the Googleplex is (back) in the house ...

It's a good thing I have 9+ Internet devices at home. When one fails, I often just mosey to another, since the outage is frequently very temporary.

Such was the case with my Mac mini, which .. about a week or so ago .. inexplicably stopped accessing anything related to Google .. the search engine, Google Reader, Gmail, Blogger .. you name it. I could get to everything else, just not Google-anything.

This happened on the 2 browsers I have installed in addition to (the default) Safari .. namely Camino and Firefox .. so it had to be something lower in the stack. So, I used Yahoo! search and typed "unable to access google" and wandered across a suggestion to use a different DNS server (than the one my ISP thoughtfully provides). Okay, worth a try .. so I changed that preference in OS X .. waited a few minutes for the Mac to absorb the impact (ha!) and now I'm happily browsing again.

I suppose I should credit the nice folks at OpenDNS although I'll be derned if I know why the rest of the boxes on my LAN can see the Googleplex and not the Mac mini - presumably they're using the same DNS -- go figure.

Unrelated: my 500 GB LaCie disc/hub arrived today .. setup was uneventful. Now I have more than enough space for my iTunes collection. Good: the price was right, and the extra (very accessible) ports are a nice touch. Bad: both the Mac mini and the LaCie have the old Firewire 400 interface, so there's a perceptible lag when I fetch video from my iTunes library (although the audio seems okay).

see ya'll again on Sunday!

Sunday afternoon update:

At midnight Friday, my home became eerily quiet. When I shutdown everything, the fans inside my PCs ceased their background noise. Several times throughout the day Saturday, I started to wander in and Google something, but then caught myself. That night, I could hear not only the crickets chirp, but the dew dropping off the leaves outside (not to mention the Love Sounds of the Neighborhood Cats, but that's another story).

One of the decisions I had to make was what to shut down (most everything has an IC in it these days) .. so I opted for anything with local storage. So, I powered down my (Linux) server; my 4 "desktop/deskside" PCs; and even my TiVo (although it still records stuff even when on Standby). So I wouldn't tempt myself, I turned off the DSL modem/router, too. I didn't power anything back up until Insomnia Time this morning (about 0330) and even then, only one thing at a time - several PCs are still off.

I tried to give feedback on the Shutdown Day website, but got a rather rude reply:

Your IP address is banned

I can only guess that they're using some software which has banned everyone using at&t's DSL service, since someone spammed from there. If I had a static IP address, I might complain, but since I have a dynamic address, there's not much I can do. This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing. Oh well .. his loss.

lowered expectations

Since I've been doing The Insomnia Thing the past few weeks, I found a good use of my time between midnight and 0400 today : installing patches.

Although Microsoft told everyone they'd "take a month off" and not have a Patch Tuesday in March, they did anyway .. requiring 4 or 5 updates to the stuff on my various PCs running Windows XP.

While they were doing that, Apple released the Mac OS X 10.4.9 bits .. which took a few hours to download. In addition, there was an iPhoto 6 update on my Mac Mini (Intel Core Duo) but not my PowerBook-G4.

Once all that was done, I caught a few hours sleep before today's first concall .. at 0830. And the cycle continues ...

small joy for the math major

Today, it was about the little things in life. I happened to be charging my PowerBook upside down (don't ask) and noticed the five (5) green LEDs to show the percentage charge on the battery. Three solid and the fourth flashing? Uh, that means between 60-80% charged.

You can tell I was a math major in high school, right?

playing with software

Hmm .. have I done anything noteworthy lately? Hardly much to write home about.

I finally got around to installing Parallels Desktop on my Mac Mini, partly to play with virtualization software. I don't expect to run much XP software on the Mac, but it'll be amusing to play with it. The default installation is to set aside 10% of the Mac's disc as a virtual XP machine, so .. that's what I did.

Then (on a real XP box) I tried Secunia's Software Inspector which looks for the latest versions of certain critical XP software (SP2; Adobe Reader 8; QuickTime 7; iTunes 7; IE7; Media Player 11; FireFox 2; RealPlayer 10; Java JRE 1.5) and all checks out okay. It did a credible job, pointing out that I had old (insecure) versions of MacroMedia Adobe Flash Player on my system - which have now been removed.

