8
Venture Crew 369 The Adventure 0 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 5.2, May 1999 Venture Code Web Status, For May Hits Pages Title 26133 3490 bible 35100 5865 venturing 67791 11025 scouting 13680 3012 exploring 62328 9454 ExpNews 36992 3420 links 199018 18244 post 30504 4137 calendar 73234 5974 members 43553 4250 Adults 3519 769 Toadies 13537 1497 Youth 24431 2871 program 1107 454 project Calendar of Events: 5/8/99 Flower Sale Pick-up 6:00a.m. 5/8/99 Exploring Recognition Dinner 8:00 p.m. 5/11/99 First Nighter Program 5/15/99 Venturing Training Chief Logan 5/22/99 Planting Flowers for Murfield Golf Course 5/23/99 Planting Flowers for Murfield Golf Course 5/23/99 The Adventure Articles are due 5/28/99 Book Making Sleepover 5/29/99 Garage Sale 5/30/99 Exploring Canoe Trip Registration Due 6/18-20 Exploring Canoe Trip 6/28-7/3 Summer Camp $175.00 9/13/99 First Nighter Week 11/2/99 Election Reporting 12/18/99 Silver Beaver Applications are due 12/24/99 National Young American Applications due Our New Equipment James D. Corder A special “ Thank Y ou” goes out to Richard Schmidt & Richard H. Wooten of AT&T Alanta GA for their kind dona- tion of 3B2 and Sun Equipment. 369 now has the necessary equipment to furnish their new facilities! Garage Sale Ho-Sheng Hsiao <[email protected]> Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of stuff, each time, donated to our Crew for sale the next day. Here we are in this used Chevy Cavalier crawling through highway traffic. Some- one donated a car for us to sell Perhaps I should explain. Twice a year, we clean out houses to find stuff we want to get rid of. These kind people (for example, our parents) donate the stuff to the Crew. The Crew then spreads it out in the front lawn of our church, right by Hamilton Rd. People come in, and exchange money for it. This we call our Garage Sale. As we were collecting stuff for our youth VP, Bill Schwanitz. A neighbor heard about it, and donated a TV and a car. Besides the car, we ended up with half a dozen TVs, various radios, bed, chairs, tables, books, trinkets, toys, clothes... people came by and picked them up. What we didn’t end up selling, we donated to the nearby goodwill store. Most importantly, though, between planting flowers at Murfield and staffing the Garage Sale, we bonded as a team. Ask any of the crew members. We are ready to take on new challenges -- such as our Crew Video project. Got stuff to donate? We’ll see you at our next Garage Sale, this September. Preparing for Y2K!

Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    0

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

Venture Crew 369

T h e

A d v e n t u r e

0

V O L U M E 6 , N U M B E R 5 . 2 , M a y 1 9 9 9

Venture Code

������� � ����� �� ������������� �� ����������! " �#� ���$�%� �&�!�$��� '(�)*� ��+-,"./ 0��./� �1 �!����,2'(�0 � "�� 0��./�)�����! " �1,43�!�$�456�$,25(� �$7�(89� ��� :; �!�$����3�,"����:<���=3� �� ��3 '(�-� �>�1?@��$� � A� ,2'(�.*'(�� ���B 0�!.189� � �A�C �� ��� �� �> -5(����),2�� ����)���!�)�D,"3�!,��!,4��� �D�E?F,28G�9� ��3���7��89� � �A����$ ���'(��H�1?G���C�$�0� �2 0�D�!�$�0� � � "�I 0��.�89� � �.J,/ �� �4�K�2 0�L�,(5(�����M��� ���< 0��.�����0� �N�L� O7�P8L��� �Q���$�2,4 R��� ST�; ���;.J� R���� ?C 0��.%89,4�0 �U,"3A�E?3O�$� ��,�8D�C���F 0��.<89� � �M'(�)�!3O �� �*5(� 0?1 0��.G A,",4.*89� � �� �9.J�$ �� � �� 68L�� �L �!���C7�$8L��� �� ���VR'(�����6 ���J����� '6�� �! B ����� '(.J�6 �� �A�)�$��W"� �!�1�� '( �X� �Y ����! �!� �� A�G 0��.U �.*�����! '(��1,��X �!�3O��,��!�� �����,"3K,�'(���N�� 0�! "� �! 68L,"�0� .J7

