Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Linux file systems, go for ZFS or Btrfs?


Linux file systems, go for ZFS or Btrfs?

Below is my comment and ZFS file systems developers work which I copied

My Comment
Good Work.
Please write some end notes on all the Linux file systems.
I have had some problems with downloaded isos in the Peppermint Linux’s download folder.
I felt some hacker’s script had infiltrated (I used my computer as a cloud host inadvertently) it.
I changed the hard disk formatted everything and even the new disk cannot be partitioned with Gparted (I think the Debian is so finicky that it detects even minute corrupt files).
Now I keep a copy of all Linux images in Ntfs without any understanding how Ntfs works.
Your knowledge on how file system works is useful to old Linux users too.



I’m a geek. I enjoy playing with different file systems, version control systems, and, well, for that matter, radios.
I have lately started to worry about the risks of silent data corruption, and as such, looked to switch my personal systems to either ZFS or btrfs, both of which offer built-in checksumming of all data and metadata. I initially opted for btrfs, because of its tighter integration into the Linux kernel and ability to shrink an existing btrfs file system.
However, as I wrote last month, that experiment was not a success. I had too many serious performance regressions and one too many kernel panics and decided it wasn’t worth it. And that the SuSE people got it wrong, deeply wrong, when they declared btrfs ready for production. I never lost any data, to its credit. But it simply reduces up time too much.
That left ZFS. Before I build a system, I always want to make sure I can repair it. So I started with the Debian Live rescue image, and added the zfsonlinux.org repository to it, along with some key packages to enable the ZFS kernel modules, GRUB support, and initramfs support. 
The resulting image is described, and can be downloaded from, my ZFS Rescue Disc wiki page, which also has a link to my source tree on github.
In future blog posts in the series, I will describe the process of converting existing Debian installations to use ZFS, of getting them to boot from ZFS, some bugs I encountered along the way, and some surprising performance regressions in ZFS compared to ext4 and btrfs.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Musix 3.0 Stable is OUT- AV Linux 6.0.2 is Fun

 I have not written about Linux for ages.
This is simply to save my electricity bill.
I get all what I want from Linux Magazine including latest Linux DVDs.

Hope they write about Musix and AV Linux on a future date.
They are going great guns.

After many months of hibernation, I in fact downloaded few distributions for my use.

1. AV Linux 6.0.2 is great.
It has all the Video and some Audio applications

There was a big hassle with its installation but I finally got it running.
It does not have Firefox which is my favorite.
Its Gparted did not detect my hardrives with partitions.
It could not detect my Peppermint Linux installed.
All these niggles I have learnt to live with.
I simply installed KiWi (New Zealand guys specially their Rugger and Cricket guys-thanks guys for the drubbing you give the Indians currently.) Linux which took four hours (with a very very slow Sri-Lankan Internet) which sorted out my Grub File when I woke up in the morning.

2. HAM (andyshamradiolinux) Radio Linux but only in 64 bit version.

3. Oikyolinux only in 64 bits with many desktops and Ubuntu based.

4. Mageia Linux
It is making its presence felt but CD has no software/application and only the desktop.

5. Musix 3.0 Stable is OUT and is a great Disrto!

However, I could not find the install script. 
This problem was there in Knoppix 7.0.2 which they corrected in 7.0.4.
Since Musix is based on ? Knoppix ? Debian it may be the same problem what Knoppix had.
Hope they correct this in the next update.
 

Otherwise, it is a great Distro.
 

Thank YOU Guys/Girls of all the distributions mentioned.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

3R to 5R, Equation and its application


3R to 5R, Equation and its application

Einstein needed only 3Rs (Register, Remember and Repeat (Review=Recollect).
Reconciliation needs only 3Rs (Respect, Recognize and Review).
How much on needs to run a country?
It is 5xR5.

1.Rata
2. Rajaya
3. Ravaya
4. Raja
5. Raguma

Pits, Traps, Ants, Lions and Anti-Lions of Sri-Lanka


Pits, Traps, Ants, Lions and Anti-Lions of Sri-Lanka

This comes in the tradition of Linux or Free Software Foundation (Wikipedia Mentality) core principles, anybody who is not a politician can copy and edit without giving reference to my insane blogging habits.

