Blog Relocated

I have permanently moved this blog to my own server. Please point your browser at http://garychambers.com/nq/ and update your bookmarks. I know, I know -- I'm being presumptuous. That would require someone to actually have bookmarked this blog in the first place.

Multi-Year Interactive Computer Almanac (MICA)

I just picked-up a copy of one of the later versions (2005) of the Multi-Year Interactive Computer Almanac (MICA). It's a product of the U. S. Naval Observatory (USNO) published by Willmann-Bell and it provides high- (and low-) precision astronomical data for many celestial objects. I have always been intrigued by this rather pricey product and wondered about its capabilities, and I thought it would be a valuable addition to my computer-based astronomy repertoire. Unfortunately, I'm somewhat disappointed by what I've seen so far. I don't want to rehash the MICA features/capabilities in this post, so please visit the USNO site to review them.

I use a Mac and my complaints begin there. The Mac version is built only for the PowerPC architecture. I have an Intel Mac and, although it runs without modification, it uses Rosetta, which is a PowerPC emulation mode that Apple wisely included in the newer Macs to ensure that users' weren't stuck with useless software. The Intel Macs have now been out for several years and it's trivial to compile a universal binary that will run natively (and much more quickly and efficiently) on either platform.

Second, the entire application requires the use of the mouse. I am a keyboard person; I always have been and I always will be. The mouse is nothing more than a necessary evil when in a GUI-based environment. I'd much prefer the slightly steeper learning curve of a command line interface to obtain the information.

Finally, it runs only in the GUI, so accessing the data remotely requires the overhead of a network-based remote desktop utility such as Apple Remote Desktop, VNC, or Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection.

Overall, it's an adequate application for its intended purpose. The data may be very accurate, but it isn't easy to get to it.

Cisco ASA 5505 Static Assignment Issue

I've been fighting with a Cisco ASA 5505 for the past couple of days trying to pass traffic on a site-to-site VPN. One of my Google searches hit on this blog entry. This entry is a note to myself to remember (which I probably won't) that if you use a Cisco ASA 5505 with only a single outside IP address, ensure that you use the interface keyword when creating static routing entries. For example, the following entry will not work:

static (inside,outside) tcp 12.34.56.233 smtp 192.168.1.188 smtp netmask 255.255.255.255

The following entry, however, will work:

static (inside,outside) tcp interface smtp 192.168.1.188 smtp netmask 255.255.255.255

I'm familiar and comfortable with several Cisco routers and switches, but I have to admit that the ASA 5505 is one of the most confounding network products I've had the opportunity to use. That being said, I would not consider using networking hardware from anyone except Cisco.

Word Of The Century

I saw this word for the first time on Van Helsing's outstanding Moonbattery blog:

kakistocracy:

Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.

This word so accurately describes government at every level: local, state, and federal. We have absolutely no representation whatsoever; only greedy, corrupt, self-serving, self-aggrandizing hacks! I see no relief in sight -- especially what awaits us after January 20, 2009.

Israel vs. Hamas

In Michael Graham's superlative article on the war with Hamas, he articulates how I feel about the situation far better than I ever could.

Apple iPod Touch

Best. Electronic device. Ever.

I've had my iTouch for just about six months now, and I continue to be amazed by how extraordinary this device is. I bought the 16GB version and I'm completely satisfied with it as far as the storage space is concerned. In the interest of full disclosure, I also have a 60GB iPod (I have no idea what G (generation?) it is, but it does video), so storing my entire library on the iTouch was never a consideration.

Master Of My Domain

For the past couple of years, I parked my domain at an inferior hosting service (I'll divulge the name of the organization if you e-mail me) and did almost nothing with it. That's about to change! Years ago, before the dot-com implosion, I was the co-owner of an ISP up in Maine. My business partner (and friend) and I ran an exceptional operation and built a fiercely loyal customer base over the nearly three years we were in business. As you might expect, I grew accustomed to (and took for granted) having firsthand, direct access to an internet-connected network. Worse, however, was having to relinquish control of it to the party to whom we had sold the entire operation.

It's been almost ten years, but I will soon have complete control over my own personal domain (garychambers.com), and I am nearly as excited now as I was the day my friend and I opened the doors to our company.