Web Status, For May

Hits Pages Title

26133 3490 bible

35100 5865 venturing

67791 11025 scouting

13680 3012 exploring

62328 9454 ExpNews

36992 3420 links

199018 18244 post

30504 4137 calendar

73234 5974 members

43553 4250 Adults

3519 769 Toadies

13537 1497 Youth

24431 2871 program

1107 454 project

Calendar of Events:5/8/99 Flower Sale Pick-up 6:00a.m.5/8/99 Exploring Recognition Dinner 8:00 p.m.5/11/99 First Nighter Program5/15/99 Venturing Training Chief Logan5/22/99 Planting Flowers for Murfield Golf Course5/23/99 Planting Flowers for Murfield Golf Course5/23/99 The Adventure Articles are due5/28/99 Book Making Sleepover5/29/99 Garage Sale5/30/99 Exploring Canoe Trip Registration Due6/18-20 Exploring Canoe Trip6/28-7/3 Summer Camp $175.009/13/99 First Nighter Week11/2/99 Election Reporting12/18/99 Silver Beaver Applications are due12/24/99 National Young American Applications due

Our New EquipmentJames D. Corder

A special “Thank Y ou” goes out toRichard Schmidt & Richard H. Wootenof AT&T Alanta GA for their kind dona-tion of 3B2 and Sun Equipment.

369 now has the necessary equipment tofurnish their new facilities!

Garage SaleHo-Sheng Hsiao <[email protected]>

Imagine driving a tractor trailer, itdoesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’rein traffic for 3 loads. The back is full ofstuff, each time, donated to our Crew forsale the next day.

Here we are in this used Chevy Cavaliercrawling through highway traffic. Some-one donated a car for us to sell Perhaps Ishould explain. Twice a year, we cleanout houses to find stuff we want to get ridof. These kind people (for example, ourparents) donate the stuff to the Crew. TheCrew then spreads it out in the front lawnof our church, right by Hamilton Rd.People come in, and exchange money forit. This we call our Garage Sale. As wewere collecting stuff for our youth VP,Bill Schwanitz. A neighbor heard aboutit, and donated a TV and a car.

Besides the car, we ended up with half adozen TVs, various radios, bed, chairs,tables, books, trinkets, toys, clothes...people came by and picked them up.What we didn’t end up selling, wedonated to the nearby goodwill store.

Most importantly, though, betweenplanting flowers at Murfield and staffingthe Garage Sale, we bonded as a team.Ask any of the crew members. We areready to take on new challenges -- suchas our Crew Video project. Got stuff todonate? We’ll see you at our next GarageSale, this September.

Preparing for Y2K!

Page 2: Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

Venturer Crew 369P.O. Box 307218

Gahanna, Ohio 43230United States of America

We are looking for a newsponsor for The Adventure,Can you help?

Our Principals:1) Honor before all else.2) The difference between a

winner and a loser is thatthe winner tried one moretime.

3) K.I.S.M.I.F.

Our Cr eed:ZL[4\-]N^T_2`bacFdeZ9a!f$g�hKiK`Nj4iPkDlmZLa!n*_ c/oTlmpZL[Hq*n�]b]bn*a!q*n*r

Venture Crew 369:

Venture Crew369 was charteredon December 31, 1994 to the Ref-ormation Lutheran Church.

Venture Crew369 specializes inUNIX for Programmers whileemphasizing a deep theme ofEngineering Computer Informa-tion & Science through an Entre-preneurial Spirit. Membership inVenture Crew 369 is open toyoung men and women betweenthe ages of 14 [and in highschool] and not yet 20. AnnualMembership fees are $25

Our Web Page:http://post369.columbus.oh.us

Our E-Mail Addr esses

Adults Members:James D. Corder(E) www.corder .comDavid J. Alden ConsultantHerb Docken Institutional RepresentativeAndy Drake [email protected] Edwards [email protected] Fox [email protected] Gauger Committee MemberTerry Jones Committee Member

Ralph Maurer(E) Committee Chairman

Tom Niedzielski(E) Committee Member

Roy Niedzielski(E) Committee MemberStephen Potter [email protected] Harvey(E) [email protected]

Youth Members:Neil A. Coplin [email protected] Corner [email protected] B. Cunnyngham [email protected] P. Graham [email protected] [email protected] Gilly [email protected] R. Lowers [email protected] Kass [email protected] Prinz [email protected] J. Scherer(E) [email protected] Schlegel [email protected] Schwanitz [email protected] Scruby -

Post-Toadies:Opening PageIan Jones ToadieTyler Skirtich ToadieDaniel Johnson plebe