In fact, I almost decided not to make any blog presence (until the political wind is blown away for good-God only knows when=actually bogus astrologers of ill repute will decide our political fate) but to make a kite and try to fly (fly away to a distant land as a second class refuge) it till the freedom, I lost is found in the sky or away across the distant horizon or is blown away by the political wind (wings fluttering in the air like a dragonflies going for a prey) that is blowing across, this blessed land in 2014.
I am going to change the name of this fly with feeble wings to Anti-Lion, since it is vocally correct and sounds nice and relevant.
In this country, we have very few lions (can be be counted by the number of fingers one has) and lot of ants and significant number of anti-lions (most of them are refugees in chosen lands of their own, including Canada-who lost its wings of the Common Sense and Common Wealth of Nations by not coming to Sir-Lanka for the conference of not so common nations).

This little insect and its life cycle actually depicts our politicians in the parliament and the young ones aspiring to become (only family members are chosen by default even disregarding the Laws of Darwin) one of them, colorfully and in style.
Sit and enjoy the Analogy.
Strictly speaking, the term "antlion" applies to the larval form of the members of this family, and several languages have their own terms for the adult.
The larval forms (the are lions and anti-lions) can be applied to the kith and kin of our political creed both sides of the divide.
The adults are commonly referred to in English as "ant griffins (mythical monster)," or very rarely as "antlion lacewings".
Take a note, they are named mythical monsters (our politicians of all shades and colors) who promised us the miracles but delivered nothing so far.

The antlion larva is often called "doodlebug" in North America because of the odd winding, spiraling trails it leaves on the sand while looking for a good location to build its trap, as these trails look like someone has doodled (scribbled) in the sand.
These lions and anti-lions are so corrupt, they leave behind a trail of corruption including drug trafficking.

The next part is graphic
The antlion larva is a ferocious-appearing creature with a robust, fusiform body, a very plump abdomen, the thorax bearing three pairs of walking legs (instead of eight in other arthropods). 
This is classic description of our politicians figuratively, literally and metaphorically.
I want to profusely thank the Wikipedia contributor for his contribution, literally.
It is classic.
The prothorax (front of the thorax/chest) forms a slender mobile "neck" for the large, square, flattened head, which bears an enormous pair of sickle-like (LSSP, CP without teeth and who have caught the tiger by tail and cannot "let go" for ages-actually till their demise) jaws with several sharp, hollow projections. 
The next part is beautiful.
Antlion larvae are unusual among the insects as they lack an anus. 
I wish our politician's is/are born (actually, I used to detect them at birth and make an appropriate hole with the help of surgeons) without an anus / anuses (better call it ARxxHole), so that they die of burst abdomen, the junk (corruption), they deserve such a predicament in this life not next life as proclaimed in Buddhism and Hinduism.
All the metabolic waste that is generated during the larval stage is stored and is eventually emitted as meconium near the end of its pupal stage.

Yes, they have to emit this meconium when they are out of power.
Our media never expose them when they are in power.

I think our Media both Paper and Electronic (TV) are loaded with meconium.

That is why, I have to blog this.

Antlions devour our poor citizens or voters.
If you have a stomach to feed more, go ahead and read the rest.
It was only yesterday that I asked a young guy half my age the name for Wali-Gowwa or Walli-Kittha but he told me he had never seen one.

That means in the last 30 years of spraying of insecticide including DDT we have decimated our Biodiversity.

