Diary of a Network Geek

Back when the only medium was paper!

So many of us are now used to the idea of on-line journals that I think we often forget where it all started. Here's one place: The Diary of Samuel Pepys. Pepys was a prolific journaler who not only recorded his own interesting life, but also discussed events of the day. This website, http://www.pepysdiary.com/, presents his nine-volume journal in a contemporary format; a blog. This is great inspiration for my own experimental fiction idea of creating a journal of a fiction character via a blog. Way, way, cool.
The creator of the blog, Phil Gyford, was interviewed by the BBC in an article titled "Why I turned the Pepys Diary into a Web Log". It's a fairly interesting read and a great introduction to who Pepys was and why he matters. Way, cool, again.
It's nice to know that great minds think alike, but it does kind of stink to realize that my idea isn't quite as original as I had thought.
It is sort of cool to see what a person can do with free tools and a little imagination, though. I wonder how long it takes for him to try and make money off it?

Having problems with heat in your server room?

Okay, so I'm not going to suggest this for the office, but maybe that server room at home is a little warm. Here's just the thing, Computer Exhaust Systems. I honestly didn't go looking for this, but now that I found it, I have to admit that it's kind of cool. (Oh, sorry, no pun intended!) In fact, I can see how it might help in my own server closet. That room gets pretty damn hot in the summer. And, it's nice and toasty in the winter, too! Personally, I'd probably modify this to connect up to a single wall connection and just splice in any additional PCs, but it's an interesting idea. At least the heat wouldn't build up in the room itself. Of course, my wife most likely won't go for it. If for no other reason that it's just so goofy!
Anyway, if anyone has seen this work, I'd love to know about it!

Being out of work sucks.

I could just about end this entry there, but that would be cheating. Thankfully, I am employed now, but I haven't been for all that long, so I remember how bad it sucks to be out of work.
I remember when I first got into IT. I was sure that I'd never have to worry about being employed again. Wrong! But, then, at the time, I never would have expected to move to Houston. And, I never would have expected that a company like Enron would go bankrupt. Not to mention the fact that the mere concept of HP and Compaq "merging" was so far from being a possibility that it was inconcievable. But, the only constant is that things change. And change they did.
So, last year at this time, I was out of work and I didn't know when I'd get hired. I figured that it would be no sooner than mid-January, because that's when most everyone gets their new budget. Wrong again. It took almost an entire year for me to get a new job. Now, I'll admit that part of that is my fault. I've got my Novell certification, but I never really wanted to get my Micro$oft certification. Guess what everyone was hiring this year? Yeah, primarily MCSEs (that's MicroSoft Certified Systems Engineers, to you, buddy!). And that left me high and dry for most of the year. But, eventually, a Novell shop went looking and found me. Of course, even they are converting to Windows 2000, so I'm going to end up getting my MCSE after all. At least, the next time I'm out of work, I'll be able to use that to my advantage.

Now, don't get the wrong idea, I'm not going to rely on either certification to get me a gig. No, sir, I've learned my lesson. Marketing is going to get me a job. Yep, that's right. Marketing is the key. Marketing is the answer.
Marketing myself is what I mean, of course. Why else would I set up a blog like this? I get to use all the nice keywords and technical terms that keep me listed high in the search engines. Yep, I can write about being a CNE, then explain that CNE mean Certified NetWare Engineer. Buzzwords. Ah, I love the sound of buzzwords. Every MicroSoft and Windows reference cranks me up a notch. Each time I link to Novell's website, I improve my search ranking. And, the last time I checked, it was working. If I do a search for CNE Resume on Google, I find myself as the number one hit. Sweet!
So, keep hitting those links, children. Keep Uncle Jim's website ranked high. make sure the nice recruiters can see me, so that the next time I'm over loaded with free time and not enough paying work, they can fix that. Ah, the power of technology....

Now, back to work for me, before I'm unemployed again.

Should I add plumbing to my resume?

