I’ve setup a wiki using Mediawiki software at the office and was looking for a way to automatically make a backup and transfer it to our file server.

I got an awesome script off the net. It makes a copy, but doesn’t move it anywhere.

I added the following lines to make use of scp to move it to our fileserver.

echo

echo “Copying files to specified safeplace”
scp $dbdump username@192.168.19.126:/home/uname/bak/

echo

echo “Database done”

scp $xmldump username@192.168.19.126:/home/uname/bak/

echo

echo “XML done”
scp $filedump username@192.168.19.126:/home/uname/bak/
echo

echo “Files done”

echo “All Done!”

This worked very well, except that ssh kept on asking for a password.
I found an easy way to get around this:

First connect normally to the box:

ssh user@host

Once this works, make sure you have an identity:

ls -l ~/.ssh

There should be an id_dsa.pub file

If not, type in ssh-keygen -t dsa and just press enter at all the prompts.

now copy that id to the remote host :

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub user@remotehost

That’s it!

Now you should be able to login without the password prompt.

I’m seriously debating printing a Huge sticker to put on the tailgate of my car:

My driving wouldn’t have offended you if you kept left!

I get flashed, hooted at or the finger at least three times a week driving to work. Usually from a City Golf driver doing 80 in the fast lane. I really do not understand how people think when they are driving. I’m involved in motorsport and used to doing 180km/h on a gravel road that I don’t know. Doing 120km/h on a three lane highway is just a tad frustrating, especially if I’m late. Now on a typical morning there will be someone doing 50km/h in the left lane, 60 in the middle and 80 in the fast lane with a pile of cars behind the guy in the fast lane. Have they never hear the phrase keep left, pass right? Yes, I am about 3 inches from your rear bumper, do not just stare at me in your rear view mirror, MOVE OVER!

I appreciate that we are all equally entitled to use the road, but please people, be observant and get out of the fast lane. If we all stick to this rule our country will save hundreds of liters of fuel per day and we’ll all get to work quicker.

It looks like we have a typical “McDonald’s” mindset here: There is now small, just medium and large. I’ve plenty times seen it where there are only cars in the middle and right lanes, but the left lane is open. People: It is OK, you are not a loser if you are driving in the left lane. In fact, you are probably the only one following the rules then. Why don’t we just change the rule to keep right, pass left? At least the fast lane will be open.

I think the reason for the bad driving skills in this country is the fact that we can go write some theory on a paper, get our learner license and then legally get behind the steering wheel and drive. Yes, there has to be a person with a license in the passenger seat, but come on, what can they really do in an emergency? Most of them can’t even drive properly themselves. Not to mention the fact that this “learners test” is freely available as a torrent download. What a joke.

I’d rather see them add a mandatory “Get from point A to B” practical lesson and test to before getting your learners license. At least they’ll keep the complete hopeless people off the road.

And then there is the K53 driving style. Complete Horse Sh!t, except that they teach you to look in your blind spot. I do not know of one person that drives K53 style after they got their license. Rather spend all that money on an advanced driving course. K53 may teach you to get from point A to B, but sure as hell does not tech you what to do in an emergency. Most people only learn how to drive once they get their license.

Thinking about it, besides the sticker and a huge bull bar, I think the next addition will be a RPG turret on the roof…

UPDATE 20 MARCH 2008

Just to prove the point of how ridicules this learnership thing is:

I’ve been looking at my blog’s index stats on Google and since this post there has been numerous search queries regarding learners licenses. Most of them blatantly wanting to bypass the system. Here are some of the good ones:

* K53 Theory b (South Africa’s learners test has three variants named Test A, B and C with B being the most common)
* K53 learners download
* K53 test download
* download K53 learners test
* K53 test papers

What a Joke!

I came across a very relevant description on this website: K53 effectively requires an applicant to imagine that he is driving a live claymore mine under assault by guerrillas in bumper cars.

UPDATE 2 DEC 2008:

See this post regarding roadhogs.

As some of you know officially I’m an Electronics technician at a rental staging company, but I’ve been known to carry various jobtitles ranging from On-site repair guru to generator mechanic and even the tough job as shredder technitian. Someones got to look after the poor thing after one of the accounts ladies tried to shred a whole ream of paper at once

This is a photo of the back of my workshop’s door. When faulty gear returns from site I’ve asked the guys to please mark the fault very clearly. I’ve collected these over the past 3 and a half years.

The funny thing is that when I look at one of these pieces of tape I can recall most of the faults, where it happend and what I needed to repair. The brain is an amazing blob of jelly…

Some classics:

“Needs Specs, cant read” - Off a CD Player
“Please note: If you do not understand this equipment, don’t touch it!” - Off a video scalar.
“Do not put this F#cking KT Away, Check it!” - Broken KT EQ
“Buzzy - Noisy - F#ced - In sy moer - kla ge lag - totsiens” - Very broken mixer!