1. Distributions

Well, folks, it’s December. It’s been a long year, but it’s not over yet. I hope you have your helmets on…

Every year around December we get a slew of articles about how the next two releases of Fedora and Co., and Ubuntu and Co. will be the end of Windows as we know it, and (finally) the year of the Linux Desktop. The Linux Desktop… what does that even mean? If it means a desktop that well-experienced admins can install and run, then sure. That’s been around for years. If they mean an OS that requires some moderate tinkering by enthusiasts and experienced computer users, then OK; usability is actually quite good nowadays.

But if they mean my mom armed with a digital camera, a legacy Publisher-based cookbook, a decent level of computational curiosity, and a level of stubbornness that there should be a C:\ somewhere… certainly not. If they mean a business user who has to interface at all with pretty much the rest of the outside world… well then they need to just get out.

Though Linux has has made some fantastic leaps and bounds in the ease-of-use and UI categories in recent years, it’s still lagged behind that of Windows and Mac OS X (depending on who you’re asking). On the server side, it’s got quite the presence and runs the back-end of several high-end projects. For government use and specific-use within an industry, it’s also there. But as far for the consumer home user’s desktop/laptop/netbook (ugh), I just don’t think it’s quite there yet. As I see it, this if for a variety of reasons:

“…well, you’ve got Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Mandriva, Debian, Slackware, Arch, CENTOS, KNOPPIX…”

There’s too many of these things. Some are corporate-backed and sponsored, most are not. Some are rebuilds of corporate-produced versions, some are not. Some are forks. What the hell? Whenever anyone new to Linux even thinks about trying one (after they’ve been made fun of for not knowing there’s more than one), they plug “How do I choose a linux distrobution?” into Google. They’re promptly bombarded with close to a million articles on the subject, and websites with quizzes on the subject that try and match you to a Linux “distro” based on your personality. There’s even websites dedicated to keeping track of these things. Most end-users don’t notice, or care, about the minute differences between the distributions. Most of these differences are in the back-end where they never see them anyway. What really counts is who’s offering them. “Ubuntu on my Dell? That must be the Linux for me!”

Each one of these distributions has their own developers and teams devoted to creating the best distribution possible. Why can’t they all work together and just give us one or three really good distributions? Probably because of point #[x]. Person A has an opinion of how something should go, Person B has a different one. Some vulgar terms get thrown around, they split, and BAM!: new distribution. Sometimes this is good, but most of the time it’s not beneficial to anyone. Now, I understand that, for the commercial developers, they will have their own distributions as one of the staples of their businesses, a la Redhat’s RHEL and Novell’s SLED. I’ll even give you a community-driven development counterpart OS, a la Fedora. But the multitudes of other distributions should just go away, and heave what development and design people they do have into bettering one of the more prominent community-driven ones to push them along at a higher rate of speed. I’m only going to be loyal to one anyway (and I’m not stating which one that is).

2. Graphical Interface

“…just pop open the terminal and type this in…”

Linux can be a very rewarding OS that can be as much a part of your personality as it is your computer. There exist many numerous desktop systems and windowing environments. GNOME, KDE, Fluxbox, Enlightenment, Xfce, and even bare-bones, straight-up, old-school X. Each of these can be customized to no end, creating exactly and precisely the desktop you want. Alternatively, they can all be left in their default states and still have a functional desktop system. For most, it boils down to GNOME or KDE, since most distributions offer or include one of the two, or both. Both are pretty good, both serve their own purposes. The key phrase there, though, is “pretty good”; neither is great. Some things are buggy, and sometimes it’s not so easy to get around if you’re unfamiliar with it. They’re getting better, and have exploded in usability in the last 5 years, but until I have the option of configuring everything in an easy manner from the GUI, then most new users are going to get scared off. “Command-line what? What’s a terminal? I don’t want to have to do this all the time…” Regardless of what you tell them, opinions have already been formed. But, again, I like the idea of consolidating into one good environment. All of those developers can then get into bettering the development of that environment. Utopian pipe dream, though; desktops be divided I suppose.

3. Support

“Who ya’ gonna call?”

