We don’t have a very large server room, but it has enough servers in it to warrant an aircon. So I started looking for a solution that would allow me monitor the temperature from our current monitoring software.

After a long google session, I came across this temperature sensor.

This device suited our needs exactly. It was easy to configure, has an RJ-45 connector and allows me to get the temperature from it in about 9 different ways.

After writing a short munin plugin in python I now have a munin graph of our server room temperature.

OpenStreetMap is a project aimed squarely at creating and providing free geographic data such as street maps to anyone who wants them. The project was started because most maps you think of as free actually have legal or technical restrictions on their use, holding back people from using them in creative, productive or unexpected ways.

Most of the area I live in wasn’t mapped at all, so I had to change that. It turns out that it isn’t a small task.

I started out by mapping with the online editor called Potlatch then found it too restrictive and moved onto JOSM. JOSM works very well, but needs a few plugins to make it useful. I recommend using MapPaint and Validator. If you need the Yahoo! maps to help you out with your editing, download WMSPlugin and YWMS.

There is a South African group all working hard at mapping various pieces of Southern Africa.

I’ve almost completed mapping my home town. Once I’ve completed it using the Yahoo! overlays, I will get out my little black book, bag with GPS, camera, toothbrush and comb in and go driving around taking note of the roads and landmarks.

Twinkle is a plain looking KDE softphone that has a decent list of useful features. The program looks like it was designed to be a phone and not an instant messenger.

My main reason for using it is that it allows call transfers with consultation.

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