ferragus

Wow, and I didn't get him anything

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:57:57 GMT

It's not everyday someone famous arranges a birthday present for you.

So I've got to publicly say thanks to Joss Whedon for Dr Horrible's Sing-along Blog:

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

This looks pretty cool, and it premiers on my birthday so, you know, it has to have been created just for me.

Me Me Me!

(Thanks to paleologa for the link!)

INTERVIEW: Result!

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:07:28 GMT

Interview with "big internet webhosting company based in AZ".

on the phone with the Managing Engineer and two Sr Linux Engineers, and I'm ready for the grilling to be brutal.

Manager tosses me an easy question

(Ah I think, he's trying to make me relax and then they'll ask me how to binary edit a corrupt hard drive in Solaris 2.1 - which for those of you that care was only current from 12/1992 to 5/1993)

So I answer his question quickly and with not too much detail but let him know I can find the details if he needs it...

Next question, equally easy.

Third Question, Also easy but we discussed some possible variations on how it might be handled for variations in workflow.

First Engineers turn - typical question Discuss something you're proud of solving. I pull out something that's nearly as obscure as using a raw editor to fix a bad hard drive - and I know that 1/2 way into it I've lost them completely. Maybe they'll look my answer up and find I'm one of the resources quoted on it in Usenet :)

2nd Eng question - Have you worked with hundreds of servers before? Yup, the place I was at had many thousands of servers, and it's fair to say I built 30% or more of them myself.

Mgr asked if there were anymore questions and wrapped up the call.

*blink, blink*

I thanked them and said generally good things, but all the time I'm thinking "this was a 15-20 minute call, what did I do wrong?"

10 minutes later the recruiter calls and gushes "You did great, they want to see you first thing Monday."

Wow, never hit one out of the park before ;)

Wish me luck on the face to face Monday AM!

Happy Birthday Jay

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:07:32 GMT

and everyone else I missed while I was semi-away from posting.

Just wanted to thank everyone that chimed in on my last (friends locked) post and reassure you that's it's all better now!

and really, I've got an update coming RSN.

Keith Olbermann's Worse Person in the World...

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:05:26 GMT

If you haven't seen them, you should. Keith is amazing, he's funny, serious and spot on with his criticism of what's going on in this country.

His latest points to Wal-Mart for suing a woman, injured in a car crash, whose brain damage is so severe that everytime she asks about her son, who died in Iraq a week after her accident, it's as if she's learning it for the very first time. I mean really Wal-Mart, let it go, even if she had robbed you at gun point, just let it go.

Then he blasts Senator Lindsey Graham for saying that McCain never said that the Iraq war would be easy, except he has, repeatedly.

But the one that really got me, the one that made me nearly spray soda on my keyboard...

DHS agents monitoring a stretch of highway recently had a nuclear alert when a sensor went off indicating radiation in a car traveling 70 miles per hour. Pretty scary stuff right? Thank gods they are watching right? Maybe

Turns out when they pulled the car over (and I'm just betting that was a fun time for the drivers) the radiation came from a CAT that had being treated for a tumor three days earlier. (This is the point at which I started laughing.)

Where Keith puts it back in perspective for me, is when he points out that if we have monitors sensitive enough to locate a sick kitty, WTF does Bush and Skelator get off trying to scare us to death that we're completely defenseless unless we're all wiretapped and watch listed and what have you?

Here's a link, watch it if you're as pissed off as I was, the cat part might just mellow you out a bit.

Here's a link to Keith's report
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/28/countdowns-worst-persons-more-wal-mart-lindsey-dhs/

and if you're intested in helping Debbie Shank out

Contact your local Bank Of America, they should be able to accept donations to "The Debbie Shank Fund.", if not they can contact their branches in Jackson Missouri to get the information.

Last option, send a check or money order to :

Bank of America
320 W. Main
Jackson, MO 63755
c/o "The Debbie Shank Fund"
Phone: 573.339.6500

(I say last option because it's kind of late and I haven't had a chance to verify it myself, but you're all too smart to send money without checking it out first, right?)

Also it wouldn't hurt to write a letter to Wal-Mart expressing your disappointment in their actions.

I knew you were!

Thanks for following my semi-rant

A year ago

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:34:28 GMT

We lost David Honigsberg, but sappy as it may sound, he's still with us.

http://pics.livejournal.com/ferragus/pic/00010xaa

My post is here and yeah I think there's gonna be scotch tonight.

Mother Nature napping

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:24:17 GMT

Good news, the storm has blown over for the moment. It's really odd, snow coming down pretty hard and yet it's 40 outside!

I'm going to hit the road while there's decent visibility and in an hour or so I should be below the snow level (about 5000 ft).

Fingers cross, next post will be from PHX!

And Mother Nature says "Muahahahaha!"

