Sunday, July 31, 2005
Fun
Installing Norton Antivirus 2005 onto a computer that’s infested heavily, updating, scanning, cleaning, and then the next time you reboot, you press ctrl-alt-del, log on, and it promptly cycles itself back to the “prss ctrl-alt-del” prompt.
You know, I could have just fdisked it in the first place. That would have purged the 220 infected files too. Sheesh.
Housing: Small Is Beautiful
Via Peter Davidson, who has some interesting thoughts on them, and whose blog you should be reading regularly anyway, a company named Tumbleweed Houses that makes tiny yet functional houses. Which, predictably, are low in cost.
When I was single, I was thinking I’d eventually get around to buying a hunk of land somewhere, probably up north, at least as a getaway spot I could camp on and maybe put a shack on. One of the Tumbleweeds would be handy for that kind of thing. Ditto if I were single and wanted to live simply and not spend 400k for a house. As their info page says, they are also used as backyard guest or in-law houses.
This relates neatly to a post that’s been in my head for weeks, but I’ll put that up separately. I have to go back to the office today, as e-mail still isn’t working normally. I sent a description to a mailing list I am on, where many of the people know Exchange well, but most of them read their e-mail at work and won’t see it until Monday. Thus there’s been nothing yet. Best I could come up with after another round is to remove and reinstall the internet mail connector portion of Exchange, then reapply the service pack. Meanwhile, we found one workstation that had 290 virus infected files on it. I was only able to clean it partially, so that needs attention. Doh.
On another note, many people live in campers year round, and that’s something I considered trying more than one. Probably would have, but at the times I was most tempted, I couldn’t have swung the price of a camper. I see the tiny houses as a similar compromise.
Serenity
There is a new Serenity trailer. I never watched Firefly, but I can’t wait to see this movie!
And speaking of Serenity, can you imagine Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn trilogy on film?
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Happy Birthday
To blogger Chuck Simmins. Let’s not be stingy with our birthday wishes.
Update:
Ah, I see now that he posted a pre-announcement the other day, as it’s his big Five Oh. He reflects on what he’d do differently, looking back, and hopes to follow with a post about what he’s glad he did. Sounds to me like worthy blog fodder for anyone older than, say, twenty or so. I could go on and on. At least about the parts I’d willingly discuss or remember.
Your Daily Sadie
Light Blogging and Geekly Duties
So I’m kind of busy and am likely not to be posting much in the next day or so. Having been otherwise occupied the past couple Saturdays, I set out to do some work this one to beef up the billings for the month, since this is the do or die “shop for an apartment” money.
Originally this would have been “routine maintenance,” going around to machines, seeing if any of them were infested, scanning, that sort of thing. It will probably still be some of that. However, yesterday things went haywire on the network. When I left last night, internet e-mail still wasn’t working in the most baffling of ways.
Basically, there’s an Exchange server, which is a new machine with Windows 2000 Server and Exchange 5.5, which was formerly on a Windows NT4 backup domain controller (BDC) machine that has a dying drive in its RAID array. Then there’s an NT4 member server that is a proxy server hooked to the internet via 512K of T-1 line. Any e-mail at their domain passes through to the proxy and is handled by the Exchange internet mail connector (IMC). Mail from their Exchange server flows the other way. These take the form of oddly named files that sit in “out” and “in” directories and, once processed, then move to “archive” directories.
On the proxy, Sybari Antigen with Spam Manager runs, scanning everything that comes in and purging out spam based on Sybari’s engine. Sybari Antigen also runs for virus scanning, using engines from several antivirus vendors, on the Exchange server. Sybari is fantastic. Lately, though, it seems to have been the source of the mail in and out of the place choking up.
Anyway, all has been mostly okay, except the fact that Outlook Web Access won’t work with the new server, apparently because it is not - and can’t be as long as the network is run by NT - a BDC. At least, that’s my guess, though the actual error is a script timeout, which would match the periodic RPC errors generated by ordinary communications and mail transfers between the two servers. Oh, and the fact that communications with the fast new mail server are sluggish from Outlook on the workstations, in a way it never was before.
