Random Thinking

I've just come to the conclusion, at 12:48 this morning, that I don't write here much anymore because I really don't care enough to do so.  I am not that passionate about anything anymore to the point that I feel I should write about it.

Apparently I'm passionate enough about not being passionate, though.  I've just told you in a couple of sentences that I don't care about anything enough to write a public discussion.  And look - you're already growing bored of this post.  The fact is that I have had this blog here at benrehberg.com for over six years now and I have only posted 520 times.  I've nearly tweeted that much in 18 months.  And speaking of Twitter, I think I'm getting off of that train.  Facebook too.  Down with friends who only know me again through a social experiment and marketing shithole.  And fuck Mark Zuckerberg.

And lately, fuck Google too, and their sleazy one-night-stand Verizon.  I'm beginning to dislike those companies simply because they profit too much on the personal interactions of individuals.  It's a sickness that wears one out from the outside in.  First it was search results which were innocent enough. It has come all the way to "push" advertising, where Google will know that since I like pizza and I am near a pizza restaurant, my phone will buzz to tell me the specials there (near future).

No thanks.  I'm quitting Facebook, and I am seriously considering not continuing with Google and Android.  I do not live where that plethora of information is usable, and I am becoming increasingly afraid that we will become too dependent on this availability of data and personalization.  Like GPS has done for travelers - we no longer have maps or ask for directions.

I realize that I am rambling.  It's late and I have been drinking to counteract the early-afternoon coffee that punishes me when I close my eyes tonight.

Happy Birthdays

It's not all bad when you share a birthday with Samuel Adams, George Muller, Thomas Nast, Meat Loaf, Lil' Wayne, and Avril Lavigne.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_27

 

Happy Birthdays, folks.

Verizon and Windstream Have It Out For Me

I am without Internet access this morning at home.  No big deal - an outage has to happen sometime, right?  We can't have a perfect world, so I am not all that upset about not being able to read e-mail.  I have many other things to do at 5 am.

 

However, one thing I chose to do was test the new tethering capability on Android 2.2.  Would I need a driver or special software?  Android 2.2 gave devices the capability to share its Internet connection via WiFi (which was a fantastic idea, by the way), but Verizon left that part out of the 2.2 update for the Droid.  I called them cock-blocks that day for that.  A statement I read spewed some bullshit about the Droid not having the ability to do that - a hardware limitation.

 

Folks have been rooting the Droid and making it a hotspot since the damn thing hit the streets.  It obviously has the capability.

 

Anyway, it turns out that if I want to tether it with USB, all I have to do is plug it in and turn on tethering.  Windows 7 apparently works well with it.  We got a private address and everything - it looked good.  However, I did not have access to the Internet.  I tried to browse the Web with the phone and got the page from Verizon that said: "If you would like to subscribe to mobile broadband..."  I was not happy.  If I have unlimited Internet access via my handheld device, what is the difference if I use that connection with a computer?  Why do I have to pay even more just to use the same service in a different way?

 

I didn't get an iPhone because AT&T wireless sucks in rural areas, such as the one in which I live.  Sprint is the same.  Verizon has coverage nearly anywhere I go, so I stuck with them.  Now they're sticking it to me.  And I am not happy.

 

I do now believe that when I move to a respectably-sized city I will be switching carriers.  Wankers.

Weekend Rumination

I have had some thoughts over the weekend and I have decided to stay with the new job for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time.  I am gaining a great amount of experience, the money's pretty good, and it is a lot more interesting than the last five years I've just spent in state employment.  I'm getting better at the new stuff every day (I'd said I was impatient and I was right) and I think I might enjoy it a little.

We'll see what happens.

Windows Internals

I've been reading Windows Internals, 4th ed. by Mark Russinovich and David Solomon this weekend, and there are things within Windows that I never thought existed.  Windows can be troubleshot to the finest detail and it seems I will be able to debug third-party software with just a few tools within Windows itself.

The 4th edition covers XP and Server 2003, while the 5th edition (the most current) covers Vista and Server 2008.  I chose to buy a used copy of the 4th edition to cover most of what we have deployed in the field, and to understand its limitations.  I'm trying to get the workplace to buy the 5th edition for us.