(E) Eagle Scout

s�t�u�v�w uOxPyJw zH{�t�w y*|/uOxPy�}�uN{~{�uO���M� u)y0{���w �O{�� �!{~t���y)u�� �(�TuOzR{~�R� u� � uOx��4�O�I�MzR�H{�t�u �(���TzR��{�zRuO�Ou y�yM�)��w � �(� u �"� u yMuNz2{ yQ{~t�u4v2w uOxPy�0�����4w zRw �0zbyH� ��{�t�uR�(u ���0�O�Q�M{~w �0zK}��R{�t�uO���)z � t��R� �Ot��0��{~t2u� ���Q�"�N�0�2{ yH� �H�<�QuO��w �O�H�)zR�O���0��{~t2u2�Aw �Q�0z���uOzR{��0z � �0�Rz2�Nw � �

[email protected]

�D�b� � � � �6� �*� ���  "¡ ¢ £�¢�¤�� �N¡ �"¡ �b�0�  �¥�¦ §�� �$¢$¨0�0¤��N©�ª�¢��� ��b� ¢ «A�b�0«¨0�0¡ ¢  b� ¡ � ¤ � ¢�«T¨� �� �"¢*� ¬K­2�N¨M¡$©4��� � ®�ª��  b� � � ��� �Q� �  �¯~°b¨0���0�O��� � ©4±� � ¢�«P� � ²A³I¢�° ´P� �"¢ µ¶6¢�·� �� ¢�� � ¢�¡   µ$°��N�N¸   µ £"­2¢�¡   µ�¢�� ¤�¹ º º º

Crew FinancesTopic Need On-HandThe Adventure$95,000 -$375.00Floor Fund $2,500 $2,500.00Electrical Fund $2,500 $2,500.00Room Fund $3,800 $0.00Flag Fund $1,000 $0.00General Fund $3,000 $1,040.27Grand Total1 $6,040.27In the Bank $4,694.85Cash on Hand $1,345.52

Up-an-Coming Crew Expenses12/01/99 Crew Charter $30.0012/01/99 Crew Insurance$175.0012/31/99 Registration $335.00Monthly The Adventure $75.00

Up-an-Coming MemberExpenses06/01/99 Summer Camp $175.0009/01/99 Registration $25.00

1.Totals are estimates. Not all expendituresand monies are in for June.

Page 3: Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

Page 2 The Adventure

Why Y2K

James D. Corder

Historically

As some of you are aware, I have aUNIX computer collection. Someday Ihope to have a UNIX Museum:-) One ofthe machines that I am most proud of ismy “working” Digital PDP8e [Where Bbecame C]! In its day, disk space wasabundant, NOT, it has two 2Mb harddrives! Each weights around 300lbs.When I purchased my first UNIX systemin the early 1980s the 70Mb eXpansionBox was $17,000US.

With such a high cost on disk storagespace, every byte saved was worth itselectronic weight in gold!!! Simply byshaving the two digit off the year theelectric company could save $17,000.00on running statements by not having tobuy extra disk space each month.

In the early integrated chips [about thesize of your thumb nail] there was lessthan 1k of space. [Sun Microsystemsnow puts 2Mb of ram on their chips]This lack of space forced developers tosave any where they can. Therefore, theydeveloped chip sets with a two digit yearin them.

In the 90’s

The most expensive part of any MISteam is the man power followed by thefloor space. Therefore, it is easy to justifynew equipment. However, the time to re-program a working systems is never onthe top of one’s priority list.

As my Grandfather said: “You get whatyou paid for!”

A leader looks for a solution. A managerlooks for a way to stay in budget. MostVPs are paid by increasing the bottomline. Most middle-managers are paid byshaving costs. Most VPs are leaders.Most managers are managers. A VPdoesn’t care about costs they care aboutprofit. Does the profit out weigh thecosts? Most MIS managers are in a costcenter. They don’t make a profit. They

simply cost money. Ok, they are needed.However, their annual bonus is paid oncutting costs.

As John Sestina is so fond of saying:“You are not paid what you are worth,you are paid what the job is worth!”Ouch! But True.

I charge $175.00 an hour for UNIXwork, $125.00 if I am going through ahead hunter. Many companies will notpay that since they can get UNIX SystemAdministrators for $35.00 an hour allday long. However, What takes them aweek, I can do in a day. Am I worth it,yes! But, most companies do not want topay their technical staff the same as theyare paying their VPs. All of this said,around 1986 it became self apparent thatthere would be a problem when January1, 2000 came around. No one cared, itwas almost 20 years away. Most manag-ers would be retired by then. Therefore,why chance loosing ones bonus by goingover budget on payroll expenses to fixthe problem. This budget issue was themajor factor until 1998, truly 1999.

