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SSH

I guess I cannot leave the server alone. Today I installed SSH. You might ask why? I asked myself the same question. My favorite http editor is Dreamweaver and it likes ftp. I could have installed the FTP server but that is too insecure. I have had previous problems with Webdav and Frontpage sever. SSH is what everyone wants to use. They also do not want to pay for it. Openssh is the answer. Actually I installed Cygwin and sshd. I have previously used the openssh version from networksimplicity.com. The nice folks at network simplicity said their project was mute due to improvements in cygwin and that I should check out the instructions at Mike's Technical website, tech.erdelynet.com. I followed his instructions and sshd works. I checked with my favorite free ftp program, filezilla, and putty.  Now to make it work with Dreamweaver.

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It's starting to snow again. Winter is still with us. My son was sick for two days. A lot of schools in the area have closed because of illness. I finally finished my required government surveys. They are late but they are finally done. I am ready for the weekend.

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Address already in use

It took me awhile but my server is finally back to normal. Since I installed the Software Update Server I have had a variety of problems besides the problem of it not working. The most persistent and annoying problem was with  the Internet Information Server and port 80. Port 80 is the normal port web traffic and it got screwed up. I think it had to do with IIS Lockdown but I am not sure. I do know that for the last two days whenever I tried to start up the default web site with port 80 it would give me the message, “address already in use”. IIS worked fine on port 81 and 82. Fport's report showed no program listening to the port. I searched the registry, the IIS metabase, and various knowlege bases on the internet for clues. Nothing worked. Late yesterday I noticed that Microsoft's Messenger could not login. This the corporate version of Messenger and it logs into Exchange 2000. I removed the lockdown settings again and still could not login. I reset the default server back to port 80 and rebooted the computer. This morning I noticed that the web server was running on port 80 and Messenger could login. I think I need to spend a lot more time with the IIS Lockdown white paper.

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Microsoft Software Update Server

Well I do know how to waste time! Yesterday I thought I would install the SP1 version of Software Update Server. The installation did not go right for reasons I am still researching and the uninstall did not go write either. The research is complicated because the install runs the IIS Lockdown wizard and I had problems configuring it to work with ISA. When I finally got it to work I realized it was going to download over 1700+ updates. Gratefully, it failed before it went too far. I guess I am surprised it did not allow me a choice of how much I wanted to download. Since I am still a dialup user this server is not a good choice for me to prototype. It might be nice for a small business with a highspeed internet connection and a server with lots of space. I guess this another Microsoft work-in-progress.

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The Noble Adventure

Space exploration captures our imagination and admiration. The shuttle trips into space inspire the average person because it makes space travel seem within reach. The loss of the shuttle yesterday is a great tragedy to many throughout the world. The loss is especially hard on the families, friends, and co-workers and my prayers go out to them. I pray they will grieve, remember these people vividly in their minds and conversation, and ultimately be at peace with themselves. The pain will go away.

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Voltaire. “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” [Quotes of the Day]

I am not sure what I think about this quote. Everytime I try to ponder this quote, my mind runs off in a different direction. Is it a serious statement or just a glib comment? I can't tell. My first assumption was that this is a serious statement about man's innate need for God. At the end of the day we find our selves humbled by what we do not know. Clearly it is much easier for the average person to acknowlege that God is in control then to believe that the world we live in is the result of a massive evolutional lottery. I have several problems with evolution. One of the more amusing problems has to do with relative disparity of intelligense between the species. Why is it that humans are so smart compared to the other species? What kept all of our closest evolutionary relatives(e.g. chimps) back? Evolution explains some things neatly but not enough things to make me comfortable with the lottery. I don't like to venture into the evolutionary swamp too much so my mind runs off to the God seed issue. It is a fact that almost all societies have worshipped some God. It seems to be built into our genes.  I call it the God seed. When this seed sprouts and starts to grow, it changes people from within. When they make the personal connection between their growing spirituality and God, they want to see if other people feel the same way. As more people share and explore their beliefs, they bond and make the existance of God indisputable within their group.

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SSA, EFTPS, and Ohio Business Gateway

I am almost at the end of electronic filings for Legacy Farm. It is amazing how things have changed in just a few years. Last year I found out that I could file my W2 & W3 online with the Social Security Administration because I had less than 25 employees. I could also file and pay my Workmen's comp. This year I again filed online with the SSA(after getting my userid re-established). I am grateful they replaced the Acrobat forms file from last year with a regular PDF file. I like to have an electronic copy of what I submitted and the Acrobat forms file was unreadable without Acrobat software I don't own. Last year I found out that I could submit my filing online completely by accident. I was looking through the SSA site for a program or spreadsheet that would allow me to upload a file of my W2s and found out that I could enter them online.

This year I was looking to file and pay my workmen's comp online when I found the Ohio Business Gateway. I found a one-stop filing place for state forms. I could pay my state witholding, workmen's comp, and unemployment insurance all at one place. Pretty nice!

While I was hot on the subject of online filing, I called the folks at EFTPS for internet userid. I have used the phone system version successfully for several years and was happy with it. I think the online version will just be more convienent and quicker.

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Black SwanWe got a new and unusual visitor to our lake this year, a black swan. I was surprised to find a bird that is typically wild and native to Austrailia hanging around Goshen in the winter. After talking to a couple of neighbors I found the owner and figured out the story. The neighbor has several swans he has domesticated. The swan was seen at another neighbor's lake until it froze over. It came to our lake because our lake has an aerator. The aerator is primarily used to add oxygen to the lake. When the air bubbles up from the bottom of the lake it  brings warmer water with it to the top and keeps the lake from freezing. The swan needs the safety of open water to avoid a fatal encounter with a coyote.

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Transfer Files and Settings – Pt. II

Silly me! I tried to use the Transfer Files and Settings Wizard. I 've been burnt enough with computers to treat automated programs with considerable disdain. I guess I was hopeful that the state of the art had improved into being something useful. Okay, let me back up to the beginning of the problem. I installed SBS2K and used a new domain name for my network, wehuberconsultingllc.local, and a new userid, whuber. This is a common naming standard for business systems. This meant I was going to create a new userid on my XP system. Since I thought I had a fast enough machine and enough disk space, I thought I would give the Transfer Files and Settings Wizard another try. After a couple of tries I figured out I did not have enough disk space. I pointed the wizard at a new location and a couple of hours later I had 5 GB folder. I am confused! What is in that folder? I know it is not my documents. Surprise, surprise, when I try to restore the settings I do not have enough free space to expand the files. So I skip the restore and move my files manually.

Everything has been running fine until yesterday. I install the new version of Tax for Home and Business and try to rollover last year's data. It cannot find the data. I try to run Taxcut2001 for Business and it crashed with an error message that it cannot find the data. I try to Taxcut2000 and it fails with the same message. I compare the database folders for 2002 and 2001 and see that 2001 is missing an Access data base and some Word documents. Oh, no, Mister Bill, someone has stolen your files! I narrowed the suspects down to the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. So last night I uninstalled VisualAge for Java program to free up some disk space and let the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard run over night. The files are back! Another learning experience.