Diary of a Network Geek

No, not here.
But, here is a link to XYZ Computing’s Mini-ITX tutorial. Why is this cool? Well, because this is about as small as you can get and still have a computer with “standard” parts. And, that’s cool because it allows you to do more and cooler casemods.
The folks in the article use Linux, which is what I’d do, but you could go other ways. The most important thing, to me, is that they list where they bought everything with links. Sometimes, it’s hard to get all the right pieces, especially when you’re looking to get the smallest, coolest one’s possible. Anway, I thought this was cool…

Hey, it’s been a rough week, and now it’s Friday, so work with me here!

This is common sense to anyone in the business.
Honest. When was the last time you tried to find a computer that used a floppy disk? Have you even touched a floppy in the past year? If so, I think you’re in the minority. But, the same is becomeing true for something that IT Professionals (ie. professional geeks) have most likely dealt with: backup tapes. I’ve lost count of how many different kinds of backup systems I’ve used over the years and you know, most of them only would read tapes from one or two generations back. I wonder how many businesses have their archival data stored on tapes that they can’t read anymore…
Anyway, this article on smh.com.au regarding a coming digital Dark Age might be news to some of my readers, so I post it anyway. And, it is something important to think about, especially when dealing with disaster recovery plans. Are your tapes so old that your hotsite can’t read them? Better check quick, because hurricane season isn’t over yet.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"We are what we think. All that arises is with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make our world."
   --Buddha

Yesterday’s posting was automated.
I make this startling admission because I have felt like death warmed over since Monday morning. I rolled out of bed at my usual time and was covered in a cold sweat before I’d made it to my bedroom door. It was literally like someone had poured a bucket of water over me. I was drenched from head to foot. Then, things got worse…
Since I didn’t eat anything strange or even possibly bad Sunday, I can only assume I had a stomache flu of some kind. It was, to put it mildly, unpleasant. I managed to eat all of a half-cup of Ramen noodles Monday night. I did manage better on liquids, but not much. Monday evening, at around 9:30PM or so, I had a tempurature just under 101 degrees. So, I took a fist-full of aspirin and went to bed.
Tuesday was much better, but still not good enough for work. I did manage to eat a bit more and the dog stopped giving me looks like “If you die, I will have to eat you to survive. I won’t like it, but, hey, it’s survival, buddy.” Of course, the fact that I filled her food dish again might have helped that. I did manage to get her into the car for a ride to the post office to drop off bills, though, and that made her think it was “play time” when we got home. Sadly, that little trip sapped all my energy and it was off to beddy-bye early.
I did stagger into the office close to on time today, but only barely. Every time the AC went on I got the chills and shakes. And all day I had that feeling like if I tried to burp I was going to spew. Oh, and I’ve felt all bloated like a sick cow that you’d have to cut the side open on or they’ll die. Other than that, though, all back to normal.

Yes, Play-Doh as a security penetration tool.

Don’t you just love it when I write things like “security penetration tool”? It sounds so, big and scary, doesn’t it?
Anyway, this researcher at Clarkson University has figured out a way to defeat biometric readers with simple Play-Doh.  I love this for two reasons.  First, it’s a very low-tech way of defeating a very high-tech security system.  People rely way, way too much on technology that might fail, instead of good, old, human-based common-sense.  Though, I have to admit, there are days that I’d rather rely on technology, too.  Second, it’s Play-Doh.  What’s not to love about Play-Doh?

And, yes, this is one of those old posts I was talking about.  It’s not quite cool enough for a Friday Fun Link, but it doesn’t quite fit anywhere else these days.  So, you may be seeing a fair number of these “red-herrings” drop out of no where.  Just crazy stuff that intrigues me and has no other home.
Enjoy!

Well, why not!
Now, I don’t mean a “de facto” standard, but a real, organized, unified standard. In this case, according to News.com, it’s a Linux standardization push. In fact, to get really specific, it the Linux Standard Base Project. These folks are advocating a standard “base” on which all Linux distros build themselves. Not a bad idea, really, to help get things standardized and more interoperative. I mean, when I was working on that Novell Linux-based stuff, a little standardization would have gone a long way.

