More and more, it seems, business and IT managers are being told that “Cloud Computing” is the wave of the future. We are being bombarded with salesman who want to explain this “new technology” to us, and show us why putting our applications in the cloud is a great way to improve services and cut cost. There are many critical considerations which are often not being discussed. It often boils down to asking the right questions. Do you know what to ask?

We’ll take a relatively non-technical look at some questions that should help you make a better decision.

“What is cloud computing?” The answer to this question can be boiled down to a very simple explanation, and makes many of the other questions fairly obvious. Traditionally,  a cloud is drawn in a network map or infrastructure diagram to indicate a WAN, or Internet, connection. The idea behind “the cloud” was to find a way to represent a single piece, or entire scope, of equipment and connections that were outside our realm of control (and concern). This is also the definition used by most salespeople. Cloud computing, in this sense, is moving your application, or processing, resources outside the scope of your own management. essentially, you are giving someone else the responsibility of managing you applications or data.

“Is this really something new?” No, it is not. This whole cloud computing buzz is just a new word for several different technologies which have existed for years. “Cloud Computing” is simply a buzz word, and a poor one at that (considering the fact that it is an exceptionally vague term). We have used off-site printing and processing services as long as we have had businesses, and sending large jobs out for processing has existed as long as the Internet has. The salesman always seem to forget that this is nothing new.

“Are you saying that cloud computing is a bad idea?” Actually, there are many cases where moving services “to the cloud” may be a good idea. You may be running applications that require significant processing power, or you could be running from a home office and need a more stable location for certain data or applications. There are numerous individual situations for which cloud computing could be beneficial.

With those answers out of the way, let’s move on to some questions for the salesman…

“Where is my data, and how is it stored?” The answer to this could be surprising. Before you send your data off to someone else, you should know where the data is stored and in what format.

• What format is your data stored in? If your data is stored in a proprietary format, you could incur some substantial costs if you ever decide to move your data somewhere else.
• How is you data stored? Is the physical redundancy of the data, and fail-over on the application server(s)?
• Where are the services physically hosted? Is it in a physically secure data center, or in some small office? The answer to this may not be what you think.
• Who owns the data? This question, while seemingly obvious, can have some surprising stipulations attached to it.

These questions may sound a little like paranoia until you look into the costs necessary to convert data from a proprietary format to an open one. You would also be surprised how many hits you get from doing a Google search for “data center flooded.” There is also a less obvious point in this question. If your data is stored in another location, does a power outage or some other minor catastrophe make your data inaccessible for an unknown period of time? What about a major catastrophe, such as an earthquake or a hurricane? This also leads to the next major question.

“What is the policy on responsibility for data security?” This is another one which can be broken down into several questions, and these ones can be real deal-breakers. Security of your data is critical for the future of your business, and yet these questions are rarely asked. A little time here is very well spent.

• Who is responsible for backing up the data, and where are the backups stored? These backups should be just as secure as the data, and should be off-site. Some companies even leave the responsibility of backing up the data to you.
• Who has access to your data? Is you data readable by their employees by default? Do they run background checks on their employees before they are allowed near your data? Are their employees properly trained how to handle your data?
• Who is responsible for data loss, or a security breach? Surprisingly, very few people remember to ask this one. If your data is lost or stolen, who gets nailed with the lawsuit? Do they have a rider, or other means of protecting your company if they lose your customers data, or worse yet, if a disgruntled employee sells it?

These questions should help to give you a better picture of what you are being sold. Of course, I don’t need think I need to remind you that the answers only mean something if they are in writing.

Let’s move on to the questions to ask yourself (or someone other than the salesman).

“How critical are these services to my businesses operation?” Before moving these service out into the wild, you may want to think of some of the ways it could affect you. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• How much would downtime cost me for this service? If you cannot function without this service, then a problem with your Internet connection, or with theirs, would put you out of business. Think of a call-center losing it’s phones, or a courier service not having access to it’s maps or per-diem rates. this would be catastrophic to them. Your application could mean the same the same thing to you.
• How much time do my employees spend on this service? If this application is being used constantly (i.e. data entry, order processing, control data) then even a small decrease in efficiency would raise costs considerably. We often take for granted that the Internet is there. Have you ever had your connection suddenly exhibit loss or sluggishness? If it suddenly takes thirty seconds to display a web-page that would normally display in two, how much would this affect an employee who normally enters 25 orders per hour?
• How much will the increased traffic cost? You may save administration costs, and even hardware costs, by moving this application to the cloud; However, you could start to see a significant increase in data costs if you exceed your bandwidth. It may be worth doing the numbers on this before making the leap to off-site applications.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you an answer as to whether you should move your application(s) into the cloud or not, but these questions should help you make a more informed decision.

