Diary of a Network Geek

I’m not sure I’d trust this name in China, but…

Okay, this isn’t the most “accurate” of tools, but it is interesting. Basically, it’s a little web gadget that takes some information from you and pops out your, roughly approximated, Chinese “equivalent” name. The disclaimer says that you should get an expert to help you choose a Chinese name before using it in a real-world situation, since the Chinese feel that names are quite important to the character of a person. All of which is very interesting to me in terms of a created culture or created language.
For instance, I can picture a culture that has a separate language for naming. Or who hide their names for magical protection. Or who change their names for the same reason! Really, the possibilities are endless.

Oh, yeah, you can find the “Get a Chinese Name” tool here…

What if I did a report and no one noticed?

Well, two days ago, that’s just what happened. I do the regular check of all the backups for our company. I mean everything. I check all our local servers as well as all 35+ remote servers. Then, of course, I do up a report in Excel and e-mail it to everyone. Seems fairly important, right? Hmm, maybe not. On Tuesday, I was up to my ass in alligators and was all the way home before I realized that I hadn’t sent the report out. I created it and dealt with most, if not all, of the problems on it, but I never sent the e-mail.

But no one noticed!

So, why do I send out the stupid report? Why did I get chewed out a couple of months ago for not doing it “right”, even if I was doing it the way I was “trained” to do it? If a network admin falls in the forest and upper management isn’t there to hear him, does his resume make any sound?
Well, at least it’s a job.

Oh, it just never ends!

Back in September of last year, I commented on internal “smart-card” passports. Well, there are still issues with internal documentation.
The first is an interesting case about the right to refuse to give identification. This WiredNews story talks about a man in rural Nevada who refused to give a police officer his identification, based on the fact that he had not committed a crime and was jailed for “impeding an officer”. He was released and all charges were dropped, except for the $250 fine for impeding an officer. The case is going all the way to the Supreme Court. Fascinating.
The second story, also on WiredNews, is about an ordinance being voted on in San Franciso that, basically, protects citizens from the prying eyes of the Patriot Act. I doubt it will pass, much less stand up in court, but it’s interesting that people are trying to do something about what they percieve as an injustice.

The link between these two is the right to privacy. Some folks would argue that we’re not garanteed that right in the Constituition, but the majority of us think we are. I feel that my privacy is protected by the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. What about you? What will you do when the fight comes to your door?

I wish it were better.

First, of course, there weren’t many new tech jobs created this past month. According to this article on WiredNews, the Labor Department was expecting a lot more than they got. That’s never good news for tech people. I used to say that a tech geek could always find a job, if they just had the right skill set. Now, I say that a tech geek can find a job if they have retail experience.
On the upside, for Australians at least, is the fact that unions are getting involved in the off-shore debate. According to this article on AustalianIT, the Australian workers for Equant are protesting against off-shoring of their jobs. What does that all mean? I’m not sure, but you can bet that when a union gets involved, things will happen. Hmm, maybe it’s time for an IT union….

Is this really a good idea?

If this were coming from anyone but Bill Gates, I’d say “yes”. But, according to this article on AustralianIT, it’s Chairman Bill that’s suggesting this. And, of course, trying to patent it. And, eventually, no matter what he says, charge for it. And, there lies the rub. It’s a great idea, but not if I’m going to be sending Micro$oft money everytime I send or recieve an e-mail.
Oh, I know, it’s only fair if they develop the system and everyone uses it. Sure, but is it right? It’s fair and legal, but is it moral? No. And, past experience has shown that Micro$oft will eventually charge for it, not matter what “it” is at the direction of Chariman Bill. Fact of life. So, please, please, don’t support a MicroSoft-centric, closed standard version of this. But, should some enterprising young Open Source developer come up with something….

Okay, so I’m still trying.

I may not be doing as well as I’d like on this, but I haven’t quite given up. Enlarging my spiritual life is very important to me, so even a little bit of improvement is worth the effort. I’m still managing to pray at least three times a day, though, I’d really like to be praying four times, like the The One Year Manual suggests. In any case, I finally made myself read the exercise for the month. So here it is…

Rythmic breathing. A simple extension of the first two exercises, really. It’s just what it sounds like, breathing in a even, rythmic pattern. Oddly enough, this one is easy for me. I’ve been “into” Zen for quite a while and rythmic breathing is one of the basic building blocks there, too. So, it’s basically just breath in for a certain count and then breath out for the same count. Regardie suggests using a mantra as an aid. Interestingly enough, he suggests, for the Christian, “My Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” So, it would be inhale saying, mentally, “My… Lord… Jesus… Christ…” and exhale while saying, mentally, “have… mercy… on… me…” Now, I wish I’d read this sooner, because rythmic breathing I can not only do, but really get into. It’s very, very relaxing.
In fact, several years ago, I read Science of Breath, which is a book on nothing but breathing techniques used by the Yogis. It’s a fascinating book, really, and one I need to read again. I remember using techniques from this book to completely calm my heart-rate and breathing in just seconds after marching up several flights of stairs. And, I remember the stilling calmness I would get from just a few moments of rythmic breathing when I was feeling even the slightest anxiety.

Well, slowly but surely I march ever forward on the Path.

I knew SCO and Micro$oft were in it together!

First, this article on AustalianIT added to the suspicions of the Open Source community regarding MicroSoft’s involvement in the campaign against Linux. I’d, personally, had always wondered if Chairman Gates hadn’t been encouraging SCO to pursue this very unwise course of legal action against Linux users. Well, guess what? Just yesterday, AustralianIT confirmed that there is, in fact, a link between SCO and Micro$oft!
Is it really paranoia when they are all out to get you? Micro$oft has been trying to kill Linux since it became a “blip” on the media radar, so it stands to reason that they’d help SCO down the path they took. Free enterprise, indeed. But, you know, I didn’t see any of this in the American press. Hmm, I wonder why that is?

Two odd ones.

One’s even in Houston! First, though, the Troll Museum. Yes, that’s right. Trolls. Not in the very-scary-big-monster variety, but the neon-hair-belly-button variety. Yes, those horrible, little figurines have their own museum. It’s like a car accident. It’s terrible, but I can’t look away.
The second museum is in my very own Houston! It’s the National Museum of Funeral History. Yeah, you read that right. It’s a museum dedicated to the way we bury our dead. And mourn them. It’s horrific, too, in a different way. But, I have to admit, it’s interesting. Now, if I can just convince the wife that she wants to go….

Well, either way, they might make a fun vactation stop, depending on your sense of humor! Happy Friday!