Yearly Archives: 2004

MSSql database access from Linux?

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Oh yeah, it’s possible. Heres how:

  1. Install FreeTDS.
    emerge freetds on Gentoo.
  2. Edit /etc/freetds.conf (or wherever in got dropped) to include something like: 
    [yourservername]
  host = your.microsoftsql.com
  port = 1433
  tds version = 7.0

    (more info)

  3. Try a command line sql query with tsql
  4. Install DBD::Sybase using the freetds instructions. On gentoo you can try the /usr/bin/g-cpan.pl perl script.
  5. Try some of the sample code to test with.

Now you’ve got access to your Windows SQL database on Linux. KICK ASS!

Cold

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It was -9 F when I got up this morning. That’s what a solid layer of snow cover and artic air will do.

The beard is nice insulation in this weather, but it’s a really odd feeling when it starts to freeze together.

And, who else thinks the ‘certain capture’ of Osama Bin Laden is going to be turned into election year propaganda?

David Kay scapegoat?/General vs the Deserter

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Will David Kay become the scapegoat for the failed WMD search? Or is he just trying to deflect the mess from the Bush White House onto someone else? Or is he just shopping for a book deal?
Glad to see someone is standing up to take responsibility for his statements and actions. NOT!

Oh, and just in case you haven’t read about it yet, see the details on Michael Moore’s “the General vs the deserter” comment.

My dad made the comment to me that missing a flight physical was an automatic court-martial when he was in the Air Force. Funny, I don’t see records of Dubya being court-martialed anywhere on his website.

Caucuses

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Kerry wins Iowa, the ‘frontrunner’ Dean ends up in third, Clark gets Michael Moore endorsement, Gephardt drops out.

What a mess.

WMD? What WMD?

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Remember why we went to Iraq in the first place? Weapons of Mass Destruction? Yellow cake? Mobile WMD production facilities?

We still haven’t found any of this stuff, part of the team of US Army specialists that had been there since the beginning started coming home in early January 2004. Then a Danish team found what looked like ‘blister agents‘ in mortar shells from around the time of the Iran-Iraq war (you know, when Rumsfeld was in Baghdad). Now the Danish army is reporting those ‘blister agents’ aren’t, the field tests were wrong.

Here’s for hoping the Democrats nominate someone who can beat Dubya. Or maybe someone will impeach him first.

*BSD vs Linux

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I’ve been thinking about trying out one of the BSD family of Unices for a while, and this rant got posted to slashdot. It’s an introduction to BSD for the linux user, exactly what I need.

After reading it, I see many parallels between the BSD ports tree and Gentoo‘s portage. I also realize he’s got a valid point about the “quick hack now” and “elegant solution later” camps. Speaking from years of “quick hack now” work, they never go away.

Maybe after I get some of the more pressing projects out of the way. Like getting rid of the RedHat 7.2 boxes I’ve still got out there.