Archive for the ‘Tech’ Category

Busy Beans

Saturday, December 8th, 2007

I’m trying to get on the blogging band wagon again. I’ve recently discovered Twitter and am actually liking it quite a bit. It’s kinda like blogging lite. No large commitment, quick snippets from (im, sms, email, widgets, or web) It’s kinda fun, and I’ve found a way to plug them into my blog.

You can find my twitter feed here http://twitter.com/binarynomad

In other news, I’ve been trying to cook more at home, tonight I experimented with a can of beans and ended up with this:

Ingredients

  • black beans (1 can, 1/2 juice replaced with water)
  • sausage (1-2, chopped)
  • onion (1/2, red, chopped)
  • garlic (4-5 cloves, chopped)
  • jalapeno (1, deseeded, sliced)
  • olive oil (a few tbs)
  • butter (1 pad, chopped)
  • salt and spices
  • red wine
  • rice (2 cups, cooked)

Steps

  1. Heat the (oil) over (medium) in a pot.
  2. Toss in the (sausage), brown it a bit (5 min).
  3. Toss in the (onion), (garlic), and 1/2 the (jalapeno), cook till translucent.
  4. Pour in a splash of (red wine), cook for a few more min.
  5. Toss in the (beans), (jalapeno), and (butter), add water if needed.
  6. Simmer for (2 hours), add (salt) and (spices) to taste, maybe another splash of (wine).
  7. Serve over rice.

It really turned out great, warms the insides and has that home comfort food feeling.

I’m heading off to breakfast tomorrow with Si, may check up on Morgan (she caught the cold that has been going around) and then Bob in the afternoon (who just got over the cold).

Good Hardware, Bad Documentation

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

Just an FYI:

I just helped a friend with a frustrating problem and since I couldn’t find any answers on the internet (because none had been posted) I figured that I’d put something up for the next person with this issue:

If you have a “LG LHT764” home theater, dvd, 5-disk, divx, mp3, system, etc. And it ever goes into some type of demo or repeating track loop or mode, the “only” way to get out of it is to hold down the “STOP” button for 10 seconds.

Other messages in this mode: “opo-45” “write ok”

Don’t Give Up…

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

Ok, I cannot stop laughing at this commercial:

Decisions, Decisions

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

Photos are working again: I finally got the updated gallery plugin working with the latest version of WordPress. While I was in there, I updated all my other plugins, and now things seem to be running smoothly. I still need to find a frame I like for my photo albums. I figure there might be a bump or two under the carpet that I’ll have to roll out, but so far so good :).

Re-provisioning: So lately I’ve been gathering some of my computer hardware together to see what I can build. I’m ramping up my business and I want to have:

  1. A good portable tool set
  2. A good lab for testing
  3. A good laptop for mixed environment design

So, I’m flashing the firmware on my Asus WL-500G Premium router with open-source firmware (either OpenWrt or DD-Wrt). I’m rebuilding my old 1.4ghz server to run CentOS and Xen, and I just got myself a brand new MacBook (WOOT!). We’ll see how this all works out.

New Toy: So I just purchased a brand new MacBook (black), I would have really liked the MacBook Pro (mostly for the matte coating) but I don’t like the larger sizes. I currently have a PowerBook G4 (silver, 12 inch) and it is a pretty good size for me, but (even though it is running just fine) I really need the Intel processor of the new MacBooks. The Intel proc will let me run VMWare Fusion, which means on one box, I’ll have Mac, Windows, and Linux. Perfect for my line of work. I also get the added benefits of faster graphics, better multitasking (dual core), built-in camera, the new Leopard OS, and more memory (4gigs of love baby). (oh and now I can play WoW on it *grin*)

Working on it…

Sunday, September 16th, 2007

For those that have noticed, the gallery plugin has stopped working since the upgrade to the latest version. My initial searches have yielded nothing so far, but obviously something has broken. And so, I continue my quest. (read: Photos should be back soon, barring any extra procrastination.)

Free Security Tools…

Monday, July 30th, 2007

TechRepublic just posted an interesting compilation of 10 security tools for Windows boxes. It is well worth checking out.

For whom the bell tolls

Sunday, October 15th, 2006

… it tolls for thee Vista.

A Slashdot Article brings to light some changes to the user license for Microsoft’s new (soon to be released) OS called Vista. These changes highlight the range of restrictions now being demanded of their user base. Vista now plans to restrict such things as ISO mounting, shared services, computer upgrades, virtualization, and most importantly, mobility of the license. Vista will only allow one transference of the OS license before you need to purchase it a new license. Now on the surface you may think, “Well, I only get a new computer after a few years anyway…”, but unfortunately Vista is much more sensitive than that. It considers upgrading the motherboard, or changing the hard-drive a fundamental change. So if you decide you want a bigger C: drive and go out to buy a new Seagate 400Gb SATA drive, Vista will believe that you are changing to a new computer, and there goes your one and only migration of the license. Now if your motherboard, video card, or even the new hard-drive has a problem and has to be swapped, you need to purchase Vista over again.

Now couple this with the astonishment I felt when I first heard that Vista would release with seven different versions, and things start to look quite bleak. I already knew (from direct experience) of the headaches that arise when having to deal with only (2-3) different versions of the same OS within a environment. (a special type of frustrating nightmare for IT managers that are dealing with company mergers).

I believe the combination of these issues will only emphasize the growing customer dissatisfaction that will eventually lead to the hastening of Microsoft’s death knell. Now, I’m not foolish, and I realize that Microsoft is deeply entrenched in both the desktop and business markets, and as such, it will not go quickly. But I firmly believe that unless fundamental changes happen within its core, it will be cresting the hill that it has climbed for the past 20 years and will only have one direction to go.

Here is a partial summary of changes.

(update) Here is another link to the EULA issues: Surprises Inside Microsoft Vista’s EULA

Must Share Obscure Humor

Thursday, August 31st, 2006

My inner geek forces me to share this comic with the world. Trust me, if you are not familiar with Unix, then you don’t stand much of a chance getting this:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/08/if_you_get_this_youre_a_geek.php

The Time Fountain

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006

Something I just came across that struck me as an absolutely beautiful example of using technology to make art: The Time Fountain be sure to watch the video, it is amazing!

It’s projects like this that give me the creation itch (especially considering how much l love time lapse and long exposure photography).

404 Humor

Friday, June 30th, 2006

Never have I spent so much time reading a “404 – page not found” error page. Check out “http://www.imakeprojects.com”, they have one of the most entertaining errors I’ve seen in a while. (you just have to enter any “invalid” page for this website … I’ve provided a link for ease of use)

(UPDATE: Unfortunately the site was just moved (June 29th) to a new provider that does not have the same 404 Error, it is now a very basic text message.)

[tags]humor, web[/tags]