said container vigorously to break up the clumps.

Ah well, I needed to clean that corner of the kitchen anyway.

We're nervous. The good kind of nervous, the "we can't wait to get out there and show them what we've got" sort of nervous.

A couple of beers should help relax me...

John

My first exposure to his work was in high school. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas rocked my world.

Evidently he was not, as many thought, too weird to die.

Farewell, Dr. Gonzo. Watch out for the bats.

John

Sorry for not posting this prior to Thanksgiving. Think of this as being early for next year. :)

In my experience, this is the best combination of most easily-prepared and best-tasting turkey - especially if you can get your paws on a free-range bird.

Like so many things in life, proper preparation is the key to success. Brining is mandatory, as is the air-dry in the icebox!

Side note: We use a 1-pound rubber mallet instead of a rolling pin to whack and break the breastbone. We also use the mallet to drive a small cleaver down the sides of the backbone.

Enjoy!

John

I couldn't find this documented anywhere else, so it goes here! By golly, you can find ALL KINDS of solutions here at use.perl.org - some that might even have to do with Perl!!

keywords: cisco softphone audio firewall vpn nat

If you have one-way audio (specifically, they can hear you on your softphone but you can't hear them), check the following:

Settings -> Audio -> Network Audio Settings

The top group of radio buttons has three settings:

• Automatic Selection (with an update button that didn't work for me)
• Select Address (a dropdown menu with two IP addresses)
• Specify Address

On my laptop, the second button was selected (which was correct), but my wireless router's NAT IP address was chosen. Once I selected the address provided by the VPN concentrator, all was well.

I found information on Cisco's site that referenced having to open UDP ports 16384 through 32767 inclusive (HELLO!), other stuff elsewhere saying that I should change my router's config to put my laptop in the DMZ, blah blah blah. All unnecessary.

Perl Content:

I'm working with a gent from Colorado on a script that helps Novell BorderManager admins have an easier time of dealing with access control lists. He's got the code working, I'm doing a little polishing and PODding.

My evening routine includes dumping my pocket change into the change bucket. While watching some TV tonight I rolled most of that change, 'cause it's been close to a year since the last rolling.

When I got tired of rolling after almost three hours, I stopped and counted it up: a little less than $250. This doesn't include the big honkin' pile of quarters I set aside because I ran out of wrappers. The temptation to wallow in my new wealth was strong, but I resisted. Plus, it would have been lumpy wallowing.

My wife would like to go out to eat at our favorite place tomorrow night, which would consume somewhere between one third and one half of that amount. That sound you hear is me rolling my eyes.

With any luck, once I get back from a small moonlighting gig, and then start in on fixing the leak in her bathtub, it will be too late to go out.

Don't get me wrong - I love my wife, and love to do things that make her happy, but I'd like to see this scavenged sum get set aside for a rainy day.

Wish me luck...

After lusting for the technology for months, I finally got a bluetooth-enable phone yesterday evening. Most of last night and today were spent trying get an education (for myself AND the unclueful folk at 1-866-CINGULAR) on how it's all supposed to work.

The connection 'twixt the laptop and phone is working; when someone calls the phone, my iBook happily asks if I'd like to answer the call or chuck it to voice mail.

The phone itself can do webful things, such as snag the weather forecast.

Nobody at Cingular seems to know what to do next... after all, everything's fine on their end!

GRRRRRR!!

John

My new-to-me iBook (500 mhz, 20gb, 384mb) has been a freaking blast. No hardware errors, and no software errors that I didn't generate and thereby deserved.

There's no software on the hard drive that isn't free (with the exception of the OS). Well, okay, there's a shareware game that I'll probably get tired of within a week and trash.

Hell, I even dropped it onto the sidewalk with only a small crack and a bit of abrasion to show for it.

Two weeks after purchase, I threw an Airport card in and found an inexpensive wireless router. Like Pudge, I can now write journal entries from a seated position in the "reading room". :)

Now that I think about it, I've never had any hardware problems with any Apple equipment I've owned. For the curious, this includes a //c, Imagewriter II, LC, Stylewriter I, and this laptop.

Maybe my good fortune averages out the problems that other people experience. For them, I have the following message:

THANK YOU, AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! :)