I'm really getting to love virtual machines, except at work when the machines are blade servers running I-don't-know-what as a base OS connected to HP Blade Switches running who-the-F-programmed-this-train-wreck Layer 2 multipath chassis. Ugh. But that's another story for another time (and you can purchase IOS capable HP blade server switches and slide them right into the HP chassis. The new blade servers are configured in this way and they work splendidly. And they run IOS so you know how to do things like set up span ports without having to navigate some bizarre telenet command tree).
I digress. Yesterday at my favorite client on the Outer Banks I set up a new proxy server using wonderful free-as-in-speech Linux and it works spendidly. The company owner wanted to change the front desk Point of Sale computers into something more like a kiosk but he wanted the computers to remain able to visit "critcal" websites such as the Dare County government page so the employees could remain able find critical information about, say, evacuations of the island if a hurricane were knocking at the door.
This could have been accomplished using Content Adivor built into Internet Explorer (yes, the front desk machines run Winders.. sigh) but this approach would have required them maintain a list of "allowed" websites on each machine and adjust them as needed. In addition it would have done nothing to stop someone from installing another web browser (go Firefox!!) not to mention that Content Advisor is so easily bypassed it is just sad. But we're not talking about geeks running the front desk, mind you. These are retireees who do little more than contstantly do e-mail when they are supposed to be working and watching endless YouTube videos of their grandchildren.
So why not just set up a proxy server? I could block ports 80 and 443 outbound and allow only the proxy where I could build multiple levels of whitelists that would restrict users to specific websites. But there was a problem. The only machine that DID NOT run Windows was the office manager's Intel iMac. To complicate matters further that mac already ran a copy of Squidman that I use as a reverse SSH proxy to do remote support. Squidman is great but I'm not a fan of how the config files are maintained so I didn't want to go making that an unnesessarily complicated mess using Squidman to do all the proxying.
The solution was easy - install a new virtual machine using the already-existing VMware Fusion (which is currently running a XP virtual machine for reasons that I won't get into because it bothers me greatly). A quick download of the Debian netinstall ISO and a few clicks of the mouse and I had a fully functional, bare-bones Linux install. From there it was a simple 'apt-get install squid' (and ssh for remote login) and a vi of the /etc/squid/squid.conf and whitelist files and, poof, a fully functional proxy server was running.
Now it is time to find out if I squid supports the oddball color printer and assuming they do I'll have a print server running momentarily.
Linux as a server is just so darn easy to work with. True I could set up the print server on either a windows box or perhaps the Mac.. but why? Anything on Linux is so easily remotely supportable I can't see a reason not to set things up that way.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Life isn't all bad
Yeah, I have to work until at least 7 pm tonight but I'm here at my desk watching Koyaanisqatsi on the 2nd monitor via Hulu. It's not the worst way to pass the time.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Uzzah. A man who deserved better.
It's time to break out the NIV version and read up on my of my favorite cast of characters in the Old Testament: Uzzah. Or Uzzah the Unlucky, Uzzah the Torched by God, or any other names for a poor guy who instinctively tried to do what he brain told him was the right thing. It wasn't. God was unpleased.
The short story is Uzzah and his brother Ahio were told by God to move the Ark of the Covenant and they did, via ox cart. At some point along the trip the oxen stumbled and Uzzah, against divine instruction, reached out to steady the Ark so it would not fall of the cart. Bad move. God smoked him on the spot, instantly. This naturally freaked Ahio about a bit so the Ark never made it to David, its original destination (again, this is all from memory and quite dim) thus beginning a 3000+ year game of hide-and-seak that remains unsolved to this day. It could also be the Ark never existed in the first place and the story is a work of fiction. Whatever you believe is cool with me.
The short story is Uzzah and his brother Ahio were told by God to move the Ark of the Covenant and they did, via ox cart. At some point along the trip the oxen stumbled and Uzzah, against divine instruction, reached out to steady the Ark so it would not fall of the cart. Bad move. God smoked him on the spot, instantly. This naturally freaked Ahio about a bit so the Ark never made it to David, its original destination (again, this is all from memory and quite dim) thus beginning a 3000+ year game of hide-and-seak that remains unsolved to this day. It could also be the Ark never existed in the first place and the story is a work of fiction. Whatever you believe is cool with me.
Monday, December 22, 2008
In full swing
The first of three family-related events is in the history books for this holiday season. One down, two to go. Wish me luck!
Also I've started my week of primary on-call (global) that runs through the 28th. Ugh. Ick. Nasty. Let's hope and pray for a quiet week.
Also I've started my week of primary on-call (global) that runs through the 28th. Ugh. Ick. Nasty. Let's hope and pray for a quiet week.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
New Apples.
Looks like we're going to be blessed with new Mac minis and iMacs at this years Macworld. I'm excited! I've been needing to replace my G4 Mac mini file/print/media server for quite some time and I think not having the ability to upgrade the unit past 10.5.x is going to provide the jolt required to open my tight-fisted wallet that is IF we recieve a bonus this year and IF we have enough bonus money "left over" (the earmarks are long and varied this bonus year).
The new Mac minis are rumored to share the same graphics processor as the Macbook Pros which would be provide a huge boost to performance. Plus being an Intel mini I could easily run other operting systems in parallel using Parallels or VM Ware Fusion.
I really have to think about upgrading my white MacBook first, though. I'd like to replace my MacBook (which I would send to my parents) with a 15" MacBook Pro but I don't think I'd have the "extra" $2500.00 in the bonus pile. Shoot. What a drag.
The company where I work is moving towards a cool concept called "Open Networks" where the users LANs are going to be opened up wild-west style, perhaps (and I really don't think they'll do this for obvious reasons) with IPs directly routable to the Internet. The data centers themselves would be where the data security layer would reside, not the "edge" between the Inernet and B2B networks.
Why? Fairly simple. Most people have high-speed Internet these days as do all compaines we do business with. Instead of requiring a B2B or individual VPN connection to the network simply jump on at the core of the network via the shortest path at the carrier hotels around the globe. From there access the applications you need via VPN that latches itself to the global data center. It sound totally psychotic, I know, but there is a bit of beauty in the chaos that reveals itself when you constantly try to troubleshoot and fix connectivity problems between the company and the B2B partners. This kind of network would greatly simply connectivity.
All that said I'm not sure when such a dramtatic shift would take place. But when it does employees could also drink from the well of hysteria and provide our own hardware to use at work if we so choose. But there's one exception to the rule - the hardware would have to be capable of running the company build supported operating system. Hello VM Ware Fusion. I could crank up my VM Ware Winders build and I would be good to go.
Plus I could have, and do today, have multiple Ethernet connections at my desk. I have a standard LAN connection that everyone else has and I also have an outside line via a DSL router. We use that line for testing external VPNs, simulating B2B connections, that kind of thing. My primary Ethernet connection would use the DSL connection and I'd bound the VM Ware Winders session to the 2nd Ethernet connection to the company LAN.
But wait, you say, how the hell are you going to have to LAN ports on a Macbook Pro? Ah, good question. It has been proven the Macbook Air Ethernet adpapter works quite well with other Intel Macs. So I'd do it that way. I could, but won't, attach an Airport Express to the DLS line. I'm already dipping my toes well into the "DO NOT DO" pool having a machine directly attached to the outside world and the company LAN at the same time but attaching an access point, even when I know what I'm doing and why, would rase the hackles of security and they would have no qualms walking me out the door for that regardless of how secure the connection may be. It's just something you don't do around these parts. Or, rather, it's something you do only once. Damn pesky AirMagnet sensors.
So that's the plan, stan. And it's a great plan, I think. No more unnecessary dual laptops. Gone. Poof. A nice, bright 24" Apple LED display built just for the Macbook line sitting atop my desk. Me easily and seemlessly moving in and out of the company data networks, no more shutting down every application just to test an Internet-facing application or connection. No more lugging around dual laptops on school days. What's not to love?
Will my dream turn into reality? Quite frankly all signs point to "no". Being the first out of the gate with a company-build desktop as a virtual machine on my own laptop isn't going to be easy. But great projects that benefit me never are. That's what makes them fun.
It's time to kick some Wii Tennis butt. Later.
The new Mac minis are rumored to share the same graphics processor as the Macbook Pros which would be provide a huge boost to performance. Plus being an Intel mini I could easily run other operting systems in parallel using Parallels or VM Ware Fusion.
I really have to think about upgrading my white MacBook first, though. I'd like to replace my MacBook (which I would send to my parents) with a 15" MacBook Pro but I don't think I'd have the "extra" $2500.00 in the bonus pile. Shoot. What a drag.
The company where I work is moving towards a cool concept called "Open Networks" where the users LANs are going to be opened up wild-west style, perhaps (and I really don't think they'll do this for obvious reasons) with IPs directly routable to the Internet. The data centers themselves would be where the data security layer would reside, not the "edge" between the Inernet and B2B networks.
Why? Fairly simple. Most people have high-speed Internet these days as do all compaines we do business with. Instead of requiring a B2B or individual VPN connection to the network simply jump on at the core of the network via the shortest path at the carrier hotels around the globe. From there access the applications you need via VPN that latches itself to the global data center. It sound totally psychotic, I know, but there is a bit of beauty in the chaos that reveals itself when you constantly try to troubleshoot and fix connectivity problems between the company and the B2B partners. This kind of network would greatly simply connectivity.
All that said I'm not sure when such a dramtatic shift would take place. But when it does employees could also drink from the well of hysteria and provide our own hardware to use at work if we so choose. But there's one exception to the rule - the hardware would have to be capable of running the company build supported operating system. Hello VM Ware Fusion. I could crank up my VM Ware Winders build and I would be good to go.
Plus I could have, and do today, have multiple Ethernet connections at my desk. I have a standard LAN connection that everyone else has and I also have an outside line via a DSL router. We use that line for testing external VPNs, simulating B2B connections, that kind of thing. My primary Ethernet connection would use the DSL connection and I'd bound the VM Ware Winders session to the 2nd Ethernet connection to the company LAN.
But wait, you say, how the hell are you going to have to LAN ports on a Macbook Pro? Ah, good question. It has been proven the Macbook Air Ethernet adpapter works quite well with other Intel Macs. So I'd do it that way. I could, but won't, attach an Airport Express to the DLS line. I'm already dipping my toes well into the "DO NOT DO" pool having a machine directly attached to the outside world and the company LAN at the same time but attaching an access point, even when I know what I'm doing and why, would rase the hackles of security and they would have no qualms walking me out the door for that regardless of how secure the connection may be. It's just something you don't do around these parts. Or, rather, it's something you do only once. Damn pesky AirMagnet sensors.
So that's the plan, stan. And it's a great plan, I think. No more unnecessary dual laptops. Gone. Poof. A nice, bright 24" Apple LED display built just for the Macbook line sitting atop my desk. Me easily and seemlessly moving in and out of the company data networks, no more shutting down every application just to test an Internet-facing application or connection. No more lugging around dual laptops on school days. What's not to love?
Will my dream turn into reality? Quite frankly all signs point to "no". Being the first out of the gate with a company-build desktop as a virtual machine on my own laptop isn't going to be easy. But great projects that benefit me never are. That's what makes them fun.
It's time to kick some Wii Tennis butt. Later.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Rumors
If rumors coming out of the UK are true then the Batman franchise is dead. The rumor is Eddie Murphy will play The Riddler and Shia Lebeouf is to play ROBIN. Robin. They are dumbing down the franchise with f$#!@#$ ROBIN.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Today
Today I didn't work out this morning as planned so I decided to remedy that situtation by having a breakfast of a Coke and a chocolate chip cookie. Looks like I'll be putting in an extra 20 minutes on the bike at lunch.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
2008. Meh. Adios. And don't write.
2008 should have been, by all accounts, a really good year. I was informed last week my employment status is retained into 2009. In today's market a job in IT is really little more than a renewable 12 month contract at the company's discretion and I'm ok with that, given the alternative.
So if I've got a job and I'm doing something I've really wanted to do for a long time (go back to school) why am I in the dumps? Quite frankly I can't wait for 2008 to be over, done with and behind me. I've gone through a year or two I'd rather not have before but usually that year contained a rather major setback of some kind.
This year is different. And I want it G-O-N-E. Maybe it is my being primary on-call next week (22 Dec - 28 Dec).
So if I've got a job and I'm doing something I've really wanted to do for a long time (go back to school) why am I in the dumps? Quite frankly I can't wait for 2008 to be over, done with and behind me. I've gone through a year or two I'd rather not have before but usually that year contained a rather major setback of some kind.
This year is different. And I want it G-O-N-E. Maybe it is my being primary on-call next week (22 Dec - 28 Dec).
Monday, December 15, 2008
Back to school! Again!
In what seems like an effort to attend school in each decade in which I live I will (once again) be heading back to college. This time the school is very likely to be University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I had already attended college in my early 30's and now, with any luck, I'll be back in school for the end of my 30's and beginning of my 40's.
Wish me luck.
Wish me luck.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Despite the issues I'm in Camp Apple
Apple computers do have issues. For instance I have been using both an IBM Thinkpad T-42 (for work, company assigned) and a Apple Macbook (purchase for personal use at home) for roughly the same amount of time. The Thinkpad has worked FLAWLESSLY and still has 90% of the battery life it did when it was delivered new over three years ago. My Macbook does not. I believe the battery life (useful "use" time between charge) to be 50-55% of the original use time and I had to send the laptop back to Apple once after the internal hard drive died - and I lost all my data in the process!
Well, not exactly. After my wife's old Macbook died (she has since upgraded to a Macbook Pro) we purchaed an Apple Time Capsule (1 gb) and I was able to restore my laptop from stored backup after it was delived back to me with a new hard drive and fresh OS install.
What kind of failures has my Thinkpad expirenced in the same time frame? None. Zero. Zip. Engineering wise the Thinkpad seems surperior and I really like the LED ligth built into the laptop lid that illuminates the keyboard at night (alt-F11, I think, check it out of you have T42). Why am I still in Camp Apple?
I love OS X. I really do. I've been using UNIX ever since Sun OS 4.1.3, perhaps before that, I just don't remember the name of the OS itself, and I've loved and lived it from Day 1. OS X gives me the look and feel of a great, no, fantastic, excellent, nearly perfect OS built on top of some seriously powerful base software. In fact, quite a few times actually, I'll see someone who may fit the "stereotype" of a Mac user, a "GUI Man/Woman", who never taps into the power underneath the OS and I think to myself "you have no idea what you've got under your fingertips.. no idea at all.." and it's kind of a beautiful thought. No, they don't know. No, they don't have to know and they probably don't care.
And when Apple (finally) sees a glaring omission they'll do something about it.. after a while. Enter Time Machine. Time Machine rocks. If you aren't using Time Machine please tell me, how often are you backing up your home computers and are those backups automated? If I still did Government work I could leave to Korea again or somewhere new for months on end and NOT worry about what happens if someone drops their laptop in the hot tub. That's liberating!
So while the internal hardware may not stack up to the competitors I'll take Apple each and every day as the "Household CTO".
As for work I was recently informed that I would be "upgraded" to Dell something-or-another. After talking with Desktop Support I asked if I could keep my IBM rather than "upgrade". They said I could, but I would have to be upgraded if my hardware ever failed as there are no more T-42 "blanks" in inventory. From then on I've been giving the T-42 the white glove treatment. I want to keep that baby up and running for at least five more years.
Well, not exactly. After my wife's old Macbook died (she has since upgraded to a Macbook Pro) we purchaed an Apple Time Capsule (1 gb) and I was able to restore my laptop from stored backup after it was delived back to me with a new hard drive and fresh OS install.
