The Book of Webmin: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love UNIX

Book Description

How to use Webmin's unique features, including integrating the most popular services (Apache, BIND, Sendmail, and more) as well as the standard system features (network configuration, disk configuration, users and groups, etc.). Tutorials show how to accomplish common tasks with each service.

Customer Reviews:

For the new sysadmin.......2004-03-04

As the various unixes developed in the 1990s, vendors tried to make administration easier by writing proprietary UIs to simplify tasks. For example, IBM came up with SMIT. Of course, each UI was only for that vendor's unix. A developer, Cameron, set out to simplify this across vendors, by writing Webmin. As the book explains, it has now been ported to most unixes and linux.

The book shows that Webmin is ideal for a new sysadmin. Reduces the intimidation factor of unix. It may be increasingly relevant if linux keeps growing on servers and even on desktops. On the latter, a sysadmin (you!) may well be a former Microsoft OS user who decided to take the plunge into a free operating system, but is worried about the necessary level of expertise.

All the important admin tasks, like making new user accounts, setting up a mailer, and networking, are possible via Webmin. So if you are still trepid, this book might assuage your concerns. Cooper writes clearly and at a level accessible to many. No prerequisite knowledge of unix is assumed. Plus, he gives only the core functionality of Webmin, to avoid information overload. The book deliberately eshews explaining every module.

Great Book, Great Open Source Software.......2003-07-22

This is a great book that describes one of the best pieces of software for a *NIX enviroment I have ever seen. It is easy to read and understand

Webmin is a great web based interface that can handle clustering, updates across all servers handles by Webmin and many many other things

Joe does a great job getting into the details of Webmin and the basics of everyday system administration as is relates to the use of Webmin

As a experinced Linux System Admin I found many tips for the use of Webmin that have made my life as an Admin much easier

My hats off to Joe for such a great book and Jamie for a fantastic piece of Open Source Software

Book Description

This book represents the first systematice attempt to explore the financial crisis in an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective and is essential reading for both policy-makers and academics interested in national governance.

The Changing Politics of Finance in Korea and Thailand: From Deregulation to Debacle (Routledge/RIPE Studies i GLobal Political Economy)

Average customer rating:

The Changing Politics of Finance in Korea and Thailand: From Deregulation to Debacle (Routledge/RIPE Studies i GLobal Political Economy)
XIAOKE ZHANG
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU2WR2

Book Description

The purpose of this book is to give a theoretical and practical introduction to seismic-while-drilling by using the drill-bit noise. This recent technology offers important products for geophysical control of drilling. It involves aspects typical of borehole seismics and of the drilling control surveying, hitherto the sole domain of mudlogging.

For aspects related to the drill-bit source performance and borehole acoustics, the book attempts to provide a connection between experts working in geophysics and in drilling.

There are different ways of thinking related to basic knowledge, operational procedures and precision in the observation of the physical quantities. The goal of the book is to help "build a bridge" between geophysicists involved in seismic while drilling - who may need to familiarize themselves with methods and procedures of drilling and drilling-rock mechanics - and drillers involved in geosteering and drilling of "smart wells" - who may have to familiarize themselves with seismic signals, wave resolution and radiation. For instance, an argument of common interest for drilling and seismic while drilling studies is the monitoring of the drill-string and bit vibrations.

This volume contains a large number of real examples of SWD data analysis and applications.

Amazon.com

Book Description: Lord Vishnu's Love Handles is the story of a man who is teetering on the edge of financial ruin and insanity until a couple of secret agents teach him what it really means to lose his mind.

Travis Anderson has a psychic gift. Or so he thinks. So far he's milked his premonitions only to acquire an upper-middle-class lifestyle--pretty wife, big house, and a shiny Range Rover--without having to make any real effort. But recent visions threaten his yuppie contentment. Haunted by omens of impending cancers, stillborn babies, and personal train wrecks, he is compelled to make a series of inaccurate and horrifying prophecies that humiliate him in front of his fellow country club members. The IRS gets Travis's number, too, demanding an audit of his sloppy bookkeeping.

Drowning in mounting financial problems and apparent mental illness, Travis tries booze, pills, even golf to stay afloat, but nothing works. His wife and friends are forced to stage an intervention. Travis is in danger of losing his family, his career, and ultimately, his sanity. That is, until he meets a Hindu holy man in rehab who claims to be the final incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Suddenly, the tragically shallow Travis is saddled with the responsibility of bettering mankind and saving the world.