If I find anything else interesting, I'll certainly post it here if I feel passionate enough about it.

No One Knows What to Do When Their Needs and Their Dreams Conflict

I was writing to Scott this morning and discovered that I had something to say.

The new job has me at a crossroads.  I am back on a time clock and I feel like a monkey.  However, the salary is much higher than I was making without the clock so I figure at some point I'll get over it.  Still, it's demeaning and it makes me feel undervalued.  I also have absolutely nothing in common with anyone there.

I had some serious reflection time alone at lunch yesterday.  I'm giving up the better part of a business that, if taken full-time, could allow me to retire comfortably at 40.  Staying with the bank in my monkey chair with a headset on is less stressful and more focused, but I would retire with everyone else at 65 or something.  I really had to weigh my options and assess risks, and I still haven't really decided.  For the time being, though, I will probably keep showing up at the bank every morning.

I think my discomfort stems primarily from the drastic change.  I just left a job where I made my own schedule, knew everything about my job (and made it up when I didn't), and my boss bought the beer every time we met, which was not often.  I now work in the same building with my boss, I have a schedule set by the company, I have to follow a dress code, and I'm really confused about what it is I was hired to do.  Mostly, I don't like having an earnings ceiling and a boss.  Especially the boss.  That really bothers me.  I have found that I am more comfortable with making my own decisions based on my own experience and knowledge - the department I am in has its little need-to-know hierarchy and it's a pain in the balls when I can't make a decision because I can't get in touch with someone.  I do not feel empowered.

I have come to the conclusion that no IT department does IT correctly, and that bothers me.  I am finally experiencing that difference they speak of between college and the world, that challenge-invoking difference between education and practice.  However, that doesn't have to be that way.  I mean - seriously - when I get an e-mail from the Systems Administrator telling me to ensure I adjust the power scheme on every laptop I deploy, there is something wrong.  The company has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on hardware, infrastructure, and management software that I should never have to touch a machine more than once to deploy it.  Group Policy exists solely for this purpose.  We have 600 machines deployed and it seems there is no standard.  How the hell does someone manage 600 devices by hand?  The answer: inefficiently.  Therein lies the source of why no one is very positive.  No wonder they're busy and "understaffed."

Whatever I decide, this job will give me some good experience to take to the next place.  It's not all bad - I am learning a whole lot about some specialized software and gaining enterprise-level hands-on practice.  This could be the start of a successful career in the banking industry.  I could just be feeling growing pains exacerbated by my impatience.  I will wait a couple more months to see if I can inject some sense into the workplace.

This is not to say that I hate working there, but so far no one has been very positive or outgoing and the whole lot of them are just downright strange.  I feel like I should just keep to myself and not bother with making acquaintances - there are no benefits to such things here.

Changes Forthcoming

I got a new job recently but haven't started yet.  I haven't bothered to tell anyone on Facebook or even Tweet about it.  My friends (or rather, those people who are on that list) don't read this blog.  When they start bitching about my not telling them my life changed, I can say "well, I posted about it on my blog."

I will lose my tablet computer next Thursday.  I'd planned to quit Friday the 3rd but we're furloughed.  So in losing my only mobile computer I have left since the state won't let me keep it, I ordered my next PC.  It's a customized HP Pavilion dv6z (looks a lot like this one) and I think it's the end-all for five years.  With a quad-core AMD Phenom II, 640GB HDD, and 6GB RAM, I should be set for at least that long.  They threw in a discounted HP Officejet 4500 Wireless All-in-One I couldn't resist getting that too.

I got the printer in yesterday and the slip-case I tagged on will be here tomorrow.  HP still says the computer will be built by September 2, 2010.  I ordered a Dell laptop for a client a day before I ordered my own from HP.  We'll see which one gets here first.
                

"Too Many Stakeholders are Being Left Out of Discussions Over the Future of the Internet"

I think it's time we started creating our own networks with IPv6 and sticking it to the corporations.  An ad-hoc network would work if everyone knew what was going on.  One tie-in to a public backbone and I can light up a community without touching the mainstream corporations.

