Things I’ve learned
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
Just a list, full update later.
- Running your own Minecraft server can be just as fun, if not more so, than playing the game itself.
- Watching the Star Trek (2009) trailer over and over again is still as rewarding as it was back in 2008-2009 when I was waiting for the release. (cough)
- Microsoft, even through all their “evils” is still responsible for about 98% of what we live in our daily lives. I am thankful to them for all my torture, all of my fun, and all my knowledge. Cheers M$.
- Bill Gates is not evil. Seriously.
- Neither was Steve Jobs. R.I.P. dude.
- I really hate that movie theaters have given up on sound trailers. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a true 8 channel SDDS intro teaser or a full THX trailer? Yeah, it sucks.
- Certificates are EVIL. Especially ones tied to multilevel server infrastructures with no formal training.
- I do my best thinking after about a full 2 liter of Diet Dew, and staying up until 3am doing nothing in particular. at least.
- I still own the first two totally free computers I ever received. Thanks, Ted Waitt.
- Like the pompous girl on the Sallie Mae website, I chose to be ready after school as well, I just didn’t count on the 1500 LB gorilla (Obesity is an epidemic after all) at the door. FFS. FML.
- Being my own web host for the past… uhh wow. 12 years or so has been awesome. And lets hear it for grandfathered rates while we’re at it.
- Lack of internet provider competition sucks
- The MPAA & RIAA should be shuttered for lack of morality, greed, and because they smell funny.
That’s all for now…
Netbooks
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
I admit, I never thought I’d buy into the whole mess. My first experience with them was with the Intel Atom, single core, and it performed about as much as most people seem to think it will.
Then I moved up to the 1.66 GHz Single core w/ hyperthreading, and things got a little better. I recently had to go on a working trip to Anaheim, and I took the company HP Mini with me, and used it to help me perform my work there. I also brought along my Dell XPS M1530, which is a tad more robust, and found that I really hooked onto the Mini for most of my work. It was just easier to pop on the top of the server rack and use it to load my programs, whether it be vSphere, the web interface for our SAN, or just general surfing. I even loaded office communicator on it and used it to talk to coworkers from the laptop (one of the benefits of working where I do, no phone required, just speakers and a microphone)
It was after that trip that I had decided that it was time to try looking for one for myself. That opportunity presented itself within the last two weeks.
A friend / coworker of mine had been considering one, and I have had hands on time with AMD’s C-50 processor, so I recommended one after he mentioned it. I was already in the “pre-purchase” mindset, so when he got his and I had a chance to play around with it, I decided that it would be what I wanted as well.
We both own the Acer AO722 Aspire One netbook. The specs are pretty standard fare for a system of its size:
- AMD C-50 Processor (1.00 GHz, dual core with integrated Radeon HD 6250 graphics, which claims 256 MB of RAM from the system)
- 2 GB DDR3
- 250 GB Hard Drive (though that lucky punk ended up with a 320GB for free for some reason)
- 802.11 n wireless (yes! N! not g!)
- Gigabit LAN
- Card Reader
- a usable keyboard
- 6 cell Li-On battery, about 7 hours worth for this system
- 3.21 LBs
Performance on it is, I think, much better than the Atom. The chip performs like you’d expect one would at 1 GHz, and it runs pretty cool – most of the time I never hear the fan. I’m running an experiment with it now where I replaced the stock 250GB hard drive and put in an SSD to see if I could give it some extra speed. I’ll be upping the RAM to 4GB next month as well, seeing as how the system came with a 64 bit OS.
One of the advantages of AMD’s Bobcat architecture is that it’s an Out Of Order architecture, unlike Atom, which is in-order only. Since the Bobcat core can execute operations in any order, it doesn’t need to place them “in-order” first, like the Atom, which makes the overall computing experience, I think, to be more smooth, even though the chip runs at a 660 MHz deficit of the similarly equipped Atom processor. Bobcat is also AMD’s new architecture, which will be helping to push AMD’s desktop processor into the mainstream again. Most everyone else knows of this chip architecture as “Bulldozer.”
I’m always happy to give AMD’s newest technology a test drive, and since this netbook fills the niche where my XPS M1530 is too big, I find myself using it more. On the couch, in bed, outside at the patio table, etc. It even plays my latest addiction- Minecraft – pretty darn well.
It’s really worth giving one a shot, especially if you need something light and portable. You never know, you just might find a use for a netbook where you thought there wouldn’t be a good use for it.
Amazon’s link: http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AO722-BZ454-11-6-Inch-Netbook-Espresso/dp/B004UR16ES
Trial by Fire
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
I’ve never been very good with networking. It’s one of the reasons I chose the networking degrees in school, I wanted to learn more and gets hands on with it. I should have saved my money and time and just waited for the opportunity I got with this trip I have been on. The hands on and actually touching, fixing, attempting configurations on this network are helping incredibly. I’ve gotten a great insight into the inner workings of VLANs, LAGs, and the correlation between the 6-8 different network ports on an Equallogic SAN and the accompanying host hardware for a vSphere setup. Of course, I’ve gotten some more hands on time with ESXi version 4, and seen the kinds of things it can do. I’ve deleted and recreated VMs, and troubleshot things I thought would be completely above me.