” .vimrc example configuration file by Kenneth Coe
syntax on ” set context sensitivity to “on”
set history=1000 ” expand history from the default list of 20
set scrolloff=3 ” set cursor to scroll when three lines away from screen edge
set visualbell ” Switch annoying bell sound to simple screen flash

It is worth noting that some distros are using vim-lite instead of the full version. You will need
to install the full version to realize all of the functionality of VIM. In debian-based distros, you can
do this by running the command “sudo apt-get install vim”.

I will move the posts from the last site over in the next few days. In the mean-time, please feel free to browse around.

There are many people looking for ways to “stimulate the economy” with their refunds. Sony, RCA, Dell, GM, Ford, and many other companies are anxiously waiting for our refunds to arrive. There are also a few forgotten uses for this money, and many of these can be far more rewarding than anything we could put on a shelf.

My choice for charities this year is “Children with Hair Loss” (CWHL).

As you can see from the rather uncommon picture of me with my hair down, I had a unique ability to help out this charity in more ways than one. If you check the Children With Hair Loss website, you will most likely agree that they are a charity with a very good cause. Millions of children suffer from hair loss due to natural causes such as Alopecia Areata, Tinea Capitis, or Telogen Effluvium, or from accidental or incidental causes such as burns or chemotherapy. This problem may not be fatal for children, but it DOES affect their life in a very negative way, and creating and fitting wigs is a labor intensive, and rather expensive, process that many families cannot afford.

There are many charities which are dedicatated to this cause, and there are many ways to help the charities which have taken the challenge. One (as pictured here) is to make a hair donation. This (rather painful) donation of an average of twenty one inches, should go a long way toward helping a child in need. Hair donation can be a very rewarding way of helping out, especially for children, who cannot write a check, or man a phone. Hair donation, however, is not the only way to help. All of the hair donation causes need volunteers. You can make calls, organize drives, volunteer to help cut, or just make a simple financial donation. Hair donations help, but money donations can also go a long way toward defraying the high cost of what they do.

This is the reason a am writing this post today, and the reason for my pictures. As I said at the beginning of this post, there are a lot of us out there looking for a way to spend our refunds this year. Why not make a worthwhile donation with some of the money that you receive? You may find that it the most rewarding use of that hard-earned money!

as a closing note, I would like to Thank Fantastic Sams for their help, and for their permission to use the camera in there salon. they were very helpful, and very supportive.

I am not sure what motivated her to try this, but I told her that her methods were a little dubious, and gave my opinion. since I told her that she should debate this issue in the public, and not try to slip amendments in behind closed doors, it is only fair to do the same. here is the text of my email to her, in verbatim…

Mrs Feinstein,

It has come to my attention that you are attempting to include language in the Stimulus bill which would affect the neutrality of the internet. reading the proposal for amendment, a few things very quickly become quite clear. Aside from the fact that there is no effective method for monitoring network traffic for objectionable material (you could do some reading about Australia’s numerous failed attempts at this), this is MOST DEFINITELY NOT a stimulus issue.

I, and thousands of other watchdogs, will be certain to make this as obvious as possible to the public. I will also be certain to center it in the interests of the tens of thousands of people in your state who, as fellow IT professionals, would be extremely dissatisfied with the possible requirements to spend countless hours and large sums of money (which they cannot afford to spend in this economy) to attempt to comply with a ridiculous set of regulations which have very little probability of success in controlling the flow of illegal materials and a very high probability of adversely affecting almost all legitimate traffic.

This is neither an effective piece of legislation, nor a good way to remain in office. If you are honestly concerned about the issue of net neutrality, please have the courage to debate the issue in public where it can come under the light of truth, and succeed (or fail) on it’s true merit. Doing this in the cover of committee, and amending it to unrelated bills, will do nothing but recast the issue as scandal.

I will attempt to assist you in moving your concern into the public forum by posting a copy of this email on my website. feel free to comment there if you would like.