This one always comes up. Support has always been a bane of existence for Linux. One of the big pimping points to most end-users for Linux  is “Well, it’s free!”. True, but along with anything free, you’re getting the same quality of service with the support. Paid product usually equals paid support of some kind or level, with an expected level of quality. If you don’t get it, you can complain and hopefully get something better. With free distributions of Linux, however, you’re usually limited to other users, Linux alumni, or the forums. Pretty hit and miss. With forums you can find some friendly people looking to help you out, but you’re bound to run into the grizzled old Linux users who want you to just go away if you’re not 100% Linux 24-hours-a-day and you’ve been using it a minimum of longer than you’ve been alive. I present to you the following IRC exchange between myself an a particular user who private messaged me regarding my inquiry into whether or not someone had written a program that interfaced with a Linux-based fax server:

[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] if you have too much difficulty with ipp.. you can print to pdfs for winbloze with cutepdf writer (free)...
[Me] Well, the problem is not Windows...
[Me] I've got a developer who's writing a .NET program, and wants to have his program auto-fax
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] well that's his problem
(Me] the problem is here is how do we get the information automatically from the program/webservice to the fax server
(CondescendingOldLinuxUser] perhaps he can check out the latest mono plugin(free) for ms vstudio
(Me] I'll look into the IPP stuff.
(CondescendingOldLinuxUser] you hired him?
(CondescendingOldLinuxUser] he should be able to research this online..
(Me] No, he is a coworker.
(Me] And we're doing joint research.
(CondescendingOldLinuxUser] yaya
(CondescendingOldLinuxUser] research in commercial biz..
(CondescendingOldLinuxUser] well i told you way more than i should have..
(CondescendingOldLinuxUser] 
(Me] I'm not sure why that is, but okay.
(Me] Any information is appreciated.
(CondescendingOldLinuxUser] fax is dead.. who the f still uses fax?
(Me] ...a lot of the manufacturing world, apparently.
(Me] This is for invoice faxing and whatnot.
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] and why are you thinking of converting pdf to fax..
[Me] I don't know; I don't dictate what has to happen, I'm just responsible for making it happen.
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] so it's a research with current invoices.. interesting research
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] sounds like a cheap venture
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] just hire the right personel...
[Me] No, the research has nothing to do with the business.
[Me] I'm just saying we're looking for faxing solutions.
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] ?
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] huh?
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] how old are you?
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] you sound young..
[Me] I think you're misunderstanding.
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] 20's ?
[Me] 22
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] hmm
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] hahahha
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] "faxing solutions"
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] that sounds very terminological
[Me] as opposed to what?
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] research the "libraries"
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] do you know what a library is?
[Me] THE BIG BUILDING WITH THE BOOKS INSIDE?!
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] i already gave you one
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] hmm
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] this is a cont ed course isn't it?
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] you really haven't taken a programming course have you?
[Me] I'm not a programmer.
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] obviously
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] then what is your role?
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] you said co-worker..
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] that sounds like bs
[Me] Network Administrator; primarily of a Windows Network
[Me] which apparently around Linux == instant hate, regardless of what you're after.
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] i already gave you three solutions what you were asking
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] so i'm done trying to help you.
[CondescendingOldLinuxUser] bye
[Me] And I appreciate what you told me, no argument there.
[Me] So, thanks, I will look at them.

For those who didn’t read, it summed up as: “I saw you mentioned Windows… you suck. You haven’t been using Linux for 20 years… you suck. I didn’t suggest anything remotely close to you what you were after, but I’m right and you’re not… you suck.” Needless to say we fell back to Windows (mostly out of time constraints, but still). Until those old grizzled users become more accepting of those of us who want to get into it, we’re just not going to be willing to put up with your crap to get it to work. Sometimes I have RTFM’d, and I still don’t get it. I’m asking politely for an answer if possible so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes I guess that’s just too much to ask.

Those are really the main points for me; other than that I am happy with Linux and use it sort of regularly, though not as much as I’d like. Some people would argue software, but with more and more of the applications average users are using moving up to the cloud and becoming web apps, the actual OS platform is becoming less of an issue. But the big holdouts are going to be the industry mainstays that have crafted programs that are Windows-specific (like Solidworks), and have no intention of being rewritten to be compatible with Mac or anything else. Until there’s significant customer demand to lure them over, I think it’ll continue to be a Windows world whether we like it or not.