I've been using VersionTracker Pro for the past couple months, and .. while it's not perfect .. it does appear to do a credible job keeping my application software updated. Downside: their crippled demo version is complete junk.

Finally, I repartitioned another XP box so I can play with both Fedora Core (Linux) and Solaris. I found a copy of Partition Magic (currently owned by Symantec) at a good price and sliced the 120 GB drive in half, since so much of it was going unused. At this moment, it's busy uncompressing the download into a single DVD image of Solaris 10. Since I understand that Solaris GRUB doesn't play nice with Linux GRUB, I'll install Linux second and Solaris last.

I did want to try RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) but quickly learned that those ISO images aren't available for free download - only for sale. How do I know I'd ever want to buy it if I can't test it first? And yes, I know that Linux is "free" but there are now hundreds (seriously .. 300+) of implementations, so I tried to pick something that would resemble one of the commercially viable flavors. I'm hoping Fedora Core will fit that bill.

mulling

I'm wondering if I should get a playmate for my Mac mini. This would replace my oldest PC -- now on the "B" side of a KVM switch.

The Sony (PCV-J150) power supply has been a weak link (in addition to the 512 MB memory limit):

1- it gagged when I tried to install a midrange video card
(the Radeon 9250) a few months ago - so I put that adapter in my Sempron instead;
2- the connectors are proprietary, so a motherboard swap isn't possible (the connector won't attach to standard motherboards).

I still (sadly) have to run a few Windows-only apps, so I should also consider a software solution, namely running Parallels Desktop for Mac (speed isn't my primary concern -- the 1.83 GHz Core Duo shouldn't care).

I nosed around the web for a few hours, but can't decide what to do. None of the major players in the PC space (Dell, HP) build what I'm seeking. The closest thing I found Out There is AOpen's MiniPC.

The specs I like on the Mac mini are:

SFF (small form factor)
relatively green (+ for fanless)
legacy free (no parallel, PS2 or VGA)
      meaning: USB 2.0; Firewire; DVI
multicore (since That's The Trend)
Gig-E (+ for Wireless-G)

I tend to prefer AMD over Intel, and while I don't need uberGamer-quality graphics, something that'll run stuff like Second Life* without crashing every hour would be nice. That's why running Parallels is not ideal - I'd be limited to the built-in graphics of the Mac mini - an Intel GMA950).

*which wants a GeForce 6600; Radeon 9600; or better

I like the mini-ITX form factor, which at 170mm is similar to the Mac mini's 165mm size (adding the system case will make the PC larger). Bottom line: my need isn't immediate, so I'll likely think about it for awhile longer.

avoiding the Mall Hives

Saturday, I made my biannual pilgrimmage to an indoor shopping mall, albeit briefly. I went to NorthPark Center to locate the B&M version of The Apple Store. Fortunately, the mall's interactive map (MS-IE only, apparently) allowed me to park at the nearest entrance, which became the nearest exit once my shopping was done. Upon entering the mall, I found my destination about 4 stores away: perfect. My exposure to Mall People thus having been limited, I didn't break out in Mall Hives, as has happened before.

Good news about that experience: I also didn't have to Run The Gauntlet of those ubiquitous Red Kettle People. I don't know if that's a Northpark Mall Policy (banning them from the premises - as Target has done) or if I was merely lucky. Guess I should do some Target shopping, to reward them for their continued stance on the matter.

the anti-shopping list

I've been spending more time with my Mac (PowerBook-G4) lately, partly due to the convenience offered by its built-in WiFi. One of my long-overdue projects at home has been to slap my DVDs, videotapes and (gasp!) books into a database, and it's much easier schlepping my laptop from room to room, than any of the 3 alternatives:

1. writing stuff down on paper, then transcribing;
2. entering stuff directly into my PDA, which lacks a fullsize keyboard;
3. bringing the stuff-to-be-catalogued to the PC, then taking them back

Once everything's online, I'll be able to move them to MobileDB (on my Palm) and then use it as an anti-shopping list*. Keeping it updated will be easier, too, since I can update the database on the Palm, and it'll be HotSync'd the next time I charge it.

