Ship Apache HTTPd Logs to Graylog2 Via Rsyslog
This is a quick recipe and a list of resources on how to ship apache logs to a graylog2 server using rsyslog which is the default system logger on CentOS 6. Tested on CentOS 6.4, Graylog2 0.9.6, Apache HTTPd 2.2.15.
By the way if like me, before I wrote this post, you are wondering about the origin of using the word that commonly describes a fresh cut piece of a tree for "our" IT logs then click on the image (talking root cause here), and don't forget to donate to wikipedia!
VI and VIM:Automatic Headers For Shell Scripts
If you landed on this page chances are you already know what an automated header is, if not this post about how to create/edit shell scripts with VI/VIM and have an header automatically created and updated with timestamp on each edit.
I'm writing quite a bit of shell scripts using VIM lately and as a lazy system folk (main skill required by the trade ) I looked into a way to automate my headers. I found this post on thegeekstuff.com (plenty of good resources, just don't like the spamy ads) but the example is for writing in C and /me != got C?. So I thought I would share here the simple modifications I did to original tutorial to have automated headers for my shell scripts:
Teach Yourself Python
I originally became interested in Python via Google folks public communications, after that I kept reading about it in many "Systems Oriented" blogs. Long story short I decided to learn Python and in agreement with my autodidactic nature I started the free resource hunting while puting my google-fu to work, here's what I found.
Modify Default Printing Presets in Os X (10.5 & 10.6)
There you are with some customized printing presets for your fancy new printer and yet for some reason every time you open a new printing box the one showing up by default is not the want you wanted : 
fail
So you looked all over the OS, read some forums, used your Google-Fu and finally got to this post. Search no more the answer is here as seen on TV!
Highlight Code WordPress Plug In
I realized that I was often going to have code within a post (I have some bash scripts and my iptables rules ready to publish), thus I looked for a wordpress plugin to make it a little easier to read and/or download without interfering with worpdress posts code.
After reading this post I decided to go with the Easy Google Syntax Highlighter by Nick Burlock a fork of Alex Gorbachev original Google Syntax Highlighter. Still reading the documentation here and here but it looks like it's exactly what I was looking for, WordPress FTW!
edit: Since I use the Lightword Theme by Andrei Luca I modified my style.css according to the plug in FAQ and it works perfectly as you can see in this post
AppleScript to create a “ShowDesktop” shortcut
When I’m on Os X I often miss the “show desktop” shortcut icon you can easily get on Windows. 
Yes, there is the expose version but it doesn’t really work the same. My Google-fu showed few solutions (like clicking a visible piece of your desktop while holding option+command down) but none that I liked so here is my input.
Project Gnomonos: Online Report Cards in Php/MySQL
First, some history background on Gnomonos. It was started in 2005 as a custom Php/MySQL system to suit the needs for Lower School Report Cards at French American International School. Harry Chesley, a parent volunteer, very generously offered to develop the application for free.
The core was originally designed while collaborating with the tech-savvy Curriculum Coordinator, Pascal Vallet.
At that time I had just moved from France to work at French American as Technology Coordinator. In 2006 Pascal Vallet moved to Indonesia (he is now Principal of the EIFB) and I took over as the interface between the Developer and the Administration. The project grew old and I became more and more involved on the system side less on the administrative one. In 2007, Harry officially ended his work on Gnomonos and published on SourceForge.net. The code remained unchanged until September 2009 when we needed to update Gnomonos. It is the change we made in the identification process that I thought might interest some people out there.
Weapon of Choice for Diagrams > Omnigraffle Pro
I'm gonna start this "blogging thing" smoothly with a short review of OmniGraffle Pro 5. I've enjoyed this tool since 2005 (when I got my first Mac) I believe it came bundled for free with Os X 10.3 maybe with an earlier version. As I am currently working in an Independent School I got the educational price ($119.95), download the trial, enter the license, let's diagram!
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Tagnetic Poetry by Roy Tanck and Merel Zwart requires Flash Player 9 or better.
Books
Planned books:
- Lean IT by Steven C Bell, Michael A Orzen
Current books:
-
An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise by John R. Pierce
-
The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim
Recent books:
- Visible Ops by Kevin Behr,Gene Kim and George Spafford
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- Cybernetics, Second Edition: or the Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine by Norbert Wiener
- The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Clifford Stoll
- Apple Training Series: Xsan 2 Administration: A Guide to Designing, Deploying, and Maintaining Xsan by Robert Kite
