yet more complaints about Windoze
I am sooooo sick of this stupid problem on my Thinkpad. I think it's primarily a Windoze bug. Some programs like ot remember wherever they were on your desktop last time you ran them. When you have a different display setup, this can lead to problems. For instance, usually my T-pad is connected to an external display. Today it's not. So when I try to run my md5summer program (the DVD/CD writer on the T-pad seems to be jacked, so i thought 'I'll just scp this iso image to the Mac, and burn it there." but i'm paranoid- so i wanted to take the md5 sum to make sure it transferred ok... but i digress) I CANNOT SEE THE PROGRAM.
Now, I've had this problem before. Usually I can hit ALT+M and some arrow keys and manage to move the window until the program comes into view. For some unknown reason it doesn't work w/ this program. Maybe it's a combination of Windows window manager crappiness (I've already blogged to whine about that before) along w/ lazy programming on the part of whoever wrote the sum program.
Ugh. I am sooooo ready to get onto my mac, full-time. I've got ALMOST everything working on it now. I installed a new version of WinXP within VMWare Fusion this time and so far I like it better than Sun's Virtual Box. But I haven't yet coughed up the $80. Too bad my company that's doing so well is too chintzy to buy any decent software for their employees. They are soooo cheap. Ok I'm done complaining.
...By the way, I think I'm finally ready to take the plunge. as soon as i get off this blog, I'm going to re-image my craptastic thinkpad in the (vain?) hope that it will start sucking a little bit less. Don't even get me STARTED on all the bizarre problems I've been having with it... Like yesterday, when Elluminate froze up on me and the computer actually GAVE UP (evidently) and powered itself down. I kid you not. Didn't even bluescreen, it just shut itself OFF. That was a new one, even for ME. I think my Thinkpad needs therapy- it's clearly having suicidal tendencies. (If these problems don't start to clear up soon, I'm going to have computercidal tendencies toward it....)
###
just a blog of my ramblings. really an on-line journal.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
untitled
this room has never felt so empty as it does when you leave
too dangerous, to walk around like this with my heart on my sleeve.
i wish you'd walk back through that door and stay forever
wrap those arms around me, and let go... never.
i hear the crackling of a smoldering ember
after i've gone, will you really remember?
-or will you forget those times we've shared
...so brief in truth- they seem so spare.
i want to give you everything
i said i'd give you anything
up to half my kingdom
up to half my kingdom.
i guess i'm not ready to give it all
until you prove your heart is true
and i know you won't betray me.
you think you're the blockage of my inspiration
-that couldn't be further from true.
the fact is, these feeble verses
are far too much beneath you
and it's been such a long time since i've felt so alone
and it's all because of you.
and after you leave
every song is a sad one.
the silence descends
like a curtain of darkness
heavy
weighted with the overbearing
mass of all i've left unsaid
pressing on my chest
like a vise
or maybe i'm just being melodramatic.
this room has never felt so empty as it does when you leave
too dangerous, to walk around like this with my heart on my sleeve.
i wish you'd walk back through that door and stay forever
wrap those arms around me, and let go... never.
i hear the crackling of a smoldering ember
after i've gone, will you really remember?
-or will you forget those times we've shared
...so brief in truth- they seem so spare.
i want to give you everything
i said i'd give you anything
up to half my kingdom
up to half my kingdom.
i guess i'm not ready to give it all
until you prove your heart is true
and i know you won't betray me.
you think you're the blockage of my inspiration
-that couldn't be further from true.
the fact is, these feeble verses
are far too much beneath you
and it's been such a long time since i've felt so alone
and it's all because of you.
and after you leave
every song is a sad one.
the silence descends
like a curtain of darkness
heavy
weighted with the overbearing
mass of all i've left unsaid
pressing on my chest
like a vise
or maybe i'm just being melodramatic.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Non-obfuscated Contemporary Vernacular Lingua Franca of Modern Times, sans Redundancy
In honor of this link: http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/ which I received via email yesterday from my friend Heather, I'm pasting in the man page from the VIOS command "seastat" (I swear I am directly copying and pasting the man page!:
Description
The seastat command generates a report to view, per client, shared
ethernet adapter statistics. To gather network statistics at a per-
client level, advanced accounting can be enabled on the Shared Ethernet
Adapter to provide more information about its network traffic. To
enable per-client statistics, the VIOS administrator can set the Shared
Ethernet Adapter accounting attribute to enabled. The default value is
disabled. When advanced accounting is enabled, the Shared Ethernet
Adapter keeps track of the hardware (MAC) addresses of all of the
packets it receives from the LPAR clients, and increments packet and
byte counts for each client independently. After advanced accounting is
enabled on the Shared Ethernet Adapter, the VIOS administrator can
generate a report to view per-client statistics by running the seastat
command. Note: Advanced accounting must be enabled on the Shared
Ethernet Adapter before the seastat command can print any statistics.
