There's really no reason to type this, or for you to read it...but since I'm bored, and you're here...I have some thoughts about personalities and such that you're welcome to come along with me on...
For the longest time, when I was a young kid in school, I always had a "girlfriend"...at one point I had been able to recount enough girlfriends in the past to equal one for every year up through high school - and I was only in elementary. Whether those relationships were relationships at all, or just crushes in my own mind, I don't know. I can recall three elementary school relationships that were valid. In junior high, one of those carried over from elementary school. But that is where things stopped.
After Junior High my mom and stepdad married, and things changed. There was a new rule in the house - a rule that prevented us from having a social life, and even relationships. Our life was to consist of going to school, going to church, and when we were old enough - getting a job. So from Junior High through High School...most of my relationshiptual desires were kept to myself...because I didn't want to hear the rejection of the idea from my stepdad.
Once we started working, my stepdad drilled into our heads [his interpretation of] the legal system and all the bad things that could happen if we tried to date someone from work. At the time, it seemed like every girl out there that we would potentially be interested in was going to press some kind of charges if we bothered to take any interest and initiative in her. So I refrained from any of that. Instead I resolved to be friends with them first, until they decided they liked me. And that seemed like a good plan - because I made lots of friends that way.
When I moved off to college, I used the same logic because my stepdad again had drilled into our subconscious that any interest is unwanted interest, and we shouldn't involve ourselves in the pursuit of a girlfriend. So I made tons of female friends on campus. I hung out will all the other guys' girlfriends. And while that may sound glorious...it wasn't.
I come back from college...go back to work...go to another city...get other jobs...and am back in the college scene, and again am facing the learned behavior that there is no girl who is interested in me, so I should not put them in a precarious position by pursuing them.
Bullshzt.
Now, looking back on what my stepdad had taught us, yes, I'm sure there was a bit of safety in those messages - but there was more harm done than good. Back when it would have been ok for me to have made mistakes and not get in trouble, being a minor...I was not allowed to make them. Now, that I am out on my own, I don't know which mistakes not to make, and the ones I am making are costing me valuable time.
His focus on education and work ethic gave precedence to a focus on learning to intermingle with my peers. I can coast through any class in college, and learn anything I want to just by reading up on it...but when it comes to being suave, and acting like a guy should act with a girl...that's all by the wayside.
The requirement on our lives (my siblings and I) to abstain from relationships was just another form of control that he placed over us to protect us from the outside world. Some things just aren't necessary. If you trust your ability to raise a kid right, then you should be able to trust your kid...because they're gonna do what they're gonna do, whether they tell you or not.
These days, I missed out on a couple possible relationships before college...and while at college...that's a whole other story. Hanging out with almost solely females taught me how to communicate and be compassionate to what other people are feeling and thinking - but it also switched my perspective about relationships...
I spoke with Mandaloo about various things the other night, and mentioned a situation/perspective I had, and found out that her perspective is exactly what a guy's should be...and mine is exactly what a girl's should be. I'm one to want to communicate and solve the problem, and won't stop until it's fixed...a normal guy's perspective is to just let it fix itself (which means the girl has to come back and fix it with him). I want to go out and do stuff all the time, and just hang out...a guy's is to only suffice the girl with enough time to shut her up (hyperbole).
I spoke with Heidi about what I should do about Kelly, since I hadn't heard from her yet about something. Her advice: "Be cool...let her come to you." I'm patient, but I don't know anything about this "be cool" stance. The way I was grown up, if you didn't show interest/initiative, then you weren't interested. Apparently there is a fine line between interest/initiative and flooding the market with availability. Casanova advises to "Be the flame, not the moth"...and that one is a hard thing for me to do - because I am always up for hanging out, since I'm rarely doing anything. If I *am* doing something, I try to offer a valid reschedule time. I can't just decline an invite, because I don't know if there will be another one...and I hate it when they're just simply declined to me.
So, all my training...all that I have spent my life learning and becoming...all that is in my head is invalid when it comes to how I am supposed to act. About the only thing that it is good for is knowing what is going through a girls mind...and even that is a rusty insight - since I have not had to use it in so long. But knowing what is going through her mind, if I am acting like any other guy, puts me in terrible discomfort. I don't like to see people have a hard time, or get stressed about someone/thing...especially if I am able to do something about it.
So that's me. I care. I can't be an ass. I mainly just want to hang out, and have that companionship...but want the commitment too. I don't care about sex. And that's [[Neo]] 101.
4.24.2007
4.22.2007
In 20 Year Increments...
I realized another depressing concept this weekend...and it was centered around the funeral.