For those who don’t know, I live rather close to the city of Pittsburgh, and got invited on a trek downtown to experience a city tradition known as “Light-up Night”. I’ve never been to one of these before, and the closest thing I had to go on was images I’d seen of the annual lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center. I don’t know how close it actually is. Maybe similar, albeit on a smaller scale.

Light-Up Night Tree in PPG Place

I met some acquaintances down by the local Macy’s store, where they had been checking out the window displays. I didn’t think it was that impressive. Just about every store does this type of thing now, but I suppose it’s the whole outside experience with the band, the throng of people, the food, and tacky street wares that really seals the deal for most people.

After that we moved along the rather crowded city streets and ended up being dumped down in PPG Place where they already had the tree lit up. There was some country band playing off to the side while people ice-skated on who-knows-what (I don’t think there’s anything down there to ice-skate on… there were a lot of pumps and generators). The tree was a pretty nifty thing to see.

1902 Landmark Tavern

After that, while waiting for the fireworks to start, some of my acquaintances stood in line for the Santa while the rest of us escaped into a local bar. Escaping into a local bar seemed to be the typical for a large percentage of the over-21 population. It was crowded in there. Chugged a beer, then had to get back.

After all of this grand excitement we headed down to Point State Park to watch the fireworks. If you’ve never been down there, there are several rather flat buildings (hotels) that line the edge of it, along with the assortment of skyscrapers and other structures peppered in around behind it. During the actual fireworks, the sound-waves of the fireworks echoed off of the buildings in a such a way that created a rather pleasant ricochet sound effect. I tried to capture this on my iPhone, but unfortunately I apparently never pressed “record”. But it got me to thinking: we only stood there for approximately 15-20 minutes listening to this cacophony. During this period of time, no one was trying to kill us (that I know of; thanks Department of Homeland Security). During this time, we weren’t cowering in fear of being overrun with enemy troops.

Soldiers @ Stalingrad

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the citizens and soldiers defending that city withstood a siege for roughly a period of 7 months of near-constant attacks, bombings, machine-gun fire, and tank raids. 7 months… for those playing at home, that’s close to 43,200 minutes or 2,160 times longer than we were standing there. Unfathomable. I can’t imagine having to go through something like that, nor do I hope I ever will. Hell, I don’t even want to be in on the giving end of that, let alone the receiving. There were close to 2,000,000 casualties in that battle; I’ll bet there were less than 50,000 jammed into that square. And to think, a crowd 20 times that size disappearing or becoming injured in less than a year…

One of the many...

Needless to say, I stood there in awe of what those fireworks could be, instead of what they are, and it happens every time I see them. It just goes to show you the further proof that humanity makes everything a double-edged sword: one essence designed to entertain and sustain, one essence designed to kill.

 

Seriously, it's like drugs.

For the last few weeks I’ve become rather infatuated with an addictive flash game that’s been making it’s way around the webternet. The game is Canabalt. The basic premise is that you’re a guy racing across the rooftops in some sort of Matrix/Bladerunner-esque dystopian future. From what, I don’t know, but while running you must clear the distance between the buildings, perpetually gaining speed and covering more distance. Along the way you must avoid boxes, bombs, and the occasional office chair. However, with the exception of the bombs, you can use these to strategically slow yourself down so you don’t start running too fast, which usually results in overshooting a building, or not making the jump through a building’s window. There is, as far as I know, no ending to this game, the only objective being to get the highest score (biggest distance traveled, in meters) before dying, by either running into a bomb or falling off the edge of the building.

Personally, I think it's a little MJ. Tribute perhaps?

 

 

With the exception of a few parallax-scrolling backgrounds and some animated sprites in the distance, there’s not much to this game. Simple premise, relatively monochromatic color scheme, single song (yet well-done) soundtrack. In a world of high-visual games, this is a lovely breath of fresh air that is reminiscent of old Atari and NES games from my childhood. I never owned a Commodore 64, but for those that did, I’m sure this is right up your alley as well. Approaching an age where I can finally (and maybe unfortunately) start to feel nostalgic about the things I grew up with that are now gone, I can really appreciate something like this.

