SELinux, Apache and Postgres SQL Connectivity

Recently, I decided to migrate the work from Apache windows to the Apache running on my Vmware fedora machine. Everything was supposed to work like a charm. Unfortunately, it did not. The perl in the cgi-bin directory was throwing internal server error 500. The apache error log indicated 'permission denied to create a socket', 'premature end of the script headers'. The stuff was supposed to be retrieved from postgres sql database by the perl thingy. It appeared to me that database server is not allowing my IP address to establish a connection, as recomended by pgadmin as well. After a successful entry of my IP in the conf file of postgres database server, problem still persisted. I tried almost everything, changing the file owner to apache, suexec in apache and hell lots of other possibilities. Then in the trial process I noticed a small pop up in the corner of the window, SELinux denial. SELinux is an enhanced feature in Linux, that can put restrictions on your applications in apache making database connection, nmap, access to network filesystem and lots and lots more. After giving apache persmission to make database connections, the error was resolved and application ran smoothly.

Vaccum kills us, space kills javascript

I was exporting certain attributes viz roadname, ids, ways etc which were of alphanumeric type by appending them with a '+' charachter from my server side perl program to the javascript program at the client. The firebug popped up, unterminated string literal, lets see whats that .... Googling did not turned out to be of much help. I tried making the string short, taking into an array etc. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. Amazed, I came to a stupid conclusion on the size of the arguments that need to be passed. Perhaps, that was not the cause.On of my appended field was having a space, and string thereafter was considered as a different argument by javascript. Due to mismatch in the number of arguments for that js function, it was breaking. Such a silly mistake !!! :).

Hence, Vaccum kills us, space kills javascript or rather any function in any damn
language.

Firebug, turned out to be a real bug

Firebug, an addon for the popular web browser firefox became a pain in the a** once at work. It helps you to monitor HTTP request - response, Web Design layout etc. We were trying to make certain changes in our javascript file and review the changes. Clear the private data ( Ctrl-Shift-Delete), restart the browser, we tried almost everything . Later on after breaking head for sometime, we found out that firebug maintains its own cache of all the images, js and other component files being loaded that needs to be cleared in the console and the net tabs.
So folks, if you use firebug with firefox , better be watchful else keep scratching your head. :)

Error while loading shared libraries: libx264.so.56: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

I recently ran an upgrade on my Fedora core box. All the library files got upgraded . Unfortunately, VLC player which used to run normal stopped working .

The error thrown was 'vlc:error while loading shared libraries: libx264.so.56: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory'.

What I discovered is that the file libx264.so.56 had updated to libx264.so.60. Hence, I created a soft link ln -s libx264.so.60 libx264.so.56 . This solved the issue. And VLC runs file now.

Corporate Etiquette

Peter and Adam happen to be colleagues of a well esteemed organization on the globe. After having a wonderful lunch both were going to their cubicles.

Peter : Hey man, rush, press the button, the lift is about to close
( The lift door was about to close. Two middle aged people were having serious conversation in the lift, lets call them Mr. Sam and Mr. Duke )

Peter : Cool. We are in
( Adam managed to press the button, just a second before the doors were going to be an inch apart)

Mr. Sam : So whats up with that guy ...

Mr Duke : Seems his mother has some health issues ... he needs to be posted in that city

Mr Sam ( shouted to his peak) : Bullshit !!! .
Peter and Adam astonished .....

Adam : I thought that company stresses a lot on corporate etiquette. What about the management lessons.

Peter : Leave that dude. What if the case is authentic ...

Save Resources, Save the planet !!

These gigantic malls attract everyone's eyes. And one loves to hang out in these malls. But have your ever thought the amount of power being consumed in keeping it so flashy and attractive. With power resources deteriorating, CO2 emissions shooting up and depleting ozone layer, a thought has become essential. Nobody wants to see earth die before he/she dies. How many of us are aware that CO2 is also emitted from the monitors ( be it traditional or LCD). And we never care to keep those monitor turned off or rather shutdown the PCs when not in use. Watching more black colors on monitors, black backgrounds reduces the watts of power being consumed. An initiative with thought can be seen at www.blackle.com. Go green, save resources, save the planet and eventually save yourself.

the 'EXTINCTION' effect ! A hilarious one .....