I can safely say the trip was productive, even though I don’t yet have everything working again. It has been fulfilling in that aspect, and though I’ll still leave with a part of me missing if I can’t get those other systems online like I am hoping, the bulk of the network is up again and working as the staff remembers it, so that I can be grateful for.
I haven’t done any actual from-scratch configuring, but I’ve been on the phone with Dell, VMWare, Equallogic and AT&T (unrelated) enough to gain new appreciations for the difficulty and time it takes in getting something like this running well. I am also fortunate that I have a boss who is willing to let me learn (and of course supported the idea of me coming out to a remote site to experience the network hands on.) I also don’t want to disappoint anyone.
If I can just get these two systems that are being a pain in the arse online again, I can leave knowing I’ve accomplished things that I didn’t think were possible just 5 days ago.
I know the blogs have been slow to come, but let me know if you read these or not – either through comments here or in other mediums. I appreciate knowing folks see this, and I’d like to get more how-tos and info out there, so if you feel like you need some help with something, let me know and I’ll check it out.
Google+, SSDs and free time – Oh My
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
Well, just when I thought my free time couldn’t get even less, I went and signed up with Google+ (Thanks Faif!) and got stuck doing a Windows XP reinstall on a laptop with an SSD, so I’m prepared for hell – it’s the first time I’ve used XP on an SSD, so it shall be a learning experience. As for free time, not sure how much of it I will have at the end of this day. My WoW guild is probably wondering if I died. -.-
Not to mention, I have three, count ‘em, THREE drafts in this site that I’m working on getting finished. The problem is that I start writing one and find that my passion on the subject wanes. I can’t help but wonder if I have a case of undiagnosed ADHD or something. Arrgh!
Well, in keeping with the tradition of honoring NDAs, I will refrain from sharing anything about Google+ here except to say that it’s a great attempt so far, and I really hope Google can make it shine. I’m honestly quite ready to ditch the FB boat, as I think Zuckerberg has mined enough data out of me to last two lifetimes. Frack.
Moar! to come, I promise.
Mushroom, Mushroom!
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
Still trying to integrate FB commenting…
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
Thus far, not pleased with the results. More when I’ve had sleep though.
New Blog Post Soonish
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
Promise. Working on a few that I want to get up here.
Can’t be said any better
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
I don’t know where the original maker is, if you find this, kindly Email me and let me know so I can link you properly. kthxbai.
*facepalm* I’m not dead, I swear
Posted by Ben | Filed under Geekin' Out, Random
Life took a huge turn right around the time of my last post. In April I started a program over at FXB, which you can find here. This week is week 10 of their 10 week kick boxing class, and I’m looking forward to Saturday’s check in to see where things are. I’m hoping that there are huge changes, and I admit, winning the $1k prize would go a long way toward helping my car payments, even after taxes are taken out. But I’m not in it to win the money, I’ve already made some good friends, and the results from my work are showing (muscles! *pokes* oooohhhh!) so that’s good enough for me. That, and impressing the hell out of people who didn’t think someone of my…stature could move as fast as I can.
It’s also been a time of growth both work and home. Got a pay raise, and helped a buddy get a new job as a coworker. Also working on getting myself a Small Business Server (2008) up and running so that I can learn more on that platform. I did actually have a server up and running, but due to a tree tangle mess by our neighbor’s house, and the ensuing power line touching snafu, the power spikes killed the lone hard drive in the SBS server I already had set up. I guess the test is over then – it’s time to “geek up” and buy the hard drives I had intended to put into the system to set up RAID 10. I actually just migrated the R2 box to RAID 10 from a RAID 5 setup, and the speeds went through the roof (thanks Brian.) SBS had a tendency to thrash the drive insanely, so I think a more robust RAID setup should help things out a bit. I also need to get a DynDNS setup going so that I can run updates, the other client I was using was pretty flaky, so I’ll just upgrade to something with more substance when I buy the hard drives.
I haven’t forgotten about the site – far from it, just haven’t thought of anything interesting to write. If you’ve been here before, you know I sometimes struggle with wanting the site and not, so who knows. I do like writing however, so I’ll stick around for a bit. It would be nice to have a following, I admit. Maybe some more aggressive updating on twitter & here will help that out. I’m not out to win any popularity contests (read: I’m no Ashton Kucher) but like minded folks every now and then could be fun.
More geeky posts forthcoming, promise. With this post however, I shall uphold my fine tradition of putting some kind of cuteness overload up after this post. Maybe a few, to make up for my time lost. Sorry ’bout that.
Statistics
Posted by Ben | Filed under Random
That is all.