• Side note: Most major flavors ofUNIX will not be effect by the Y2Kproblem, their drop dead date is 2032.Most UNIX vendors believe that allof the 32bit systems will be 64bit sys-tems by then and not be effected bythe problem. Hmm. This is what IBMsaid about Cobal and MVS/TSO.Don’t believe that UNIX is safethough. The OS and Hardware areeasily patched, but the biggest prob-lem is in the software!

Once again, middle-managers kept push-ing the software issue to the back burner.Either VPs wouldn’t fund it, or theydidn’t want to give it a higher priority.What would have been a simple fix in1986 is now near impossible.

The US government was given the taskto list their “critical” systems and bygiven dates be x% Y2K compliant. TheDepartment of Defense in order to meetthese requirements did not fix the prob-lem. Instead, they removed systems fromtheir “critical” list. Thereby, effectivelyincreasing the percentage of systemsnow Y2K compliant.1 The DOD did not

lie to America. The numbers are cor-rect. But most technically inept mem-bers of the mass media reported thepercentages without looking at the fac-tual data: Reported in the Pravda: “Inthe equestrian competition Russiacame in second while America camein next to last!” The Provda failed toreport that there were only 2 competi-tors!

What happens when Y2K Hits?James D. Corder

I do think that this Y2K issue willeffect the world. But I don’t think it isthe end of the world. Nor the basses ofthe “Second Coming!”

I think that America will be one of thebetter places to be and Russia one ofthe worst! The southern hemispherehas it the best, it is worm in Australia:-)

The biggest threat to the AmericanWay of Life is the imbedded chip!Unfortunately Congress is worried onhow this will effect American Con-sumer Products. Who cares!!! Ok,your toaster, TV, VCR, and microwavehas the wrong date. Most VCRs areflashing 12:00 any way. Some PCswill stop function. Get out a pencil andbalance your check book on your own.Painful, but you will live.

The big problem are the billions ofblack boxes we forgot are out there.Gas, Water, Electricity, shut off valves.Guidance systems in Air Planes.Alarm Systems... A good thing formost Americans is that when theseblack boxes don’t know what to do,they shut their systems down. The badthing for cheaply made ones are theystop functioning and leave their sys-tems in the states that they were inwhen they shut down. Therefore, wewill see a loss of power, water, andgas. This will last as long as it takes forthe utility workers to remember wherethese black boxes are located and man-

1.Read the book, “Lieing with statistics”

Page 4: Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

The Adventure Page 3

ually trigger them. Most likely 3days to a week.

The bigger issue, but not life threat-ening, is the software that was notreprogrammed: Let us say you havemoney in a bank that is not Y2Kcompliant. at midnight on the lastday of the year, the computer nowthinks that it is January 1, 1900instead of 2000. Therefore, youraccount has not be active for 100years and the funds are turned overto the state. In other words, you nolonger have a bank account.

You purchase Christmas presents onyour credit card. The computer nowthinks that it is 1/1/1900 and youhaven’t made a payment in over 100years. You are charged 21% com-pounded daily for a century.

Did you know that the Earth is notmeasured in miles but in Degrees,Hours, Minutes, and Seconds. Acentury later the Earth is in a differ-ent location. What happens to GPS?

In the year 2000 the 1st falls on aSunday, in 1900 it was on a Monday.Will the power companies producefar to much power for the world andblow circuits?

We don’t know!

Y2K PreparationJames D. Corder

Y2K preparation is like an insurancepolicy! I don’t plan on getting sickor having a car accident this year.However, I buy insurance just incase!

My Grand Father said: “Hope forthe best but plan for the worst!”

The best in the Y2K scenario is thatit will be a simple speed bump in theroad of life. The worse case scenariois a year without power or transpor-tation. So at best plan on a week

without food, water, or utilities. [nowater means no toilets!]

In this months issue we will assume aone week stoppage of utilities and facili-ties.

• Pray• Don’t fly in the month of January• Have a weeks worth of cash on hand• Don’t charge in the month of Dec.• Pay off your credit cards in December• Keep your Oct. Nov. & Dec. Bank

statements & Bills.• Have 5 2lt soda bottles of water per

person in your house hold. [this is fordrinking and does not include clean-ing] Pour waste water in the toilet forflushing, if the suer system is working

• Have enough food for a week. Refrig-eration is not a problem in northernstates, it is cold outside. Southerstates should have dry food.

• Have candles, flash light, and batter-ies. Fill ALL of your cars gas tank theweek before!

I think that God will provide. Don’texpect the government to come to youraide! This is a global DISASTOR!