What kind of failures has my Thinkpad expirenced in the same time frame? None. Zero. Zip. Engineering wise the Thinkpad seems surperior and I really like the LED ligth built into the laptop lid that illuminates the keyboard at night (alt-F11, I think, check it out of you have T42). Why am I still in Camp Apple?
I love OS X. I really do. I've been using UNIX ever since Sun OS 4.1.3, perhaps before that, I just don't remember the name of the OS itself, and I've loved and lived it from Day 1. OS X gives me the look and feel of a great, no, fantastic, excellent, nearly perfect OS built on top of some seriously powerful base software. In fact, quite a few times actually, I'll see someone who may fit the "stereotype" of a Mac user, a "GUI Man/Woman", who never taps into the power underneath the OS and I think to myself "you have no idea what you've got under your fingertips.. no idea at all.." and it's kind of a beautiful thought. No, they don't know. No, they don't have to know and they probably don't care.
And when Apple (finally) sees a glaring omission they'll do something about it.. after a while. Enter Time Machine. Time Machine rocks. If you aren't using Time Machine please tell me, how often are you backing up your home computers and are those backups automated? If I still did Government work I could leave to Korea again or somewhere new for months on end and NOT worry about what happens if someone drops their laptop in the hot tub. That's liberating!
So while the internal hardware may not stack up to the competitors I'll take Apple each and every day as the "Household CTO".
As for work I was recently informed that I would be "upgraded" to Dell something-or-another. After talking with Desktop Support I asked if I could keep my IBM rather than "upgrade". They said I could, but I would have to be upgraded if my hardware ever failed as there are no more T-42 "blanks" in inventory. From then on I've been giving the T-42 the white glove treatment. I want to keep that baby up and running for at least five more years.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Today
Shopping for Christmas. I already left and picked up the mower and brought it home (broken blade belt). I must go and fight the crowds. Luckily I don't have to go very far. Or maybe I do. I'm not exactly sure yet.
Monday, December 8, 2008
My oddball left hand
I am left-handed. According to popular statistical belief only 7-10% of people are left-handed and being left-handed is more prevalent in males than females (and even more prevalent in people with neurological disorders. Nice.)
What surprises me the most is why there are *ANY* left-handed people left in the world today. Think about it. As best that can be determined left-handedness is not more or less prevalent now than any time in the past. If only 10% of humans show a particular trait usually that trait will disappear over time, if you believe in natural selection. So I wonder why we're still here. What function do we lefties serve that requires our continuance in the world?
My particular case is stranger yet. My right eye (shooting, archery) is dominant so I shoot or use a bow-and-arrow with my right hand. I'm left-handed (writing, throwing, batting) but one could argue that I stuck so completely at hitting a baseball perhaps I am really a switch-hitter with no advantage shown in either stance. I'm joking in case you couldn't tell, but I do suck at baseball. All I can say to that is batting left-handed "feels" natural while batting right handed does not.
When it comes to footwork (soccer, punting a football) I'm right footed. Guess I'm just a freak of sorts.
What got me thinking about this was the fact that I use a mouse right-handed only. I can only wonder if I trained myself this way having had to deal with mice that were designed to work with right-handed people (the early mice, not the ones we have today). Grabbing a mouse and using one with my left hand just feels.. wrong. In fact I can't do much of anything correctly with a mouse in my left hand yet I can use a mouse to draw free-hand with my right. The mouse is also a first-generation invention. My father learned to use the mouse at exactly the same time I did thus providing neither an advantage of habit formed over time. Ironically we both use a mouse right-handed.
Replace a mouse with a digital pen and I'm back to left-handed again.
Still, I wonder. Why am I left-handed? My father is a lefty. Did I inherit that from him or did I learn to be left-handed by imitating how I saw him operate? If almost 90% of the people of the world are right-handed why isn't everybody?
What surprises me the most is why there are *ANY* left-handed people left in the world today. Think about it. As best that can be determined left-handedness is not more or less prevalent now than any time in the past. If only 10% of humans show a particular trait usually that trait will disappear over time, if you believe in natural selection. So I wonder why we're still here. What function do we lefties serve that requires our continuance in the world?
My particular case is stranger yet. My right eye (shooting, archery) is dominant so I shoot or use a bow-and-arrow with my right hand. I'm left-handed (writing, throwing, batting) but one could argue that I stuck so completely at hitting a baseball perhaps I am really a switch-hitter with no advantage shown in either stance. I'm joking in case you couldn't tell, but I do suck at baseball. All I can say to that is batting left-handed "feels" natural while batting right handed does not.
When it comes to footwork (soccer, punting a football) I'm right footed. Guess I'm just a freak of sorts.
What got me thinking about this was the fact that I use a mouse right-handed only. I can only wonder if I trained myself this way having had to deal with mice that were designed to work with right-handed people (the early mice, not the ones we have today). Grabbing a mouse and using one with my left hand just feels.. wrong. In fact I can't do much of anything correctly with a mouse in my left hand yet I can use a mouse to draw free-hand with my right. The mouse is also a first-generation invention. My father learned to use the mouse at exactly the same time I did thus providing neither an advantage of habit formed over time. Ironically we both use a mouse right-handed.
Replace a mouse with a digital pen and I'm back to left-handed again.
Still, I wonder. Why am I left-handed? My father is a lefty. Did I inherit that from him or did I learn to be left-handed by imitating how I saw him operate? If almost 90% of the people of the world are right-handed why isn't everybody?
Saturday, December 6, 2008
If anything..
If anything the very real possibility of being laid off before Christmas, combined with the worse economy I've ever witnessed, is keeping us from overspending on the holidays.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The office computer I really want
I have two laptops - one for work and one for personal use. I'd greatly prefer to have just one - an Apple Macbook Pro 15". My office standard OS is Windows XP. I could load XP in a VMware slice on the Macbook and run my office "computer " in a self-contained jail of sorts and do my personal computing via the Mac.
Of course there are tons of red flags here. I would expect the security people would freak out at such a thing and just say no, or worse say "ok, but you have to load XP via Boot Camp" so I could never run the two operating systems simultaneously.
Another roadblock is the corporate lan forbids outside computers, etc, from plugging in. People, consultants and such, do this kind of thing all the time and we're in the process of setting up a guest wireless system so that rule is laregly ignored. Be that as it may I am one of the very few people who have a dedicated direct Internet connection at their desk totally outside of corporate LAN. A few of us that work in the perimeter space have access to a group DSL line for texting external applicatoins and connectivity so, in theory, I could plug my Macbook Pro (that I don't yet own) into the DSL line and launch XP on a second monitor then connect to the office LAN via the VPN.
Yeah, that isn't going to happen. Plus, dare I say, should it ever be necessary for security to confenscate the office computer it would be rather difficult to do so as the office software would reside on my personal computer, and one does not want to give up their Macbook Pro so the desktop folks can "scrub" the office data off for a few days after they walk you out the door.
So, to wrap this up, it's just not going to happen I don't think. Sad. It would be such a sweet setup.
Of course there are tons of red flags here. I would expect the security people would freak out at such a thing and just say no, or worse say "ok, but you have to load XP via Boot Camp" so I could never run the two operating systems simultaneously.
Another roadblock is the corporate lan forbids outside computers, etc, from plugging in. People, consultants and such, do this kind of thing all the time and we're in the process of setting up a guest wireless system so that rule is laregly ignored. Be that as it may I am one of the very few people who have a dedicated direct Internet connection at their desk totally outside of corporate LAN. A few of us that work in the perimeter space have access to a group DSL line for texting external applicatoins and connectivity so, in theory, I could plug my Macbook Pro (that I don't yet own) into the DSL line and launch XP on a second monitor then connect to the office LAN via the VPN.
Yeah, that isn't going to happen. Plus, dare I say, should it ever be necessary for security to confenscate the office computer it would be rather difficult to do so as the office software would reside on my personal computer, and one does not want to give up their Macbook Pro so the desktop folks can "scrub" the office data off for a few days after they walk you out the door.
So, to wrap this up, it's just not going to happen I don't think. Sad. It would be such a sweet setup.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
For years I've been stalked.
I have a stalker. My stalker is the reason I no longer set foot in the ocean despite spending my weekends close enough to see the Atlantic Ocean from my favorite chair. I'll walk on the beach, even walk into the surf, but I will not swim. Why? My stalker is a huge ship and he's just waiting for me to feel safe enough to venture out into the water. Once I'm in he'll get me.
But now I've finally found the self-help book I've searched for my entire life.
Thanks to John Trimmer I can know avoid Huge Ships!! Today is the start of a new life for me.
But now I've finally found the self-help book I've searched for my entire life.
Thanks to John Trimmer I can know avoid Huge Ships!! Today is the start of a new life for me.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Goodbye, Plaxico!
I don't want to say "it had to happen" but it appears "Plaxico made it happen".. to himself! Plaxico Burress, another NFL millionaire wanna-be hip-hop thug managed to cost himself millions of dollars and end his season early not by shooting himself in the foot but rather the leg. For real.
For those not following the developing case Plaxico illegally carried a firearm into New York City (concealed and unregistered though me cliams he legally owns the gun in Florida) then managed to shoot himself in the leg. When something like this happens the Night Club is supposed to immedialty report the shooting. They didn't. They let Plexico leave the facility and return home. Much later, after Plaxico decided to go home for the night, he went to the hospital for treament (good idea after being shot) and the hospital declidend to report the shooting to the police. Let's just say more than a few heads are going to roll over this one.
Now Plaxico is facing 3.5 to 15 years after being indicted and laughing his way through the initial court proceedings. Hum... this somehow reminds me of that other guy.. what's his name? Oh Michael Vick. Perhaps Plaxico should ask Vick how funny his current predicment is. I'd bet it's not that funny at all.
I hope the good state of New York starts to treat this man-child no differently than any other person who would have been arrested for the same crime. For the record New York City has a habit of taking concealed weapons charges very seriously. So far Plaxico has been provided the Royal Treament by NYC Justice not having to spend time in the general "tank" with the rest of the day's indicted (he was provided a private cell) and his case was rushed up the docket so he would be allowed to spend as little time as possible in the court system. In additon Plaxico's mother was allowed to sit behind her son displacing family members of other defendants who got in early and nabbed the choice seats so she (Plaxico's mother) could be close to her son.
It's time for the NFL to end this culture of "Above The Law Gangsta Playa" that has existed in the league for so long. The NFL need not provide Plaxico any legal assistance, he is a millionaire afterall, and needs to deal with his case in the harshest of terms. In addtion contracts need to be rewritten with an "NFL Idiot Clause" that would release teams from monetary obligations to a player who knowingly engages in obvious felonious activities - once the player has been found guilty. That said bonuses and pay should be retroactively stripped from the date of infraction following conviction.
Those are my thoughts.
For those not following the developing case Plaxico illegally carried a firearm into New York City (concealed and unregistered though me cliams he legally owns the gun in Florida) then managed to shoot himself in the leg. When something like this happens the Night Club is supposed to immedialty report the shooting. They didn't. They let Plexico leave the facility and return home. Much later, after Plaxico decided to go home for the night, he went to the hospital for treament (good idea after being shot) and the hospital declidend to report the shooting to the police. Let's just say more than a few heads are going to roll over this one.
Now Plaxico is facing 3.5 to 15 years after being indicted and laughing his way through the initial court proceedings. Hum... this somehow reminds me of that other guy.. what's his name? Oh Michael Vick. Perhaps Plaxico should ask Vick how funny his current predicment is. I'd bet it's not that funny at all.
I hope the good state of New York starts to treat this man-child no differently than any other person who would have been arrested for the same crime. For the record New York City has a habit of taking concealed weapons charges very seriously. So far Plaxico has been provided the Royal Treament by NYC Justice not having to spend time in the general "tank" with the rest of the day's indicted (he was provided a private cell) and his case was rushed up the docket so he would be allowed to spend as little time as possible in the court system. In additon Plaxico's mother was allowed to sit behind her son displacing family members of other defendants who got in early and nabbed the choice seats so she (Plaxico's mother) could be close to her son.
It's time for the NFL to end this culture of "Above The Law Gangsta Playa" that has existed in the league for so long. The NFL need not provide Plaxico any legal assistance, he is a millionaire afterall, and needs to deal with his case in the harshest of terms. In addtion contracts need to be rewritten with an "NFL Idiot Clause" that would release teams from monetary obligations to a player who knowingly engages in obvious felonious activities - once the player has been found guilty. That said bonuses and pay should be retroactively stripped from the date of infraction following conviction.
Those are my thoughts.
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Haunted Railroad Tracks of San Antonio
It's the day after Thanksgiving and I'm sitting in my living room at the beach looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. If my iSight camera worked I'd take a picture of my view so you could enjoy it with me. But it isn't. So I can't.
Kelly is coming down with some kind of sickness. I think I'm getting it too. We had planned on doing quite a bit today but now it looks like not much is going to happen so I figured, heck, why not investigate another ghost picture.
And here is that picture:
This picture was taken in San Antonio, Texas at the locally famous intersection of Shane and Villimain Streets. What makes this intersection so well-known to locals? The legend goes a school bus managed to get itself high-centered on the railroad tracks after school. As the bus driver tried to free the bus a train horn from a high-speed fright train sounded in the distance. Pandemonium ensued. Some children fled the bus through the back door while other were trampled in their seats while even more simply sat stunned not knowing what to do. The bus driver, rather than save himself valiantly tried to free the bus to no avail. The fright train, having now seen the bus, locked up its brakes and blared the horn but it was all for naught. The train slammed into the bus slicing it in two pieces as easily as a hot knife through butter. Many children died instantly while others, who were still in the bus and had survived the initial impact, died in the ensuing fire.
Years later a neighborhood was developed close to the crash sight and the names of the streets were taken from victims of the crash. Later the residents of this neighborhood noticed something supernatural about the railroad intersection. It seemed if you parked your car facing Villimain St on Shane Street just in front of railroad intersection, turned off your engine, and then placed your car in neutral your car, as if by magic, would start to roll - UPHILL and over the railroad tracks until you were safely across the tracks. Now, get this, if you dusted your trunk with flour before you put your car in neutral you could see the hand prints of the little ghost children who pushed you over the tracks to safety.
Pretty freaky, huh? Turns out, it's all B.S. There was never an accident at the railroad tracks involving a bus and a train. In fact a train had never hit anything, bus or otherwise, at this particular intersection. How do I know this? I checked with the city. Why? Here's where things get weird.
I used to travel extensively for work, mostly in the United States. Gravity hills became something I would investigate when I traveled to a new city simply because I wanted something to do that would get me out of a hotel and doing something (when you travel a lot the act simply doing anything can be exciting). A friend suggested that I document all my gravity hill investigations and to write a travel book about them (which I never did). But I did keep a very detailed database and the whole "school bus load of dead children pushing your car" was simply too incredible to pass up. So when work to me to Fort Sam Houston I seized the chance and tested the hill.
Why are the street names in the near-by development named after children? The co-developers named the streets after family members and their own children. Nothing supernatural or paranormal about that.
What about the gravity hill, is it legit? No, and they never are. I tested the hill and the visual effect is pretty good - it does indeed look like you're rolling uphill but it's far from the most dramatic hill I've never tested. The hand prints? Lots of gravity hills claim to leave behind hand prints and very few really do and when they do it is the flour not sticking to the truck due to residual oils left by regular old humans who have closed the trunk, not ghosts. Hand prints almost never appear on rented cars. Why? Rental cars are washed before a new renter gets in them and the trunk is usually residual oil free. Gravity hills aren't even rare, in fact there are hundreds of documented hills. Heck, one road in western Pennsylvania has not one but two gravity hills on the same road with the added bonus of water appearing to flow uphill next to the same road.
See that dot way down there? That's my rented minivan at the bottom of the New Paris, PA hill. I'm standing where the "rollback" ends on this particular gravity hill. It sure looks like we're looking downhill towards the van, doesn't? It's just a trick of angles and the brain thinking it's seeing one thing when it's really not. By the way, the valley next to me is where the water flows "uphill" or, at least, it appears so. Oddly enough when you're at the bottom of this particular hill looking up the effect is not nearly as dramatic as looking "down" the hill from where I took the picture.
So, back to San Antonio. There was no bus crash, the street names are not of victims and the gravity hill is just a visual trick. Yet there exists a picture with a ghost at this intersection taken by a local ghost hunter out investigating the "haunted tracks" that was deemed so legit that one paranormal site named it one of the top best ghost pictures ever.
What, if anything, can we gather from the picture itself?
Reversing the color in Photoshop reveals not a whole lot. I don't like how "sharp" the lines are on this particular apparition. Normally with abstract ghosts captured in pictures you have a part of the image show great detail (usually the part of the claimed ghost that is interacting with an object in the real world - see the ghostly hand from last week). This picture, though, has very sharp lines on all sides but a totally indistinguishable shape. This could, for all we know, be a ghost monkey or more likely a hoax of some kind.
Removing the color (and later reversing the black and white) does not help us discern the shape of a physical being of any kind. Given the location where this picture was taken and the fact that it was taken by someone well aware of the legend of the tracks but not the real history I'm going to say this is either a straight-up hoax or simply a picture of something, mist perhaps, but not a ghost.
Kelly is coming down with some kind of sickness. I think I'm getting it too. We had planned on doing quite a bit today but now it looks like not much is going to happen so I figured, heck, why not investigate another ghost picture.
And here is that picture:
This picture was taken in San Antonio, Texas at the locally famous intersection of Shane and Villimain Streets. What makes this intersection so well-known to locals? The legend goes a school bus managed to get itself high-centered on the railroad tracks after school. As the bus driver tried to free the bus a train horn from a high-speed fright train sounded in the distance. Pandemonium ensued. Some children fled the bus through the back door while other were trampled in their seats while even more simply sat stunned not knowing what to do. The bus driver, rather than save himself valiantly tried to free the bus to no avail. The fright train, having now seen the bus, locked up its brakes and blared the horn but it was all for naught. The train slammed into the bus slicing it in two pieces as easily as a hot knife through butter. Many children died instantly while others, who were still in the bus and had survived the initial impact, died in the ensuing fire.
Years later a neighborhood was developed close to the crash sight and the names of the streets were taken from victims of the crash. Later the residents of this neighborhood noticed something supernatural about the railroad intersection. It seemed if you parked your car facing Villimain St on Shane Street just in front of railroad intersection, turned off your engine, and then placed your car in neutral your car, as if by magic, would start to roll - UPHILL and over the railroad tracks until you were safely across the tracks. Now, get this, if you dusted your trunk with flour before you put your car in neutral you could see the hand prints of the little ghost children who pushed you over the tracks to safety.
Pretty freaky, huh? Turns out, it's all B.S. There was never an accident at the railroad tracks involving a bus and a train. In fact a train had never hit anything, bus or otherwise, at this particular intersection. How do I know this? I checked with the city. Why? Here's where things get weird.
I used to travel extensively for work, mostly in the United States. Gravity hills became something I would investigate when I traveled to a new city simply because I wanted something to do that would get me out of a hotel and doing something (when you travel a lot the act simply doing anything can be exciting). A friend suggested that I document all my gravity hill investigations and to write a travel book about them (which I never did). But I did keep a very detailed database and the whole "school bus load of dead children pushing your car" was simply too incredible to pass up. So when work to me to Fort Sam Houston I seized the chance and tested the hill.
Why are the street names in the near-by development named after children? The co-developers named the streets after family members and their own children. Nothing supernatural or paranormal about that.
What about the gravity hill, is it legit? No, and they never are. I tested the hill and the visual effect is pretty good - it does indeed look like you're rolling uphill but it's far from the most dramatic hill I've never tested. The hand prints? Lots of gravity hills claim to leave behind hand prints and very few really do and when they do it is the flour not sticking to the truck due to residual oils left by regular old humans who have closed the trunk, not ghosts. Hand prints almost never appear on rented cars. Why? Rental cars are washed before a new renter gets in them and the trunk is usually residual oil free. Gravity hills aren't even rare, in fact there are hundreds of documented hills. Heck, one road in western Pennsylvania has not one but two gravity hills on the same road with the added bonus of water appearing to flow uphill next to the same road.
See that dot way down there? That's my rented minivan at the bottom of the New Paris, PA hill. I'm standing where the "rollback" ends on this particular gravity hill. It sure looks like we're looking downhill towards the van, doesn't? It's just a trick of angles and the brain thinking it's seeing one thing when it's really not. By the way, the valley next to me is where the water flows "uphill" or, at least, it appears so. Oddly enough when you're at the bottom of this particular hill looking up the effect is not nearly as dramatic as looking "down" the hill from where I took the picture.
So, back to San Antonio. There was no bus crash, the street names are not of victims and the gravity hill is just a visual trick. Yet there exists a picture with a ghost at this intersection taken by a local ghost hunter out investigating the "haunted tracks" that was deemed so legit that one paranormal site named it one of the top best ghost pictures ever.
What, if anything, can we gather from the picture itself?
Reversing the color in Photoshop reveals not a whole lot. I don't like how "sharp" the lines are on this particular apparition. Normally with abstract ghosts captured in pictures you have a part of the image show great detail (usually the part of the claimed ghost that is interacting with an object in the real world - see the ghostly hand from last week). This picture, though, has very sharp lines on all sides but a totally indistinguishable shape. This could, for all we know, be a ghost monkey or more likely a hoax of some kind.
Removing the color (and later reversing the black and white) does not help us discern the shape of a physical being of any kind. Given the location where this picture was taken and the fact that it was taken by someone well aware of the legend of the tracks but not the real history I'm going to say this is either a straight-up hoax or simply a picture of something, mist perhaps, but not a ghost.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Today I am thankful for..
FUNCTIONAL INTERNET AT THE BEACH!! Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen. My two year thorn in my side that was crappy Internet service via Charter Cable seems to have resolved itself as if magic! Last night we watched a movie via the Roku streaming Internet player with it worked without a hitch. Good quality picture, no pauses, no breaks for the streaming to catch up. Ah, it was wonderful.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
after 18 months
I have found the bug in my netbackup script used in the HP blade server enviornment. Finally, success.
Evidence:
xxxxxxxxxxxxx#copy run tftp
Address or name of remote host []? xxx.xxx..41.220
Destination filename [xxxxxxxxxxxxx-confg]?
TFTP: error code 0 received - Permission denied
%Error opening tftp://xxx.xxx..41.220/xxxxxxxxxxxxx-confg (Undefined error)
(AH!!! Bug found... code.. code.. code)
xxxxxxxxxxxxx#copy run tftp
Address or name of remote host []? xxx.xxx..41.220
Destination filename [xxxxxxxxxxxxx-confg]?
!!!!!!!!!
39683 bytes copied in 2.436 secs (16290 bytes/sec)
xxxxxxxxxxxxx#
Evidence:
xxxxxxxxxxxxx#copy run tftp
Address or name of remote host []? xxx.xxx..41.220
Destination filename [xxxxxxxxxxxxx-confg]?
TFTP: error code 0 received - Permission denied
%Error opening tftp://xxx.xxx..41.220/xxxxxxxxxxxxx-confg (Undefined error)
(AH!!! Bug found... code.. code.. code)
xxxxxxxxxxxxx#copy run tftp
Address or name of remote host []? xxx.xxx..41.220
Destination filename [xxxxxxxxxxxxx-confg]?
!!!!!!!!!
39683 bytes copied in 2.436 secs (16290 bytes/sec)
xxxxxxxxxxxxx#
Happy Thanksgiving To All
Yes, it's a day early. Quite a bit did not go as planned this year but I still have much to be thankful for.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
1st workout this morning in.. well, a while.
The good news is my Schwinn AirDyne exercise bike performed flawlessly, thank you Craigslist! The bad news is I am, once again, OUT OF SHAPE! The Airdyne works both the upper and lower body at the same time and for the serously out-of-shape it is a geniune eye opening workout. I'm embarrassed to say but 30 minutes was all I could muster.
But tomorrow I'll be back up working out again and I'll push a little further, and further again the folowing time and someday, probably not too far from now, I'll be chugging away for the full hour in the morning and perhaps an afternoon ride as well.
But tomorrow I'll be back up working out again and I'll push a little further, and further again the folowing time and someday, probably not too far from now, I'll be chugging away for the full hour in the morning and perhaps an afternoon ride as well.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Undead of England Part 1
Well go figure. I picked out two of the ten or so different pictures to mess around with and, provided these photos are NOT post-enhanced they are kind of interesting. First up is "blob on the stairway".
I love the "blob" pictures - mostly indistinguishable mists where people claim to see things that may or may not exist. This mist blog appears to contain a hand on a banister. See for yourself:
Remove a bit of the lighter colors and the hand becomes more visible:
The Sun, with the powerful reputation of truth and research they posses, claim the picture was taken by a boy with a digital camera. Normally I don't think much of pictures like this, especially ones from interlaced cameras, and there is no way to determine what type of camera took the pictures. Anyway, take away what you will and form your own opinions.
Next up is Ghost Boy!
This photo claims to have been taken using a film camera (the article makes mention of the "boy" being present on the film negatives). Film cameras are susceptible to light exposure, double exposures, and countless other maladies. In addition you had to pay to have the film processed into pictures AND you had to wait until a roll was fully used before you could see the pictures? I mean, really, can you imagine going back to film?
True, nothing looks like a 35mm slide or a real film picture from the hands of a professional. Wait, I'm getting off the tracks here. Back to the kid.
Here is Ghost Boy as he appeared in the article (cropped for your viewing pleasure):
Yeah, he looks freaky enough. Half transparent, half kind of not, extremely sharp lines and boundaries. Plenty weird. Even his right eyeball appears in great detail.
Here's the boy in black and white. Look at the line between his left ear and jaw. You can see the jawline on that side but not the other making it appear he is standing with the fence pole going through his head. Very odd.
With the colors reversed the detail really starts to come out:
Notice the right jawline is now visible, though only just. Also the rest of his body appears to be behind any other post.
Explanation? None here. I'm leaning towards double-exposure. But who would dress a child like that? Again form your own opinions.
I love the "blob" pictures - mostly indistinguishable mists where people claim to see things that may or may not exist. This mist blog appears to contain a hand on a banister. See for yourself:
Remove a bit of the lighter colors and the hand becomes more visible:
The Sun, with the powerful reputation of truth and research they posses, claim the picture was taken by a boy with a digital camera. Normally I don't think much of pictures like this, especially ones from interlaced cameras, and there is no way to determine what type of camera took the pictures. Anyway, take away what you will and form your own opinions.
Next up is Ghost Boy!
This photo claims to have been taken using a film camera (the article makes mention of the "boy" being present on the film negatives). Film cameras are susceptible to light exposure, double exposures, and countless other maladies. In addition you had to pay to have the film processed into pictures AND you had to wait until a roll was fully used before you could see the pictures? I mean, really, can you imagine going back to film?
True, nothing looks like a 35mm slide or a real film picture from the hands of a professional. Wait, I'm getting off the tracks here. Back to the kid.
Here is Ghost Boy as he appeared in the article (cropped for your viewing pleasure):
Yeah, he looks freaky enough. Half transparent, half kind of not, extremely sharp lines and boundaries. Plenty weird. Even his right eyeball appears in great detail.
Here's the boy in black and white. Look at the line between his left ear and jaw. You can see the jawline on that side but not the other making it appear he is standing with the fence pole going through his head. Very odd.
With the colors reversed the detail really starts to come out:
Notice the right jawline is now visible, though only just. Also the rest of his body appears to be behind any other post.
Explanation? None here. I'm leaning towards double-exposure. But who would dress a child like that? Again form your own opinions.
The Undead of England
Looks like a banner year for ghosts on film in the UK. If I have time tonight I'll see what my mad photoshop skills can reveal about these supposed photographs. Why? Heck, why not.
Friday, November 21, 2008
now with 10x the usefulness
I've finally found a use for this stuff:
And that use is stand for my iPod touch. Now I can set the iPod to any angle I want and, say, watch No Country for Old Men on my iPod while I work.
The only problem is the putty will eventually settle and so the iPod decreased its angle ever so slowly. A stand that is tall and thick seems to help slow the settling for what it's worth.
And that use is stand for my iPod touch. Now I can set the iPod to any angle I want and, say, watch No Country for Old Men on my iPod while I work.
The only problem is the putty will eventually settle and so the iPod decreased its angle ever so slowly. A stand that is tall and thick seems to help slow the settling for what it's worth.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
It's half past time
Half past time to think about the subject of my Six Sigma study! What will it be? I'm going to spend A LONG TIME working on my Six Sigma project so it had better be something that I'll enjoy.
On a totally unrelated note where is the /proc "filesystem" in OS X? It should be there! Once you learn the power of all that information at your fingertips under Linux you want it on every system.
On a totally unrelated note where is the /proc "filesystem" in OS X? It should be there! Once you learn the power of all that information at your fingertips under Linux you want it on every system.
I've never thought about this before..
I think the word "joystick" is unusually named.
("Intel ICH Joystick" shows up in /proc/bus/pci/devices on a test machine)
("Intel ICH Joystick" shows up in /proc/bus/pci/devices on a test machine)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A 25 year-long project continues for another week.
Darn it!!! I thought I finally had this one in the bag!!!
Some history: around 1985 I somehow managed to get my hands on a VHS tape titled Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii. This tape represented a pivotal musical turning point in my life. I had, of course, heard of Pink Floyd before 1985. Dark Side of the Moon had been released two years before and Money was still dominating the FM airwaves having finally displaced Hey Jude (talk about a song that hung around forever).
But I digress. The songs on Live at Pompeii were played, well, live and they were amazing. It was hard for me to believe that a band could make so many noises with so few instruments. It was unreal. At the time I was a guitar student and never before could I have imagined what a talented and motivated person could do with a Fender Startocaster (honestly, I thought Jimi Hendrix showed all that was possible - not so!) As far as my own development as a guitar player I was shown was real talent looked like in real time and I was old enough even at that age to realize I didn't have what it took. But that's another story for another time.
After hearing these Floyd songs, Echos, Saucerful Of Secrets, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, One Of These Days I'm Going To Cut You Into Little Pieces, Careful With That Axe Eugene and others, I embarked on a discovery of all things OLD Pink Floyd. I purchased Ummagumma, the album on which Saucerful of Secrets, Set The Controls and Careful With That Axe all resided. I was disappointed. So was I with Meddle. Both albums were great albums but the Pompeii versions were simply much, much better than the ones on the album.
But herein was the problem - Pompeii was released only as a movie, not a soundtrack. So I did what any teenager would do at that time in history - I placed an audio tape machine in front of the television and hit 'record' while the VHS tape played through the crappy 3 inch speaker in the TV. You can imagine the poor quality of the resulting audio tape. But that was all I could do - this was high technology of the day. The audio tape broke a couple of years later and I forgot about Pompeii, more or less, for over 20 years.
The while perusing Netflix I saw Live at Pompeii on DVD! It was remastered as a "Director's Cut" but, hey, it was there and waiting so I got it. It was everything I remembered in remastered DVD glory. No muted tones from a worn VHS tape, no washed-out colors - just brilliant sound and color. I was hooked. So I purchased a copy and ripped it to my Apple TV for rainy days at the beach. It makes for great background music.
Then I thought, heck, since I own the media why not rip the audio only to my iPod? And last night I did just that. I took the audio out from the back of the Apple TV and ran that into a Griffin iMic (early clear version). I then pumped the audio into Audacity oh the Macbook and recorded the songs. It worked and the sound is brilliant and so far there is only one problem - a noticeable POP in Echos Part 1. I'll have to re-record that so I can't yet close out the 25 year project just yet - but I'm close. And soon I'll be done.
(update: the only affected song was Echos Part 1. The other songs all ripped to mp3 beautifully. In fact I heard some subtle sounds in Careful With That Axe I've never heard before. All things considered I'll have to call this project a success. And once I re-rip Echos Part 1 the project will be over.)
I consider most of the songs recorded on Pompeii to be the DEFINITIVE versions of the songs - especially for Echos, Saucerful of Secrets, Set The Controls and One Of These Days. They are that good and that much better than the original recordings. If you're a Pink Floyd fan you would rent the DVD. I think you'll be quite pleased.
Some history: around 1985 I somehow managed to get my hands on a VHS tape titled Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii. This tape represented a pivotal musical turning point in my life. I had, of course, heard of Pink Floyd before 1985. Dark Side of the Moon had been released two years before and Money was still dominating the FM airwaves having finally displaced Hey Jude (talk about a song that hung around forever).
But I digress. The songs on Live at Pompeii were played, well, live and they were amazing. It was hard for me to believe that a band could make so many noises with so few instruments. It was unreal. At the time I was a guitar student and never before could I have imagined what a talented and motivated person could do with a Fender Startocaster (honestly, I thought Jimi Hendrix showed all that was possible - not so!) As far as my own development as a guitar player I was shown was real talent looked like in real time and I was old enough even at that age to realize I didn't have what it took. But that's another story for another time.
After hearing these Floyd songs, Echos, Saucerful Of Secrets, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, One Of These Days I'm Going To Cut You Into Little Pieces, Careful With That Axe Eugene and others, I embarked on a discovery of all things OLD Pink Floyd. I purchased Ummagumma, the album on which Saucerful of Secrets, Set The Controls and Careful With That Axe all resided. I was disappointed. So was I with Meddle. Both albums were great albums but the Pompeii versions were simply much, much better than the ones on the album.
But herein was the problem - Pompeii was released only as a movie, not a soundtrack. So I did what any teenager would do at that time in history - I placed an audio tape machine in front of the television and hit 'record' while the VHS tape played through the crappy 3 inch speaker in the TV. You can imagine the poor quality of the resulting audio tape. But that was all I could do - this was high technology of the day. The audio tape broke a couple of years later and I forgot about Pompeii, more or less, for over 20 years.
The while perusing Netflix I saw Live at Pompeii on DVD! It was remastered as a "Director's Cut" but, hey, it was there and waiting so I got it. It was everything I remembered in remastered DVD glory. No muted tones from a worn VHS tape, no washed-out colors - just brilliant sound and color. I was hooked. So I purchased a copy and ripped it to my Apple TV for rainy days at the beach. It makes for great background music.
Then I thought, heck, since I own the media why not rip the audio only to my iPod? And last night I did just that. I took the audio out from the back of the Apple TV and ran that into a Griffin iMic (early clear version). I then pumped the audio into Audacity oh the Macbook and recorded the songs. It worked and the sound is brilliant and so far there is only one problem - a noticeable POP in Echos Part 1. I'll have to re-record that so I can't yet close out the 25 year project just yet - but I'm close. And soon I'll be done.
(update: the only affected song was Echos Part 1. The other songs all ripped to mp3 beautifully. In fact I heard some subtle sounds in Careful With That Axe I've never heard before. All things considered I'll have to call this project a success. And once I re-rip Echos Part 1 the project will be over.)
I consider most of the songs recorded on Pompeii to be the DEFINITIVE versions of the songs - especially for Echos, Saucerful of Secrets, Set The Controls and One Of These Days. They are that good and that much better than the original recordings. If you're a Pink Floyd fan you would rent the DVD. I think you'll be quite pleased.
Monday, November 17, 2008
A language question
What gives? Has anyone noticed in the last few years the trailing "t" is being made silent? Granted this is occurring in primary one demographic but I'm hearing the practice spread among others and I wonder how long until this becomes common practice. What the hell am I talking about? I'm talking about "gift" becoming "gif" and test becoming "tes", among many others. Listen and you'll hear it.
My only question is why? Why? Why? Why? WHY? We're not talking about one of the "English as a second language" crowds either. How did this start and how can it be reversed. I am "lef" to wonder.
My only question is why? Why? Why? Why? WHY? We're not talking about one of the "English as a second language" crowds either. How did this start and how can it be reversed. I am "lef" to wonder.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Looking for the law and phone advice
Here's what I need to look up tonight:
Laws - NC and Federal regarding "emergency" telephones in elevators.
Laws - NC and Federal regarding "emergency" telephones in elevators.
- A) Do they need to be hard-wired? (to meet legal requirements)
- B) Dependent on point "A" but can they be VoIP?
- C) Who make a VoIP "basic" handset that looks like a "basic" phone you'd find in an elevator?
- D) Maybe it would be nice to have glowing "911" and "Maintenance" buttons
- E) Who makes a 5-10 port 10/100 switch with PoE? Anyone?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Open open letter to The Boss
I try not to name my employer directly in my blog so I can at least have a bit of plausible deniability in the event I do or say something that conflicts with the corporate blogging policy, if indeed such a policy exists. That said I've heard an unsubstantiated RUMOR of what I can only only call "floorspace contraction" where we will, as a company, start to move away from leased floorspace and return back to the main company campus where we own the buildings.
The building that I call home five days a week is leased. But I really like it. I like the location and I really like the campus itself. I don't want to go back but would live if I had to. Besides, if RUMORS do turn into truth nothing will happen with regards to my office location until 2011 when our lease r runs out.
Truth be told further it would save a lot of money to relocate the offices back to the main campuses. I don't know the recurring costs of several multi-gigabit connections running between campuses X, Y and Z but it's got to be a pretty penny. Combine that along with the leasing costs and I'm sure things do add up.
Still, I'll miss this place when it's time to leave. I won't stay gone, I'm sure, as one of my favorite watering holes is located just across the portico from my building.
The building that I call home five days a week is leased. But I really like it. I like the location and I really like the campus itself. I don't want to go back but would live if I had to. Besides, if RUMORS do turn into truth nothing will happen with regards to my office location until 2011 when our lease r runs out.
Truth be told further it would save a lot of money to relocate the offices back to the main campuses. I don't know the recurring costs of several multi-gigabit connections running between campuses X, Y and Z but it's got to be a pretty penny. Combine that along with the leasing costs and I'm sure things do add up.
Still, I'll miss this place when it's time to leave. I won't stay gone, I'm sure, as one of my favorite watering holes is located just across the portico from my building.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Need to install a cross-band repeater in the Suburban
I've been getting more involved with HAM radio lately and have found several local clubs and contact many (but not yet joined). This week I plan to investigate joining ARES (the Wake County) branch. I've been joining the 9:15 PM Thursday night net meeting for the last month or so, the first two weeks as a silent "scanner" and the last two weeks I mustered the courage to actually check in with my call sign. Hopefully I didn't sound like a idiot and make many mistakes!!
Hitting the 146.88 Mhz repeater from Youngsville 5 watts of output power created somewhat a stir at the last meeting as it was thought that 5 watts out output power was not nearly enough power to hit the repeater with the input signal being much more than static. It seems my purchase of the Icom IC-T8A was a good choice (though I have not come close to using 1/10 of the functions built into this thing). After last week's meeting I was talking with a couple of very helpful fellows about my perdiciment of wanting a "super radio" that I could install in the house, then put in the car on a whim and later pull the same radio out of the car for use inside at the outer banks.
It seems "super radios" do exist but also carry "super price tags". Since I'm still paying a pretty penny for the Suburban every month I decided anything with a "super price tag" would have to wait. Shoot. But all was not lost! The helpful gentlement I was talking with on 146.88 suggested a cross-band repeater for the car. Essentially how this work is the radio listens on one band and repeats the signal at full strength on the 2nd signal at full mobile strength (50 watts). I would transmit using my handheld Icom on the 440 Mhz/70 cm band and configure the radio to restransmit my signal to any setting on the 146 Mhz/2 meter band. Pretty sweet.
I sould be able to power the unit off a secondary deep-cycle battery and I just so happen to have a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery in my garage. Now all I have to is find the correct radio, purchase it and install. All of which I know nothing about. Should be an adventure!
Greg
Hitting the 146.88 Mhz repeater from Youngsville 5 watts of output power created somewhat a stir at the last meeting as it was thought that 5 watts out output power was not nearly enough power to hit the repeater with the input signal being much more than static. It seems my purchase of the Icom IC-T8A was a good choice (though I have not come close to using 1/10 of the functions built into this thing). After last week's meeting I was talking with a couple of very helpful fellows about my perdiciment of wanting a "super radio" that I could install in the house, then put in the car on a whim and later pull the same radio out of the car for use inside at the outer banks.
It seems "super radios" do exist but also carry "super price tags". Since I'm still paying a pretty penny for the Suburban every month I decided anything with a "super price tag" would have to wait. Shoot. But all was not lost! The helpful gentlement I was talking with on 146.88 suggested a cross-band repeater for the car. Essentially how this work is the radio listens on one band and repeats the signal at full strength on the 2nd signal at full mobile strength (50 watts). I would transmit using my handheld Icom on the 440 Mhz/70 cm band and configure the radio to restransmit my signal to any setting on the 146 Mhz/2 meter band. Pretty sweet.
I sould be able to power the unit off a secondary deep-cycle battery and I just so happen to have a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery in my garage. Now all I have to is find the correct radio, purchase it and install. All of which I know nothing about. Should be an adventure!
Greg
Nice long weekend
I was supposed to go to the beach this past weekend but it didn't work out. So we stayed home. Even though the beach was out of the question we still took Monday off and went for a hike which was very nice. Kelly and I, along with the two dogs, hiked the Cabe Lands Trail section of the Eno River Park trail system in Durham and we did 1/2 of the Eno Quarry trail (a branch off Cabe Lands Trail) until a creek cross thwarted our attempts to continue. Wet feet on a cold day don't mix well.
We enjoyed the hike and the dogs did as well. All of us slept like rocks last night thanks to the adventure. I think we'll end up checking out move of the Eno River trails in the near future. It was quite a nice couple of hours in the woods. I must say, the Eno River is a quaint body of water and had it been the summer I'm sure all four of us would have spent some time in the shallow water cooling off. Maybe next summer.
We enjoyed the hike and the dogs did as well. All of us slept like rocks last night thanks to the adventure. I think we'll end up checking out move of the Eno River trails in the near future. It was quite a nice couple of hours in the woods. I must say, the Eno River is a quaint body of water and had it been the summer I'm sure all four of us would have spent some time in the shallow water cooling off. Maybe next summer.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
My how far we've come
I sit here in my bonus room moving scads of data around from a Firewire 400 to a USB 2.0 disk and it occurred to me how far we've come with personal computers. My computer is not remarkable, in fact it's rather outdated being a simple 1.5 Ghz Apple mini G4. But what amazes me is I have a gig of ram (not remarkable) and one terrabyte of disk space (today not remarkable) yet a far cry from the sixty gig it shipped with from the factory.
It wasn't too long ago I witnessed my first 1 gig RAM installation in a Silicon Graphics server in the then Glaxo data center back in, oh, 1994/5 or so. Back then that was amazing! The gig of ram fit onto a single board the size of a spiral-bound notebook and slid into a massive chassis the size of an upright refrigerator. The largest consumer data disk you could purchase on the open market at the same time was a Western Digital 1 gig drive and that seemed massive in its size. Now a gig of disk space is laughable. Hell, I have two USB thumb drives downstairs that combine to greater than eight gig - and I spent less than $15 on them COMBINED!!! To put things in perspective the first Western Digital 1 Gig hard drives cost $1000.00 retail. Now it's possible to have a gig or more of VIDEO RAM!! Amazing. What's next I can only imagine.
True, applications today require more disk space. A video editing suite such as iMovie, Final Cut or whatever the Windows version is from Adobe or others can generate multiple gigs of data in a sitting. Garage Band, the app I wish I could use should I be able to play an instrument, can itself eat up half a gig with a single multi-track song. Speaking of Garage Band, I wonder what would it cost to commission Larry Karnowski to record a copy of Plastic Jesus in Garage Band for me? Let me know, Larry. I'd love to have a copy of that song recorded by someone I know, it's one of my favorites. Bring it over when you're done and we'll all watch Cool Hand Luke. At the beach, if you want.
My, how far we've come with personal computing. How far can we go and what it will be like when we get there?
Scotty, beam me up.
It wasn't too long ago I witnessed my first 1 gig RAM installation in a Silicon Graphics server in the then Glaxo data center back in, oh, 1994/5 or so. Back then that was amazing! The gig of ram fit onto a single board the size of a spiral-bound notebook and slid into a massive chassis the size of an upright refrigerator. The largest consumer data disk you could purchase on the open market at the same time was a Western Digital 1 gig drive and that seemed massive in its size. Now a gig of disk space is laughable. Hell, I have two USB thumb drives downstairs that combine to greater than eight gig - and I spent less than $15 on them COMBINED!!! To put things in perspective the first Western Digital 1 Gig hard drives cost $1000.00 retail. Now it's possible to have a gig or more of VIDEO RAM!! Amazing. What's next I can only imagine.
True, applications today require more disk space. A video editing suite such as iMovie, Final Cut or whatever the Windows version is from Adobe or others can generate multiple gigs of data in a sitting. Garage Band, the app I wish I could use should I be able to play an instrument, can itself eat up half a gig with a single multi-track song. Speaking of Garage Band, I wonder what would it cost to commission Larry Karnowski to record a copy of Plastic Jesus in Garage Band for me? Let me know, Larry. I'd love to have a copy of that song recorded by someone I know, it's one of my favorites. Bring it over when you're done and we'll all watch Cool Hand Luke. At the beach, if you want.
My, how far we've come with personal computing. How far can we go and what it will be like when we get there?
Scotty, beam me up.
OBAMA
I wake today with renewed optimism of the direction and place in the world that American holds. Last night the Country rejected four more years of minority Evangelical misrule in favor a candidate who offers hope and optimism for ALL Americans regardless of color, economic standing or religious belief. For this I am thankful.
This morning I also wonder what does it mean to be conservative? Conservatives can no longer say they are for smaller Government, Bush having presided over the largest expansion of Federal Government in the history of the Country. Conservatives can no longer say they are for reduced Government spending, Bush having run the economic ship aground through reckless misuse of our Country's finances. Lower taxes? Forget that. You can only have low taxes if you keep spending in check. Even Joe Six-Pack feels he in danger of becoming Joe Mad-Dog 20/20 because of unchecked spending and massive deficits leading to the devaluation of the dollar.
No, it seems all the conservatives can say is they are against abortion and homosexuals, ironically the group of people least likely to have an abortion for obvious reasons.