I sat there with my dad's Stepdad ("Papa") on the sofa during the viewing. He and his wife (my dad's mom, "Nonnie") were there in support for the family. I spoke with him at short length about funerals and time, and he's not a fan of them either. It occurred to me that life is often measured in decades, and at that, there are at most 10 in which one can survive. But when you scale it down to 20 year increments, things are put into an even more manageable perspective.
20-ish years ago, I was born. 20-ish years before that, my dad was born. And 20-ish years before that my dad's dad was born. Time moves quickly, and before you know it, your time is up. This is a concept that I have been pondering for the past few years. At some point, I will come to terms with it, because there's really nothing one can do about it. But just as with other things of concern (getting a shot, going to the dentist, etc) everything will come to resolve, and you can move on with other concerns.
I was relieved to hear a bit of news during the eulogy today...my grandmother was a Christian. She had not been a Christian for as long as I have known her, and to hear that said prompted another thought - that was soon discounted.
The original concern was that funerals and people assume their loved one went to heaven, because it's a nice thought. If the person was not a Christian...what do they tell the congregation? Do they still imply that the person went to heaven? Do they say they're in a better place? Do they tell the truth about the person, and imply that they went to hell? Or do they simply say "They're in a better place now." meaning out of this jacked up world, and in the ground?
But the preacher giving the eulogy had met with her a couple weeks ago, and they got to talking about religion. She was respectfully adamant about not needing it because the lead a "good life" and was a "nice person". However, the next week, he still felt lead to minister to her, and went back. He sat down with her, and she invited the conversation. He showed her the verses in Romans, and explained that one cannot get to heaven just on works alone - they have to believe in Jesus. After about 30 minutes, she prayed with him, and invited Jesus into her life. I wanted to clap at the funeral - but for a couple reasons, I did not. My stepmom next to me let out a big sigh of relief, and my dad said "Amen."
I did not know her well enough to need to cry about it, but the words the preacher was using were prompting me to. But each time I felt it, I turned to a picture on the podium of my grandfather smiling, to take my mind off the words and my grandmother.
After the funeral, we went to a luncheon, and then I came home. I don't have much other news from this weekend - I played racket ball with wiz, hambone, and sarge on saturday night, and went grocery shopping tonight.
Now a new week starts - the week before exams at school. There is a small possibility that I will have a date this week, and I'll keep y'all posted on that, but other than work, I have nothing planned so far.
Laterz.
I sat there with my dad's Stepdad ("Papa") on the sofa during the viewing. He and his wife (my dad's mom, "Nonnie") were there in support for the family. I spoke with him at short length about funerals and time, and he's not a fan of them either. It occurred to me that life is often measured in decades, and at that, there are at most 10 in which one can survive. But when you scale it down to 20 year increments, things are put into an even more manageable perspective.
20-ish years ago, I was born. 20-ish years before that, my dad was born. And 20-ish years before that my dad's dad was born. Time moves quickly, and before you know it, your time is up. This is a concept that I have been pondering for the past few years. At some point, I will come to terms with it, because there's really nothing one can do about it. But just as with other things of concern (getting a shot, going to the dentist, etc) everything will come to resolve, and you can move on with other concerns.
I was relieved to hear a bit of news during the eulogy today...my grandmother was a Christian. She had not been a Christian for as long as I have known her, and to hear that said prompted another thought - that was soon discounted.
The original concern was that funerals and people assume their loved one went to heaven, because it's a nice thought. If the person was not a Christian...what do they tell the congregation? Do they still imply that the person went to heaven? Do they say they're in a better place? Do they tell the truth about the person, and imply that they went to hell? Or do they simply say "They're in a better place now." meaning out of this jacked up world, and in the ground?
But the preacher giving the eulogy had met with her a couple weeks ago, and they got to talking about religion. She was respectfully adamant about not needing it because the lead a "good life" and was a "nice person". However, the next week, he still felt lead to minister to her, and went back. He sat down with her, and she invited the conversation. He showed her the verses in Romans, and explained that one cannot get to heaven just on works alone - they have to believe in Jesus. After about 30 minutes, she prayed with him, and invited Jesus into her life. I wanted to clap at the funeral - but for a couple reasons, I did not. My stepmom next to me let out a big sigh of relief, and my dad said "Amen."
I did not know her well enough to need to cry about it, but the words the preacher was using were prompting me to. But each time I felt it, I turned to a picture on the podium of my grandfather smiling, to take my mind off the words and my grandmother.
After the funeral, we went to a luncheon, and then I came home. I don't have much other news from this weekend - I played racket ball with wiz, hambone, and sarge on saturday night, and went grocery shopping tonight.
Now a new week starts - the week before exams at school. There is a small possibility that I will have a date this week, and I'll keep y'all posted on that, but other than work, I have nothing planned so far.
