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You don't have to be crazy to work here... but it helps? [Jul. 14th, 2009|10:27 am]
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One hour of every four I have spent in my tech career has been fixing a Microsoft product. You know, when you make a mistake in Linux, usually, 9 times out of 10, it's your own damn fault. But you can tell it's your fault because most people who write open source/GNU stuff have decent logging. Microsoft has a little GUI window called "Event Log" which isn't a text file but a kind of database of events without a decent grep filter of any kind, but a crude "Find..." option.

Linux is rock-solid stable, which sometimes leads to a problem where you "set it and forget it." For years. Make a box, set up Apache, tune some things for PHP, sent up snmp to check for problems, and boom... 4 years later, you wonder what the hell is on the box because you forgot what you did, and didn't document it (I do, though, for just these reasons, you just have to remember where the notes are). I have had Linux boxes with 2 year uptimes, which is kind of bad, since that means you have missed a dozen or so security updates, but rarely are they attacked. Windows you have to reboot a lot. If anything, because the latest security patch forces you to reboot. Most of my Windows boxes at work have uptimes of 30 days or less. In my entire career, I have repaired just two compromised Linux boxes. I can't count how many Windows boxes I have wiped. More than 100, surely. Sometimes you do a DnR on a Windows system because it just takes far too long to diagnose and repair them. Most high-level Windows sysadmins I know do this unless the data is just to valuable to lose in a reformat.

When I used to do QA for AOL, Windows users were so used to crashes and problems, they were often far better educated than Mac folks when reporting bugs. Mac folks were so unused to crashes, they were shocked and even insulted when shit went wrong. And AOL software went wrong a lot. Still does, from what I hear. Linux folks, especially the GUI set that are prevalent now with the rise of Ubuntu, still have a lot of stuff that goes wrong, often with hardware interaction and GUI scripts that conflict with other scripts. Thus most are still pretty educated as the Windows folks were back in the day. Numerous help forums have honed early Linux adopters to grep through error logs and whatnot. But in 2014? Maybe Linux will be completely run by masses not used to looking under the hood.

So, like with Windows 95 beta testers back in the day, when troubleshooting Windows servers, so much of the OS is cockeyed and nonsensical, it's only my experience that has made me a better admin. You could know how a network stack works inside and out, but that won't help you much when trying to determine why a running service on Windows isn't reachable from one subnet. Can't grep a tcpdump. You got to know what set of menus, sub-menus, tabs, and checkboxes to click. Gets in my way. Command lines are MUCH faster in the end. Finding an error in Linux is like looking over a field of moving objects, and looking for one that doesn't look right. Finding an error in Windows is having to go through a maze with doors, traps, and puzzles to try and find if you can see that error, and then the same goes for fixing it.

It's like a special kind of insanity. And over time, I am actually learning this insanity. It reminds me of why I was made a FanTekk BBS sysop.

The FanTek BBS was run by some of the craziest software imaginable. "Nitelite," Paul Swanson's BBS software for the Atari ST, was built from Pascal over a Motorola 68000 chipset for mutli-line BBSing. The BBS program itself had its own proprietary language which made no sense whatsoever. It was based on commands that looked like "K6:" or "PRL!" which were often riddled meta-commands and lacked any sort of consistent structure. It was as if the designer had grouped commands by letter as he thought of them, so the "L" commands had no real grouping as opposed to the "K" or "M"-based commands. KR2 may have meant "write to a file" and G1 might have meant "read a file" but G2 might have meant "send user to chat room." The entire chat room, I think, was a meta command, which made no sense except if pulled from a menu.

The file directory system was DOS-based, but used letters that had little bearing on actual locations. I recall "X:\" was a kind of "virtual directory" which had to do with the BBS loaded into memory as opposed to the actual files on a disk. "K:\" was the read-only program executables, and "L:\" would be the read/write data, if I recall. Totally insane.

