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GRAFFITI -- December 15 thru December 21, 2003>> Link to the Current Week <<Last Week << Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun >> Next Week Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable. About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.. |
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December 15, 2003 - Updates at 0730
Good morning. Reader Robert Lund yesterday suggested that my problems with the Dell PowerEdge 1500 might be related to the BIOS not recognizing such a large IDE disk. 160 G is, after all, a fairly recent development. Well, we had already updated the BIOS to the latest version, but on a lark, I dragged a 40G drive down from here to try out. No joy. Very weird. After a few more contortions, it was time to stop throwing good money after bad: the box just really, really wants to be a WIndows box, so there he stays. We tweaked up the application that handles their email, got the rest of the workstations running in their Windows or Linux configurations (about an even split, there) and bailed out slightly before 5. Long weekend. I've got a few more things to do there this morning, so I'll be leaving you here. I have some pictures to post, but later... Have a great day!
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December 16, 2003 - Updates at 0645
Good morning. Later, as is often the case, turns out to be the next day. Here's a couple of snaps of the mutts, by my desk. In the first, Lucy is working hard at getting my attention. Shortly thereafter, having given up the effort, she joins Sally in napping at my side. How sweet is that?
Yesterday, I got home from my morning's work shortly after noon, did a couple of things, got lunch, ran to the store, then got to relax for a while, taking the dogs for a walk together. That was nice. Really, it was Lucy taking Sally and I for a drag, as she's a little powerhouse. It was also a bit brisk, as I'd left my coat behind. I had been hopeful of the sun providing some warmth, but apparently light is the limit at this time. The other notable thing about Lucy is that she's got one of Malcolm's traits - she's a paper shredder and disposal unit. But she's never met the lad (yet).
Our tree is up and decorated (actually, it's been so for about two weeks, see below for a special question). It's up in the Library, and shows out through the front windows, like many of the houses in this neighborhood. However, there are some severely over-decorated joints around here - this weekend I'll stroll about and get some pictures of Too Much Christmas - Bowie Style.
Now, about pictures... I probably took 30 pictures of the tree before I got one that wasn't blurred out. Is it possible that the lights on the tree are confusing the focus and shutter-speed automated camera (Olympus D450Z)? I finally got the shots that worked by fixing the focus at about 3 meters and firing the camera. That's awkward, since it involves multiple buttons held simultaneously to get the picture. One more reason to look at an SLR body camera next time around.
In the afternoon, I undertook a couple of small home improvement projects, started the laundry, and zipped around with the vacuum, filling that with dog hair. Our two shed a bit, but Ebony drops hair by the cubic yard, it seems. Not that that matters, we think Eboneezer is one cool canine, and a great houseguest. By the time all that was done, I was whacked, and hopeful of getting to bed around nine-ish. Silly me, looked at the clock and found it to be 10:30. Whew. It was a long few days there...
Off to Gaithersburg today, so I'd best be on the road. Have a great day!
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December 17, 2003 - Updates at 0725
Good morning. I ... don't have much to say this morning. I know that I'm bloody tired, that's for sure. It's pouring down outside in buckets, and we're on track for the wettest year on record. We were only 2.5" down from that 10 days ago, and since then we've had snow and rain. Between last night and today, we should push over the top. Because temps are supposed to drop like a rock today, the rain just might turn to snow and ice after dark. Shouldn't be enough to warrant the snow blower emerging from the batcave though.
I worked on Debian boxes yesterday, and remain stymied by problems getting services talking properly from the DMZ to the LAN on a Sonicwall, which is where one of the machines now lives. We kept after it up to 1730, then called it a day. I've got some things to try on Friday, when I'm back at that site.
I've slogged through the email and come up with a couple of admin tasks that need doing. In the news, Mandrake is apparently showing some financial strength, which is a good thing. And I've got to get to work. Have a great day!
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December 18, 2003 - Updates at 0735
Good morning...
I laughed for a good five minutes when that landed in my inbox yesterday, courtesy of Larry. The other image that springs to mind is of some of the mumble-bums who stagger out and direct traffic in between bouts of talking to the gods. I've seen them in Berkeley, California time and time again -- Saddam now strongly resembles on of those poor souls. We were talking about a suitable punishment for people like Saddam and bin Laden. My first thought was to let them loose in New York's Central Park. And maybe that'll be good enough for bin Laden. But I think we could easily drop Saddam in the central square of a Kurdish village. That should put paid to the problem, and at low cost.