The world is ending?Neil Coplin [email protected]

“The world is ending! The world is end-ing! Oh my! I’m going to have to stockup on supplies!” This is the thoughts ofmany Americans on the subject of theYear 2000 Bug. Unfortunately, theirthoughts are not entirely accurate to whatthe effects of this bug are. Cows andother food animals do not run on com-puters. The Y2K bug will not affectthem. We will have a food source.because of this bug. Have you ever seena cow that runs on a computer? I didn’tthink so...

Even though we all are assuming theworst, it most likely will not happen.When we put our minds to it--humans,businesses, countries, etc.--we canaccomplish amazing things. Right nowwe are worried that we won’t finish in

time. But we have to realize that compa-nies, as the deadline to the year 2000comes closer to the present, will startpaying programmers more and moremoney to do it. Extra money providesextra incentive to work more hours, andprovides incentive for those who may beholding out for the more money to work.A business could save millions of dollarsby spending a few hundred thousand.

But would living without our modernconveniences of computers be all thatbad? Sure, it would greatly hinder busi-ness, make the phone systems shut downalmost entirely, something close tocrashing the stock market (if not actuallydoing it), and cause much panic. Buthumans these days have started taking allof these conveniences for granted. Wehave started expecting computers to dothings for us. While it may be the gift oftechnology, it slowly deteriorates our-selves. We start losing a life that ances-tors lived. We change. So while we allmay not like it, it may do us all somegood to live a few days in the year 2000without our conveniences. Maybe thisbug is a blessing in disguise...

Why Worry about Y2K?Bill [email protected]

For quite some time now, we have allbeen hearing about the Y2K issue. I per-sonally am sick of hearing about it.

Many people have some twisted concep-tion that if the computers controllingthings like nuclear missile sites will havea problem. If they do, there is a manualover-ride not to mention that it takes (asI know) two keys twisted in sequence toactivate them.

One other thing that bothers me aboutY2K is the whole issue of money. Let’sface it. If there seriously is a problem,you will simply see 1900 instead of2000. All banks which have not success-fully converted and are considered Y2Kcompliant will be shut down, and boughtout!

Page 5: Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

Page 4 The Adventure

Another thing which I find funny thatpeople do not know. We have alreadypassed the first real Y2K date. The 99’thday of the 99’th year. Guess what, we areall still here, no word yet of any prob-lems related to Y2K.

News syndicates and the like haveshelled out information and raised con-cerns on issues (also known as propa-ganda) for the longest time. Companieshave sprung up in light of Y2K. It issorry to say, but our society is living offof the media!

I will be curious to see what happensThis December. I head from people inthe reserves and other military relatedinstitutions. From what I have heardfrom them, they are already “on call” incase there is a run on the banks. Thismakes sense, but if our economy col-lapses... What good is paper money orcoin money?

Things which will be of great value willbe food, clothing, medical supplies andother essentials of life. Money wouldbecome useless.

Considering all of the underlying theo-ries which I have considered, I feel Y2Kis not all that serious of a risk. If thingsgo bad, there won’t be much I specifi-cally can do about it any ways. I predictas well as hope everything will be fine.Only time will tell.

Picture a ProblemHo-Sheng Hsiao [email protected]

I’ve been told, and I have observed, thattools themselves don’t provide a solu-tion. People solve problems. Likewise,tools by themselves don’t create prob-lems. The people using the tools createproblems.

Y2K is not a phenomenon of short-sighted programmers. The problem hasmore to do with shortsighted peoplebecoming part of the problem.

One commonly-cited “problem” result-ing from Y2K is runs on banks. People,

in anticipating such a run, goes and with-drawals their money. The run, before theanticipation was hypothetical; after theanticipation, it becomes reality. I’ve justdescribed a self-fulfilling prophecy. Thebank itself might be protected againstY2K, the technological shortcoming, butagainst its customers -- against people --the bank as vulnerable.

Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty ofhidden places where Y2K will hit. It willbe the same when 32-bit UNIX times-tamps run over too. Your power gridmight go out, causing mass starvation.Or perhaps not. Want more historicalexamples of technology? The Heinden-burg designers didn’t see how fire-haz-ard prone the dirigible’s skin andwooden supports were (its demise due toa hydrogen explosion is an urban leg-end). The Titanic’s flaws in high-sulfuriron and lack of navigation hardwaremade a big mess (and a big movie). Orlook at the United States air shuttleblowing up because of fuel seal. Or lookat drugs prescribed to help pregnantwomen turn out to deform fetuses.

You can’t really fix a deformed fetus.

Human tragedy takes patience, healing,and courage. Likewise, human tragedyresulting from Y2K (or mob hysteriaover Y2K) will take patience and heal-ing, I’m not advocating losing sight ofwhat’s at stake here. Neither should weindulge in allowing hysteria to make thesituation worse.