                

I Missed Something

I just spent two entire minutes moderating comments.  The only one of the 16 comments I published was from my mom.

Thanks, Mom - you'll be sure to get my new address.

In light of this, I am amazed at how many robots post comments at random blogs.  I now wonder what percentage of my visitors is human.
                

Google Wave is Dead. Long Live Google Wave!

Google Wave is dead.

While I was very excited about the project and the product, I am equally unsurprised about the demise.  Tony Bradley hit it on the head when he wrote "Unfortunately, nobody really understood what to do with Wave, and Google never gave any useful guidance to clarify it."

My thoughts precisely.  I had every idea of how to use it, and a lot more people found other uses, but no one caught on.  Adoption was too shallow, advertisement wasn't really pushy, and no one I work with would get on and use it.  I'm on a team with 25 people, and Wave would have worked wonders for our boring-ass conference calls.  We could easily publish an agenda, create a document, and collaborate with unparalleled efficiency if we'd used it.

But all is not lost.  Eric Schmidt said that they're taking the technologies and applying them to products that haven't been mentioned yet.  I'd rather they put Wave technologies into Google Docs, Google Talk, and perhaps right inside GMail so we won't have to use a separate product to experience what Wave was supposed to give us.
                

Facebook Hiatus

I'm taking a break from Facebook and changing my e-mail address.  It has become more information overload and things that don't matter and less life.  Less communication; fewer genuine interactions.  I enjoy talking to people, sharing things, and discussions, but that doesn't have to take place on Facebook.  I can share through Twitter, Foursquare, and this site.  I can communicate through e-mail.  I enjoy reading and writing when it's person-to-person; I am very tired of reading newsletters, sales offers, Facebook updates, and pass-this-along bullshit.

So I'm starting from scratch and I'm managing my own data.  If you already know my e-mail address or phone number, send me a note or call me for the new address.

And don't expect a reply from me within five minutes.  I no longer have a computer stationed inside my house.  I look forward to more personal communication with my real friends.  Send me a note to let me know how you are; I should return the favor before the seasons change.

Still Frame Animation

Patience, defined.



                

American Red Cross

My good friend Scott has chosen to fling himself into danger for the selfless cause of soldier morale and other stuff.  Afghanistan was probably not his first choice, but he'll get there in July or so.  Scott is out of money, and he has a wonderful wife and lots of friends in the U.S., so I thought he could use a computer.

I sent him the HP Mini 110-1020NR 10.1-Inch Netbook that I pre-loaded with Ubuntu Netbook Remix.  It has everything he will need: WiFi, webcam, solid-state drive, 3 hours battery, USB ports, and an SD card reader.  I sent him with Linux because it's as solid as UNIX.  If he got over there and started blue-screening, I couldn't provide much help.

I hope everything works for him and that he has a safe deployment.


                

HP vs. Apple

I had mentioned to my wife a while back that I hadn't been shopping for a new computer since I got my Mac.  I was right.  I blew up my MacBook several months ago and I haven't stopped searching for a new PC since.  I have been through a used notebook and am currently using two desktops, but I still want a new computer.

I just priced out HP's Envy series notebook with 6GB RAM, Core i7, 500GB HDD, and 3-year accidental coverage.  Plus a few other things (like a wireless mouse): $2588.76.  For a laptop.  I might as well buy a MacBook Pro if I'm going to drop that much cash.

So I popped open a new tab and had a  15" MacBook Pro configured in 60 seconds, with as close to the same hardware specs as the HP: 4GB RAM, HD-capable screen, 500GB drive, 3-year AppleCare plan. No Apple Remote (they're not included these days): $2648.00.  For a laptop.

They're both built much the same (single-piece metal base), but now I can't decide.  I don't have the money anyway, but it would be a hard decision with that much money.  For what I do, I would probably be better off with the PC, but I know the MacBook would still be around in five years.

Given that, I already have a 20" iMac, so if I really need the Mac, I have one. I don't already have a mobile workstation, so the PC would probably win.  I know, I know... I can Boot Camp the Mac or virtualize Windows if I need it in the field, but why?  If I'm going to need Windows in the field, why don't I just take Windows to the field?

