Diary of a Network Geek

Or, if you prefer, the end of the world is nigh!

So, yeah, there’s a hurricane of respectable size and intensity named Ike headed my general direction.  As per usual, I will not run like a rat deserting a sinking ship, but will, instead, bravely blog my way through what will no doubt prove to be far less than the crazy weather people are predicting.  Oh, I’m sure it won’t be “good” and we will probably lose power for a couple hours, maybe more, but I doubt that it will be as bad as the people who make their living scaring the public with tales of Mother Nature gone wrong are making it sound.

Long time readers will recall that I stayed when Rita was supposed to wipe the greater Houston area off the face of the Earth, too.  And, I blogged then, too.  Not much to report then, and I doubt there will be much to report this time, either.  Oh, one important difference is that I have a good digital camera, so I’ll have pictures this time.  In fact, I may just have a picture for every post this time around.  Or not, as the mood strikes me.

In any case, if you’re in the area, be safe.  Otherwise, I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated!

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Our dignity is not in what we do but in who we are."

VentbyMarkFlood

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I own real art.

Well, okay, my grandfather made real art, too, but nothing that would be sold at a professional level. I’ve had some limited edition prints by Kurt Frankenstein, who was a student of Max Ernst, but they’re not the same as a painting done by someone who’s well known in the contemporary art world. That’d be what I have now, as of Sunday, actually.

See, I know this guy, Mark Flood, who happens to be a brilliant artist. That’s not how I know him, though. I knew him as a cool guy to talk to about, well, about anything, since he’s so jaded and worldly that nothing even I’ve done in my deep, dark, secret past shocks him. Frankly, I think we really enjoy that about each other. Neither of us are shocked or horrified by anything the other has done. Frankly, it’s a great basis for a friendship.
Anyway, Mark was involved with a band called Culturcide. It was a pretty famous punk band from right here in Houston. They’ve been described as a “noise band”, but, well, I’m not up on my punk terms, so I’m not sure I can agree or not. I can tell you that they’re still a little avant garde even though their music has been around more than twenty years. So, Mark came to me and asked me to do the layout work for two CDs and CD covers for a small revival, of sorts. Two completely remastered, high-quality releases, which include some previously unreleased tracks. It’s pretty interesting stuff. Perhaps more so because I know Mark and understand some of the tunes better than otherwise.

So, I did the work and, in payment, Mark traded me this painting, that I loved so well. Well, and a whole lot of work to be named later. Okay, honestly, I’ll be working for Mark like a third-world piece-worker at a computer for the rest of my natural life to pay this off.
But, it’s totally worth it. I really do love this piece and with Mark’s reputation as a painter taking off, my “investment” will do nothing but appreciate, so it was a great deal for me!
Now, I just have to find a good place to hang it.

(Oh, and don’t forget that I’ll be guest posting Wednesday at the Canard Collective!)

Yeah, I know this is later than normal, but I gave you two things on Tuesday, so I figure we’re even.

Well, as you know I’ve been searching for new music. At least, music that’s new to me, because, you know, I was told that Snow Patrol is, well, mainstream and old hat and whatever other cliche you want to squeeze in here. So, I put a poll up over in the sidebar and hoped for the best. Now, for those of you who don’t know me in life, you might be a little surprised by how eclectic and varied my choices in music can be. For instance, in my car right now, I have Warren Zevon’s last CD, a Frank Sinatra collection, Snow Patrol, Bowling For Soup, Green Day, Sheryl Crow, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Rob Zombie and Nina Simone, just to name a few. In fact, I went from listening to Rob Zombie to Sheryl Crow in an afternoon. So, my point is, I’m pretty open. I usually say I don’t listen to Rap or Country, but, honestly? If someone presents something interesting enough, I’ll try it. Seriously.

In any case, I wasn’t satisfied with the responses I was getting on my poll (vote early, vote often!), so I started doing more research. I got a book called The Pocket DJ. It’s been around a little while, but I figured it would still lead me places I hadn’t been. Also, there’s this writing exercise where you build a playlist for your various characters, to try and get inside their heads and feel how they feel through music. I sort of figured that I could go in the other direction and pick playlists from the book then build the character from that. You know, getting twice the use of the book by cranking my musical IQ up a few points and getting some writing exercises at the same time. I’ll get back to you on both.

Either way, though, there was a section in the back of the book that listed a bunch of music blogs. So, naturally, I sat down not too long ago and started chasing links. Some didn’t interest me and some had either moved or shutdown or shutdown just as I found them. At least one blogger announced that she was shutting down her blog to become a full-time music journalist not more than a week after I bookmarked it! Of the ones that survived, though, I’ve got three for you.
First, there’s Sixeyes MP3 Blog, with regular posts and free MP3s in every post! Yea! They’re mostly indy stuff, but kind of all over the place, too.
Then there’s Fluxblog! with almost daily posts and, again, free MP3s in every post, sometimes podcasts with music, too. Yea free! I mean, seriously, you can fill your entire iPod with free MP3s of popular and new music from this blog alone!
Finally, there’s Stereogum with many, many posts, at least one daily, lots of performers from overseas and many posts with videos or MP3s. Yea regularity! Oh, my middle-age is showing! Seriously, these folks love music and it shows in sheer volume of posts, if not the intensity of each review.

