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http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20091109 Monday November 09, 2009

Fuji Milestone 9 Complete

Our latest milestone for OpenESB v3 (Project Fuji) is Milestone 9 and is now available on the OpenESB Downloads page. OpenESB v3 is the next-generation SOA integration platform based on OSGi technology. Watch for some new screencasts that show off our latest features, on this wiki page.

Posted at 12:10AM Nov 09, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  | 

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20091108 Sunday November 08, 2009

Finally - the Aprilia RSV4 Factory

After 2 years of anticipation, the Aprilia RSV4 Factory has finally arrived in the US. The RSV4 is being heralded as the most advanced liter-class superbike on the market right now. I was #1 on the waiting list at Scuderia West, the San Francisco Aprilia dealership, as I had put a deposit on one back in 2007 when I first heard a rumor that they were going to build a V4. I had always wanted a V4 but there wasn't anything out there that really inspired me. However, I knew that whatever Aprilia came up with would be top-notch, and I was not disappointed.

The bikes arrived at Scuderia on Wednesday but Don Lemelin, the owner, asked me if I would wait until Saturday to pick up the bike, as that was the day of their annual fall open house party and he wanted to make a bit of a production of delivering the bike. I didn't mind at all. So, on Saturday November 7, my friend Joe Hittner, who also had one on order, picked me up and we headed over to SF. It was great, Don had set up our bikes in front of the shop under a 10' x 10' Aprilia canopy, with red crime scene tape around it, and "SOLD" tags with our names on them taped to the bikes. They had one more on display in the showroom that people could sit on, but ours were off limits to anyone but us. There was a nice crowd at the open house and of course lots of people were drooling over the bikes. We milled around for a couple of hours talking to various folks, got some photos taken, and I did all the paperwork with Don and wrote that big check. It was fun - a bunch of people came out to watch the first RSV4 sold at Scuderia ride off into the sunset.

Riding the bike was simply awe-inspiring. It is surprisingly comfortable, the engine and the gearbox are silky-smooth, handling is effortless, and the exhaust note is throaty even with the stock exhaust and unlike anything else I've ever heard. I didn't get to ride much other than the ride home from SF to Oakland, as I had to wait until Monday to get the insurance coverage set up. I'll give a more complete ride report after next weekend when I can take it for a real ride on some twisty roads.

Here's a picture of Joe and me in front of Scuderia with our bikes. Do we look happy or what?

Here are a few pictures I took of the bike after I got it home:

Now this is what I call attention to detail. Notice how there aren't any loose wires, everything is wrapped and clipped into place. Very nice!

Even the bolts that hold the bodywork on have "Aprilia Racing" etched into them!


Posted at 11:56PM Nov 08, 2009 by mwhite in Motorcycle Mania  |  Comments[0]

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090915 Tuesday September 15, 2009

Unbelievably Good Luck!

Wow, did I get lucky. My previous post was about destroying the rear fender on my BB1 on its first ride after finishing the repairs. I was certain that I'd have to pay someone major bucks to custom-make a replacement for me. Well, as it turned out, the guy who bought all of the Bimota parts stock from the previous Bimota US importer found a brand-new BB1 rear fender in his pile of parts! And it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

Here it is installed on my bike:


I'm quite pleased with how it came out. I took the bike for a nice 120-mile loop on Mines Road with my buddy Bill on Labor Day and it was a total kick to ride on the twisties! Bill was following me and he said it looked like I wasn't even trying even though we were riding a nice brisk pace. Of course, when we got to The Junction to have a snack, all the motorcyclists there gravitated over to check out this bike, as very few people in the US have ever even seen one in person. Everyone thought it was a very cool little bike, myself included! 

Posted at 06:39PM Sep 15, 2009 by mwhite in Motorcycle Mania  |  Comments[0]

Fuji Milestone 8 Complete

We've just completed work on the next milestone for OpenESB v3 (Project Fuji), the next-generation SOA integration platform based on OSGi technology. Fuji Milestone 8 is now available on the Downloads page. Watch for some new screencasts that show off our latest features, on this wiki page.

