A friend just asked me this, so I figured I would post it here for anyone else's amusement/information/disgust.
1) google (yes, it *is* a verb, dammit!) ' "how to" burn youtube video to dvd'
2) pick the second link cause it looks close and isn't a video and I am waaaaaaay too ADHD to sit through a video
http://www.itworld.com/personal-tech/62762/how-download-and-burn-youtube-video-dvd
3) read the instructions
4) re-word the instructions because I truly do believe the world gave me a red pen with which I have the divine right to edit anything I feel is substandard. Ah, the joy of ego.
5) Decide that those instructions won't work
6) Modify instructions
7) stir and add salt to tas... wait a minute.
OK, here you go:
1) Check if your DVD burning software can burn AVI files to DVD.
2) If you know it CAN'T, go here: http://www.dvdflick.net/ and download (and install) the (free) software. This *will* burn an AVI video file to DVD. And it's free. Did I mention it's free?
3) go to YouTube and go to the video you want to burn to DVD
In the upper right corner of the screen, there is the URL link. Make sure you have that link (copy/paste, whatever). It's going to look sort of like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs
3) Go to http://vixy.net/
4) on the main page, in the BIIIIG box marked "URL", put the youtube address you grabbed in step 3. The first step 3. Oh, you weren't paying attention?
5) Choose the AVI format
6) click Start
7) go get a cup of coffee. A reeeeaaaalllly big cup of coffee
8)nowthatyougotareallybigcupofcoffeeyoucanreadtextlikethisanditwilltotally
makesensebecauseyouareprobablywireduponcaffeenlikethatsquirrelfromthe
movieoverthehedgesoyoushouldgogetsomeotherthingsdonelikecurecancerand
brokerpeaceinthemiddleeastbecasuebythetimeyouaredonewiththatthevideocopy
willbedoneandyourcaffienwillhaverunout
9) take a deep breath. use the defibrilator if you need it.
10) On the Vixy.net screen you should see a link at the top that says "Download the converted video". Click it.
11) Don't worry about the "Bad Request" page you see in your browser. You should ALSO see a download box. Download the video to your computer. Don't forget to make a note of where you put it. Just like your keys, glasses, youthful enthusiasm, socks, virginity and the dog.
12) Now you should go to your DVD burning program OR the DVDFlick software. I don't know anything about either so you are more or less on your own, but it should be pretty straightforward - grab the AVI video and burn it to DVD.
Simple, right?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
So accurate it's uncanny
I know this isn't ACTUAL content, but sometimes you find something that is so close to real life that it stops (or starts) being funny. In today's case, I found two things:
http://xkcd.com/627/
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DilbertDailyStrip/~3/8VwQEqvYVME/
Enjoy the humor. Or just shake your head in exhasperation.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Web site setup
A friend recently asked if I would help him set up a website (I get that a lot). He is unable to participate in a traditional work environment, but has some wonderful knowledge and skills that he wants to share online, hopefully for profit. Here's the email I sent him, which I thought you might find beneficial as well. This isn't the answer I give to EVERY customer who needs a web presence. It's just one answer. As usual YMMV.
- Leon
I apologize for the delay. Here are some thoughts, ideas, pointers and - most of all - the start of our conversation.
1) homework.
Here's some online reading you can do. First, there's http://www.parrotsecrets.com/ which we talked about
Next, there's http://www.cringely.com/2009/03/parrot-secrets/, which was written computer pundit who writes about computer geek stuff, and it's where I originally found out about Parrot Secrets and the secret behind Parrot Secrets.
Now on to: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/ and more importantly this downloadable PDF: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/overnight-success/. You need to look at EVERYTHING this guy has done. He's built a "following" in less than a year, and makes about $45,000 a year from his site where he does little more than travel, write about travel, and write about writing about travel.
Yes, that's a lot of writing. And I guess that's a point. If you don't want to do a lot of writing, online may not be the way to go. The internet is about connections and community. If people don't feel connected to you (and to an extent to each other) they won't feel like they are part of a community and they won't buy stuff. Unless you are Amazon.com. And even there, do you notice what they do? Customer reviews, feedback, recommendations, etc. They are building community too.
Last stop is my new site: http://www.edibletorah.com. Once again. A lot of writing. And I'm not even selling anything. Yet.
2) web site basics
Nope, I'm not teaching you web coding. I just want you to see how some of the basics work. First, check out: http://www.adatosystems.com/websites.php and look at all the links on the lefthand side. There's a HUGE variability of what you can do with a web site.
Next, check out these sites: http://www.openwebdesign.org, http://www.oswd.org/ and http://www.freecsstemplates.org/. These are HUGE clearinghouses of free designs. Eventually, I'm going to tell you to go dumpster diving through those designs and pick one. I can change the color, size, shape, etc but I like to use these as a starting point. Want to know how much I can change? Check out this template: http://www.freecsstemplates.org/preview/balanced Does it look familiar? It's what I used for the basis of http://www.edibletorah.com.
Eventually we're also going to talk about web applications - blogs, forums, shopping carts, etc. But for now, we just have to decide what we want the site to look like. And THAT is determined by what you want to do there. Meanwhile, keep in mind that www.parrotsecrets.com is really nothing much to look at. But it rings in over $400k per year.
3) Search Enging Optimization (SEO)
As I mentioned, there's stuff you can control and stuff you can't. Once you are done NOT doing stupid things (which takes all of 30 minutes), you are pretty much finished. You are either going to show up in search rankings or you aren't. What REALLY makes a difference? Getting listed on OTHER people's web sites. Which means getting recommended, which means connecting to people which means (you guessed it) writing so people know you are out there.
4) What next?
Next, I want you to come to terms with the fact that a lot of this is going to rest on you, not me. I can whip off the design, set up the server, install the applications, etc. I can't write the content of your web site for you. I can help you publish eBooks but I can't help you write them. I can put all the technical tools in place so that people can find your web site and navigate it easily, but I can't make them know who you are. That's all you.