* anti-shopping list [ASL] -- a list of stuff I already own. If something's on that list, it means I shouldn't buy it again.

An ASL would've saved me several times over the years, when I spotted something in the store which intrigued me, and I didn't remember if I'd already ordered it online (hence, in transit) or if I'd simply added it to an online Wish List somewhere.

I expect my ASL to become more handy as I continue to age, and can no longer distinguish between the things I want and the things I already have.

---

I've been a fan of Instant Messaging for eons, but never liked needing client software for each protocol (AIM, YIM, ICQ, etc.) .. I've used Trillian on my Windows box for years, and now found a Quite Good One for my Mac: Adium. The interface is clean, flexible and works while I'm WiFi'ing my way around the globe. I tried one called [Fire] but it had a nasty habit of locking up, needed a [Force Quit] to return the system to normal. YMMV.

Sony's flaming batteries

Looks like I'll be getting a new battery for my laptop Real Soon Now:

"Apple has determined that certain lithium-ion batteries containing cells manufactured by Sony Corporation of Japan pose a safety risk that may result in overheating under rare circumstances. The affected batteries were sold worldwide from October 2003 through August 2006 .... Apple is voluntarily recalling the affected batteries and has initiated a worldwide exchange program to provide eligible customers with a new replacement battery, free of charge".

These 1.8 million batteries are apparently made using the same technology that inspired the recent recall of 4.1 million Dell laptop batteries, some of which burst into flames. I guess that would kind of wreck your day. As luck would have it (?) the spare battery I bought is not covered by the recall, only the one that came with it. I wonder if I should wait by the front door until the replacement arrives?

5:30pm update: Apple's support website gives me conflicting advice. On one page, it says that any battery whose serial number starts with 6N601 (along with others listed) should be exchanged. I have one of those. Yet, when I enter that in their online tool it tells me

"This serial number is invalid or does not qualify for the program."

Invalid? Uh, no ... Argh! I tried phoning them; after a brief navigation of the voicemail system, I got a busy signal. Someone at Apple needs to Get A Clue. Or a better database.

26 Aug update: Well, it looks like I won't be getting Fresh New Batteries after all. Apple changed the serial number description to read "6N601 ending with THTC" which no longer matches either of my batteries. Now I don't have to worry about them Spontaneously Combusting. Right, lawyers?

Inconvenient Truth / Electric Car

I finally got around to seeing a double feature*: Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) and An Inconvenient Truth (2006). Both are playing at The Magnolia.

As far as conspiracy movies (!) go, I'd give them both a solid A, since both try hard to stick to the facts (unlike most anything by Michael Moore, who is comedic rather than dramatic).

I moved to Dallas in 1993, so I wasn't in California when the EV-1 hit the streets (they weren't available in Texas). One tidbit they dropped in the movie is that GM only leased these vehicles; none were sold. At the end of the lease, GM took them to crushing yard and simply destroyed them, rather than sell them (residual lease value) to willing buyers. You'd have to see it yourself, but I came away with the sneaky suspicion that GM made certain this vehicle failed, despite the spindoctoring on their website: ("Who Ignored the Facts About the Electric Car?").

Amusing: Mel Gibson is featured a few times, talking about his EV-1. Given his .. er .. problems in California last weekend, I'm wondering if version 2 of the movie will leave him on the cutting room floor.

As to An Inconvenient Truth -- basically a movie where Al Gore gives a presentation (from his PowerBook) about Global Warming -- I didn't see the same kind of naming names that Electric Car did so openly. There were some interesting audio flaws in the film, so you get the impression that some of the late editing was a bit sloppy. Yet, the message is clear. Basically: here are the facts about global warming .. they appear indisputable .. now, do something about it. Yes, the movie ends by pointing us to climatecrisis.net so I just did likewise.

Too bad these aren't in wide release, but I suspect there's political pressure on the mainstream theatres (MST?) not to show them. No surprise.

* okay, so it's not a "double feature" where you see two movies, back-to-back, for one price. I don't know any theatre which does that anymore

now ain't that phat?

What a way to spend a Saturday. Inside the Dallas Convention Center with 600 people I'd never met before (well, except for Mayor Laura). This was part of Shaping America's Health .. the next seven hours in a surprisingly fast-moving 21st Century Town Meeting® called Shaping America's Youth.

