Just sent this to tmjake. It was generally applicable, so it goes here.

( IM and cryptography )

one of my co-workers gave me some good advice.

Keep track of changes you make to your config files with rcs.

Go GNU.

So I'm getting the new version of the MaxDB FAQ ready for production. We used Microsoft Word to create the document and manage corrections. And then I exported to HTML. Word did a terrific (note that the root word here is "terror") job of translating to HTML, and Tidy won't touch it unless I fix some issues manually ( Read more... )

The world needs to learn how to idle on IRC without flooding channels with join/part messages every time their ISP hiccups or the wireless connection is broken.

screen and irssi to the rescue. I'll give you a basic example of using screen, but after I do so, I expect you to go read this man page: Read more... )

setting up your system to use ssh-agent and friend

More when I've got a chance to catch my breath.

Yes, I know. It sounds drastic. It's not.

Install sudo. Go ahead. We'll wait for you ( Read more... )

To install sudo on a debian or ubuntu system with a bash shell (this is likely you if you're reading this), change to the root user thus:

$ su -
Now that you have a "#" shell, all commands you run will be privileged. You don't want this. Trust me. Instead, you want to run most commands as your usual user and only use privileged commands when ( Read more... )