Geek

I added a computer to the studio this afternoon. I found a really good deal on a display computer at Best Buy whilst I was browsing around. I had been toying with the idea of adding a Linux desktop to the stable and this computer was perfect for the project so I made the purchase.

The new computer is made by eMachines and has a decent AMD 64-bit processor with 1GB RAM. It has room for upgrades which I’ll most likely being doing over the next year or so as needed. I have it running OpenSuSE Linux 11. I’m liking the experience thus far. It’s good to have a computer to play with without mucking up the Macs too much as I tinker.

One of my favorite aspects of my job is to occasionally do work in one of our central offices. There are a lot of wires and electrical connections and fun pieces of equipment. It’s a network geek playground.

Flickr Link.

Google Weather on my start page says it’s hot:

Today is all about the multitasking. Not only am I folding laundry, vacuuming the house and doing other odds and ends that need to be done; I am also watching and listening to podcasts, rebuilding the home server and engaging in other geeky activities.

As you may have heard (now there’s an understatement), Apple announced a few things at the WWDC conference during Steve Jobs’ keynote speech on Monday. Even though we were swamped with tech calls at work during the speech, I was constantly refreshing various sources on the web to see what was up. Later on Monday night I watched the keynote from my home studio. As expected, Steve announced the release of the next incarnation of the iPhone, the iPhone 3G. Though still tied to AT&T here in the States, the iPhone 3G will use faster technology to do it’s internet magic. The current model uses a slower technology called EDGE. For the most part I’m pleased with my current iPhone so I’m going to stick with what I have. If someone were to buy me an iPhone 3G I wouldn’t complain, but I don’t feel that I can justify the cost right now. I also have to admit that I like the metal casing on my iPhone. I am disappointed that MMS messaging was not mentioned in the iPhone 2.0 software upgrade. I have a lot of friends that like to send me pictures via phone (and I like to do the same as well) and I can’t using my iPhone; I have to resort to sending them via e-mail.

Another announcement during that same keynote was the conversion of .Mac to the new MobileMe service, which is expected to hit the ‘cloud’ in July. I have had a .Mac subscription since I switched to OS X platform earlier in the oughts, but I don’t use it as much as I could. The MobileMe platform is a complete revamping of it’s predecessor and includes ‘push’ technology: I don’t need to go out and fetch the information, my information comes to me. This is wicked cool. If I update a contact, calendar entry or photo on my iPhone, it’ll be on my MacBook, Mac Minis and other computers in a matter of seconds. If I had a Windows computer here in the Macinmanor it would also be there. Microsoft Office users are familiar with similar capabilities through the Microsoft Exchange technology (when coupled with Outlook or Outlook web interface). I’m looking forward to my .Mac account being converted to MobileMe and have already started migrating away from the myriad of free services I currently use to .Mac in preparation for the conversion. This brings up another topic.

I’m changing my contact information, again!

My e-mail address is now
imachias-at-mac.com

imachias-at-gmail.com will continue to work indefinitely but I will not be using it as my primary account. Please update your address books. I’ve always been a little cynical about using the free service of gmail, even though Google has done nothing to make me distrust them, ever. On the other hand, why I trust Apple with my information is beyond me, maybe it’s paying for the service that gives me a false sense of security.

The bigger home server here at the Macinmanor crashed last week after I tried to apply routine upgrades to the Ubuntu Linux OS. I lost most of the information on the hard drive. The hard drive is fine, but Ubuntu did something to the file system that prevented me from doing anything with it. I discovered a Linux distribution called SystemRecoveryCD that allowed me to boot the server off the CD and rescue some of my data. If I had found this earlier in the troubleshooting process I probably could have rescued all of my data. I guess we all live and learn. Today I am rebuilding the server and have opted to use FreeBSD as the operating system instead of one of the Linux variants. Let’s see how helios 2.0 (the server is named ‘helios’) does.

Many have noticed that there are a couple of “locked” entries on my blog. I have received e-mails asking what these entries are and the reason that they can’t see them. So here’s the deal.

While I don’t track statistics all that much, I know that there are many, many readers of my blog and for the most part my blog is PG rated. I might drop a few f-bombs here and there but usually I talk about everyday observations of a myriad of topics in a candid, conversational way. It is something that I enjoy doing and in a way it allows me to process random thoughts that are zinging about my head. However, once in a while I feel the need to write about more controversial topics (read “sex”). Always cognizant of my surroundings (in this case, a general idea of who is reading the blog), I find myself without an outlet for some of my seedier discussions. Hence, the locked blog entries. They allow me to write about things I have seen, thought about or experienced over the years AND have some sort of control as to who is reading the content of these entries. I’m not ashamed of what I write in these blog entries in any way, but I’m not ready to discuss the contents of them at the next family reunion or over the water cooler at work.

If you’re interested in the content of the locked entries, drop me an e-mail and we’ll chat a bit and I’ll get you set up for access.

After all these years someone still needs to sit on my lap whilst I work on the computer.

Flickr Link.

So with today being the last day of the spring semester (one more hour of finals remain) it was time to get down to some serious business and figure out what I was going to do for the summer. I had hoped for an internship with NYSDOT but after a great deal of prodding from me and my advisor it looks like that’s not going to happen.

I always analyse these things six ways from Sunday so I’m trying not to take that as a “sign” from the Universe.

Anyways, I’ve accepted a job back at my old gig, working in the Network Operations Center of the local telephone company. I’ve always enjoyed working with this group of people and with some recent changes in personnel there is some room for me in the scheme of things. I have to say that I am very (and somewhat surprisingly) excited about the opportunity that begins the day after Memorial Day. If I didn’t work this summer I’d be getting into wicked amounts of trouble so it’s best that I’ll be sitting at a desk earning a few bucks.

Plus, I like the gig and the people, so it all works out for the best.

Now, to learn Windows Vista so I can support it!

I’ve added a couple of links to the Blogroll (to your right, down below).  A hearty welcome to

Bitbear,
TurnipStyle,
PatIreland and
Planet Romach.

The last three are guys I met on Twitter. All of my site goodies are along the right column these days. Thanks for the e-mail compliments on the minimalist design of the site. I’ll be tweaking bits here and there over the weekend.

This (and it’s counterparts) video is a couple of years old. Part of Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim”, I find them to be absolutely brilliant and hilarious.

Enjoy the New Adventures of the Wonder Twins. Update: Just for the record, I have always *loved* the Wonder Twins. Next to “Oh Mighty Isis”, they have the coolest chant and sound effects when they use their powers.