Monthly Archive for September, 2008

Freebsd 7.0 – keeping the system up to date

Published on Friday, September 26, 2008 in IT. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

In order to do keep your current portstree/system and all installed applications up to date I run the following commands via cron (the actual updating process is done manually however as I still like to watch and control the process)

One script is regularly updating the ports tree and mails the result to the administrator:

display_updates.sh

#!/usr/local/bin/bash
/usr/local/bin/cvsup -L 2 /etc/ports-supfile
/usr/sbin/pkg_version -vL=  | mail -s “FreeBSD reminder: required updates ” hostmaster@xxx.cc

another script regularly makes an update of the source system:

update_src.sh

#!/bin/sh
/usr/local/bin/cvsup -g /etc/source-supfile

then it is very straight forward to update the ports by issueing the command:

portupgrade -arR

Additionally I like to run the portaudit program from time to time:

portaudit -aF in order to check the ports against the vulnerability database

My experience with cvsup is very good, switching to portsnap created huge tmp files which cluttered my /var directory!

Sauna Survey #3 (Berlin) Al-Andalus

Published on Friday, September 26, 2008 in Berlin and Sauna. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Continuing the Sauna Survey Review Series I will review a place I have been to a couple of weeks ago:

The Al-Andalus Sauna (Al Andalus Saunawelt).

Located near the old Tempelhof Airport this place is a little hard to find in case you arrive by public transport, however the reception assistance in finding the place. The hard facts:

Telefon:  +4930609060
Telefax : +493060083857
WEB: http://www.saunawelt-al-andalus.de

Saunawelt Al Andalus
Buschkrugallee 64
12359 Berlin

The place has a nice and very detailed website providing information about all services.

The price for a 4 hour visit is currently 19,00€ or for Students 16,00€  however if you come after 19:00 then the price drops to 14,00€ in what is called the moonshine tariff.

The place used to be a bigger adventure bath as the environment still shows signs and infrastructure from this time. The impression of visiting a remodeled site never been completed did not leave throughout the whole visit. The setup is unstructured and not too well thought through. It makes the impression that various interior equipment and installations have been placed at total random. Plants are sitting around at strange places. As a result the whole place never seems to develop a cozy or somehow relaxing atmosphere. I guess this is a consequence of the not very profound remodeling of the place.

Besides the place features some very nice Saunas. At the time only one of the outside Saunas was working and providing injections every hour or so. The steam bath was very hot and one of the nicest best smelling I have been in for a while. The Jacuzzis however were only luke warm and kept shutting down after approx. 10 min only to start up again after another 10 min. I perfectly understand the necessity to save energy however for a step price of 19€ this should be no issue.

Food in the ‘restaurant’ was so so and not really worth the price paid.

My overall impression was not very well after a couple of days I had already forgotten the expensive experience and just now I pull back the memories of this day and the location. The place has in my eyes just not enough atmosphere  and coziness or on the other side in case of high  class Saunas just not enough style and class.

There are much nicer places in Berlin to visit Saunawise, but in case you are desperate for something new there are some good aspects about the place as the steambath which I can highly recommend.

Practical Traveler | Asian Hot Spots: Staying One Step Ahead of the Crowd

Published on Friday, September 26, 2008 in Travel. 0 Comments

You’ve scaled the Great Wall, wandered the temples of Angkor Wat and partied on the beaches of Goa. What’s next?


No Laughing Matter

Published on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 in Business and Politics. 0 Comments

George W. Bush never challenged Americans to do anything hard, let alone great. The next president is not going to have that luxury.

Dear Iraqi Friends

Published on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 in Business and Politics. 0 Comments

As Americans lose their homes and sink into debt, they no longer understand why we are spending $1 billion a day to make Iraqis feel more secure in their homes.

Terminal Tips: Personalize Terminal.app

Published on Monday, September 22, 2008 in IT. 0 Comments

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Tired of the bland, black and white look of Terminal.app (/Application/Utilities)? By tweaking the preferences in Terminal, you can easily change the theme, and look of your Terminal windows. Open Terminal and click Terminal > Preferences (or press command + ,).

Clicking on Settings will allow you to see the available themes. Terminal ships with several nice themes including basic, grass, homebrew, novel, ocean, pro, and red sands. In addition to using these, you can create your own by clicking the “+” button at the bottom.

You can tweak a theme by clicking the theme and using the options in either the “Text” or “Window” tabs. You can change the font style/size, text color, type of cursor, color of cursor, etc. When you are ready to make the these your default, just click the default button at the bottom of the theme list. Now all of your Terminal windows will load with the settings you specified.

Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW’s Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.

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TUAW Tips: Replace login screen background

Published on Monday, September 22, 2008 in IT. 0 Comments

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Are you tired of the standard background for the login window? Well, if you are running Tiger or Leopard, you can easily change this picture to anything you wish. This is handy for schools or organizations who want a static background showing off their spiffy logo.

For Leopard Users
To change the background, just replace the picture file located here:

/System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg

Be sure to keep the original file in case you want to change it back to the original picture. We suggest changing the original to “DefaultDesktopOriginal.jpg” or something similar.