Linux kernel 2.6 is upon us. Check out kernel.org: The latest stable version of the Linux kernel is: 2.6.0 2003-12-18 03:04 UTC F V C Changelog... So it's just over 9 hours old right now. Woo hoo!!! Is it really stable, you ask? Greg's been running the 2.6-test series for months, and I've been running them since 2.6-test8, a couple of months ago. Yes, it's faster, better, stronger. And if you have QT installed (as all KDE users, and many others do), then using make xconfig is much nicer now. However, if you run a packaged distribution, then don't expect the new kernel anytime soon. But it's easy to roll your own... I'll do an updated kernel how-to on the weekend.
Okay, time to organize myself for work. Have a great day!
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December 19, 2003 - Updates at 0645
Good morning... No post this morning - it's bitter and icy out, that'll make for a slow drive and I've got a long way to go. See you later or tomorrow.
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December 20, 2003 - Updates at 0930
Good morning... not! I tossed and turned much of the night, it feels, and I woke with a crashing, screaming headache following seeming hours of dreams about trying to find the car I lost in a mall parking lot the size of Colorado. Sheesh. Not an auspicious start to the day. I've had some meds, coffee, a bit of breakfast and we'll see how the day goes from here. I am going to head down to Home Depot in a bit to see what I can find to fix up a couple of things around here. Then there's some setup downstairs and other chores to do. If all goes well, then I'll start working on the kernel howto that I was talking about earlier this week. Wish me luck...
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December 21, 2003 - Updates at 0930
Good morning. Well, the headache's gone, but so, somehow, is my time, yet again! I burned through most of yesterday afternoon doing electrical work around the house, swapping out a light/fan switch and several outlets that were loosey-goosey. By the time that was done, it was time to shower and head over to Mike and Patty's for supper and a bonus showing of Scrooged. Good people, good food, good movie. Much fun was had by all. The only downside was spending 20 minutes just getting out of Gaithersburg due to the county cops blocking first six, then four, then two lanes of travel because of a two car fender-bender with no one hurt. We know no one was hurt because the fire department and rescue squad and ambulances rolled up on the scene, blocked things for a short bit, then left again. By the time there were only two lanes blocked, it was only in our direction of travel - there were four county squad cars and six officers ... standing around chatting. I presume they were waiting until ... what? A tow service? A broom to sweep up the broken glass? Dawn? Anyway, we got to watch them for a while. Two cherry-tops plus the bent cars were blocking in the number one lane, then there were two more squad cars needlessly in the number two lane, leaving three lanes through and two lanes turning to squeeze by in the sole right lane. Silly people. I've got an idea. Push the cars off the road, sweep the debris up, and get rolling. There are warmer places to be than the middle of the road in the middle of the night in northern Maryland in December.
Muammar Qaddaffi, Libya's dictator and long-time terrorist sugar-daddy, has agreed to dismantle his WMD programs and allow international inspections. The NYT's December 20th article Lessons of Libya, covering this development, is unintentionally hilarious.
An honest account would probably have read something like this:
When Qaddafi saw the Hussein capture pictures they must have scared him silly. Realizing that the U.S. is no longer in the mood to take shit from tin-pot tyrants in khaffiyehs, and that the U.S. military could blow its way into Tripoli and give him a free dental exam in less time than it would take for an utterly impotent U.N. to pass the resolution condemning American action, he crawled to the Brits whimpering "Don't let your big brother hurt me, pleeeassseee.."
Now, I see this as a good thing in the main. And Eric (as usual) writes with needle accuracy. However, the vindication of some of the Bush administration policies may end up meaning that we get to have another four years of ALL of those policies, including the continued infringement of civil and personal liberties, the increasingly unconstitutional federalization of those powers once reserved to the states, and the potential marginalization of the courts as a counterforce. The only good signs I've seen in recent weeks are the rulings in Federal Appeals courts in New York and San Francisco granting rights of due process, lawyers and the American court system to prisoners held under Shrub's anti-terror orders. Those rulings may not stand in the short term, but at least they're a public display of the courts not sitting idly by while the republic is converted to an empire.
Now, let's see if we can get the shopping and chores done quickly enough for me to work on something fun this afternoon, like that kernel thing... Later!
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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.
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