Thank You,

Kenneth C Coe, Jr

www.coehome.com

Aside from typographical and grammatical errors, I would always recommend that people copy my response. That is to say, that we should always contact our representatives when we see an issue that affects us, not that you should just repeat whatever I say (of course.) I will continue to watch our representatives actions, and to respond to them. I will also continue to attempt to get my viewers to do the same…

One of the most obvious considerations for the new administration is broadband access and the digital backbone. Why is broadband so important? As FCC chairman Kevin Martin states in “Engine of Productivity and Innovation” (Korea Times – 6/17/2008), “The ability to share increasing amounts of information, at greater and greater speeds, increases productivity, facilitates commerce and helps drive innovation.” Information technology science has advanced at an astounding pace since the construction of Eniac in 1946. Technology is now an integral part of finance and commerce, education and employment, healthcare, and almost every other facet of our lives. It is very important that the backbone of the internet keeps pace with any digital development.

Just as obvious to experts, but less so to the general public, is information security. The attacks on September 11, 2001 had a devastating impact on the economy. An attack on our digital infrastructure, however, could have an even larger impact, as described in TechNewsWorld.com’s “CyberWarfare”. Some progress has been made toward adapting new policies and methods to counter a cyber-offensive through the Department of Homeland Security\’s “Cyber Storm Project”, but a lot of work still needs to be done. Security in the digital world is a moving target, and requires continual effort. This will be a critical component of any future digital infrastructure policy.

An area which requires significant attention is the availability and format of the Federal Government’s information architecture. We have made significant progress over the last few years toward digitizing the Governments’ public access through the Federal Information Portal, usa.gov. A tremendous amount of forms and data are available to the public through this medium. Many of the publics’ needs can be met at this portal to some degree, but a lot of work is still ahead. One impressive, but underdeveloped, section of usa.gov is the RSS feed page. This section of the portal could be immensely beneficial to the people. For example, it could let you subscribe to the feed for your districts’ representatives to keep track of their actions, or watch the feed for a particular issue which affects and/or interests you. We would also benefit from integration of some of the other newer technologies used on the internet today, for example the ability to send requests by topic or by task to multiple sources and receive a single response with the information we need (online information requests save Tampa, FL a fortune)or to customize the portal to our needs similar to iGoogle.

These same wonderful technologies could go a long way in developing transparency in government, but would require standardization of the data formats used by our government. This is what I would consider the most important issue with regard to federal information management. Using a standard, and open, semantic data management system would help to solve multiple issues facing our next administration. The ability to tag data by subject would aid the government (and it’s people) in communicating more efficiently. Anyone able to search available material by subject could easily aggregate the data into a single source (possibly an RSS feed) and review all actions on a given topic.

The last area I would add to the new Administration’s list is Total Cost of Operations. Our Federal Government is a very large institution, consisting of tens of thousands of systems. Licensing and implementation costs are staggering at this scale. The new Administration should not discredit any ideas for new development. One of considerable interest to me would be the implementation of more open-source projects and solutions. This could save billions in licensing costs, and give the Federal government the ability to tailor its’ solution to it’s needs

This is by no means a complete list of goals for the administrations new CTO, but is a good start toward their stated goal. Hopefully, we will see some of them start to develop.

What is a “GO” Kit?

Your Go kit is, simply, an emergency preparedness kit for hams.Think of it as a travel kit for emergencies. If you where to respond to an emergency, you would have a collection of basic necessities which would go along with you. The most obvious items would be radio, batteries, charger, and the like, but there are a few more. Let’s break this down a little.

Planning your Go Kit

Before we start, let’s do a little reality check. Many people will give you a solid list of what must be included in your Go kit. The reality is that there is no standard kit. Your primary consideration when building your Go kit will be simply, “What are you going to do with it.” Obviously, if you are going to assist with Sky Warn (Storm watching), your kit would be quite different than if you were going to assist in local shelters after a small flood, or if you are heading to the coast to assist after a hurricane/

Operations

Radio

Obviously you will need a radio, but which one? If you are responding to an event which requires foot travel (search and rescue, shelter, traffic direction…) you may need something more portable, like an HT (Handy Talky). Please do not forget the charger for the radio. On the other hand, if you are heading out to an area that requires coverage, you may need more than your basic rubber duck antenna. A mobile rig would be good in this situation.

Amateur “Accessories”

First, remember to bring the items which you are comfortable operating with, such as your microphone, headset, pillow… You know what you are used to, so use it. The best tip I have ever heard here is “train how you will operate, and you will operate like you were trained.”