Laterz.
4.20.2007
It's just Meh...
It's been about 14 days since I've updated...and that's all right.
At work, I've stopped working on LDAP. I lost the race to the network engineer. He got the Fedora Directory server working where I could not - but he had also gotten it working before using Red Hat Directory Server. I don't know enough about SSL connections and networking to get them to work...nor do I have the drive and motivation to spend hours on Google trying to search and hack together a solution these days.
I was tasked to a blackberry issue before I left for the law school, but could not figure that one out either. Ever since I have started there, I have been given tasks equivalen to squeezing Water from Rocks.
On the social side of things, I have spent less time at my computer this week than I have in the past several months. I've been hanging out with Heidi, and "helping" (or more appropriately, accompanying) her with her Catalog project. I also went to go see the play that Kelly (who I'm interested in) was helping to put on. This play was the reason she could not hang out for so many days leading up to now...and exams are next on her list of time-takers. But what's another two weeks, after spending a little over a month waiting? It'll be worth it if things work out.
My grandmother died yesterday morning. She had been dealing with Cancer and my grandfather having died for several months now. But she went in her sleep, at 0450. There is a viewing tomorrow, and a funeral on Sunday. So that is that. I'm not really feeling bad about it all, I don't think I saw her but maybe 2 times since my grandfather died. She was my dad's step mom, and I was not close to her side of the family, and actually not very close to her in particaular because of circumstances. I am closer to my dad's mom and stepdad...They're the ones that were mostly involved in our lives growing up.
I'm not sure what I am going to do tonight. It's already 20:00 hours, and I haven't eaten, or even left this chair since I got home from work today. I just saw Constantine eating breakfast at a diner, and am interested in Denny's or something...but not interested in spending the money.
Heidi and I did lunch today at a hole-in-the-wall burger joint - Boogey Burger. It was pretty good. She goes there all the time, and they knew her by name, and what she orders. I will have to take her to Buck'n Loon's some night, as I do all my friends. I had tentative plans to go to the Main Street Art Festival tonight with her and another friend, but as yet, it does not look like those will come to pass. Which is fine, I don't feel like getting dressed really. I might just play some video games into the night.
I guess that's all for now, things are going nicely - I have a balanced social life/computer life, and the prospect of a girlfriend on the horizon. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning, hoping that things will be even better by the end of the day.
Blogged with Flock
4.06.2007
Touchdown!!!! ....Come on ride a train...and ride it up...
Well, the second half of the game, I decided I would stay - the main deciding factor was whether or not I could get out of my seat easily, causing as little disturbance to the people around me as possible...which I couldn't, so I stayed. And it was actually a good idea.
They started the second half with 37-14 against them...then it was 22, then 29, then 44-29...then 44-36...then 50-50 and columbus kicked the extra point and made it 51-50. That lasted until the last 7.9 seconds of the game, which was when I left. As I was walking out of the building I heard "TOUCHDOWN!!! DALLAS WINS IT!!!" from the loud announcer. That was a good game - unfortunately, in my haste to not get caught in traffic in downtown Dallas (which I know little about, especially in the dark) I have always left the AAC early. I'll get a couple other pictures up on my flickr about it - I took some better ones with my camera. The ones up there now were from my phone.
Terrence Newman, and Roy Williams were also there, incognito - but the stupid announcers pointed them out in the crowd, and the poor guys had to keep moving seats because people kept coming up to them wanting autographs, pictures, or to shake their hands. One group of kids that was sitting in front of me had one of them run after Newman to get his picture, and then him and a couple others after Williams to get photos and a shoe signed. I got a picture, from my seat, of Newman holding his baby - but I don't know how well it turned out. I'll get it up on flickr a little later, when I get home.
After the game, I went home, posted some on tsn, and then crashed - because I have to come in to work today. That is where I am now, but we have literally nothing to do - just babysit the Audio/Visual people here hooking up our projectors and stuff...and they're not here yet.
But that's good for me, I get paid overtime to work on my laptop and hang out. I can use this extra money to pay off some credit card bills.
For now, I'm gonna see what I can do with the Picasa Web albums that I signed up for the other day - if I could post to them from my mobile phone, it'd be a much better setup than flickr.
[[Neo]] - out.
They started the second half with 37-14 against them...then it was 22, then 29, then 44-29...then 44-36...then 50-50 and columbus kicked the extra point and made it 51-50. That lasted until the last 7.9 seconds of the game, which was when I left. As I was walking out of the building I heard "TOUCHDOWN!!! DALLAS WINS IT!!!" from the loud announcer. That was a good game - unfortunately, in my haste to not get caught in traffic in downtown Dallas (which I know little about, especially in the dark) I have always left the AAC early. I'll get a couple other pictures up on my flickr about it - I took some better ones with my camera. The ones up there now were from my phone.