Sand Pit Traps of our Lions and Anti-lions

Antlion, also spelled ant-lion and ant lion,
An average-sized larva digs a pit about 2 inches (5 cm) deep and 3 inches (7.5 cm) wide at the edge. This behavior has also been observed in a family of flies, the Vermileonidae, whose larvae dig the same sort of pit to feed on ants. Having marked out the chosen site by a circular groove, the anti-lion larva starts to crawl backwards, using its abdomen as a plough to shovel up the soil. By the aid of one front leg it places consecutive heaps of loosened particles upon its head, then with a smart jerk throws each little pile clear of the scene of operations. Proceeding thus it gradually works its way from the circumference towards the center. As it slowly moves round and round, the pit gradually gets deeper and deeper, until the slope angle reaches the critical angle of repose (that is, the steepest angle the sand can maintain, where it is on the verge of collapse from slight disturbance). When the pit is completed, the larva settles down at the bottom, buried in the soil with only the jaws projecting above the surface, often in a wide-opened position on either side of the very tip of the cone.
Since the sides of the pit consist of loose sand at its angle of repose, they afford an insecure foothold to any small insects that inadvertently venture over the edge, such as ants. Slipping to the bottom, the prey is immediately seized by the lurking antlion; or if it attempts to scramble up the treacherous walls of the pit, it is speedily checked in its efforts and brought down by showers of loose sand which are thrown at it from below by the larva. By throwing up loose sand from the bottom of the pit, the larva also undermines the sides of the pit, causing them to collapse and bring the prey with them. Thus it does not matter whether the larva actually strikes the prey with the sand showers.
Antlion larvae are capable of capturing and killing a variety of insects and other arthropods, and can even subdue small spiders. The projections in the jaws of the larva are hollow and through this the larva will suck the fluids out of its victim. After the contents are consumed, the dry carcass is flicked out of the pit. The larva readies the pit once again by throwing out collapsed material from the center, steepening the pit walls to the angle of repose.
Antlions are especially abundant in soft sand beneath trees or under overhanging rocks. Apparently the larvae prefer dry places that are protected from the rain. When it first hatches, the tiny larva specializes in very small insects, but as it grows larger, it constructs larger pits and thus catches larger prey.
Eventually the larva attains its maximum size and undergoes metamorphosis.

The entire length of time from egg-laying to adulthood may take two or three years due to the uncertainty and irregular nature of its food supply.

Many antlions take a long time (up to several years) to complete their life cycle.
This is like our politicians not giving up power for ages or till they die.
Ignore the last sentence since it does not apply to our politicians.

They (antlions) can survive for many months without feeding.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Child Safety is a Miracle


Child Safety is a Miracle
It was the other day, I made a blog entry, addressing child, dog and even elephant (both adults and babies) safety.
It is in this country, elephants are poisoned using pumpkins loaded with various poisons.
No wonder they (farmers) get kidney diseases, inadvertently.
In actual fact, they grow hashish under cover of vegetable farms.
Illegal alcohol is a side industry.
I am told, some elephants do love alcohol and can smell alcohol from a distance.
I think police should use trained elephants, not dogs to track these illegal activities.
Coming back to child safety, just for record I did a preliminary survey of few supermarkets to see if and how they conform to child safety.
Not at all.
One item within reach of a child had 36 items (in one card) which were not child safe.
The cost was Rs.90/=.
90/36= Rs 2.50 only.
Little over 2 rupees is enough to endanger a child.
That is why we call this, “a miracle country”!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Cold Spell and Makeshift Heater (an old Computer)


Cold Spell and Makeshift Heater (an old Computer)

I did not realize I used my old computer as a makeshift heater.
I sleep well when mosquitoes are at its lowest numbers.
I keep the door open for ventilation (I cannot afford air conditioning with electricity bill soaring) and for the dog to retrieve under the bed when required.
With the cold spell mosquitoes are almost non existent but I get up (partly due to hunger spells) due to freezing ambient.

To cut down the electricity bill now I do not download Linux images for testing, now.
Nothing else to do when woken up, I fire up the computer and browse (practically nothing after Christmas holidays to interest me), then go to CNN Video clips till I get sleepy again and realize that I no longer feel cold and my dog is fast asleep under my bed.
Because my dog totally rejected a makeshift mattress last year, I just check his composure once in a way.
Then only I realized that my old computer vent some warm air through its cooling fans under the bed.
I have no explanation (warm air rises up and to not go down) in physics for this phenomenon except that my room is so cluttered with computers and books of all sort, there is no room for circulation of air I breath.
Anyway my computer is my makeshift heater.
I used my laptop battery last year for warming but once its battery went dead I have put in the attic. 

To make good of the high electricity bill, increased due to me using the computer off time. I go and switch off the fridge freezer.
So I have cut my Electricity use by 100 units by this methodology and a real saving of Rs.3000/=
So my advice for saving electricity are as follows.