Amazon.com Exclusive

In this exclusive interview for Amazon.com, Will Clarke, author of Lord Vishnu's Love Handles, talks with the titular Vishnu.

Vishnu: So, Will, it's good to talk to you again. Where are you calling me from?

Will: My cell phone.

Vishnu: I know that. But what city?

Will: I don't want to tell you.

Vishnu: Oh, that's right, you don't want anyone to know where you are or what you're doing next.

Will: Exactly.

Vishnu: That is so tired.

Will: It's like my tag line.

Vishnu: It's like... really lame.

Will: So where are you?

Vishnu: I'm everywhere. Omnipresent, omnipotent--remember?

Will: So then you know where I am and what I am doing next.

Vishnu: Pretty much.

Will: Then why'd you ask?

Vishnu: Good way to start an interview.

Will: Oh.

Vishnu: Let's just get started. First thing I want to ask is why the title Lord Vishnu's Love Handles? Weren't you afraid that might, you know, anger me? Why tug at Superman's cape?

Will: I figured you would think it was funny.

Vishnu: Telling someone they have love handles isn't the best way to make friends, even if you are joking, Will.

Will: What? You're the guy who incarnated as baby Krishna and stole all the butter from the milkmaids and fed it to the monkeys? You're usually totally jokey.

Vishnu: Just kidding... Yeah, I pretty much invented laughter. And you're right, the title did make me laugh.

Will: Whew. I thought you were serious for a second.

Vishnu: You are so easy sometimes.

Will: So you read the book?

Vishnu: Twice, actually.

Will: Wow. Thanks.

Vishnu: I found the book to be full of symbols and hidden messages.

Will: Yeah, it is.

Vishnu: What exactly do the love handles symbolize to you?

Will: Love handles are symbolic of those everyday imperfections. Those things we are constantly trying to fix but can't seem to get on top of.

Vishnu: So what does my having love handles say about the universe?

Will: That's a question I don't know the answer to. But I will tell you, that most statues I've seen of you, you have love handles.

Vishnu: Most people comment on the fact that I have four arms.

Will: Well, look closely at statues or paintings of you, you'll usually find love handles. You're not portrayed as being all chiseled and buff like the statues of Greek gods. Vishnu is always soft and from your soft middle, from your navel grows Brahma, the Cosmos.

Vishnu: Personally, I don't have a lot of spare time to work on my six-pack.

Will: How great is that? The Preserver of the Universe has love handles! Also people's own love handles are the places that will make them laugh if someone else pokes them there--sort like the Pillsbury Doughboy. So I wanted to poke people in their love handles with this book. I wanted to make people laugh, or at least flinch.

Vishnu: In addition to my flabby midsection, you also seem to be obsessed with this concept of laughter. What's that all about?

Will: If you really think about it, why do we, these primates with really big brains, laugh? What's the evolutionary purpose? And why do people get so insulted when you tell them they have no sense of humor? Laughter is a big part of the human experience and to me a very necessary one. I think perhaps, it's what can save us from ourselves or at least from our worst ideas about ourselves. When I think about really big tyrants throughout history, the one thing they were seriously lacking was a sense of humor.

Vishnu: You know Hitler hated laughter. He thought people were laughing at him. He was utterly humorless.

Will: And I think that is symptomatic of a person who is self-righteous and unable to question himself and his actions. And this leads to heinous crimes.

Vishnu: Beware of anyone who can't laugh at themselves.

Will: Exactly. I think laughter is a gift, not unlike the Greek myth about Hope when it flew out of Pandora's box after all the Pestilence was set loose.

Vishnu: Yeah, I wonder who invented laughter? Hmmmm....

Will: Yeah, I wonder who.... Seriously, though, laughter is transformative in so many ways. The act of laughter can take anger, sorrow, or pain, and it turns all that into joy and bliss. The mystery isn't really why, but how laughter does this. I try to explore that with the book. I take tragic situations, but then I try to transfigure these situations into comedy.

Vishnu: And here I was thinking it was just a spy novel.

Will: Well, it is a spy novel. Just like the Bhagavad Gita is a war story--sort of.

Vishnu: You're not saying your book is as good as The Gita?

Will: No, I am not saying that at all. I am saying that stories aren't always what they seem to be about. We shouldn't take things too literally. We should find the truth of any text by delving into metaphor. Read things twice. Chew on it and look for the hidden ideas, "the spaces in between" as Dave Matthews would sing.