The best bits of a viral platformer rolled into one package!

 

What’s especially so compelling about this is not it’s retro 80’s PC block lettering, but the fact that it can be played in small 5-minute spurts. On breaks at my job we’ve instituted an unofficial “Inter-Office Canabalt Distance Running League” (IOCDL for short), and keep the top score and initials on a whiteboard. It inspires friendly competition, and sharpening of hand/eye coordination, as well as the all-important stress relief (though some would argue against that).

Truly a fun and entertaining game, I suggest checking it out for cheap, and quick entertainment. For those on the iPhone platform, if you’re really digging the game, fork them the $2.99 for your mobile entertainment and get the app. I’m sure they’ll appreciate helping to pay off the bandwidth costs, and hopefully will push them to come out with another great release.

For the last several weeks (or months, but who’s counting), seemingly the whole of the gaming world has been fixated on the release of Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, followup to their hit game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Most people who are close to me know that Call of Duty has been my favorite series of games ever since I laid hands on that (admittedly, pirated-at-the time, but now since purchased) copy of the original Call of Duty in my senior year of high school. Now there was a first person shooter that combined action, drama, bits of errant comedy, and a touch of cinematic unrealism into a smooth blend that left my thirst for blood and a great plot line well quenched. Being something of a history nut, I also loved that it was set in WWII.

I’ve pretty much always been a PC gamer, and have enjoyed each installment of the series, feeling that they’ve delivered a better experience each time. I had purchased a multi-pack of CoD goodness awhile back via Steam and received CoD4: Modern Warfare as part of said pack, but having it not take place in the WWII era I almost felt betrayed and pretty much refused to play it, so it just sat there in my queue.

However, since the rest of the gaming world has been on fire about the new release, I figured it was time to dig into that game, get my money’s worth, and see what was so damned popular about it; and why people I knew that didn’t even play video games were super excited about standing in line at Wal-Mart at 11:30PM to get their hands on it.

To my surprise, I found this game to be the best I’d played yet. The story was epic, the action was intense, the dialog just as humorous as always. A tad short, as some have said, but I don’t think that took away from how well-written it was. I would much prefer it to be short and well done, instead of long and boring. And crawling through a creepy, almost monochrome, 80’s era Chernobyl in a Ghillie suit to take out a terrorist selling nuclear material during a flashback? Not many parts of many games have made me uneasy; this was one of them. Riding out a nuclear explosion in the back of a helicopter? I hope whoever is writing and designing this stuff is getting handsomely paid because the visual impact is stunning. At the very least I hope they have a decent parking spot.

Having finished out CoD4:MW, I was left with a feeling I haven’t had for a long time when dealing with video games: I wanted more. Knowing that there was a direct continuation of the story out there, I had to get my hands on it. I had Call of Duty fever, just like the rest of the gaming world. I wanted the same caliber of storyline, same action-packed adventure. And boy have they delivered.

The story been pushed to a level of scale far more grandiose than the first, and I think I’m warranted to say they’ve even managed to up the story’s intensity from the last one. Right off the bat they have you clawing your way up the side of a beautifully-rendered mountain in the Alps, before being flung all over the place to Russia, Brazil, and Washington, D.C.

Look at those visuals...

These games have received a fair amount of flak as of recent for not delivering a long single-player campaign for the cost of the game, as well as the argument that they’re sending our sense of “entertainment” into the toilet. However, I feel these games have managed to do what most others don’t. They let us escape into a virtual life of adventure and excitement that most of us will never actually see (and probably wouldn’t want to). And I don’t mean just playing a game; I mean immersed. For the time I’m playing those games I am the active soldier, saving the world. I get wrapped up, nervous, sweaty, and on-edge. This is what the game makers are trying to do and I think they’re finally delivering with the advances in today’s 3D technology, big budgets, theatrical-scale writing and directing, and fully-orchestrated, surround-soundtracks composed by award-winning film score writers. Let’s not forget stellar voice acting.