1. Do not use the computer for sending greeting cards by email which nobody reads.
2. Use the computer in your office instead.
3. Do not watch news on TV which are generally staled news anyway.
4. Buy a rechargeable lead electric bulb (with an attached radio-Chinese made of course) and use that for listening to music and news.
5. Use that lead lamp for night lighting if there is any need.
6. Do not read electronic (staled news) papers everyday.
Once a week is enough to get all the bits and pieces of news.
7. Read the paper only at day time.
8. Do not read books at night (which is the pastime I am going to give up soon when I get a Kindle at low price)
9. Better still buy an android tablet.
They are coming in 2014 in many dimensions.
10. Put your computer in the attic as a museum piece.

These instructions are in addition to using either diode bulbs or energy saving bulbs (I do not believe they save much as advertised).

With the saved money subscribe to your favorite magazine, in my case it is Linux Magazine.

I get the latest DVD (in February Mint) with the magazine which is a bonus.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Resolve

Resolve
 

One tree makes
A million match sticks
But one matchstick can devastate
Millions of trees
Yet the hashish (grass)
That makes
A moment of exhilaration
Could makes
One become
A peddler of the exotics (heroin)
For life
Or become incarcerated
In a dark cell of deprivation
With one’s own
Self blame and defeat

Which one you would choose?
A matchstick?
Or a pot of grass?

The answer
Is blowing in the air

It is nether this nor that
But the resolve
To tame the mind
With one’s own
Inbuilt Will Power

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Child (Safety), Dog and Baby Elephant Friendly Environment (EFE)


Child (Safety), Dog and Baby Elephant Friendly Environment (EFE)
There are thousands of modern items that can kill a child, dog or even a baby elephant in this country.
But I would concentrate only on tiny items that can kill a dog or a child and leave the third item, baby elephants in my book that will be out sometime in 2014.
Thankfully, there are no toddlers in my house but I have a dog that needs looking after.
Soon after the Christmas holidays, I did a survey in my house and found over two hundred teeny weeny items that were literally, not child safe, let alone my dog.
Let me deal with one item to begin with that was bothering me.
 
Year ago, I bought a soft plastic mattress with rubber form inside for our dog since it was too cold and the dog was not eating properly and showing signs of hypoglycemia in the morning.
He refused to sleep on it, in spite of my coaxing and perseverance.
He did not like the idea at all. 
He used to dig on it, until the outer cover was torn apart and the rubber form came out in a piece meal.
Luckily he did not gnaw it but fearing suffocation, I had to remove the mattress, clear up the mess of foam rubber.
So if, I had a toddler at home he or she would have been at a bigger risk of choking and suffocation than the dog.
This is why I say no dogs when you have little kids.
The kids can have a dog only after 16 years of age, when they have finished "O” Level examination and waiting for the result and that will dawn on them that the real world is much more challenging than the school.
Mind you when they start the advanced level examination they do not have time, you will have to look after the dog for life.
I as a dog lover, I was ready to take the challenge and enjoy it, every minute of it including cleaning its “poos” and using them as manure for the outdoor garden, unlike most of my neighbors who make sure my foot path is clearly marked with them, everyday of my adult life. 
 
We actually can have a cross country route for the Lamborghini, in our path.
They should avoid every bit of the “shit” to become a champion.
There are two diversions before I get to the nuts and bolts about “Child Safety” since that part is boring even to me.

This is copied from elsewhere in the web with little editing.

Dog's digging behaviour
1. Digging is used to uncover prey in underground burrows, and is useful to bury food, which is later retrieved and consumed. Dogs also dig to create a cavity in the snow or earth for shelter from the wind and to conserve body heat.

2. In warmer weather, an excavation may keep the dog cool. 


3. Some dogs dig before urination or defecation. 
4. Dominant adult dogs kick up soil with the hind legs to disperse its scent and increase territorial marking. 
Glands in the footpads mark the soil with scent during digging. 
5. Even indoors, many dogs appear to dig in preparing for rest and sleep.
This form of digging behavior is usually not destructive, though over time the carpet may be worn down.
Digging is usually not considered a problem unless it destroys property.
To prevent the dog from digging, one must control opportunities to dig and provide the dog with alternative activities that are equally enjoyable and physically challenging. 
If the dog digs in your backyard, restrict access to that area. Ideally, your dog should not be left unsupervised in your yard, regardless of any misbehavior. 
Your dog will be less likely to expend energy by digging if it is walked at regular intervals every day and has a variety of appropriate physical activities to pursue. 
Dog's Age or the Human equivalent
Senior Citizens                                    Senior Dogs
1. They have homes for the elderly       1. Haven is practically hell for the dogs
2. Some senior citizens by that age become mayors of the holy city 
                                                               2. There is only extermination decree
3.They never give way to juniors           3. Junior dogs take charge of the brood

