Eric Covener’s Journal

Something odd in my 64-bit RHEL install left me without any of the 32-bit runtime. I had never used yum before, and always hand-resolved RPM dependencies when I needed to meet something like a WebSphere prerequisite.

• Mount your install media
• mkdir /tmp/repo
• cp -r /media/dvdrw/packages/*.rpm /tmp/repo
• (cd /tmp/repo && rpm -i createrepo* *deltarpm*
• createrepo .
• cat > /etc/yum.repos.d/local.repo
  [local]
  gpgcheck=0
  name=localrepo
  baseurl=file:///tmp/repo
  ^D

Now e.g. yum install libXp.i686 will grab up all the basic 32-bit low-level stuff for you.

http://packages.debian.org/sid/moreutils

This is a growing collection of the Unix tools that nobody thought to write long ago, when Unix was young.

So far, it includes the following utilities:

– combine: combine the lines in two files using boolean operations
– ifdata: get network interface info without parsing ifconfig output
– ifne: run a program if the standard input is not empty
– isutf8: check if a file or standard input is utf-8
– lckdo: execute a program with a lock held
– mispipe: pipe two commands, returning the exit status of the first
– parallel: run multiple jobs at once
– pee: tee standard input to pipes
– sponge: soak up standard input and write to a file
– ts: timestamp standard input
– vidir: edit a directory in your text editor
– vipe: insert a text editor into a pipe
– zrun: automatically uncompress arguments to command

i miraculously was able to fix my jammed (all the way pushed up to the steering wheel, of course) electric drivers-side seat with my own two little hands. Electrical snafu aside, The honoroable engineers at toyota made each of the 4 14mm nuts in it’s own uniquely challenging orientation.

I felt like a combination of Andy Duphresne and a triumphant contestant on Ninja Warrior when I hoisted the seat out of the car, only to flop it over and stare at the electrical guts.

I was very surprised that neither FAQ for this failure was actually the problem, but there was a blatant disconnected line that did the trick.

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/backstage_error_scraps_quiz_show_sJe8oL2jywmh8tnstE0RVO”

FOX is pulling “Our Little Genius” off the air — and will reshoot the entire series to avoid the appearance that the young contestants may have had help with the answers.

“I recently discovered that there was an issue with how some information was relayed to contestants during pre-production of ‘Our Little Genius,’ ” the show’s producer, Mark Burnett, said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/backstage_error_scraps_quiz_show_sJe8oL2jywmh8tnstE0RVO#ixzz0c2WIi8Ln

They insist the children didn’t get answers, which probably means they only got the questions ahead of time!

Man threatening to `kill all the Jews’ taken off Miami flight, arrested

An Ohio man who became loud and disruptive aboard a flight from Miami to Detroit — at one point shouting “kill all the Jews” — was removed from the airplane and taken into custody by Miami-Dade poli

Although if you really were about to go on a anti-jew rampage, why would you be flying out of Miami and into Detroit? This guy needs a refresher of his Jewish stereotype handbook.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34436730/ns/us_news-life/

MILWAUKEE – Cities around the country that have installed energy-efficient traffic lights are discovering a hazardous downside: The bulbs don’t burn hot enough to melt snow and can become crusted over in a storm — a problem blamed for dozens of accidents and at least one death.

With Reverse Panda Syndrome:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/giant-panda-genome/

The panda genome gives clues to understanding the panda’s strict bamboo diet. It turns out that pandas have mutations in two copies of a taste gene called T1R1, which encodes a protein that senses the savory taste of meats, cheeses, broths and other high-protein foods. These mutations may have robbed pandas of the ability to taste meat, pushing them toward their bamboo diet, the researchers suggest.

Pandas possess all the requisite genes for digesting meat, but none of the genes required for digesting bamboo, Wang and colleagues found. The researchers guess that pandas rely entirely on communities of gut microbes for extracting nutrients from bamboo.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/07/saturday.night.live.cast/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson have been dropped from the show, while Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad are joining the cast, Entertainment Weekly reports.

Watkins — who joined “SNL” mid-season last year and was known for her hilarious impersonations of Barbara Walters and Kathie Lee Gifford’s suffering “Today” show co-host Hoda Kotb — said she was shocked by the firing.

(Casey is the brunette Cougar).

New additions that nobody has probably ever seen before: Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad.

Best in-movie pseudo music videos:

http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2009/06/16/five-awesome-intentionally-funny-music-videos-in-movies/

Including Empire Records, Naked Gun, Eurotrip

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1656168.html

If you like your pooch at your feet while dining outside Raleigh restaurants, your doggie dinner dates are numbered.

Wake County food safety officials, citing their interpretation of state rules, have started telling restaurants that canines are no longer allowed at outside tables.