I ran into a dependency issue trying to upgrade a particular PHP application to the latest version. Geeklog 1.8.0 requires PHP 5.2 or higher.

The default PHP packages in Centos 5.x are apparently based on the older PHP 5.1 branch. To upgrade php, just remove php and install the specific PHP 5.3 packages:

# yum remove php-common

# yum install php53-common

and any additional php packages needed such as php53-mysql, php53-pdo, ...

A few weeks ago the power supply died in my Shuttle Glamor XPC SN78SH7 HTPC / home server. The small Shuttle came with a 300 Watt power supply and since I have two hard drives and tend to run the server day and night, I decided to go ahead and upgrade to a 500 Watt power supply.

The original 300 Watt PC61 power supply was labeled with the following information:

Shuttle P/N: PPR-PC6100-L000
PC6100L-######### REV.01
MODEL NO: PC61I0002

This is a photo of the dead power supply:



I did my best to locate a cheap replacement, possibly a generic component. I was not able to locate one on the web that I was confident would work with this small case. I found the official Shuttle replacement parts listed in a PDF at the Shuttle web site. Even after I located the part I wanted, there were not many vendors who had the part in stock.

Here is a photo of the official Shuttle PSU replacement part:

Finished the upgrade of Geeklog (the engine that powers this site) to Geeklog 1.8.0.

Geeklog 1.8.0 is available for download from:

http://www.geeklog.net/filemgmt/index.php/1060

I had no troubles, Geeklog 1.8.0 seems to be compatible with the plugins used on this site (Autotags and SocialShare).

In April I participated in the Hacker Run, a "Distributed Organized Sport" (DOS) sponsored by Rapid7 (the commercial metasploit people), PaulDotCom, and The Hacker Academy.

From the Hacker Run wiki:

"Together we can push each other to compete, improve fitness, to lose weight, and relieve the stress of hacker life. So shut down your Wikileaks DDOS, put on a black running shirt and join us for the first annual HackerRun."

The swag trickled in slowly over the past two months, but I'm glad I took the time to register (and to run!).

I received this cool swag which included a really nice tech t-shirt:

Soft Star Shoes recently released new models of running moccasins, the RunAmoc DASH Smooth and the RunAmoc DASH LITE. These shoes are different than previous RunAmocs in that they have a true shoe lacing mechanism. I bought a pair of the DASH Smooth to become my new work shoe since my Sanuk Overboard sandal shoes were starting to wear out. It is actually fairly difficult to find shoes suitable for work that do not have a raised heel.

The DASH Lite are perforated in the same way as the original RunAmoc Lite. For work shoes I decided to go with the DASH Smooth model.

I have owned the shoes for about three weeks and as they mold to my foot shape they become more comfortable each day. I had a few days of break-in period where I felt uncomfortable pressure on my big toe nails. To help this process I just crammed a balled-up sock into each shoe overnight. I can now wear even my thick socks and not feel like my toes are being squeezed, but for a while it also helped to wear thin socks. They are great sockless, too.

What I most like is that I can snug them around the ankle/midfoot and then the toes are free to do whatever they want up front. This seems like the perfect shoe fitting strategy... secure it to the foot and don't hinder the toes. If I were a super-hero, these are the type of shoes I would wear since I wouldn't have to change shoes to go crime-fighting. With the DASH, Soft Star has resolved all of my complaints about previous RunAmocs... mostly related to the sloppy heel fit. The DASH fit snugly to my foot and don't slide around at all and the laces allow me to adjust the fit as needed.

Even though I bought them to be work shoes, I just *had* to try them out on some runs to give a proper review. When I put them on, I feel like it is early 1950s and I'm about to go run a mile of the century. They remind me of those famous leather track spikes pictured on the cover of The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb. I like them enough that I am considering the RunAmoc DASH Lite as my next minimalist running shoe purchase.

Here is a photo of my DASH Smooth shoes:



These are the default black color scheme with the 5mm trail sole. During my testing, that particular sole seems to be absolutely perfect for running on grass. The sole works fine on other surfaces too (paved and trail), but the grip on grass made an impression on me. It seems like the RunAmoc DASH would make a great Cross Country shoe for high school or college runners who don't want a conventional shoe or can't fit into normal XC racing flats which tend to be narrow.

You can see here that the RunAmoc Smooth upper is very pliable but without much built-in vertical height:

I have not had much time for reading lately and have been reading some non-fiction (especially running books), so progress on my fiction book list has slowed considerably. I am doing my best to make time every day to read, but usually just manage a few pages before bed.

I almost forgot about the Alachua County Friends of the Library book sale this spring... except for the fact that my in-laws came all the way from Texas to stay with us so they could go to the sale every day. :)

Just like last year, I bought a few hardback books to replace the paperbacks on my shelf. "King David's Spaceship" by Jerry Pournelle in hardback was a good find. I was also glad to find "Footfall" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle in an excellent condition hardback. I only attended the sale on half-price day, so I didn't spend very much money on these at all.

The in-laws also found a few books to add to my shelf. They said "you gotta read some Lem!"

Here is the list of new (to me) books: