The Time Sink

I'm starting to appreciate weekends a bit more lately. ...at least ones that don't deviate too far off the plan <g>. Ah, well... Even with the changeups that happened, I still managed to get a few things done. ...and I managed some family time. ...and don't really want to go back to work. ...but the vacation days are now at a premium since it appears I'll be heading out of town for a few days late next month.

There's a new section to the sidebar on these pages; I've added a "Selected tech" section. My intent is to have a 'quick listing' available for the most common searchs that end up here and the most common email requests for articles. Sure, someday I may implement a search function, but not anytime real soon (other fish frying). If I've forgotten anything you think should be over there, please let me know.

Oh, this one is just too much fun. I mean, to a blogging geek <g>... A coupla' months ago, I mentioned the GeoURL server and showed you how it was used to set a map of enrolled websites around the world (my permanent link is at the bottom of the blog). K'... Bear with me a moment now as I mention that I also use an RSS feed (reference articles linked on the sidebar) to make available headlines and a one-line highlight of posts from pages in the TimeSink domains for those who wish to poll them. Still with me? Now this guy has taken the two and combined them in Flash to show a near real-time map of websites as they update around the world!

...and the high point came as I was adding the code to the blog to link my RSS feed so his server could see it and up pops the red tag for an update from the guy I heard about it from. Talk about full circle...

The details of how to set yourself up are on the "the World as a Blog" page; just drop down the information with the tag next to the logo. Oh, and if you want to see who's watching the show, he's added a login for that also. Pretty cool. I mean, if you're into that stuff <g>.

Also cool is a quick bit of Javascript I found while stumbling about one of the reference sites; it's a bookmarklet that allows you to 'auto subscribe' sites to Amphetadesk. ...and it works slick too; you click it when you're on a site and it noses around to see if there's a feed. Yeah, it's sitting over on the IE toolbar on the Windows box. I need to take a look at it for the boxen once I get things updated. Hmmm... That really should be enough linkage and circular references for one day...

Coupla' semi-related tech links to round out the day. One is to Damn Small Linux. I think the quote from their lead page says it well enough, "Why? Because having a working Linux desktop on a 50 mb business card CD is just too cool not to do." Based on Knoppix...

...and the way my mind works, this is the perfect complement if you're looking for a small, small system with an OS: two pounds worth of desktop PC running an embedded Linux distro (or something else, if you swing that way)

Today was darned interesting. Words like "dinosaur" and "anachronism" drifted through my mind as I worked.

Twenty-five years ago, I took a second job as a medic with an ambulance outfit that looked to be coming along rather well after their start up the previous year. Six months later, I left the fire service and went full time with them. Whew...

It's been an interesting ride, first as a medic and then as a Field Supervisor and later in administration. At various times I've run the shop, the central supply, support services, plant management, Non-MIS <g>, and thoughout it all, the purchasing department. No, I didn't jump from job to job; generally I either inherited one or created it and then spun it off, two of those to full director positions.

...and again today, something came up that wasn't necessarily in my department; but I was the closest person to the GM when he needed answers and they were taken care of. Maybe that's why they keep me around.

I turned out to be a great day overall; some fun at work with the gang and then Shelley and the boys took me out to dinner. Hey, check out the plants she received as her reward for all her support over the years. Then again, she retired from the field from the same outfit after seven years. Hmmm... Maybe a story or two this weekend?

...and then there are weeks when all you can do when you get home on Friday is pass out for a few hours, dead to the world. I tried to jumpstart the evening by making a power packed latte after I got up, but here it is midnight and it's either worn off or I'm more tired than I can believe. I actually think I may have to give in and go to bed.

Yeah, you know me. I was up until much later emailing and thinking about things...

...but today is a wonderfully rainy day! There's no practical way to work outside (well other than to take some pictures for a post), so I'm planning on a day of hardware and net projects. Yep, there's an entire batch of stuff that's been on hold while other things received priority; it's time to at least get some of them moving again. Cool.

I'm not sure I'll have much other than family stuff here this weekend, but if anything techie happens, you'll be the first to know!

Okay, even pretending to start the day this late is pushing it for me <g>! ...but somedays that's how things go. After a rather longish day on Friday and another full day on Saturday, this morning the power died around 0300. Died. Not unusual considering the rain yesterday that still continued after nightfall, but things didn't follow the usual script... The normal routine is for the power to go off and then cycle back on after the lines clear themselves. ...and I wasn't sure if we had the 'attempt to clear' since I was very soundly asleep when the initial events occurred and really couldn't tell if there was a break in the beeping of the UPSes (UPI?). No matter, things weren't resolving...

...which means it's time to get up and deal with things. ...like kill Shelley's UPS so we can sleep. ...and shut down the kitchen workstation. ...and shut down the systems in the garage (oh, joy; that's through the lockup where The Cat Who Stuffs Whiskers Up Your Nose At Night is sleeping).

Somewhat fortunately, the Win2k box was actually in shape for a shutdown! That means I only had about fifteen windows open and only a few of those weren't bookmarked. ...and PhotoShop Elements only had a few things to save. ...and the editor only had one or two downloaded stylesheets I had no clue about <g>.

Ah, but the linux box? WT???? Some ding dong didn't have it plugged into the UPS? Whaaat??? ...and does that have anything to do with the other UPS sitting over to the side of the hutch? Did I miss something one day? Well, it's dead, so I cycled the power button off and headed over the cat and through the woods out to the garage to kill the server and the other equipment. ...and then back to bed. ...because by that time the sirens in the distance were maybe telling the tale.

...to sleep until the power came back on at 0430. Sheesh. ...but that's just a touch base wakeup. The X-10 controller cycles things back to a 'last known' condition, so we really don't have to do anything. ...and I'm sure not powering things back on at that point.

...and for some strange reason I seem to have slept in a bit! ...and the systems are all back up. ...and I'm showered and ready for breakfast. I think I'd better do that before I start in on the email!

Click image for larger version

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke, "Technology and the Future"

    Thanks for visiting!  
All content Copyright 1999->2003 Daniel C. Bowman. All rights reserved.