I happen to be a regular watcher of the resident evil movie series. Recently, I decided to download and see the latest one, 'Extinction'. As a precautionary mesaure, I ran the download from a direct link on two different systems in two separate labs, say lab1 and lab2.

The lab1 download was started earlier than lab2. I locked both the accounts and went out. After I came back in night the movie was downloaded on lab1's PC and decided to watch. People in lab2 usually play Counter Strike on LAN with mute mode to avoid any problem.

Fully excited, I started the movie in lab1 and counter strike was started in lab2. After some time I get a message from a guy in lab2, unlock your system Resident Evil has started on that. Ha ha ha. I ran the download in play mode. The speaker wasnt muted either. The sound effects of counter strike matches to that of Resident Evil.

The zeal and passion for IIT - JEE . Kota the city to be !!!

Introduction

Haven't heard about Kota ? Dont joke. Ok let me tell you then , its a city situated in the state of Rajasthan . That is northwestern part of India . Now what the hell has this to do with IIT JEE ? Well , Kota is the ultimate destination of IIT JEE aspirants who wish groom their preparation and make into those dream institutes.Around 20k-30k of students pour every year into this city to make their career's golden start , a few them are however are only able to make into the premier instituites.

The description

The city is loaded with plenty of coaching institutions for IIT JEE and even for medical entrance exam preparation . The best part about them is if you are associated with them , then you can dedicate your full attention towards IIT JEE . As there is no need to go to school. The timing of classes are highly variable and depend solely on your batch number . It can be something like 6AM in the morning to even 11PM in the night.

Fooding and Lodging

The city has commercialised to a great extent and hence you dont find much problem in adapting yourself to its flow. People have modified their houses to rent it to the students. A small room sufficient enough to accomodate a bed to sleep , a table to study satisfies the needs of these aspirants . These Kota people make huge amount in renting room , if its near the coaching institute it can cost you around Rs 1.5K for a small room.

Lifestyle of a Kota freak

The time distribution of days is like
Studies - 10-12 hours
Sleep 7 - 8 hours
Rest ( includes food , bath , shit shampoo , chat , games etc ).
Television and leisure - Negligible
Movies - Once in 6 Months that too if Rank is coming good in the last Subjective test .
You can find students deeply immersed in those hefty books throughout the day. This shows the fervor desire to get into the IITs.
Areas of the city like Vigyan Nagar , Talwandi are flooded with intellectual minds talking about Rotational Dynamics .... Benzene and huckel's rule .... L hospital's rule.....while moving on their bicycle ... having food ... or just on a walk. The study environment is highly conducive for dedicated and hardworking students.

When the city sleeps they are awake

During nights , by that i mean 2 AM 4 AM or even 6 AM ... you can see lights of their room still with a sheet in the hand and cracking problems ... calculus .. vectors .. waves .... gas laws etc .... Time is nothing for these geeky students . But the only job is to study and only study , develop your concepts and get make yourself fully prepared for the BIG DAY .. exam IIT JEE.

Shops and availability of other study materials

The bookstores are jam packed with copies Chemistry by Morrison Boyd .... Calculus - Shanti Narayan , Physics - Resnick Halliday and Walker ....... Inorganic JD LEE ... dont get scared but these hefty books are being recommended here , which u wont even think of lifting in your graduation school . The education standards prevalent in these coaching institutes are simply superb , I would say far more than your four years of engineering .

My first experience

As i stepped on the railway station of Kota for the first time , an auto wala moves in asks "bhaiya kahan chalna hai bansal career ya allen ..... " these are the three reputed coaching institutes there .Surprising isnt it ?

Conclusion

These coaching institutes have become the economy generator for the people of Kota . Although it brings an uneven distribution . As people from poor background like villages cant pay huge amount to make into these institutes and hence are out of competition.