If you are up for it, so am I.
- Leon
I apologize for the delay. Here are some thoughts, ideas, pointers and - most of all - the start of our conversation.
1) homework.
Here's some online reading you can do. First, there's http://www.parrotsecrets.com/ which we talked about
Next, there's http://www.cringely.com/2009/03/parrot-secrets/, which was written computer pundit who writes about computer geek stuff, and it's where I originally found out about Parrot Secrets and the secret behind Parrot Secrets.
Now on to: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/ and more importantly this downloadable PDF: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/overnight-success/. You need to look at EVERYTHING this guy has done. He's built a "following" in less than a year, and makes about $45,000 a year from his site where he does little more than travel, write about travel, and write about writing about travel.
Yes, that's a lot of writing. And I guess that's a point. If you don't want to do a lot of writing, online may not be the way to go. The internet is about connections and community. If people don't feel connected to you (and to an extent to each other) they won't feel like they are part of a community and they won't buy stuff. Unless you are Amazon.com. And even there, do you notice what they do? Customer reviews, feedback, recommendations, etc. They are building community too.
Last stop is my new site: http://www.edibletorah.com. Once again. A lot of writing. And I'm not even selling anything. Yet.
2) web site basics
Nope, I'm not teaching you web coding. I just want you to see how some of the basics work. First, check out: http://www.adatosystems.com/websites.php and look at all the links on the lefthand side. There's a HUGE variability of what you can do with a web site.
Next, check out these sites: http://www.openwebdesign.org, http://www.oswd.org/ and http://www.freecsstemplates.org/. These are HUGE clearinghouses of free designs. Eventually, I'm going to tell you to go dumpster diving through those designs and pick one. I can change the color, size, shape, etc but I like to use these as a starting point. Want to know how much I can change? Check out this template: http://www.freecsstemplates.org/preview/balanced Does it look familiar? It's what I used for the basis of http://www.edibletorah.com.
Eventually we're also going to talk about web applications - blogs, forums, shopping carts, etc. But for now, we just have to decide what we want the site to look like. And THAT is determined by what you want to do there. Meanwhile, keep in mind that www.parrotsecrets.com is really nothing much to look at. But it rings in over $400k per year.
3) Search Enging Optimization (SEO)
As I mentioned, there's stuff you can control and stuff you can't. Once you are done NOT doing stupid things (which takes all of 30 minutes), you are pretty much finished. You are either going to show up in search rankings or you aren't. What REALLY makes a difference? Getting listed on OTHER people's web sites. Which means getting recommended, which means connecting to people which means (you guessed it) writing so people know you are out there.
4) What next?
Next, I want you to come to terms with the fact that a lot of this is going to rest on you, not me. I can whip off the design, set up the server, install the applications, etc. I can't write the content of your web site for you. I can help you publish eBooks but I can't help you write them. I can put all the technical tools in place so that people can find your web site and navigate it easily, but I can't make them know who you are. That's all you.
If you are up for it, so am I.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Team players vs autonomous thinking
My friend Doug over at asknice.com sent me this link:
http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000932.html
I went out and bought the book. It's a good read. Not exactly life changing, but potentially habit changing or perception affirming, depending on how you do/look at things to begin with.
Here's one of the key ideas that I thought was relevant to "IT people":
http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000932.html
I went out and bought the book. It's a good read. Not exactly life changing, but potentially habit changing or perception affirming, depending on how you do/look at things to begin with.
Here's one of the key ideas that I thought was relevant to "IT people":
Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
Nor can you bully a subordinate into becoming a genius.
Since the modern, scientifically-conceived corporation was invented in the early half of the Twentieth Century, creativity has been sacrificed in favor of forwarding the interests of the "Team Player".Fair enough. There was more money in doing it that way; that's why they did it.
There's only one problem. Team Players are not very good at creating value on their own. They are not autonomous; they need a team in order to exist.
So now corporations are awash with non-autonomous thinkers.
"I don't know. What do you think?"
"I don't know. What do you think?"
"I don't know. What do you think?"
"I don't know. What do you think?"
"I don't know. What do you think?"
"I don't know. What do you think?"And so on.
Creating an economically viable entity where lack of original thought is handsomely rewarded creates a rich, fertile environment for parasites to breed. And that's exactly what's been happening. So now we have millions upon millions of human tapeworms thriving in the Western World, making love to their Powerpoint presentations, feasting on the creativity of others.
What happens to an ecology, when the parasite level reaches critical mass?
The ecology dies.
If you're creative, if you can think independantly, if you can articulate passion, if you can override the fear of being wrong, then your company needs you now more than it ever did. And now your company can no longer afford to pretend that isn't the case.
So dust off your horn and start tooting it. Exactly.
However if you're not paricularly creative, then you're in real trouble. And there's no buzzword or "new paradigm" that can help you. They may not have mentioned this in business school, but... people like watching dinosaurs die.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Colored Perceptions
I will freely admit up-front that I know little, if anything about businesses, startups or even management - except for the kinds of work environments and management styles I prefer to be an employee of/in/for.
Having said that, Bob Lewis' recent article on the Phoenix principal (http://www.weblog.keepthejointrunning.com/wordpress/?p=2972) reminded me of Crayola.
In my mind, when thinking about how successful a company can be in the future, the starting point is "what do they do?" - well, "everyone knows" Crayola makes crayons. Everyone knows that.
[note: when reading over this, my wife quickly pointed out that "everyone" is obviously people who don't spend a lot of time being with or shopping for kids. Because what I discovered below is pretty common knowledge in her circle of associates. As always, YMMV.]
As far as product diversity, my assumption was that their product line would include different sized boxes of crayons, and that they've branched out into washable markers. I figured they probably get some revenue from supplying those small 3- or 4-crayon packs to resturants. After that, there's not much to say, right?