I will say that Apple is not overpriced - they just don't sell cheap crap like Acer and eMachines.  Apple just doesn't appeal to the masses, and they know their niche and fill that role very well.  I just found it interesting to see that an HP premium notebook and the MacBook Pro match up pretty well.  So for everyone that says "Macs are for rich, spoiled kids," think about it when you walk out of Best Buy with that flimsy plastic shit you paid $499 for.

                

Ben Rehberg on Engineering

Simply put, engineering should be taught in high school.  Sure, engineering has many many disciplines, but the core concepts should be taught to all students.

I know a mechanical engineer who works for some huge corporation with DOD contracts.  When I was studying computer engineering in Colorado, he enlightened me on what exactly engineering is:  "Engineering is applying what you know."

My response: "Oh.  Okay."

At that time, I really wasn't listening and couldn't grasp just what he meant.  I entered the computer engineering program at Colorado Tech because it wasn't pure computer science (way too theoretical and math-ish), and electrical engineering just seemed too far to the hardware side of things.  Computer engineering sat right in the middle, just where I wanted to be.  All of everything.  The CE program had intensive math and programming courses as well as instruction in the EE field.  I could build computers from scratch AND program them.  What a party!

I never finished the computer engineering degree.  I cut and ran from Colorado Springs because everyone who worked in the computer field there, it seemed, had a Top Secret clearance.  I wasn't getting anywhere with zero experience out there.  I quickly changed programs and got an AS in Information Technology, even after taking all that math.

Where was I?  Oh, that's right.  Engineering.

If this country is going to progress, we need more math and science.  We need skills that can be applied in the real world and produce something.  So we also need to teach engineering basics.  If we provide students with an environment they can experiment in, they will gain the confidence to think abstractly about how to solve problems. I use "abstractly" over "outside the box" just to be different.

Usually when I want something I can't afford or can't find, I turn to my books and the Internet (with a capital I, folks) to see if I can just build it.  I subscribe to Make, I'm a Pro member at instructables.com, a member of the IEEE Computer Society, and have lots of notebooks scribbled with plans, drawings, requirements, and simple ideas.  I spend a lot of time thinking.  In fact, I bought the foundation blocks for my backyard deck, laid them out haphazardly, and sat on the idea for another five months.  It looks fantastic and will probably outlast the house.

I want high school kids to know a little bit more about what they want to do after they graduate.  Too many in my area have no plans for college, and the high school diploma is seen so often as the last stop.  Granted, not everyone wants to be an engineer, but there are skills stemming from those practices that can help every single kid for the rest of their life.

Skills like

• Problem solving
• Alternate sources of materials or information
• Stepping away from the reliance on electronics
• Critical thinking
• Multi-tasking

And more, but I'm just sitting here typing.

What spawned this post is the article I just read (click the post title) and my thoughts on speaking to high school crowds about engineering and how I would explain to them what engineering is.  Here's my first draft:

My name is Ben Rehberg, and I didn't know what I wanted to do when I graduated high school.  [Some blah blah blah on who I am and stuff].  I am now an engineer.

I'm going to take a little survey... Let me get a show of  hands:
Who hates school?
Who doesn't plan on graduating?
Who here knows exactly what they want to do when they graduate?

Can anyone tell me what engineering is?

[We'll assume no one answered]

Have you ever wanted to build something?  Invented anything?  It involves engineering.

Engineering, simply put, is taking what you know and solving a problem with it.  A lot of the time it involves building tangible things, like machines and devices, but it also applies to things you can't touch, like software and business processes.  Did you know that you can do those things?

That can't be all, but in that seven-second daydream, that's all I had.

Engineering has a lot to do with how you think, but it has even more to do with your confidence level.  Too many people look at someone working out a problem on MythBusters and immediately say "I could never do that."  And then they don't.  They get up the next day and are apparently happy with ten bucks an hour.

Okay, they're not happy, but they aren't exactly looking for something better.  They aren't scouring the Earth for a solution to their problem.  They have no idea that there are ways today to manufacture things in a spare room, spawning businesses all over the place.

I better try to close this up since my attention is waning.

