This is a sample format for a dated entry. Please substitute the actual date for “Month Day, Year”, and duplicate the level 4 heading to make additional entries.

As an aid, feel free to use the following questions to help you generate content for your entries:

• What action or concept of significance, as related to the course, did you experience on this date?
• Why was this significant?
• What concepts are you dealing with that may not make perfect sense?
• What challenges are you facing with respect to the course?

I have started a screen session, started on this blog, and read the mage book. Additionally, I joined the mailing list for this course.

The Harley Hahn's Guide to Unix and Linux is a rather long read. I may need to go back to the book the first few times I use each command. The UNIX for the Beginning Mage book was interesting, but will also be referenced later. The Learning the UNIX Operating System, 5th Edition book has not been read yet. The first project is done, although I am still working on the labs. I do not see the unix folder next to my data folder, or anywhere else, for that matter. I will talk to Matt tomorrow, or this afternoon, if he is still there.

Project uxi0 is done, and project arc0 is pretty much done as well. The labs are coming along nicely.

I used the ~ (tilde) character today. I found a directory that I could access remotely, changed it to my working directory, and looked around in there.

I am finished with project arc0. The commands used will have to be reviewed next time I have to use them, however.

This is for project pbx0. The file.txt file appears to be a simple ASCII file. The text inside seems to confirm the fact. It is just plain text, and says “This is a simple text file. It contains ASCII text.” After compressing with gzip using the default compression, file says “gzip compressed data, was “file.txt”, last modified: Mon Feb 1 16:47:32 2016, from Unix”. After decompressing, file says “gzip compressed data, was “file.txt”, last modified: Mon Feb 1 16:47:32 2016, max speed, from Unix”.

I am working on pbx0. I found riddle.html and copied it to my home directory. I then changed its name to riddle.gz and unzipped it. I found a file inside called making.waves, which was a uuencoded ASCII text. I decoded it and found a file called leaf_on_the_wind.wav, which was a zip file. Inside was a file called dinosaurs_with_hats.mp4, from which I extracted a file I called result. I decoded the file and the decoded message was put in a file called results. I then did what the instructions said.

I have started on pbx1. I am using unzip on pbx1.zip, and getting the text inside of README, a prompt for enigmatic.file, the text inside of octal2ascii.c, and a prompt for a password for part1. I do not know that password. When file is run on enigmatic.file, it says it is uuencoded. I tried running uudecode on enigmatic.file, and a file called stage2. Whats wrong, is that stage2 has no read, write, or execute privileges with anyone.

I finally realized that the octal code 000 in enigmatic.file was the problem with stage2. I changed it to 644, which gave user read and write permissions, and others read permissions on stage2. Stage2 is a hexadecimal file. I tried to write a program for extracting the message, but kept coming up empty. I finally used the command “xxd -r -p stage2 returned.txt” on the file stage2 from enigmatic.file, and sending the result to returned.txt. The message was clear, I followed it, but the password I put in first was wrong, since I left out the space at the end.

I have been on break since February 16, 2016, so there is not much to tell about the past week. Over break, my goats kidded. Three bucks and a doe.

I have started on the wpa0 project. I am thinking I will do a deciphering game. The homepage is done, and the map is started. The Revolutionary War part is done, as far as I am concerned, and the Civil War part is coming along.

I have only done a little with the WWI section of the game, since I was studying for some tests tomorrow.