Trails

Recently, I've been very interested in server virtualization. Specifically, I've been interested in virtualizing Linux using Xen. I've been reading a ton about it, and have compiled the following trail. It starts with the more general (what is virtualization, theory, examples, etc.) and gradually becomes more specific (Xen info and howtos).

An Introduction to Virtualization
This is a rather long and in-depth look at what exactly virtualization means and why you'd want to use it. The author includes short descriptions of many different ways of achieving virtualization. Sadly, he doesn't delve into Xen, but I think that's because at the time of writing Xen was relatively new.

Virtualization -- Short introduction to virtualization techniques
Basically, this is just a bare-bones intro--not as in-depth as the previous article. It presents short explanations of the three main virtualization techniques and gives examples of each.

Exclusive: Xen Grows Up
This is a really good article that discusses Xen, describes how it works, how you can use it, and how it compares to other virtualization techniques. Sadly, it requires a username and password, but the one I got from BugMeNot works just fine.

Ok, enough with the theory and intros. On to the howtos and tutorials!

The Perfect Xen Setup For Debian And Ubuntu
A very in-depth, step-by-step tutorial on installing Xen on Debian or Ubuntu. It has this helpful note at the beginning:

This is a "copy & paste" HowTo! The easiest way to follow this tutorial is to use a command line client/SSH client (like PuTTY for Windows) and simply copy and paste the commands (except where you have to provide own information like IP addresses, hostnames, passwords,...). This helps to avoid typos.

Debian Administration :: Installing Xen 3.0 upon Debian Sarge
Debian Administration :: Installing Xen 3.0 upon Debian Unstable, with a custom Kernel
These are two tutorials on installing Xen in Debian from the great Debian site, Debian Administration. Both are by the site's maintainer (and Debian developer), Steve. The first one describes installing Xen using one of the stock Debian kernels. The second one describes the process for installing a custom-compiled kernel in the Xen instances. It also touches on using the xen-tools script (written by Steve) to automate the installation of a basic Xen instance.

Note: I've got a few more articles (two about clustering Xen, and one about using multiple Xen instances to create a virtual network for testing), but they're outside the scope of this trail. So, I'm posting them to my del.icio.us/xen page in case anyone is interested.

Many of those who read my Thanksgiving post had questions about the odd relationship that exists between the king of gelatin, Jell-O, and Mormons. So, to better illuminate this strange culture quirk, I've compiled the following trail. Sadly, I wasn't able to find much history like how it started, why it became so popular, etc.

The United Plates of America

Utahns may remember comedian Bill Cosby's visit in 2001, to lobby legislators to make Jell-O Utah's official snack. In 1997, Jell-O officials confirmed that Utah had the highest per-capita consumption of fruit-flavored gelatin in the country. When Utah's Jell-O sales slipped and Iowa took over that distinction in 1999, it sparked a local campaign (with a lot of support from the Jell-O folks) to "Take Back the Title," recounted in past Deseret Morning News articles. After Utah was once again on top of the heap, the legislature humored Jell-O spokesman Cosby and passed a resolution recognizing the jiggly dessert.

Wikipedia entry for Jell-O

Jell-O is the official state snack food of Utah, which is reported to have the highest per capita sales of green gelatin dessert of any US state. Over-fondness of Jell-O is often considered a cliché trait of Mormons even in other areas.

Wikipedia entry for Jell-O Belt

The Jello Belt is a colloquial term in American English that refers to the parts of the Western United States with large populations of "Mormons" (properly called Latter-Day Saints).

Desert dessert? Jell-O seeks to mold Utah opinion

In fact, the Salt Lake Olympic Committee designed and issued pins for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games featuring a bowl of the quivering green food. They quickly sold out and remain collector's items.

Note: Typically, Jell-O is considered a desert. In Mormon culture, however, it is often considered a salad. The next entry is an example of this. Lagoon is a (the?) amusement park in Utah.

Lagoon Salad List

Potato Salad
Pistachio Salad
Baked Beans (Groups of 1000 & under)
BBQ Beans
Frosted Jello
Pasta Salad

Utah's Famous Green Jell-O

1 cup water
1 package (6 ounces) lime Jell-O
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
1 cup canned crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups whipping cream

Note: A while ago, I posted an entry asking for recommendations of economics books. Since then, I've found several on-line resources that look like they'll make a pretty good introduction to the basics of economics. I say that they 'look like' they'll be a good intro because I haven't read them all yet. Hopefully, this will help those of you who, like me, want to know more about economics to better understand the various forces that are at work and how various groups -- the government, labor, consumers, etc. -- impact and influence the economy.--ben

Knowledge Deficit

This is a discussion between two economics professors on what the public should know about economics posted on the Wall Street Journal's Econoblog. I found this from this entry on macroblog that poses the question "If there was one lesson from economics that you could magically implant into the brain of everyone, what would it be?" to its readers, with some interesting responses. Also, both of the professors say that a good starting place when trying to understand economics is the 1848 essay What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen by Frédéric Bastiat.