So, conservatives, it's time to try to reinvent yourselves. Try to keep off those feet you shot repeatedly over the last eight years, they will take a while to heal.
This morning I also wonder what does it mean to be conservative? Conservatives can no longer say they are for smaller Government, Bush having presided over the largest expansion of Federal Government in the history of the Country. Conservatives can no longer say they are for reduced Government spending, Bush having run the economic ship aground through reckless misuse of our Country's finances. Lower taxes? Forget that. You can only have low taxes if you keep spending in check. Even Joe Six-Pack feels he in danger of becoming Joe Mad-Dog 20/20 because of unchecked spending and massive deficits leading to the devaluation of the dollar.
No, it seems all the conservatives can say is they are against abortion and homosexuals, ironically the group of people least likely to have an abortion for obvious reasons.
So, conservatives, it's time to try to reinvent yourselves. Try to keep off those feet you shot repeatedly over the last eight years, they will take a while to heal.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
One last thought on Election '08.
McCain keeps saying that he is "a maverick ready to shake up Washington" thus implying that he is an outsider. True, McCain calls Arizona home as I once did. Like McCain I also called Washington D.C. home, until 1979 when my family pulled up stakes and moved West.
Something in McCain's speech has caught my ear this election, something that says he's spent far TOO long in Washington and he's no outsider at all and that is his pronunciation of the word "Washington". D.C., and the surrounding "beltline" areas of Northern Virginia and Maryland all commonly pronounce "Washington" as "Warshington", listen closely and you'll hear it - but generally NOT from Congressmen and women.
Why? In general these people bring their local dialects to Washington that reflect the patterns of speech of the people who elected them to office (except, of course, the carpetbaggers who are a different story altogether). McCain speaks like he's from Washington because he has been there so long and spent so much time there he has identified himself as a local of D.C. rather than of Arizona and that is reflected in his own speech.
Don't believe me? Listen to Libby Dole if you are able. She speaks with an accent complete free of any North Carolina influence. Why? She lived in D.C. and Kansas the last, oh, 25+ years, perhaps longer, and spends less days in North Carolina a year then I have hot meals in a month. It's sad really. If you don't spend time in your home state how can you know how to reperesent the people who elected you? It's really quite a quandary.
But I digress. McCain is no outsider of Warshington. He's a professional elected official, an "insider", a resdient of D.C. more than a resident of Arizona (despsite how many houses he may own in the state). Let's just hope he stays a Senator and then, just maybe, the good people of Arizona may later question if he is really representing them at all.
Something in McCain's speech has caught my ear this election, something that says he's spent far TOO long in Washington and he's no outsider at all and that is his pronunciation of the word "Washington". D.C., and the surrounding "beltline" areas of Northern Virginia and Maryland all commonly pronounce "Washington" as "Warshington", listen closely and you'll hear it - but generally NOT from Congressmen and women.
Why? In general these people bring their local dialects to Washington that reflect the patterns of speech of the people who elected them to office (except, of course, the carpetbaggers who are a different story altogether). McCain speaks like he's from Washington because he has been there so long and spent so much time there he has identified himself as a local of D.C. rather than of Arizona and that is reflected in his own speech.
Don't believe me? Listen to Libby Dole if you are able. She speaks with an accent complete free of any North Carolina influence. Why? She lived in D.C. and Kansas the last, oh, 25+ years, perhaps longer, and spends less days in North Carolina a year then I have hot meals in a month. It's sad really. If you don't spend time in your home state how can you know how to reperesent the people who elected you? It's really quite a quandary.
But I digress. McCain is no outsider of Warshington. He's a professional elected official, an "insider", a resdient of D.C. more than a resident of Arizona (despsite how many houses he may own in the state). Let's just hope he stays a Senator and then, just maybe, the good people of Arizona may later question if he is really representing them at all.
Adios!!!
Today I wave goodbye to the Political Ad. This morning I wondered why and how they have embedded themselves so deeply under my skin against a raw nerve but then I figured it out: this campaign has been going on for well over four years.
Think I'm joking? During the last election the Republicans did not elect to have anyone run against Bush. The reason was obvious: the less they had the idiot speak in public (and God help him, debate) the less chance of the people asking themselves "is this idiot the right man for the job?" The ploy worked. Kerry failed to rally the Democratic faithful and Rove's dirty tricks won the day, more or less and now we find ourselves in the midst of the greatest financial disaster our Country has ever faced (possibly with the exception of The Great Depression, but we're not through this one yet people).
Not long after W stammered his way trough the Oath of Office, where he once again pledged to defend a document he does not believe in or recognize, the campaigns on the Democratic side ramped up starting with John Edwards. Hillary Clinton became "the thing that would not quit in the face of insurmountable losses" and that carried the Democratic campaign all the way to Puerto Rico, the very last territory to vote in the Primary. After that Hillary still wouldn't leave, crying all the time that she should have been elected and she was now broke because of all the money she "loaned" her campaign and, "oh, wouldn't you please donate to my campaign even though I already lost?" Pathetic.
After the whole McCain/Obama thing got started and later Palin brought in a whole new breath of (fresh?) air into the mix. Now, I think, most people see Palin as dangrously unqualified and not the brightest light in the room, which is really saying somethign when you stand next to W.
So tonight we find out the fate of our great nation. I already voted so now I just sit back and watch and hopefully toast "my" candidate's victory tonight!
It suddenly crossed my mind that I should have organized some kind of rally. Oh well, too late now.
Think I'm joking? During the last election the Republicans did not elect to have anyone run against Bush. The reason was obvious: the less they had the idiot speak in public (and God help him, debate) the less chance of the people asking themselves "is this idiot the right man for the job?" The ploy worked. Kerry failed to rally the Democratic faithful and Rove's dirty tricks won the day, more or less and now we find ourselves in the midst of the greatest financial disaster our Country has ever faced (possibly with the exception of The Great Depression, but we're not through this one yet people).
Not long after W stammered his way trough the Oath of Office, where he once again pledged to defend a document he does not believe in or recognize, the campaigns on the Democratic side ramped up starting with John Edwards. Hillary Clinton became "the thing that would not quit in the face of insurmountable losses" and that carried the Democratic campaign all the way to Puerto Rico, the very last territory to vote in the Primary. After that Hillary still wouldn't leave, crying all the time that she should have been elected and she was now broke because of all the money she "loaned" her campaign and, "oh, wouldn't you please donate to my campaign even though I already lost?" Pathetic.
After the whole McCain/Obama thing got started and later Palin brought in a whole new breath of (fresh?) air into the mix. Now, I think, most people see Palin as dangrously unqualified and not the brightest light in the room, which is really saying somethign when you stand next to W.
So tonight we find out the fate of our great nation. I already voted so now I just sit back and watch and hopefully toast "my" candidate's victory tonight!
It suddenly crossed my mind that I should have organized some kind of rally. Oh well, too late now.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Roku Roundup
I did indeed watch many movies while working all weekend at the living room sofa or dining room table (both in view of the HDTV). Wireless Ethernet and VPN technology sure do make life easier.
To the movie reviews:
King of Kong
Previously reviewed. Was working and wanted something familiar on the tube. A great documentary.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
A very interesting documentary about steroid use in America. This should be required viewing for high school athletes. *** out of *****.
Vanishing Point
A favorite of mine. Can an enjoyable movie be made about a guy simply driving a car? It appears so.
The Host
Another favorite. This may be THE BEST monster movie ever created. No joke, it's that good.
Westworld
Yul Brenner at his best! A classic from the 70's. Or was it the 60's? Regardless it's good stuff though one wonders about the gaping plot question "why would they give the robots real bullets in the first place?"
Heavy Metal
Animated classic from 1981. The first major release of an animated movie rated R. Good, classic metal soundtrack. Listen for John Candy and Eugene Leavy.
Eraserhead
WTF is this? Really. Seriously. This is some kind of nightmare, I think. So bizarre, even for David Lynch. **** out of *****
Trailer Town
Never, ever watch this movie. It's sick and disgusting not to mention pointless. Only watch this movie if you want to be able to answer "what's the worst movie you have ever seen" without any internal conflict. Is it possible to give zero stars? This movie sucked and, yes, I watched the entire train wreck. I now have the rest of my life to wonder why. (seriously, how the hell did this movie find distribution?) zero out of *****. It's not that bad, it's worse.
Area 51
Documentary about Area 51. No huge revelations where. Good cinematography. Excellent video of the area around Area 51. Made me homesick for the West just a wee bit. ** 1/2 out of *****.
The American Hobo
Darn entertaining this short documentary was. Learn where the term 'hobo' originated. See video of from inside of boxcars (this is illegal and dangerous, by the way). Still, I have to admit, I wanted to hop in a box car myself and travel around the country for a week after seeing this movie. I've known two people who have done this in their younger years. Dave, he was one of my roommates that attended the University of Arizona and he would either hitch-hike all summer or ride the rails during summer break. An interesting guy. He saw a lot of the Country traveling around randomly. Mike, well, he was a bit different. He got fed up with work one day (around his 23rd birthday), quit his job and "hobo"ed around via rail for 18 months. He also nearly froze to death going through Colorado (he trail was supposed to be "staying warm" between San Diego and Phoenix. Oops. And another time he though he was on a trail through Nebraska when, in fact, he was heading the wrong direction and ended up in Detroit. Not a great rail yard if you believe his descriptions. Anyway, this was a fun little movie narrated by Ernest Borgnine of all people! *** 1/2 out of *****
Jericho: Season 1 Pilot
Been there, saw it already. Still good and entertaining. I wish the series could have kept going.
Longtime Companion
I was looking for a specific movie made in the late 80's about the HIV outbreaks of the early 80's. This wasn't it. But still it was a decent movie. Look for Bruce Davidson and Dermot Mulroney. *** out of *****
Joint Security Area
Excellent movie though somewhat slow moving. If you worked or served in South Korea I think you'll be entertained by this movie. **** out of *****. Look for Kang-ho Song, who also stars in The Host.
Home Sweet Home
I'm sorry, but this movie was really terrible. It's "too British" for my liking. Not to mention depressing. I just didn't strike a chord with me. ** out of *****.
The Open Road
Now I'm stretching. This was a documentary about... drumroll please. AMERICAN RETIREES! Oh, the fun of watching retired people be retired. Parts of it were informative and they were thoughtful enough to include a cross-section of people including those that have enough money to travel as they wish down to a guy who drives a cab because he has to. I felt kind of sorry for the cab guy (he died in 1994 without really having ever "retired"). *** out of *****
The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made
Somehow, and don't ask me how, Trailer Town didn't make the list. Perhaps they only meant theatrically released movies. Anyway, see footage from the cheap Jaws rip-off Great White and other horrible, horrible movies. No genera is left out. There's a little something in this one for everybody. I just wish some of the clips of the terrible footage could have been longer. They were entertaining! *** 1/2 out of *****.
Believe it or not, that was all the movies I watched. Oh, except for the stuff on the Apple TV. I only watched one or two movies on the Apple TV so I didn't include them in the list.
To the movie reviews:
King of Kong
Previously reviewed. Was working and wanted something familiar on the tube. A great documentary.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
A very interesting documentary about steroid use in America. This should be required viewing for high school athletes. *** out of *****.
Vanishing Point
A favorite of mine. Can an enjoyable movie be made about a guy simply driving a car? It appears so.
The Host
Another favorite. This may be THE BEST monster movie ever created. No joke, it's that good.
Westworld
Yul Brenner at his best! A classic from the 70's. Or was it the 60's? Regardless it's good stuff though one wonders about the gaping plot question "why would they give the robots real bullets in the first place?"
Heavy Metal
Animated classic from 1981. The first major release of an animated movie rated R. Good, classic metal soundtrack. Listen for John Candy and Eugene Leavy.
Eraserhead
WTF is this? Really. Seriously. This is some kind of nightmare, I think. So bizarre, even for David Lynch. **** out of *****
Trailer Town
Never, ever watch this movie. It's sick and disgusting not to mention pointless. Only watch this movie if you want to be able to answer "what's the worst movie you have ever seen" without any internal conflict. Is it possible to give zero stars? This movie sucked and, yes, I watched the entire train wreck. I now have the rest of my life to wonder why. (seriously, how the hell did this movie find distribution?) zero out of *****. It's not that bad, it's worse.
Area 51
Documentary about Area 51. No huge revelations where. Good cinematography. Excellent video of the area around Area 51. Made me homesick for the West just a wee bit. ** 1/2 out of *****.
The American Hobo
Darn entertaining this short documentary was. Learn where the term 'hobo' originated. See video of from inside of boxcars (this is illegal and dangerous, by the way). Still, I have to admit, I wanted to hop in a box car myself and travel around the country for a week after seeing this movie. I've known two people who have done this in their younger years. Dave, he was one of my roommates that attended the University of Arizona and he would either hitch-hike all summer or ride the rails during summer break. An interesting guy. He saw a lot of the Country traveling around randomly. Mike, well, he was a bit different. He got fed up with work one day (around his 23rd birthday), quit his job and "hobo"ed around via rail for 18 months. He also nearly froze to death going through Colorado (he trail was supposed to be "staying warm" between San Diego and Phoenix. Oops. And another time he though he was on a trail through Nebraska when, in fact, he was heading the wrong direction and ended up in Detroit. Not a great rail yard if you believe his descriptions. Anyway, this was a fun little movie narrated by Ernest Borgnine of all people! *** 1/2 out of *****
Jericho: Season 1 Pilot
Been there, saw it already. Still good and entertaining. I wish the series could have kept going.
Longtime Companion
I was looking for a specific movie made in the late 80's about the HIV outbreaks of the early 80's. This wasn't it. But still it was a decent movie. Look for Bruce Davidson and Dermot Mulroney. *** out of *****
Joint Security Area
Excellent movie though somewhat slow moving. If you worked or served in South Korea I think you'll be entertained by this movie. **** out of *****. Look for Kang-ho Song, who also stars in The Host.
Home Sweet Home
I'm sorry, but this movie was really terrible. It's "too British" for my liking. Not to mention depressing. I just didn't strike a chord with me. ** out of *****.
The Open Road
Now I'm stretching. This was a documentary about... drumroll please. AMERICAN RETIREES! Oh, the fun of watching retired people be retired. Parts of it were informative and they were thoughtful enough to include a cross-section of people including those that have enough money to travel as they wish down to a guy who drives a cab because he has to. I felt kind of sorry for the cab guy (he died in 1994 without really having ever "retired"). *** out of *****
The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made
Somehow, and don't ask me how, Trailer Town didn't make the list. Perhaps they only meant theatrically released movies. Anyway, see footage from the cheap Jaws rip-off Great White and other horrible, horrible movies. No genera is left out. There's a little something in this one for everybody. I just wish some of the clips of the terrible footage could have been longer. They were entertaining! *** 1/2 out of *****.
Believe it or not, that was all the movies I watched. Oh, except for the stuff on the Apple TV. I only watched one or two movies on the Apple TV so I didn't include them in the list.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
What in God's name..
This is the strangest thing I've ever seen. Thank God I watched it during the day and not last night. This movie is so ******** bizarre. I'm at at loss for words. David Lynch's home planet should be turned into some kind of tourist destination.
Friday, October 31, 2008
YEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAW
I am NOT a fan of introducing unnecessary lead into the oceans but this looks like a heck of a lot of fun. Hopefully they used steel bullets and captured the ejected shells.
