There are fast and automated ways of backing up *NIX servers. Backups should include databases as well as home directories, of which there can be many.

Compressed Archives

If backups can be downloaded via links (e.g. under cPanel), a browser can have its default action for .gz files set to “save in home directory”. A little script can then timestamp all the archives and put them ‘in storage’:

    # Once back-ups have been put in home directory, move all
    # to a time-stamped directory in the back-up area
cd /home/user/
mkdir `date +%Y-%m-%d`
mv backup* /home/user/backup/Home_Directories
    # move home directories
mv *.gz `date +%Y-%m-%d`
    # move databases to the new directory
cp -rf `date +%Y-%m-%d` /home/user/backup/Databases/Recent
    # merge if required
rm -r `date +%Y-%m-%d`
    # clean up, NOTE: mv cannot merge

FTP

If your webspace host offers FTP access alone, there is no simple solution. Command-line ftp might be of use though.

SCP

Copy files from the server to your local machine. This step must be invoked from the server’s side. The form of the command resembles the following:

scp -r ~/public_html your_user_name@machine.domain.suffix:/home/user/backup

mySQL Dumps

Set up cron jobs on the server, e.g.:

0 23 * * 1,4 mysqldump --user [DB_username] --password=[DB_password] [DB_name]> ~/tmp/mydatabase1.dump
0 23 * * 2,5 mysqldump --user [DB_username] --password=[DB_password] [DB_name]> ~/tmp/mydatabase2.dump
0 23 * * 0,3,6 mysqldump --user [DB_username] --password=[DB_password] [DB_name]> ~/tmp/mydatabase3.dump

The code above keeps a stack of 3 databases, which can be used to rollback data shall something catastrophic happen. Databases can then be snatched along with home directories. The above code can be extended so that dumps are compressed and file destinations are remote.

Where there’s smoke, there must be a fire. The streets of Manchester are full of smoke at the moment so there must be a large-scale wildfire. There was no evidence of a fire while I was walking home for breakfast; only half an hour later (now), the streets are foggy with smoke.

As it occurred around 5-6 in the morning, there is no word yet from the BBC. Google News can indentify no source either.

9 AM update: there is no longer a trace of smoke. Good riddance.

his entry does not concern spam, but rather the management of mail which belongs to a different ‘classes’, e.g. academia, work and play. It is a simple efficiency tip.

Experience has taught acquainted folks and I the value of possessing several E-mail addresses (7 in my case), which can be checked at different intervals (varying from minutes to days or weeks). Different accounts are designated for mailing lists, subscriptions, people and so forth. This reduces the number of disturbances since there is always a choice as to which account/s to check.

Broader E-mail messages often have labels such as [Linux-Group] which ease the process of flitering. Several mailing lists can reside on the same E-mail account; by defining rules for re-direction to boxes, all messages wind up in the right place automatically.

click image to view in full size

Above is an example from Horde. Messages initially appear in Inbox and only new ones get listed. Once read, a single click on the filter icon will archive them in the right box. Messages marked as spam will wind up in Trash. With this strategy, one can read the subject of — and archive dozens of messages in just a few seconds. Personal messages go to separate accounts which can be checked every 1 minute using POP.

Scientists from Spain have published influential work on tumour cells growth. The study is backed by a successful trial on humans and it appears as if mathematics will show the way to preventing and curing cancer one day. Also see a less technical dissection of this study.

In a previous paper, these researchers reported that tumor growth, rather than being exponential as commonly believed, is a much slower “linear” process similar to the growth of certain crystals and other natural phenomena.

Our family, like many others, has had a painful loss to cancer.

Warning: this is a rant

have become absolutely fed up with travel. Travelling seems rather analogous to brocoli. Even though it offers benefits, it is fairly hard to digest. Having come back from Oxford 2 days ago, I asked myself:

• Did I enjoy my time there? Definitely not.
• Was I under the impression that this research meeting would be different? Maybe fun even? Definitely yes; I was hoping, as always.

Should I have any guilt? Is it a bloat of ego? I believe not. When one speaks, then attendance clearly becomes necessary. If the purpose of presence is merely to fill a chair, why not stay home and support more meaningful projects? I have come to realise that travelling is nothing beyond an opportunity to brag; Yes, it is all about social status. It prevents me from doing what I love doing and what I think touches more people — programming, experiments, technical support and the like.

I was about to register for a conference in Colorado last night (IPMI 2005). After looking at the cost (nearing $2000 including the flights) and considering how unnecessary this would be, I couldn’t help but change my mind. I am co-author of a paper to be presented, but not first author. In other words, my presence is pointless.

People say that conferences are a good venue to meet people and “show your face”. This notion stems from older day, when paper were the primary means by which to disseminate research work. The Internet allows us to interact with people and actively work rather than just ‘absorb’ information or try to stay awake in far-away lecture theatres.

I expressed similar sentiments back in January. To many, travelling around the world is about new places to cross out and off the map. What is it that drives sp many to become the next Christopher Columbus? Inarguably, there is nothing to be discovered. An Internet search will reveal stories and photos from each and every part of the world. Perhaps travel has become a norm, which is simply hard to dismiss. I have come to the very same conclusion many times before:

“There is no place like home”

The key to success in on-line auctions (such as eBay) is rapid and frequent flow of purely useful information.

There are at least two circumstances where RSS feeds can greatly assist:

• The first: Keeping track of rare item/s
• The Second: Finding the very best deal, as defined by a low range of prices

rssauction.com is a Web site that provides customised, self-tailored eBay feeds. For those who do are not familiar with RSS feeds, JavaScript equivalents are made available too.

Remembering the days when
auctions were announced by paper

Few days scare me more than those when I return from a vacation (as in yesterday). I take certain measures to ease the pressure, e.g.:

• Mail auto-responder/s are set up to suppress incoming messages
• Wikis for correspondence (IM equivalent which updates a few times a day) are locked or put on hold
• Disappearance from Web logs and forums
• No involvement in newsgroups and mailing lists

Despite all, E-mail, newsgroups, and feeds require catching up upon return. Even worse, additional reasons to worry lurk around the corner:

• One can forgot what has recently happens in the field of IT
• Orientation within API‘s gets eroded
• Breakage of Web sites or pages
• Shortage in updates, resulting in reduced crawling
• Electronic moderation, approval, and authorisation are delayed
• Site spam in its various forms
• An extensive list of tasks which cannot not be handled remotely
• Backups which are long-overdue

So, moments after a vacation are perhaps good moments to stay isolated… and catch up.

My sister had no worries about comment spam