The first problem I ran into is that VMWare sets virtual machines to obtain their IP addresses from a DHCP server. Which means that every time the host server is rebooted (power outages, shut down due to travel, or the occasional crash that takes place on the desktop (much less on a server), the IP address changes and the server is no longer accessible on the older IP address. In general, a server is better off with a static IP address, so my first assignment is to change the IP address to a static address, and assign it.

But how do I do it without a GUI? Here Google is your friend. A quick search for static ip ubuntu server vmware provides dozens of helpful web pages.

Apparently, there is a relevant file, which can be edited to accomplish this feat. It is also possible to use the ifconfig command, but I’d edit files rather than use commands any day of the week. The first one is /etc/network/interfaces, which you can view with the less command, and edit with vim, nano, pico, or other text editors.

If your machine is using dhcp to obtain an IP address, the relevant entry in the file would be (where eth0 is your first internet card):

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

Using the editor, change this entry to (use the su command to edit as root – you need root privileges to edit this file):

iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.1.3
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.1.0
broadcast 192.168.1.255
gateway 192.168.1.1

The first line changes the way an IP is obtained from dhcp to static, and the following set the address and network settings for the ethernet card. Here the network is 192.168.1.N and the machine’s new IP address will be 192.168.1.3; Make sure it does not conflict with other computers on the home/office network.

After making the changes, networking has to be restarted, using the command, sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart, and checked using the command ifconfig, which should display the assigned network address.

The ping command can then be used to ping the gateway, another computer on the network, or even an external computer from the net.

The tool bar contains the following elements, from left to right:

1. Google search box.
2. Top stories and search for news articles using Google News.
3. Web history – lists your searches and other history items. A nice memory jogger, on the one hand, on the other a bit scary.
4. Add more toolbar buttons – links to other Google services, such as Orkut, and to other sites (Digg, Facebook, etc.)
5. Access to Gmail accounts – list of recent thread titles, and open inbox in a web page.
6. Twitter link for posting the open web page on twitter.
7. Share the current page with friends through email or social networking services.
8. Sidewiki – “contribute and read helpful information on any web page” – see below for more.
9. Bookmark the current page
10. Google bookmarks.
11. PageRank information – cached snapshot, similar pages and backward links.
12. Spell checker in many languages, for use when filling web forms.
13. Google toolbar setting manager.
14. Gmail login, toolbar synchronization and web history.

Every feature is useful and valuable, but to me the most fascinating function is sidewiki – which I use as a side blog, side letter to the editor, side notepad, etc.

When I find a web page worth commenting on, I use sidewiki to add comments and content to it, without having to wait for approval by the site owner or newspaper editor. This is a heck of a lot better than adding an entry on my blog, which requires introducing the topic, writing, fact checking, spell checking, reviewing and editing, and which, quite frankly, nobody reads anyway. With sidewiki, I can just add my comments, clarifications or pearls of wisdom, without the need to write a stand-alone article. And I probably have a better chance of being read by other sidewiki users who read the same page.

Brilliant. Thank you Google!

Sidewiki allows me to add comments to web pages I read, and share them with others through Twitter, Facebook, or Blogger. This is a VERY NICE FEATURE, for those of us who read a page, have something to say, but do not wish to waste it on their own site, which nobody reads anyway, or spend the time to create, edit and publish a slog (error/pun intended) entry of their own. Genius!

So if you have not done so already, download the toolbar. Add your two cents to interesting pages, and have instant access to the comments of others. Without having to create or manage a blog or a wiki yourself.

The video needed some trimming, which I did with Avidemux. Not a problem. Saved it, played it, worked great. Except for the sound – the camera has a rather poor microphone, and it picked up conversations that were going on, in addition the fluttering and chirping of the birds outside.

Luckily, I was advised to use mencoder, by friends in South Florida: mencoder -ovc copy -nosound InputFileName -o OutputFileName

With a single line of text, a silent copy was made. A few minutes later, the whole world could share the video with me, courtesy of YouTube.

Well, I beg to differ. I followed what was going on during the buildup to war, and I am absolutely positive that many sources, including the Israeli Government and Army Chief of Staff, the French, German, British, Russian and many others have warned Bush there were no weapons of mass destruction there. The reason Bush and Rove trumped this war was to funnel money to mercenaries and defense contractors associated with the Bush family and their friends from church, and to win re-election in 2004.

The fact that national security was used to violate the civil rights of US citizens, to torture the ‘nasties’, to silence critics and to settle family account by the killing or countless innocent civilians is unforgivable, unforgettable, and will not be quelled by a compilation of more lies from one of the master architects of the end of the US as a leading global power.

Another sad case of one liar and criminal being a character witness for another.

Just because these people are not in jail – in the name of ‘unity and civility and American Tradition’ does not make them innocent. It just leaves them free to collect more money from their victims – the American People.

A plague on both their houses.

Today, I tried another route, a tip given to me by the cook at M’shawsha, one of the best hummus places in Tel Aviv, and also some advice from a couch surfer on the P.I.T.A. group.