Posted at 06:10PM Sep 15, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  | 

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090802 Sunday August 02, 2009

Bimota BB1 Exhaust

I've had a number of inquiries about the custom exhaust that is on my Bimota BB1, so I decided to post some information about it. One of my Bimota mail list friends, Anders Hørtvedt in Norway, sent me a bunch of information about the history of my BB1 (he knew the original owner). The custom exhaust was actually fabricated from a section of a sailboat mast. Yes, you heard me right - a sailboat mast! It's amazing how you can find unusual things from which to fabricate custom parts. Here are a few pics of the exhaust. On the left side you can see the channel where the sail fittings slid up and down the mast.


Posted at 09:53AM Aug 02, 2009 by mwhite in Motorcycle Mania  |  Comments[0]

Unbelievably Bad Luck

Okay, this is unbelievable. I took the BB1 for a ride over to San Francisco yesterday, only about 15 miles each way. I was coming out of the toll plaza to get on the Bay Bridge (which connects Oakland and San Francisco) and I apparently ran over something metal that I never even saw. I heard this loud scraping sound and then some clunking. I was in the middle of about 12 lanes that merge down to 5 so I couldn't pull off the road, and once I was on the bridge, there was no shoulder and stopping would have been seriously dangerous. The clunking stopped, but the bike started handling kinda funny - weaving a little bit. I slowed way down, and once I got across the bridge, took the first exit and stopped to discover that whatever I hit took a chunk out of the rear tire, and ripped a huge section out of the entire length of the carbon fiber rear fender. The tire was completely flat but luckily the rim never touched the pavement. I couldn't leave the bike where I was, as it would have surely ended up stolen. So I rode a few miles on city streets in first gear to get to my local Bimota dealership. Luckily they had a tire in the size I needed and mounted it up for me (I had to wait a few hours).

Is this bike cursed? When I last rode it in September I got hit by a car. Then after the months of time it took to get it all back together, this happens on the next ride. I'm almost afraid to take it out again!

I'm going to try to find someone who can take the rear fender and make a copy of it. I've gotten a couple of referrals to check out.

Here are a couple of pics of the carnage:


Posted at 09:25AM Aug 02, 2009 by mwhite in Motorcycle Mania  |  Comments[2]

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090801 Saturday August 01, 2009

Bimota BB1 Finally Finished

At long last, I finished getting the BB1 back together with its new paint job. What an ordeal that was. I had all sorts of problems with the fuel tank. The first time I put it back on (which is an absolute bitch of a job), no fuel was making it into the carbs even though I could hear the pump running. After removing it I tried to remove the fuel pump to make sure all the hoses were connected properly and it turns out you can't get the fuel pump out of the tank, at least I couldn't even with the help of my friend Mark Ellsworth. But we were able to see that the hoses were all intact, and put it all back together. We tested the fuel pump by putting some gas in the tank and running the pump with a battery, with hoses feeding back into the tank. Everything was working fine. I put the tank under the bike and used some longer hoses to connect it all up with the tank just sitting on the floor. The bike started right up, but then I discovered fuel dripping from the carbs right onto the exhaust - not good. I suspected this could be due to a sticking carburetor float, and tried the old mechanic's trick of tapping on the float bowls with the plastic handle of a big screwdriver. Voila - the dripping stopped! So I reassembled everything and filled the tank all the way. Later I noticed a very strong gasoline smell in the garage, and looked down to see a huge puddle under the bike. Aaaaarrrrrggggg!!! Started all over again, removed the tank, emptied it into a gas jug, and removed all the fittings - there are 3 on the top of the tank, one for the wiring that goes to the fuel pump, one for the fuel level sensor, and one for the fuel line connections. Two of these are sealed with o-rings and one with a rubber gasket. I discovered a tiny tear in one of the o-rings so I replaced that. Just for good measure, I used some RTV on the two o-ring seals and reassembled everything. I waited overnight and then filled the tank to check for leaks, and there were none. So once more I reassembled the tank to the bike, and in the process added a quick-disconnect to the main fuel line where it goes into the carbs, so that this job will be easier in the future (hopefully never again).