Vishnu: Yeah, I am not a big fan of people taking things too literally, especially holy books. Always gets people into trouble. Causes wars and such. Not fun.

Will: War is a whole other topic that I could go off about.

Vishnu: Well, let's try to stay on track. Tell me about the couple of characters in your book that you call SageRat. What a weird idea. Where did that come from?

Will: Sage and Rat represent the incestuous ideas of victimhood and revenge. Sage is the eternal victim while her brother, Rat, embodies the feral, out-of-control nature of revenge. One can't live without the other and over time perhaps, they actually distort to become one in the same--like SageRat in the book.

Vishnu: Yeah, I'm not sure most people are going to get that.

Will: They don't have to. The book works on all sorts of different levels. If people just read it as a thriller that would be fine with me. At least I gave them enjoyment.

Vishnu: That's true. Don't underestimate the little things you can do for people. Just making someone smile is a great gift to them and the universe.

Will: Well said.

Vishnu: Before we go, tell me a little about how the book got to be published by Simon & Schuster.

Will: It's a long story but I'll give you the Reader's Digest version: Wrote the book, got rejected by everyone, self-published it, and sold most of the copies on Amazon. In fact, their "If-You-Like-This-Book-Then-You'll-Like-This-Book" engine spread my book all over the world. I got e-mails from readers in Kosovo, Tehran, Tel Aviv, and Bombay. The book was even taught in a freshman literature class at George Washington University. Then out of the blue, a New Zealand screenwriter, Grant Morris, called to option it. He then got Michael London (Sideways) attached as the producer who got David Gordon Green (George Washington) to attach as the director. And then to my utter surprise, the three of them set the project up at Paramount Pictures. After that, I sold it to Simon & Schuster and closed down my self-publishing operation.

Vishnu: Damn. That's quite a story.

Will: Often wonder if you weren't somehow involved.

Vishnu: Uh, hello.

Will: Well, thanks. It's been one hell of a ride.

Vishnu: De nada, Will. It was great talking to you.

Will: You, too. You always crack me up.

Vishnu: Namasté.

Will: Namasté.

Book Description

This underground hit is now only available in a Hardcover incarnation from Simon & Schuster (July 2005)

PRE-ORDER THE NEW EDITION TODAY ON AMAZON

Download Description

"Lord Vishnu's Love Handles is the story of a man who is teetering on the edge of financial ruin and insanity until a couple of secret agents teach him what it really means to lose his mind. Travis Anderson has a psychic gift. Or so he thinks. So far he's milked his premonitions only to acquire an upper-middle-class lifestyle -- pretty wife, big house, and a shiny Range Rover -- without having to make any real effort. But recent visions threaten his yuppie contentment. Haunted by omens of impending cancers, stillborn babies, and personal train wrecks, he is compelled to make a series of inaccurate and horrifying prophecies that humiliate him in front of his fellow country club members. The IRS gets Travis's number, too, demanding an audit of his sloppy bookkeeping. Drowning in mounting financial problems and apparent mental illness, Travis tries booze, pills, even golf to stay afloat, but nothing works. His wife and friends are forced to stage an intervention. Travis is in danger of losing his family, his career, and ultimately, his sanity. That is, until he meets a Hindu holy man in rehab who claims to be the final incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Suddenly, the tragically shallow Travis is saddled with the responsibility of bettering mankind and saving the world. "

Customer Reviews:

crazy fun book.......2007-09-17

Writing is brisk and to the point. Clarke writes crazy plot, peppered with wit and humor. Great title!

A paranoid computer nerd turns out to be a psychic, employed by the covert government sponsored company to create havoc in both his and other people's lives. A kind of schizophrenic plot parallel's the character's dilemma.

One of a kind and very funny novel. I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

Fun book.......2007-09-04

This is such a fun book to read. It's just crazy. It reminds me of Cotton by Christopher Wilson (also a great book) in that the main characters end up in a great deal of trouble and strange circumstances as a result of their extra sensory gifts.

My favorite parts of the book are those in which Travis is just hanging out with his upper-class snooty friends in his Dallas suburb. There are some laugh out-loud moments in his feelings towards his phony friends. But Travis is just a great character all around. Who doesn't love an alcoholic psychic who's convinced he's going crazy and may be working for the CIA.

Finally, I hate to comment on other people's reviews, but for those that wrote that Will Clark is insulting the Hindu religion: you are seriously idiots. This is a work of fiction, and one that is meant to be humorous, at that. Geez, you people are as bad as Muslims. Lighten up.