I had disabled Exchange on the old mail server, but left it online doing nothing but authentications in its role as a BDC. Figured it could manage that, degraded drive or not.
Yesterday morning people came in and found that for maybe half of them, things worked fine, and for the rest of them, everything on the network was sluggish, hanging, even not working at all. It took until after 11:00 for them to bring this to my attention. Once again, my Spidey sense was tingling and I wasn’t paying attention. When I woke up at 8:30, I had an inexplicable compulsion to hurry and get to the office (in the same building), even though I had other plans for the day. This almost invariably happens to me when something is going wrong there.
I’m still not 100% sure what the source of the problem was, or even that it’s completely resolved or will remain so. I ended up having everyone shut down their computers, then I shut down every server in logical order, then I reset the power to the network hubs, then I powered the servers back up in logical order, then had people come back up and try it. My theories were it was a hub problem, or it was an authentication problem centered around the old mail server’s BDC role, or both. None of the people who were working okay had been logged on by that server. I left the old mail server off, letting the remaining one BDC and the PDC handle the logins.
During the rest of the day, I continued to see timeout and recovery messages from Sybari Spam Manager. Antigen had been updated on the new mail server, but not on the proxy server. So around 5:00 I upgraded Sybari Antigen with Spam Manager, stopped the mail connector service, purged the accumulated log and mail files, rebooted, and… nothing.
As far as I can tell, everything is as it should be. The internet connection is there. The servers are working. No mail packets flow into the IMC “in” folder from outside the building. No mail packets flow into the IMC “out” folder from the Exchange server. No test e-mails get through in either direction. Weirder, Antigen has claimed to find things to clean up. Including spam. From outside. Despite my other problem being that the product now shows no option for the spam scanning engine downloads. Even though the spam scanning option exists.
So this is what I have to fix today, first and foremost. I have no idea what’s wrong, but that’s how I often start out when troubleshooting. This morning I even went so far as to run NSLOOKUP and see if the MX record had changed.
Sorry, didn’t mean to geek out and go into so much detail. It helps me focus to write about it, though. Sometimes I’ll e-mail Deb about something I’m working on and doing so will give me the solution, or the direction in which to proceed.
That is why I expect to be minimally available for blogging, possibly all weekend, depending what I get myself into and how it goes. Which is sad, because there’s a lot I want to, and have been wanting to, post about besides the “all Sadie, all the time” routine you’ve been getting.
Carnival of the Recipes Is Up, Plus Food Talk
Before I forget to post this the way I forgot to post a recipe, let me note that this week’s Carnival of the Recipes is up, hosted by Feisty Repartee.
I had intended to invent a recipe using boneless country style ribs, but they went bad before I could use them. Very sad. Then there’s the chicken I made a few days ago that came out good, but was accidental and for which I wasn’t keeping track enough to make it a recipe. Poor Deb couldn’t eat it because the smell of ginger and then the sauce starting to burn on made her sick. Silly misnamed morning sickness!
It started out being pieces of chicken, fried in a little butter with spices added. I was going to make it more ginger-oriented than usual, but half of the remaining powdered ginger plunged out of the bottle; probably a good half tablespoon of it. From there it was working with and softening that main flavoring agent, so I ended up with what I referred to as the chicken euivalent of candied sweet potatoes. I added extra butter, brown sugar, white sugar, the other spices like garlic powder, red and black pepper, and ended up with chicken chunks cooked in and coated with an almost carmelized spicy ginger sweet sauce, just starting to char on in places. It was yummy.
Anyway, in the end I was too busy and distracted to dig up a borrowed recipe and post that instead for CotR. Oh well.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Your Daily Sadie
I Just Remembered…
Sadie is ten months old today!
I remembered this when I was talking with some of the people at my big client, after I got their network running again and disappointed all the people who were hoping to get the rest of the day off. (Actually, some had left anyway.) One of them was unaware of the second one incubating, was all excited about Sadie getting “a brother,” and asked about ages.
In the course of a week or so, she went from walking unsupported at all to walking long distances, and at least as much as she crawls. One of her giddiest moments ever came when she was able to walk up to the full length mirror on the back of the bedroom door, face to face with Mirror Sadie of her own volition. It was kind of funny when she kissed mirror Sadie.