Take one look at their web site though, and the whole theory is blown out of the water. This isn't a crayon company. This isn't even an art-supply company.
From what I can see, Crayola sells artistic inspiration, and it's target consumer group is one which universally - to the last person - believes they are imminently talented artists. Kids.
The Crayola web site is completely focused on encouraging visitors to be artistic. There are coloring pages. Lesson plans for teachers. An e-card creator. An online calendar that lists events like National Wildflower week (May 4-8), International Museum day (May 18) and the Dragon Boat festival in china (May 28).
This point was driven home (hah!) when my wife showed me a sidewalk paint foam sprayer she bought for my son's birthday.
A Sprayer. For paint. That foams. On your driveway.
That's about as far from waxy crayons as you can get and still be in the same solar system.
Maybe I'm lionizing them and this is just good business (again, I'm not a business guy so I could be overly impressed by nothing). But it seems to be that this is a company that is thinking hard about their essential mission, and choosing not to be stopped by artificial boundaries with regard to "this is what we make".
Someone once told me that Cisco bills itself (internally at least) as a software company. Not hardware, that's just a means to an end, which is delivering the IOS (among other things) to customers. I have a few friends in Cisco now, and I'm not sure that's really the case. But at the time it struck me as a novel way for them to look at themselves.
This realization has, in turn, made me think hard about what my mission is - in life, in business, in my usual work day. Do I really just fix computer problems? Is there (or could there be) something more noble to this, a higher purpose which would inform my choices?
I'm sure a lot of people may see this as a cynical exercise in rebranding - doing the same thing but calling it something different. But this has to be more than billing myself as "a sanitation engineer" instead of a garbage collector. This needs to be a change in focus and philosophy, or else it will be easily detected for what it is - a cheap marketing ploy.
So that's it, my big idea for the week. I think I'm going to go crack open that package of glow-in-the-dark finger paints and see what kind of mess I can make.
Having said that, Bob Lewis' recent article on the Phoenix principal (http://www.weblog.keepthejointrunning.com/wordpress/?p=2972) reminded me of Crayola.
In my mind, when thinking about how successful a company can be in the future, the starting point is "what do they do?" - well, "everyone knows" Crayola makes crayons. Everyone knows that.
[note: when reading over this, my wife quickly pointed out that "everyone" is obviously people who don't spend a lot of time being with or shopping for kids. Because what I discovered below is pretty common knowledge in her circle of associates. As always, YMMV.]
As far as product diversity, my assumption was that their product line would include different sized boxes of crayons, and that they've branched out into washable markers. I figured they probably get some revenue from supplying those small 3- or 4-crayon packs to resturants. After that, there's not much to say, right?
Take one look at their web site though, and the whole theory is blown out of the water. This isn't a crayon company. This isn't even an art-supply company.
From what I can see, Crayola sells artistic inspiration, and it's target consumer group is one which universally - to the last person - believes they are imminently talented artists. Kids.
The Crayola web site is completely focused on encouraging visitors to be artistic. There are coloring pages. Lesson plans for teachers. An e-card creator. An online calendar that lists events like National Wildflower week (May 4-8), International Museum day (May 18) and the Dragon Boat festival in china (May 28).
This point was driven home (hah!) when my wife showed me a sidewalk paint foam sprayer she bought for my son's birthday.
A Sprayer. For paint. That foams. On your driveway.
That's about as far from waxy crayons as you can get and still be in the same solar system.
Maybe I'm lionizing them and this is just good business (again, I'm not a business guy so I could be overly impressed by nothing). But it seems to be that this is a company that is thinking hard about their essential mission, and choosing not to be stopped by artificial boundaries with regard to "this is what we make".
Someone once told me that Cisco bills itself (internally at least) as a software company. Not hardware, that's just a means to an end, which is delivering the IOS (among other things) to customers. I have a few friends in Cisco now, and I'm not sure that's really the case. But at the time it struck me as a novel way for them to look at themselves.
This realization has, in turn, made me think hard about what my mission is - in life, in business, in my usual work day. Do I really just fix computer problems? Is there (or could there be) something more noble to this, a higher purpose which would inform my choices?
I'm sure a lot of people may see this as a cynical exercise in rebranding - doing the same thing but calling it something different. But this has to be more than billing myself as "a sanitation engineer" instead of a garbage collector. This needs to be a change in focus and philosophy, or else it will be easily detected for what it is - a cheap marketing ploy.
So that's it, my big idea for the week. I think I'm going to go crack open that package of glow-in-the-dark finger paints and see what kind of mess I can make.
Unbuntu update, a year later
I'm finally coming back to this blog, and thought an update to the previous post would be worthwhile. Interestingly enough, not much has changed. Ubuntu remains a very stable environment and an awesome (in my opinion) alternative to more mainstream operating systems. Having said that, it's not for everyone (nor is Windows, or MacOS, or Solaris, or...) and it's not for every kind of computing task (again, no other OS is a one-size-fits-all deal either).
What works fine
- Web browsing (although FireFox 3 crashes from time to time, but that's not ubuntu's fault).
- Email (I prefer Thunderbird with the Lighting Calendar add-in, but Evolution or some other reader is probably just as good.
- document creation and management (OpenOffice 3.0 should suite most people's needs just fine)
- Web page design and creation (Bluefish is OK. I flip between that an Screem. I would still love a Linux-compliant version of HTML-Kit).
- Graphics creation/editing - Gimp is as much photoshop as some people will ever need, and more than most will want.
- CD/DVD burning - with the exception of copying movie DVD's (see below), K3b (or whatever other tool you want is Just Fine.
Overall, things Just Work Faster in Linux. Memory is used better. Applications that shut down really shut down. There is less of a need for reboots.
For programming, the nice part about Linux is that you can run a local web, database, or whatever server and do your development. Yes, this can be done in Windows but it's not always so simple. More of "those" kinds of tools are native to Linux than they are for Windows. And since a lot of the development I do is for the web environment anyway, it more closely matches what I'm going to upload to the real server later.
