An aside: tmux is like screen on speed, way more extensible and SO MUCH EASIER TO USE, I highly recommend you give it a try if you're a commandline warrior. There's some highly useful tutorials to help you get up to speed - google "tmux tutorial", Hawk Host's two-parter has some good stuff in it.

To accomplish this I'm taking advantage of the fact that DirectAdmin (which by default provides a base of Apache 2, MySQL and PHP 5) stores its httpd access logs in a common folder: /var/log/httpd/domains/<virtualhost>.log</a>. I'm combining the tail command with grep's egrep functionality (grep -e) and some pattern matching. It's not perfect: I have to occasionally Ctrl+C and restart the command as it stalls out, but it does everything I need.

Here's my command:

tail /var/log/httpd/domains/*.log -f -n 50 | grep -e "GET / HTTP/1\|GET /2011/\|GET /2010/\|GET /2009/\|GET /2012/\|.php HTTP/1\|.html HTTP/1\|.mp3 HTTP/1"

To break it down:

1. tail = invoke tail
2. /var/log/httpd/domains/*.log = read all files ending in *.log from the path /var/log/httpd/domains/ (a relative path, or none at all, could be used if you invoke the command in a closer folder)
3. -f = declares it to refresh the screen live as files are updated
4. -n 50 = read the last 50 lines from each file (I recommend you set a large scrollback buffer if you want to specify more!)
5. | = pipe symbol, used to append another command - in this case, to perform further processing on tail's raw output
6. grep = invoke grep
7. -e = behave like "egrep"
8. the long command (actually several, separated with escaped pipe characters) inside inverted commas = only display lines containing any one of these matching strings

Notes: When including multiple desired string matches with grep -e, you need to escape the pipe symbol as it behaves differently used inside regular expressions (which is what grep and egrep use). To do this, you put a backslash directly before the pipe symbol, \| -- if you don't, it'll be ignored, or that match string will be prepended to the one following it (derp).

This accomplishes exactly what I need on this box, I can see requests to site roots, requests to WordPress-based sites running with rewritten URLs (see the year-based URLs) plus any PHP, HTML or MP3 files. You can expand upon this to your heart's content but the default should work quite nicely. You *will* have to do further work on the string if you want to match sites with rewritten URLs if there's no indicator in the URL to show it's a page of content, but that's beyond the scope of this wee article. Hope you find it useful!

---
Related reading:

Dayid's screen and tmux cheat sheet (Chris: VERY USEFUL!)
http://www.dayid.org/os/notes/tm.html

Hawk Host's tmux article: Part 1 | Part 2 (Chris: VERY USEFUL!)

screen and tmux compared (with keys)
http://www.dayid.org/os/notes/tm.html

Hawk Host TMUX tutorial: Part 1 | Part 2
Mutelight: Practical tmux
http://mutelight.org/articles/practical-tmux

Googly-oogly...
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=connect+to+defunct+tmux+session

SU: Why do I have multiple tmux processes?
http://superuser.com/questions/259154/why-do-i-have-multiple-tmux-processes

Chris Cook's Lock Screen app works great - and still works with 10.5.8 on the MBP1,1 I use at work. Give it a try if you dislike leaving your Mac unlocked whilst you go do other srs bsns.

(I'm also aware that there's umpteen other ways to both lock a workstation and accomplish Fast User Switching without mousing to the option; look here (StackExchange), here (MacWorld) and here (MacWorld again) for starters.

Anyway, if you use phpns - or any CMS which uses TinyMCE for WYSIWYG text entry / editing - you'll find that if you embed code like YouTube links in code view, switch back to WYSIWYG view, then switch back to code view again... All your lovely embed codes are gone!

This was really annoying me, so I decided to have a hunt about for a quick 'n dirty solution. After lots of forum reading, a few things were clear:

• TinyMCE won't let you easily disable its code cleaning / HTML verification, which sucks
• Even the TinyMCE devs aren't quite sure how to efficiently stop this from happening
• Trying to fully disable its HTML verification / cleanup routines is nigh-on impossible, the codebase is a spider's web of PHP
• and by default, it hates all <object> and <embed> tags, even if you have the TinyMCE Flash plugin installed.

This can royally screw with your meticulously-entered YouTube embeds. However, on his blog, Akbar neatly demonstrates a simple but effective method to stop TinyMCE eating your embed code - and all you need to do is add the object and embed tags and possible variables... There's a full demo, with borrowable code, on his web site.

Even more frustratingly, attempting to rename/delete the domain's folder via FTP or SSH didn't work, and I couldn't re-add the domain to the account as DirectAdmin could (bizarrely) still see that it was already hosting it! Moving/deleting the domain's DNS zone file didn't work, and neither did a DirectAdmin restart. So, Catch 22... What to do?

I went digging into the server filesystem (using root) and had a look at some of the many catalogue files DirectAdmin uses to remind itself which domains it's hosting. I first checked for a .db file in /var/named/ (where the named DNS app stores its zone files for each domain) - the domain's file was still there. I then checked /etc/virtual/domains and /etc/virtual/domainowners (the first file holds a list of domains hosted on the system, and the second shows each domain's owner account), and for some reason while domains still had the problem domain listed, its ownership had disappeared from domainowners.

So, after readding it, saving the file out and restarting DirectAdmin via the control panel's Service Monitor (when logged in as admin), the domain immediately reappeared in the user's control panel and it's working perfectly once again. However, this would've been virtually impossible to fix had I not found some crucial info on the web, including John's post on Binary Web Host, where I first learnt of the existence of the domains and domainowners files.

Hopefully this helps other people avoid suffering this problem for long if they encounter it - I could find no useful info on the DirectAdmin knowledge base or forums, and it even had my server host stumped too (and they're no cowboys - they had never seen this problem before with DirectAdmin where it hadn't fixed itself after a restart).

