Diary of a Network Geek

I have a power problem.

Well, to be more precise, my office has a power problem.
Though, maybe it's more accurate to call it a "power inconvenience" than anything else.  We make great, big, huge cranes.  These cranes take a lot of power, so when we're testing them, our building suffers from huge power fluctuations.

So, what to do?  Well, possibly, setup a script on my Linux monitoring server to Twitter the power status of the big UPS in my office.  How?  Well with this tutorial on YourWarrantyIsVoid.com, that's how.
(Okay, confession time...  This has been sitting in my queue so long that not only have I scrapped the Linux monitoring server, to be rebuilt at a future date, and the actual power problem has been resolved, too.  But, it was a good idea, so I'm going to share it anyway.  Enjoy!)

Right, so you know I love Linux, right?

But, beyond that, I love all the bootable tools and utilities and things that Linux let's you do to Windows machines.  Well, there was a time I carried several "flavors" of Linux on various USB keys in my pocket, depending on what I wanted to do.  In that spirit, I have another tool to create Linux USB Keys for you; LinuxLive USB Creator

It's a free, Open Source utility for Windows that let's you create live USB keys running Linux.  The link will take you to the download page on SourceForge.

If you're a geek like me, it's worth a look!

I've had so many jobs, I've lost track of what my title should be.

I've been called everything from "Network Engineer" to "Server Administrator" to "Network Ninja" to...  Well, let's just say I've been called a lot of things during my career, some nicer than others.  But, in the end, what they all had in common was that I usually spend long hours confined to a small, often dark, usually quite loud, space, never seeing sunlight for days or weeks at a time.  It's not anywhere near as sexy as they make it seem in Hollywood, trust me.  Anyway, back in the day, I described my job to a friend who'd spent some time in the Navy.  His comment was that it sounded like I was a perfect candidate for the Submarine Service.
From what I've read, though, they eat better than instant ramen with leftover pork loin.
*sigh* One day I aspire to live like a human and not a morlock.

Yesterday marked this blog's ten year anniversary.

In ten years, I've made more than 1,700 posts and had more than 1,900 comments, many of those from years when I blogged almost every day.  But, it was ten years ago when I uploaded my first entry. I edited it in a text editor of some kind, probably Notepad, and used FTP to push it up to the server. That was back in the days before blogging software and when most of us still called them journals or diaries. I started doing it to try and game the search engines. Mostly, it worked, I think, since the majority of my readers have found me via a search of some kind.

Since that first entry, a lot has changed.
I've been through two different kinds of blogging software. After months of doing it by hand, I converted to Moveable Type. I used that for several years, until the Time of the Troubles, when there was a big fuss over how Moveable Type was going to charge for previously free software, even after promising to keep it free forever. Like most converts, I changed over to WordPress, which I still use today. Moveable Type does have a free version, but, frankly, after learning how easy it was to style and customize WordPress, I can't imagine moving back. Not to mention how much easier it is to make plugins for WordPress. Frankly, I love it.
Ten years ago, I did quite a few entries from the road via my old Palm IIIc with a folding keyboard. I typed them up and then synced that with my PC and pushed the entries from there. That old IIIc doesn't hold a charge too well any more, but I'm still using the same PC I was ten years ago. Of course, I've added a much newer laptop, several other machines, and an iPhone to my technological stable since then. In fact, I was a beta tester for the new iPhone WordPress app!

A lot of other things have changed, too.
For one thing, I married and subsequently divorced the woman I was living with at the time. I've changed jobs, count it, five times, finally staying at my current company for about five years. I survived cancer. But, ironically, after several ups and downs with weight, I'm probably in better shape now than I was ten years ago!
Sure, I'd have liked to had a few more dates in the past ten years, but, I think I've done okay considering the divorce, not to mention the less than stellar marriage and, you know, the cheating death and all.  You'd be surprised how tired you get dodging the Grim Reaper!

I've upgraded my Novell certification at least once in that time as well as added a Linux certification.  My original plan of using this blog to boost my rankings in the search engines has largely paid off, as I'm consistently the number one or number two hit on Google for the search term "network geek".
In that time, I've taught myself Perl, which is a scripting/programming language that's been called the "duct tape of the Internet".  In fact, as of this post, I'm a Level 8 PerlMonk.  (It's a geek thing.) I've also gotten reasonably proficient at PHP, since that's the technology which makes WordPress go.  At least, I've gotten good enough to write a few simple plugins and even a rough theme.  Frankly, I hope to do more of that soon, too.

I've taken up photography since starting this blog, too, and I think I've gotten fairly good at it.  Naturally, there's room for improvement, as I've only been doing it for about two years, but, still, it's something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.  I'm not very artistically skilled, but photography lets me tap into that in a less intimidating way.  I suppose, in a way, so does my obsession with blog themes and logo design.