Terrence Newman, and Roy Williams were also there, incognito - but the stupid announcers pointed them out in the crowd, and the poor guys had to keep moving seats because people kept coming up to them wanting autographs, pictures, or to shake their hands. One group of kids that was sitting in front of me had one of them run after Newman to get his picture, and then him and a couple others after Williams to get photos and a shoe signed. I got a picture, from my seat, of Newman holding his baby - but I don't know how well it turned out. I'll get it up on flickr a little later, when I get home.
After the game, I went home, posted some on tsn, and then crashed - because I have to come in to work today. That is where I am now, but we have literally nothing to do - just babysit the Audio/Visual people here hooking up our projectors and stuff...and they're not here yet.
But that's good for me, I get paid overtime to work on my laptop and hang out. I can use this extra money to pay off some credit card bills.
For now, I'm gonna see what I can do with the Picasa Web albums that I signed up for the other day - if I could post to them from my mobile phone, it'd be a much better setup than flickr.
[[Neo]] - out.
4.05.2007
In...com...plete
I went to ETBU Alumni and Friends night at the American Airlines center tonight (actually I am still there) to watch the Dallas Desperados. Up till now (in the 3rd quarter) I have not been impressed...it was 37-7 against until there were 6.6 seconds left in the half...then they scored again. We just started the second half and its 37-21.
The thing that annoys me about it all are the amount of advertisments on everything and the announcer. I do like the music clips (most of them I have on my phone) and the dancers :) they are in "ass-less chaps" heh.
Last night I hung out with people from work for a going away party. Some of the coworkers ended up getting the cute girl I mentioned in the previous entry to play pool with me. That was great. They kept telling her to lean over the table t distract me (because she was wering a low cut shirt)...heh it didn't work...just her, or anyone being there would have been enough to distract me. But we had fun. Then we walked around downtown ater playing some pool with her friends that came later. She wants to go back down there with me sometime when I have my I'D...I forgot it at home last night, so that prevented us from doing some things.
Anyway...the social atmosphere was refreshing. Guess i'll pay more attention to the game...its starting to pick up.
4.01.2007
Another weekend...
Another weekend just rolled by...did you see it? I caught a glimpse of it.
April Fool's Day zipped on by too, and I didn't even realize it. It snuk up on me this year. Normally I am prepared for it, with something to fool peopled at work/school, or on the-spot.net. Not this time.
This weekend, hambone came over friday night, and it was raining like a motha'. But we played some games, until about 1:30 or so, and then departed.
Saturday, I got to see wiz's new apartment, and it's nice. It looks smaller than mine at parts, but it's actually a little bigger...and that's probably because of the balcony and the outside storage. His room is definitely smaller than mine - my bed wouldn't fit.
We hit up the Fry's in Irving, Plano, and Micro Center. Wizard ended up getting a non-cube case, like he wanted, and we went back to his place. He worked on moving Blue to the new case, and hambone installed WinXP on his new laptop hard drive, and I worked on a new light project involving some CD ROMS and a CCRT.
At midnight, we all headed to the pizzy and played video games until 6:00 a.m. and then crashed. Today has been a lazy day, not getting much done. I played some more CS:S, cleaned my bathroom, and did laundry...that is all.
On another front, I might have a date soon. More to come on this. I'm out.
Blogged with Flock
3.27.2007
A whole lot of suckage
Yesterday sucked a sack of pen0rs. I knew it would when I got up in the morning. I guess it's one of those Monday things.
I got into work, and started working on the TeraServer like my boss asked me to on Friday. It hadn't done anything like it was supposed to...but I also didn't know what I was doing. I knew now. So, there was that...I let it do its thing, and went to work on LDAP or something...and broke it. Not necessarily me breaking it, but that it was not working entirely in the first place.
You know, I don't really remember what happened yesterday that made it suck so bad...all I know is that the TeraServer wasn't working like it should, and LDAP wasn't working like it should, and I had to walk around in the rain with my laptop to go test ports in various buildings. I don't like being wet in lots of clothes, or in nice clothes...I hate it. It's why I didn't test the rides at six flags that involved water if I was wearing an undershirt, or if it was cold.
So, about today...it was better...but still slightly sucked...until the end. I finished up the TeraServer this morning before lunch, and gave it to the IT Director to work on...I come back to the room, and a couple minutes later he comes it, has me check a webpage, and shows me that another one of the hard drives crashed...so I have to start over. wtf. And that it's due by the end of the day, because he needs it tomorrow. W.T.F.