Wow. I'm afraid, all I can say is- wow. *heavy sigh*
There's just one thing I'm really not sure about, though... In order to use the seastat command to view per-client SEA statistics, do I need to enable advanced accounting????
###
Monday, July 06, 2009
Michigan
I always forget how green it is here until I come back. It's sooooooo beautiful here. People say Austin is green, and compared to the rest of Texas, it is. But compared to here, it's brown, brown, brown!
In other news, I realized yesterday that diet really does affect fitness. I was eating all sorts of awful things on Saturday that I don't normally eat. Pizza, some chicken (not horrible, per se, but just not what my body is used to at this point), some packaged "grasshopper" cookies, 3 beers (probably should just stick to 1 or 2, and in fact, should probably rule it out all together when i'm training for a triathlon), and *gasp* worst of all, some snack foods with trans fat in them. You know what's scary is, I'm actually to the point now where I can sometimes tell by the taste when something has trans fat.
Well, on Sunday I went for a 5-mile run around my brother's place. I mapped out a nice route on mapmyrun, waited until I had (at least mostly) digested my snack, which (yuck!) including some kind of nut mix that had some weird sesame sticks (one of the offending trans-fat sources). honestly i never should have even bought that stuff. I only did because I made the classic mistake of shopping for groceries when I was hungry.
So I was running and enjoying the relative coolness (it was only like 80 or 85, which when you're used to running in 102 degrees, feels quite nice), but about halfway into it I started to feel sooooo sick. I seriously thought I was going to vom. In fact, when I got home I actually did (a little). (Which made me feel better). Whenever I am tempted to eat bad things I shouldn't, I am going to force myself to remember how gross that felt and hopefully it will bolster my self-control.
In related news, there is a ton of food here yet almost nothing to eat. Seriously, if I ate the kind of stuff my brother's house is stocked with on a regular basis, I would feel like crap all the time.
If I had the money to do it, I would be so tempted to throw away all the food in the house and replace it with really healthful stuff. But, in addition to me not being able to afford it, I don't think it would do any good, since most good-for-you foods require some preparation (yeah right, like THAT's going to happen...), and I really do'nt think such a gesture would be appreciated.
*sigh* oh well fortunately there's a grocery store not far away...
###
I always forget how green it is here until I come back. It's sooooooo beautiful here. People say Austin is green, and compared to the rest of Texas, it is. But compared to here, it's brown, brown, brown!
In other news, I realized yesterday that diet really does affect fitness. I was eating all sorts of awful things on Saturday that I don't normally eat. Pizza, some chicken (not horrible, per se, but just not what my body is used to at this point), some packaged "grasshopper" cookies, 3 beers (probably should just stick to 1 or 2, and in fact, should probably rule it out all together when i'm training for a triathlon), and *gasp* worst of all, some snack foods with trans fat in them. You know what's scary is, I'm actually to the point now where I can sometimes tell by the taste when something has trans fat.
Well, on Sunday I went for a 5-mile run around my brother's place. I mapped out a nice route on mapmyrun, waited until I had (at least mostly) digested my snack, which (yuck!) including some kind of nut mix that had some weird sesame sticks (one of the offending trans-fat sources). honestly i never should have even bought that stuff. I only did because I made the classic mistake of shopping for groceries when I was hungry.
So I was running and enjoying the relative coolness (it was only like 80 or 85, which when you're used to running in 102 degrees, feels quite nice), but about halfway into it I started to feel sooooo sick. I seriously thought I was going to vom. In fact, when I got home I actually did (a little). (Which made me feel better). Whenever I am tempted to eat bad things I shouldn't, I am going to force myself to remember how gross that felt and hopefully it will bolster my self-control.
In related news, there is a ton of food here yet almost nothing to eat. Seriously, if I ate the kind of stuff my brother's house is stocked with on a regular basis, I would feel like crap all the time.