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:30:52 GMT

So last week I was too chicken to brave the storms and head north to Flagstaff. But this week, it's supposed to be 40's and 50's (F) so I figure it's a safe trip.

Oh except for the 12 inches of snow that got dumped on us Friday and I ended up driving through.

Yesterday was all you could ask for, sunny, about 46 and the roads quickly cleared of snow. It's really pretty to watch several inches of very white snow come sliding off an evergreen.

Today is supposed to be the same as Sunday, but when I wake up, it's strangely dark. Oh look the weather's been updated:

Moderate to heavy snow will affect the area from Flagstaff and Williams southward to Munds Park and portions of Highway 89a in Oak Creek Canyon through at least 1000 am MST. Visibility will be reduced to a half mile or less with snowfall rates of up to two inches an hour.

WTF!

Judging from the amount of new snow that was in sheltered areas (winds blowing pretty fierce). I'd say we've gotten maybe six inches.

The good news it's 34 degrees here (1.1C) so it probably will turn to rain soon and wash some of it away.

Unless we get a cold snap too ...

Beagle Beagle Beagle!

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:01:51 GMT

Ok it's not our boy connerybeagle, but it's nearly as handsome!

My favorite picture is the last in the slide show, a face malfunction!

Favorite quote: "Barking and baying up a storm ..."

and even on the political blogs! (Thanks to cordwainer for that link, I missed it this morning!)

and I thought I'd share these:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferragus/sets/72157603808926977/

It's himself, connerybeagle, who has just discovered that when his bedding gets washed, it ends up very warm in a nice cozy dogloo like structure!

BAWH!

More things I want but shouldn't have

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:27:16 GMT

This is just too neat to not obsess over.

A remote pet feeder with camera.

The downside is of course the cost, nearly $300! and I guess there's also the security problems of allowing remote access into my home PC to monitor it. (Something I don't do now, so it could be a big hassle getting through all my firewalls and traps and stuff).

Still, how neat would it be to see the cats every day when I'm away! and know that they have food and water. (and haven't burned down the house!)

Better stop before I talk myself into it!

(footnote: I hate when I run spell check and it finds nothing, I'm such a poor speller that I never believe it!)

Farewell to Mittens

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:02:36 GMT

Just too funny today.

Jon Stewart's Farewell to Mitt Romney

I do like that part of Jon's take was that Mitt so loved the US, that he wouldn't subject it to a Mitt Romney Presidency.

Yay!

Bonus close up shot from this picture

Greg McMullan 1963-2008

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:30:35 GMT

Greg McMullan was a Virginia area fan and filker who died January 26, 2008, in a fire at his home. He is survived by his wife, Maya and stepdaughter Faeryn, who were not at home when the fire happened.

Details can be found here.

Greg and Maya's home and nearly all of their possessions were destroyed in the fire. Faeryn has a list of simple things that would be helpful now in the above site.

I know many of my friends list are local to Virginia and like me probably knew Glenn at least in passing from various cons, if you have a few minutes this coming weekend, please see if you can do anything to help out. If you can't, find someone close to you and tell them how much they mean to you. We're not around long enough to let it go unsaid.

Thanks.

******

Happy Birthday!

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:42:53 GMT

Hippo Birdies to dancinghorse!

I don't think she follows my LJ, so if she follows yours, be sure and wish her a Happy one before the day is over!

Oh mighty LJ Mind

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:17:17 GMT

I do humbly come before you with praise and gifts and a query.

(ok no gifts, but you really do know everything so ...)

In considering a New PC, I'm tossing Vista on the scrap heap (ain't even gonna try it) and going with XP (sorry Mac users, I'm not ready to go that route). However, should I go with XP Pro (32 bit) or XP Pro (64 bit)? XP Home is out because it is (or was) a crippled version that wouldn't allow you to VPN into an office environ. (Just in case you wanted to know why I'm not listing it).

The system will be an Intel Core 2 Quad, with 2GB of RAM (maybe 4) and used on the high end mostly for gaming and photo processing (yeah I know Mac does photos better - it's too late to change so quit it!)

I'm seeing a marginal difference in price between the 32 and 64 bit versions, and it seems that the 64 bit is supported by the games I'm interested in.

So, anyone have any thoughts on 32 vs 64 XP?

Thanks!

(ETA oops I'm giving you praise, not raise! Sorry to get your hopes up)

Happy New Year!

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:08:10 GMT

Yeah it's early, but for some folks it's already nighttime, so there you go.

Hope it's a Great New Year for you all!

(and Happy Birthday to quarkwiz!)

Happy Holidays!

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 18:47:13 GMT

Merry Christmas to all that celebrate it.

There's a perfect full moon out tonight, hope your weather allows you to enjoy it.

Starting my Christmas list for 2015

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:45:26 GMT

or whenever it's available

I want an air car!

This is a car that runs completely on just compressed air.

Granted we're talking city driving only, but from what I saw on Discovery last night, it would easily get me to and from work on a single charge of air.