What doesn't work so well
- Burning movie DVD's.
- some older equipment (like my Visioneer 7100)
- wireless (I don't run Ubuntu on a laptop, but I've heard that some wirless card chipsets are less-than-fun to set up)
How you get around it
In a nutshell, VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/). Free, easy to install, wonderfully stable use of memory, fast switching in and out. I can't say enough good things about it.
Summary
In the end, you certainly could run virtualbox on a windows machine and host your Linux environment, and do everything I'm talking about in reverse. And that would be Just Fine For You™. But in my experience, and for what I do on my computer, Linux (and Ubuntu) just gets better and better every day.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Ubuntu update
I've been running my main desktop on Linux Ubuntu "Hardy Heron" (version 8.04) for 6 months now, and feel ready to report (if anyone's actually reading this).
For the most part, I would deem this ready for prime time. Especially if all you are going to do is surf the web, create office documents, and consume video/audio you will have no problems.
There are only a couple of areas that are just not easy to do, and I've ended up setting up Windows XP in a VMWare session for these actions:
1) DVD ripping and burning. It's impossible using native Linux tools to rip a DVD and burn it to a 4.7Gb disk. If it *is* possible, I haven't seen the steps or tool that makes it as easy to do as RipIt4Me and DVDShrink on Windows.
DISCLAIMER: I have 4 kids. The youngest is 5. As a policy, I do not let my kids play the original CD or DVD. I burn a copy and let them use that. Then when (not if, but when) they run it over with the Tonka Truck, I just burn another one.
2) Scanners. I have a Visioneer that has been completely useless since the move to Linux. No driver support anywhere. It won't even work in VMWare because Linux doesn't see the device enough to pass it through to the VMWare USB hub.
The other item I struggle with is HTML coding. I really really really like HTML-Kit. It just works for me incredibly well. No editor that I've found has the mix of code display, shortcut buttons, and the WYSIWYG preview. I'm limping along with Bluefish but it's just not the same.
Aside from that though, I'm really enjoying it. The memory usage is far better and I can run more programs in a more stable way than before. Plus the ability to do power stuff when I need it is great.
For the most part, I would deem this ready for prime time. Especially if all you are going to do is surf the web, create office documents, and consume video/audio you will have no problems.
There are only a couple of areas that are just not easy to do, and I've ended up setting up Windows XP in a VMWare session for these actions:
1) DVD ripping and burning. It's impossible using native Linux tools to rip a DVD and burn it to a 4.7Gb disk. If it *is* possible, I haven't seen the steps or tool that makes it as easy to do as RipIt4Me and DVDShrink on Windows.
DISCLAIMER: I have 4 kids. The youngest is 5. As a policy, I do not let my kids play the original CD or DVD. I burn a copy and let them use that. Then when (not if, but when) they run it over with the Tonka Truck, I just burn another one.
2) Scanners. I have a Visioneer that has been completely useless since the move to Linux. No driver support anywhere. It won't even work in VMWare because Linux doesn't see the device enough to pass it through to the VMWare USB hub.
The other item I struggle with is HTML coding. I really really really like HTML-Kit. It just works for me incredibly well. No editor that I've found has the mix of code display, shortcut buttons, and the WYSIWYG preview. I'm limping along with Bluefish but it's just not the same.
Aside from that though, I'm really enjoying it. The memory usage is far better and I can run more programs in a more stable way than before. Plus the ability to do power stuff when I need it is great.
Technical update
It's been a little too long since I've paid attention to this blog. Here's the stuff I've been working on or working with lately. Check them out!
OpenServices (http://www.openservice.com/) - these guys have a suite of monitor tools which scales EXTREMELY well in an enterprise environment. They can get up to over a billion transactions per day (over 10,000 per second) and they link (take input from or pass output to) the usual suspects HP-OpenView, BMC Patrol, Remedy, etc. And they are priced right. Very right. They use behavior models so that you aren't polling for everything all the time, and can mix trap-based and poll-based monitor triggers into a comprehensive solution.
SolarWinds (http://www.solarwinds.com) - I still love these guys. Pound for pound, if I need to get some monitoring up and in place fast, this is the tool I turn to. Not as robust as the OpenService suite, but it works.
Kiwi Systems (http://www.kiwisyslog.com/) - I still haven't found anything as good or as easy to set up and configure as their CatTool product for grabbing network device configurations and alerting you when something has changed (something even CiscoWorks struggles with).
REASON (http://www.rootcause.com/Web2/Index.htm) by DecisionSystems - not a technology, this is a problem-solving and root cause analysis methodology that is time tested and works in a variety of situations. I would STRONGLY recommend their 2 day seminar, along with engaging them to help your organization work through any FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) type sessions. They can significantly cut the time you spend figuring out what went wrong (or what's going to go wrong) and how to avoid it now or in the future.
Sooth (http://www.sooth.us) - These guys have a pretty unique product, with more on the way. Their "seer" inventory tool (downloadable for free) will inventory your entire network in an intelligent and non-intrusive manner (no pingsweeps, no hacker-like techniques that will set off alarms to your security group). At the end, you have a full inventory of all your routers, switches, etc along with models, add-on cards, IOS versions and more. The tool can be customized to roll out capabilities accross the enterprise in a single sweep (if you want). Imagine enabling multicast, converting to MPLS or adding all the elements needed for VoIP without touching each device!
ITIL v3 - it's the newest version of the framework that's been around for years. If nothing else, this gets you thinking about how you deliver services and whether you are doing what needs to be done versus what you want to do. As an IT professional, this is a worthwhile framework to be familiar with.