It's just me, the Roku and RoadRunner this weekend
I'm on-call again. Primary this time that means there is little chance I'll even leave the house unless something really breaks (please no, please, God, don't let anything break). My weekend will be spent trying to decipher the ramblings of people all over the world who can't copy a file from Hanoi to Addis Ababa or wherever they're trying to move data from A to B.
Funny story. Our offices in Nigeria are currently down. Why? No, people dressing up as state workers and tearing the road up to get at the cooper buried was a good guess. This time around the copper robbers broke into the local telecommunications office to steal all the copper cabling and piping they could find. And they found a lot. Instead of simply moving on to the next target they doused the place in kerosene and tossed a match to cover the evidence. Things went rapidly from bad to worse when the pipe to the underground fiber vault was not properly plugged. So it burned as well. And that vault was a major fiber intersection within the country. *NICE*
At least the Netflix 'Play Instantly' selection is increasing by factors of two and three a week (it seems). Being home alone and tried to said home at least I'll have lots of options of movies to watch. *HUZZAH*!!!
Funny story. Our offices in Nigeria are currently down. Why? No, people dressing up as state workers and tearing the road up to get at the cooper buried was a good guess. This time around the copper robbers broke into the local telecommunications office to steal all the copper cabling and piping they could find. And they found a lot. Instead of simply moving on to the next target they doused the place in kerosene and tossed a match to cover the evidence. Things went rapidly from bad to worse when the pipe to the underground fiber vault was not properly plugged. So it burned as well. And that vault was a major fiber intersection within the country. *NICE*
At least the Netflix 'Play Instantly' selection is increasing by factors of two and three a week (it seems). Being home alone and tried to said home at least I'll have lots of options of movies to watch. *HUZZAH*!!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I need something
What I need is the following: a small, very inexpensive computing device that has a screen (color) a RJ-45 port and at least one USB (1.x or 2.x) ports. This way I could have my 2nd device on my desktop plugged directly into the Internet for testing of VPN devices and such. I could use a USB keyboard and mouse for input, no big deal there. I'd prefer Linux of some variety, hopefully a variety that has 'yum' or 'apt-get' to keep things nice and easy.
The device in question cannot ONLY support 802.11x for connectivity. I have to have Ethernet. This is an absolute deal-breaker. If I have to go with a USB Etherent adapter then so be it.
Any ideas?
The device in question cannot ONLY support 802.11x for connectivity. I have to have Ethernet. This is an absolute deal-breaker. If I have to go with a USB Etherent adapter then so be it.
Any ideas?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Be it known
On the 25th day of October, 2008 I finally defeated Slayer's Raining Blood on Guitar Hero III.
Friday, October 24, 2008
I voted today! Sort of.
Kelly and I had filled out our absentee ballots a while ago and mailed them in Monday - sans the necessary 2nd witness!! D'oh. Whoops. The good news is Kelly got it all sorted. She called the Franklin County Board of Elections and sure enough they had the ballots.
The Board was going to hold the ballots until we could get to the office in Louisburg where we would have to initial the ballots then they would then receive the necessary 2nd and 3rd signatures (since we already had the first signature in place but not the second the first signature was nullified, I think, and two more were necessary after the BOE checked our IDs and had us initial the ballot). There, got that? Are we square? Ok, good.
The Board was going to hold the ballots until we could get to the office in Louisburg where we would have to initial the ballots then they would then receive the necessary 2nd and 3rd signatures (since we already had the first signature in place but not the second the first signature was nullified, I think, and two more were necessary after the BOE checked our IDs and had us initial the ballot). There, got that? Are we square? Ok, good.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I know this is going to sound stupid
But I'd really like an honest-to-God RJ-45 Ethernet adapter for my iPod Touch.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Was Roger Ebert wrong?
So ask CNN's Todd Leopold regarding Roger Ebert's one star review for the film "Tru Love", a movie he could only suffer for the first eight minutes. Look, you may not agree that Ebert "reviewed" the movie in the formal sense but this man has sat through tens of thousands of movies over this 30 plus year career. He knows what a bad movie looks like. In a movie he can spot very bad very quickly. Aferall wasn't this the same man who wrote a book titled "Your Movie Sucks"?
If I put together some crap-fest with my HD VideoCam and assemble a group of amateur actors should I expect my movie to be taken seriously by the same person who reviewed Schlinder's List? No. At the same time if your independant movie shot on HD with zero professional actors is good enough Ebert has the guts to call the film a masterpiece provided the end result warrants such praise.
Besides Ebert stated in his review his one star "..applies to the first eight minutes only. After that you're on your own." Fair enough in my book.
If I put together some crap-fest with my HD VideoCam and assemble a group of amateur actors should I expect my movie to be taken seriously by the same person who reviewed Schlinder's List? No. At the same time if your independant movie shot on HD with zero professional actors is good enough Ebert has the guts to call the film a masterpiece provided the end result warrants such praise.
Besides Ebert stated in his review his one star "..applies to the first eight minutes only. After that you're on your own." Fair enough in my book.
Monday, October 20, 2008
trapped in paradise!
Highway 12 is closed, in both directions at multiple points on the road. There is no way to travel North to Highway 64. In short terms, I'm stuck. It's not the end of the world though. If I can't escape tonight I'll work from the Outer Banks tomorrow then make reservations on one of the long ferries to the mainland out of Ocracoke.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Book Review - Chuck Palahniuk's Stranger Than Fiction
Stranger Than Fiction is Chuck Palahniuk's first foray into non-fiction, in book-form at least. Previous works from Palahniuk you may have read or should be at least familiar with are Fight Club, Choke and Invisible Monsters among others. Chuck Palahniuk has always been a "different kind" of writer and the only writer I know who probably has more rejection letters citing "work is too disturbing for print" than the garden variety "we decline to print as such". Personally I think he wears that kind of rejection as a badge of, well, I don't know what exactly. One thing can't be argued in Chuck's case and that is the fact that this man has talent as a writer.
The stories contained in the book are true stories that have shaped Palahniuk as a writer or at least provided him some laughs along the way. Some of autobiographical and very serious, such as the stories about this father's near murder as a child and murder as an adult, or less serious in the case of the bizarre sport of Combine Demolition Derby.
I found the autobiographical stories to be the most interesting, specifically the story about how his book Fight Club was optioned as a movie. I won't give away the details here but I will say that sometimes what you invision, such as your first optioned movie and flight to L.A. to meet with the director of your work, may not go as you had always dreamed - in more ways than one!
All told I'm going to give this book a *** 1/2 out of *****. An entertaining read to be sure. As an added bonus you get to learn what it's like to spend the day interviewing Marilyn Manson at home. Shocking? Boring? I won't tell, read it for yourself.
The stories contained in the book are true stories that have shaped Palahniuk as a writer or at least provided him some laughs along the way. Some of autobiographical and very serious, such as the stories about this father's near murder as a child and murder as an adult, or less serious in the case of the bizarre sport of Combine Demolition Derby.
I found the autobiographical stories to be the most interesting, specifically the story about how his book Fight Club was optioned as a movie. I won't give away the details here but I will say that sometimes what you invision, such as your first optioned movie and flight to L.A. to meet with the director of your work, may not go as you had always dreamed - in more ways than one!
All told I'm going to give this book a *** 1/2 out of *****. An entertaining read to be sure. As an added bonus you get to learn what it's like to spend the day interviewing Marilyn Manson at home. Shocking? Boring? I won't tell, read it for yourself.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Nights in Rodanthe - Movie Review
I went to see Nights in Rodanthe last night. What? Don't look at me like that, you've seen a 'chick flick' too. Don't lie. May I continue? Thank you. Why would I want to see such a movie? I had several reasons the first and foremost being the unincorporated villages of Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo are were I spend as many weekends of the year as possible. I love the place and consider it to be as much my home as the Raleigh area. Secondly, Diane Lane. Enough said (but more later). Thirdly I was present on the island during the shooting on the movie and it was kind of exciting to see our little corner of the world so "busy" with Hollywood what-not. It was an exciting time for our little town and I wanted to see the end result of all this expenditure of Hollywood cash.
What did I think of the movie? Overall it was very good. There were some significant departures from the book some of which I thought added to the movie some of which I thought distracted. The good news is if you didn't read the book the movie stands on its own. The story is clearly presented without the gaping plot holes that sometimes accompany movies after they are optioned from books.
What did I like about the movie? There were several things. First I thought George C. Wolfe did an excellent job bringing the story to the screen. Kudo and a job well done, Mr. Wolfe. The screenplay adaption from the book deserves a nod as well, so good job Ann Peacock and John Romano. Richard Gere and Diane Lane have acted opposite one another in four of five movies and that leads to an easiness around one another that translates well onto the screen. I thought Gere and Lane made an excellent Dr. Flanner and Adrianne Willis quite frankly.
If there was an acting award to hand out in this film the award it, in my opinion, should go to Scott Glenn who played the part of Robert Torrelson. Southern accents are of so mangled on screen they make anyone familiar with them close their eyes and shake their heads in disbelief. Scott Glenn must have worked with a dialogue coach for this movie, if he didn't he has a might keen ear. He placed specific inflections into words and did not pluralize some other words where they should have been and the effect was really outstanding (i.e. the way you would hear "it cost me ten dollar and 15 cent" instead of "it cost me ten dollars and 15 cents").
To me the accent sounded much like a life-long resident of the Outer Banks sprinkled with a bit of Wilson/Greenville, NC and Greensboro, NC with plenty of Southern Virginia influence. Thank God Mr. Glenn didn't just tune into some drunken NASCAR broadcast and assume this is how we all speak later showing up at the set speaking "Drunken Redneck" and wearing an "Earnhard Forever" shirt holding a can of Coors Light in one hand a cigarette in the other thinking himself an expert on how everyone talks and acts in North Carolina.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
If you don't want to read the spoilers please stop now. Ok, what the hell route did Paul Flanner drive from Raleigh to Rodanthe? Granted in the book he went far, far out of his way visiting New Bern (home of N.in.R. author Nicholas Sparks) then taking the Swan Quarter Ferry to Ocracoke then a second ferry to Hatteras Island. In reality it would be much easier and faster to take Highway 64 to Manteo Island then South on Highway 12 like I do each and every weekend. The trip takes four hours from Raleigh, not two days. Granted the good Dr. Flanner was on his way to talk with the husband of a former patient who died on his OR table so I understand him not being in a hurry to get there. But still.
The movie footage had Dr. Flanner leaving Raleigh almost exactly how fellow Trilugger Mark Turner recently photographed the Raleigh"skyline". From there Dr. Flanner appeared to take some mystery bridge to what I suspect lead to Wilmington then magically he was transported to The Bonner Bridge, only he was driving in the wrong direction. He was then magically transported to a North Carolina ferry South of the Bonner Bridge where he then appeared on Highway 12 arriving towards Salvo from the South. Just before arrival our good doctor encountered a sandstorm the likes you may encounter in Rub' al Kali but not Hatteras Island.
Other "Things That Would Bother A Local But Otherwise You Would Never Notice" (and this isn't a complaint to the writers and director, just observations).
There are no "wild ponies" on Hatteras Island. None. Zero. There are some descendants of wild ponies are Ocracoke Island that live in enclosures and a few truly wild ponies on Shackleford Banks just South of Core Banks which, in turn, is just South of Ocracoke Island. But not on Hatteras Island. The movie used several breeds of horses to stand in as ponies but I'm not an equestrian so I really don't care about that.
JoeBob's Trading Post, at least part of the exterior and sign, make a very brief appearance. Don't blink or you might miss it. The interior of "JoeBob's" was, I suspect, the interior of the Rodanthe Pier building. It was that or it was a sound stage but it sure wasn't the interior of JoeBob's. Quite frankly I was hoping to see more of Rodanthe in the movie but your views were limited to the exterior of the rental house Serendipity (remade into the fictional Inn at Rodanthe) and JoeBob's sign. Oh well. Oh, a couple shots of the pier.
The rental house where the movie was filmed was changed as well. It's not that close to the water and the front of the house does not have a stairway that leads into the surf (a stairway such as that wouldn't survive for long, believe me). I understand the interior shots were all filmed on a sound stage in Wilmington and they did not resemble the interior ot the house in any way. I don't know because I've never stepped foot in the house.
During filming the crew was treated to a nasty nor'easter that tore at least 1/2 of the Rodanthe Pier off. So in some shots you see the old, long pier and others you see the short pier. You can tell the difference because the long pier had a rounded end where the short pier ends with the simple termination of the pier itself.
The location of the filming changed quite a bit. I believe all the "house shots" that weren't the fictional "Inn at Rodanthe" were all shot in Wilmington. This is mostly due to changes in vegetation that a local would notice. In addition the shot the morning after the "hurricane" was somewhere else because nowhere in Rodanthe can you look across any body of water larger than a puddle as see land on the other side.
Lastly I've never witnessed a crab bake and night-time live music session on the pier. It sure looked fun in the movie, though, and I hope it becomes some kind of regular tradition. I'd sure enjoy it.
All in all I'd give this movie a solid *** out of *****.
What did I think of the movie? Overall it was very good. There were some significant departures from the book some of which I thought added to the movie some of which I thought distracted. The good news is if you didn't read the book the movie stands on its own. The story is clearly presented without the gaping plot holes that sometimes accompany movies after they are optioned from books.
What did I like about the movie? There were several things. First I thought George C. Wolfe did an excellent job bringing the story to the screen. Kudo and a job well done, Mr. Wolfe. The screenplay adaption from the book deserves a nod as well, so good job Ann Peacock and John Romano. Richard Gere and Diane Lane have acted opposite one another in four of five movies and that leads to an easiness around one another that translates well onto the screen. I thought Gere and Lane made an excellent Dr. Flanner and Adrianne Willis quite frankly.
If there was an acting award to hand out in this film the award it, in my opinion, should go to Scott Glenn who played the part of Robert Torrelson. Southern accents are of so mangled on screen they make anyone familiar with them close their eyes and shake their heads in disbelief. Scott Glenn must have worked with a dialogue coach for this movie, if he didn't he has a might keen ear. He placed specific inflections into words and did not pluralize some other words where they should have been and the effect was really outstanding (i.e. the way you would hear "it cost me ten dollar and 15 cent" instead of "it cost me ten dollars and 15 cents").
To me the accent sounded much like a life-long resident of the Outer Banks sprinkled with a bit of Wilson/Greenville, NC and Greensboro, NC with plenty of Southern Virginia influence. Thank God Mr. Glenn didn't just tune into some drunken NASCAR broadcast and assume this is how we all speak later showing up at the set speaking "Drunken Redneck" and wearing an "Earnhard Forever" shirt holding a can of Coors Light in one hand a cigarette in the other thinking himself an expert on how everyone talks and acts in North Carolina.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
If you don't want to read the spoilers please stop now. Ok, what the hell route did Paul Flanner drive from Raleigh to Rodanthe? Granted in the book he went far, far out of his way visiting New Bern (home of N.in.R. author Nicholas Sparks) then taking the Swan Quarter Ferry to Ocracoke then a second ferry to Hatteras Island. In reality it would be much easier and faster to take Highway 64 to Manteo Island then South on Highway 12 like I do each and every weekend. The trip takes four hours from Raleigh, not two days. Granted the good Dr. Flanner was on his way to talk with the husband of a former patient who died on his OR table so I understand him not being in a hurry to get there. But still.
The movie footage had Dr. Flanner leaving Raleigh almost exactly how fellow Trilugger Mark Turner recently photographed the Raleigh"skyline". From there Dr. Flanner appeared to take some mystery bridge to what I suspect lead to Wilmington then magically he was transported to The Bonner Bridge, only he was driving in the wrong direction. He was then magically transported to a North Carolina ferry South of the Bonner Bridge where he then appeared on Highway 12 arriving towards Salvo from the South. Just before arrival our good doctor encountered a sandstorm the likes you may encounter in Rub' al Kali but not Hatteras Island.