Improbable Adventures In The Psychic Realm.......2007-05-19

Travis Anderson is an upwardly mobile striver living uneasily in a pretentious neighborhood, while running an ambitious Internet business. He also has a psychic gift (maybe), a cute wife, a business partner he hates, and--oh yes, his business is going down the tubes. His life begins to unravel when he "sees" psychically, that his wife is having an affair with his business partner. He also learns that he owes several million to the IRS. But repeated phone calls from a cheery Debra McFadden (of the IRS) offer him an unexpected way out of his problems.

Travis is about to enter a strange new world. A top secret organization working for the US government will train him as a psychic spy and solve his tax problem. Before that happens, however, life will get very complex indeed. Not to spoil the plot, let's just say that nothing is what it appears and that good and evil become very confused.

Author Will Clarke manages to make all this stuff almost believable and mildly amusing. I was somewhat put off by the writing style which relies excessively on two four-letter words to convey every shade of emotion. I'm okay with these words, but hey--on almost every page? Still, I have to admit the story moves right along to its unpredictable ending. If you're looking for an implausible adventure with a flavor of Hindu mysticism and vague allusions to morphic resonance, this might be just the afternoon's entertainment for you. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

"Will" you be my friend?.......2007-04-18

I think I must have been experiencing morphic resonance, because I laughed my way through this book. I couldn't wait for my day as a Social Worker in Foster care to end so I could get back to "schizotypal" Travis Anderson, his quest and cohorts. As far as I'm concerned, those who didn't like this book, don't "get it"! Can't wait to read The Worthy and if I ever get the chance to meet Will Clarke on a plyaground I'll ask him..."will you be friend?"

I really wanted to like this book.......2007-02-02

I picked up this book hoping I could get a quirky novel, and add some mystery all the better. I thought it would be similar to Christopher Moore's books, like the "Island of the Sequined love nun", but it wasn't. I read through about three chapters, with an open mind, but it wasn't the weirdness that was a problem, the book was simply boring. It didn't even seem that weird.

I stopped reading, skimmed through the pages to see when Vishnu was going to make an appearance, and it wasn't for a bunch more chapters later. My time is important, so I put the book down.

So you can guage my judgement, I like authors such as:
* Christopher Moore
* Terry Pratchett
* Jonathan Stroud

The cover looks awesome though.

Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel (Sort Of)

Average customer rating:

Psychic mayhem
Very funny
David Green said it best...

Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel (Sort Of)
Will Clarke
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Domestic Life | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000KHXBUE

Customer Reviews:

Psychic mayhem.......2007-06-24

Wouldn't it be fun to be psychic, to be able to see into other people's minds, even to influence their behavior from afar? Well, maybe not, if you saw things in your wife's mind you'd rather not know about. And suppose there were other psychics in the neighborhood trying to see into your mind and influence you from afar? Things could become complicated in a hurry, as they do for Travis Anderson, the tortured hero of this nutty novel. Which psychics are on your side, the Vampire Twins or Ikshu, follower of Lord Vishnu and Charles Manson? And how does IRS Agent Debra McFadden fit into the picture? Perhaps in such a case you too would be grateful for the presence of The Blue Dude when the going gets rough. That's all I have to say! Read the book yourself to find out what happens and maybe resolve the wackiness. It's fun, it's fast, it makes me very glad I'm not psychic.

Very funny.......2007-03-06

I absolutely loved this book. It is so funny, and quirky but not too much that it's kitsch. I read a lot and I like classic literature, British humor, the great American novels, etc, but sometimes some ecclectic weirdness is just what I, craving. It's reads kind of like if Carl Hiaason took some pyschadelics. There's just nothing else like it.
A great read.

David Green said it best... .......2006-12-09

"This book says more about the meaning of mankind than the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, and The Hunt for Red October combined." I picked this book up and threw up almost immediately. It's that good. When you know you know. I dare you not to love it. Seriously that's a dare. Try. Wow.

Lord Vishnu's Love Handles (Library Edition): A Spy Novel (Sort Of)

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Lord Vishnu's Love Handles (Library Edition): A Spy Novel (Sort Of)
Will Clarke
Manufacturer: Tantor Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1400131758

Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel (Sort Of) (Unabridged)

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Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel (Sort Of) (Unabridged)
Will Clarke
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
ASIN: B000B78LR6

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