How a boxfresh Ronin should look...

[December 2010 - it's snowy out there! Suede and nubuck HATES snow, and rock salt to boot (natch). So, protect your shoes BEFORE you destroy them! Get some suede or nubuck protector spray, I mention some later in the article, and give your shoes a good treating before you step out! My shoes are still great, and I last protected them almost a year ago. £5 and half an hour will make a big difference.]

I recently went out in some brand new trainers (a pair of Etnies Ronin skate shoes, which are black and white suede/synthetic material mixture with a white trim round the sole). Unsurprisingly, it rained on Saturday evening, and when I came back my shoes were DESTROYED.

Unfortunately, mine weren't quite caked, but were fairly smattered in nasty looking mud. But what to do? Well, after some careful research (and even more careful testing), here's some tips for cleaning these kinds of skate shoes.

Shoes like the Ronins aren't all suede - they have what Etnies describe as an "action leather upper" combined with synthetic, woven sections (for example, the material around the E motif on the side of the shoe is a different fabric). However, in my case, the whole lot was just smothered with nasty, gunky mud.

So, what to do?

Well, first thing's first - DON'T TRY TO CLEAN THE SHOES WHILST THEY'RE STILL WET! All you'll do is rub the dirt right into the fibres, ruining them pretty much forever (or until you get them professionally cleaned which could cost a lot). Resisting the temptation to grab the scrubbing brush, put them in a warm place overnight and let the mud dry completely.

Before you start to remove the mud, you'll need a couple of things:

• A suede brush (they come in all shapes and sizes; a photo of one here - I bought mine from Timpson's)
• A suede eraser/cleaning block (or a soft white pencil eraser like a Staedtler if you can't find a suede eraser - again, I got one from my local Timpson's)
• A small dish/bucket/container, into which you'll put a mix of warm tap water and a small amount of bleach or clear vinegar (not brown malt vinegar!)
  • Optionally, something like the soapbar-shaped Vanish stain remover bar (which I used)
• A small plastic-bristled scrubbing brush and/or J-cloth/dishcloth (I just used a J-cloth)
• Some paper tissues / absorbent towels or cloths
• Some spray-on suede/leather/nubuck protector (Kiwi and Punch make this stuff, along with loads of shoe shops' own brands - I ended up finding some in Asda)

Start by using the suede brush to rub off most of the heavy soiling - you'll be surprised, as long as you brush with the nap of the fibre, just how much comes off once the mud's dried. The suede is also more resilient than you'd think - of course, having coloured or very light suede/nubuck shoes will affect the end result slightly as you may have some more permanent discolouration, but my black shoes looked almost spotless after this first brushing.

I ended up starting off gently, then slowly increasing pressure and speed as I got most of the mud off. To continue, I used the suede eraser - it's quite hard and crumbles easily, taking the dirt with it, so I used that to crack off the more stubborn mud flakes and remove some of the smaller stains and marks.

I grabbed the Vanish stain remover bar (it looks like a bar of soap, but you can rub it onto problem stains), daubing it where necessary for the more heavily soiled areas - of which there were, fortunately, not many. Once that was done, I got some water/bleach mixture onto the J-cloth and used it to thoroughly wash the shoes' outer fabric - NOT completely soaking the shoes or utterly drenching the fabric as that's really bad for it. Being methodical is the key here, and then take the time to then go round the shoes with the paper towels and dab off the excess liquid. Repeat for the other shoe, then leave to dry overnight.

Once completely dry, give your shoes a good spray treatment with the protector - this will help to stop moisture ingress and keep your suede/nubuck/leather looking newer for longer! If you have coloured material be sure to test on a discreet area first, juuuuust in case it adversely affects the dye of the material). Some protectors state that the colour of your shoes may darken slightly after application - sometimes it's just unavoidable, but it's for the best in the long run. After the shoes have dried, use the suede brush to bring up the pile of the fibre again to restore some of its natural look. Finally, enjoy your newly-restored shoes again - without having to resort to professional shoe cleaning services!

However if you do need professional suede/nubuck cleaning, a professional shoemakers like James Taylor and Son in London look like a promising place to begin your search. (Watch their VideoJug feature on cleaning suede shoes - recommended viewing for all suede shoe owners regardless)

So, at all costs:

• avoid washing your shoes straight away, avoid putting your shoes in the washing machine (AWFUL for both the shoes and the washing machine)
• avoid using suede/nubuck cleaner as some people report that it actually spoils the fabric completely
• don't leave your shoes wet after cleaning them yourself and
• don't forget to BUY A MORE APPROPRIATE PAIR OF SHOES FOR MUDDY WEATHER!

I learnt that the hard way so you don't have to (fortunately my shoes are as good as new now). Given all this snowy weather we're having, the amount of mud/snow/grit you'll be getting on your shoes is certainly not good for brand new suede or nubuck, so it pays to protect your footwear before you head out the door

Fortunately, the MacRumors Guides site had a page with some protips to help eject stuck CDs/DVDs - including a nice drutil command which solved the problem nicely. Once again, the Mac Users community saves the day

As it turns out, it's as simple as three mouseclicks. In order to disable Safe Mode and open_basedir you need to log into the DA control panel as the admin (NOT the reseller user). From there, there's a menu option called "PHP SafeMode Configuration" in the Extra Features section - you can set the defaults for new sites, plus selectively enable/disable PHP Safe Mode and open_basedir restrictions for existing sites in a couple of mouseclicks.

This feature's been present since at least 1.33.7; I'm currently adminning a server running 1.34.4 and the menu option is definitely still there. Hopefully this saves some fellow webmasters some hassle messing around with custom php.ini or VirtualHost containers