One tip that people often forget to give is to remember to include your radio’s manual. The last thing you want in an emergency is to forget how to do something on your radio and, let’s face it, these new units are not exactly the most user-friendly ones ever made. a stressful situation can lead to an embarrasing moment if you are not prepared.

Beyond that, there are a couple of items that can come in REALLY handy:

• Cable adapters for your radio (often called tweenies). You may need to hook your HT or mobile rig to a larger antenna. Will your connector be compatible?
• ARES Field Resources Manual – An invaluable reference tool for emergency operations
• Radiogram Message Pads – The best way to record and forward, or deliver, messages.
• ID, name badge on lanyard, and COPY OF LICENSE. Very important ones here.
• Notepad, pens AND pencils, and indelible markers (sharpies).
• If you have it, an emergency communications vest. These can be very handy.

Make a list of emergency contacts, local repeaters frequencies (don’t just assume they will stay in your HTs memory), call signs, and common addresses. Your individual group, area, club, EOC (Emergency Operations Center) will have it’s own requirements and procedures. These lists are good to have, but DO NOT rely on your memory in an emergency. Write it down BEFORE you need it.

Non-Operational Goods

We’ve made good headway here on emergency preparedness, but let’s not forget to take care of ourselves. You are no good to anyone else if you cannot deal with your own needs as well.

A friend (and Elmer) of mine, WB8TKL, puts this category into a nifty perspective. He says that the best Go Kit is a box with a list in it. You do not need a ready bag by the door with all materials. You just need to know where what you need is. Some people will say that I am wrong here, but I will answer that they go overboard. Let’s take a look at some of what should be on the list:

• Glasses, or contact solution and case
• Prescription medications, and possibly Tylenol (remember… Stressful)
• Change of clothes and toiletry kit for longer events
• Energy bars, or other nifty little snacks
• Water, juice, or other fluids (don’t assume there will be a fridge at the scene)
• Pillow and Blanket
• Rain, or winter, coat
• Flashlight and batteries, first aid kit, Hitchhiker’s towel (Mr Adams is a hero)
• Reading material to keep you out of people’s hair…
• Keep cash on hand. Credit cards may not work in an emergency. While your at it, try not to run the car low on gas (it’s not good for it, anyway).

It is not that the people you are assisting in the emergency will not try to take care of you. It is just that they will already be quite busy. Help them out by being self sufficient.

The Most Important Item

What is the most important item you need with you? The amateurs good-natured and helpful attitude!

Please remember that we, as amateurs, are there to help. Your attitude is a big part of this. We may be asked to carry supplies, or help with some other mundane tasks. While communications is our primary task, we need to be open to helping them with other things as well. THIS is the most important thing to carry.

A Look at My Arsenal

As an example, let’s look at my Go Kit. I cheat on a couple of things, but I think I have a decent setup which you may need. First I must qualify that I only use one vehicle. Why does this matter? Simply stated, I don’t have to worry about what car my rig is in, so I have a permanent mobile setup. Now onto the list…

• Mobile 2-meter radio with antenna, and Yaesu HT (including charger, the Yaesu can charge off of 13 volts. Many other HT radios have cigarette adapters as well.)
• Amateur Documentation bag, including; notepad, pens, pencils, highlighters, and markers. Swiss army-type knife and multi-tool. ARES Reference guide, radio manuals, and radiogram pads. I also keep a couple folders in there to keep private things private.
• Contact info – I keep lists of repeaters, known contacts, phone numbers, important addresses, and JNOS Nodes (I am a packet radio guy). I also slip in a few maps…
• Accessory kit. Since I have ample room in my vehicle, I carry my spare parts, tweenies, cable, and radio repair tools in a toolbox in the car (I don’t suggest this without a good alarm system).
• Personal items; Waterproof Long Duster and a jacket, inflatable pillow and blanket, towel, flashlight, and basic first aid kit.
• I keep an empty gym bag in the house with a list of items I need to throw in it (clothes, hygiene, food…)

Now, let’s look at my wish list for upgrades…

• Portable military mast, and two meter “Ringo” antenna. This is for extended period communications, or for the addition of a second radio for packet.
• 13-volt power supply. I would like the possibility of keeping the batteries charged in an extended operation.
• ARES Magnetic Signs (Quantity 2). I just think these would be handy, and look good, on a vehicle.

