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Last Week Next Week Insights Index Daynotes.com Email: tom@syroidmanor.com
The Big Freeze continues... -28C this morning. With a stiff wind blowing. I didn't check the wind chill -- some things, some days, are better left as unknown. Suffice to say standing near large exposed panes of glass is not adviseable if your desire is to stay warm.
While I didn't spend a great deal of time online yesterday, what I did read during my browse-of-the-day I'm still trying to assimulate. Apparently, there's a large number of businesses and institutions that rely on MS-SQL to power their sites (see Brian's post yesterday if you haven't read or heard about the SQL Slammer worm yet). What's more, it would appear there's a large number of MS-SQL installations out there that are not behind properly configured firewalls. Or that apply timely updates to their software products. Bloody amazing. Oh yes, and according to a newscast I heard on CNN last night, Microsoft is offerings a "free" patch to fix the problem. How big of them.
It would also appear that the "Net" is still a remarkably fragile infrastructure -- despite warnings and recommendations from numerous fronts. I read a report on a study conducted by a university in Southern California (sorry, lost the URL and the name escapes me at the moment; Berkley perhaps?). Researchers analyzed traffic logs from one of the thirteen 'root' DNS servers and concluded almost 80% of the queries were unnecessary. A direct reflection of the incompetencies of those who administer (and are responsible for the configuration of) second- and third-tier nameservers. Mmmm. Perhaps mass distribution of O'Reilly's DNS and Bind title is in order?
And of course there's the war tom-tom's beating over Iraq. The Bush administration -- again, it would seem -- has some key intelligence information they're not sharing with the international community. Now would be a really good time, folks. While sharing of such information might not convince the world at large of the necessity for an attack on Iraq, it might help us mere mortals understand a little more than we currently do.
I have some edits to muck with this morning, and a few household chores to attend to, then I plan to watch at least some of the game this afternoon. From all I've read and heard, it should be a decent match-up.
My first kick at Red Hat 8.1 [beta] this morning ended in failure. It might have been the hour (4am) or the outside temperature (-20C), but I suspect it's more likely Anaconda is either broken, or doesn't like my hardware. On the first pass, Anaconda started, then exited with a non-descript error message. I powered the system off and let it think about my displeasure. On the second pass, I made it all the way through the setup routine to the package selection screen; the installer locked up half-way through my selection process. On the third pass, the installer died after I chose Next on the Upgrade or New screen (I had picked the latter). Three strikes and you're out RH -- at least at for now. I might, time permitting, try it out on a friend's spare box this weekend.
Time to move forward with the day ahead. Have a happy day.
At 4am the temperature in Saskatoon was a bone-chilling -32C. With the wind chill factored in, the true ambient was -41. Celcius or Farenheit you ask? Don't matter at that temperature -- it's all the same. That was 5 hours ago. It's now a balmy -10C and snowing like a banshee. There's a saying here in Saskatchewan: If you don't like the weather, come back in an hour. How true...
My RH 8.1 disk1 download died last night at 605 of 670 MB. Arrrgh and blast. Of course, the FTP client I was using (Mozilla, I think) didn't support automatic resumption of a failed download, so I had to start over. I was working in Windows at the time (trying to resolve a registry problem for a friend), so I installed a copy of WS_FTP Pro I had sitting over on Hydras as I know it supports resumption of downloads. Disk 1 successfully completed overnight; I'm now working on Disk 2. Unfortunately, the server I'm pulling from is throttling the connection, so I'm maxed out at about 30 KB/s, which makes for a long process. I'll let Disk 2 finish then hunt around for another server. Easier said than done, though, as not all mirrors have the beta ISOs. Oh well.
Landon got another battle scar last night. He was playing with Danielle on her bunk and somehow face-planted himself on one of his Hot Wheels. The result was a nasty little cut right in the corner of his eye. A neighbor came over an looked at it (she's an ex-nurse) and determined it probably didn't need a stitch and pulled the wound together with a small bandaid. He'll likely have a scar from the ordeal, though. Sigh. The first of many, me-thinks. Landon only has one speed -- hard and fast. Good thing we have a decent medial plan ;-)
It's cold here today. Minus 30C early this morning; still around minus 20 mid-afternoon.