But apparently the proverbial shit has really hit the proverbial fan with the “airport scene”; everyone’s talking about it. In this mission you are disguised as a Russian terrorist as you walk through a Moscow airport with a group mowing down innocent civilians. Sounds harsh, and it is. Definitely not for the faint of heart and they warn you appropriately at the beginning of the game. But quite frankly I don’t see what the uproar is about. It’s a game; they’re virtual people, and I know that. The game is rated appropriately at M (17+) and by that age kids should know the difference between physical and virtual. It serves as an important plot point and I would rather play through those plot points regardless of content rather than hear about them in cutscenes or briefings (though I draw my limit at cutting up babies with chainsaws).

The same argument could have been said about the nuclear explosion in the first one. Innocent virtual lives lost there, too. A whole city destroyed, helicopters crashed, soldiers killed, and even the main character KIA. Where the was the hullabaloo there? Exactly. For some reason a virtual war is OK when serving as a plot point, but mowing down virtual civilians is “distasteful.” Also, if this same scene happened in a movie, no one would bat an eye in today’s society. And I think that’s for one reason: we know it’s fake and serves to push the story along. Besides that, there are far worse things going on that game like setting people on fire, slitting people’s throats from a first-person perspective, and jamming knives into unsuspecting guards while watching their virtual life slip from their virtual eyes.

But again, it’s all fake, we know it, and it makes for a fantastic game that’s as much interactive movie as it is first-person shooter. The story is great, the soundtrack is fantastic, and the visuals are stunning (as rendered on my system). I’d highly recommend this to any gamer who likes a well-written action movie. It’s been an incredible ride, and I eagerly await the obvious third installment.

…at least for me, because they always seem to shape and re-shape themselves based on the temperature and the time of year.

I find myself continuing to wrestle with a course of action for my professional life. I’m good at a lot of things, and a lot of people could tell you that, but I’m not great at any of them. No single area could I really expect to call myself an “expert” or even “highly knowledgeable” at this point. I’d say I’m just about hitting “Passing”, but not even scratching “with flying colors”. Either way, I’m not satisfied and know I can do better.

So perhaps a public forum is a good way to make me a little more accountable for what I’m doing/trying to do/failing at doing with myself. It worked in weight loss, so I’m going to apply a similar structure to my career goals. A breakout of realistic goals, which represent what is obtainable in the here and now, and dream goals, which represents where I’d like to be if everything goes according to plan. The idea is that as you blow away the realistic goals (or cross them off your list, analogize as you wish), those make way and provide the structure for the dream goals, causing them to shift out of that category into realistic goals. I’m even going to try and take this seriously; you can tell because I created a new category solely for this.

Over time I hope to drag this post on and update it. If you happen to be reading this and know of a good resource that I can utilize (free or otherwise), please drop a comment with a link or other encouraging (or discouraging [Hey, it's the internet afterall]) words.

So without further ado:

Realistic Goals:

Linux+ Certification – I’d like to provide myself with a good solid understanding of the inner-workings of Linux. Not necessarily the bells and whistles of Apache or other add-on userland tools, or anything like that, but a good knowledge of basic administration.

Cisco Certified Network Professional – Would validate my basic understanding and troubleshooting of network-related issues. I honestly hoped to have it done by the end of 2009, but that’s not shaping up to be possible.

Dream Goals:

RedHat Certified Technician – RedHat is pretty much the commercial king of the Linux world and a lot of highly mission-critical systems rely on it from NASA systems to airtraffic controllers, to stock exchanges. I think as Linux continues to grow as a driving force in this tougher economy, this is where it’s going to be, and demand for competent administrators of this technology will be in increased demand.

Cisco Certified Network Associate – Compounds and expands on the CCNP knowledge…

Long-Term Interests:

Asterisk - Telephony plays a big role in my current job. I’d like a better understanding of how it works, and how the different components interconnect. Setting up my own VoIP system has been something on my radar for awhile now.

MySQL - A basic understanding of how to do SQL queries and do the basics with databases are something else on my radar.

Hopefully I’ll have some updates at some point. Microsoft Certs and VMWare certs aren’t even on the radar right now… maybe a cert in Windows 7 when it comes around, if only for the job.

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard that old phrase about an infinite number of monkeys at typewriters. According to Wikipedia, it’s like this:

The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare.

