It's important to be able to monitor your production system's health. You want to monitor the memory and file system utilization, the system load, how much memory the processes use, whether you are running out of swap space, and so on. All these tasks are feasible when one has an interactive (telnet/ssh/other) access to the box the Web server is running on, but it's quite a mess since different Unix tools report about different parts of the system. All of this means that you cannot watch the whole system at the one time; it requires lots of typing since one has to switch from one utility to another, unless many connections are open and then each terminal is dedicated to report about something specific.

But if you are running mod_perl enabled Apache server, then you are in good company, since it allows you to run a special module called Apache::VMonitor thatprovides most of the desired reports at once.

perl.com: Apache::VMonitor - The Visual System and Apache Server Monitor

Imagine your MacBook Pro or PowerBook keyboard backlight shining as feedback for your typing. Every keypress flashes under your fingers. A light glow while you hold the shift or Apple key. Useless. Eye candy. Cool.

Still a work in progress, the UI is just an experiment.

keySpazz : Make your Apple Notebook keys light up when you type

There is also the specter of patent shake-down operations, like Intellectual Ventures. Founded by ex-Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold and touted as a means to "encourage innovation", it appears to be a litigation factory in the making. Intellectual Ventures has been purchasing patents to construct a portfolio that it will then assert against someone, probably small and medium-sized businesses to start with. Most businesses, when faced with the prospect of an expensive patent infringement lawsuit, choose to pay a license fee, or shall we call it an extortion fee, rather than go to court and spend so much that even when they win, they lose. Income from license fees will fuel more attacks on more businesses. The effect of Myhrvold's business on Open Source could be crippling. But Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Google, and eBay have nothing to fear. They invested in the company, and will be excluded from attacks.

IP Gangsterism pure and simple.

The Monster Arrives: Software Patent Lawsuits Against Open Source Developers

I wrestled this baby elephant. He kept charging me. I couldn't push him back, but if I side stepped him I could shove his clumbsy ass out of the way. I'm telling you, I coulda taken this little bastard, but the trainers got mad at him and smacked him with a cane.

Apparently an elephant that wrestles people has to be disciplined before he grows big enough to knock over houses and stuff.

Me V Baby Elephant

The recent popularization of certain web technologies used by Google Maps has encouraged the development of more interactive web mapping techniques. Google's web mapping tools use a technology known as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). AJAX is a style of web application development that uses a mix of modern web technologies to provide a more interactive user experience. Wikipedia has a good discussion of AJAX technology.

By using AJAX, Google's maps draw and zoom quickly, pan smoothly, and can be extended to display a wide variety of information. This article shows how to make similar AJAX-based web mapping sites using an open source web mapping toolkit called ka-Map. ka-Map uses the MapServer web mapping server behind the scenes with AJAX and PHP to serve up the map content. All this comes together to provide a highly interactive means to viewing maps online.

Google Maps provides some very powerful tools, but once you want to add your own data layers, or further customize your own components, it may be easier to use your own toolkits. Tools exist for creating your own AJAX-based web mapping sites and are fairly easy to use. ka-Map coupled with MapServer is a powerful combination of open source web-mapping technologies. For a good example of a ka-Map application see DM Solutions Group's Maps for MapServer site.

XML.com: Build AJAX-Based Web Maps Using ka-Map

How to use teh MapServer

MapServer 3.5 Tutorial

List your business VOIP/Cell Phone here for yellow/white pages and 411 lookup availability.

SuperPages: Yellow Pages & White Pages

Welcome to the List Yourself! service. The List Yourself! service provides a way for You to publish your telephone number independent of your carrier. The service enables you, who have been previously unreachable through the directory assistance applications, to be looked up via 411 calls.

Get your cell phone or VOIP phone listed in the white pages and with 411.

List Yourself! -- Home

Potassium dichromate is one of the most common culprits in causing chromium dermatitis. Chromium is highly likely to induce sensitization leading to dermatitis, especially of the hand and fore-arms, which is chronic and difficult to treat. As with other CrVI products, potassium dichromate is carcinogenic and should be handled with gloves and appropriate health and safety protection. However, Potassium dichromate is one of the key ingredients in the migraine over-the-counter medication called Headon.

Head On Migraine Active Ingredients

Ingredient 1: Blue Iris. Poisonous. Causes skin irritation

Ingredient 2: Potassium Dichromate. Poisonous. Causes Chromium Dermatitis.

Ingredient 3: White Bryony. Strange herb.

Not listed but actually effective ingredient 4: Menthol

Entrez Pubmed lists not a single article on any of these with keywords 'migraine' or 'headache.' So, no actual science behind this stuff.

Headon Ingredient Potassium dichromate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Have you all heard of this new OTC called HeadOn? It's a product that we're supposed to be able to apply to the skin that will help our seratonin levels back to normal during a migraine attack. Very interesting. I have no idea whether something can actually be absorbed well enough through the skin to make a change like that... but it's very intriguing isn't it? Here's the info from their website at http://www.headon.com. The product is available at retail stores (listed on their site). I found a couple versions at my local Osco Drug (about $7.95 for a tube that should provide 100 applications), but they didn't have the migraine version, so I haven't actually tried it. Any of you tried it yet?

Saw this on boingboing. I'm gonna try some.

ed: Okay, got some.

I saw boingboing.net making fun of the TV ad for this stuff while having a migraine. So I went to Walgreens at 3am and got the extra strength, and migraine formula. I applied each liberally. It tingles. I put too much on, and it really hurt. So I wiped some off. Then... 10 minutes later the tingle replaced the headache. My head feels numb, so the migraine is much better.

Same principle as icy hot. I don't know that this is anything other than icy hot crossed with chapstick, but even if thats all it is... its great. A nice tool to have in headache control. The tube says homeopathic medicine, which means "claims about method of action total speculation," IMHO.

But I don't care. I feel better. Icy hot in a tube is great. Go Headon!

Headon: Please send free samples and I will pimp your product. Drop me a line for my address.

Sometimes I go completely bald, and this stuff has me wanting to shave my head completely just to coat every inch of it in Head On whenever I get a headache.

Kelli's Migraine Daily: HeadOn(tm) Migraine