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The Mailbag


HELP WANTED : Article Ideas
Submit comments about articles, or articles themselves (after reading our guidelines) to The Editors of Linux Gazette, and technical answers and tips about Linux to The Answer Gang.


Good incentive for publishing your personal accomplishments

Fri, 6 Feb 2004 16:48:54 -0600
Richard Bray (linx from brayra.com)

Just thought the TAG group would appreciate this story.

I wrote a small script to handle scanning of all my financial documents into my computer. It's real simple and easy to use. Well, I have moved since I used it, about a year ago. So, now with tax time coming, I decided it was time to start scannnig in all my financial papers and shredding the files I do not need to keep. Plus, I can burn them to cd and have a backup for the safety deposit box.

Well...

I did real well, when I moved last year. I didn't lose one thing. I really mean it. I've been in the house and I haven't missplaced anything. Until last weekend. I couldn't find that #@#%#! script anywhere. I searched all my servers, and backup CDs. I was pretty ticked and about half way through rewriting it, when I remembered something.

I wrote an email talking about it to my local LUG a couple years ago. After digging in my mail for a while I found a reference that said, and I quote,

"If anyone is interested in the script scan_docs.sh, you can find it on my web site http:///www.brayra.com/downloads/scan_docs.sh"

I am an idiot.

Expect some articles from me. I have many other little programs I've written over the years. I need to write up nice documentation for them all and post them for the gazette. I would hate to lose them too. :)

[Rick] Richard, you might perhaps appreciate a quotation from the Penguinus Maximus:
"Real men don't use backups, they post their stuff on a public ftp server and let the rest of the world make copies." - Linus Torvalds
Immortalize those cool scripts of yours too, send them in to Linux Gazette as either articles or nice little tips. -- Heather

GENERAL MAIL


typo? 0wnz0red? prankster on staff?

Mon, 9 Feb 2004 16:36:40 -0800
Carla Schroder (carla from bratgrrl.com)

Reading Linux Gazette is like a treasure hunt, you never know what you'll find. Do you mean for this to be published? http://linuxgazette.net/issue99/lg_mail.html Did you get cracked by a polite cracker? A prankster on your staff?


===== Check out KNOPPIX Debian/Linux 700MB Live CD: =====
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-old-en.html "C00K13 M0N573R 0WNZ J00!!
PH34R C00K13 M0N573R 4ND 0SC4R 4ND 3LM0 4ND 5NUFFL3UP46U5 4ND 7H3 31337
535AM3 57R337 CR3W!!" .dotgoeshere.

cheers, Carla

I almost took that entry out because it seemed the first part had been lost, but I assumed Thomas or Heather had wanted it in so I left it. I don't remember when I wrote the original or whether I cc'd it to TAG. -- Mike

Well, it went right over my head. Sorry! It is a funny sig, I may have to emulate it in some fashion, like OMG WTF ROFFLE lol HAHAHAA or somesuch.

Oh, *that!* It was just an extremely cute .sig that was in the email (I immediately stole a copy for my quote file. :) -- Ben
The original sender really had that in his sig. Thomas and I normally strip signature blocks, but especially amusing ones that make Linux just a little more fun - sometimes I let 'em live :D -- Heather
[Rick] I'm pretty sure she's referring to the tongue-in-cheek 31337-speak down at the bottom of Dave Bechtel's letter. Unless the Cookie Monster, Oscar, Elmo, Snuffleupagus, and the Elite Sesame Street Crew have suddenly turned malevolent, nobody has much to fear (or is that PH33R?).
Oh, cuteness in .sigs is a well-established meme. We have nothing to PH33R but PH33R itself. :)
Welcome to the influence of the bunnies! With ky00t, we will rule the world! -- Ben


[LG 98] 2c Tips: #4

Sat, 31 Jan 2004 05:59:02 +0000 (GMT)
Thomas Adam (The LG Weekend Mechanic)
Question by Robin Chhetri (robinchhetri from fastmail.fm)

Robin Chhetri wrote:

Thanks a lot for your answer.I will add here that I send this questions months ago(I don't remember the exact date) and I had figured out the solution to the problem too a long time back.

:) That's OK. The particular tip was interesting, so we published it nonetheless.

But I am indebted at least for your reply.

Not at all. You're quite welcome.

If you don't mind could you tell me the link in which this question was published.

Robin

It can be found here:

http://linuxgazette.net/issue98/lg_tips.html#tips.4

We also have a small laundry note about this tip: -- Heather

[Faber] I must be missing something. If you simply want to print to STDOUT, try this:

$( whereis libcrypto | awk '{print $3}' )

which will print to STDOUT. If you simply must put it into a variable, then: $robin=$(whereis libcrypto | awk '{print $3}') ; echo $robin ^^^^^^^

That is in error, since in bash prefixing the variable name with a $ sign is returning/using the value given. It should read:

robin=$(whereis libcrypto | awk '{print $3}') ; echo $robin

Whether Faber meant the initial '$' as the prompt or not... is still ambiguous :)

-- Thomas Adam


GAZETTE MATTERS


Search page at LG now operational

Tue, Mar 02, 2004 at 09:23:41AM -0500
Ben Okopnik (LG Technical Editor)

Please take a look at it, folks. Any additions, subtractions, corrections, anything I've missed - let me know.


Feeling Better.

Tue, Mar 01, 2004 at 14:08:41 -0800
Heather Stern (The Answer Gang's Editor Gal)

I'm pleased to say that Thomas Adam, our Weekend Mechanic, is feeling well again, and we hope you enjoy the article he has in this month's issue. Warm thanks to everyone who thought kindly of him while he was recovering.


This page edited and maintained by the Editors of Linux Gazette
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Copyright © 2004, . Released under the Open Publication license unless otherwise noted in the body of the article. Linux Gazette is not produced, sponsored, or endorsed by its prior host, SSC, Inc.

Published in Issue 100 of Linux Gazette, March 2004

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