Confidence is important.  Most people around here are born with the idea that this is all they get.  I want to open their minds to the possibilities of what's outside Adel (or their own community if I go on a speaking tour), and the thought that they don't have to settle for what they're given.  They have to make things.  I'm not going to push the political idea of "you have to go to work..." even though that's very apparent.  I want folks to realize that with the right skills (math and science), they can go anywhere.

I reserve the right to edit this post later, or post more on the subject.  By no means do I deem this post a complete idea.  I am Ben Rehberg after all.
                

Topeka

This year's prank is admittedly lame in comparison to April Fools' jokes prior.  It's still funny, though, and it is always amusing to find out what the folks at Topeka think up every year to present.  It's that little thing they will never be able to stop.
                

Okay, Okay...

There has always been this thought in the back of my mind, and here's a little evidence leaning toward it.  I've been cautious to self-diagnose because it's just not something I do, but I scored a 77 on this 24-question test.  Maybe I'll go ask a professional now.

Beth took the quiz and gave answers for me.  She scored an 81.
                

Office Depot FAIL

I went to Office Depot yesterday to pick up a printer for resale.  I figured I could just walk in with my tax certificate, they'd put it on file, and I would walk out with the printer.  No deal, I guess.  I was told I'd have to fill out a form and fax it (seriously?  It's 2010.  I don't have a facsimile.) or send it to headquarters.  In two weeks I'd have a "tax exempt" card I could then present if I needed to get something for resale.

The problem is that my business, however slow it may actually be, still runs a little faster than a two-week turnaround.  Office Depot FAIL.  Amazon.com SUCCEED.  I'll have that printer in tomorrow, at a lower overall cost, even with one-day shipping.  No more trips to Office Depot.  I'll order markers and pens from Amazon if I need to.

                

This is number 500

I just noticed that this blog has had 499 posts so far, which makes this one number 500.  That's a lot of thoughts, but when I really think about it, it's not.  I started this blog in March of 2004.  500 posts over nearly six years doesn't add up to a lot per day.  If you look to the right at the archive, 2005 and 2006 were fairly active years.  That's when I sat at a desk for a good part of the day, and I was learning a lot about my chosen field of work.  I was also upset a lot.

Since then we've been busy.  I'm a 31-year-old American, so I probably should be such.

Now I've forgotten what I sat down to write about.  I guess that will be in #501.

                

Amiss

I recently applied to the city of Loveland, Colorado as the computer support lead.  I remember being excited because it looked as if the position description was written for me specifically.  However, three or four weeks later, I got this:

Thank you for your interest in the Computer Support Technician Group Leader 112-09 position with the City of Loveland. We regret to inform you that you have not been chosen to continue in the selection process at this time.

We know that many applicants would like feedback on why their applications were screened out for further consideration. Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications we receive we are unable to respond to applicants with specific information.

Really?  Screened out before the first contact?  Sure, there might have been a lot of applicants with different qualifications, but I am fully qualified for the job.  Not partially, not almost, but fully qualified.  I could do the job in 20 hours a week.  It was cake.  It was also $20K more than I make now, and I wanted it.  I even told them I'd pay to move out there.  I will soon forget this, but right now I really want to know why I was immediately screened out.

I feel as if I've been lied to, and it hurts.  Thanks, Loveland, for outsourcing your HR tools and ignoring qualified people. I wish you the best.

                

Dot4usb.sys

I just had an issue yesterday that had me pounding out searches and wizards, trying to figure out how to get some driver files from a Windows XP CD.  It wasn't actually getting them from the CD, but I couldn't figure out where on the disc the files were.  Here's my story, and I hope it helps someone:

The Problem:
I was trying to install an HP LaserJet 1200 on a Windows XP Pro laptop via USB.  No problem, right?  I've never had trouble before.  However, this XP install didn't seem complete because when I put my USB flash drive in, it went through the Add Hardware Wizard.  That almost never happens, especially with XP.

Installing the printer seemed easy enough, but when it came time to copy the driver files to C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers, it asked for the XP installation CD.  I finally got around to bringing a CD, and when I popped it in at the requested time, the installation still didn't find Dot4usb.sys.  Time for Google.

