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GRAFFITI -- April 16, 2007 thru April 22, 2007>> 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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April 16, 2007
0749 - Good morning, more or less. I ran into something interesting yesterday. For a while, Harmony (the MacBook Pro) was behaving like your typical blonde - unable to remember how to connect to a WPA-PSK wireless AP, even after being told numerous times. More interestingly, she'd been working last night. After several failed attempts, I just gave up and connected the Ethernet cable. I had other fish to fry. Later yesterday, I tried again, and it was just ... working. Hate that. Didn't change anything, stops working, later, starts working again. Sigh. But I found something in the process of experimenting.
Lots of HTTP connections are established when Firefox starts. Many more than the one to my Start page on Zidane. How many? Well, in the first two minutes after starting Firefox, there were 79 packets. Many of those, of course, are the three-way handshake setting up a TCP connection. Firefox fetches the Start page, the CSS file that structures it, and the favicon file for my site. But then there's a request for an RSS feed from the Beeb — that returns a 302 Moved code. Then there are 27 packets in the conversation between the new RSS feed site. Then there's another RSS feed pulled down. I sure don't recall setting anything up, and I don't have any fancy scrolling text either. I think it's time to look at the config files for Firefox.
Here on Harmony, the data files for Firefox are down in the Library, under Application Support/Firefox ... Oh. My. It's in bookmarks (although I checked in the prefs.js file in my default profile, first). So that covers the News RSS stuff. I still have to locate something about a Vulnerabilities RSS feed, and there's a SafeBrowsing thing that goes out to Google without me asking. I need to look at the extensions I have installed - it's possible that adblock and/or its updater is just going places I don't expect. But I like to know. More when I learn more.
The good news is that there's no snow, and none in the forecast. As late as Saturday, there was still the possibility. I'm relieved. And by weekend we're supposed to be in the 70's. That means it's almost garden time. But right now it's time to take Marcia to the train station. She's off to Islandia for the next couple of days, for corporate legal beagle meetings. See y'all later.
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April 17, 2007
0832 - Good morning. A sad day at Virginia Tech. It really is too bad that even in Virginia, where gun laws are relatively sane, there's no carry permitted at any educational facilities. So the only armed people at any school are cops (who clearly can't be everywhere protecting everyone, and bad guys. So let's be clear here - the answer to this sort of problem ISN'T to make more restrictive gun laws, because bad guys won't care about the laws. If I had my druthers, we'd arm everyone, train them all in safe and proper use, and watch what happened. There'd probably be a short period of Darwinian sorting, and then a much politer society would result. Think about it.
Back to the grindstone. Have a better day today.
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April 18, 2007
No Post...
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April 19, 2007
0858 - Good morning. And now the next change starts moving. I've been waiting on word for a few days, and yesterday afternoon it came in. So, in a short while, I'll be handing in my resignation from Check Point Software, effective 3 May 2007. We're going to have out-of-town guests for a few days starting that evening, and I guess that my first day with the ${FIRM}++ is going to be May 14.
Yeah, that's big news. I'll be working with folks that I interacted with during my days as a NERD. My title in the new gig is (I think) Senior Linux/Unix Administrator. Or something related. Big stretch for me, I know ... grin. But larger systems, multi-site, yadda-yadda. I'm looking forward to the challenge, working with these people, and not insignificantly, a commute that should give me back 6-8 hours a week compared to my current drive. That has value.
Any time I leave a position I'm always a bit torn. I wouldn't be in my current gig if it weren't for the absolutely stellar people I work with. Yeah, good product. Boo, horrid commute. But people make or break an organization. And at the local level, this is a great crew. I'll be sad to not be a part of this team. Such is life, though.
In other news, Marcia got home last night from her business travel. Yay. Now... I need to get back to work. There are loose ends that need tying up. Ciao!
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April 20, 2007
1759 - Good evening. Not much to say, I'm about to go feed the dogs. If I had to summarize in one word, it would be disappointment. Disappointment in those who think that I would back down and not move on, after giving my word. Sigh. Okay, on with the weekend.
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April 21, 2007
0808 - Good morning. Here are some thoughts I just sent Jerry's way ... can you tell I'm not really awake yet? The context was following my successful installation and play of World of Warcraft under Crossover Linux 6.0.1 and Ubuntu 7.04...
As far as I know... I was playing in Hydraxis (sp?) for about 2 hours past bedtime last night.
Jerry. Don't use Linux. You'll hate it. Even if you don't run into the same problems as anyone else, it's different enough that you'll hate it. Try OS X when you decide it is time - you'll probably hate that, too - there are fundamental UI differences that you'll have to train yourself around.
Your focus is fiction. You don't *really* want to use another OS, nor run a home mail server, nor really maintain a home AD anymore. You want to write, and have people enjoy it enough to pay you for it. The CMR writing counts for that, too, on some scale.
So if you putz around on these alternative Operating Systems, in order to write about them, don't start by trying to make them do everything you want, because you're a demanding user. Bob can give his SiL (Sister-in-Law) a Linux box with ease because it does the tasks she wants - email, browsing, and photo management - without any current threat of real danger from worms, virii, or malware. There is plenty that's good, and a healthy ecosystem away from MS, but ... you'll hate it. There'd be lots to write about, but you'd have to approach it from the "I know I'm going to hate this, but I'm playing with it anyway... find something nice to say." Remember your transition from CP/M to DOS.
Gaming - most commercial games are Windows-based. Beginning and end of story. If that's the core of a user's requirements, there's no question at all. For the gaming machine. For a long while, I retained a spindle that booted Windows so that I could play games. Now, either the game runs on native on Mac OS X (like WoW and a few others), runs native on Linux (like Quake 4, Doom 3, etc), or I can get it to run with Crossover on either platform. Or I don't play. It's not like I don't have plenty to do, and games aren't nearly the most important thing I do with computers.
I do wish you'd move away from using Office and Outlook. Office because of the proprietary formats, and Outlook ... just because. But those are your tools of the trade. Such is life.
I like Linux because it works the way I want, and I've "grown into it" - been using it since '94, full time since 98. Even with my MacBook Pro around, I still use Linux on a workstation for many things, and on the home server.
Here endeth the random thoughts before my first cup of coffee. I think I'll use them as a post, this morning.
In other news, today is day one of the gardening marathon. I've taken Monday and Tuesday off, and I'm going to put the whole yard into shape. Boy, howdy, am I going to be sore before this run is over. Better get started.
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April 22, 2007
1853 - Good evening. Day two of yard-pain completed. Pictures tomorrow. Still plenty to accomplish this evening, there's a boatload of email on Pournelle's backchannel that I need to catch up with. I'm also keeping up with my friend Trang's blog - her husband Bruce is due home from an 18 month National Guard deployment to Iraq. Actually he was due back last week, but there's been no post. So he's home and Trang is too happy to post, or he's not, and Trang is too pissed off to post. One day I'll know what's really happening. Maybe. There's been lots happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, too. And our boys (and girls) keep dying in a foreign land, trying to help what appears from this vantage to be ingrateful nations... I am so proud of their service and their commitment to duty.
Now, to figure out what to have for dinner. I have had today, so far, some cheese and an oatmeal bar with coffee (breakfast), two donuts (lunch), 48 oz. of water and 16 oz. of cranberry juice. Time to feed my inner velociraptor. Ciao!
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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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