Michael W. Lucas's Blog, page 52

See Me in 2016

I have two more public appearances in 2016.

October 7-8, I’ll be at Ohio LinuxFest. They’ve asked me to speak on Introducing ZFS.

November 8, mug.org has invited me to talk about PAM. This is election day in the United States, so the talk is on how PAM in Un-American.

Sadly, family commitments prevent me from going to MeetBSD in Berkeley. Plus, there’s the whole “get on a plane” thing, which I try really really hard to avoid. I’d probably do it to see Berkeley, though. I’m pretty sure a pilgr...

Cover reveal for “PAM Mastery”

For the first Tilted Windmill Press tech books, I elected to create covers from photographs. Some went over well, some less so.

For the FreeBSD Mastery books, I persuaded Eddie Sharam to create parodies of classic art. It’s far more expensive than photos, but reaction has been positive.

PAM Mastery is almost ready to go to copyedit, which means I need a cover for it. I’ve elected to continue the parody art. Without further ado, here’s the cover.

Sysadmin Gothic

I’ve gotten some great feedback...

Wherein the past haunts me, but in a good way

Back around 1992 (or so), I published a role-playing game called Gatecrasher. This was back in the day when RPGs were on paper, and used all sorts of weird dice.

In retrospect, Gatecrasher was a triumph of vision over skill. The main design goal was “use all the dice.” But if you wanted to do something like “Spaceships and Sorcery,” playing an angel in enchanted chain mail wielding a propane-powered flaming sword and struggling to scrounge up spaceship fuel in time to make the Mars-Jupiter H...

I’ll be at Rust City Book Con

On 12-14 August, I’ll be in Troy, Michigan, at the first ever Rust City Book Con.

Actually, I’ll be there on the evening of the 11th, hanging out in the bar and practicing my socialization. (“Smile. You know, retract your lips to expose your teeth. No, no, not that far! Better. Hold out your hand–oof! Ugh… A little slower, and (gasp) with an open hand, not a fist. Remember, this isn’t your dojo. Now say ‘Hi! My name’s Lucas, who are you?’ Close, but it’s ‘who,’ not ‘what.’ And a little less t...

Scottsdale AZ redux

I’ll be in Scottsdale, Arizona, for a few days on family business.

Readers, fans, and detractors are welcome to join me Friday 15 July 2016, 6PM, at Frank & Lupe’s Old Mexico.

And yes, there’s a gelato shop within walking distance. Several, actually.

I’m very hopeful that, while this might not be my last trip to Scottsdale, it will be the last trip to Scottsdale in the summer.

“PAM Mastery” tech reviewers wanted

My long-dreaded PAM book now exists as a complete first draft.

I’m sorry.

I’ve somehow persuaded Dag-Erling Smørgrav, author of OpenPAM, to do a technical review. DES knows PAM, to his eternal regret, but I really could use more people to review the manuscript before it hits print.

If you know PAM, and would be interested in pointing out my errors before the rest of the world gets a chance, drop me an email with the subject PAM review. Tell me your familiarity with PAM, so I know the context...

My BSDCan “OpenPAM & BSD” talk

My BSDCan 2016 talk on OpenPAM and BSD is now on YouTube.

The video comes straight from screen capture, which means it’s missing details like the green dot of the laser pointer.

Also, the audio only covers my voice. You don’t get all the audience interaction. Sadly, I forgot to repeat audience questions at the end, but you can figure most of them out based on my responses.

Also, I need to stop saying “um.” I really need to stop saying “um.”

Why I refuse to join Kindle Unlimited

Lots of my self-pub writer friends urge me to sign on with Kindle Unlimited. They tell me I’ll make more money by making my books only available on Amazon.

They’re probably correct… in the short term.

But if you have only one customer, and only one sales channel, that sales channel can destroy yo without warning. And today, Amazon’s scam-fighting techniques are crushing authors guilty of only one thing: trusting Amazon as their sole customer.

Puzzled? It took me a while to figure out how this...

FreeBSD Mastery: Advanced ZFS (Version canadienne)

I’ve wondered for a while what to do about Allan Jude.

Allan is my co-author on FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS and FreeBSD Mastery: Advanced ZFS. I could have written those books on my own, but they wouldn’t have been nearly as good.

We have had one major disagreement, though: is it pronounced zee-F-S or zed-F-S? This has proven an intractable problem.

I’ve come up with a solution, though.

FreeBSD Mastery: Advanced ZedFS – Canadian Version.

Here’s the front text.

This book exists because Allan Jude is...

Getting Ahead of Blackmail

Here’s the interesting things about blackmail: it only works if the victim permits himself to be embarrassed. A victim who is willing to release everything renders himself invulnerable to such threats.

People have wondered how I make a living as a writer. It all depends on how you sell your product.

Sorry, David. You’ll have to buy your books like everyone else. Meet me in the alley if you’re still interested.