Turns out this is the 2nd one of these ever held. The first was in Memphis, earlier this year. Dallas had over 1046 registrants but only 600 made it to the event. I guess that's a good turnout, especially on one of the 4 nice weekends in Dallas every year (otherwise it's too hot/wet/cold).

The meeting itself was reasonably hi-tech. Each table (10 people) had a Mac iBook connected on a wireless network to a Think Tank near the stage. As we Solved World Hunger, our ideas were passed to this group which cut-and-pasted them into a presentation, offering near-immediate gratification.

The session leaders were David Campt and Julia Sullivan; they did a commendable job staying on their feet the entire time. Many of the attendees (37%) were Hispanic; several accepted the offer of earpieces for a Spanish translation (see also: Avance Dallas). We were handed wireless "voting gadgets" which had a USB interface at the top; the thing was called an "OpinionCounterIQ" (sadly, I didn't think to take a photo of it).

Random stuff:
0- Texas is the 6th fattest state; 63% of Texans are overweight or obese.
1- 35% of school-age children are overweight or obese; only 11% attend PE [Physical Education] classes.
2- David Campt (session leader) said that overweight Americans will die 19 years early, on average.
3- an upcoming TV show is due to be broadcast here on May 27th (channel 11); "The Biggest Generation" will be a good thing to TiVo.
4- Coming soon (April 27th): Bike & Walk to School day. Yeah, like parents will leave their SUVs at home to escort Junior to school. Right.
5- The Cooper Institute has program called "Promoting healthy behaviors in children"

Other speakers:
6- Bradie James (a Dallas Cowboy);
7- Alex Wolens - the mayor's 15-year old daughter;
8- Terry Wade regarding Marathon Kids (Richardson ISD);
9- Dr LeAnn Kridelbaugh, of the Dallas Area Coalition to Prevent Childhood Obesity (probably an offering of Children's Medical Center of Dallas)

The Promise of Bluetooth

Yesterday, during a tedious spot in a meeting, I decided to take the opportunity to HotSync my Tungsten T5 and PowerBook G4. And people thought Bluetooth was only good for Annoying Cellphone Headsets. I'm still waiting for The Promise Of Bluetooth .. when I can use it to buy a soda from the vending machine.

there's an Outlook behind me, and it's getting smaller and smaller ...

Okay, I did it. I migrated my home email from MS-Outlook Express to Mozilla Thunderbird. And so far, I'm generally a happy camper.

The only downside so far is that Thunderbird didn't even try to migrate my various filters, and there are a lot of them. I bopped over to Bugzilla and saw that it's a known limitation, so (since bugs often take years to be evaluated) I'm adding filters as email hits my inbox. In a couple weeks, that should be done. For now, it's simply an annoyance.

Thunderbird's the email client I used at work most often (on both my PowerBook and a SunRay), so this standardization will allow my atrophying brain cells another less thing to consider as I live out the few remaining years of my life.

In addition to standardizing on one interface, Thunderbird has lots of Extensions so that I can customize it as needed (although historically I haven't gone overboard). It's just nice to know it can be done, unlike Outlook Express which has always been the poor (free) stepchild of MS-Outlook.

schlepping and shopping in da rain

Yesterday, I found a location* where I could sign the petition to put Kinky on the ballot, and added my name to the (hopefully 44,999+) others who'd like to see Governor PrettyHair sent back to the farm, where he can't do any more damage.

* Dirty Dawgz - they have four locations in the area .. one is less than 3 miles from my home. They provide a nice place to wash your dogs (I'll have to ask if anyone ever brings their cat in for a bath) and I'll have to take Beta the Wonder Dog there sometime.

Today was a good day for running errands -- (shopping) mostly -- because the rain (and the NCAA basketball games) kept most Texans indoors. Judy-Bob and I fed at the usual breakfast dive, but since it was after noon, I opted for the Philly CheeSteak on an onion roll, which was Da Bomb.