And, of course, I've started several other blogs or websites in the ten years that I've had this blog.  But, don't worry, those sites have been languishing just as badly as this one has the past several months.  It's not that I haven't wanted to write, or even had things to write about, but I've just been too busy to sit down and do it.
Though, I do have to admit, part of that sort of writer's block has been about my audience.  I mean, if you hit that search function over in the sidebar, you can get pretty interesting access to my life for the past ten years.  Oh, sure, not everything makes it into the blog, but I've been pretty candid posting here.  I try to keep it clean, mostly, and nothing that would embarrass my mother, but, I have been honest enough to shock a few friends.  So, if there's something you want to know about me, just search for it.  You may be surprised what you find here!

So, wow.
It's been an interesting experience blogging for the past ten years.  I started before the trend was as huge as it was and kept on even when the shine had worn off for many.  I can say for sure that I didn't anticipate many of the twists and turns this blog took over the past ten years, much less my life, but it has been an interesting ride.  Many of you have been with me for quite some time now and I appreciate you reading along with me here.
I don't know what the next ten years will bring here, or elsewhere in life, but I do hope you'd come along for the ride.  I'm sure it will be as big a surprise to me as it is to you!

No, that's not like pen testing.

I used to think with a yellow legal pad.  Then, I thought on a keyboard.  Now, it sort of depends on what I'm doing where and how I do my thinking.  As long-time readers may remember, I've been carrying a small Moleskine notebook with me everywhere I go to record thoughts I don't want to lose.  That, of course, requires a pen.  Or a pencil, I suppose, but I tend toward permanent thoughts, so I use a pen.  The only problem is, Moleskines don't have a pen sleeve of any kind.  Problem solved: Pen Sleeve.

(Okay, kind of lame for a Friday post, but, really, I've been too busy to post much.  And, sadly, I have little to show for being so busy, either!)

I likes me some Moleskine.

I am a geek.  This is not news to you if you read the title of this blog.  The geek is built in.  Like many geeks, I fixate on things to the point of distraction at times.  One of the non-computer things that I have fixated on over the years are Moleskine notebooks.  In fact, I carry one with me pretty much everywhere I go with an embossed red tape label on it to capture my brilliant ideas.  It's mostly empty, but that's besides the point.

When choosing this particular Moleskine, I bought several of each variety, lined, squared, plain, in both sizes.  I looked at the merits of each.  The open-ended freedom of the plain that I could picture an artist using.  The writer's familiar lined much like I'm sure Hemingway used.  The squared version seeming like the kind of thing Edison would carry to sketch out engineering drawings.  But, in the end, I had to choose just one.  I had to commit to using one style, one method, one mindset.  Well, not so much any more.

Now, thanks to the Moleskine website, there are templates for making your own custom pages in each of the formats and sizes available.  Now, you can add ruled pages to your plain notebook, or squared pages to your lined notebook.  You can even add a personal information page!  Why, the possibilities are virtually endless!  (Well, mathematically speaking, they are finite, but you get what I mean.)
Also?  Now that Moleskine has loose-leaf paper like they bind into their notebooks available, customizing your Moleskine is even easier.

Well, I guess this is what happens when you don't adequately screen candidates.

Of course, most of what the TSA does is make us feel safer, not anything that really makes us safer.  Still, I think we should draw the line at TSA employees ransacking our luggage for electronics.  And, no, before you ask, I didn't lose anything this last trip to San Francisco.  In part, because I brought every bit of camera gear on the plane with me in a carry-on bag.  Might have been a good thing, considering the fact that the TSA did go into my checked bag to, uh, check my underwear or something.  After all, my boxer-briefs are quite possibly a threat to national security.  No, really, they must be.

Seriously, this is a huge problem and it has been for ages.  Photographers all know that you should never, ever check your camera gear through Baltimore, among other places.  Frankly, I have too much personal "disposable" income invested in my camera gear to check it through anywhere.  I've heard too many stories about things going missing from bags.  In fact, when I got into Houston and collected my bag, I was making small talk with a fellow passenger who was apparently shocked to discover that TSA baggage inspectors had been caught taking things out of people's luggage.  Though, he had to admit that he had noticed some things had gone missing from his bag while traveling.  He figured, however, that they were just so over-worked that they'd forgotten to put it back in the bag.  Yeah, that's actually what he told me.  Maybe it's just me, but, well, I just don't trust the average government employee.

I used a ThinkTank Airport Ultralight v2.5 to get all my photography gear into an overhead bin.  I ended up not using everything I brought, but I was glad to have it, just because I might have wanted it.  So, it was worth the investment.  I'll probably get around to a review later.