I'm so proud of myself, I almost feel like I should!
Yesterday morning, after dropping my wife and daughter off to start their adventure visting relatives in Brownsville, I started my own little plumbing adventure.
It all started several months ago, when our bathroom sink had a bit of a leak. Well, to be more accurate, our hot water wouldn't turn all the way off. So, we had to use the shutoff valve underneath the sink. That was okay, as far as it goes, but when I went to get into the faucet valve to replace a washer, I couldn't get it off. And I tried everything to get that sucker off, too. I tried three different kinds of wrenches and pliers before buying a RoboGrip, locking plier and even that wouldn't do it! But, by this time, I had pretty well stripped the brass nut and it looked grim. So, since I was out of work and couldn't afford a plumber if I screwed things up, I quit messing with it and we continued to use the shutoff valve under the sink.
Fast forward to about two months ago when even the shutoff valve wasn't stopping the slow leak. It started as a slow, but steady drip and got worse. About three weeks ago, the drip had become a trickle. And two weeks ago, the "trickle" was so loud that we'd shut the door to the bathroom so we could hear the TV over it! So, I finally decided that I needed to do something about it. I figured that with my wife and daughter out of town any mess I made or chaos I caused would be undisturbed. Besides, they'd have been complaining about it if I were there. Or worse yet, one of them would have wanted to help! Besides, since the shutoff valve under the sink wasn't working, I was going to have to turn off the hot water for the entire house.
Well, I tore into the faucet handle trying to get the valve out again with yet another set of wrenches, but it was no good. I called my Dad, who had retired some years back and worked in a hardware store to keep himself busy, and asked for some advice. After a few minutes of trying to describe what I was seeing, it rapidly became apparent that I was not going to get that valve assembly out without professional help. But, that was when Dad gave me the best advice ever. "Why not just replace the whole faucet? It'd be cheaper than a plumber." After a minute of excited discussion and inspection of the connections under the sink, I'd decided to give it a go.
About 45 minutes later, I had the old faucet out, had sketched a rough template of the holes on the top of the sink and was on my way to Home Depot. I hunted up the vanity fixtures and found a likely faucet that seemed to fit my sink and aesthetic requirements, which were minimal. In short, I thought I had a faucet that wouldn't horrify my wife. So, it was back home to figure out how to install the new faucet.
The brand was one I didn't know, Pegasus, but it went in pretty well. The only strange thing was getting the rod that worked the stopper hooked up. I finally figured out that the last owner had to saw off the extra on one piece of that assembly, so it was off to the garage for the hacksaw. Then, I got the water hooked up and tested the cold water. It worked. Now, for the moment of truth, I turned the hot water on for the whole house again. No leaks yet. I turned the shutoff valve for the hot water all the way open. Still no leaks. Then, glory of glories, I turned on the hot water at the faucet and let it run. I nearly wept with joy. It worked. A final test of the stopper and viola! I had a working sink again.
I called my Dad again quick and told him the proud news. I could do plumbing in my own house! Then my Dad said, "And you were even finished before noon" with what sounded like genuine admiration in his voice. I was so pleased with myself that I could have just plotzed.

So, should I put plumbing on my resume now? Well, maybe not yet. I still have to replace our garbage disposal in the kitchen. Maybe next month. Or the month after that. When I'm feeling brave again.

is new again!

Well, I successfully moved HavePalmWillTravel to my new web host. And, cancelled the old account. And, got my 10% discount from my new web host, The Host Group. So, I start the year off by saving money. Cool.
Of course, now, I really should update it. A Network Geek's work is never done.

Well, it sure has been an interesting year. A little rocky at the start, but things seem to be working out okay. Of course, I'm being a little careful these days when I talk about my job. See, I'm still a contractor and I really need to go full-time for the health benefits. Sure, the folks there complain about them, but it's better than COBRA. And, of course, there are all the issues regarding income and creditors. The less said about that, the better. But, hey, last year at this time, not only was I not working, but I didn't know how long it would be until I was working again! So, I'm not complaining.

And, my other website, Fantasist.net is doing fairly well. At least, I like the work I've managed to do on it this year. Sure, I need to do more. There are some sections that really need to be beefed up, but it's better than the lame, little page I had there before. And, just today I figured out how to make this lovely blog system cough up foregin language dates to my specifications, so I can finally implement my web-fiction idea. Stay tuned for more on that!

In the meantime, have a Happy New Year!

It's another grey day in Houston.

Really, "winter" in Houston is just a long string of grey, rainy days piled up one on top of the other. But, it's warm, and it hasn't been too rainy this season. I'd actually prefer snow to rain. Sure, I don't have to shovel rain, but I can stand on snow, at least until it melts into slush. And, I can't make "rain balls" or build a "rain man" in the front yard. I suppose it's nice to be able to walk outside barefoot on Christmas Eve, but I'm still a Chicago boy at heart. And, I miss snow. It just doesn't feel like Christmas without snow. And having a palm tree in the back yard doesn't help much either.
At least I don't get sick as much down here. Okay, sure, I know that being in the cold doesn't really contribute to catching a cold, but still, I think I get sick less down here. Though, I do seem to have started getting sinus infections instead of colds. Ah, the joys of hayfever.
And, I don't hardly need to invest in long-sleeved shirts. For about 90% of the year, short-sleeved golf-shirts work just fine for me. Unless I'm getting dressed up in a suit. Then, long-sleeved, white shirts are a must, no matter the weather. But, for the rest of the time, short-sleeves work just fine. Though, I miss my winter coats. I only get to wear them for about a week or ten days. Then, it's back to windbreakers for me. My wife and step-daughter are bundled up most of the time, but they grew up in this warm climate and it's thinned their blood. I hope that never happens to me.