The Solution:
Google showed me a few sites that discussed the problem, and one site pointed to a download site to simply get Dot4usb.sys so we could just finish up and go home.  Turns out that the site wanted $19.99 for it.  What a racket!  More Google, please...

I finally stumbled upon some other post somewhere else that led me to believe the file I was looking for was actually in a cabinet file within the I386 folder on the CD.  I recall having looked in there before, so here we go...

Dot4usb.sys actually exists on the CD at \I386\DRIVER.CAB.  It's on every damn XP, Vista, Server 2003, and probably Windows 7 installation disc.  I extracted the file and another one I figured I needed, and all was well.  And to think someone wanted $20 for a free system file.

Also, the thread that lead me to the $20 site was on experts-exchange.com.  That is surprising because Experts Exchange is usually a very reputable site.  I think I found my real answer at tomshardware.com, another very good resource.

I hope that this post, in the archive, can help someone solve a similar problem, or at least remind them that XP might not look in DRIVER.CAB for something that it should otherwise know is there.

                

Studying for the Good of the Land

So I'm in the shop tonight, installing WinServer2K3 to practice on.  I want to be able to test for 70-290 in two weeks.  Mark my words.

I really should have done the MCSE a very long time ago, but things happen - you know?  Moving, college, kids, house, had-to-get-a-real-job, etc.  Now I have decided to curb all of my small dreams and get back to what I really need to be doing - advancing my career.  This state job isn't going anywhere.  That's no one's fault, really - there's just nowhere to move up to.  The state decided to privatize IT, the very place I had my sights on.  So any job I might have been looking to score just disappeared June 1, 2009.

There is only one person above me and I'll never have his job.  He's no longer a techie - it's a political thing now.  I simply have to move on to better things.  I'm not going to pay the bills brewing beer, creating Android apps, developing super-duper web apps, recycling bicycles, or consulting on the side, so I have to go back to school.  The Rehberg Technology Institute, I like to call it.  Right out in the back yard.  And sometimes at the kitchen table.

My goal: to become the CIO in a large firm.  It has to start sometime.

                

I'm Back.

So there's another way to publish to Blogger, and I guess I'll keep it.  I had to switch a few things (actually WAY more than a few), but I have a whole lot more time to get things worked out.  Stay tuned.

The blog feed is now http://feeds.feedburner.com/BenRehberg if you're interested in subscribing.
              

Running Events Calendar

I have published a new calendar today to remind myself of the running events in the area.  I have placed 26 events that will occur after today.  At an average $15 per event, I had better start pushing for a raise.  Let's see that figure in writing: $390. Actually, that's not as much as I thought I spent every year.  Anyway, get over to benrehberg.com/running to see the events I've put on there.  If there is an event you want put on the calendar (because I can't ever find them all), get me the details.  Some folks rely on a single source for their information; I suffered from that last year.  If you want to participate in a run every Saturday and holiday, you should look around for more events and probably venture further.  That's why I made this calendar public.

Enjoy!
                

New Year, New Rant (Actually, Old Rant)

I got a card in the mail the week after Christmas inviting me to the Adel/Cook County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner.  I've never been, but it's every January, it's $25/head, and it's usually pretty lame.  This year it's in the High School Cafeteria.  That about says it.

I got another card last week telling me that the deadline for RSVP to this event was extended to the 8th of January.  The date doesn't matter, it's the fact that they can't find anyone to attend.  The reason for the extension was that the Chamber couldn't get their shit together in time to send the original invites out.

I learned later that the President of the Chamber of Commerce, after holding the position for less than one year, had resigned.  I knew instantly why she did such a thing.

The board sucks.  I'm sorry if you're on the board at the Chamber of Commerce in Adel, but the board sucks.  For several reasons.  However, I can only name two.

1.  The board is slow at making decisions.  I know this because I, along with a few other businesses in Adel, submitted a quote for a website redesign in JUNE 2009.  Nothing has been changed as of yet.  Last word is that they have formed a committee to look in to it.