The BBS was not ANSI compatible, but I knew a slew of VT100 escape codes, and so hacked the menus to have colors, rewdraw themselves, and so on. I redesigned a new chat room from scratch because the software author was so tired hearing from Bruce, he gave us the source code and told us to compile the damn thing ourselves if we thought he could do better. And we did (thanks to ALICE PASCAL). Sadly, Pascal for the Atari had a memory pointer limit of 2^15, which meant anything that went over the number 32,768 (number of files, message board ID number, number of e-mails posted since start, etc), the system crashed.

Previous sysops, like Allon, Suzi, Darryl, and Ralph, had a saying. "You have to be a special kind of crazy to manage this system. Punkie has that kind of crazy." I am not sure if that was meant as a complement, but I took it as such. In fact, whenever I can't figure out something, a voice in my head says, "You fucking managed the FanTek BBS. If you can do that, you can do this."

It takes a special kind of crazy to manage Microsoft products.
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Anyone taken Greyhound recently? [Jul. 6th, 2009|01:53 pm]
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As in the bus service?

In two weeks, I need to get from DC to Baltimore (yes, Otakon). Traveling with me is my son (18) and a family friend who is 15, plus our luggage. I don't drive, and wouldn't have a vehicle if I did. I have considered a lot of options, from using MARC (doesn't run on weekends) to Amtrak (ridiculously expensive for the service you get). The price is right, about $50 for the three of us, round trip.

ONE of the problems is the family friend, being 15, has no photo ID (unless her dad can find her passport, and it may be so expired, she's 8 in the photo). This seems to be an issue with Amtrak. Nothing is mentioned in Greyhound.

Now, I know that there's a stigma about the people who ride Greyhound, but I think I can stand the crazy people for an hour and 20 minutes. You don't have to tell me, the last time I took Greyhound was 21 years ago, but it was brutal.

The bus from Cumberland had a transfer at Harper's Ferry, but the new bus driver didn't show up, and it took dispatch 3 hours to find a new driver. This driver had never driven a bus on her own before, and was a trainee similar to the short mousy girl from the "Police Academy Movies." She got so lost, we went around Maryland for hours until she got lost near Baltimore (a far cry from Washington DC, my intended destination), and went to that station, a nervous, crying mess. As we tried to get Greyhound to get us to DC, several of the passengers got robbed by people pretending to be luggage handlers. Greyhound then said that they were closing for the night, and to get out of the station and they would open in 8 hours. Luckily, one of the passengers was a kind old lady who lived near me, and said her son would pick her up, so I could tag along. While the son didn't seem happy about this AT ALL when he got there, he gave me a ride to my house.

But that was 21 years ago. Maybe it's better. Maybe they have GPS. Maybe I am in denial? Smile
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Stalking Punkie's Thoughts [Jun. 29th, 2009|11:45 pm]
My latest brain droppings

  • 00:15 "There's no 'S' in Burt Bacharach..." Or in Hal David. #
  • 00:38 "Its a Mr. Death or something. He's come about 'the reaping?' ... I don't think we need any..." #
  • 07:37 First Metro ride back since accident. My train was short; only 4 cars. But not that much more crowded than usual. #
  • 09:23 Made it to work, took about 40 minutes longer than normal. Trains running slower, pausing at stations longer, and using less cars. #
  • 09:24 I want to officially retire "Mondays suck" as a small talk topic. Mondays are a chance to start over again and have a better week, yo. #
  • 09:31 I want to shake the "Mondays suck" people and tell them I worked 9 years in retail w/NO WEEKENDS & EXTRA HOURS on holidays. Yeah. So there! #
  • 09:39 WMATA's Twitter feed people forget the 140 character minimum, and often their announcements end abruptly at a crucial preposition. #
  • 12:01 Three hours sleep is no way for me to go through life, brain. #
  • 12:06 Man, I am one crabby patty. #
  • 12:42 Why is it when *I* order delivery for ppl, shit gets fucked up? Every. Damn. Time. It's why I never order delivery from any place, any time. #
  • 13:35 @ephrog Gees man, so sorry... I have been through several of those. remember, no matter what you may feel, it's not your fault. #
  • 15:15 @ephrog *EVERY* layoff I have had was good in the long run, if not great. #
  • 16:15 RT @donttrythis How about some GREAT NEWS?! MythBusters' Kari is the proud mom of a baby girl! Congrats, Kari! #
  • 17:11 @ninjacooter yeah, the media doesn't have a clue what a scale of a disaster is anymore. #
  • 18:07 My train car has been losing power on and off all ride from Metro Center. Man, this transit system is in critical condition... #
  • 18:13 RT @DrewFromTV: Drew Carey on religious hatred: bit.ly/YWht8 #
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Stalking Punkie's Thoughts [Jun. 28th, 2009|11:45 pm]
My latest brain droppings