The Best of Economics

(You can also go to Fifty Essential Topics on Economics which is just a nicer table of contents to the same site.) From the intro:

The Best of Economics is an HTML textbook for a new high school course in economics. In addtion to the traditional topics of microeconomics and macroeconomics, this textbook covers three subject areas that have become increasingly important in the last fifty years: Growth Theory, Finance, Information Economics

This looks to be a great intro/reference. Some of the topics that jumped out at me include: Success and Failure of Social Systems, The Rich and the Poor, The Problem of Monopoly, and Fiscal Policy.

The Library of Economics and Liberty

This site has a huge collection of essays and books on Economics. They include classics such as Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations as well as new essays by current economists.

My first Trail is about the current Bill Frist potential stock sale scandal.

WP: Senator Sold Stock Before Price Dropped (9/21/05)

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a potential presidential candidate in 2008, sold all his stock in his family's hospital corporation about two weeks before it issued a disappointing earnings report and the price fell nearly 15 percent.

WP: SEC, Justice Investigate Frist's Sale of Stock (9/24/05)

A spokesman said Frist's office has been contacted by both the SEC and the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan about his divestiture of the stock. HCA disclosed separately that it was subpoenaed by the same U.S. attorney's office for documents that were related to Frist's sale. Frist and HCA said they are cooperating.

Jonah Goldberg (9/24/05)

My guess is that this stock sale stuff will ultimately fizzle out, mostly because I doubt Frist is so stupid as to do what some allege. But I see nothing wrong with the appropriate agencies investigating Frist's blind-trust stock sale.

WP: Frist Issue Adds to GOP's Ethics Troubles (9/25/05)

...said Nicholas E. Calio, a former aide to both Presidents Bush. "To me, it's inconceivable that he [Frist] would sell stock based on inside information. He doesn't need the money."

...

Frist, asked in a January 2003 TV interview whether he should sell his HCA stock, replied that his assets were in a blind trust and, "as far as I know, I own no HCA stock." Referring to his trust and those of his family, he added: "It is illegal right now for me to know what the composition of those trusts are. So I have no idea."

Democrats.org (9/26/05?)

Frist has claimed he sold the stock in HCA Inc., founded by his father and brother (who still sits on the company's board), to avoid any conflict of interest. He has not identified what new conflict has arisen that did not exist for his previous 10 years in the Senate.

Statement by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (9/26/05)

An examination of the facts will demonstrate that I acted properly. I will cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to provide the information they need as quickly as possible. My only objective in selling the stock was to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest. I had no information about HCA or its performance that was not publicly available when I directed the trustees to sell the stock.

Documents: Frist knew contents of blind trust (9/27/05)

Blind trusts are designed to keep an arm's-length distance between federal officials and their investments, to avoid conflicts of interest. But documents show that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist knew quite a bit about his accounts from nearly two dozen letters from the trust administrators.

If I read anything else that adds anything interesting to the discussion, I'll update this post with it.

Update: I just found this: Frist Stock Timeline. It's a lot more thorough than what I've presented above, so it may be a better resource. I'm not really shooting for a comprehensive review with these trails, though. I'm more shooting for a thorough overview of a subject. In that respect, I think I've delved a little too deep into the details with this first one. It's the first trail, though, so I expect that this feature will evolve as I post more.

Linux Magazine recently introduced the idea of trails on their website:

Linux Magazine introduces trails. A trail is a series of links that deeply explores a topic or technique, drawing on a combination of new material, existing content from the Linux Magazine archive, and pointers to examples and additional articles on the Web.

I've decided to blatantly steal that idea and introduce trails here on furiousBlog. Their trails look to just be links to old articles on their site (a clever way to drive ad views, but not necessarily to better inform or educate). Mine will be links to articles that I've read about a particular topic that will hopefully explain the topic thouroughly. I see it as an easy way to link to articles that I find interesting, but about which I don't have much to add (due to either stupidity or laziness).

I've added a Trails category, so that you can see all of the trails I post. All trails will be posted under this category, as well as the appropriate category for the topic discussed.

I'm working on the first one, so look for it soon.