For Tiger Users
Tiger users don’t have it as easy. You have to replace the picture by editing a login window preference file. Open Terminal and type in the following command, replacing “path_to_picture.jpg” with the actual path to the picture you want as the background:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow DesktopPicture 'path_to_picture.jpg'

Since this is a sudo command, you will be required to authenticate as an administrator before the command will be run. Once you enter the command and logout, you should see the changes.

Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW’s TUAW Tips and Terminal Tips sections.

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Sauna Survey #2 (Berlin) Thermen am Europacenter

Published on Thursday, September 18, 2008 in Berlin and Sauna. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

The 2nd issue of the Sauna Survey – which however will not be published as a daily – covers another Berlin Sauna or more a sauna combined with a thermal complex.

Generally speaking when visiting towns and new places there are two ways of finding good and decent spots to enjoy sauna in a nice environment:

  • Go online and look for the term “sauna” however this can lead to too many sleazy results
  • then try the term “steam bath” which is a little less used in the aforementioned area
  • all combinations and respective languages are helpful e.g. “banja“, “steam room“
  • another way to find decent spots is to search for big bathing complexes which have a sauna attached. Those will also bring good and decent results and mostly feature a lot of extras which are complementary for a sauna visitor

Ok! that was general theory about finding a sauna and I mentioned it here because the Europacenter is exactly what was mentioned last. It is a huge complex in the Center of Berlin which is primarily a thermal bath.  It offers a huge variety of services:

  • Different Massages
  • 4 Saunas (2 of which offer injections in a hourly rhythm)
  • Haman
  • 2 Steam Bath
  • plenty of thermal water

The prices is 16,50€ for 3h. The student price is slightly less (16,00€) which basically makes not difference. But this is just one option of the nearly confusing overall price list.

However the overall atmosphere is not too relaxing and I hardly enjoyed the place. The setup is symmetric and in case you want to use the other side of the complex you will have to find your way through the deck chairs cluttered around the pool. 50% of the visitors do not bother to take off their bathing suits and you kind of feel stared at, or like a nudist at the wrong spot on the beach – when you behave according to the sauna code and walk around naked.

This place is more a staring place for the curious and I found most simple sauna rules neglected. As well there was not really an area for relaxing and sleeping and the cafeteria did not invite me to have a snack or even look at the menu. The complex urgently needs a makeover to still be able to charge a whooping 16,50€ especially considering Berlin and it’s generally lower price range for services. Personally I will not return and I cannot really recommend the place. This critique does not imply that all thermal-sauna combinations are not advisable. I will present some of my favorites soon which include this kind of setup.

For the curious one and all who want to contribute to the objectivity of this article further details:

Thermen am Europa-Center

Nürnberger Str. 7

10787 Berlin

Phone: 030 – 25 75 76 0

Keep It in Vegas

Published on Thursday, September 18, 2008 in Business and Politics. 0 Comments

Government’s job is to police that fine line between the risk-taking that drives innovation and gambling with other people’s savings in ways that threaten us all.

Sauna Survey #1 (Berlin) Kaminsauna Friedrichshein

Published on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 in Berlin and Sauna. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

The first sauna of the series is a Sauna I recently visited in Berlin Friedrichshain. I found the place over the Internet on this page.

What is astonishing however is that as I visted the page many times before I never really felt like going to the place then last Sunday it was kind of late in the evening and I decided to visit the place at least for <3h.

I was positivly surprised:

The place features a nice athmophere and a young crowd. I encountered mostly students and young people <40 years. Upon entering the place one is welcomed at a bar like counter where the newly arrived customer is introduced to the facilities by the staff. Every time one has the chance to gain free entry by throwing the dice. You will need a triple 6 to enter free of charge (6*6*6 = 216 i.e. 1/216)

The price is 9,50€ for 3h (8,50€ for Students)

and another 3€ for every additional hour. This is a competitive price regarding the features and facilities the place provides.

  • Main Sauna (15 min after every full hour differnent essences are poured over the oven, a small infusion will be provided at 15 to the full hour; this is merely a supplement to the first one)
  • Stream Bath
  • UV Sauna
  • Bio sauna (60° + Temperature)
  • Cold diving pond
  • Cozy outside area
  • Sleeping room
  • Realxing and reading room with fireplace
  • Food Services
  • Massage

The hourly infusion was pretty nice and not too hot. Essences were nice and not too artificial (mint, eucalypthus). Thus making it possible to stay in the sauna after the infusion and “helicopter” from the staff.

I haven’t jet tasted the kitchen, but I am pretty sure that it is tasty sauna food.  immediately noticed the Sol Ei Dish on the menu.

That leaves me with an overall very possitive impression and with a sure intention to return to check the place out more profoundly.

To put it all in a nutshell and summarize my impression I would like to stress the following points:

  • Young crowd
  • Good layout
  • Cramped but interessting and well designed interior
  • good not too strong infusions

Hübnerstraße 4
10247 Berlin
Tel. 030 / 42 01 64 76