EHIC reminder - they have an expiry date

In message <-september.org>,

I've already managed to visit Foreign without renewing mine and survived
as I forgot.

I've done it now so all is well with the world.

 

Now, hang on Bruce. Even for you that is an *enormous* leap of
faith. I am not a "Linux type"; if I had my druthers I'd be an "OpenVMS
type". I lean towards Windows but my (HEP[0]) work circle has chosen to
be steadfastly Linux (and C++ rather than Fortran, to my displeasure),
with a few Mac OSX incursions. My two most-used PCs, where I spend >80%
of my face-the-monitor time, are WinXP boxen (one at work, one at home).
However, both run cygwin to allow me to run a free X11 server and thus
both also allow me to run cron. Which I do, so that my seti@home clients
call in their results regularly[1].

There is a roughly-equivalent scheduler in Windows (I use it on a
few other machines to report seti) but it's GUI-based and requires
navigating many nested panels to set up a task; 'crontab -e' *is* far
simpler if you know what you are doing.

Basically, I use the appropriate tools at my command to execute
any particular job. So I choose between Linux(-like) and Windows on a
case-by-case basis. I'm not sure about "business", but in the University
research environment today you'd better know about both Linux *and*
Windows. ...and Mac if you're an overpaid UCL droid...

[0] The University is, of course, steadfastly Windows. The managers don't
know anything else...

[1] Compaq_Owner@HomePC01 ~
$ crontab -l
26,56 * * * * source reportnew [2]
(for the uninitiated, that means run the command "source reportnew" at
26 and 56 minutes past each hour; source is a Unix command to say "run
the commands in this file")

[2] Compaq_Owner@HomePC01 ~
$ cat reportnew
cd c:
cd 'Program Files/BOINC'
../boinccmd.exe --get_results | gawk -f ./reportnew.awk [3][4]
cd

[3] Compaq_Owner@HomePC01 /cygdrive/c
$ cat Program\ Files/BOINC/reportnew.awk
/project URL/ { u=$3;}
/report: yes/ { p=1;}
END { for (a in p) { system("./boinccmd.exe --project " a " update");}}

[4] Need to review this, it seems simpler on my Linux boxen.[5]
Ah! This allows me to report seti@home Beta Test results as well.

[5] ivan@IDRLap03:$ cat reportnew
cd ~/BOINC/
../boinccmd --get_results | grep 'report: yes'>/dev/null &&\
../boinccmd --project http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/ update
cd

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

We look for people who are equally at home with Linux and Windows, and
can preferably find their way around a Solaris box as well.

We also prefer them not to have ideological preferences for one OS over
another, not least because it's a bit fucking sad and we have to spend 8
hours a day in their company.

 

Yeah, I know ;-) Obviously touched a nerve though, eh?

Yes, _I_ know that - amongst other things my job involves a lot of
Unix adminy type stuff.

Well, in the real (yes, Business) world, most people whouse computers
don't give a toss what it is, as long as it works, but for very many
the idea of a command-line interface, such as required for crontab, is
anathema. They've grown up with Windows and/or other GUI-type
approaches, so the idea of a "command" is completely alien.

See what I mean?

<Snip unix-stuff>

That really doesn't help your claim to not be a unix-type, you know.

 

...but it doesn't hurt my claim to be Windows-savvy as well. Do I
have to be even-handed like the BBC, and post the equivalent XP mouse-
clicks as well?

Horses for courses...

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

Well if you wanted to mimic the BBC, you'd have to call crashes of Windows
software 'small glitches' whilst UNIX crashes would be 'catastrophic
failures'. Oh, and it'd be the fault of UNIX whenever a Windows program
crashed, too.

--
des
'The reason grandparents and grandchildren get on so well is that they
have a common enemy'
(Sam Levenson (1911 - 1980))
<http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/>

 

Are you hiring? Make me an offer, my contract is running out...
:-(

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

I think you need to ask your doctor to increase your lithium dosage.

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

We're always hiring support monkeys. Probably pays better than academia
too.

 

good for the equal opps stats - old & ethnic.

 

We look for people who can use a calendar.

 

Ditto.

Expired Jan 2010!

 

...given that I'm staring at a 9-point demotion on the salary scale...

FOYRNB!

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".