OpenServices (http://www.openservice.com/) - these guys have a suite of monitor tools which scales EXTREMELY well in an enterprise environment. They can get up to over a billion transactions per day (over 10,000 per second) and they link (take input from or pass output to) the usual suspects HP-OpenView, BMC Patrol, Remedy, etc. And they are priced right. Very right. They use behavior models so that you aren't polling for everything all the time, and can mix trap-based and poll-based monitor triggers into a comprehensive solution.
SolarWinds (http://www.solarwinds.com) - I still love these guys. Pound for pound, if I need to get some monitoring up and in place fast, this is the tool I turn to. Not as robust as the OpenService suite, but it works.
Kiwi Systems (http://www.kiwisyslog.com/) - I still haven't found anything as good or as easy to set up and configure as their CatTool product for grabbing network device configurations and alerting you when something has changed (something even CiscoWorks struggles with).
REASON (http://www.rootcause.com/Web2/Index.htm) by DecisionSystems - not a technology, this is a problem-solving and root cause analysis methodology that is time tested and works in a variety of situations. I would STRONGLY recommend their 2 day seminar, along with engaging them to help your organization work through any FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) type sessions. They can significantly cut the time you spend figuring out what went wrong (or what's going to go wrong) and how to avoid it now or in the future.
Sooth (http://www.sooth.us) - These guys have a pretty unique product, with more on the way. Their "seer" inventory tool (downloadable for free) will inventory your entire network in an intelligent and non-intrusive manner (no pingsweeps, no hacker-like techniques that will set off alarms to your security group). At the end, you have a full inventory of all your routers, switches, etc along with models, add-on cards, IOS versions and more. The tool can be customized to roll out capabilities accross the enterprise in a single sweep (if you want). Imagine enabling multicast, converting to MPLS or adding all the elements needed for VoIP without touching each device!
ITIL v3 - it's the newest version of the framework that's been around for years. If nothing else, this gets you thinking about how you deliver services and whether you are doing what needs to be done versus what you want to do. As an IT professional, this is a worthwhile framework to be familiar with.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Egregious errors edge out Edubuntu Ecstasy
(reposted from Scot's Forums)
Click here for the thread)
It was the best of distros, it was the worst of distros.
I had found what I thought was the holy grail of Linux installs in Edubuntu - A "bullet proof" (at least within reason) installation that runs easily and quickly, installs a reasonable amount of software without presenting a googolplex of options, allows functionality immediately after install, and presents enough simplicity that my daughter literally unplugged her PC (and eMachines 2Ghz box) herself and brought it out of her bedroom into my office so I could load it up. (I had put it on a test box first, and she was immediately taken with it when she saw it). My daughter, I should note, is 11.
I grant that Edubuntu is not the distro for all people. Its name says it all regarding its target audience. *I* would not run it on my box (personal or work), but I thought I had found that distro I could put on all the other computers in the house (for the technophobic wife, and 4 kids ranging in ages from 3 to 14).
I could wax poetic about the *buntu line, but that's for a different post.
No, gentle reader, it's time that I take you from my ebullient high to the emotional ruin when I realized, after 48 hours of troubleshooting, that I was going to reinstall WinXP in order to avoid full sleep deprivation trauma, save my marriage and help my daughter avoid blog withdrawal.
Some background on my experience: I ran Mandrake (when it *was* mandrake) for over 2 years on my day-to-day work PC, until my work required a switch. I have an ancient IBM PC running Fedora Core as a Samba/web test server. At work I use test boxes running Centos. HOWEVER, while I am comfortable USING Linux, I'm not a *nix system admin. "Make" still weirds me out and usually gives me hives, because I'm not really sure what it's doing or if it's working right. Thank God for automount and automatic partitioning during installs. No, I can't tell you where my shadow file is or how to create a user without a GUI.
My downfall all comes down to 2 words: USB Wireless.
I tell ya: networking should simply not be that hard. Either tell me a particular device is not supported and stop getting my hopes up, or the driver should pretty much install and work. Neither is the case here.
I tried the following adapters:
D-Link DWL-G122
Zonet ZEW2501
Hawking HWU54G
When I performed the actual Edubuntu install, the Zonet was plugged in. While Edubuntu recognized something wireless-ish was installed (WLAN0 existed), no amount of setting the SSID and WEP key (128bit) would actually get me an IP address.
I then began an odyssey which included:
In the end, while I knew I could keep hammering at this and possibly find a fix, I also realized that the Achilles’ heel which is Linux+wireless networking remained and if it was this hard to set up, then supporting and changing things on my network was going to be a hassle also.
With the sharp tangy taste of crow in my mouth, I slunk back into my cave with my tail between my legs.
So what am I asking? If anyone has ideas, I'm willing to try them out. I still have some test boxes around that can be used in a pinch. I can take another swipe at it because I really believe *buntu has the chance to be something special.
Otherwise, this is merely a cautionary tale. Here there be dragons. Don your asbestos underwear and proceed with all due caution.
- Leon
Click here for the thread)
It was the best of distros, it was the worst of distros.
I had found what I thought was the holy grail of Linux installs in Edubuntu - A "bullet proof" (at least within reason) installation that runs easily and quickly, installs a reasonable amount of software without presenting a googolplex of options, allows functionality immediately after install, and presents enough simplicity that my daughter literally unplugged her PC (and eMachines 2Ghz box) herself and brought it out of her bedroom into my office so I could load it up. (I had put it on a test box first, and she was immediately taken with it when she saw it). My daughter, I should note, is 11.
I grant that Edubuntu is not the distro for all people. Its name says it all regarding its target audience. *I* would not run it on my box (personal or work), but I thought I had found that distro I could put on all the other computers in the house (for the technophobic wife, and 4 kids ranging in ages from 3 to 14).
I could wax poetic about the *buntu line, but that's for a different post.
No, gentle reader, it's time that I take you from my ebullient high to the emotional ruin when I realized, after 48 hours of troubleshooting, that I was going to reinstall WinXP in order to avoid full sleep deprivation trauma, save my marriage and help my daughter avoid blog withdrawal.