Also, a friend, Marc Garvin of Pulling Strings, the great Houston-based public radio show about classical guitar and similar stringed instruments (Correction!  Marc e-mailed me and said the show features “the sounds of “Picked, plucked and strummed” (sometimes “banged, bashed and hammered”) instruments.”  So, you know, it’s even better than what I said.) suggested some of these very cool and different performers when he caught wind of my search for something new to add to my rotation. Even though these links are all about the music, they’re brought to you via YouTube.
Jake Shimabukuro on the Ukulele. This is definitely worth looking at and listening to. He does things with a ukulele that have to be heard, and seen, to be believed!
Kaki King playing the guitar in such a way as to get percussion. Okay, the video is a little strange and disjointed, but I really like this sound. It’s kind of the latest version of a performer singing with their instrument. Open mike night taken to a super-high professional level, you know?
Joscho Stephan, also playing the guitar. This is a more Country, or Appalachian, sound to me than I’d have expected from Marc, seeing as he’s a Classical guy, but, I have to admit, it’s got a certain energy to it that really works!  (Update!  Marc told me that “Joscho is a “gypsy jazz” guitarist in the style of Django Reinhardt.” So, that should make it more clear to those of you who are more musically well-versed than I.  And, by that I mean, everyone in the world.)

Finally, if you want to find any of the music that’s been mentioned here, or elsewhere on my blog, I suggest trying SeeqPod, the playable search engine. I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating in this context. One of the great features here is the “Discover” feature that lets you discover songs that SeeqPod thinks are close to what you’ve been searching for in style. Sometimes some really interesting stuff comes up in that.

So, there you have it. As promised, more than one new resource for new music.
Also, for those interested, yes, I did buy the newest Snow Patrol CD, but don’t let that stop you from voting in the poll because I’ll be buying more music eventually.
Oh, yeah, one more thing… Don’t forget that next week I’ll be doing a guest post on someone else’s blog. I’ll have an announcement the day it’s supposed to go live on that site.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Be careful about the bridges you burn, because one might turn out to be the one you later want to cross."

Okay, it doesn’t have the same ring as “Radio Free America”, but it still rocks!

So, according to Dwight Silverman over at the Houston Chronicle’s TechBlog, Houston now has free wifi in limited areas.  So far, according to their Houston WiFi Finder, it looks like it’s mostly downtown, but that’s still pretty cool.

Hey, you’re getting this in time for lunch, so you can take your laptop with you and make it a working lunch in the park.  Well, at least until the rain starts.

I hadn’t really planned on taking a vacation this year.

I mean, between all the time I took last year for chemotherapy and my lack of funds due to paying for all that, well, I just hadn’t planned on taking any time for myself this year. Oh, maybe the occasional long weekend, but that was about it. But, after reading this article on Hotjobs about taking time away from work… Well, let’s just say I’m reconsidering it. (And, no, the potential of winning a free trip to Tahiti, also on that article I linked to, did not have any influence over me!)

That first article suggests taking time off, even if you don’t leave the house, but just stay home and read. That was what got the wheels turning in my head. I have this giant stack of books, again, and I never seem to have enough time to read. I could take two or three days before a weekend and just read all day long. Heck, I could probably even do it more than once! Oh, the joy of a day spent reading…
Then, too, there was an article on the New York Times, linked to by LifeHacker, suggesting a number of less expensive vacations one might take. Though, I have to admit, the comments left by other readers were just as good as the article and, in most cases, less expensive than anything suggested by the Times. I particularly liked the idea of taking several days and being a tourist in your own town. There are so many things in Houston that I haven’t done! I’ve lived here ten years and I’ve never seen the San Jacinto Monument, for instance. And, there are so many museums! In fact, I even know someone who used to curate at the Menil. I could probably talk him into acting as a guide for me.
And, now that I have such a nice camera, think of all the opportunities to explore and take pictures.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, employ someone, or forbid your children to do it."
   --Monta Crane

OfficialJurySummons

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

So, I have jury duty Tuesday.

Look, I know this is my civic duty and all that, but honestly, I really, really hate doing this. The last time I did it, up in Illinois, I actually ended up on a “criminal sexual assault” trial. That’s rape, in case you weren’t translating from legal-speak very well. We ended up in a mistrial, a hung jury. In fact, we were sequestered overnight in an effort to get us all to move one way or another. It was a tough trial that took a week and changed how I look at the criminal justice system and my fellow man. And, let me just say, if I end up on a trial, I’m sure not going to let a defense attorney get us into a situation like that again! ‘Cause, it really was all that slimy defense lawyer being oily and tricky, in subtle ways.

Of course, that very sentiment may keep me off a jury this time around! But, I still have to show up and sit through the process. Well, I have a good book and, if I get out around noon, I have a friend who’s going to be down there at the same time, so we might do lunch. And, I plan to use the Metro Park-And-Ride system, which will be something new for me, at least here in Houston. Actually, it kind of shocks me when I think about it, but I’ve never ridden on a bus in Houston at all!