Oh and they have plans for a hybrid like version that has a conventionally fueled engine so you can drive it at speeds greater then 50KPH or distance over 200-300 Km.

(conversion to MPH and Miles is left to the reader :) )

Enjoy!

WTF - work rant

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:34:03 GMT

"Oh I tried to reach you and couldn't"

Are you on smoke? I've gotten on call from you this week, it was yesterday after the close of business.

When I want to reach someone, I call them 3 times a day, on every possible phone line. I call their cow-orkers, I call their boss. I call their spouse, their children and their bank. I sent out e-mails every hour on the hour.

I even send a time traveling super robot back in time to scare the bejesus out of their parents and stalk them through their whole lives!

If I wanna get in touch with you, you'll not only know it, you'll be getting a restraining order to make me stop.

and to answer the question you wanted to ask me, No I can't do 9 days worth of work in a half a day, esp when it involves three other groups of people entirely.

Just saying.

It's all about Him

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:41:08 GMT

Him being connerybeagle of course.

I have to share a posting he made here, because of the picture in it that is just Too Cute!

The story is sad, but the good news is that he's ok as long as we keep on eye on him, but you have to see the picture.

If you like, go be Connery's friend, he's a great dog.

(A note: Connery isn't my dog, he's my SO's. Even so, he's definately part of my family.)

Happy Birthday!

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 04:15:00 GMT

To quietspaces, sorry I'm a day late!

and to lrcutter (I'm a day early!)

Hope you guys have (had) excellent birthdays!

WARNING: Water on Road ahead next 5 miles

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:07 GMT

Yup, actual road sign today.

Only in the desert!

It's supposed to rain through to tomorrow, and from the sounds of it, we're getting hit hard. The local weather station says .61 inches per hour (looks like it just peaked though).

I think it's a good night to curl up with a warm cat and some eggnog and listen to the rain.

Happiness is a Warm Blanket

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:44:28 GMT

Happy Birthday to Charles Shulz Creator of Peanuts comic strip.

terri_osbourne has suggested that we declare today "Happiness is a Warm Blanket Day" and dedicate ourselves to spending some time cozy and warm, and preferrably cuddled up with a Snoopy surrogate.

Enjoy all! I think this is tradition I can get behind!

ETA: Credit to Terri! I thought she had locked the post, but perhaps that was my brain on a Monday?

Happy Thanksgiving

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:46:42 GMT

To all my friends where ever you are, I'm thankful that I know you.

Take care!

Wild in the Streets - Part 2

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:46:00 GMT

I'm sleeping the sleep of the just, when my cell phone rings. Might be important, so I get up to answer it.

Boy that new ring tone carries well, I already knew it was the first one I'd found that I could hear over the noise of 7000 servers on the data center floor.

Of course I had to leave the phone downstairs, so it's ringing a long time too.

By the time I get to the phone I'm not surprised to find that the ring has stopped, I am surprised that there's no missed call on the phone.

About that time the 'ring' starts up again! only it's not coming from the phone, it's coming from out back!

I had a visitor, a Burrowing owl (see my LJ Icon).

I'll have to take a careful look out back before the dogs come down for another visit, wouldn't want them to disturb a nest.

(wildlife ring tones for free at here check them out!)

Wild in the Streets - Part 1

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:40:11 GMT

Ahh the joys of winter, I go in before the sun is up and it's usually down or setting when I get off at night.

Yesterday morning, I'm backing out of my garage, when I notice someone standing in the street behind me. Now I'm at the edge of town, up by some nice mountains/hills (I really need to find out what they are called), so it's probably not just some random homeless guy, more likely a neighbor or maybe some bad person?

So I sit there a second deciding what to do when the person notices me and moves out of the way. (This has been a test of the emergency brain function system, had this been an actual emergency, you'd be dead by now, sorry, you lose)

Upon backing the rest of the way out of the garage, I see there's a car parked just up the street from me in the cul-de-sac, with it's lights on.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Looking down my street, I see the remains of a Jack-O-Lantern and two shapes sniffing it. "Someone's let their dogs out loose" I think with mild annoyance.

Boy those are ugly dogs, in fact they're not dogs at all.

They're Javelinas! Chowing down on the dead Jack!

Pretty cool!

I drove towards them slowly and they calmly moved aside, then returned after the other car (which I guess was trapped) and I passed. As I left for work, I noticed that there were several more checking out the yards of my neighbors. Looks like there's a good sized herd (passel?) of them in the area.

Of course the downside of that is if I corner one by accident, I run the risk of being tore up pretty good by they're tusks. Still it's neat to see the local fauna.

Baah!

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:27:43 GMT

OK this is definitely sheepage
From pbray, rolanni, suricattus and klingonguy (most recently)

How now, you secret, black and midnight ferragus!

Which work of Shakespeare was the original quote from?