Last night Deb was all excited that Sadie recognized all the bedtime cues and happily went to bed without being asleep when deposited in the crib. No reason she shouldn’t recognize the cues, considering how much English and body language she understands. She’ll come over to look at pictures of other babies on the computer if Deb says “baby!” to her. She loves baby pictures, as well as pictures of herself.
This still reminds me of raising a puppy sometimes. In particular, the way she invites play. She invented sort of a tag game when she’s on our bed. She scrambles to the end of the bed, up the pillows and tags the wall with her hand. If we’re not paying attention, she’ll look at us like “well...?” Deb (usually; I do it sometimes too) grabs her around the belly and flops her back onto the bed, usually saying “oh no you don’t!” Sadie shrieks with laughter, then giggles her way back to the wall and repeats the process until we get tired of playing.
She’s gotten more ticklish, too. Deb recently discovered she has ticklish chin spots that provoke giggles and squirms. I discovered yesterday that her belly is now ticklish.
Wow. Two more months and she’ll be a year old. Time flies!
I’m interrupting my break to share this:
I am almost completely positive that my m/s was totally gone by this time with the first one. I feel so cheated. OTOH, it hasn’t been as bad. Hmmmm. Intensity or duration, which is worse? I’ll let you know if it’s still here next week.
Sadie is nuts for pictures of other babies. When I’m wandering around reading mommy-blogs and come across a bunch of pictures, I’ll tell her, “Sadie, babies? Want to see babies?” and she’ll get up off her tushy and come toddling over to stand where she can see and she smiles and talks to the pictures. Too freaking cute.
And last night we had a huge, huge first. She’s been sleeping though since she was about four and a half months, but I’ve always nursed her to sleep. Occasionally, she’ll decide she isn’t going to be tricked that way and she’ll refuse to drift off and she’ll scream for five or ten minutes after she’s put down. Last night, she was fighting it and fighting it and so after a while I laid her down wide awake...at which point she rolled over and went to sleep. Woo-hoo!
Your Daily Sadie
Thursday, July 28, 2005
She’s Getting The Accent Down…
Last night Sadie said “rubber duck” quite clearly while she was in the bath. Well, she’s not strong on the K sound yet. At least she knows how to conserve R for future use.
Yep, she said “rubbah.”
She’ll fit right in with the native speakers.
Your Daily Sadie
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Goofy Quizzes: The Other Blog Meat
| the Ham |
| CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | LIGHT Your style’s mostly goofy, innocent and feel-good. Perfect for parties and for the dads who chaperone them. You can actually get away with corny jokes, and I bet your sense of humor is a guilty pleasure for your friends. People of your type are often the most approachable and popular people in their circle. Your simple & silly good-naturedness is immediately recognizable, and it sets you apart in this sarcastic world. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Will Ferrell - Will Smith |
 |
My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid |
Via the witty Caltechgirl
Talent
Here at the office, there is now a computer available for Sadie to use. It’s a 486 with DOS, and has a bunch of DOS games installed. My nephew found her a keybanger program and added that for her benefit.
So we fire it up, type in the command to run that, and she can bang away. Different stuff goes on the screen, moves, and makes sounds in response. It’s very simple and repetitious, but it’s hers.
Trouble is, the Escape key exits, and naturally she lasers in on that key as a preferred one to press.
So I edited the batch file that runs the program. The first line is the original command that runs the program. The second line calls the very batch file to run again. Now if she hits escape, the program exits and immediately starts again. Heh. I figured no big deal; we could hit Ctrl-C to break execution of the batch file. Or simply turn off the machine. Which is on the table, out of reach, with the monitor and keyboard on the floor where she can abuse them.
Today she managed to press something that broke the batch and made it offer to end, yes or no. The kid is talented. Which reminds me, earlier in the day, I hit reply on a client e-mail. She banged on some keys and I decided I’d let her do it for a minute, then joke that that part was Sadie’s advice, and say what I had to say. Instead she managed to type away, then hit the right keystroke to send what she had typed. That was funny.
Nomenclature
Question for Jen, or whoever wants to answer it:
What would be the female variants of the names “Owen” and “Lucas”?