Automated MOD to MP3 RecordingHo-Sheng Hsiao [email protected]

Back in the days of Amigas, there’s aneat little format called MODs. It playedcomposed music. Take an audio sample.What can one do? Shift the pitch shift thevolume, apply reverbs, vibratos, andother sound effects. Then, string a seriesof these effects into a track, mix severaltracks together, and you’d get a song.This is the technology of a MOD -- com-puter code for music.

Today, the audio compression technol-ogy, MP3 and its derivative, havepushed MODs from the spotlight.Unlike MODs, MP3s are recordingsand much better suited for voice lyrics.MODs cannot handle voice very well.MP3 became more popular thanMODs in part because MP3s canrecord more popular-type of music.Furthermore, MODs have spun offvarious MOD format. When I say“MODs,” I typically mean a /family/of music formats. There’s one standardfor MP3s.*

I set off on a project to preserve a tiebetween MP3s and MODs. WhileMP3 may be more popular, recordingand creating MP3s have a higher bar-rier of entry. With MODs, as with pro-gramming, one can be more inventivein creating aesthetically-pleasingmusic.

Hence, I started on a project to hold aMOD repository, and an automatedMP3 converter. My hope is that futureand present digital musicphiles, infinding the MP3s would be curiousand try MOD versions. One in manywill download trackers (MOD editors)and perhaps a few will create greatmusic.

Also, I am doing this to provide alegitimate source of MP3s. This,despite the RIAA’s attempt at smear-ing MP#s as “pirate-friendly” (thoughwith somewhat-justifiable reasons).The MODs, I downloaded from vari-ous archives are freely given -- that is,the musicians were more interested increating the music and having peoplehear them. Since the MP3s only con-vert those MODs, the MP3s them-selves are legitimate.

There are three main repositories forMODs: www.modarchive.com, Ami-net (www.aminet.org), and www.hor-net.org. Hornet.org has closed,perhaps due to lack of support. Thesongs in Hornet are typically competi-tio entries, hence usually of betterquality. the MODArchive.com has anopen submission policy, hence tracksfound there sometimes aren’t worth

Page 6: Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

The Adventure Page 5

listening to. Aminet typically hasMODs of in-between quality. I esti-mate around 10 BG worth of MODsfor all three repositories.

A MOD itself range from 60 kB tonearly 1 MB. That doesn’t usuallyindicate play length, a more impor-tant indicator of file size for MP3s.Nevertheless, I estimate that, givenan average of 100k for 1 minute, therepositories hold around 100,000minutes worth of music. MP3encoding at 128 bits per secondtakes up about 1 MB per minute.Total conversion would thereforeapproximate 100 GB of space. Onmy single, dinky PC using a free-ware encoder, it takes 4 minutes toencode 1 MB of raw sound. So toconvert MODs to MP3s, we’re talk-ing around 400,000 minutes (about70 days nonstop).

I’m not going to sit around 70 daysor even 70 seconds in front of acomputer with a GUI to drag anddrop files for MP3 encoding. Here’swhere scripting comes in.

There are two parts to this auto-mated conversion process. The firstpart converts MODs to MP3s andmanages an input, in-process, andoutput queue. The second part dis-tributes the conversion to a clusterof machine. This month, I will speakonly of the first part of the automa-tion process.

I first have to find the basic compo-nents of the conversion process. Ineeded a MOD player that supportsa sufficient number of MOD-likeformat and turn them into raw soundfiles. Then I needed a software MP3encoder that takes the raw soundfiles, and turn them into MP3s. Ihave a limited budget of time andmoney. Hence, a quick web-searchcame up with two freeware pack-ages.

Next, I wrote a script to tie it alltogether. The queues were con-structed out of using directories, andhaving a shell script that polls

through a listing with the find command.I chose three directories, “incoming/”,“process/” and “outgoing/”. The scriptsstarts by taking a look in “incoming/”,and moves it all into “process/”. Then itstarts converting the files in “process/”,leaving “incoming/” open for someoneto add more. Each finished MP3 goesinto “outgoing/” until the script has fin-ished everything in the “process/” queue.The script then repeats again movingthings from the “incoming/” queue to the“outgoing/” queue.

The reasoning behind setting up suchqueues is in its future use in a cluster.This allows nodes to keep track whichfiles have recently been uploaded forprocessing, and which needs to down-load back to the root computer of thecluster.

As usual, there are caveats to this script.There are no error handling. If a conver-sion fails, it won’t fail gracefully. Also, Ishould modularized the script to allowdifferent applications. This allows a sin-gle cluster to quickly reconfigure intoanother application requiring a cluster.