Then, I moseyed over to MicroCenter in search of a spare battery for my PowerBook (found it) as well as a laptop cable lock (didn't find it, and got a really puzzled look from the sales guy when I asked if they carried them). After about a 5-second pause, he admitted he had no idea what I was talking about. I strolled around the store anyway, and didn't find one. Heap strange. You'd think people would do more to secure their laptops, but I guess not.

I decided to try the nearest office supply place, and I found the Targus Defcon CL (PA410U) which will work nicely. I hope the TSA is used to seeing this lock-and-cable combo on the X-ray machine.

While at Office Depot, I moseyed around and found a laser pointer which will come in handy when I give presentations, and also found some index dividers for the 12 months (Avery 11127). They had many, many packs of dividers from which to choose and it took a couple passes before I spotted the ones I wanted. It's odd that their website page doesn't say anything to indicate the tabs in the 11127 pack are labeled JAN/FEB/MAR etc.

Finally - one thing I did not find was a place that buys/sells PC memory. There was such a place in Addison on Beltline, but it's apparently gone. Due to some upgrades, I'm the proud owner of 6 strips of Orphan RAM and would like to negotiate a trade (!) for two strips of 128 MB DIMMs to max out my Win98SE laptop (Fujitsu E6530). There was a place on Preston (north of LBJ) called Computer Renaissance but they're also out of business. I guess the Used PC Component Business ain't what it used to be.

The Scopes Monkey Trial

During Monday night's DFW-SJC flight, I watched the DVD of Inherit the Wind (1960) on my PowerBook, and couldn't stop thinking about the parallels with the IDiots who think Intelligent Design is rational. If it was up to these morons, they'd have all copies of this DVD burned, ala Fahrenheit 451.

There's a bio of William Jennings Bryan (represented in the movie as "Matthew Brady") which says

In 1925, Bryan led the prosecution of John T. Scopes, a young biology teacher charged with breaking Tennessee law by teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. Squaring off against noted defense attorney Clarence Darrow, Bryan attempted in vain to defend his literal interpretation of the bible under Darrow's wilting cross examination. Humiliated and weakened by the stress of the trial, Bryan died one week after its conclusion.

... while in the movie, "Matthew Brady" (portrayed as a bombastic oaf who'd be quite comfortable articulating Intelligent Design in 2005) dies in the courtroom immediately after the trial is concluded .. chalk it up to poetic license (or The Radical Right's perceived Hollywood Agenda).

Here are the major characters in the film, and the real people they represented:

Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy) .. portraying Clarence Darrow
Matthew Brady (Fredric March) .. portraying William Jennings Bryan
Bertram T. Cates (Dick York) .. portraying John Thomas Scopes

It was hard to watch:

1. the judge (Harry Morgan) and not think of Colonel Sherman Potter of M*A*S*H (TV series);
2. the defendant (Dick York) and not think of Darrin Stevens of Bewitched;
3. the reporter (Gene Kelley) and not think of Singing In the Rain.

you want fries with that?

Everytime I get a new PC*, I end up buying a few hundred dollars of peripherals to make it work gooder [sic]. This time, those goodies included some wireless-G (802.11G) stuff; a gigabit switch (replaces a 10 Mb hub that was manufactured when Teddy Roosevelt was President); and a Bluetooth mouse (for my PowerBook).

* defined very loosely .. includes everything from a Palm PDA to an Apple PowerBook. I figure that if it done got a CPU, it kin be kalt a PC.

If computer manufacturers were smart (and I now put Apple to the top of that list after my recent positive experience) they'd include incentives to buy more of their peripherals, soon after the PC purchase. Maybe they do, and I simply haven't noticed (which is as good as not doing it). Then again, sometimes a 3rd party peripheral is best (example: the Rhino case I selected for my PDA, after the Palm-branded one proved to be terribly inferior).

Also, I continue to be impressed/amused with Buy.com .. I ordered one of the wireless components through them, then opted for "FREE Budget Shipping" instead of Standard. The stuff arrived the next day (good thing I didn't pay extra for Next Day Delivery). To be fair, it shipped from Carrollton, Texas which is an easy drive from my home, so UPS didn't have to work too hard to pull that off.

a new addition to the family

Well, this was easy. I'm entering this blog posting from my new PowerBook G4 which arrived either 7 or 3 days early, depending on which shipping story you believe. I ordered it on my 2nd day back at work, long before my badge or LDAP entry was up. The setup was trivial; it didn't even ask for my timezone yet seemed to figure it out without any problem. Ditto for the Maxtor Shared Storage box, which is my home (300 GB) fileserver .. it found the CIFS/SMB workgroup and all I had to do was login. Windows XP itself should be this easy.