I miss winter.

How does one ask God a question?

I'm not really happy with my professional life. It's not that I don't like my job, mind, I like it just fine. It's not too hard and not too busy and it pays okay. Really, I'm pretty lucky to have a job at all right now, so I'm happy to be working. But, I'm not really happy with my professional life.
Most of my life is actually going quite well. I'm closer to my wife than I've ever been and we can talk and listen to each other. I've come to find out that's more than a lot of couples can do. But, we can also disagree and share our hurts, too, which is a spectacular achievement for any couple, as far as I'm concerned. My spiritual life is growing. It's not quite what it was when I was a kid, but then, I've grown up a whole lot since then. I still believe most of what I was taught in the Church, but I'm not an active participant in organized religion these days.
But, here I arrive at my problem. I was taught that God would take care of us. That all we had to do was trust in Him and He would show us the way. But, I feel lost, at least professionally, and I'm having a hard time asking Him for directions. Or, maybe I'm just having a hard time hearing his answers.

I guess I still have a hard time believing that there's an all-powerful entity that is intimately interested in my career. I mean, does God care if I update my CNE? Does He care enough to express an opinion to me? Does He think I should pursue my CCNA instead? Or, is it time to get my MCSE? Will angels come down and tell me to get started on my CompTIA Project+ certification so I can become a MCNE? How will I know God's plan for my career? How do I ask Him career advice? I'm lost in a high-tech wilderness and I'm searching for a sign from God. How will I know it when I see it? Will it be a burning monitor? Perhaps a LaserJet that prints special messages to me?

O, Lord, hear my plea!

Why have I been neglecting this blog?

Ah, the answer to that is long and complicated. It involves other websites and other projects. But, it's more complicated than that. It involves a real job that keeps me busy during the day. It's about spending time with family. It's about actually having fun! But, mainly, it's about that other website......
Hey, why not go check it out? If you're a game geek or a fantasy fiction geek you might just find something that tickles your fancy!

Save Wil Wheaton!

I saw Wil Wheaton on the Screen Savers last night and was very impressed. I think for a lot of us, poor Wil is sort of frozen in time as Wesley Crusher from Star Trek. But, he's really a whole lot more.
First of all, he's done a lot more than just Star Trek, of course. He's really quite an accomplished actor.
Secondly, he's not the kid I think so many of us percieved him to be. He's actually pretty cool. And, unlike a lot of stars, he has a fairly good sense of where he fits in the world. He can even make jokes about himself!

Last night they looked at Google search stats for the past year and someone made a comment about how so many people had searched for Will Wheaton, the jazz musician. Megan Morrone, from the Screen Savers, made the joke that everyone should go out and search for our very own Wil Wheaton and improve his listings for next year. Wil joked that he was sure "everyone" had time to worry about his search listings on Google.
Well, when I got done laughing at his self-depreciating humor, I thought, "well, why not?" And, indeed, why shouldn't we all help Wil out? All it would take is for everyone who has a blog or web page that enjoys Wil Wheaton to put a link to Google like this: Wil Wheaton or like this: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=wil+wheaton That way, every time a spider hits our pages, it should, in theory, hit Google and do that search. Viola! Increased search hits for Wil Wheaton! Hey, why not? It could be fun to use their own spiders against them!

"Aieee! Mozilla!"

Wondering where I've been lately? Well, in part, I've been working hard to fit into the new gig. Luckily, that seems to be working because they're talking about making me full time. That would be very cool.
Also, I've been working on the web services end of an Open Source project called Ogham. It's going to be a Campaign Manager for role-playing games, which is something that I've been getting back into lately.

But, one of the things that is beyond my control that's kept me all tied up is Mozilla mail. In the space of about two weeks, it ate several of my e-mail folders, including my Inbox. Grrrr. Bad Mozilla! It was kind of embarassing to ask my Mother to send me the same e-mail three times before I got it into my Palm. Of course, maybe word will get around and I'll stop being the family helpdesk!
What really hurt about this, though, was that I had all kinds of e-mail from various groups I'm in that's hard to replace. Oh, for some of it, I can go to the Yahoo!Groups website and read it, but it's not as convenient as having it on my PC. Some of these are step-by-step directions on how to do things. Like how to trim huge sections of maps down to smaller, more usable maps in Campaign Cartographer. There was also some contact info in there that I may, or may not, have in any address books. (So, if you think I need to get in touch with you, e-mail me. If you need my e-mail address, there's a whole different problem!)

Anyway, I'm hoping that as things stabilize after the holidays, I'll be able to make more regular updates to my blogs. Of course, that all assumes that someone is actually reading this drek.

Happy Holidays!