The temperature seems to be affecting my productivity. I feel like I'm trying to run through chilled molasses. Oh well. No alternative but to press forward with the tasks at hand.
Not much new on the software/hardward front. I see RH have a new beta out, Phoebe, which will no doubt become RH 8.1 sometime in the near future. I'm downloading it this afternoon on a sllooowww connection (like everything else today, it seems). If I get all three ISOs down by late tonight, I'll put it up on my dev box tomorrow sometime and report my findings.
Be well...
Let me 'slpain... Yes, I've had an inordinate number of component failures with my current Dell. And yes, when it happens it's a pain. However. Dell's support -- when I need it -- is top notch. And if I do a feature-by-feature comparison, Dell's notebooks give me more bang for the buck than any other manufacturer. Dell's LCDs are the best in the industry (failures aside). They're sharp, and I can run at 1600x1200 -- which is my preferred resolution. What makes the notebook I'm considering so expensive is the fact it has the latest 2.4GHz M processor (M, not the standard desktop model; Dell doesn't make an Inspiron with a standard Intel processor and the Inspiron line support up to 1 G of RAM) and a Gig of RAM (which adds almost $650 to the equation). And there is something very desirable about putting a machine under my arm and totting it wherever I please.
Having said all that, I'm leaning heavily toward a dual Athlon 2000+ system. I have a notebook for portability when I need it; what I really need is another server capable of running some high-end apps.
We'll see. I'm still mulling...
Good day one and all.
Oh where, oh where did that Sunday post go, Oh where, oh where could it be, With it's tale cut short...
OK, OK, enough levity. It is Monday after all ;-)
We had a great weekend. Saturday my friend Bill came over and together we whipped up a Belizian tradition for dinner: Rice and beans, and mango chicken. The coconut milk we used was sub-par, but all in all, it was top-drawer. We rounded out the day with a long discussion about "Life, the Universe, and Everything" which stretched long into the night. Good food, good company, and intellectual discourse. What could be better...
Yesterday, Leah and I just hung out. Leah's was offered the position of Early Morning Stocking crew (EMS) team leader Saturday (which she accepted) at the new London Drugs store just up the street. The new position will be good for her, but it involves additional responsibilities and more hours than she's currently putting in. So we began formulating a "plan". Landon will need to go to daycare at least two days a week (so I can work without interruption), our planning of weekly activities will need to be tighened up somewhat, we'll need to plan meals a little better than we currently do, etc, etc, etc. So we "brainstormed" most of the afternoon.
On the 'Puter' front, I installed and tinkered with Stalker's CommuniGate Pro groupware connector for Outlook. It's got a couple "gotchas", but overall it's the best solution I've looked at to date for anyone needing a solid, easy-to-manage, scalable mail server solution without groupware functionality. There's a new release of CGPro (plus connector) due out this week which promises to address at least two of the concerns I have, so I'll test more when it's available and hopefully make a recommendation by Friday.
Speaking of decisions... I need a new computer. Well, I don't really need a new computer. I do, however, need a tax write-off for 2002 (arhumph -- backdate an invoice anyone?), and a new computer fits the bill nicely. Problem is, I can't decide whether I want a new dually workstation or another notebook. I love the portability flexibility of my Inspiron, and with a 2.4GHz-M and a gig of RAM, and new Inspiron 8200 is about as close to a portable desktop as you can get. But $3600 US can buy a lot of desktop. As a matter of fact, I can get a dual Althon box and a flat panel from a local reseller for about $3600 CDN -- which calculates out to a savings of roughly %50. Mmm. Decisions, decisions. Pleasant decisions, mind you, but decisions nonetheless.
Need a giggle to start your week? Try this. Well written, logial, but it just ainta gonna happen. And to think there was a time when I thought such a scenario would. Live and learn.
Quote of the Day: "Good judgment comes from experience, and experience -- well, that comes from poor judgment." - Cousin Woodman
Onward and upward... AKA, off to get some more experience ;-)
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