Some background on my experience: I ran Mandrake (when it *was* mandrake) for over 2 years on my day-to-day work PC, until my work required a switch. I have an ancient IBM PC running Fedora Core as a Samba/web test server. At work I use test boxes running Centos. HOWEVER, while I am comfortable USING Linux, I'm not a *nix system admin. "Make" still weirds me out and usually gives me hives, because I'm not really sure what it's doing or if it's working right. Thank God for automount and automatic partitioning during installs. No, I can't tell you where my shadow file is or how to create a user without a GUI.
My downfall all comes down to 2 words: USB Wireless.
I tell ya: networking should simply not be that hard. Either tell me a particular device is not supported and stop getting my hopes up, or the driver should pretty much install and work. Neither is the case here.
I tried the following adapters:
D-Link DWL-G122
Zonet ZEW2501
Hawking HWU54G
When I performed the actual Edubuntu install, the Zonet was plugged in. While Edubuntu recognized something wireless-ish was installed (WLAN0 existed), no amount of setting the SSID and WEP key (128bit) would actually get me an IP address.
I then began an odyssey which included:
- Multiple installs/updates of unrelated packages because edubuntu doesn't come preloaded with the tools for make
- Installing and un-installing the included ndiswrapper-utils package
- Installing the latest version of ndiswrapper from the sourceforge site
- Installing/copying the drivers from the manufacturer
- Installing Unshield from an Ubuntu "universe" install site because Edubuntu can't read Windows .EXE files
- Installing Cabextract from an Ubuntu "universe" install site because after you unpack the .EXE you still gotta read them CABs
- Installing/upgrading various packages while installing Unshield and Cabextract because some stuff wasn't working
- Finding out that the driver from the manufacturer is not the "right" driver because it's all about the chipset
- Trying to match the output from commands like lsusb and lspci (why would that matter for a usb device?!?) to the hardware list on the ndiswrapper sourceforge site.
- Trying to compile from source the "right" drivers
In the end, while I knew I could keep hammering at this and possibly find a fix, I also realized that the Achilles’ heel which is Linux+wireless networking remained and if it was this hard to set up, then supporting and changing things on my network was going to be a hassle also.
With the sharp tangy taste of crow in my mouth, I slunk back into my cave with my tail between my legs.
So what am I asking? If anyone has ideas, I'm willing to try them out. I still have some test boxes around that can be used in a pinch. I can take another swipe at it because I really believe *buntu has the chance to be something special.
Otherwise, this is merely a cautionary tale. Here there be dragons. Don your asbestos underwear and proceed with all due caution.
- Leon
Thursday, May 25, 2006
LINK: Do what you love
And thanks to Doug at http://www.asknice.com for pointing it out.
http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html
How to Do What You Love
January 2006
To do something well you have to like it. That idea is not exactly novel. We've got it down to four words: "Do what you love." But it's not enough just to tell people that. Doing what you love is complicated.
The very idea is foreign to what most of us learn as kids. When I was a kid, it seemed as if work and fun were opposites by definition. Life had two states: some of the time adults were making you do things, and that was called work; the rest of the time you could do what you wanted, and that was called playing. Occasionally the things adults made you do were fun, just as, occasionally, playing wasn't-- for example, if you fell and hurt yourself. But except for these few anomalous cases, work was pretty much defined as not-fun.
And it did not seem to be an accident. School, it was implied, was tedious because it was preparation for grownup work.
The world then was divided into two groups, grownups and kids. Grownups, like some kind of cursed race, had to work. Kids didn't, but they did have to go to school, which was a dilute version of work meant to prepare us for the real thing. Much as we disliked school, the grownups all agreed that grownup work was worse, and that we had it easy.
Teachers in particular all seemed to believe implicitly that work was not fun. Which is not surprising: work wasn't fun for most of them. Why did we have to memorize state capitals instead of playing dodgeball? For the same reason they had to watch over a bunch of kids instead of lying on a beach. You couldn't just do what you wanted.
I'm not saying we should let little kids do whatever they want. They may have to be made to work on certain things. But if we make kids work on dull stuff, it might be wise to tell them that tediousness is not the defining quality of work, and indeed that the reason they have to work on dull stuff now is so they can work on more interesting stuff later. [1]
Once, when I was about 9 or 10, my father told me I could be whatever I wanted when I grew up, so long as I enjoyed it. I remember that precisely because it seemed so anomalous. It was like being told to use dry water. Whatever I thought he meant, I didn't think he meant work could literally be fun-- fun like playing. It took me years to grasp that.
Jobs
By high school, the prospect of an actual job was on the horizon. Adults would sometimes come to speak to us about their work, or we would go to see them at work. It was always understood that they enjoyed what they did. In retrospect I think one may have: the private jet pilot. But I don't think the bank manager really did.
The main reason they all acted as if they enjoyed their work was presumably the upper-middle class convention that you're supposed to. It would not merely be bad for your career to say that you despised your job, but a social faux-pas.
Why is it conventional to pretend to like what you do? The first sentence of this essay explains that. If you have to like something to do it well, then the most successful people will all like what they do. That's where the upper-middle class tradition comes from. Just as houses all over America are full of chairs that are, without the owners even knowing it, nth-degree imitations of chairs designed 250 years ago for French kings, conventional attitudes about work are, without the owners even knowing it, nth-degree imitations of the attitudes of people who've done great things.
What a recipe for alienation. By the time they reach an age to think about what they'd like to do, most kids have been thoroughly misled about the idea of loving one's work. School has trained them to regard work as an unpleasant duty. Having a job is said to be even more onerous than schoolwork. And yet all the adults claim to like what they do. You can't blame kids for thinking "I am not like these people; I am not suited to this world."
Actually they've been told three lies: the stuff they've been taught to regard as work in school is not real work; grownup work is not (necessarily) worse than schoolwork; and many of the adults around them are lying when they say they like what they do.