I go to lunch, and come back to work on that - this time I know what I am doing though...and as much as I hate to have to pull out that hard drive again, I resolve that if I fix it this time, and it fails again, then we don't use the server. I go test the hard drive, and the computer doesn't even recognize that it's connected, and it's not spinning - so I tell him that the drive is dead...and that I can sell him 16 120GB identical hard drives for his 2x8-disk array for $50/ea...but he said to just leave it out of the array...one array of 7, the other of 8 with a hot spare in each. Whatever. I spend the rest of the afternoon going back and forth between LDAP and TS while the arrays build/format/install RHEL. In the meantime, I start over with Fedora Directory Server, from command line, since that is how I am used to working with linux - and find out that you can save the directory for fedora-ds, but it doesn't mean it's a backup...and you have to create a new certificate request and get it signed again. v_v
By the end of the day, the TeraServer is up and running, waiting for the Director to go in and configure it to do what he wants, and I am left with LDAP...as well as some other servers that he gave me to do now...2 Dell 1950s that are configured with Logical Volume Groups and he wants ext3 filesystem on them....WHO CARES?!?! If it works, it works...there is no need for all this bullcrap about changing stuff because it's not a particular way!
Also, the Network Admin is building a Sun box to compete with my Fedora Directory Server box to see who can get done faster. Right now though, he has to start over with installing the OS - so I have a little bit of time to try and figure out what is wrong with mine. I redid the SSL stuff on the console, but now I can't get into the console, because I told it to use SSL inside the console. I'm a nub...but I don't know why there is no admin-serv-<instance>-cert8.db file for it to find when doing encryption with the Admin Console...nor have I found documentation on it yet either.
I finally did my FAFSA tonight, and I have an expected family contribution of over $9,000...holy shazbots!! I don't even have money to go out to eat, much less to pay for school. I hope I can get some serious loan money or something. I need to finish school, and if something like grants or loans can take care of it, I can get out of there and have my degree.
I guess that's all for now. I got sidetracked by Kate Beckensale in Underworld: Evolution.
3.24.2007
Encrypted Memories
Well, I just spent a little bit of time over the last 3 days encrypting my previous journal entries to Binary, like I had originally started to do when I first posted here.
"The point?" you say...it is so Google can't crawl my journal, and make my personal information searchable by other people. It's also to deter any unwanted people from finding me, and/or reading my journal. If they really care, they'll take the time to decrypt the binary to read it. I think it's a much better method than deleting the whole journal in one swoop, like chica did - which is sad and disheartening ;) .
Yesterday, wizard and mandaloo moved most of Wiz's big things from his house/storage to his new apartment...today he's just got boxes and stuff left - but it's still too much work to do, disabling him from doing lunch with Hambone and I. But like I said, I don't anticipate seeing him until sometime next weekend.
Hambone is on his way over again to play more games - at some point the games get pointless, and I foresee that time coming soon. There's no excitement in it for me...at least not as much as there was when we started this shindig.
I'm having to do more intelligent stuff at work -the kinds of things that wizard and I used to work on in our spare time, just to do it...the games are preventing that work, but so is my lack of desire to actually do it in my time off.
Instead, I have been wanting to work on tsnX and the next version - which will be infinitely simpler to mess with...but my creativity isn't there. I have been trying to come up with a new box-set for the tables on the site, and/or a new design for the logo, but I can't quite hit what is in my head. It doesn't come out on the computer right. But I'll keep fooling with it, and see if something comes out. I am apparently not too good at this whole "web 2.0" design technique...or at Photoshop.
I've already got the next version's code in place - I just have to do another frappin' database conversion - and this time, there is a whole different kind of database schema...which means that some data will be lost - metadata, like calendar dates and stuff for the posts. But I think that will be fine, we don't use the calendar anyway, all that much. And the new site has all the features that I've modded into mine, but they're built into the base code - so they're natively supported.
It took a year to come up with tsnV, and only 6 months until it was killed...and then by force, I had to come up with tsnV.ii which evolved into tsnX...and that's been around for about 9 months now, and just finally coming out of beta...even though I can't get the graphic for the new start page to do what I want. I also don't know what version to make the new one...tsnXI? tsnY? tsn7? technically it's the 7th version...but technically tsnX was the last version I was going to do.
I'll stop going on about this for now...I just got an idea for a new header thing...
"The point?" you say...it is so Google can't crawl my journal, and make my personal information searchable by other people. It's also to deter any unwanted people from finding me, and/or reading my journal. If they really care, they'll take the time to decrypt the binary to read it. I think it's a much better method than deleting the whole journal in one swoop, like chica did - which is sad and disheartening ;) .