Next was to re-fit the fairing and the seat/tail section. The fairing was a challenge, it's a really tight fit. The tail is an even bigger challenge to get it over the exhaust without scratching it up, and then getting it into position for bolting into place. After a lot of sweating and swearing I finally got the whole thing together. I fired it up and took it out for a quick ride just to make sure everything was in order. Anyone who knows these bikes knows that they vibrate like there's no tomorrow. So, of course one of the bolts holding the bodywork on vibrated loose and fell out, along with the fancy custom-machined aluminum bushing. I'll have to get another one made (I really wish I had a lathe of my own). I'm thinking Loctite should be used on every bolt on this entire bike!

The good news is that the bike runs great and looks better than it did when I bought it. Here are a few pics of the finished product:

Posted at 11:36AM Aug 01, 2009 by mwhite in Motorcycle Mania  |  Comments[10]

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090722 Wednesday July 22, 2009

Fuji Milestone 7 Complete

We've just completed work on the next milestone for OpenESB v3 (Project Fuji), the next-generation SOA integration platform based on OSGi technology. Fuji Milestone 7 is now available on the Downloads page. Watch for some new screencasts that show off our latest features, on this wiki page.

Posted at 09:34AM Jul 22, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  | 

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090720 Monday July 20, 2009

NetBeans 6.7 with GlassFish ESB v2.1

Back on June 15, 2009, we released GlassFish ESB v2.1 GA on NetBeans 6.5.1. Since that time, NetBeans 6.7 has been released, and we have received many requests to port the GlassFish ESB v2.1 design time to NetBeans 6.7. We have now ported GlassFish ESB v2.1 GA, along with other OpenESB components, to NetBeans 6.7. This port is based on a snapshot of the code as it was at the time of the GlassFish ESB v2.1 GA release.

Note that the NetBeans 6.7 port has undergone limited testing, and no commercial support for this port is available. Also, the nightly builds will continue to be based on NetBeans 6.5.1 for the foreseeable future.

If you're interested in experimenting with GlassFish ESB on NetBeans 6.7, the download is available here.

Posted at 01:47PM Jul 20, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  | 

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090616 Tuesday June 16, 2009

Bimota BB1 Paint Job

Well, finally I'm getting around to posting an update about the BB1. About 2 months ago I picked up the bodywork with its final decal application and clearcoat. A you can see from the pics, it looks great! Thanks to Andrew at BodyMold in Australia for providing the great decal replicas (and a spare set to boot). And thanks again to Frank at FZ Restoration for the excellent paint job.

Fuel tank Tail / Seat / Faux tank cover

Fairing

So now I just have to reassemble everything and it's ready to go. I installed the tank and tried to start the bike, but to no avail. It seemed that no fuel was getting into the carbs even though I could hear the fuel pump running. So, I had to remove the tank again, and I connected some clear vinyl tubing to all of the outlets on the pump assembly to test the fuel pump. I ran the tubing back into the tank filler neck and connected the fuel pump leads to a battery. The pump is working fine, I can see the fuel flowing through the tubing. So, I have some more troubleshooting ahead of me :-(

There are a few other minor issues to deal with. One is the front turn signals. For some reason, the ones that were on the bike don't flash correctly. I've tested with turn signals from another bike and they work fine, proving that it's not a wiring or flasher issue. So, I'll try to find some other signals that look decent and work correctly. Ideally, I'd like to return to mirrors with integrated turn signals, like the original. But the original mirrors are unavailable, so I will have to find something else that fits. With so many bikes now that have mirror-integrated turn signals, I should be able to find something that looks good, and I'll have Frank paint whatever I get to match the silver of the upper fairing.

