Mike - more

where I go (offpage)
travels with Linux
news
stuff
some projects

travels with Linux

I've been using Linux for ages, and tend to play on the bleeding edge (development kernels, that sort of thing), so thought I'd started a page detailing some of the wierd problems I've come across and, where possible, fixes at travels with Linux. I've just added some information about getting my Nokia 6680 working with bluetooth, GPRS and 3G on the Orange UK network.

For those of you with Neuros players having problems with ogg files encoded with pre-1.0 encoders, I've written Perl script to allow you to find out which albums you need to re-encode. It makes a number of assumptions - see the file for details.

• oggcheck.pl.bz2
• oggcheck.pl.bz2.sign

news

Some news, updated when I feel like it/get round to it

• Arcot (2004-05-08) - I left Arcot after just over a year there (to go to Cryptomathic. I'm very grateful to James Rendell, in particular, who hired me after my nasty period of unemployment.
• Support - (2003-04-18) - as noted below, I was unemployed for rather a while (seven months). I'd like to take the opportunity to thank a number of people who've been hugely supportive over what's been, frankly, a pretty nasty time. Moo, of course, has been a star, as well as my parents and hers, and the rest of our families. Outside of our family circles, I should take the time to thank Si and Denise Plant, Mark Syms, Andy Pounce and Catherine Carter. Thanks to you all!
• Job - (2003-04-18) well, it's been ages since I've updated this, mainly because I've been busy being unemployed for nearly seven months. The good news is that I start work at Arcot on 2003-04-29. Looks like a great job - I'm going to be a "Senior Professional Services Consultant" - with varied work, and quite a lot of travelling. I'm looking forward to it immensely.
• MBA - finally heard today (2002-07-03) that I've passed the final module of my MBA. It's been three years, and very much worth it, but I'm very glad that it's over now. Thanks to everyone who's encouraged me along the way, including Moo (of course), Mum, Dad, Kate, Mac, Chris Mayers, Chris Phoenix and the HR departments of Citrix and Convergys (who would think that I'd have anything nice to say about HR, then?).
• St Lucia - had a lovely holiday in St Lucia, staying at the Anse Chastanet resort. Did lots of diving - see below for details. I've also put all of my dive logs online. The place was wonderful, and the people marvellous, too. We bought three carvings from Sunshine Biscuit (that's the guy's name), which I hope to get up on this site soon (well, pictures, anyhow).
• Back in contact with some friends from Bry - Nick Buxton, Kate Amos (nee Harwood), Roger Rustom, Andi Hindle and Mark Cooke. Some of them may be coming to stay in June. However, Nick can't do it, Kate is having central heating installed (well, it's a new excuse, anyway), and as of today (2002-06-08), I've yet to hear from the others. We'll see.
• Childerley Hall, Elsworth, 5th July - there's a charity picnic and Coll. Reg. gig (Collegium Regale is the name that the men of King's College Choir go by when they're singing on their own), and as the gig's been going for a long time (20 years?), they've invited some of the old members back. I'm going, and looking forward to it immensely. Don't know yet what we're singing.
• The wedding of a friend from university - Wendy Worham to a guy called Carl (if I remember correctly) in July. I'm singing two of Vaughan Williams' "5 mystical songs": "I got me flowers" and "The Call"

stuff

• security - I've discovered how much I know about this, and it's a bit scary, compared to how much most other people seem to know about it. Partly through work (PKI and encryption), partly through interest, partly through osmosis, but IT security (and particularly IP security) is something that I really feel pretty happy to talk about these days. How did that happen?
• Linux advocacy (I've done the rounds of the distributions, and now I favour Debian: I've been through Slackware, Red Hat, Mandrake and SuSE in my time) it's both of my machines, running a mix of 2.4.* kernels.
• recently rediscovered the joys of Perl. What a language. Java's my old favourite, but "different tools for different jobs"... Those who know Perl be able to guess why I go by the name "MikeCamel" online.
• and now I'm back databasing with MySQL.
• I was, until mid 2001, a Product Manager for MetaFrame for UNIX, for Citrix Systems, inc. (CTXS on NASDAQ - oh, the now fading beauty of stock options). I work for Convergys these days, as a Technical Alliances Consultant. Don't ask.
• I'm a PADI Open Water Advanced Diver, plus DrySuit speciality. Fantastic hobby (if a little expensive at times) - and I just love watching the fish. Dive sites so far:
  • Malta - where I learnt to dive with Polly and Lee (my sister and brother-in-law), of Dive Factory (1, 2, 3, 4)
  • Lake Meade (near Las Vegas) (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
  • Paignton (Devon) (10, 11)
  • Mallorca (12)
  • Lagos, Portugal (13, 14)
  • Anse Chastanet, St Lucia - where I saw turtles, corals, morays, and all manner of other life, and even snorkelled with dolphins (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
  • Vobster Quay, Somerset, UK, where I dived in snow at 6C in a wetsuit, so I reckon I'm a real British diver now. (28, 29)
• Slashdot, Advogato, The Register, Dragon Tails, debian and User Friendly are probably my most often used links.
• I run p2ptrust.org as a hobby. No link from here, as I don't want it crawling with search engines. You should be able to work out how to get there. I'm applying to do a part-time PhD at Cambridge (and yes, I know it's not possible at the moment...) in the area of trust models in peer-to-peer systems. More as it becomes available.
• as of 2002-04-25, I have finished my MBA with the Open University (barring a re-take on my last exam, which I hope isn't likely!). I did it part-time, and it took three years. Now it's done, it feels like a weight has lifted off my shoulders, and I'm gearing up to think about other projects.
• in the distant past, I created and ran Cambridge University Press' website. We were the first UK publisher to have a website, I believe, and one of the first 20 or so in the world. This was in Q3 1994, at a time when we didn't put up any prices for books, as the Internet was supposed to be non-commercial, and no-one would put up with it! Oh, the days of "if you build it, they will come" - we did, and they did.