Well, I check in afterward, I guess, and see what kind of pictures I remember to take.

Okay, so this is really a local news item, but I think it’s still noteworthy.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who lives here that Houston has an ant problem. However, what may come as a surprise is just how bad it is and why. According to Wired and Yahoo! News, we’re being over run with the “crazy strawberry ant”, which is much worse than their cute name would imply. Now, the good news is that they kill fire ants, which are a plague of the worst order, but the bad news is these crazy strawberry ants love to foul electronics. Also, they’re resistant to current chemicals that kill them and they have multiple queens in a single nest, making them doubly hard to kill.

Luckily, there is an adorable solution to the entire mess: the South American tamandua. I don’t care if they cost $4500 or more. I want one!

At least, if you’re in Australia.

Actually, things are looking pretty good in Houston, too, though I can’t vouch for the rest of the country. Things in Australia, though, seem to be especially good. I subscribe to a lot of news feeds via e-mail and I got one update from Australian IT that had two articles about how good things are for IT workers there right now.

First, there was Competition Gives Entrants Quick Ticket, about how there are so many IT jobs in Australia right now that they’ve got students getting out of school early to get really good jobs with less training than ever.
Then, there was an article titled Going Global In Search of Scarce Skills, about how there are so many open jobs in IT, and so few qualified workers, that they’re bringing in foreign workers to fill those spots. So, if you’re in IT and ever fancied working abroad, this might be your chance!

So, hey, there’s never been a better time to be in IT!

I dreamt of Nerf machine guns last night.

I had some truly strange and disturbing dreams this weekend. Last night, I was dreaming of the Nerf machine gun that I wrote about here. I think that was in part due to all the time I’ve spent recently looking at the DragonCon Flickr Pool. It’s filled with pictures of really cool costumes.  You may have to dig in a little deep to find them, but there are tones of pictures of storm troopers and HALO soldiers.  Very, very cool.  But, it’s really gotten my imagination going about costumes and creating them and making Nerf guns into something for costumes.  So, see, it’s actually kind of logical.

What’s harder to explain is the dream I had about my ex-wife.
I dreamt that my ex-wife had screwed up her fourth, and current, marriage and was moving back to Houston and, for some extremely strange reason, had called me on the phone.  I don’t know why, or what we had been talking about, but I was making sympathetic noises, giving her a full share of pity for how she’d screwed up her life more and worse.  I don’t recall offering to help, or even wanting her anywhere near me, but, somehow, I still felt sympathetic to her for being in a place of personal pain.  It didn’t matter why, really, or who she’d been to me, but I felt a certain amount of sympathy for her position of having nothing and no one.  Just as one human being to another.
I found the whole thing profoundly disturbing.  I mean, I really can’t think of anything worse than having her back in Houston, much less calling me on the phone.

After telling a friend about it, he offered that maybe it was just a sign that I’d moved to an emotional place where I could forgive her, in some way, for what happened and how she handled it.  I’d like to think so, but I suspect that it’s something even simpler than that.  I’m just lonely for that “special someone” in my life and, in some sick, strange way, she represents marriage or married life to me.
Of course, that might also explain why I’m not even actively looking for anyone.  I mean, with a marriage like that, who needs cancer?

Eh, who knows.  Maybe it doesn’t mean anything.  Maybe they were both just random firing of neurons.  Just dreams.

Okay, you’re going to see a lot of pictures.

Look, I apologize in advance, especially to the more experienced photographers who read my blog, but you all are going to see a lot of pictures here. Probably a lot of bad pictures as I figure out how to use this new camera, too. Hopefully, they’ll start getting better, but, well, I make no promises, eh?

In any case, now you all can see my new Canon Digital Rebel XTi.
Notice, I have two lenses. One small, but with image stabilization. One zoom, but without image stabilization. The CF card is in the camera, but I threw the box in the pic anyway. Oh, and notice the handy cable for getting pictures off the camera. And the software that came with the camera to install both drivers and a handy utility program that includes the ability to take pictures remotely via the USB interface. But, I can use the other cable to display pictures on a television, if I wanted. Oh, and the handy reference manual.

I have to admit, I’m beside myself with this. When my ex-wife got her digital camera all those years ago, I so wanted to play with it, but I wasn’t allowed. I mean, she paid for it and it was, ostensibly, hers and meant to improve her web mastering skills somehow. But, oh, how I wanted to use it. Especially when she let it just sit there after spending well over $1,000 for it. And, yes, I hoped that she’d “forget” and leave it behind, but she didn’t. And I am so glad because this camera is so good and if she’d left her old one, I never would have gotten this one.

Until I started taking pictures yesterday, I didn’t realize how badly I wanted a camera and to take pictures. I can even think of several little excursions into various parts of Houston that I haven’t explored that I’d like to take, just for the photo opportunities.
Now, of course, I’ll probably need to start saving for a better camera bag and a tripod…