The most dangerous liars can be the kids' own parents. If you take a boring job to give your family a high standard of living, as so many people do, you risk infecting your kids with the idea that work is boring. [2] Maybe it would be better for kids in this one case if parents were not so unselfish. A parent who set an example of loving their work might help their kids more than an expensive house. [3]
It was not till I was in college that the idea of work finally broke free from the idea of making a living. Then the important question became not how to make money, but what to work on. Ideally these coincided, but some spectacular boundary cases (like Einstein in the patent office) proved they weren't identical.
... read more here: http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html
http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html
How to Do What You Love
January 2006
To do something well you have to like it. That idea is not exactly novel. We've got it down to four words: "Do what you love." But it's not enough just to tell people that. Doing what you love is complicated.
The very idea is foreign to what most of us learn as kids. When I was a kid, it seemed as if work and fun were opposites by definition. Life had two states: some of the time adults were making you do things, and that was called work; the rest of the time you could do what you wanted, and that was called playing. Occasionally the things adults made you do were fun, just as, occasionally, playing wasn't-- for example, if you fell and hurt yourself. But except for these few anomalous cases, work was pretty much defined as not-fun.
And it did not seem to be an accident. School, it was implied, was tedious because it was preparation for grownup work.
The world then was divided into two groups, grownups and kids. Grownups, like some kind of cursed race, had to work. Kids didn't, but they did have to go to school, which was a dilute version of work meant to prepare us for the real thing. Much as we disliked school, the grownups all agreed that grownup work was worse, and that we had it easy.
Teachers in particular all seemed to believe implicitly that work was not fun. Which is not surprising: work wasn't fun for most of them. Why did we have to memorize state capitals instead of playing dodgeball? For the same reason they had to watch over a bunch of kids instead of lying on a beach. You couldn't just do what you wanted.
I'm not saying we should let little kids do whatever they want. They may have to be made to work on certain things. But if we make kids work on dull stuff, it might be wise to tell them that tediousness is not the defining quality of work, and indeed that the reason they have to work on dull stuff now is so they can work on more interesting stuff later. [1]
Once, when I was about 9 or 10, my father told me I could be whatever I wanted when I grew up, so long as I enjoyed it. I remember that precisely because it seemed so anomalous. It was like being told to use dry water. Whatever I thought he meant, I didn't think he meant work could literally be fun-- fun like playing. It took me years to grasp that.
Jobs
By high school, the prospect of an actual job was on the horizon. Adults would sometimes come to speak to us about their work, or we would go to see them at work. It was always understood that they enjoyed what they did. In retrospect I think one may have: the private jet pilot. But I don't think the bank manager really did.
The main reason they all acted as if they enjoyed their work was presumably the upper-middle class convention that you're supposed to. It would not merely be bad for your career to say that you despised your job, but a social faux-pas.
Why is it conventional to pretend to like what you do? The first sentence of this essay explains that. If you have to like something to do it well, then the most successful people will all like what they do. That's where the upper-middle class tradition comes from. Just as houses all over America are full of chairs that are, without the owners even knowing it, nth-degree imitations of chairs designed 250 years ago for French kings, conventional attitudes about work are, without the owners even knowing it, nth-degree imitations of the attitudes of people who've done great things.
What a recipe for alienation. By the time they reach an age to think about what they'd like to do, most kids have been thoroughly misled about the idea of loving one's work. School has trained them to regard work as an unpleasant duty. Having a job is said to be even more onerous than schoolwork. And yet all the adults claim to like what they do. You can't blame kids for thinking "I am not like these people; I am not suited to this world."
Actually they've been told three lies: the stuff they've been taught to regard as work in school is not real work; grownup work is not (necessarily) worse than schoolwork; and many of the adults around them are lying when they say they like what they do.
The most dangerous liars can be the kids' own parents. If you take a boring job to give your family a high standard of living, as so many people do, you risk infecting your kids with the idea that work is boring. [2] Maybe it would be better for kids in this one case if parents were not so unselfish. A parent who set an example of loving their work might help their kids more than an expensive house. [3]
It was not till I was in college that the idea of work finally broke free from the idea of making a living. Then the important question became not how to make money, but what to work on. Ideally these coincided, but some spectacular boundary cases (like Einstein in the patent office) proved they weren't identical.
... read more here: http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Shabbat Katrina
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."It was an uncomfortable Shabbat. The sense of sanctuary we normally enjoyed, the suspension of work-week pressures and petty stresses was absent. We all knew why, but even that knowledge didn't comfort us. Our group of friends - a collection of families who get together for food, talking, food, socializing, food, Torah study and also a little food -- had been struggling all evening with what we thought about hurricane Katrina and the victims left in the wake of the disaster.
Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978)
After dinner had been cleared, coffee served, and the kids had beaten their customary hasty retreat to the basement, we turned our attention to Re'eh, the portion for the week. Even though they are found near the end of the portion, the words seemed to scream at us from the page, shocking us back to our earlier conversation.
(Deut) 15:7 When, in a settlement in the land that God your Lord is giving you, any of your brothers is poor, do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your needy brother. 15:8 Open your hand generously, and extend to him any credit he needs to take care of his wants. 15:9 Be very careful that you not have an irresponsible idea and say to yourself, 'The seventh year is approaching, and it will be the remission year.' You may then look unkindly at your impoverished brother, and not give him anything. If he then complains to God about you, you will have a sin. 15:10 Therefore, make every effort to give him, and do not feel bad about giving it, since God your Lord will then bless you in all your endeavors, no matter what you do. 15:11 The poor will never cease to exist in the land, so I am commanding you to open your hand generously to your poor and destitute brother in your land.Abandoning all pretense of Torah study, we began to debate. What could we do - here, now, with the group and resources we had? We're not a rich bunch, to be sure. Nor is any of us politically well-connected. We don't have skills that would warrant a road trip down to the gulf. It didn't appear there were many choices.