Links To Other Reading

• An excellent guide to go kit construction
• RACES official Go Kit page (a little excessive, but nice)
• Ready.gov’s basic kits page
• WB6FZH’s GO KIT INFO – An extensive list of options
• Los Angeles ARES Go Kit Page – Another list with good options

The vehicle is a 2001 Blazer ZR2 4X4. A basic vehicle which should be able to handle any weather events which can occur in the area. It is also a comfortable vehicle with decent fuel mileage, which makes my life a lot more enjoyable.

Radio Power

The Blazer is wired for radio power with a dedicated 45 Amp line off of the Positive terminal in the under-hood service panel. I do not like connecting to the positive battery terminal, as this can lead to connection issues, and (with side-post type battery connections) introduces the possibility of debris getting into the connections. The ground is a direct run back to the engine block to minimize the chance of ground loops. This also has the added advantage of giving me the ability to add a second power source to prevent accidentally discharging the same battery which starts the car, if I decide it is necessary. Power runs to a three switch panel in the center console to make it easier to control power to each radio, and to add to the “nifty factor” of the vehicle. each switch is a SPST switch rated for 20A@120V. The whole run is fused at the source connection with a ATV bus-type fuse (currently 20A), and at the input of each radio. I DO NOT fuse the grounds, and recommend strongly against doing this.

Switch one controls the vehicle traffic radio (CB), switch two controls the main rig, and switch three leads to a 4 foot power pole cable (bundled in the passenger foot-well) for unforseen connection needs in an emergency.

Radio Antennae

The vehicle has two permanent antenna mounts added.

The 11-meter (CB) antenna is a Firestik FS4 series antenna (black, of course) mounted at the left rear of the vehicle. This is accomplished using an adjustable body mount secured inside the rear-hatch seam. This vehicle leaves enough room to run the cable right through the hatch opening without accidentally crimping or cutting it. I run the cable discreetly through the vehicle by placing the cable inside the armrest assembly.

The amateur-band radio is connected to a Comet SBB5-NMO 2-Meter/70-Centimeter dual-band antenna. It is secured to a Motorola Through-roof NMO base mount. These are the same mounts commonly used for commercial vehicles and for police and fire. This cable runs down through the passenger windshield support, through the dashboard, and into the center console to keep it safe from hands and feet. The selection of the antenna is based off of consumer review (), and the fact that it is based-loaded with a fold-down. The fold-down is important considering vehicle height, and a base loaded antenna has a significantly reduced wind load. Since I already had the vehicle apart, I also ran two lengths of CAT5e plenum cable from the center console to the upper center console for a possible remote head mount when I upgrade the radio. I didn’t see any reason to pull the vehicle apart twice, and the cost of the cable was minimal.

Radio Equipment

The vehicle traffic radio is a Cobra Model 19-DX-IV CB radio which I use to alert for traffic problems, and for occasions when I want to check in on the romper-rooms. It is mounted in-dash to keep it out of the way (a unused tape deck made this easy), and is supported by an accessory speaker mounted in the passenger foot-well.

The main radio is an Alinco DR-130 2-meter transceiver. It is currently rested against the passenger side of the center console. This an acceptable location for most users, and I don’t see any reason to make it more permanent (especially when I consider that an upgrade is planned for this radio).

I also carry a Yaesu FT-60 (2M-70CM) handy talky with a Diamond SRH77CA whip antenna. This comes in handy for local events (ham swaps…), and in case I need to move away from the vehicle.

Future upgrades include installation of a Kenwood V-71 dual-band transceiver to replace the Alinco radio, and a mobile mounted TNC for connection to a laptop in emergency situations (and for normal play).

Other Supplies

There are a few other things which I thought it was important to put in the vehicle…

I keep all of my basic radio maintenance parts in a single toolbox for easy transport, and (since I really didn’t have a place to keep it in the house anyway) I keep that in the Blazer at all times. This includes basic tools, a soldering iron, various lengths of wire and shrink-wrap, connectors and electronic parts, and any “tweenies” (adapters for connecting a radio or antenna to a dissimilar cable) that I happen to have.

I also keep my basic go-kit in the vehicle. There are many different opinions of what a go-kit should consist of, and I cover this in more detail on my go-kit page. The one in the Blazer contains the manuals for the radios, a mini-log, the ARES field reference guide, an emergency communications guidebook, notebooks (blank paper is good), pens and pencils (with sharpener), a few snacks, and various references for local repeaters and emergency contact numbers and call signs.

In the future, I will be adding a portable mast, and a matching antenna for increased range.