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Convert one file from ISO-8859-1 to UTF-8.
Nothing fancy it just converts one file from one character encoding into another one.

Advanced python tracing
Trace python statement execution and syscalls invoked during that simultaneously

File rotation without rename command
Rotates log files with "gz"-extension in a directory for 7 days and enumerates the number in file name. i.e.: logfile.1.gz > logfile.2.gz I needed this line due to the limitations on AIX Unix systems which do not ship with the rename command.

github push-ing behind draconian proxies!
If you are behind a restrictive proxy/firewall that blocks port 22 connections but allows SSL on 443 (like most do) then you can still push changes to your github repository. Your .ssh/config file should contain: Host * ForwardX11 no TCPKeepAlive yes ProtocolKeepAlives 30 ProxyCommand /usr/local/bin/proxytunnel -v -p -d %h:443 Host User git Hostname ssh.github.com ChallengeResponseAuthentication yes IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa IdentitiesOnly yes Basically proxytunnel "tunnels" your ssh connection through port 443. You could also use corkscrew or some other tunneling program that is available in your distro's repository. PS: I generally use "github.com" as the SSH-HOST so that urls of the kind git@github.com:USER/REPO.git work transparently :) You

Search some text from all files inside a directory

Smiley Face Bash Prompt
If your last command was a dud, your bash prompt will be angry at you. Otherwise it's happy. Soon you will crave its constant approval and your linux skills will improve simply to avoid low self-esteem.

Benchmark SQL Query
Benchmark a SQL query against MySQL Server. The example runs the query 10 times, and you get the average runtime in the output. To ensure that the query does not get cached, use `RESET QUERY CACHE;` on top in the query file.

permanently let grep colorize its output
This will create a permanent alias to colorize the search pattern in your grep output

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Create a mirror of a local folder, on a remote server
Create a exact mirror of the local folder "/root/files", on remote server 'remote_server' using SSH command (listening on port 22) (all files & folders on destination server/folder will be deleted)


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