  • 09:22 Lungs finally clearing, head not clogged. Did reiki replace my usual friend antibiotics? Maybe not, but it should reduce need at any rate. #
  • 12:32 I am not 100% but I feel *so* much better! Thanks for all those who sent well wishes. They rest of you can rot in hell. HAH! [jk] #
  • 13:06 @GenaLivings we do now. Test it; ask anyone what they prefer. I guarantee a majority will pick love without even pausing to think. #
  • 13:07 DUDE! So many odd celebrity deaths. Billy Mays just died. Probably shouting to people in Heaven now, "Look at this cloud!" ow.ly/g1qt #
  • 13:12 My three tomato plants are over a meter tall now and flowering. The two smaller replacements are also taking off at about a foot high. #
  • 13:14 Found missing bukkit tomato plant. Hated being in bukkit, apparently; moved to fence at side of yard and growing. I put some soil around it. #
  • 15:51 FYI: For those of you who LOVED my shirts at AMA and recent cons, I get them from @glarkware. Please support Glark's mental health/buy some! #
  • 16:26 Ordered honey sticks for Katsucon table at Otakon. #
  • 16:31 As far as I can tell, the Swedish kid's program, "Häxan Surtant," is about a mentally ill woman in an apartment complex who harasses kids. #
  • 16:34 I know "Häxan" means "witch" (ahem), but the rest looks like a crazy IKEA commercial: tinyurl.com/l3eq4z #
  • 16:38 @Glarkware I only say it because I care. We're all worried about your recent Twitpics. You sleeping right? #
  • 17:53 Old bottle of shampoo (?) product exploded in bukkake nightmare in bathroom cabinet, probably years ago. Massive cleanup in aisle 5. #
  • 17:55 Made my "famous" (?) mashed potatoes, experimented with leaving peel on. Sucks a LOT of salt, but reduces "wallpaper paste" ring in pot. #
  • 17:57 I have to be honest, my Morton's steak was fairly tasteless. If I had made it, I would have been satisfied, but a $52 steak it was not. #
  • 19:39 Just saw an ad with Billy Mays selling Arm and Hammer baking soda on CBS. Um... shouldn't that have been pulled? #
  • 22:34 @glarkware : a GW shirt sighting! On Mary Alice from "Ace of Cakes" wearing "sorry." The King Kong cake episode... didja know? #
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Stalking Punkie's Thoughts [Jun. 27th, 2009|11:45 pm]
My latest brain droppings

  • 12:35 is tired and weak. Gonna try to get more housework done, then take beloved to dinner for 20th anniversary. #
  • 14:28 Why am I watching "Way of the Dragon" again? Like a traffic accident, I can't look away... #
  • 15:38 @sinspired one of my "radio signal" clocks was also off; by exactly one week and one hour for a day. But now it's fine. Huh. #
  • 15:41 I am so sorry, sci-fi new age community. I don't believe aliens have visited us. Ever. #
  • 15:48 I know Reiki may seem like I am into new age hoo-ha, but I have SEEN that work. Never seen an alien, nor a scrap of physical proof. #
  • 15:52 Ha ha ha, Storm (my crabby older cat) just jumped on the flaps of an empty box, and fell in. She panicked, but worse, lost MAJOR dignity.... #
  • 16:19 Man, "ancient astronaut" theorists don't give our ascestors ANY credit for figuring stuff out. "Pyramids are hard to build" = aliens? Pfft. #
  • 16:22 The lines at Nazca feels like a pointless middle management project to me. "Why we draw these?" "The Duke says it's a team building thing." #
  • 16:32 "We didn't know what the skull was, so we took it to an alternative knowledge guru..." Alternative Knowledge guru? Not a doctor? #
  • 16:41 "We didn't invent electricity, aliens did..." NO, you moron! NO ONE invented electricity! Any more than anyone *inventing* water... #
  • 16:53 Why do I watch these shows when they make me so mad? I expect better from the National Geographic channel, that's why!! (shakes fist) #
  • 17:35 "The new Coors Beer can logo turns blue so you know it's cold." As opposed to just, you know, touching it... #
  • 22:33 All kinds of awesome: Roman cat sanctuary tinyurl.com/9trbb9 #
  • 23:17 I miss Sweden... #
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Stalking Punkie's Thoughts [Jun. 26th, 2009|11:45 pm]
My latest brain droppings