Yesterday, wizard and mandaloo moved most of Wiz's big things from his house/storage to his new apartment...today he's just got boxes and stuff left - but it's still too much work to do, disabling him from doing lunch with Hambone and I. But like I said, I don't anticipate seeing him until sometime next weekend.
Hambone is on his way over again to play more games - at some point the games get pointless, and I foresee that time coming soon. There's no excitement in it for me...at least not as much as there was when we started this shindig.
I'm having to do more intelligent stuff at work -the kinds of things that wizard and I used to work on in our spare time, just to do it...the games are preventing that work, but so is my lack of desire to actually do it in my time off.
Instead, I have been wanting to work on tsnX and the next version - which will be infinitely simpler to mess with...but my creativity isn't there. I have been trying to come up with a new box-set for the tables on the site, and/or a new design for the logo, but I can't quite hit what is in my head. It doesn't come out on the computer right. But I'll keep fooling with it, and see if something comes out. I am apparently not too good at this whole "web 2.0" design technique...or at Photoshop.
I've already got the next version's code in place - I just have to do another frappin' database conversion - and this time, there is a whole different kind of database schema...which means that some data will be lost - metadata, like calendar dates and stuff for the posts. But I think that will be fine, we don't use the calendar anyway, all that much. And the new site has all the features that I've modded into mine, but they're built into the base code - so they're natively supported.
It took a year to come up with tsnV, and only 6 months until it was killed...and then by force, I had to come up with tsnV.ii which evolved into tsnX...and that's been around for about 9 months now, and just finally coming out of beta...even though I can't get the graphic for the new start page to do what I want. I also don't know what version to make the new one...tsnXI? tsnY? tsn7? technically it's the 7th version...but technically tsnX was the last version I was going to do.
I'll stop going on about this for now...I just got an idea for a new header thing...
3.23.2007
"You have to multitask..."
Today was a bit different...it even started out different.
I forgot about the policy that I helped implement, so that we don't have to wear ties on Friday. I forgot about it until yesterday when I was reminded via a comment someone else in the department made.
This morning, I spent the first hour at my desk talking about various things with the other folks in there. Mostly this consists of venting our opinions on the various people that are whining about their computer. There are a couple that everyone would rather not go to - but those are few. Then there are those that a particular set of people would rather not deal with. Normally, I am one of those that doesn't care who the person is - I don't have a preference or difference to the person that I am assigned to help. I do, however, have a preference to some of the people that I would like to help.
After that was all done being discussed, I headed over to work on the LDAP server again, and that was short lived. I didn't get very far, because of the amount of reading that I have to do for this current step...getting them to see each other. I really have no clue what I am doing - just hacking stuff up and hoping that it works. BUT...that is what I am good at...I guess. I did that for a bit, and then worked on something else with the former Dell guy and that lasted until lunch...oh, I remember.
Our boss came in, and wanted to know what switch in the Server Room the computer labs were hooked up to. O_o wtf? I don't have a clue...the switches are something that the microsoft guy takes care of, and even moreso are the labs. So I go on a wild cable chase to find out what switch they are plugged into...tell him, and he wants more specific information, like what port. o_o The microsoft guy was out sick today, and we already called him once to find out the switch...I was not about to call him again. So, I go looking in the computer labs and find the boxes where the switches are stored in there, and look for labels...and then trace them back to the Server Room...and tell the boss - he wants to know where the printers are hooked up now. v_v So, I tell him that they are hooked up to the switches in the labs. That was fine, because they were on a separate cable that hit a patch panel in the labs that routed to a different port in the Server Room.
THEN, we try to find where the third computer lab switch hits the Server Room, and here's where it gets interesting. It has a label: TCBASS.26-42 and this means nothing...to no one. So the Dell guy gets a ladder, and he traces it through the ceiling tiles to the other end of the room...where it crosses over, into the middle computer lab from the one on the left...then he traces it into the computer lab office which is in front of the middle lab as you enter from the hallway...then he traces it BACK into the middle lab :? and across the room, and down to the other side of the room, and after that I had to leave. Apparently it goes to the Server Room, in one long-ass, round-about path...there could have been at least 100ft cut off that cable, and it would have been easier to route.
After lunch, I have to man the phones, and get a phone call from a student to the helpdesk asking why his computer can't hit the school website, but can hit any other website on the internet...I have no clue why *your* computer can't hit it...mine can...everyone else can. It must be *your* computer that has the problem...and I am not paid to support *your* computer. As I am explaining this to my boss, he tells me about a computer/server in the Server Room. O_o
He wants me to go in there, and find which one, out of 10, hard drives is the one that is failing in a 650GB RAID server, pull it, put RHEL on it, and turn it into a webserver. Um....ok....I am already struggling with the current Red Hat server that I'm working with, and he wants me to make another one too. I ask if I can just work on one at a time - because I've already got a "real" project going, and adding another hard drive to some computer's configuration to be a web server is not necessary...we have enough web servers, and we have Windows File Sharing, and we have Internet Access...any computer in the building can be turned into a web server, with ftp and samba...we don't need another Red Hat box floating around.