Based on past experience, I soaked 1 cup of chick peas in 3 cups of water and 1 tsp baking soda overnight. I then rinsed the beans a couple of times, and using a small espresso cup pressed the beans to loosen up their skins. The idea was to be able to get the skin off the beans before grinding. This advice came from P.I.T.A.

I also added to the cooking water 1 tsp baking soda, then simmered the beans for 90 minutes, skimming the foam that collected at the top. This is the tip from the hummus joint.

The effect of the baking soda was amazing – the hummus beans/peas nearly melted in my mouth, and this is definitely the way to go towards making a hummus you can mash by hand. As a matter of fact, I am going to try with less baking soda next time, since there is no need for the beans to be SO soft.

The presence of the baking soda makes the skins glutinous and soft, so while the treatment with the cup helped more skins separate, it is not necessary – the skins with the baking soda were so soft as to not matter.

It also apparently released some sulfur compounds from the beans, as evidenced by the dark spots on my aluminum pot, and the darker hue (Aluminum sulfide Al2S3? probably not, as it is supposed to be yellow, but maybe another oxide of aluminum or another metal sulfide). Since these products are from the beans, their extraction is not too important, but still, I prefer not to digest black liquids that come from my cooking equipment. So for now, I will not use much cooking liquid in making my hummus (with beans so soft, it probably won’t be necessary anyway). And next time, will use half the amount of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). And use a stainless steel pot, not an aluminum one…

Fujitsu has built a smartphone that splits into two pieces: the display and the keyboard. NTT DoCoMo, another Japanese company that is part of the NTT Group, will sell the device under the Prime Series F-04B name.

DoCoMo pitched the product as the answer for gamers who want to set their display down and hold the keyboard like a controller. But the phone may appeal to businesspeople as well, since users can swap the keyboard for a tiny projector for presentations.

If you ask me, this is a much better idea than the iPad, or for that matter, any useless tablet product that will be rolled out. If I were designing a new computer, I would eliminate the screen, not the keyword!

Here is my suggestion. Rather than eliminate the input part of the laptop, turning it into a media consumption device, leave the keyboard, processor, SS hard drive and i/o ports in the device, add a monochrome LCD screen, 80 character wide and 10 character long, so it can be used by itself. And provide a port for connecting to an external monitor. This will leave it as a production device, a very low cost/low energy computing platform.

As for screen, offer a choice of electronic ink screen for reading books and working on documents, low energy average quality (SVGA/XVGA) LCD color screen for browsing and general use on the road, and high resolution color screen for those who need/want it. At home, it can be attached to a HDTV or any type of monitor one has or buys for the purpose.

Now THAT is a netbook I would look forward to buying – not an expensive tablet with no keyboard!

Acer, are you listening? Acer? Oh well…

1 cup dry garbanzo beans = 180 grams dry beans

100 grams dry hummus = 250-275 grams soaked and cooked

1 cup dry beans = 2.5 cups cooked beans

The cooked weight depends on whether you soaked in water with baking soda, or plain water.

I left the beans, one with a new dose of baking soda, the other covered with water. Again, each batch was soaked in 3 cups of water, and again left overnight, so the new soaking time was 27 hours, and in total the soaking time was 41 hours.

After the second soaking, there was little change in the weight of the beans, 393g with baking soda (up from 388g before) and 396 without soda (no change from the day before).

Both pots had a foam or froth on top of the water, but not much. This is similar to the foam that is created when one boils the beans after soaking, and is probably a sign that something is leached out and maybe ferments. Soaking is known to partially remove the gas inducing components in the beans, so maybe this is it.

The beans with the baking soda had a funky, musty smell. Fortunately, it disappeared in boiling, later on.

Boiling

Each batch of hummus (garbanzo beans or chick peas) was covered in 3 cups of tap water, brought to a rolling boil with highest setting of the range (it took about 7 minutes to reach boiling), then simmered for 90 minutes, then left to air cool, separated from the cooking liquid, weighed and tested.

After cooking, the beans soaked with baking soda were substantially heavier than the ones who were soaked in water (482 grams vs. 452 grams final weight). The volume was about the same with both batches, but the beans soaked with baking soda were softer and mealier. The baking soda soaked beans felt ready to disintegrate, while the water soaked beans felt more structurally integral. The peels remained in both cases, so all the beans actually remained intact.

Conclusions

1. Soaking beans with a little baking soda makes them softer when cooked, but does not affect them much during the soaking process.

2. Overnight soaking is probably sufficient – I do not have a comparison of cooking after one night and two night soaking, but I did not like the way the beans smelled when left for so long.

3. Something has to be done about the peel, especially if attempting to make M’shawsha – hand mashed hummus.

Hummus with baking soda
Volume after soaking: 20 Oz.
Weight after soaking: 388 gr (original 180).

Water is a little colored (yellowish).

Hummus with no soda (water only)
Volume after soaking: 20 Oz.
Weight after soaking: 396 gr (original 180).

Water is clear.

Initial Conclusion: The addition of soda does not have an effect on the amount of water absorbed through soaking of 14 hours.

Note: weight was determined by pouring off the liquid and tossing the beans to remove liquid water. The beans were still humid on the outside (what is known as saturated surface dry), but not wet.

The beans were covered again with 3 cups of water, with and without baking soda, and left for another day.