I'm growing quite anxious to get this bike finished and back out on the street so I can enjoy it properly!

Posted at 07:41PM Jun 16, 2009 by mwhite in Motorcycle Mania  |  Comments[0]

GlassFish ESB v2.1 Released

After several months of work, GlassFish ESB v2.1 has been released! We offer a big thanks to all who contributed, including those who tested GlassFish ESB and provided feedback through the issue tracker or on the mailing lists. As with GlassFish ESB v2, commercial support for GlassFish ESB v2.1 is available from Sun Microsystems (Sun GlassFish Enterprise Service Bus). You can download GlassFish ESB v2.1 from the OpenESB downloads page or from sun.com.

One of the big new features in GlassFish ESB v2.1 is full official support for clustering for all GlassFish ESB components. The GlassFish ESB installer now also includes the IEP SE and Scheduler BC. Several enhancements were made to the BPEL SE, File BC, FTP BC, HTTP BC, JMS BC and LDAP BC (see the release notes for details ). GlassFish ESB v2.1 has been upgraded to work with and include the latest NetBeans 6.5.1 IDE and the latest GlassFish v2.1 application server. Also new in v2.1 is that the runtime is now supported on AIX 5.3. A great number of issues (427 runtime issues and 218 design time issues) are addressed in this release.

Here is list of some of the new features and functionality in GlassFish ESB v2.1:

  • Support for GlassFish clustering in all components

  • Intelligent Event Processor (IEP) Service Engine – Available in v2.1 with Platinum level support. Enables complex event processing (CEP) and event stream processing (ESP) using the Continuous Query Language (CQL)

  • Scheduler Binding Component – Provides scheduling capabilities for initiating JBI services and allows you to schedule triggers to launch other JBI components.

  • New Systems Support:
    • NetBeans IDE 6.5.1
    • GlassFish Enterprise Server 2.1
    • OpenSolaris 2008.11
    • Red Hat Linux AS 5 (32 and 64 bit)
    • IBM AIX 5L 5.3 (OS: 64 bit; JVM: 32 bit) (runtime support only)

  • BPEL Service Engine
    • Support for validate activities
    • The ability to add JavaScript code to a business process as an activity

  • File Binding Component
    • Configurable options for on-demand reads that allow you to remove a file resource after it has been read.
    • The ability to specify polling file names using Java regular expression-based file name patterns. This is supported through a new file:message attribute named fileNameIsRegex. Note that regex is not supported for output files.
    • The ability to specify a directory location for lock files rather than the location being relative to the fileDirectory property. This is supported through a new file:address attribute named persistenceBaseLoc.

  • FTP Binding Component
    • The ability to specify a directory location for lock files using a new ftp:address attribute named baseLocation.

  • HTTP Binding Component
    • Support for basic authentication using OpenSSO Enterprise 8.

  • LDAP Binding Component
    • Support for using connection pools.

  • JMS Binding Component
    • Support for multiple queues with WebSphere Message Queue.

Posted at 04:09PM Jun 16, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  |  Comments[0]

Fuji Milestone 6 and New Demo

Lots of new features are now available in OpenESB v3 (Project Fuji), our exciting new OSGi-based technology which is the next-generation SOA integration platform. We have wrapped up Milestone 6, which is available on the Downloads page.

Ed Wong has written a nice demo application that showcases some of the new things in Milestones 5 and 6. Watch this screencast to see it in action! We also have some short screencasts that show off the latest features on our Screencasts and Demos page. Check it out!