If I had the money to do it, I would be so tempted to throw away all the food in the house and replace it with really healthful stuff. But, in addition to me not being able to afford it, I don't think it would do any good, since most good-for-you foods require some preparation (yeah right, like THAT's going to happen...), and I really do'nt think such a gesture would be appreciated.
*sigh* oh well fortunately there's a grocery store not far away...
###
Friday, May 22, 2009
System
Welcome Laura McWilliams.
System
Connecting to server. Please wait...
System
Connection with server established.
You
Technical Support Topic: DSL High Speed Internet
System
Riley has joined this session!
System
Connected with Riley
Riley
Thank you for contacting AT&T Internet Services. How can I help you?
You
hi
You
quick question
Riley
Yes, please ask.
You
i just finished looking at some article another ATT person sent me about putting my modem into bridged mode
You
but i think it's not enough- something weird is still happening w/ my router (and i know you're gonna say "we don't support your router")
Riley
I apologize for the inconvenience you are facing with this issue and will be happy to assist you.
You
just wondering if there's any other configuration setting required beyond putting it into bridged mode
You
the weird thing is, the router is getting a (seemingly valid) gateway and DNS info
You
(although the subnet mask is coming up all 1's... 255.255.255.255, which seems odd to me)
You
the router can ping the outside world, but the PC cannot
You
any thoughts?
Riley
Laura McWilliam, thank you for the information.
Riley
What is the make and model of the modem/router?
You
Linksys WRT45g
You
the last ATT person sent me to linksys
You
i told her " they are not going to give me tech support" she was like, "yes they will"
You
well she was wrong, my friend
Riley
Okay, I aplogize for inconvenience.
You
is Riley your real name?
Riley
Yes.
You
ok
Riley
Are you able to browse any web sites like Google, Yahoo! etc?
You
well i can at the moment, but that's b/c i went back to my cable connection
You
thank goodness i didn't cancel it yet
You
the modem works on its own, it just wont play nice w/ my router
Riley
Have you tried to connect with the modem only?
You
yeah i got that working first b4 hooking up the router
Riley
Okay.
You
then i tried to get the router to work, leaving the "PPoE " or whatever on the modem. that didn't work
You
so then i changed it to bridged mode and put the PPPoE authentication onto the router
You
when it was set up like that, the router itself could ping outside the local network, but my mac, which was of course on the LAN, could not
You
actually it really does sound like a router issue doesn't it
Riley
Yes, you are correct.
You
but the router works fine when it's connected in dhcp mode to my cable modem
Riley
Okay, please confirm the light status on the router.
You
unfortunatley at this moment the router is connected to the cable (hence we are having this conversation)
You
but i can tell you with utmost certainty, there is a reliable link between the modem and the router
Riley
Okay.
You
of course, there was also WLAN activity showing on theh router, too
You
apparently a lot of ppl have trouble getting ATT to work w/ their routers
You
anyways, do you have any other suggestions besides putting the modem into bridged mode?
Riley
I would like to inform you that there should not be any problem while putting the modem in the bridge mode.
You
so you're basically telling me to get a new router
Riley
No, as you informed that your router is working fine when connected to the cable.
You
does it sound fishy to you that when it's connected to the DSL modem, on the connection status page, that it says the subnet mask is 255.255.255.255?
You
or is that normal?
You
(btw i'm glad you're not telling me to get a new router. i feel like i'm already doing better than i was w/ the last ATT person i talked to)
Riley
No, there is no need to buy a new router.
You
yay. so... any suggestions?
Riley
I would like to inform you that it is very difficult to continue with the bridging steps from this chat session.
Riley
You need to contact our voice technical helpdesk.
You
ack! no, not them again
You
argh
You
lol
You
they won't help me b/c it's a Linksys router
Riley
I know they will not help you as you are using the linksys router but they will transfer your call to the appropriate department.
You
nope, they will try to transfer me to linksys
Riley
Okay.
You
are you saying this b/c you really don't know, or just b/c it's not your job? (it's ok either way, i am not blaming you)
You
(i don't want you to get fired or something)
You
ok i have just one question
You
maybe you're allowed to answer
Riley
Yes, please ask,
You
on the router when i set it up to use PPPoE, there is also a place where after the login info i can put a 'Service name'
You
i had just left it blank- do you know if there's supposed to be something there?
