ENIGMA CURRY

Jungle Disk, Linux, and Mono

Jungle Disk is a really neat application that allows you to store/backup files online using the Amazon S3 storage service. Basically it is a really inexpensive, fast and efficient way to save important files and access them from anywhere. On top of all that, it runs on just about every platform I would ever use: Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. (In no order of preference, oh wait... )

If you're not much into computer science, that's pretty much all you need to know. If you are though, keep reading. :)

Jungle Disk is not open source. This would normally raise a huge dilemma for me. Without it being open source, how can I be absolutely sure that I will be able to retrieve my data in the future? The software could have a lockout feature of some kind hidden inside the application that would prevent me from getting my data. I refuse to be held hostage by stupid software!

(By no means am I an open source zealot purist that only uses free software. I use a few high quality closed source, commercial applications (VMWare workstation comes to mind) I just think that open source software tends to be of much higher quality and is able to mature a lot faster than your typical closed source variety. I also detest software patents.)

Jungle Disk is a bit different, even though it's closed source, they have released a portion of their code under the GPL: the decoding/retrieval code. What this proves is that your data can be retrieved without any dependence on closed source, secretive, software.

But I still don't want to take their word for it. So I set out to compile the code and try it myself. The code is written for Visual Studio (which only runs on windows), but that's not so much of a problem because the Mono project has brought most of the .NET framework to Linux.

Here's how to compile the Jungle disk retrieval code on Linux using Mono:

Install the latest version of Mono (I used 1.2.4. 1.2.2.1 didn't have all of the functionality I needed).

Download and extract the source code:

mkdir jds
cd jds
wget http://downloads.jungledisk.com/jungledisk/JungleDiskSourceExample.zip
unzip JungleDiskSourceExample.zip

Compile the code:

gmcs *.cs -r:System.Web -out:jungle_example.exe

Cool! It compiled without warnings nor errors.

Now try running it:

mono jungle_example.exe Your_S3_ID Your_S3_Key listbuckets

Error executing command: Error getting response stream (Trust failure): TrustFailure
System.Net.WebException: Error getting response stream (Trust failure): TrustFailure ---> System.Net.WebException: Error getting response stream (Trust failure): TrustFailure ---> System.IO.IOException: The authentication or decryption has failed. ---> Mono.Security.Protocol.Tls.TlsException: Invalid certificate received from server.

Ouch, we're not accepting the certificate for whatever reason. I don't know much about CSharp at all, but I found a page on the Mono project site that explains the problem and possible solutions. I applied the dumbest of all the possible solutions, which is to ignore the certificate trust issue altogether -- caveat emptor. Here's my patch.

Apply the patch and recompile

wget http://tinyurl.com/2zutxz -O - | patch -p1
gmcs *.cs -r:System.Web -out:jungle_example.exe

Try running again:

mono jungle_example.exe Your_S3_ID Your_S3_Key listbuckets

If it lists your buckets, it worked!

You can also list files in the directory like so:

mono jungle_example.exe Your_S3_ID Your_S3_Key dir default /
mono jungle_example.exe Your_S3_ID Your_S3_Key dir default /pictures
mono jungle_example.exe Your_S3_ID Your_S3_Key dir default /music

You can retrieve your files like so:

mono jungle_example.exe ID Key getfile default "/Some File.zip" stuff.zip

So true it hurts

I've never been a big fan of The Family Guy. I guess I always thought it was mostly stupid pop culture references gone weird... that and fart jokes.

However after seeing a clip today I may have to give Family Guy a more serious looking into. This clip borders on the iconoclastic and satirical genius of South Park. This video is so true it hurts.

Thanks a million, Ron Paul.

$1.2 Million in under 7 days. That has got to be some sort of libertarian record.

Thank you Dr. Paul! I know, I know you don't want to take the credit, this really is our revolution. However, it's thanks to you that we are so organized at this particular time. Liberty minded folk are a very opinionated bunch. It takes someone with true resolve and staunch views on liberty to get these kind of results. I applaud you and your campaign team for the tremendous push you have given us.

I know that my money is going towards not only a bright and hopeful election, but towards the enlightenment of thousands of people to the spirit of a free America. It's these people, that are new to the concepts of liberty, that you have made the most impact on. These are the people who will soon make the loudest and most passionate call for freedom the world has ever heard.