Other "Things That Would Bother A Local But Otherwise You Would Never Notice" (and this isn't a complaint to the writers and director, just observations).
There are no "wild ponies" on Hatteras Island. None. Zero. There are some descendants of wild ponies are Ocracoke Island that live in enclosures and a few truly wild ponies on Shackleford Banks just South of Core Banks which, in turn, is just South of Ocracoke Island. But not on Hatteras Island. The movie used several breeds of horses to stand in as ponies but I'm not an equestrian so I really don't care about that.
JoeBob's Trading Post, at least part of the exterior and sign, make a very brief appearance. Don't blink or you might miss it. The interior of "JoeBob's" was, I suspect, the interior of the Rodanthe Pier building. It was that or it was a sound stage but it sure wasn't the interior of JoeBob's. Quite frankly I was hoping to see more of Rodanthe in the movie but your views were limited to the exterior of the rental house Serendipity (remade into the fictional Inn at Rodanthe) and JoeBob's sign. Oh well. Oh, a couple shots of the pier.
The rental house where the movie was filmed was changed as well. It's not that close to the water and the front of the house does not have a stairway that leads into the surf (a stairway such as that wouldn't survive for long, believe me). I understand the interior shots were all filmed on a sound stage in Wilmington and they did not resemble the interior ot the house in any way. I don't know because I've never stepped foot in the house.
During filming the crew was treated to a nasty nor'easter that tore at least 1/2 of the Rodanthe Pier off. So in some shots you see the old, long pier and others you see the short pier. You can tell the difference because the long pier had a rounded end where the short pier ends with the simple termination of the pier itself.
The location of the filming changed quite a bit. I believe all the "house shots" that weren't the fictional "Inn at Rodanthe" were all shot in Wilmington. This is mostly due to changes in vegetation that a local would notice. In addition the shot the morning after the "hurricane" was somewhere else because nowhere in Rodanthe can you look across any body of water larger than a puddle as see land on the other side.
Lastly I've never witnessed a crab bake and night-time live music session on the pier. It sure looked fun in the movie, though, and I hope it becomes some kind of regular tradition. I'd sure enjoy it.
All in all I'd give this movie a solid *** out of *****.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
I take that back.
The best operating system to escape the halls of Redmond, WA was Embedded XP. Honestly that OS had a lot going for it as an embedded OS.
Microsoft fans don't know the company history
"A couple of commenters offer these answers: david writes, "because version 1.x and 2.x were not truly windows but DOS :) - Only from 3.x, they had GUI and the ability to 'multi-tasking."
This article, about the forthcoming "Windows 7" release in 2010 tries to explain how this is really the 7th iteration of Windows. Truth is I see a lot, a whole lot, missing. Where is Microsoft Bob? Why not expand on the "aspirational name" of NT (New Technology)? If you consider Windows 1.x and 2.x to be "DOS" then to that point so was 3.x, 95, 98 and ME. Heck, where in the article is ME mentioned? Nowhere. Trust me, I'd like to forget a few of those releases as well.
And why oh why does this so-called David make the inexcusable comment that Windows 3.x did multi-tasking? AHHH!! My eyes nearly went blind reading that. Windows was a single-task operating system that *tried* to emulate multitasking using share.exe. It was an abomination. The true desktop multitasking OS of the day was OS/2, most of which Microsoft wrote under contract for IBM ironically. OS/2 is *STILL* the best operating system ever producted out of Redmond.
NT was the first true multitasking OS from Microsoft and that was because they were able to hire some key DEC talent and basically rip off the guts of VMS.
Be that as it may, Windows 7 is on the way. I'll hope for the best and deal with what is delivered then.
This article, about the forthcoming "Windows 7" release in 2010 tries to explain how this is really the 7th iteration of Windows. Truth is I see a lot, a whole lot, missing. Where is Microsoft Bob? Why not expand on the "aspirational name" of NT (New Technology)? If you consider Windows 1.x and 2.x to be "DOS" then to that point so was 3.x, 95, 98 and ME. Heck, where in the article is ME mentioned? Nowhere. Trust me, I'd like to forget a few of those releases as well.
And why oh why does this so-called David make the inexcusable comment that Windows 3.x did multi-tasking? AHHH!! My eyes nearly went blind reading that. Windows was a single-task operating system that *tried* to emulate multitasking using share.exe. It was an abomination. The true desktop multitasking OS of the day was OS/2, most of which Microsoft wrote under contract for IBM ironically. OS/2 is *STILL* the best operating system ever producted out of Redmond.
NT was the first true multitasking OS from Microsoft and that was because they were able to hire some key DEC talent and basically rip off the guts of VMS.
Be that as it may, Windows 7 is on the way. I'll hope for the best and deal with what is delivered then.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Tar Pine
I used to pine for the Macbook Air but that was before Kelly brought home her new 15" Macbook Pro. The backlit keyboard, the screen resolution with crystal clear video output, the monsterous (by comparion) hard drive. Oh, it's too much to resist. I'm now in the "I want a Macbook Pro" crowd.
At this rate, with the economny tanking around us and with the instability at work I think it will be a year before I upgrade my little tried-and-true Macbook. I can wait, I think. The only thing that doesn't work on the Macbook is the built-in iSight camera (and I'm still under warrently so I could get it fixed, which I think I'll do).
Until everything settles out I'll have to wait for my Macbook Pro. It's not going to be easy, but I'll make it. To that point the very tried-and-true G4 mini will live on until it refuses to boot and I hope that time is long into the future.
It's time to financially hunker down at the Brown household.
At this rate, with the economny tanking around us and with the instability at work I think it will be a year before I upgrade my little tried-and-true Macbook. I can wait, I think. The only thing that doesn't work on the Macbook is the built-in iSight camera (and I'm still under warrently so I could get it fixed, which I think I'll do).
Until everything settles out I'll have to wait for my Macbook Pro. It's not going to be easy, but I'll make it. To that point the very tried-and-true G4 mini will live on until it refuses to boot and I hope that time is long into the future.
It's time to financially hunker down at the Brown household.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Gas prices
Kelly reports regular gas in Columbia, NC is selling for $2.88/gallon. I could have used that yesterday. I filled up the Global Warmer to the tune of $90.00 yesterday with local gas selling for nearly $3.60/gallon. Damn, I got ripped off!! The 'burban was running on fumes and I was under a time crunch to get to work but still. At least next week I can get back to car pooling with Kelly. Having both of us driving for one week cost an extra $90.00! In a week! Ouch!!!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
working today
Ah, the joys of upgrading microcode on 6500 series Cisco routers with Sup-720 modules. It's really not all that bad and in theory this work *COULD* be conducted from afar but when dealing with the big boys it's a good idea to be at the router in case of a meltdown. The upgrades today are rolling along and I've got a couple more hours to work in my change window plus I get to visit some buildings I've not stepped foot in for quite a while, over two years in some cases.
It's all good. As long as there is a paycheck attached to my work at the end of the week, so to speak, I'm ok with everything.
Onward! To downdown Durham! There are many routers left to upgrade.
It's all good. As long as there is a paycheck attached to my work at the end of the week, so to speak, I'm ok with everything.
Onward! To downdown Durham! There are many routers left to upgrade.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Bowie. Changes.
Changes
David Bowie
I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't tell t hem to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Where's your shame
You've left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can't trace time
Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time
David Bowie
I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't tell t hem to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Where's your shame
You've left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can't trace time
Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Things to do
- survive economic meltdown
- keep job (somewhat related to point #1)
- join Orange County Radio Amateurs
- stop looking at 401k on a daily basis
- attend Basic SKYWARN Weather Class, 28 October
- Investigate/join Wake County ARES/RACES
- Scour Craigslist for a new stationary exercise bike
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Day 4 at Cisco
Today is day number four at Cisco in RTP. Today might be my last day to visit the CPOC. Time will tell. This is fun but "real" work is stacking up back at the office.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Palin
Palin, you make me ailin'
Your run at office I hope is failin'
Your ship's a sinkin' and there's no point bailin'
Your sail's torn, you can't go sailin'
Thank God your candidacy is trailin'
Palin.
Your run at office I hope is failin'
Your ship's a sinkin' and there's no point bailin'
Your sail's torn, you can't go sailin'
Thank God your candidacy is trailin'
Palin.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Putting on a lot of miles this week
Friday was a fairly standard fall weekend for my family: work all day, arrive home after work, pack up the Suburban and then drive to the beach. Sunday (yesterday) it was the reverse and now I'm back in Raleigh only to leave again tonight for the same destination. It's a one-day overnight trip and I'll be back Tuesday night.
The only bright spot is after all this driving I'm NOT going back this weekend!! I think I'll need a break!!
The Suburban also hit the 70,000 mile mark on the trip back. My estimates are the big guy needs to last at least 250,000 miles more.
The only bright spot is after all this driving I'm NOT going back this weekend!! I think I'll need a break!!
The Suburban also hit the 70,000 mile mark on the trip back. My estimates are the big guy needs to last at least 250,000 miles more.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The greatest product ever?
This is an alarm clock. That cooks bacon. Yes, that's right, wake every morning to the wonderful aroma of cooked bacon. How? Simply place frozen bacon in the tray before bed and ten minutes before the alarm sounds two tiny heat lamps cook the bacon. When the alarm sounds the room is full of one of the greatest aromas known and optimally cooked bacon is awaiting you as you greet the day.
Genius? I think so. Seen at Coolest Gadgets dot com. I'm sure Think Geek will be carrying this in no time.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
It's a home rin!
Typo found in Ciscoworks: "NS0033 : Error occured while processing. This may be because of Could not connect to JRM".
Sorry. Errors "occur" but have "occurred".
Some of the special characters in the error window did not copy so I'll forgive the grammatical "lost in translation" that occurs in the last collection of words that you can't read as a coherent sentence.
Humorous perhaps only to me.
Sorry. Errors "occur" but have "occurred".
Some of the special characters in the error window did not copy so I'll forgive the grammatical "lost in translation" that occurs in the last collection of words that you can't read as a coherent sentence.
Humorous perhaps only to me.
Monday, September 22, 2008
I'm a PC (commercial series)
I have to admit, the "I'm a PC" ads from Microsoft are much better than the previous attempt at product enlightenment a-la the failed and horrible "Microsoft Mohave Experiment". The ads are improving, that much I do have to admit.
Roku delivers a disturbing movie
Saturday I had it pretty easy. All I had to do was mow the grass, dust, light and crank up the gas log fireplace for 90 minutes to prime it for the winter season and take the mower into the shop for a once-over.
But what to do for the 90 minutes while the gas longs were burning on high while Kelly was out shopping? Watch a documentary on the Roku, of course.
I have many, many movies in my "Watch Instantly" queue just waiting for a moment like this. Paying close attention to running length I selected "Snuff: A Documentary About Killing On Camera" and now a big part of me wishes I had not.
I'm going to do something a little different. Instead of writing up the rest of the review in my blog I'm going to link to a separate text file that you can click and read. This movie was downright disturbing so for most readers I'd simply say leave well enough alone and do not read the rest of the review (spoilers, not to mention descriptions of disturbing content) or watch the movie. Just like the fictionalized account of a Snuff film in the major release 8mm, there are things you cannot "unsee", and this documentary, albeit a very well-made film, is one of them.
But what to do for the 90 minutes while the gas longs were burning on high while Kelly was out shopping? Watch a documentary on the Roku, of course.
I have many, many movies in my "Watch Instantly" queue just waiting for a moment like this. Paying close attention to running length I selected "Snuff: A Documentary About Killing On Camera" and now a big part of me wishes I had not.
I'm going to do something a little different. Instead of writing up the rest of the review in my blog I'm going to link to a separate text file that you can click and read. This movie was downright disturbing so for most readers I'd simply say leave well enough alone and do not read the rest of the review (spoilers, not to mention descriptions of disturbing content) or watch the movie. Just like the fictionalized account of a Snuff film in the major release 8mm, there are things you cannot "unsee", and this documentary, albeit a very well-made film, is one of them.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Travelocity Viral Marketing In Durham?
For everyone that does not work at the American Tobacco Historic District this is a concrete garden gnome sitting on the Highway 147 bridge (on the South side) at the Blackwell Street overpass at Blackwell and Jackie Robinson, or so close to the new Durham Bulls Stadium you could spit and hit home plate. Well, not really, but it is right across the street. South East corner of the bridge. Across Blackwell from the American Tobacco Trail terminus. If you need more directions than that, well, I'm sorry, you're going to have to miss it.
Peace, ya'll.
Greg
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
I didn't get nearly anything accomplished this weekend
Oh well. My current version of M0n0wall appears to not support IPv6 6to4. That stinks. There's also a major bug in this version that makes the page which you use to update the firmware *UNRENDERABLE* to your browser! Real good! It's not a big deal, really, I can just take out the flash drive and install from a freshly formatted flash drive (or reformat the existing drive). Not a big deal, just annoying.
But I wonder, why not just go to something that supports IPv6 out of the box? I just may do that. The only device that I have lying around that would support such a thing is my Time Capsule that I currently have configured as a standard, layer 2 access point. Obviously I'd have to reconfigure that device (no big deal) but I am concerned having the device I depend on for my backups exposed on the WAN port to the Internet at large.
I could, however, use my 2.4 Ghz Airport Express as the gateway, but it's quite a stretch to call the device "high powered" in terms of processing capabilities. I might give it a shot but this brings up a potential problem that the single Ethernet port would then be occupied by the Internet link thus everything that connects to the Internet would have to traverse a 2.4 802.11g link. Not ideal. Not ideal at all.
So, what's a techie to do?
But I wonder, why not just go to something that supports IPv6 out of the box? I just may do that. The only device that I have lying around that would support such a thing is my Time Capsule that I currently have configured as a standard, layer 2 access point. Obviously I'd have to reconfigure that device (no big deal) but I am concerned having the device I depend on for my backups exposed on the WAN port to the Internet at large.
I could, however, use my 2.4 Ghz Airport Express as the gateway, but it's quite a stretch to call the device "high powered" in terms of processing capabilities. I might give it a shot but this brings up a potential problem that the single Ethernet port would then be occupied by the Internet link thus everything that connects to the Internet would have to traverse a 2.4 802.11g link. Not ideal. Not ideal at all.
So, what's a techie to do?
Friday, September 12, 2008
What to do this weekend?
- Work. Sucks, but I have to work tomorrow.
- IPv6-inante my M0n0wall router. Easy.
- Figure out if I need to dump the old backups of Kelly's laptop off the Time Capsule
- To that point figure out how to dump old, no longer needed backups off Time Capsule
- Take a good look at the riding mower, see if it's time to put the old girl down
- Assemble all stuff to sell on Craigslist, get stuff listed and sold.
- Figure out why Tyler's in Durham is out of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
- Conserve gas
- ride scooter where I need to go
- ride scooter where I need to go
That's all I can think of, and it sounds like enough at this point so I'll stop.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
McCain's Lost Footage
Lost footage of McCain as a POW has been found. On 9/11. Pardon me, I have to go to the restroom and vomit. I don't know if I can call this 'profiteering' from 9/11, but whatever you call it, it's sickening.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Cool.. .cool... COOL!!!!!!!
I'm starting to get some e-mails about IPv6. Questions and what-not. Here are some of the answers.