You
this is the first time i ever tried DSL so it's all kinda new to me
You
i'm used to cable which you know it just works kind of, "out-of-the-box" as it were
You
...Well, you seem to be kind of busy
Riley
It is not necessary to put the service name there.
You
ok thanks
You
all right Riley well i guess i will just have to continue googling
Riley
The most I can do is.
Riley
That I can send you the link regarding bridging modem.
You
yeah, i did the bridging thing. it helped. it was a step in the right direction
You
thanks anyways, i already have that link
Riley
I guess that you do not like it but finally you need to contact our voice support.
You
no, seriously Riley, i really did try that already
You
they aren't going to help me
Riley
And, you need to contact the Linksys support.
You
they won't help me either. not unless i pay them like 39 bucks, which is almost enough to buy a new router
You
so, away to google we go
You
if i don't get it working i'll just cancel the service; i didn't really need to switch; cable works fine
You
have a good evening/morning/whatever time of day it is where you are =) take it easy Riley
Riley
What they told you regarding the issue when you contacted the Linksys support?
You
they literally wouldn't tell me anything b/c my router is too old. it's "out of warranty"
You
i think they have a solution, probably all printed up in a nice PDF sitting on their desk
You
lol
Riley
*smile.
You
but i told them i wasn't willing to pay
You
(all right, i finally got a smile out of you! my goal is achieved)
You
:-) thanks anyways
Riley
I am here to help you and it is nice chatting with you.
Riley
I must say that you are technically sound.
You
that is probably the 2nd weirdest compliment i've ever received
Riley
It is not like that.
Riley
Laura McWilliams, Is there anything else related to AT&T that I may assist you ?
You
nope i think i'm good
You
have a good one Riley- guess i'll sign off the chat now
Riley
Thank you for your valuable time and patience.
Welcome Laura McWilliams.
System
Connecting to server. Please wait...
System
Connection with server established.
You
Technical Support Topic: DSL High Speed Internet
System
Riley has joined this session!
System
Connected with Riley
Riley
Thank you for contacting AT&T Internet Services. How can I help you?
You
hi
You
quick question
Riley
Yes, please ask.
You
i just finished looking at some article another ATT person sent me about putting my modem into bridged mode
You
but i think it's not enough- something weird is still happening w/ my router (and i know you're gonna say "we don't support your router")
Riley
I apologize for the inconvenience you are facing with this issue and will be happy to assist you.
You
just wondering if there's any other configuration setting required beyond putting it into bridged mode
You
the weird thing is, the router is getting a (seemingly valid) gateway and DNS info
You
(although the subnet mask is coming up all 1's... 255.255.255.255, which seems odd to me)
You
the router can ping the outside world, but the PC cannot
You
any thoughts?
Riley
Laura McWilliam, thank you for the information.
Riley
What is the make and model of the modem/router?
You
Linksys WRT45g
You
the last ATT person sent me to linksys
You
i told her " they are not going to give me tech support" she was like, "yes they will"
You
well she was wrong, my friend
Riley
Okay, I aplogize for inconvenience.
You
is Riley your real name?
Riley
Yes.
You
ok
Riley
Are you able to browse any web sites like Google, Yahoo! etc?
You
well i can at the moment, but that's b/c i went back to my cable connection
You
thank goodness i didn't cancel it yet
You
the modem works on its own, it just wont play nice w/ my router
Riley
Have you tried to connect with the modem only?
You
yeah i got that working first b4 hooking up the router
Riley
Okay.
You
then i tried to get the router to work, leaving the "PPoE " or whatever on the modem. that didn't work
You
so then i changed it to bridged mode and put the PPPoE authentication onto the router
You
when it was set up like that, the router itself could ping outside the local network, but my mac, which was of course on the LAN, could not
You
actually it really does sound like a router issue doesn't it
Riley
Yes, you are correct.
You
but the router works fine when it's connected in dhcp mode to my cable modem
Riley
Okay, please confirm the light status on the router.
You
unfortunatley at this moment the router is connected to the cable (hence we are having this conversation)
You
but i can tell you with utmost certainty, there is a reliable link between the modem and the router
Riley
Okay.
You
of course, there was also WLAN activity showing on theh router, too
You
apparently a lot of ppl have trouble getting ATT to work w/ their routers
You
anyways, do you have any other suggestions besides putting the modem into bridged mode?
Riley
I would like to inform you that there should not be any problem while putting the modem in the bridge mode.