So at this point, I don't know what I am doing anymore, and told him that...but he didn't believe me. v_v I go to the Server Room, and take apart that massive-ass computer, and find out which hard drive (I think) is the one that is failing, and tell it to rebuild the array. I don't know if it's doing it or not, but it's got a blinking cursor on the screen, and that's where I left it when I went home today. It doesn't work anyway, and it's a freakin' old box (133MHz processor, if that tells you anything) and it's already crashed 3 times, and none of the drives are the same size, or type...supposedly they're all 45K RPMs though...We need to stop redeploying old equipment.
What I don't get is that the boss's keep saying that we need to pull in all the old equipment from the workstations and stuff, but yet they keep wanting to redeploy old servers that have known hardware issues. It doesn't make sense. I know that even I have tons of old desktop computers here that I am deploying as servers, but if there is a hardware issue, I part it out, use it in another computer, and trash the broken box...I don't format the drive, and stick it back out there, and hope it works for a while. That's ridiculous.
I spent the last hour of the day with the Dell guy helping a girl (who was cute) out with her Catalog that she was doing for her job - they sell leather stuff, like passports, luggage tags, boxes, etc. She was uncertain how to layout the pages. Originally the Dell guy was recommended because he does photography...but I was around too, and my opinion was asked, because I do web design, and did newspaper design. So we put our heads together, to find a layout we could agree on, and I picked out some colors and fonts for her to use, and hopefully she'll be able to work with that. But after I started thinking about it on the way home, there are some other ways that she could have laid out the pages so it would make more sense. But it's probably too late for that now. I may try to find her on facebook, and offer a few more suggestions.
Hambone is on his way over soon, and we're going to play Dungeon Siege 2 tonight. We're also going to dinner too, and probably to play pool with the Dell guy and some of his friends this evening too. [Wizard] is still moving, but when we asked if he would like help earlier, he said he could handle it. I hope he's doing all right with that. I remember when I moved though, I had fun while everyone was helping, but I didn't want anyone around once it came time to unpack...I wanted to be able to do my own thing without people offering their interior design "advice." So it will probably be next weekend before we get to hang out....
===============15 minutes later====================
...ok, I found the girl...on myspace - not one of the easier things I've done, but once I did, I tried to send a message to her with the info, and in true myspace.com fashion - the messaging is down. What a ghey website.
Anyway...Hambone is on his way over now, and I have a lot of journals to encrypt from the past - since folks at work know about my journals now. So I'm out.
I forgot about the policy that I helped implement, so that we don't have to wear ties on Friday. I forgot about it until yesterday when I was reminded via a comment someone else in the department made.
This morning, I spent the first hour at my desk talking about various things with the other folks in there. Mostly this consists of venting our opinions on the various people that are whining about their computer. There are a couple that everyone would rather not go to - but those are few. Then there are those that a particular set of people would rather not deal with. Normally, I am one of those that doesn't care who the person is - I don't have a preference or difference to the person that I am assigned to help. I do, however, have a preference to some of the people that I would like to help.
After that was all done being discussed, I headed over to work on the LDAP server again, and that was short lived. I didn't get very far, because of the amount of reading that I have to do for this current step...getting them to see each other. I really have no clue what I am doing - just hacking stuff up and hoping that it works. BUT...that is what I am good at...I guess. I did that for a bit, and then worked on something else with the former Dell guy and that lasted until lunch...oh, I remember.
Our boss came in, and wanted to know what switch in the Server Room the computer labs were hooked up to. O_o wtf? I don't have a clue...the switches are something that the microsoft guy takes care of, and even moreso are the labs. So I go on a wild cable chase to find out what switch they are plugged into...tell him, and he wants more specific information, like what port. o_o The microsoft guy was out sick today, and we already called him once to find out the switch...I was not about to call him again. So, I go looking in the computer labs and find the boxes where the switches are stored in there, and look for labels...and then trace them back to the Server Room...and tell the boss - he wants to know where the printers are hooked up now. v_v So, I tell him that they are hooked up to the switches in the labs. That was fine, because they were on a separate cable that hit a patch panel in the labs that routed to a different port in the Server Room.