Photo: two currently popular laptops:
Apple's PowerBook G4 and Acer's Ferrari 4005

The Blogger interface is missing a few buttons but I'll probably figure that out in a day or so. I have a few networking issues to settle here at home, including upgrading my Ethernet hub from a 10 Mb variety to something of this century, and slapping a Wireless-G network atop my ADSL circuit. That can wait a few days, while I learn more about Mac OS X.

Thursday: short sleeves. Friday: parka?

As DMN columnist Alan Melson opined:

"Just 24 hours after temperatures in Dallas-Fort Worth reached the mid-80s, forecasters are expecting a high Friday afternoon of just 39 degrees - and a good chance that freezing precipitation will hit the area as commuters make their way home."

Indeed, it's 84F as I publish this entry, but a strong wind started at 17:38 which may signal The Cold Front coming through town. I suppose I should do what all Texans are trained to do when the temp drops below 50F: go to the grocery store and buy anything remaining on the shelves.

Unrelated: I went back to work Monday, after "a few weeks off" .. but haven't been able to do much because I'm not yet In The System. I've been able to gather information on the teams I'll work with, but not much else yet. Maybe by President's Day (the Holiest holiday in the USA).

I was told that I'd need a laptop, so .. throwing caution to the wind .. decided on an Apple PowerBook G4. If shipping schedules can be believed, it'll be in my hands next week. I've never owned a Mac before and I anticipate a steep learning curve. I suppose I should set it up on a wireless-G net here at home? Maybe one of my ever-so-thoughtful neighbors has an unsecured network that I can tap into? Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

of Closets, Postmen, Hispanics and Apple Pie

A few days ago, I began the once-a-decade chore of cleaning Fibber McGee's Closet. Well, that's what PJ called it. It's the closet where my electronic toys (circuit boards, cables, boxes) live after landing in Casa du Gene Bob. It was hence with Projectile Giddiness that I wandered across this article: Old Home PCs: Piling Up in the Closet.

Judy-Bob and I watched Il Postino (1994) ("The Postman") a couple nights ago. It's about the Bolivian Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda and the guy who delivered his mail while in Italy. It's not nearly as bad as that sounds. I'd give it an A, except that it's hard to dance to and didn't have a good beat (apologies to Dick Clark).

What does that have to do with the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce? Not a thing.

In theory, Whole Foods carries these: Lärabar Apple Pie Bar. Hmm .. gotta check it out. Whole Foods has the biggest selection of protein bars in the MetroPlex™ so odds are high that I won't be disappointed.

PJ's en route Phoenix tonight, after stopping by for a couple days after a family emergency in Houston. Miles got to visit with Beta the Wonder Dog, who is still sniffing the house for her missing friend.

the many faces of butter

For many years, I was content to know that butter came from cows. Then, my world turned upside down when I discovered apple butter. Hmm .. now butter comes from cows or apples.

Today, I decided to investigate where shea butter comes from (answer: an African tree). Now, I know butter comes from cows, apples and trees.

dictionary.com defines butter as
1. A soft yellowish or whitish emulsion of butterfat, water, air, and sometimes salt, churned from milk or cream and processed for use in cooking and as a food;
2. Any of various substances similar to butter, especially a spread made from fruit, nuts, or other foods: apple butter

Why doesn't it acknowledge the role of the lowly bovine? Or have I been limiting myself to "cow butter" when there are alternatives such as goat butter or water buffalo butter (ghee)? (answer: yes)

Does the milk/cheese/butter from different species of cow taste different? What about wild goat butter? Are the possibilities endless? And what about all those ancient butter sculpters?

Those who are really fascinated by this stuff will be transfixed by Goat Milk vs. Cow Milk (from the June 1992 edition of The Goat Handbook, suitable for discriminating coffee tables everywhere). All this reminds me : isn't it cabrito season soon?