You
so you're basically telling me to get a new router
Riley
No, as you informed that your router is working fine when connected to the cable.
You
does it sound fishy to you that when it's connected to the DSL modem, on the connection status page, that it says the subnet mask is 255.255.255.255?
You
or is that normal?
You
(btw i'm glad you're not telling me to get a new router. i feel like i'm already doing better than i was w/ the last ATT person i talked to)
Riley
No, there is no need to buy a new router.
You
yay. so... any suggestions?
Riley
I would like to inform you that it is very difficult to continue with the bridging steps from this chat session.
Riley
You need to contact our voice technical helpdesk.
You
ack! no, not them again
You
argh
You
lol
You
they won't help me b/c it's a Linksys router
Riley
I know they will not help you as you are using the linksys router but they will transfer your call to the appropriate department.
You
nope, they will try to transfer me to linksys
Riley
Okay.
You
are you saying this b/c you really don't know, or just b/c it's not your job? (it's ok either way, i am not blaming you)
You
(i don't want you to get fired or something)
You
ok i have just one question
You
maybe you're allowed to answer
Riley
Yes, please ask,
You
on the router when i set it up to use PPPoE, there is also a place where after the login info i can put a 'Service name'
You
i had just left it blank- do you know if there's supposed to be something there?
You
this is the first time i ever tried DSL so it's all kinda new to me
You
i'm used to cable which you know it just works kind of, "out-of-the-box" as it were
You
...Well, you seem to be kind of busy
Riley
It is not necessary to put the service name there.
You
ok thanks
You
all right Riley well i guess i will just have to continue googling
Riley
The most I can do is.
Riley
That I can send you the link regarding bridging modem.
You
yeah, i did the bridging thing. it helped. it was a step in the right direction
You
thanks anyways, i already have that link
Riley
I guess that you do not like it but finally you need to contact our voice support.
You
no, seriously Riley, i really did try that already
You
they aren't going to help me
Riley
And, you need to contact the Linksys support.
You
they won't help me either. not unless i pay them like 39 bucks, which is almost enough to buy a new router
You
so, away to google we go
You
if i don't get it working i'll just cancel the service; i didn't really need to switch; cable works fine
You
have a good evening/morning/whatever time of day it is where you are =) take it easy Riley
Riley
What they told you regarding the issue when you contacted the Linksys support?
You
they literally wouldn't tell me anything b/c my router is too old. it's "out of warranty"
You
i think they have a solution, probably all printed up in a nice PDF sitting on their desk
You
lol
Riley
*smile.
You
but i told them i wasn't willing to pay
You
(all right, i finally got a smile out of you! my goal is achieved)
You
:-) thanks anyways
Riley
I am here to help you and it is nice chatting with you.
Riley
I must say that you are technically sound.
You
that is probably the 2nd weirdest compliment i've ever received
Riley
It is not like that.
Riley
Laura McWilliams, Is there anything else related to AT&T that I may assist you ?
You
nope i think i'm good
You
have a good one Riley- guess i'll sign off the chat now
Riley
Thank you for your valuable time and patience.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Weird Coincidence
I realized this awhile ago, but I never mentioned it here. For a long time, my favorite day of the week has been Tuesday. It just always has been, ever since I was little. I think for as long as I've been aware of the days of the week, Tuesday has been my favorite.
My favorite time of day is 11:11 am. I find the sequence of ones very satisfying. It also just seems like a good time of day- in the middle of the day my energy levels are usually pretty high, and I'm probably busy doing something.
Anyways, probably within the last year or so, I was looking at my baby book, which my mom gave me when I moved away, and I discovered that I was born at 11:11 am on a Tuesday. Isn't that weird?
############# edited later
incidentally, lately I have even more reason to look forward to Tuesday. Hence, this post.
I realized this awhile ago, but I never mentioned it here. For a long time, my favorite day of the week has been Tuesday. It just always has been, ever since I was little. I think for as long as I've been aware of the days of the week, Tuesday has been my favorite.
My favorite time of day is 11:11 am. I find the sequence of ones very satisfying. It also just seems like a good time of day- in the middle of the day my energy levels are usually pretty high, and I'm probably busy doing something.
Anyways, probably within the last year or so, I was looking at my baby book, which my mom gave me when I moved away, and I discovered that I was born at 11:11 am on a Tuesday. Isn't that weird?