Check out a space on my Crew369 website later focusing on this application.

* (endnote) MP3 has competing formats.A faction advocates watermaring themusic to discourage pirating. Also, bet-ter compression technology have beenslowly emerging.

Micr osoft probes Unix territoryBob Brewin [email protected]

http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1999/0510/fcw-newsmi-crosoft-5-10-99.html Reprinted here with permission ofFCW Government Technology Group. MAY 10, 1999

The Army’s concerns about WindowsNT messaging security in the battlefieldpush Microsoft to develop a Unix-basede-mail client

Microsoft Corp., making an unprece-dented foray into Sun Microsystems Inc.territory, is scrambling to put together aUnix version of its messaging softwareafter being shut out of the Army’s strate-

gic program for deploying commercialhardware and software to the battlefield.

The Army has chosen to base its ArmyBattle Command System (ABCS) onsecure messaging software from LotusDevelopment Corp. running on Sun’sSolaris, a Unix operating system,because of security concerns the Armyhas with Microsoft’s Exchange messag-ing software and Windows NT operatingsystem.

ABCS workstations provide the corecomputing platform for the Army’sForce XXI initiative, which aims to fieldcommercial networks, computers andother technology in the battlefield toenable soldiers to access information ontroop location and strength, logisticssupport and other command and controldata.

As a result of the Army’s decision,Microsoft is working with a third com-pany to develop a Unix client ofExchange to support the DefenseDepartment’s secure Defense MessageSystem (DMS) program, said MaryEllen O’Brien, director of DOD sales forMicrosoft Federal.

Microsoft is concerned that the Army’schoice of Lotus Notes for the battlefieldwould erode support for Exchange atArmy posts, O’Brien said. “That’s whywe’re addressing the issue,” she said.O’Brien declined to identify the com-pany developing the Unix client and didnot say when Microsoft expected to fieldthe product.

The Army decided to choose Lotus soft-ware over Exchange because security issuch a concern in the battlefield, saidTerry Edwards, director of the ForceXXI Technical Integration Center at FortHood, Texas, where Force XXI systemsare being developed and tested by the 4thInfantry Division, the Army’s first “digi-tized division.”

Because much of the message traffic in adigitized division will use wireless trans-mission, Edwards said, “securitybecomes a paramount issue.” He saidthat the secure, DMS version of Lotus

Page 7: Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

Page 6 The Adventure

Notes running on Solaris “provides uswith better security” than a Microsoftsolution. He added that “Lotus Notes is afar more technically superior product.”

Industry analysts see the development ofa Unix/Exchange client as a big step forMicrosoft.

“I think that Microsoft might finally begrowing up,” said Dan Kuznetsky, ananalyst at International Data Corp.“They are realizing that if they want tobe a good corporation, they have to be agood partner.”

Microsoft’s strategy is to get into thehigh-end, enterprise market. To do thatthe company has to be able to work withthe software and hardware that already isin place, Kuznetsky said. “Microsoft,from a broader perspective, is facing asignificant challenge to [its] approach,”he said. “[Microsoft has] to start embrac-ing solutions that are already in the envi-ronment.”

The Army also has decided to go withthe Solaris operating system despitechoosing to switch some users to work-stations based on Intel Corp. processorsrather than the reduced instruction-setcomputer chips that usually run Sunworkstations.

While the change in hardware couldhave dictated a switch to Microsoft’sWindows NT operating system, Edwardstold FCW in an interview at Fort Hoodthat the Army has decided to stick withSun technology -- specifically the Solarisx86 software designed to run on Intelplatforms -- for the same security rea-sons. “[Windows] NT cannot supportour security requirements,” he said.

The decision to go with Sun, eventhough Intel processors usually meangoing with Windows NT, is not all thatsurprising, analysts said.

“Sun certainly has a long, successfultrack record of dealing in secure environ-ments,” Kuznetsky said. “If I was run-ning a secure environment, I would bevery concerned about the stories I’vebeen seeing about security problems in[Microsoft’s] Internet Explorer,Exchange and [Windows] NT.”

Col. Robert Raiford, director of theArmy’s DMS program office, said, “Thecombination of Lotus with DMS [on] theSolaris operating system provides uswith the best solutions for the ABCS tac-tical warfighter. This solution is opti-mized for the mobile users, enablingsoldiers to easily receive and send high-security messages.”

Edwards added that the Army’s ForceXXI project stands ready to evaluateand deploy competing products fromMicrosoft “if they can provide thecapabilities we need.”