  • 07:42 My cold is leaving my head and is now in my lungs. But I am still not dead. Wonder how long I can re-use that joke. #
  • 08:02 Clifford is a nice dog, really. He's the anti-Cujo. But he's got to go. He's been every example of why I will never have a large dog. #
  • 09:00 Clifford goes back to his handler tonight. Phew. #
  • 09:12 Rockin' my AMA Staff shirt, on heavy expectorants, wishing my ears would unclog. Thank CHRISTINE for new coffee maker; makes big difference! #
  • 09:13 Clifford is as big as my lovseat - twitpic.com/8glww #
  • 09:43 Michael Jackson settles long time cold feud with Paul McCartney in his will; a Beatle now owns Beatles songs again: bit.ly/Neo5m #
  • 10:33 All bleeding stops eventually. All bleeding. #
  • 12:55 I have only had a few hours of sleep here and there since Wed morning. Having to pee, coughing, or breathing problems prevent long rest :( #
  • 18:22 @ephrog good bacon is amazing. Normal, bulk bacon is okay for buffets. The rest, meh. I agree. #
  • 18:27 Clifford is gone. Good dog, but bad fit. Handler not upset, grateful we had dog for 2 days while she found new sitters. #
  • 19:27 I am looking forward to the day I can breathe again. As in, go up a flight of stairs without seeing stars like I did way back on Monday. #
  • 21:47 Why do Cialis commercials show people in old bathtubs watching scenery? What symbolism is this? Take pills or die like Marat? #
  • 22:30 After some Reiki, I made it up and down a flight of stairs. Hooray, Reiki. #
  • 23:41 I hate comments and suggestions where people state "there's a lot of people saying," when they really just mean themselves. #
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On celebrity deaths [Jun. 26th, 2009|06:38 am]
Why do they happen in 3s?

Ed McMahon. You know, I wasn't allowed to watch TV as a kid, so I'd try and sneak as MUCH TV as I could when my father was out of town (a few weeks a year) and my mother was drunk (half the year). On weeknights, I'd stay up and watch the Tonight Show. I remember Ed used to get drunk sometimes. There were a few times when he'd be oh-so-slightly off his game in that way that those with an alcoholic parent understood. Johnny was always tactful, but there was some nudging here and there when things got out of hand. Then it became a huge joke about Ed's drinking, even LONG after that had stopped being an issue. When I got married, [info]takayla and I would watch Johnny every night until his very last show in 1992. It was kind of sad to see Ed's last work was Cash4Gold.com, cashing in on his notoriety as being broke-ass.

Which leads me to Farrah Fawcett. I was never into her as a teen much, although many of my male peers went through a lot of tissues and lotion with her bright white grimace and curled hair posted on their walls. My type of girl was more Lalla Ward from Dr. Who or Diana Rigg with The Avengers: nerdy and smart with much ass-kicking. While I did watch my share of "Charlie's Angels," I was never really into "Jiggle TV" as much as my friends were. I never knew how real any of her life was, but like anyone who made a career on good looks, age was her mortal enemy.