THEN, we try to find where the third computer lab switch hits the Server Room, and here's where it gets interesting. It has a label: TCBASS.26-42 and this means nothing...to no one. So the Dell guy gets a ladder, and he traces it through the ceiling tiles to the other end of the room...where it crosses over, into the middle computer lab from the one on the left...then he traces it into the computer lab office which is in front of the middle lab as you enter from the hallway...then he traces it BACK into the middle lab :? and across the room, and down to the other side of the room, and after that I had to leave. Apparently it goes to the Server Room, in one long-ass, round-about path...there could have been at least 100ft cut off that cable, and it would have been easier to route.
After lunch, I have to man the phones, and get a phone call from a student to the helpdesk asking why his computer can't hit the school website, but can hit any other website on the internet...I have no clue why *your* computer can't hit it...mine can...everyone else can. It must be *your* computer that has the problem...and I am not paid to support *your* computer. As I am explaining this to my boss, he tells me about a computer/server in the Server Room. O_o
He wants me to go in there, and find which one, out of 10, hard drives is the one that is failing in a 650GB RAID server, pull it, put RHEL on it, and turn it into a webserver. Um....ok....I am already struggling with the current Red Hat server that I'm working with, and he wants me to make another one too. I ask if I can just work on one at a time - because I've already got a "real" project going, and adding another hard drive to some computer's configuration to be a web server is not necessary...we have enough web servers, and we have Windows File Sharing, and we have Internet Access...any computer in the building can be turned into a web server, with ftp and samba...we don't need another Red Hat box floating around.
So at this point, I don't know what I am doing anymore, and told him that...but he didn't believe me. v_v I go to the Server Room, and take apart that massive-ass computer, and find out which hard drive (I think) is the one that is failing, and tell it to rebuild the array. I don't know if it's doing it or not, but it's got a blinking cursor on the screen, and that's where I left it when I went home today. It doesn't work anyway, and it's a freakin' old box (133MHz processor, if that tells you anything) and it's already crashed 3 times, and none of the drives are the same size, or type...supposedly they're all 45K RPMs though...We need to stop redeploying old equipment.
What I don't get is that the boss's keep saying that we need to pull in all the old equipment from the workstations and stuff, but yet they keep wanting to redeploy old servers that have known hardware issues. It doesn't make sense. I know that even I have tons of old desktop computers here that I am deploying as servers, but if there is a hardware issue, I part it out, use it in another computer, and trash the broken box...I don't format the drive, and stick it back out there, and hope it works for a while. That's ridiculous.
I spent the last hour of the day with the Dell guy helping a girl (who was cute) out with her Catalog that she was doing for her job - they sell leather stuff, like passports, luggage tags, boxes, etc. She was uncertain how to layout the pages. Originally the Dell guy was recommended because he does photography...but I was around too, and my opinion was asked, because I do web design, and did newspaper design. So we put our heads together, to find a layout we could agree on, and I picked out some colors and fonts for her to use, and hopefully she'll be able to work with that. But after I started thinking about it on the way home, there are some other ways that she could have laid out the pages so it would make more sense. But it's probably too late for that now. I may try to find her on facebook, and offer a few more suggestions.
Hambone is on his way over soon, and we're going to play Dungeon Siege 2 tonight. We're also going to dinner too, and probably to play pool with the Dell guy and some of his friends this evening too. [Wizard] is still moving, but when we asked if he would like help earlier, he said he could handle it. I hope he's doing all right with that. I remember when I moved though, I had fun while everyone was helping, but I didn't want anyone around once it came time to unpack...I wanted to be able to do my own thing without people offering their interior design "advice." So it will probably be next weekend before we get to hang out....
===============15 minutes later====================
...ok, I found the girl...on myspace - not one of the easier things I've done, but once I did, I tried to send a message to her with the info, and in true myspace.com fashion - the messaging is down. What a ghey website.
Anyway...Hambone is on his way over now, and I have a lot of journals to encrypt from the past - since folks at work know about my journals now. So I'm out.
3.22.2007
"make install, make clean, repeat"
I have successfully installed, configured, imported, and crashed Fedora Directory Server 3 times today...and each time it has gotten easier and easier to set back up and configure...so much so that I don't even need instructions any more.
I eventually got the ssl cert situation taken cre of on the linux box this morning...and now I come to find out that I have to have the same tools on the windows box to import the exported .p12 file ti pass sync. So I have spent the afternoon installing the various ports of the linux commands on this Win 2k3 box so I can carry on with what I am doing.
This is probably more time consuming than my laptop fiasco because I have to do all this stuff while the Windows server is live...so I read about it before I do any of it...and I can't tell if it's even working. But everytime I kill he process it appears to stop a little further than before...so I am going to let it run until it finishes or the end of the afternoon...which ever comes first.
Laterz.
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