############# edited later
incidentally, lately I have even more reason to look forward to Tuesday. Hence, this post.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Random thoughts for the day
1. I just recently noticed that I'm the only person in the world who refers to the color of a street light when it's about to turn red as "orange." Everyone else in the world apparently refers to this color as "yellow." Hunh. Looks orange to me. Maybe orangish-yellow.
2. Fruit flies are actually best killed with 2 hands. The usual one-hand-swipe method, which is soooo effective with mosquitoes and house flies, is totally unhelpful with fruit flies. I finally figured out why today. I think it's because they are so tiny, they have so little weight, when you try to swat at them with one hand, the force of your hand on the air actually creates an air current that pushes them out of harms way. On the other hand, if you clap BOTH hands together with the fruit fly in the middle, the opposing forces cancel each other out, thus trapping the fruit fly.
3. Today I received a "Club Wedd" gift registry invitation from Target. Is somebody playing a prank on me?
ok, i think i had another one, but it escapes me at the moment.
###
1. I just recently noticed that I'm the only person in the world who refers to the color of a street light when it's about to turn red as "orange." Everyone else in the world apparently refers to this color as "yellow." Hunh. Looks orange to me. Maybe orangish-yellow.
2. Fruit flies are actually best killed with 2 hands. The usual one-hand-swipe method, which is soooo effective with mosquitoes and house flies, is totally unhelpful with fruit flies. I finally figured out why today. I think it's because they are so tiny, they have so little weight, when you try to swat at them with one hand, the force of your hand on the air actually creates an air current that pushes them out of harms way. On the other hand, if you clap BOTH hands together with the fruit fly in the middle, the opposing forces cancel each other out, thus trapping the fruit fly.
3. Today I received a "Club Wedd" gift registry invitation from Target. Is somebody playing a prank on me?
ok, i think i had another one, but it escapes me at the moment.
###
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Reasons Why I'm going Insane Today
1. Fruit Flies
They are driving me insane. There is NO FRUIT anywhere in the vicinity of my desk, yet swarms of these obnoxious hateful creatures are constantly flying around my face, landing on my lips, and fluttering about in front of my computer screens. I have moved the Fruit Fly Trap of Doom (a balloon glass w/ about an ounce of red wine, covered w/ plastic wrap that has holes punched in it) to my desk in hopes that it will help the situation. Currently there are about 10 dead or dying fruit flies in it, but most of them were already there from the time the Trap of Doom was in the kitchen.
I am soooo good at killing house flies with my bare hands, but fruit flies have these incredible evasive techniques. Today I think I have only managed to kill by hand about 3 of them. I think they're so tiny they literally slip through my fingers. Arrrrgggh! I hate them. They make me crazy.
2. Computers Suck.
(Warning: this one is kind of technical)
For about the last hour, I've been unsuccessfully trying to install Linux to an LPAR on a JS22 for a demonstration that I'm attempting to record. I really just want to get this out of the way; these recordings have been hanging over my head for months now. And I'm not going to have another opportunity to work on this for months, because my work schedule is so full.
Well, I have been doing exactly what I should do. I confirmed the MAC address of the LPAR. I modified the dhcpd.conf file on the install server. I checked everything twice. EVERYTIME I TRY TO BOOT FROM THE NETWORK IT TRIES TO INSTALL THE WRONG IMAGE USING THE WRONG CLIENT IP ADDRESS. This is making me crazy! I restarted dhcpd like a bajillion times. I thought "Is it using a different MAC address? Is it using the wrong dhcpd.conf file? ARE THERE TWO IMAGE SERVERS ON OUR NETWORK USING THE SAME IP ADDRESS?!?!?" What the heck is going on? Arggggh!
It's said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Well, about 20 tries later, I guess you can call me insane.
3. Windows' Window Manager
This one has driven me insane for a long time. In Linux, you can choose your window manager based on its qualities. The window manager is the program that controls how your desktop behaves. In Windoze, afaict, you can't choose it, it just IS. knowing microsoft, it's probably an intrinsic "feature" of the operating system, they probably didn't even code it up in such a way that it could be modularized. Or maybe they left it to the behavior of individual applications, and it just so happens that all the crappy apps i'm forced to use for work just happen to behave in this annoying-as-all-getout fashion.
Anyways, this is what drives me nuts. Anytime something happens in an application like a change in state, it steals my focus. ARRRRRGGGHHH. DO YOU KNOW HOW ANNOYING IT IS WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO TYPE SOMETHING LIKE A PASSWORD CORRECTLY FOR LIKE THE FOURTH TIME AND YOUR FOCUS GETS STOLEN AGAIN?
