Backup and Restore using SpiderOak on Linux

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Will Foster

Recently the SSD Operating System disk on my primary work desktop failed without warning and no manner of arcane xfsrepair or xfsdump/xfsrestore chicanery would bring it back.  Luckily I had SpiderOak backups as my employer offers this as a service to associates.  Being the first time I’ve needed to restore data with SpiderOak here’s some things I’ve learned and impressions of the service on Linux.

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Using Italics with Vim in your Terminal

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Will Foster

I wanted all code, system configuration file comments or in-line replies in neomutt email italicised to stand out easier.  Many terminal emulators (xterm, xfce4-terminal, iterm2) don’t support [3m and [23m designators for italics but you can use a custom terminfo to do the trick.  Here’s how to get it working. Continue reading →

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Using Offlineimap with the Gmail IMAP API

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Will Foster

In a previous guide I documented my mutt + offlineimap + notmuch setup.  If you’re using Gmail with IMAP enabled you can still utilize the superpower of this trio but you’ll need to do some things differently.  I’ll show you how to use offlineimap with the Google Gmail OAuth2 API and configure it. Continue reading →

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Distributed Remote Backups with Git and Etckeeper

Posted on July 15, 2017 by Will Foster

Git is a powerful tool for lots of tasks, it makes a wonderful VCS that can drive easy utility and automation.  Recently I used git and remote repositories to deploy code & data fanned out to multiple locations.  Here are some examples along with using Etckeeper, a related wrapper tool for revision control around git (or other VCS) with some extra features. Continue reading →

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Shell One-liners and Quick and Dirty Loops

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Will Foster

Sometimes you just need to get stuff done quickly and there’s nary a replacement better than a quick shell one-liner.  Recently I’ve needed to feed some large, multi-variable commands into an external program for processing.  Here’s some simple shell one-liners and loops that have helped me along the way. Continue reading →

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Let’s Encrypt Everything – Setting up the Free, Automated CA

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Will Foster

le-logo-lockonlyLet’s Encrypt is a free, public SSL certificate authority (CA) you can use to generate and automate SSL certificate renewal.  I co-manage Trystack.org, a free OpenStack sandbox for the general public and our Horizon SSL certificate came up for expiration so we moved to Let’s Encrypt.  Using EFF’s certbot it’s trivial to automate everything.  You can do the same for your own blog or website.

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Combat Unsolicited Sales with a Unique Office Voice Mail Recording

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Will Foster

lumbergh_office_spaceOffice voice mail has become a graveyard for unwanted sales solicitations for things I don’t need.  People who need to reach me have many available methods.  I’ve decided to take some creative liberties with my voice mail recording and you should too, listen to it below for an example to spur your own unique recording! Continue reading →

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Back to the Future: Converting a Server VM to Bare Metal

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Will Foster

back2futureIt might seem like stepping back in time, but sometimes you start something with a VM and the desire for resources and usage skyrockets and you need to transplant it onto a bare metal server.  This was my situation with Plex Media Server.  I’ll walk you through using Clonezilla to get the job done. Continue reading →

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How to Use Self-signed SSL Certificates for Plex Media Server

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Will Foster

plexPlex is a fork of the Open Source Kodi (previously XBMC) project from 2008, the Plex Media Server has evolved into what amounts to a free,  personal Netflix + Spotify that lets you stream home content to devices or browsers with an optional subscription model for added features.  Here’s how to use your own self-signed SSL certificates to encrypt connection streams. Continue reading →

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10 Must-have Firefox Addons for Privacy, Security and Utility

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Will Foster

firefox-512-noshadowI have used every manner of web browser from lynx, Mosaic and Netscape builds to abusing curl commands and mostly prefer Firefox for the bulk of my daily desktop/laptop needs due to the strong plugin ecosystem.  Below you’ll find my top Firefox addons categorized between security/privacy and general utility. Continue reading →

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Funcamp ET Legacy and Urban Terror Servers Upgraded

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Will Foster

tuxfragRecently two fun, actively developed Open Source FPS game projects have had major updates: Enemy Territory: Legacy and Urban Terror.  Over the weekend I’ve upgraded the Funcamp ET:L (2.75) and UT (4.3.1) servers to the latest versions.  Setup instructions and more info below. Continue reading →

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Quick and Dirty SSH Key Management with Python

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Will Foster

Other-python-iconSometimes I need to quickly copy SSH keys to remote systems in a pinch.  I can do this with the Ansible authorized_key module but that’s not always available.  I might be on a random system and Ansible or external internet isn’t available and things need to be pushed out quickly.  Here’s a simple interactive tool to quickly push SSH keys to many hosts, may you never SSH for loop again. Continue reading →

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Trystack and Browbeat at the OpenStack Summit

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Will Foster

openstack_logoI recently gave two talks at the OpenStack Summit in Barcelona on two upstream Open Source projects that I work on – Trystack and Browbeat.  Trystack is a large, public free OpenStack sandbox we run for the general public and Browbeat is a FOSS performance/scale testing tool for OpenStack.  Come check out my sessions or stay tuned for slides/video later. Continue reading →

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Fun and Automation with Git Hooks

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Will Foster

git-icon-blackGit is more than just an awesome, decentralized version control system (VCS) – it can also drive lots of useful automation by triggering actions to deploy infrastructure and services based on event and commit-based hooks.  You can drive a lot of complex automation with this functionality but I’m going to provide you with a simple example using a Git repo to push web content to a remote webserver. Continue reading →

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Automate Infrastructure Docs with Python, WordPress and Foreman

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Will Foster

Other-python-iconwordpress-icon-sm“It’s not done unless it’s documented,” says the wise Ops sage.  Frequently updated documentation is critical, it’s also one of the most neglected parts of technology.  Learn how we auto-generate server resource wiki data with Python, WordPress and Foreman. Continue reading →

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