Yesterday the RHCE exam results arrived and I just missed the RHCE passmark by a miserable 5.7 marks. I got 100% in the first session, 81.8% in the RCHT exam and 64.3% in the RCHE exam. I'm obviously a bit disappointed at not managing to get the RHCE certification especially because I got so close to the passmark. In reality I didn't think I'd do that well in the second part. Most probably I didn't pass because of the lack of motivation from my side because otherwise I could have made it.

The exam made me more conscious about the importance of security. Since I'm a developer not a systems administrator I usually tend to go towards the implementation of functionality rather than security. The more access to information people have the higher systems are at risk so it's better to close the holes before others find them. Saying this I must now learn how to use iptables.

Btw, if your interested in Linux (or want to start out using it) you should try Ubuntu. They are shipping their free CD's for free.

Word of the day: Ramify

Definition (by dictionary.com):

1. To have complicating consequences or outgrowths: The problem merely ramified after the unsuccessful meeting.
2. To send out branches or subordinate branchlike parts.

I just took this survey from MIT about blogs and blogging. Check it out if you have a blog.

This last week has been damn busy studying for the RHCE Exam. I don't remember being so concentrated on a single goal because usually before an exam I get into all sorts of different activities and find anything interesting but this time I was 100% concentrated on a single aim. I didn't blog, didn't browse, didn't love my tiny devils (kittens) and did dozens of stupid mistakes because my mind was not on the tasks at hand. At least the people around me realized that I was under pressure and coped with my state of mind - thanks for understanding.

Overall the exam was not as difficult as I thought it would be, but this does not imply that it was easy in any way. I followed the course book RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer Linux and basically the exam contained material covered in the book. The amount of work was astounding considering that the actual course was only 4 days long and my experience with Linux was rather limited. The first day I sat down in class everybody introduced himself and basically everyone was a seasoned Linux System Administrator with me having almost the least experience of the lot. This though turned in my favor because it made me work much harder to be able to cope and gain ground with the rest of the group. I think by the end of the 4 days I managed to do some huge improvements.

The exam consisted of 2 papers; a troubleshooting session and an installation session. In the troubleshooting section we had 5 compulsory problems that had to be completed within 1 hour and an additional 5 problems. The first 8 problems were really easy and in fact I completed them in less than 30 minutes but the last 2 problems boggled me down a bit and I spent some time working on them but I managed to complete them all successfully. The afternoon session required us to install a server machine and with local services and a network services. I went pretty well in the local installation but I found some problems in the second party mainly because of the lack of experience in certain subjects. Anyhow we'll wait and see what happens.

At the moment I'm having Linux for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a desperate attempt to learn anything about Linux in preparation for the RHCE course next week. The more I learn the more I realise how little I know, and how unlikely I'm going to pass this exam. At least though its fun learning, and I'm gradually uncovering the huge community of Linux Users which seems bigger and bigger every day. These are some interesting sites I came across these few days.

FrozenTech

Has got loads of Linux live CD's. Live CD's are Linux distributions that run only from a single CD without touching anything of your current OS. I've downloaded a Kill Bill edition of SLAX and Kanotix both of which were very easy to install and use.

Distrowatch

With all these distribution you need something to help you choose. Distrowatch is the answer.

LUG Radio

The site of the most popular Linux Radio show around. Worth downloading some podcasts there's much to learn from hear (including some swear words).

The Linux User Show

Home of the best podcast I've listened to till now. This was the first show but I'm eager to hear what Jon has to offer. Highly recommended

linuxiso.org

Download any Linux Distribution from here

Really Linux

For those who're still new to the Linux world this is a friendly introductory site to this new world.

I'm a bit busy to write so I'm going to quote some article I agree with about Mr and Mrs Smith:-

Overall rating 4.5 / 5

This podcast thing got on my nerves so I decided to check out what the fuss is all about. First of all thankfully podcasts have nothing to do with iPod as the name suggests. This was the first misconception and barrier blocking me from checking out podcasts as I'm still one of those who are still immune to the iPod craze. The crudest definition of podcasts is that they are audio files (mp3/ogg etc) with audio shows (i.e. similar to radio shows). The difference between podcasts and radio is that they are not live so you can download them anytime you want. The other difference is that podcasts can be delivered automatically via RSS in a similar ways blogs are downloaded to news readers but this is just an additional benefit. Some software that does is iPodder and FeedDemon. For a much better description of what podcasts are you check out this post – Podcasting is not radio. These are some sites that can help you start listening to podcasts.