Anyway, if you're traveling, watch your bags and what goes into them.
Seriously.

In Brooklyn?

So, I can't believe I haven't written about this before, but there's a store in Brooklyn that sells superhero stuff.  Like a gallon of gravity.  And capes.  And invisibility by the jug.  Yeah, the Brooklyn Superhero Store is like Acme, but for the superhero world.  And it's real!

Okay, it's mostly real.  You get something for your money, but it's not super powers.  What you get is to support a not-for-profit organization that helps kids in New York get into creative writing.  The store is how they fund it.  You can read more at the FAQ.  And, you can read more about the program they support at 826NYC.com

(And, yes, I know I owe you all a bunch of updates and pictures about my trip to WonderCon this past week, but I've been sick, so just give me a little time, okay?)

Oh, sweet Jesus, I'm old.

So, some time back, there was this article about how kids could hear these ultrasonic tones that older adults couldn't.  Shopkeepers in the UK were using that to their advantage to drive away teen-age loiterers with ultrasonics.  Well, those sneaky kids have turned the tables and are using ultrasonic ring tones in school.  They can hear them, but the teachers can't.  Sneaky.

Oh, and if you think you aren't old?  Go to Ultrasonic Ringtones and see how many you can hear.  Thanks to my tinnitus from working in server rooms, my ears are all but shot in the high frequency ranges.  Also, I'm old, old, old.

TheBountyHunter

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I saw The Bounty Hunter Friday last week.

I know, I've been bad about letting things go between updates here, even though I've mostly reduced things to just doing movie reviews. I've been busy.
In any case, I did get out to see The Bounty Hunter staring Jennifer Anniston and Gerard Butler. They star as a formerly married people. He was a cop and she was a cub reporter. Now, she's a very successful reporter and he's a bounty hunter. The funny thing is, while she was working on a story, she got a little tangled up with the courts for a minor altercation that got a little blown out of proportion. Well, now, she's working on another story and, as she's about to go into court, she gets a call from a source, so she misses her court date. Naturally, what that means is that her bail gets revoked and a bench warrant for her arrest. Can you guess who gets the job?

Right.
And you can pretty well guess where the comedy goes from there. Of course, it is funny. I mean, really, it is. But, it's a romantic comedy, even though these two start off divorced. At first, the movie is about him chasing her and trying to bring her back to jail. But, her story quickly becomes a problem as the people she's investigating try to kill her. And, mayhem ensues.

I don't have time for my regular, in depth review this morning, but let me say that this movie was far funnier than I thought it would be. I mean, look at the actors playing the two leading characters. No, really, just go look at them. They're simply beautiful to look at, both of them. I'm pretty sure that's all we were meant to do, anyway, was look at them. But, it turns out, their on-screen dialog is pretty funny, too. Okay, perhaps not the most brilliant or subtle comedy, but, still, funny enough that for most of the film I was laughing out loud. The last third of the movie, though, they really step up the romance content and it kind of over-shadows the comedy. It's still there, but, frankly, I think at this point we're supposed to be more interested in them as pretty people than actual people.

Now, I'll grant you, I had pretty low expectations for this film, but they were certainly all exceeded. It was a funny, comedy romp that was grown-up without being particularly blue.
Oh, and also, there was some action, so that Gerard Butler could show off his 300 physique. And, yes, for those of you who care, he does still pretty much have it. Damn him. Also, Jennifer Anniston was pretty damn hot, too.
The plot is nothing new, really, and the surprises were few, but the movie was fun enough, and the stars attractive enough, that it really didn't matter much. And, let me hasten to point out, in spite of some weaknesses in the plot and action, and romance, I was still quite entertained. Though, yes, I do have to agree with other reviewers that the two stars lacked on-screen chemistry. At no point did I suspect they were banging each other off camera, and that's okay. It doesn't take anything away from the film, really. I doubt I'd have much chemistry with my ex-wife, even if I had to drag her back to jail, so a certain friction instead of chemistry in this movie actually kind of works.

So, in short, it's not a bad film and if you're in the mood for something light, fun, and not overly challenging mentally, in short, if you're looking to be entertained, then this movie is a great choice for you. If you can't stand one of these co-stars, you might want to wait until it hits DVD, but otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this film. I wouldn't see it again in the theater, but I'd rent it again, just for fun.

And, now, with that, I have to sign off and head to the airport. Vacation has officially begun and I'm off to WonderCon in scenic San Francisco. I'll try to do a couple of updates while I'm gone.
(Oh, and don't get any ideas about coming to rob me. My vicious guard dog is still here and people will be checking on my house throughout the weekend.)