Category: personal

I just stumbled upon this webcam image which I thought I should share. It shows Discovery in the VAB, roughly two hours ago. Its getting ready to be mated to the external tank and the solid rocket boosters.

Ah, the joys of blogging. When I started this blog a few years ago, I kept it focussed on one topic – and thus had a few other blogs for other topics. Then, these nice labels appeared in blogger. That looked like an ultimate solution to me: just put everything in a single blog and then use the labels (or tags, as others would call them) to generate topic-specific feeds. Now is the the first time that I really did this. And, guess what, it doesn’t seem to work as nicely as I initially thought.

Mixing rsyslog/logging and a field trip to the space shuttle launch causes some confusion. I do not like confusion ;) So I have created another blog for my space shuttle launch viewing trip today.

I hope this will work out. I sincerely think it is in the best interest of all readers. The next days (as time permits, its obviously not a priority task…), I’ll create some useful links to get the different pieces together if you are interested in the big picture. Also, I’ll remove the shuttle posts here and change them to redirects.

As time progresses, things change. This is also true for blogs. When I started this blog, it was all about my STS-120 launch viewing trip. But then I discovered the beauty of blogging and converted it more and more in a general space related blog.

This is where we are right now: This blog is about space and space flight in general. For obvious reasons, it covers space shuttle launch and operations, but I also keep a keen eye on the Constellation program with the Ares launches and Orion crew exploration vehicle. And, of course, the international space station ISS and its helpers (including the European ATV) are also on-topic.

I try to convey news but with my personal point of view. Feedback is highly appreciated and reader stories are posted when I receive them (of course, assuming that they are on-topic).

I hope you have fun reading this blog. Feedback is always welcome.

For completeness, here are previous mission statements:

Up until mid-November 2007:

This is my blog about viewing Space Shuttle launches. I have tried once in Summer 2006 (with no success) and will retry in October of 2007 for the STS-120 mission. I blog about my travel preparations, things that come to my mind and the overall experience. [read more about what’s in this blog]

This blog is about viewing space shuttle launches. To be even more precise, it is about me trying to view a shuttle launch. I hope it will be interesting to you to hear about my fate when trying to actually see it.

I have already tried once, in summer 2006. That time, it was the STS-115 mission, which were endlessly delayed due to a number of issues. But that’s another topic. If I find time, I’ll try to dig out my past travel logs and convert them to blog posts. Will see ;)

But, hey, why read this blog? First of all, you will probably have a good laugh at what I am trying when it gets problematic [and I bet it will] ;) Other than that, you may possibly want to go yourself one day. In that case, you can probably learn a bit out of my experiences(and, yes, I plan to write about the cool things, too ;)). Some may even claim that they somehow feel closer to the launch experience if the read the notes of someone who does.

And, remember: the last shuttle is set to rocket off Kennedy Space Center in 2010 – so if you want to experience a launch, there is not much time left! Better you be prepared.

So – have fun and keep reading. I will possible save this post as a reference and update it from time to time.

I started this blog in 2003 as something purely about syslog. At that time, I also started some other blogs, which I now mostly have abandoned. The whole system was a bit clumsy, plus there was limited interest in the content (to phrase it mildly).

Things have evolved. Now blogger offers tags (called “label” there), which allow to keep track of different topics in a single blog. So I thought I give it a new try. I’ll use the blog in addition to my web sites and post small news here that do not make it onto the sites for whatever reason. I am not sure if that will finally work out, but it is at least worth a try.

“The Clouds” is both an educational and fun project. It aims at providing a better understanding of nature as well as pure beauty. Here, find animations of the clouds encircling our planet Earth. Animations are based on weather satellite data. The project is still in its infancy, but already has a number of stunning images.

Follow links below to watch the animations:

• Full Animation May to November 2007
• May 2007

I hope this project is useful. Feedback and suggestions are highly appreciated.

While I have not yet found time to create some useful background information, you may want to visit Wikipedia’s article on “atmospheric circulation”.