There MUST be a way to configure this behavior. Not only does it steal my focus, but whenever I get a new message via Sametime (IBM's internal IM app), it also makes my Task bar, which is normally hidden, appear, and it WON'T go away until I click on it. This is EVEN MORE ANNOYING than usual when I'm using Application Sharing in Elluminate to do a demonstration, b/c the task bar is in the same location where Elluminate docks itself for the app share. So then I can't even end the App Share until I have clicked on the task bar.
This is what i have to deal with every day. I hate the combination of Windows' window manager and the annoying behavior of Sametime and Elluminate when it's in app-share mode. And it's making me crazy.
------------- Ok, I had to come back in and add one more thing
4. SLOW CONNECTIONS/SOFTWARE
Argggh! the IVM (Integrated Virtualization Manager) is soooooooo incredibly slow!! Is it just my connection to Beaverton? That seems unlikely, since the AMM is also there and it's GUI seems fairly responsive. This is making me crazy, crazy, crazy!
1. Fruit Flies
They are driving me insane. There is NO FRUIT anywhere in the vicinity of my desk, yet swarms of these obnoxious hateful creatures are constantly flying around my face, landing on my lips, and fluttering about in front of my computer screens. I have moved the Fruit Fly Trap of Doom (a balloon glass w/ about an ounce of red wine, covered w/ plastic wrap that has holes punched in it) to my desk in hopes that it will help the situation. Currently there are about 10 dead or dying fruit flies in it, but most of them were already there from the time the Trap of Doom was in the kitchen.
I am soooo good at killing house flies with my bare hands, but fruit flies have these incredible evasive techniques. Today I think I have only managed to kill by hand about 3 of them. I think they're so tiny they literally slip through my fingers. Arrrrgggh! I hate them. They make me crazy.
2. Computers Suck.
(Warning: this one is kind of technical)
For about the last hour, I've been unsuccessfully trying to install Linux to an LPAR on a JS22 for a demonstration that I'm attempting to record. I really just want to get this out of the way; these recordings have been hanging over my head for months now. And I'm not going to have another opportunity to work on this for months, because my work schedule is so full.
Well, I have been doing exactly what I should do. I confirmed the MAC address of the LPAR. I modified the dhcpd.conf file on the install server. I checked everything twice. EVERYTIME I TRY TO BOOT FROM THE NETWORK IT TRIES TO INSTALL THE WRONG IMAGE USING THE WRONG CLIENT IP ADDRESS. This is making me crazy! I restarted dhcpd like a bajillion times. I thought "Is it using a different MAC address? Is it using the wrong dhcpd.conf file? ARE THERE TWO IMAGE SERVERS ON OUR NETWORK USING THE SAME IP ADDRESS?!?!?" What the heck is going on? Arggggh!
It's said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Well, about 20 tries later, I guess you can call me insane.
3. Windows' Window Manager
This one has driven me insane for a long time. In Linux, you can choose your window manager based on its qualities. The window manager is the program that controls how your desktop behaves. In Windoze, afaict, you can't choose it, it just IS. knowing microsoft, it's probably an intrinsic "feature" of the operating system, they probably didn't even code it up in such a way that it could be modularized. Or maybe they left it to the behavior of individual applications, and it just so happens that all the crappy apps i'm forced to use for work just happen to behave in this annoying-as-all-getout fashion.
Anyways, this is what drives me nuts. Anytime something happens in an application like a change in state, it steals my focus. ARRRRRGGGHHH. DO YOU KNOW HOW ANNOYING IT IS WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO TYPE SOMETHING LIKE A PASSWORD CORRECTLY FOR LIKE THE FOURTH TIME AND YOUR FOCUS GETS STOLEN AGAIN?
There MUST be a way to configure this behavior. Not only does it steal my focus, but whenever I get a new message via Sametime (IBM's internal IM app), it also makes my Task bar, which is normally hidden, appear, and it WON'T go away until I click on it. This is EVEN MORE ANNOYING than usual when I'm using Application Sharing in Elluminate to do a demonstration, b/c the task bar is in the same location where Elluminate docks itself for the app share. So then I can't even end the App Share until I have clicked on the task bar.