See my blog about Milestone 5 for some information about what was new in that milestone. Here are some of the new things in Milestone 6:

  • Felix Runtime upgraded to version 1.8.0

  • Enhanced Enterprise Integration Patterns
    • Content Based Router now allows dynamic routing rule configuration through the Fuji command line interface
    • Aggregate now supports the use of Java code
    • Split now supports XML namespaces

  • New / Enhanced Service Types
    • S3 - (new) supports deployment to the Amazon S3 cloud environment
    • Java - (new) supports POJOs as services
    • REST - (enhanced) now supports SSL connections

  • GlassFish v3 Support
    • Fuji server can run on the GlassFish v3 OSGi runtime
    • A Fuji distribution bundled with GlassFish v3 is now available from the downloads page
    • Deployment of Fuji applications is supported (no support yet for combined Java EE / Fuji applications)

  • Aspects (configurable interceptors) can now be injected dynamically using the Fuji command line interface

  • Fuji Command Line Interface (CLI)
    • CLI now available in Equinox as well as Felix
    • New commands for managing custom EIPs
    • New commands for managing dynamically created aspects

  • Web UI Enhancements
    • Java service type
    • AWS S3 service type, a prototype that we hope to make into a more generic way to interface with services running in a Cloud
    • Real-time message flow monitoring/debugging
    • Support for use of an external subversion repository for storing artifacts
    • Support for editing external configuration of EIPs, external artifacts for services
    • New "view IFL" icon in toolbar allows viewing the generated IFL
    • Last-edited message flow remembered on restart, pull-down menu for selecting other previously edited message flows

  • NetBeans IDE Enhancements
    • Support for starting Fuji server in debug mode, allows debugging Java code, including interceptors
    • Allow editing of service configuration files from IFL editor by prompting to generate artifacts if they haven't already been generated
    • Support for editing interceptor configuration from the Fuji server manager

Posted at 02:40PM Jun 16, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  |  Comments[0]

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090528 Thursday May 28, 2009

GlassFish ESB v2.1 Release Candidate Now Available

The release candidate build of GlassFish ESB v2.1, the next release of our GlassFish ESB offering, is now available for download from the OpenESB downloads page. Go to the heading "GlassFish ESB v2.1 Release Candidate 2" for the download link and instructions. This build is planned to be the final build that will become the GA release, planned for release in mid-June. 

Posted at 10:39AM May 28, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  | 

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090527 Wednesday May 27, 2009

JavaOne 2009

JavaOne 2009 is almost here! We have a ton of stuff going on and you can read all about the technical sessions, BOFs, Hands-On-Labs, and Pavilion pods on our wiki page. We'll be showcasing and demonstrating GlassFish ESB v2.1, OpenESB v3 (Project Fuji), Intelligent Event Processing, and Master Data Management, among others. Be sure to check out our unconference on Sunday from 1pm to 7pm, where you can talk to some of the OpenESB developers.

Posted at 01:14PM May 27, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  | 

http://blogs.sun.com/mwhite/date/20090421 Tuesday April 21, 2009

Fuji Milestone 5 Now Available

We continue to push forward on Project Fuji, our exciting new OSGi-based technology which will become the next-generation SOA integration platform, GlassFish ESB v3. We have just released Milestone 5, which you can download from the Downloads page. For detailed information and instructions for installing and using Milestone 5, see the Milestone 5 wiki page.

Because I never blogged about Milestone 4, I'll cover a little about that as well. Here are some of the new things in Milestones 5 and 4:

  • New Enterprise Integration Patterns
    • Routing Slip (Milestone 5)
    • Scatter Gather (Milestone 5)
    • Content Based Router (Milestone 4)
    • Wire Tap (Milestone 4)

  • New Service Types
    • REST (Milestone 5)
    • Email (Milestone 5)
    • Scheduler (Milestone 4)

  • Aspects (configurable interceptors)
    • Policy Aspect (Milestone 5)
    • Logging Aspect (Milestone 4)

  • New Eclipse tooling (Milestone 5)

  • Lots of enhancements to NetBeans and Web tooling

Some of the new features can be seen in this 2-part screencast created by Kirill.

Part 1: Building Fuji from scratch, simple "note taking" application example
Note that if you download the Milestone distribution you can skip the check-out and build steps.


Part 2: Expanding the application, EIPs, tour of the web composition

Posted at 05:19PM Apr 21, 2009 by mwhite in Open ESB  |  Comments[0]