Charles Cephas, a solutions architectfor Microsoft Federal, said the com-pany provides highly reliable security“out of the box.... Policywise, youhave to make sure you configure it cor-rectly.”

Jere Caroll, manager of Army opera-tions at Sun Federal, said, “This is abig deal.... It’s a nose under[Microsoft’s] tent.”

Memorial TournamentHo-Sheng [email protected]

This year, Venture Crew 369 went toMurfield in force to plant flowers forColumbus’s annual Memorial GolfTournament. Over two days, weplanted over 5,000 flowers on threeholes. On our first day, our crewplanted the flowers on Murfield’s sig-nature hole, hole 12. Between the restof the first day and the second day, wefinished planting flowers on holes 15and 5. We are looking forward toplanting the flowers next year, as thisevent will become part of the regularcalender.

Oh my aching back!Neil [email protected]

Two days straight of planting, plant-ing, planting. If I had to guess, I’d saythat I planted about 500 flowers alone.Just part of the over 5000 flowers thatthe crew planted though. It was a blastthough. It was the second time that Ihad ever been to that golf course and Iwas glad to be back. It’s so beautifulthere. Of course, the beauty after thisweekend is partly due to the efforts ofthe crew.

Page 8: Venture Crew 369 Adventur The e - venturingbsa.com · Imagine driving a tractor trailer, it doesn’t accelerate or brake well. We’re in traffic for 3 loads. The back is full of

The Adventure Page 7

We planted flowers on three of theeighteen holes on the course. Webegan with hole 12, the signaturehole of the course. (A very lovelyhole that I wanted to attempt thewhole time we were sitting thereplanting flowers) Being the first holethat we were planting, we weren’tquite in the swing of things yet. Thefact that we were planting on a 45degree slope didn’t help much. Ofcourse, the slope we planted on thatday was just a beginner course as towhat was to come. After runningfrom the rain that kept pouringdown during the day, we finally fin-ished the hole.

It was then onto 15. Here, we had aneven steeper slope. Since we knewthat we were not going to finish thehole before the day’s end, we hadalmost decided that we would bringin some repelling gear and use it toplant the flowers the next day. Wedidn’t bring any of it the next day,but I’m sure that it would havehelped. The defining moment ofplanting flowers on 15 was the tor-rential downpour that happened atthe end of the first day. Actually, it’swhat made us call it a day. (Eventhough it stopped as soon as wewere on our way out though)

The last of the three holes that weplanted was hole 5. The surface herewas much like that of 12, with oneexception. It was bigger. We wereall tired and sore by now, but ourspirits maintained and pulled usthrough. Our temporary (until weget an official position) moraleofficer Joe Prinz kept us going. Weall had a lot of fun.

Now there is no more planting thatwe will do. It is time to sit back andwatch the Memorial Tournament tosee all of our handiwork. Oh yeah,and watch the golf too...

Congratulations 369James D. Corder

At the 1998-1999 Exploring/VenturingAwards Banquette the top 50 memberswere in attendance. World RenownedFinancial Planner John E. Sestina gavean inspiring presentation on the manyfacets of wealth. Love-Wealth, Family-Wealth, Friendship-Wealth, and ofcourse Money-Wealth. I was impressedat his ability to speak to such a diverseaudience while simultaneously captivat-ing them all!

Venturing Crew 369 was presented withthe “Post Service Project of the Year”for their continuing efforts with the St.Stephens Food drive where over 2,000families where provided with groceriesfor the month of December, over 5,000children received toys for Christmas, themaintenance of an abandoned 1812grave yard, services to the Center of Sci-ence and Industry, and being the onlyScouting Unit to be invited to give a pre-sentation to the Junior AchievementYoung Entrepreneur Fair.

369’s Associate Advisor, Andrew P.Drake was the 35 recipient of the“Explorer Hall of Fame Award” inScouting’s History for his 10 years con-tinues service to the Scouting Move-ment. Mr. Drake is a 1994 recipient ofthe Bronze Big Horn Award, Past Gover-

nor’s Aide, Member of the ExploringCommittee, Member of the VenturingCommittee...

Your’s truly is the fourth recipient of the“William H. Spurgeon III A ward” inOhio.

Our New RoomJames D. Corder

The blue prints for Venturing Crew 369’snew facilities are currently at the City ofColumbus for permits. We hope that wewill get a permit in June and start build-ing in July! With new classes beginningin September, it would be nice to havethem in our new facilities.

If you know high school students thatwould like to learn UNIX, have themcontact us at: [email protected]

Quote of the MonthPatience, Galatians 6:9

And let us not be weary in well doing: forin due season we shall reap, if we faintnot.

The room is coming:-)