2.  The president of the chamber has no power.  I offered backup services (badly needed) for about $17 per month, and the president simply said she'd have to get approval from the board.  WHAT THE HELL?  What exactly does the President of the Chamber of Commerce get to do?

That's not my decision to make.

Anyway, I'm not going to the dinner.  Mostly because I don't have the $50 to pay for myself and my wife, and I don't want to leave the kids with anyone else.  And because I don't like anything that happens in a high school cafeteria.

I just wanted to express my opinion on a local issue.  Also, the local "legal organ," A.K.A. the newspaper, or the Adel Tribune, is garbage.  There is no progressive news in there.  Just police reports, forclosures, and poorly-written reports and op-eds.  Don't waste your money.  I could get so much more done passing a letter-size piece of paper around every week.

Can you believe they wanted me to pay to put a computer help column in?   Well, I didn't have to pay, but I would have to get the column sponsored.  How about "your paying subscribers sponsor the column?"  No.  Maybe I'll publish my own newsletter, then.

[Disclaimer: Ben has been drinking. Ignore errors in type.  There are no errors in judgment.]


                

2000 to 2010 - from WiFi to Who Cares

I just looked down at the time on my computer and noticed that 2010 looks a whole lot different from the number 2009.  It kinda sticks out.

I began to think about how I was living in 2000.  I was in the barracks on Fort Carson until July that year, then I got married and we got a crappy little apartment.  I was setting up the only computer I had at the time with Windows 2000, and I was loving the new (to me) operating system.  Wireless networks didn't exist.  802.11 was completely unknown to me.  In fact, I had never had broadband access, and didn't until sometime in 2001.

I had a 17" CRT monitor and a 350MHz Athlon processor.  It was fast enough.  It wasn't just something I had, though - no computer was back then.  It was installed.  It had its own room.  Not like the huge mainframes you see in black and white pictures, but back in '00 my computer deserved a desk with speakers, printer, and a scanner.  Plus a telephone cord leading to it all.

Jump to 2003, when I got my first laptop.  This new wireless thing was catching on, and I paid $120 for an 802.11g router from Dell with my computer order.  The laptop had a PC card for the WiFi (it was just before they began building it in) and I was amazed at it.  Finally - no wires.  I remember running outside the apartment to put my computer on the hood of my truck to test the range.  What a night!

Jump to 2010, and I find myself standing at the kitchen counter in my slippers, blogging away.  There is no desktop or laptop plugged in to the network.  We simply don't need it.  WiFi has become so prevalent that we don't even wonder about it anymore.  Where was I going with this?

That's it - I'm on one of two computers in the house (besides the Windows Home Server) and neither one of them are installed.  This notebook I'm on now goes with me everywhere, and I don't ever think about my connection anymore.  I'm just in the kitchen at the moment.

That statement is to remind me of where I was at the beginning of 2010, so I can look it up in the beginning of 2020 for comparison.  I really do wonder where computing is headed.  I think it starts somewhere around here.
                

More Infrastructure Ignorance

Here we are.  Twenty-ten.  No flying cars yet.1 Nothing special to mention.  I am, however, writing to fuss again about the contractors at work.

Disclaimer: I am about to go on a rant about something I am only assuming, but my hunch tells me it's real.  That's why I'm here.

So this company that is responsible for uptime and such on our servers isn't very efficient.  Today I got word that one of our servers was down.  That wouldn't be so bad today except for the fact that this was about the fifth time in two months that service had been interrupted.  The server got back up within about three hours or so, and all the while I have no idea why it even went down in the first place.  I am definitely a concerned party, yet IBM doesn't have any way to let me in on the conversation.  That's for another rant.

This server in question has been down a lot lately.  I understand that one of the outages was a critical hard drive failure, and those things happen.  Five times in eight weeks is not a good record.  My question is whether IBM is tracking this server and noticing any trends.  I also want to know why they depend on my users calling the help desk to know when something's wrong.  I believe that a good directory services implementation should be able to monitor its servers.  Someone should be banging away at a terminal on the server before someone on-site calls the help desk.

But it's only 2010.  We can't expect ourselves to employ all the technology available yet, can we?

1. I know we have flying cars, but they're not exactly as prolific as the Civic, are they?