I wish I was.
All arty, that is. Alas, I am inhibited by my close association with “The Man” via my degree in Marketing. Still, working to overcome such crippling handicaps is my stock and trade, so I went to an art opening last night. A friend of mine, Mark Flood, and a group of other artists that he did some collage work with, had an opening in the Heights area. Sadly, I cannot remember the name of the gallery where the work was shown. And, I was late. In fact, I was so late the other people I know who were going came and went, so I ended up spending some time with Mark, then was alone for a bit, looking at art and a mulitmedia presentation of the art being created, then poor Mark felt guilty for leaving me alone for so long and hung out with me the last 20-30 minutes I was there. It was, in a word, “interesting”.
I’ve never been to an art opening before. It was a little strange, to me, because it seemed like it was such a social event and had so little to do with the actual art. Also, I have to admit, it was art that I’m not really all that “in to”, either. Modern found-object collage art, for the most part. Still, it was interesting to look at. I much prefer Mark’s other work with lace. *That* absolutely fascinates me. But, I did have a good time people-watching. Seeing human drama unfold still enthralls me. There was some poor girl who was obviously quite upset at something her paramour, who I never connected to her, was doing or not doing. I’ve lost some of my ability to read lips in poor lighting, but I did catch “… but it still sucks. I just sucks!…” and the poor thing looked like she was on the edge of tears at one point. She did seem to recover enough to flirt with someone later, though, so I guess it all worked out. I have to admit, I was sorely tempted to quietly tell her “Darlin’ whoever it is, they just ‘aint worth it. No one should put you in that mood and make that pretty face so troubled and frowny. It’s time for a new horse, darlin’. You rode this one on out and you can’t ride ‘em any further, so it’s just time to jump on a new horse.” You’ll be pleased to know that I successfully resisted that temptation.
Still, it did get me thinking about being creative and that longing to be part of a creative subculture reared its ugly head. Again. One day, I’d love for Mark to be introducing me to his friends as “my friend Jim, the writer” instead of just “my friend Jim”. So, I need to work on my writing. And, I need to work on it in an envrionment other than home. That led me to dig out my pile of laptops and sort through everything until I could make a reasonably decent one that ran. Then, of course, I installed Linux on it. Why? Well, why not. I have a copy of RedHat 9.0, the last free version of that particular distro that they released before going to Fedora. It installed like a charm. Easy as pie. Actually, easier, since pie can be a bit challenging sometimes. And, now, since the only drive I had that worked well was a five gigabyte IBM, I ordered a new 40 gig and a 512 meg memory upgrade from Tiger Direct. So, with old parts that I got free and the new hardware that will be coming soon, I’ll end up with a new, to me, laptop for under $200. Not bad. All of which means, ultimately, that I’ll be able to go to coffee houses and write. And emulate some of my heros, like Ernest Hemingway, in the process. Now, all I need is a good laptop bag that’s just as cheap. I was thinking about going with something Army surplus, but I’m not sure.
This is all part of the changes I’m trying to make in my life as I work toward being a person I like more. A person I like being more. Little by little, it’s happening. After God only knows how many years, I’m finally becoming the man I wanted to be when I was a kid.
Life is good.

When I first read this article, I thought they meant football, not soccer!
Just my America-centrisim showing again, I guess. I should have suspected something when the article on Australian IT talked about the debut happening in Lima, Peru. Well, anyway, it’s interesting to me that they’re even looking at taking the judging responsibility away from a person and giving it to a system. Here’s how it works: The chip in the ball will be read by sensors at the goal, registering a valid goal. So, it’s simple, if the ball passes the goal, the score gets updated. Hardly a need for a referee at all, is there? Well, okay, those soccer hooligans get a bit unruly, but that’s a job for the police, not the ref.
Technology is everywhere.

“After a time, you may find that ‘having’ is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as ‘wanting.’ It is not logical, but it is often true.”
… Spock, “Star Trek – The Original Series, Episode 34: Amok Time,” stardate 3372.7..

Ah, how true. The chase is so often more exciting than gaining one’s objective. How well I know that, considering how my marriage and subsequent divorce played out. I wonder how often that occurs to people? How often does it occur too late?
I remember hearing stories about men retiring and, within weeks, dying, essentially from boredom. They had no hobbies or interests to keep them occupied, so when they finally reached retirement and stopped working they lost their identity and their purpose. This phenomena also explains a lot of infidelity, I think, especially female infidelity. Having acquired their romantic hero/rescuer/white knight/whatever, they “settle down” and life changes on them. All the things that made that poor sap so attractive to the lady, and I use that term loosely, in question suddenly become the most annoying habits when they’re living together or, heaven forbid, married. So, the chase is on again, and again, and again, and again. It becomes a vicious cycle driven by that never-ending quest to recapture the fleeting and temporary feelings of romantic love. But, as always, things change when one gets what one wants. It’s never quite what we wished for after all.
Oddly, that reminds me of another bit of wisdom from an unlikely source:

Whatever you want too much you can’t have, so when you really want something, try to want it a little less.
Joel Rosenberg – The Sleeping Dragon

Honestly, today, I have no idea what I want. What I wanted in the past, well, that didn’t turn out so well, due to no one’s fault. Just bad choices all around, despite the angry words and the bitter stories told. Nothing more than people make the best choices they could, but bad choices in retrospect. It happens. The result, though, is that now, I spend a lot of time and money in therapy trying to figure out what I really want and how to go about getting it. If it weren’t working so well, I’d say it sounded pathetic. Well, I guess I’ll work through that with my shrink, too.
So, kids, take some advice from your Uncle Jim, want things less and enjoy what you have more. It works out better in the long run.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"There is no substitute for hard work."
   --Thomas Edison