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Error 51: Unable to communicate with VPN subsystem.

Published September 9, 2008 by doug

Occasionally I see the following error when starting the Cisco VPN client on my mac.

The error message reads:
Error 51: Unable to communicate with VPN subsystem.
Please make sure that you have at least one network interface that is currently active and has an IP address and start this application again.

To fix this problem, simply run the following command from the Terminal:
sudo /System/Library/StartupItems/CiscoVPN/CiscoVPN restart

Running a command with sudo, means you’ll need to be an administrator and it will prompt you for your password.

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MacOSX user Disappeared & Restored

Published August 19, 2008 by doug

The other day, I opened my MacBook Pro a few hours after closing the lid and putting it to sleep.  It wouldn’t wake from sleep.  I tried several things to get it to try and wake up, but had no success.  This has happened a couple times in the past, and I usually just hold down the power key to restart it.  So that is what I did.

When it started back up and loaded the login page, I noticed something strange, my user was missing.  I have 4 user’s registered on my computer and now only 3 of them were showing.  So I logged in as one of the other users who an admin.

Upon login, I could see that my user’s account still existed on disk:  /Users/doug  When I went to the System Preferences, I did not list my user.  I wasn’t sure what was wrong.

I began searching through the file system and found there is a file for each user in /var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/users/  Example:

/var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/users/doug.plist

I opened up doug.plist and found that it was a binary file.  I could read some of the text in there and saw some mention of “Kernel” and other thing that suggested a stacktrace or dump.  I opened up the plist for another user and found that it was standard XML.  

So I copied the doug.plist from my Time Machine backup and replaced it with the one on my laptop.  I rebooted and my account was restored.

I’m not exactly sure what happened, but the moral of the store is:

  1. Create a Time Machine Backup
  2. Have at least one other Admin user on your computer you can login to if all fails.
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Habanero Poppers

Published July 27, 2008 by doug

Habanero Poppers
Habanero Poppers

I’m a big fan of Jalapenos Poppers and Habanero Chili Peppers, so I figured I’d try to create some Habanero Poppers.   The result was a success.  Here’s my recipe.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Dozen Habanero’s
  • 12 ounces of cream cheese
  • 8 ounces of shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 quarts oil for frying (I used Olive)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Mix the cream cheese and the shredded cheddar cheese in a mixing bowl.
  2. Cut the tops off the Habanero, and remove the veins and seeds.  This will allow you to stuff the cheese in.
  3. Stuff the cheese into the Habanero’s.  I had the best luck when I rolled the cheese into a cylinder about the same size as the Habanero hole and stuffed it in.
  4. Pour the milk in one bowl and the bread crumbs in a separate bowl.
  5. Dip the Habanero’s in the milk and then roll them in flour to coat them.  Let them dry for 5 to 10 minutes.
  6. Next, dip the Habanero’s back in the milk and then roll them in the breadcrumbs.  Let them dry for 5 to 10 minutes.
  7. Repeat the process of dipping the peppers into milk and then breadcrumbs about 2 more times or when the Habanero’s are fully coated.  Don’t worry.  Dipping them back in the milk will not remove the previous coating of breadcrumbs.
  8. Heat a medium sized skilled with oil.  I used olive oil, but any cooking oil is OK.  (About 365 degrees F).
  9. Deep fry the Habanero’s for about 2 to 3 minutes.  They should be golden brown.  Remove and place on paper towel to dry and drain off excess oil.
  10. Enjoy!

TIPS

  • Wear rubber gloves.  The Habaneros are hot and can burn your eyes.
  • Use reduced fat cream cheese.  It’s hard to taste the difference.
  • Don’t skimp on the dipping.  It’s time consuming, but worth it.
  • If you’re a wimp, you can substitute the Habanero’s for Jalapenos.
  • If you’re a wimp, make sure you have a big glass of milk on hand when eating the peppers.
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WebStickies

Published July 11, 2008 by doug

I’ve been wanting to play around with the Google App Engine and Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI), so I created a simple app called WebStickies:

WebStickies is a place on the web to save your notes.  You can login using your Google Account and your stickies will be saved. 

I’ve got lots of feature in mind, but who know if I’ll have time to add them. Enjoy.

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