• Blogshares Podcast Industry
• Podcast Alley
• Techpodcasts.com

This is the tracklist of the soundtrack for the Tanzania Video

1. Hans Zimmer - Circle of Life (3:58)
2. Lenny Kravitz - Where Are We Runnin'? (2:35)
3. Green Day - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (4:20)
4. Maroon5 - This Love (3:26)
5. Enya - Only if (3:19)
6. Good People - Masala (4:06)
7. U2 - Vertigo (3:14)
8. Them Mushrooms - Jambo Bwana [remix] (3:24)
9. Lion King - The Lion Sleeps Tonite (2:38)
10. Baka Beyond - Spirit of the forest(5:03)
11. Bob Marley - Iron Lion Zion (3:12)
12. Demetris Papademetriou - Stis moiras to harti (3:00)
13. Hans Zimmer - Hakuna Matata (3:33)
14. The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You(3:31)
15. Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier (2:44)
16. Enya - Caribbean blue (3:58)
17. Hans Zimmer - I Just Can't Wait to Be King (2:50)
18. Porcupine Tree - Blackest Eyes (4:25)
19. The Dandy Warhols - We Used To Be Friends (3:19)
20. Alice Cooper - Poison (4:30)
21. Hisham Abbas - Intil Waheeda (4:50)
22. Abdel Ali Slimani - Moi Et Toi (3:43)
23. Mr President - Coco Jambo (3:37)
24. Peter Tosh - 06 - African (3:41)
25. Amr Diab - El Alem Alla (4:01)
26. Them Mushrooms - Jambo Bwana (4:22)

One of the 3 demons sharing my room

Master of disguise

1. Your internal clock triggers every 15 minutes in time for the next idea drop.
2. Billions of dollars are still not enough.
3. You set your start page to the ideas market.
4. You cannot work with a calculator without comma separating the thousands.
5. Neglect your blog in favour of blogshares.
6. Start paying attention to the number of outgoing links you add to your blog.

How are you addicted to Blogshares?

This weekend was great, on Saturday we had our friend's wedding and everything was so perfect. It was really funny watching them get married especially when the groom made a mistake while reciting the "i do …" part. The reception was one of the best I remember and everyone was having good fun which was the best thing of all. Last week's shopping for a dress paid well because the beautiful lady by my side received several compliments, especially by my parents who totally digged the dress. This is a rare event worth blogging.

Yesterday we had a post wedding party at the new weds house and finished off the food and drink. Needless to say I feel like doing absolutely nothing this morning, and to make things worse today I've got an excuse because it's my mate's birthday. This year I wasn't particularly creative with my presents but since the last Christmas presents weren't particularly useful I went for practicality - a down payment for the EOS350D Canon Digital SLR, 3 paperbacks and a good oriental dinner for tonight. Unfortunately I'm not that rich to afford the camera at one go but I've got a scheme in mind to get it before our next holiday in September - destination New Zealand.

Another month flew by it's been already 3 months since we've been in Tanzania. This month will probably pass even faster as we've got 2 weddings of our 4 best friends, the best one has got her birthday and I'll be taking the RHCE exam. Yesterday we went to the groom's house to give him our wedding gift and we had a really good time drinking beer and catching up with stuff. He looks really relaxed for someone who's going to take the big step next Saturday, while the bride was asleep at her home probably stressed out. This is the first time anyone of my close friends is going to marry and I'm feeling a bit wholehearted about it. We left at around quarter to midnight but before that I took their mischievous dog for a walk and tried to understand a dog's territory pissing routine, but it was an exercise in futility.

Apart from these happy marriages, the focus of the month will be on the RHCE exam which fell upon me like a ton of bricks. Every time I read something about it I learn something new, like yesterday I realized that the exam is all practical and there's no multiple choice.

Take a look at this Shoppers Naïve about Retail Prices online the technology behind it must be mind blowing.