Copyright © 2007 Rainer Gerhards
Satellite Picture: Copyright © 2007 EUMETSAT
Last Update: 2007-08-11

Hi folks,

long time no post, but now one is really due…

Let’s wrap up: The IETF is trying to standardize and evolve the syslog protocol. Syslog is in wide-spread use for system and network monitoring, both in small and large-scale environments. Though widely used, it has never been standardized and is inherently insecure. The IETF syslog working group is trying to change this. During the work, a proposal for a (TLS) secured syslog protocol has been developed, a real group effort. This proposal reflects what already is done in practice (just google for “syslog ssl” and you see what I mean…).

Now, Huawei (the authors of the standard document belong to them) claims an undisclosed patent on this work. This in turn has lead to a standstil of the standardization effort plus a search for alternate, less efficient and more complex solutions to the problem.

The full story can be obtained from the working group’s mailing list archive. It started with this message:
http://www.mail-archive.com/syslog%40lists.ietf.org/msg00593.html

The discussion can be followed by reading the top half posts on this page:
http://www.mail-archive.com/syslog%40lists.ietf.org/maillist.html

Two of my favourite rants in the discussion are these:
http://www.mail-archive.com/syslog%40lists.ietf.org/msg00657.html
http://www.mail-archive.com/syslog%40lists.ietf.org/msg00620.html

Isn’t that cool? It is a nice example of how useful that current software patent system really is.

Happy legalizing,
Rainer

Yesterday I have finished the 16th version of the syslog-protocol internet draft and sent it to the IETF for publishing. It now addresses (almost?) all issues that were brought up in Vancouver and thereafter. In the mean time, the IETF has still made no final decision on the future of the syslog-sec WG. As Chris says, it is likely to stay and the new charter to be accepted. I just wonder if we finish that work until spring…

Long time no post ;) It has been busy days, with finaly a healthy discussion on the IETF syslog-sec mailing list. Still, there are (too) few participants, but it looks like the recent events got the group some momentum. The WG is now in danger of being shut down and that seems to drive activity. A new charter is being discussed. It looks like the rejection of previous work will lead to a really good alternative. It is still too early to be sure all will have a good outcome, but in my opinion it looks more promising than any time the past month – especially if you think about a spec becoming implemented.

Sam Hartman (IETF Security Area Director) has rejected the syslog-protocol draft due to missing support in the last IETF meeting. I do not yet know which new non-concensus turned up. I fear it is an re-iteration of arguments already exchanged. I am very curios to have a look at the minutes. Anyhow, if it is yet another re-iteration, I seriously begin to doubt if that activity makes any sense at all… Maybe it is a much better idea just to create some simple TCP-based syslog format, talk to the other implementors… and do it ;)

I’ve talked with a lot of people about rfc3195 to lots the past days. I’ve a mixed feeling. Since spring, rfc 3195 is getting momentum. On the other side, the IETF syslog-sec WG is considering removing some parts from RFC 3195 (namely the COOKED profile). The adoption rate in practice is also very low…

Anyhow, the discussions indicated that a lot of folks seem to work on rfc 3195 (well, “a lot” in my terms…), but most of them somewhat isolated. I will now try to solve this issue with a new mailing list. Maybe we can even get some IHE folks onboard.

The list charter is as follows:

###
The rfc3195 list is targeted towards people interested in RFC 3195-based solutions. It is primarily aimed at implementors, protocol-designers and operators who would like to have insight into the protocol and the various implementations. It carries deeply technical content about protocol interpretations, interoperability of different RFC 3195-based solutions, and discussion about the future of RFC 3195. It also covers news and annoucements about RFC 3195-related projects and products. These items should not be marketingish but rather help inform the community of new arrivals and other important events.
####

Subscription information is available at

http://lists.adiscon.net/mailman/listinfo/rfc3195

I hope this is a useful tool for the community. Let’s see how it evolves.