I got to talking with a colleague at work awhile back about the topic as a tangent to a discussion about the BOINC project, and we decided to somewhat test that saying. Now, Wikipedia has an excellent breakdown of the mathematics as to why this is incredibly implausible, but we’re just left of crazy, so we decided to try anyway.

We made a few assumptions about our monkeys:

1. They would not be graded on punctuation; in fact, we “removed” their ability to do any of it, including spaces. We also confined them to Caps Lock. I mean, we’re already working against the laws of mathematics, so why make it more difficult on ourselves and our virtual monkeys…

2. They would only be required to get the first line of dialog from Hamlet, which is “Who’s there?”; again, just trying to lessen their workload.

So, all in all the virtual monkeys would only be required to generate “WHOSTHERE” in order for me to consider this test successful. So my colleague wrote up a quick multi-threaded C# program that generated enough random numbers between 1 and 26 to satisfy the length of the input string, then turned each of those numbers into a letter based on what number it was. Those letters were then combined back into a text string then compared to the orignal input to see if there was a match.

Here it is running:

I ran this program on a 3.06GHz quad-core machine over a few days and a weekend, producing over 5 billion random generations. Not one of them was WHOSTHERE.

Most people would say that’s not long enough, with the wrong approach, and not the right level of computational power. To them I say: “Screw Shakespeare and his monkeys… It’ll never happen.”

As a side note, Wikipedia has this to say about a test done with real monkeys:

Not only did the monkeys produce nothing but five pages consisting largely of the letter S, the lead male began by bashing the keyboard with a stone, and the monkeys continued by urinating and defecating on it.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything, I figured right now would be as good a time as any. I’m sitting outside of the Magnum roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio waiting for some friends. I’m not riding; that’s what this is about. I should start back at the beginning. A long time ago my brother was pretty into roller coasters, and would often go to Kennywood. Both of my parents were riders as well, and, being a small child I would have to go along with, although one would have to stay behind with me off the ride. Well, I don’t remember much of what happened (though I’m sure being forced into riding had something to do with it), but somewhere along the way I’ve developed an insane (and arguably irrational) fear of roller coasters. We’re not talking just a normal dislike, this is “I feel physically sick waiting in line and I’m ready to kill someone don’t effin’ touch me or I’ll stab you in the face” fear of them.

So this year after trying a lot of other things that I had been somewhat afraid of for years (details irrelevant, save to say I enjoyed myself and that they weren’t so bad), I decided that, upon invitation to Cedar Point, that I was going to go and conquer this demon as well. In the years after that initial fear was developed, I had pretty much refused to ride them, and as such I was never really invited to go to amusement parks (I understand why, tickets are not cheap for someone who doesn’t fully utilize the park) so time just floated by and I rarely set foot in an amusement park. Now that I’m old enough to pay my own way its not such a big deal if I go and don’t ride anything. I was pretty excited last year to get invited to Kennywood, mainly because I thought I would conquer this fear then, too. I was wrong, as it turned out, since I refused to ride anything then, either, and ended up becoming designated purse holder all evening. I was the only guy in the group, yet that was the most effeminate I’ve ever felt. Oh well, I had my own fun by myself.

Well, when the same pretty girl asks you to go again, the big brute-like male in me says “Well, this is a chance to not look like a wuss twice.” Turns out I was wrong again. But at least I tried it this time. First roller coaster in 10+ years, as a matter of fact. Pretty girl says ride it; I get nervous but decide to suck it up and go anyway. Besides, the Youtube POVs make them not look so bad. Perhaps since I’m older I’ll have fun. Perhaps since pretty girl is beside me I won’t be so nervous. Those were all incorrect assumptions as it turns out. Did I have fun? Absolutely. Was I less nervous due to pretty girl? She definitely helped. But do I want to do it again? Hell no. It was a wonderful reaffirmation that I do not like roller coasters. To each their own, I guess.

To someone like her, who lives and thrives on adrenaline, that roller coaster is weak. But to me that was like stepping up to my worst nightmare and declaring “Bring it, bitch.” I feel proud I did that. Shut up, I know you’re chuckling.

With the extra time in between while I wait for them to ride their rides, it’s given me some time to think. Why do I not like roller coasters? The rest of America seems to love them, and yet I won’t step on anything that goes upside down. In fact, it usually seems like I’m the only one in the park in my situation. I think the reasoning behind this is twofold.