Q: I don't get why some IPv6 addresses are long than others.
A: Great question. All IPv6 addresses are quite long, 128 bits long in fact. A "long-hand" IPv6 address could read as follows: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334. IPv6 can also display "short-hand" addresses in which case the same address could collapse all "0"s to a single zero. As such the example address could read as follows: 2001:0db8:85a3:0:0:8a2e:0370:7334. Furthermore any time two more fields of all zeros back up to one another you can toss out the zeros and remove the ":" between them. The example address would now read: 2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334. What if you have more the two "::" back to back? You can toss them out too. So 2002::/16 could be written out 2002:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/16 where 16 bits are reserved for the network field and the remaining 112 bits are left for the user to configure. The smallest of all addresses is the IPv6 loopback: ::1/128 (written long-hand 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001/128).
Q: You said that 64 bits were left to address hosts, isn't that a long address for a single host?
A: Why yes it is. What nearly all IPv6 networks do is use that 64 bit field to map your hex mac address to your machine address in IPv6. Yup, once you get the hang of it you can strip out the mac address visually from any IPv6 address. It's really quite cool.
Q: What's the deal with "Fe80" address? I have one on my computer but I can't ping any IPv6 hosts.
A: Ah! Your machine will assign itself an address in this range if there is no DHCP server offering an IPv6 address on your local subnet. Think of it as akin to 169.254.x.x address in IPv4. You can't route with them, but they are there for zero-configuration purposes, that kind of thing. But look closely at those last 64 bits of your self-assigned IPv6 address. They map (almost) to your mac address, right? My work Linux box: HWaddr 00:B0:D0:C1:48:DB and my self-assigned IPv6 address is fe80::2b0:d0ff:fec1:48db/64. True, there are a couple differences but once you get the hang of the substitutions you'll be able to decipher your MAC address fairly easily.
Q: I have only an IPv4 host, is there any way I can talk to IPv6 hosts?
A: No, not yours. I'm sorry, but your host has to be running IPv6 in order to talk to other IPv6 devices. The easiest way to jump aboard and join the IPv6 party is to configure your home Linux/BSD router as a 6to4 router or simply purchase any device that does 6to4 out of the box (Apple Airport gateways come to mind).
Keep the questions coming, people!
Q: I don't get why some IPv6 addresses are long than others.
A: Great question. All IPv6 addresses are quite long, 128 bits long in fact. A "long-hand" IPv6 address could read as follows: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334. IPv6 can also display "short-hand" addresses in which case the same address could collapse all "0"s to a single zero. As such the example address could read as follows: 2001:0db8:85a3:0:0:8a2e:0370:7334. Furthermore any time two more fields of all zeros back up to one another you can toss out the zeros and remove the ":" between them. The example address would now read: 2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334. What if you have more the two "::" back to back? You can toss them out too. So 2002::/16 could be written out 2002:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/16 where 16 bits are reserved for the network field and the remaining 112 bits are left for the user to configure. The smallest of all addresses is the IPv6 loopback: ::1/128 (written long-hand 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001/128).
Q: You said that 64 bits were left to address hosts, isn't that a long address for a single host?
A: Why yes it is. What nearly all IPv6 networks do is use that 64 bit field to map your hex mac address to your machine address in IPv6. Yup, once you get the hang of it you can strip out the mac address visually from any IPv6 address. It's really quite cool.
Q: What's the deal with "Fe80" address? I have one on my computer but I can't ping any IPv6 hosts.
A: Ah! Your machine will assign itself an address in this range if there is no DHCP server offering an IPv6 address on your local subnet. Think of it as akin to 169.254.x.x address in IPv4. You can't route with them, but they are there for zero-configuration purposes, that kind of thing. But look closely at those last 64 bits of your self-assigned IPv6 address. They map (almost) to your mac address, right? My work Linux box: HWaddr 00:B0:D0:C1:48:DB and my self-assigned IPv6 address is fe80::2b0:d0ff:fec1:48db/64. True, there are a couple differences but once you get the hang of the substitutions you'll be able to decipher your MAC address fairly easily.
Q: I have only an IPv4 host, is there any way I can talk to IPv6 hosts?
A: No, not yours. I'm sorry, but your host has to be running IPv6 in order to talk to other IPv6 devices. The easiest way to jump aboard and join the IPv6 party is to configure your home Linux/BSD router as a 6to4 router or simply purchase any device that does 6to4 out of the box (Apple Airport gateways come to mind).
Keep the questions coming, people!
Tanner left a great question regarding IPv6 address yesterday
Tanner said: "How do you get IPv6 addresses? Would this work, say, as sort of a VPN where both your laptop and home network have IPv6 addresses and you could connect to them while the laptop is elsewhere?"
That's a great question. You can do IPv6 two different ways both of which will provide you IPv6 address space. We'll call the two ways "hard" and "easy". We'll cover the VPN thing second.
The Hard Way
The hard way is you go to your ISP and beg/plead/ask/pay for a block of IPv6 addresses much like you would if you wanted a set of IPv4 addresses. ISPs aren't fully on the IPv6 bandwagon yet so expect to get a lot of "why do you want to do that" and "I'm not sure we support that" kind of questions and comments. It's rather frustrating and I don't recommend going this route.
The Easy Way
If your ISP grants you a routable IPv4 address (i.e. not in the 10.x.x.x, 172.16.x.x or 192.168.x.x ranges) you already have an IPv6 range at your disposal using 6to4 addressing (and a large block of addresses at that). With 6to4 addressing any routable IPv4 address you are granted addresses in the humongous 2002::/16 IPv6 address space. How is it automatic? Your IPv4 routable address is automatically translated into hexadecimal. Why? For one reason IPv4 uses dot-decimal notation while IPv6 uses hexadecimal addressing.
Let's look a bit further. All IPv6 6to4 address, as previously stated, are contained within the 2002::/16 range. Following the network designation of 2002 the first 32 bits are your routable IPv4 address translated into hex. For instance if your firewall was issued the address of 192.0.2.42 by your ISP your IPv6 address range would be 2002:c000:022a::/48. After that you have another 16 bit network field to do as you please and a 64 bit host field all at your disposal.
So does this mean you can have a full network of hosts addressable on the Internet using IPv6 6to4 behind a NAT firewall with a single IPv4 address. Yes! Yes it does. It's really quite fun. If you are on a remote network and your computer has been issued an IPv6 address, either statically configured by the network administrator or, far more likely, issued by the DHCP server, you will be able to communicate with however many IPv6 devices you have on your remote network, even though the remote devices are exist behind a single IPv4 NAT'ed address. Cool huh?
Finally there is one important caveat: if the IPv4 addresses on your home firewall changes so does all your IPv6 6to4 addresses. As I write this I am not aware of a service such as dyndns on the IPv4 side that will update domain names using IPv6 6to4. Hint hint there, industrious TriLUGers!
That's a great question. You can do IPv6 two different ways both of which will provide you IPv6 address space. We'll call the two ways "hard" and "easy". We'll cover the VPN thing second.
The Hard Way
The hard way is you go to your ISP and beg/plead/ask/pay for a block of IPv6 addresses much like you would if you wanted a set of IPv4 addresses. ISPs aren't fully on the IPv6 bandwagon yet so expect to get a lot of "why do you want to do that" and "I'm not sure we support that" kind of questions and comments. It's rather frustrating and I don't recommend going this route.
The Easy Way
If your ISP grants you a routable IPv4 address (i.e. not in the 10.x.x.x, 172.16.x.x or 192.168.x.x ranges) you already have an IPv6 range at your disposal using 6to4 addressing (and a large block of addresses at that). With 6to4 addressing any routable IPv4 address you are granted addresses in the humongous 2002::/16 IPv6 address space. How is it automatic? Your IPv4 routable address is automatically translated into hexadecimal. Why? For one reason IPv4 uses dot-decimal notation while IPv6 uses hexadecimal addressing.
Let's look a bit further. All IPv6 6to4 address, as previously stated, are contained within the 2002::/16 range. Following the network designation of 2002 the first 32 bits are your routable IPv4 address translated into hex. For instance if your firewall was issued the address of 192.0.2.42 by your ISP your IPv6 address range would be 2002:c000:022a::/48. After that you have another 16 bit network field to do as you please and a 64 bit host field all at your disposal.
So does this mean you can have a full network of hosts addressable on the Internet using IPv6 6to4 behind a NAT firewall with a single IPv4 address. Yes! Yes it does. It's really quite fun. If you are on a remote network and your computer has been issued an IPv6 address, either statically configured by the network administrator or, far more likely, issued by the DHCP server, you will be able to communicate with however many IPv6 devices you have on your remote network, even though the remote devices are exist behind a single IPv4 NAT'ed address. Cool huh?
Finally there is one important caveat: if the IPv4 addresses on your home firewall changes so does all your IPv6 6to4 addresses. As I write this I am not aware of a service such as dyndns on the IPv4 side that will update domain names using IPv6 6to4. Hint hint there, industrious TriLUGers!
Monday, September 8, 2008
My jouney with IPv6
IPv6 is cool. Very cool. Way cooler than IPv4. There are some shortcomings but none that serious past that VERY LONG ADDRESS which, I admit, is there for a reason. Last week I had intended on configuring a 6to4 network at the condo with the end goal to have my behind-the-NAT-firewall devices addressable on the IPv6 Internet even though they remain uncontactable behind the NAT device on the IPv4 Internet. It worked and took all of three minutes to configure. Apple, in this case, makes things far too easy.
At the condo I use an Apple Airport Extreme as my Internet router. It works well and I have no complaints. The Airport Extreme, like all the other Apple routers, do 6to4 addressing automatically, and that's a nice touch. Just what is 6to4? As the name implies it converts IPv4 addresses (sort-of) into IPv6 addresses.
What it really does is it takes any routable IPv4 address and creates a network in the IPv6 space of 2002::/16. This is a special space and there are routers on the Internet that listen for routes destined for networks within this range. The 6to4 gateway routers takes packets destined for your IPv4 network and snaps the IPv6 packets into the IPv4 packets. Your home router then receives the IPv4 snap packet which it disassembles and routes to the device with the destination matching the address in the packet. Very simple and elegant. Transmissions from your machine and network work the same way, only in reverse. It is a fantastically elegant way to make IPv6 hosts addressable to IPv4 networks.
What about address overlap? There isn't any. And this is where you head will explode when you try to wrap your mind around the size of the IPv6 address space. One single routed IPv4 address will translate into an IPv6 network with prefix length of 48 bits, a network length of 16 bits (just in case you want to run a couple million hosts behind your single IPv4 address) and 64 bits just for the device address (which turns out to be the hexadecimal equivalent of your NIC MAC address.) Nice. Easy. Elegant. For the record, for each IPv4 address we're talking about an address space of 65,536 networks, each with up to 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 hosts. Yeah, IPv6 has a large address space and remember, ALL THE IPv4 ADDRESSES all fit inside the 2002::/16 network range each capable of that many networks and hosts. Sweet.
I've got my network working but what to do with it now? I suppose I can run services to the IPv6 Internet. What will NOT work is IPv4 ONLY devices being able to contact my IPv6 hosts. For that the end host would have to run IPv6 either under and assigned network range or via 6to4.
So go forth all! Join the geekery and let's get those 6to4 networks turned up! Even if you still block incoming IPv6 packets directly to your end host at least you can allow your devices to communicate with other IPv6 devices on the Internet.
At the condo I use an Apple Airport Extreme as my Internet router. It works well and I have no complaints. The Airport Extreme, like all the other Apple routers, do 6to4 addressing automatically, and that's a nice touch. Just what is 6to4? As the name implies it converts IPv4 addresses (sort-of) into IPv6 addresses.
What it really does is it takes any routable IPv4 address and creates a network in the IPv6 space of 2002::/16. This is a special space and there are routers on the Internet that listen for routes destined for networks within this range. The 6to4 gateway routers takes packets destined for your IPv4 network and snaps the IPv6 packets into the IPv4 packets. Your home router then receives the IPv4 snap packet which it disassembles and routes to the device with the destination matching the address in the packet. Very simple and elegant. Transmissions from your machine and network work the same way, only in reverse. It is a fantastically elegant way to make IPv6 hosts addressable to IPv4 networks.
What about address overlap? There isn't any. And this is where you head will explode when you try to wrap your mind around the size of the IPv6 address space. One single routed IPv4 address will translate into an IPv6 network with prefix length of 48 bits, a network length of 16 bits (just in case you want to run a couple million hosts behind your single IPv4 address) and 64 bits just for the device address (which turns out to be the hexadecimal equivalent of your NIC MAC address.) Nice. Easy. Elegant. For the record, for each IPv4 address we're talking about an address space of 65,536 networks, each with up to 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 hosts. Yeah, IPv6 has a large address space and remember, ALL THE IPv4 ADDRESSES all fit inside the 2002::/16 network range each capable of that many networks and hosts. Sweet.
I've got my network working but what to do with it now? I suppose I can run services to the IPv6 Internet. What will NOT work is IPv4 ONLY devices being able to contact my IPv6 hosts. For that the end host would have to run IPv6 either under and assigned network range or via 6to4.
So go forth all! Join the geekery and let's get those 6to4 networks turned up! Even if you still block incoming IPv6 packets directly to your end host at least you can allow your devices to communicate with other IPv6 devices on the Internet.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Goodbye, vacation!
Tomorrow I leave the Waves/Rodanthe/Salvo area and return to work. Drat. I love my job, I really do, but I love the beach more. But without the job I can't afford the beach. I feel a bit like an addict in this way. There's something I want that I get on occasion (week at the beach) but I have to work the other 40+ weeks a year for these all-too-short weeks in view of the salt water.
But enough bitching. A lot of strange things happened this week. Of them several things I could not have anticipated occurred including:
1. coming out of "retirement" after 20 years any playing bouncer for a night
2. breaking up a fight
3. getting punched
4. applying the perfect rear naked choke to said puncher
5. configuring a Cisco router (don't I get enough of this at my "real job"?)
6. replacing two cable modems
7. riding out a tropical storm
I'm sure I'll think up some more, but quite a bit happened over what was a very lazy week. I can only imagine what would have happened had I not been so lazy and slept so late each day!
Oh, and it was HOT this week. HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. Too darn not, as a matter of fact. This was one reason why I was so lazy - it was just too darn hot to stay outside for any measure of time (especially on the beach - you'd blister your skin out there in under one hour (not really, but it felt that way)). Next year when we plan our later summer/fall week at the beach we'll probably come down in October.
Goodbye, vacation. You were a good vacation and I hope that every member of my readership enjoys a vacation this year as satisfying as mine.
But enough bitching. A lot of strange things happened this week. Of them several things I could not have anticipated occurred including:
1. coming out of "retirement" after 20 years any playing bouncer for a night
2. breaking up a fight
3. getting punched
4. applying the perfect rear naked choke to said puncher
5. configuring a Cisco router (don't I get enough of this at my "real job"?)
6. replacing two cable modems
7. riding out a tropical storm
I'm sure I'll think up some more, but quite a bit happened over what was a very lazy week. I can only imagine what would have happened had I not been so lazy and slept so late each day!
Oh, and it was HOT this week. HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. Too darn not, as a matter of fact. This was one reason why I was so lazy - it was just too darn hot to stay outside for any measure of time (especially on the beach - you'd blister your skin out there in under one hour (not really, but it felt that way)). Next year when we plan our later summer/fall week at the beach we'll probably come down in October.
Goodbye, vacation. You were a good vacation and I hope that every member of my readership enjoys a vacation this year as satisfying as mine.
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