The best jokes are timeless

Several months ago Kellie (my wife) and I had a really good laugh at Cute with Chris' recital of T-Pain's Buy you a drank:

I thought to myself, Chris, you're a genius! I still think that. Kellie and I are constantly saying to each other "Whatchoo think about dat?" As funny as it is however, the joke is far from original. Steve Allen made the same joke decades ago but with a different song. That doesn't make Chris' joke any less funny though. The best comedians are those that can find new ways to bring out truth that everyone already knows. Here's Steve Allen's original (Heck maybe he's not even the first):

The best jokes are timeless.

Thanks go to Lew Rockwell for the link.

"Net-Neutrality" is Bullshit

I've passively read all the junk about "Net Neutrality" over the years but I've never publicly made any statement on the subject. I've never felt threatened by what net neutrality pushers claim, that the internet as we know it is going to die if content providers are allowed free reign. I see the internet as being the most free medium of expression in the entire history of the world. Naturally, I don't want my freedom online to be threatened by service providers steering me in one direction or another. I want to go about my online business in whatever manner I choose and I will not allow my service provider to dictate otherwise. However, net neutrality is an improper solution to a non-existent problem.

The people pushing net neutrality assert that, without governmental regulation, greedy corporations providing internet access will force their views (as well as those of their sponsors) down our throats -- that, by providing these government regulations, we'll have a more free internet than we do today. I'm sorry, but when has government regulation EVER made anything more free? We can argue about government programs and regulations making things safer, cheaper, more "accessible" (I don't believe any of this for an instant). But, we cannot argue that government regulations will ever make things more free. Government regulations, by definition, make things less free.

I saw this on digg today:

What we have here is someone saying that unless we push for net neutrality, internet service providers will someday become like cable/satellite TV companies in that they will decide what content you will receive and that they will charge you different prices based on your internet habits. There are many, many problems with this analogy. The most glaring to me is this: the cable companies acquired their monopolistic positions today because of government regulation. So, if we want to make the net more "neutral," we should remove these artificial, government created, monopolies. We shouldn't do the opposite. In a free market I can choose whatever content provider I want. If provider X wants to block my access to Google, well, I'll just choose to go to another provider.

And what's so wrong with a company deciding what kinds of services it will provide to me? What makes American consumers so presumptuous that they think that they can decide how that company will operate? That's like saying "I like pizza. Therefore, McDonald's, you have to start making pizza and you have to charge only $.45 a slice and, if you don't do what I say, I'm going to get my goon squad government to force you to do it."

The argument that internet access is a fundamental right of humans is a massive misunderstanding of what a fundamental right is. Yet, this argument is a major part of the rhetoric of the mainstream democrat/neocon agenda. If you are in disbelief, you don't have to look much further than the website of current presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton:

[The Rural Broadband Initiatives Act] will extend and improve access to broadband services in small towns across America. It creates a policy and action framework to ensure that the federal government employs an effective and comprehensive strategy to deploy broadband service and access in the rural areas of the United States. The bill will also establish a Rural Broadband Innovation fund to explore and develop cutting edge broadband delivery technologies to reach underserved rural areas.

Senator Clinton doesn't come right out and say it, but there are enough keywords to get her drift -- that internet access is a fundamental right, that government is the best provider of the service, and that we taxpayers should foot the bill. This is turning a non-essential service into a welfare program. Fuck that!

The youngest voting bloc in this country is one that is thoroughly addicted to the internet (that's not a bad thing; I'm one of them), so it's not surprising that these people will support what appears to ensure the survival of something that is so integrated into our modern lives. Don't be fooled for an instant. This is the same propaganda that extreme collectivists have always spouted -- that corporations are evil and government knows best.

On the contrary, the thing that has made the internet so great is not government. The internet is great today because smart individuals, most of whom work for big companies and private universities, were able to thrive in a mostly free market economy. The internet is great in spite of all the government meddling, and it will most likely continue to be so.

If you want the net to be truly "neutral," do us all a favor: support companies that provide freedom of exchange and stay away from those that don't. Innovation can only thrive in a free market. Government regulation will only stifle innovation.