1. I don’t like not being in control.

I’m a control freak by definition. I think that’s why I became a sysadmin; it’s pretty much the biggest power trip you can have. But as far as everything else goes, I always have been. If I can’t control my involvement in a situation, I at least like to control the circumstances around it. Granted, I can always control whether or not I get on, but in this case I forced myself to get on just so I could attempt to fight this, but I was then unable to control the circumstances surrounding the trip. If I get to the top of that first hill and decide I want off, I can’t do that. I can’t control how fast it goes, how hard it jerks me, or anything. Do not want, and I end up getting upset. Upset that I don’t enjoy myself, upset I ruin everyone else’s coaster high, upset that I want to like roller coasters but don’t think I ever will. I respect roller coasters, though.

2. I’m afraid of being afraid.

Is that even a real fear? I don’t usually find myself being afraid of anything anymore. I can usually just shut my mind off and do it, especially if I’ve never done it before. However, roller coasters still give me goosebumps and nervous, sweaty hands just thinking about going that high and dropping. I become afraid of the fear I will have at that turnover point and during the drop. That does not excite me like it does most people, unfortunately.

I find that these two things manifest themselves into other aspects of my life; girls, job, social events. I’ve gotten better about letting go of being in control and just letting what happens happen, but rollercoasters are still a gotcha, and I think it’ll be a long time before I ride one again.

I know pretty girl is reading this, because I linked her, so I want to thank you for putting up with my screams of terror and nervousness. I also appreciate the invites, even if it drags down your ‘coaster-riding experience. Today I was willing to at least reaffirm that my fear and not live in the shadow of what-it’s, and I appreciate you pushing me into it and sitting next to me while I screamed like a girl.

So, I leave the park feeling victoriously defeated. Here’s to trying it again in 10+ years.

Over the weekend I, along with some coworking cohorts, rewired our server rack. We pulled out all of the wires… literally. All of them. The finished result is much cleaner, easier to find cables, and really showed us how truly little we’re utilizing our equipment (brought it all back up and only half of the ports were on and firing). Though the heat buildup in the back of rack is much less now than it was, at least 5 degrees if not more.

And, biggest accomplishment, the doors we have on it actually shut now.

Server Room: Before and After

I had never wired a server rack before, so this was a good experience. I’m pretty sure we’re using the cable management rack at the top completely wrong, but whatever, it works for the time being. It also forced me to learn the physical topology through and through in order to get it done (which is good, since I need to document it in the next coming few days).

There are several things after having done this that I can say were good things to know:

1. Color coded cables are win. It’s going to be much easier to find something when it goes awry. Also, it’s going to help ensure something very important does not get unplugged when doing maintenance.

2. Velcro zip ties are win. Reusable to the fullest extent, does not generate much waste, and helps keep things organized. Though avoid the generic Staples brand ones; they’re a bit thick and fuzzy and come in the colors of Muppets.

3. Coffee is win. Up all night, feelin’ alright.

Other than that, it wasn’t that difficult. Also, one of the members of the group earned their 2AM Badge. Though he’s still working on that coveted 24-hour Badge achievement.

After watching a lot of ducks today swim aimlessly around a pond a Penn State, I wonder: “Do ducks remember yesterday?”

Dear Google Chrome,

I want so badly to love you. Really, I do. In fact, every time I look at you I want with all my heart to fall for you; but then you slip back into your old ways and we have to part once more…

I remember when we first met. You were so fresh, so new. Way different than all the other browsers I was with before. You boasted that you outpaced the rest and that you were easier to get along with. Of course, I’m big fans of your parents and so I fell right in line and tried to get to know you as soon as I could.

At first I was impressed with the way you handled yourself with smooth grace. But then I tried to get you to work your magic on several company web-based applications and configuration pages. You refused to play ball. You wouldn’t load menus, you told me correct options were incorrect, and flat-out refused to load the page.

Maybe you’re just nervous, shy, and not quite ready to show the world your true beauty. But I’m confident that some day, after little more training, you’ll wow us with your performance.

I look forward to the day, and I’ll be watching you from afar.

-AdamD.