some projects

• 802.11b (I): well, the house is "wired" for wireless now - and I cheated with Moo's XP box by running ethernet to it.
• 802.11b (II): there's so little chance of getting broadband where we live (Great Yeldham) that I'm thinking of starting a community project to have a village wireless LAN, with a single fast link via satellite of leased line. Early planning stages, but I don't see why it shouldn't work. If you live in or near Great Yeldham (or anywhere else in the UK, come to that), and are interested in getting broadband, visit Better Broadband for Britain.
• I've started learning Arabic, and it's very difficult...!

key

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 5.0 Comment: PGP Key Server 0.9.4 mQGiBDumcqERBACy7YgqqNZ+O1StPnrsZxbbvawzklvsFHPfQmhv11akKe/yHIsf MT0525RI6wx5kA4CSaQ7G6EALNF8eX9l1vaAjiWOaDzJNyq2LhBvsiT4qKPKMWsd NpmHwAxec7IqbJUEbligAHCqX2taaDS90tHMJ5Ltpx1Dwx4gOpA3n1hGGwCgy3U0 SRDJoNytp7pNNC+BoKqh30MD/1V2kFlQeqmCaDxDqi5FJDfnYbfUtgjtKyL+eeQK qxBAY24ZEa1p8E2BkLkcjmIfPlx9FoIOsoGHIGzIw1JfVTwDcvvptDdB29tDra+u 1R/U14LthMaz7bVj2xj9oL181K+WB5wYW/u6crvaL+5txOpDYNVbiwGJZyBaTOs5 xrBQA/0SoMadJNKNKH05r2wHSBLt3xccyz4FqdOJJIdqxiPgrdL5zsW0K3gvpCDw 7Q6I+dumqp074MFpXQsldUbNBQWWCRq22fPpyB7N+unqEI2hfenD73lUGO1bU9eG bq/7JRMLPmY4HNM7+/rscJetnZFFVw600WIgvrMSXvVamXHA4rRJTWljaGFlbCBC dXJzZWxsIChNaWtlQ2FtZWwsIEtpbmcncyBDYW1icmlkZ2UpIDxtaWtlQGhpbmdz dG9uLmRlbW9uLmNvLnVrPohdBBMRAgAdBQI7pnKhBQkB2pwABQsHCgMEAxUDAgMW AgECF4AACgkQ5o7UVY01VrC4VgCeL1LJNwSBVv3Spzc9EswZ+m5D+JIAnAwRrhai w8ptWJvxjfC8vKQnFaoyuQENBDumcqMQBACGvfrJLY5uEPIpowtkMDty9dyiPHTh GUAu6JMdfoKKXDPB9XRznAajyj97Kqm/ILIcE0hHj54k4tuXBqiuTzKSKHs3s/6V zZaOs9bovVpkl90R/wuXVMc3jc/txFfBqHuyqE0hok/BI0A0lxhGPJ2QMzNsdQmR IqGTtMBHhCffcwADBQP/b7h9zrQQ79/b1HgeY7M4dzeA41GR87TVSbHkVylGQ6Jc /6pYUWcSvCWYUm8qK6OE5X0aYwfsFCC3ep3QXISEa6++mHkSusbamkbdpYPFQp0N MD3VfaPAMCnmJaLpxpDj1FM4y89jhU52H7WUWl0ktMLoQr0PSHXn1XjLSXRx53OI TAQYEQIADAUCO6ZyowUJAdqcAAAKCRDmjtRVjTVWsA+wAKCGVuDPciPFwrxHMkxv tkGNJhSxxQCcDZftwHH2qSBLrMjps++f9IWmkS4= =88XQ -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----