I have another plea, if one wants to age with the dog please do the following.
1. Take care of a young dog at the age of 43 (when nobody seems to want you including your wife and kids) years.
2. When you are 50 your dog is 7 years old and equal to 50 years of human age.

3. In another three (3) when your dog is 10 he is equivalent to 60 human years and you will be 53 years. 

You are younger by 7 years.

4. In another two years dog (at 12 years) will be 70 and you will be only 55 years.

You are younger by 15 years.

43=0
50=7=50 (only at 50 one can be at the level of the dog age and enjoy with your contemporary to your heart's content and his company prevents you from getting a heart attack, if you delay the dog will get a heart attack).

53=10=60
 

55=12=70 (This is the time you get a bypass operation and  the dog gets a heart attack).

5. Now that you have become the mayor at 55 after retiring from service would you be kind to this dog who is 70 years human equivalent (12 years  of our time) or sent for the Municipality Exterminator.

6. They are just old senior dogs / citizens they do not have a parliament to go but only the streets but unlike you they look after our streets even at night when young, is it reasonable to put them to death?

7. How come if I say all the senior citizens who were ex-parliamentarians and drawing a fat pension and to save money for development they should be exterminated!

Will you pass a bill and vote yes in parliament?
Are we reasonable human beings?
Below is an image from WiKiPedia.

I hope WiKipedia won't pass copyright infringement for taking the side of the dogs against humans.



Since my dog is senior by age (overtaken my age) like any true Sri-Lankans, I take care of him faithfully.
Who will kick the bucket first “The Good Lord only knows”?

I decided to take stock all items that were risky and might cause choking and suffocation.
The List goes like this.
1. Pieces of Rubber form.

2. Over 30 items from Chinese Racing Track, which I bought 20 years ago for my son from the Fort Railway Station pavement for Rs.100/=.
I was working in Colombo then. There were only few items there but now there are thousands of Chinese cheap quality toys.

3. Over 10 cheap Chinese adoption of Scandinavian Lego

4. Plastic yogurt spoons (25 in total and only two measuring spoons for dispensing correct dose of child's medicine or vitamin syrups).

5. Two pairs of plastic Chinese chop sticks with very sharp edges.

6. Metal and plastic clips for securing Ethernet Wires

7. Over 100 message board (English letters were the worse lot, with dots, apostrophe exclamation marks etc) letters in English, Sinhala and Tamil.
I stopped counting after 200 and the things I did not count were

8. Pens, pencils, clips and erasers and the whole lot.

9. Clips for hanging cloths with nasty metal parts.

10. Batteries for torches and calculators.

I can remember a child in UK put a tiny battery inside his nose undetected and a timely X-Ray and intervention saved his life (child who was admitted with breathing difficulty).

I have seen few kids dying as late as 1975 in Colombo Hospital and that was due to a peanut and child was transferred from Galle to Colombo and he died at the doorstep of the General Hospital, in the ambulance.

Simply my house was not child safe and not at all dog friendly.

The list can go on but I stopped counting them.

The teaching aids of preschool kids are of very poor quality, I feel we should go back to slate and slate pencil.

Literally there are thousands of articles in every house now.

I have dealt with only choking here others I leave it to the GMOA.

Thing I have not discussed are
1. Fire crackers
2. Box of matches
3. Tooth pricks
4. Candles including party candles
5. Bottles containing alcohol including methyl alcohol
6. Bottles containing detergents
7. Bottles containing solvents
8. Bottles containing adult medicine
7. Plastic garbage bags (there are no safety holes in them) and sandwich bags
8. Knives, forks, scissors, and other sharp tools in a drawer without a childproof latch
9. Electrical installation within reach of a toddler without safety plastic plugs

The list can go on and easily fill a book which nobody reads.