Last but not least is the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, whom despite all his craziness, I had a soft spot for. I thought he made a lot of mistakes, don't get me wrong, but the pressure on his life was enormous which would fell even the best of us if we had to submit to such a lifestyle. This is especially true to those of us with terrible childhoods like Micahel's. There was one film by him I recall, "Moonwalker," which has a sequence in it where Michael has to rescue kids from a mobster and somehow he turns into a massive fighter jet robot at the end, saving everybody in an almost rage-like sequence. If you have suffered child abuse AND were gifted with imagination and creativity, the entire sequence makes a whole lot of sense at a deeper level. I can't describe it, but I felt I understood his pain after that film. I don't think he was ever a pedophile; I don't even think that was in his psychological makeup. I think he was trying to rescue his own inner child and siblings the entire time from the memory of his dad's abuse. But he made some bad choices, magnified by his fame and money, which led to his downfall and inability to explain why he liked children. It is today's society where liking children a lot leads to people who eventually think you want to have sex with them. I blame it on the whole "love = sex" fixation the western media has, as if sex is the inevitable conclusion to anything you love a whole lot (including bubble wrap). But that's another rant. A few months ago, I put in some MJ into my iPod rotation, and recall while listening to "Thriller," "Leave me Alone," "Black or White," and "Scream," just why he was called the King of Pop. He was truly a gifted song artist and performer, and like Elvis and the Beatles, represents an entire voice and generation like no other.

All three of these people had friends and family who loved them, and they will be missed. I hope most of their past issues get exonerated, or at least learned from.
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Stalking Punkie's Thoughts [Jun. 25th, 2009|11:45 pm]
My latest brain droppings

  • 07:26 I am still not dead, but closer to it with a huge ENT infection. Been battling it since AMA. I lost. #
  • 12:46 So sick... :( #
  • 13:01 I think I am addicted to placebos. I'd quit but it wouldn't matter... #
  • 17:27 I hate fever aches. Clifford must think I am the laziest human ever; I never get out of bed. #
  • 21:52 Still sick, can't sleep because I get up every hour and pee like Sea Biscuit. I think I have drank 2 gal water just to keep from dehydrating #
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Stalking Punkie's Thoughts [Jun. 24th, 2009|11:45 pm]
My latest brain droppings

  • 09:07 WMATA says on their site, "if they are able to avoid the Red Line, that may be the best option for Wednesday." I hear traffic is insane. #
  • 10:15 I am still not dead. I do have a head cold, though. #
  • 11:10 On this day, in 1989, it was sunny on a Mountain in Keyser, West Virgina. Happy 20th wedding anniversary, Christine! :D #
  • 22:26 How did we spend our 20th anniversary? Sick. Both of us have bad head colds. There is also a very very large dog in my house. #
  • 22:36 That was not a metaphor: we have a calico colored Greater Swiss Mountain dog in our living room, named Clifford. #
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Stalking Punkie's Thoughts [Jun. 23rd, 2009|11:45 pm]
My latest brain droppings

  • 12:56 I am still not dead. #
  • 12:58 I am working from home, well, someone's home who has a broadband connection. Work is busy, but better than Metro. #
  • 13:06 RT @mike_elgan Waiter, there's a hawk in my soup! bit.ly/1MOsZn #
  • 15:36 If a bunch of kids ask you to wander around a creek with them, I suggest you take them up on it. #
  • 16:10 I want to put a petition to official retire the suffix phrase, "-on steroids" to describe anything larger or louder than normal. #
  • 18:12 I don't care about John and Kate. She's a whiny bitch, he's a passive-aggressive slug. I *do* care about those poor, kids, however... :( #
  • 18:23 @ejacqui I once declined on a house based on that: coated with beautiful stonework, all cell phones went dead past the front door. #
  • 19:42 My Anime Mid Atlantic 2009 (AMA) review is up: punkwalrus.livejournal.com/978196.html #
  • 20:19 I finally had a few hours to kill to boot into Windows. I am going to try and update my iPhone to 3.0. iTunes is still trying to connect.. #
  • 20:58 40 minutes later, I have iPhone OS 3.0. And I still continue to be awesome: tinyurl.com/mqtgdg #
  • 21:27 So... Metro. What's the deal for tomorrow? #
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