This is what i have to deal with every day. I hate the combination of Windows' window manager and the annoying behavior of Sametime and Elluminate when it's in app-share mode. And it's making me crazy.
------------- Ok, I had to come back in and add one more thing
4. SLOW CONNECTIONS/SOFTWARE
Argggh! the IVM (Integrated Virtualization Manager) is soooooooo incredibly slow!! Is it just my connection to Beaverton? That seems unlikely, since the AMM is also there and it's GUI seems fairly responsive. This is making me crazy, crazy, crazy!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Betrayal
my greatest fear
unleashed
is this sickness too much
will it overcome me
and why
didn't he tell me
before
now i scan the list
name after name after name after name
is there no one i trust?
phone rings
rings, rings, rings, rings... voicemail
well after all it's nearly midnight there
one person i could surely call
any time of night
and yet
i can't talk to her about this
won't talk to her about things of this nature
so i keep dialing
eventually
i'll find someone
to trust
my greatest fear
unleashed
is this sickness too much
will it overcome me
and why
didn't he tell me
before
now i scan the list
name after name after name after name
is there no one i trust?
phone rings
rings, rings, rings, rings... voicemail
well after all it's nearly midnight there
one person i could surely call
any time of night
and yet
i can't talk to her about this
won't talk to her about things of this nature
so i keep dialing
eventually
i'll find someone
to trust
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Ready
(found on a post-it notepad I normally use for grocery lists and the like; I think I wrote this April 11)
you made inroads
little by little...
when i first met you
seems so long ago
a far off time
-who were we then?
were we the same people who stand here today
strong, solid, yet shaking like leaves?
fragile as snowflakes drifting down slowly
we are strong; we are not wholly without goodness or character-
but are we ready?
(found on a post-it notepad I normally use for grocery lists and the like; I think I wrote this April 11)
you made inroads
little by little...
when i first met you
seems so long ago
a far off time
-who were we then?
were we the same people who stand here today
strong, solid, yet shaking like leaves?
fragile as snowflakes drifting down slowly
we are strong; we are not wholly without goodness or character-
but are we ready?
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Death, which I seem to think about a lot but seldom blog about
The other day we were out in service and went on someone's return visit that has cancer. In fact, the friend who was visiting her was afraid she might have passed away, b/c last time she went to see her, she was in the hospital in critical condition. The lady has stage 4 cancer and she's got 2 kids.
I commented something like "Man, it must be hard to live with that hanging over your head." I paused, thinking about it a moment, then continued, "...But then, I guess we all are- living with that hanging over our heads." (thereby totally bringing down the entire service group.)
The fact is, we are all living under a death sentence. If it weren't for the ransom, none of us would have any real hope for an everlasting future. When you think about it, at what point can you ever say, "it's enough- I've had enough life, really I don't mind dying now." Is it worse to die now than next week? The fact is, if you're happy, and you aren't in constant pain, life is a blessing and a joy. I felt in light of tomorrow's Memorial of Jesus' death, it was an appropriate topic to ruminate about.
A separate thought about death that also came out of the same day in service. We were talking about cancer and someone made the remark that surviving has a lot to do with your will to live. I have to admit it kind of bothers me sometimes when people say that. I'm not saying it's completely untrue. For example, I know someone whose dad was living with a 3-month cancer death sentence for over a year, but he managed to live to see her wedding day, and then died just a few weeks later.
But my aunt wanted to live, too. She had grandbabies that she fully expected to see grow up. She had a marriage that was happier towards the end of her life than it had been during the 40 odd years prior (they married young- she wasn't that old). She was loved. She had a lot of things she enjoyed doing. She had a strong will to live, but it wasn't enough.
I don't plan on dying, but if I do I hope to at least die doing what I believe in, to the last.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
On sleep
(copied from an email sent to a friend)
i think i told you that i'm like a little kid when it comes to going to bed. i don't WANT to go to bed. the more tired i get, the LESS inclined i feel to go to bed.
they say little children have trouble going to sleep at night because they are afraid of it. they don't know if they will ever wake up again, so in a sense, for them going to sleep is like risking death.
i think sleep is a like a little death. the time you spend sleeping is part of your life that you will never fully experience.
on the other hand, if you don't sleep, you'll die. and sleep has a huge impact on your quality of life- if you don't get enough of it, of sufficient quality, you could suffer impaired brain function and a host of other problems.
....am i the only one who sees irony in this?
~L
(嫣 然)
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