Just idly wondering…
Break Time
There’s something about the news the last couple of days that’s just put me straight over the edge. Has the whole world gone mad? And the ‘sphere crazier than usual in response?
Of course they have. It is, indeed, that part of the summer.
I had a laundry list of items making me blow steam right out the top of my head, since the pressure has become too much to vent through my ears, but why recount it? Your list will be slightly different, anyway, and it is the larger phenomenon I find more interesting.
In any case, I am Taking A Break. It’s hard enough being pregnant and chasing a now-mostly-walking 10 month old around without having to think about the rest of this crap, too. I mean, the idiots in the government and the enemy idiots overseas and the idiots in the media and all of the other idiots on my list at the moment will still be there when I get back, yes? And really, I find it much easier to gestate when I’m less focused on exactly what kind of fucked-up world I’ll be introducing the poor child to. Probably help keep the blood pressure in range as well. Bonus.
See you when the dog days are over.
Happy Birthday
To blogger Director Mitch. Ah… to be 37 again!
Remember, Remember, The Fifth Of November
Don’t miss the trailer for V for Vendetta. I can’t wait for this to come out! It looks like an amazing adaptation.
Via Ian
A Different Kind of Goofy Quiz
Via Jen
Your Daily Sadie
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Happy Birthday
To my youngest brother, Michael, who is a youthful 34 this year. I’m jealous.
Happy Birthday
To (former?) blogger Jim, of JimSpot fame.
Grand Rounds
The forty-fourth edition is up at Pharyngula.
10 weeks
From BabyCenter:
How your baby’s growing: Your baby is no longer an embryo! Though she’s barely the size of a kumquat — just an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, she now has completed the most critical portion of her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her body rapidly grow and mature. Her vital organs — the liver, kidney, intestines, brain, and lungs — are now in place and starting to function (although they’ll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy). Her liver continues to make blood cells, and the yolk sac, which previously supplied these cells, is no longer needed and begins to disappear.
During the next three weeks, your baby’s length will more than double to nearly 3 inches. Her head is proportionately smaller now than it was a few weeks ago, but it’s still almost half the length of her entire body. Her forehead temporarily bulges with her developing brain and sits high on her head; it will later recede to give her a more human appearance. Each day, more minute details — including tiny fingernails, toenails, and peach-fuzz hair — start to appear on her body. Her fingers are now completely separated; her arms bend at the elbow and curve slightly; her hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart; her legs are lengthening; and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. She is busily swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking her legs.
If you could take a peek at your baby this week, you’d be able to clearly see the outline of her spine through her parchment-thin skin. Spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from her spinal cord.
Your Daily Sadie
Monday, July 25, 2005
I must have angered the gods, somehow.
They’re resurfacing the road that runs behind our house. This not only awakened the baby before her time, but is producing an odor that is bringing the morning sickness that was nearly gone right back. Ah, the joy! Ah, the fun!
It’s Monday, isn’t it? Sheesh.
Carnival of the Capitalists
The latest Carnival of the Capitalists is up, superlatively hosted by Political Calculations. I love the dynamic tables!
Local Small Business Marketing & Advertising, AKA Entrepreneur’s Life, is lined up to host the August 1 (yikes! August already?) edition.
Send your business and economics entries to cotcmail -at- gmail -dot- com, or use one of the handy submission forms, at Gongol.com or Conservative Cat.
Future hosts and other info are at the Carnival of the Capitalists page.
Your Daily Sadie
What is it? How does it work? Can I take it apart? These are burning questions that occupy Sadie these days.
Well, when she’s not climbing onto or into things.
Sunday she decided that since she’s tried this walking thing and it’s pretty cool, maybe it would be fun to walk all the way across a room. She lost her balance a couple times, but instead of reverting to her hypersonic crawl, she regained her feet and resumed the leisurely walk. Go Sadie!
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Goofy Quiz for a Sunday Afternoon
| You Are a Freedom Rocker! |
 You’re stuck in the 70s - for better or worse Crazy hair, pot soaked clothes, and tons of groupies Your kind showed the world how to rock Is that freedom rock?... Well turn it up man! |
Via Tammi
