dots and loops

For years now I've been using and managing my Linux server over a SSH connection. Indeed, this entire website was coded up using vim over SSH. In the beginning Unix machines were primarily accessed via teletypewriter (tty's) and CRT terminals connected through a serial connection, and this tradition lives on in the plethora of terminal/console applications for *nix systems (unlike Windows systems, which are virtually impossible to administer from a console alone). So, I've been managing my Debian and Ubuntu systems for years now without ever firing up an X server, happily reading my mail with the proud but austere mutt, seeking tech advice on freenode using the ever clever irssi, haunting the occasional programming news group via the enigmatic but flexible slrn, and more recently downloading *nix ISO's over bittorrent with rTorrent. All managed with the indispensable terminal multiplexer screen, which is essentially a window manager for terminals, with the added goodness of letting you disconnect and reconnect to sessions.
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This is apparently one of the best console (ncurses) bittorrent clients for *nix systems. I've been meaning to switch over to a *nix/console bittorrent client for a while now, so I don't have to leave my Windows machine running all night when downloading torrents. uTorrent is such a sophisticated and easy to use client that I've been reluctant to change, but I think with this client I will finally make the switch.

Now, if only it was possible to detach and reattach XDMCP sessions (like you can RDP sessions), then maybe I'd go with a graphical client. Something clumsily approximating remote desktop's "resummability" can be accomplished in VNC, but I'm just not convinced.

• RTorrentUserGuide - The libTorrent and rTorrent Project - Trac
  The indispensable rTorrent user guide.
• polishlinux.org » rTorrent — console P2P!
  Here are a couple of nice screen shots explaining rTorrent's window.
• Howto: Use rtorrent like a pro « Motho ke motho ka botho
• wTorrent - Trac
  You can even use it with a web front end.

There seem to be a plethora of websites offering free DNS services nowadays... ZoneEdit, Granite Canyon, and FreeDNS just to name a few. Just do a google search on "free DNS services". These services offer web based administration of your DNS, and most offer free dynamic DNS, which is nice if you are a home user.
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This is a very nifty tool I forgot about and then rediscovered. It is capable of handling all sorts of input formats, letting you view html, pdf, ps, dvi, and even word files.
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Backing up your data is fun and profitable. For my main data drives I use either rsync or Dantz Retrospect to simply mirror them to external USB drives (powered on only for this express purpose). This has me about 80% covered, but my system files and home directories are not backed up. The following script is meant to pick up the missing pieces.
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Note: Some of this was cut and pasted from this article by Ian Gilfillan, and is printed here merely for my convenience. If you are Ian and have a problem with this, let me know. Thanks.
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A quick cheat sheet on how to do search and replace in vi.

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