Then one of the group got up and pointedly slapped a $100 bill into the Jar.
An old glass jar is always in the center of the Shabbat table, and over the course of the year it is filled with the money we empty out of our pockets as Shabbat begins. Once a year this money is distributed to a variety of charities. We had started this tradition a few years ago, when everyone's kids were too old and too savvy and too numerous to deal with at Chanukah. We wanted to use that time of year to teach about Tikkun Olam. So during the week of Chanukah all the families would gather, and everyone would talk about their charity of choice, and then the "under-18 crowd" would decide which groups should get the money and how much. It was a useful holiday-time lesson in tzedakah.
But here we were, 4 months away from Chanukah. The jar was full, but not as full as it would be. $100 had just dropped into it. As I said before, we're not rich - this got our attention.
"We can do something now," he said from his perch on the couch. "We can do something later, too. But here, right now, we can do something. What's it going to be?"
"Something now" was a $400 donation to The Jewish Federation of Cleveland (www.jewishcleveland.org). Our jar is empty, but we're building it back up week by week.
"Something later" depends on you. Our group is challenging yours. Like our group, maybe you aren't rich, or politically connected, or gifted with life saving skills in times of disaster. But we're betting you can pull together a small donation. Take this opportunity to teach others that each one of us can change the world.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
A song for you, from far away
This is the first (of hopefully many) notes from my friend Allison, who is visiting friends and family back in Israel...
******************
WOW! The picture is amazing. I miss you guys so much. Mark and I intened to call you last night to wish you all a Happy New Year. Unfortunately, we fell asleep. Being in Israel is amazing. Being with my friends and family is incredible. We have been busy but we are not pushing ourselves to travel. Being with people is my priority.
Wednesday after I arrived we came back to Nina's and took it easy for most of the day. In the early evening we went to see my niece Ronit and her family who live less than 3 minutes from Nina. It was a wonderful reunion. She has three adorable boys, Nir (10) Ran (8) and Guy (5). Her apartment is beautiful.
After that we went to Muss to see Michael and deliver the goodies. I am happy to report that although the stuff that I brought was warmly received, the beef jerky was the hit of the delivery. We stayed for a bout an hour and then came back to Nina's and crashed.
The hext day Mark and I went on our first tiyul (trip). We went to the ancient city of Caesaeria. Pretty amazing. We walked for a couple of hours, stopped in the artsists quarter, then had lunch in a small cafe by the sea. Then we drove further north to Zichron Yaakov. A city built into the side of a mountain by early 20th century settlers. It now houses artists studios and and shops. We found a coffe/wine house had some fabulous Reisling and Cafe Afuk (Afuk means backwards as the coffee is made with hot milk instead of water). We were there till after dark and then drove home (I am doing the driving!).
Friday brought Shabbat. We got up early (which we are doing every day) took showers and then went to the city center to buy some flowers to bring to Safta Feige's house last night and to Ruti today. Then Mark and I went to pick up Mike and his friend Jeremy to bring him back to Ninas. After we got back we had a light lunch of hummus and salad and then we went to the cemetary to see Michael's grandparents grave as well as the new grave of his Uncle Eli (Herzel's brother who died last year). It took us a while to find the graves. I can't put in words what kind of emotions were flowing. Mike and I both broke down. I'll share more with you about this when I return home. I haven't processed it all yet!
Last night was Shabbat at Feige's house in Savyon. Other than the nausea that began to rise in my throat as we passed our old apartment the evening was beyond words. People say that when a Jew comes to Israel she is coming home - for me having Shabbat with the Goldfarbs was coming home. We got home late, sat out on the merpeset (porch) and talked while the boys played sheshbesh (bacgammon) and chess. Then we fell asleep. Today we are going to Ashdod to spend the day with Herzel's sister Ruti and the rest of the Saig family. We are all very excited. Gotta go now, breakfast is calling-
******************
WOW! The picture is amazing. I miss you guys so much. Mark and I intened to call you last night to wish you all a Happy New Year. Unfortunately, we fell asleep. Being in Israel is amazing. Being with my friends and family is incredible. We have been busy but we are not pushing ourselves to travel. Being with people is my priority.
Wednesday after I arrived we came back to Nina's and took it easy for most of the day. In the early evening we went to see my niece Ronit and her family who live less than 3 minutes from Nina. It was a wonderful reunion. She has three adorable boys, Nir (10) Ran (8) and Guy (5). Her apartment is beautiful.
After that we went to Muss to see Michael and deliver the goodies. I am happy to report that although the stuff that I brought was warmly received, the beef jerky was the hit of the delivery. We stayed for a bout an hour and then came back to Nina's and crashed.
The hext day Mark and I went on our first tiyul (trip). We went to the ancient city of Caesaeria. Pretty amazing. We walked for a couple of hours, stopped in the artsists quarter, then had lunch in a small cafe by the sea. Then we drove further north to Zichron Yaakov. A city built into the side of a mountain by early 20th century settlers. It now houses artists studios and and shops. We found a coffe/wine house had some fabulous Reisling and Cafe Afuk (Afuk means backwards as the coffee is made with hot milk instead of water). We were there till after dark and then drove home (I am doing the driving!).
Friday brought Shabbat. We got up early (which we are doing every day) took showers and then went to the city center to buy some flowers to bring to Safta Feige's house last night and to Ruti today. Then Mark and I went to pick up Mike and his friend Jeremy to bring him back to Ninas. After we got back we had a light lunch of hummus and salad and then we went to the cemetary to see Michael's grandparents grave as well as the new grave of his Uncle Eli (Herzel's brother who died last year). It took us a while to find the graves. I can't put in words what kind of emotions were flowing. Mike and I both broke down. I'll share more with you about this when I return home. I haven't processed it all yet!
Last night was Shabbat at Feige's house in Savyon. Other than the nausea that began to rise in my throat as we passed our old apartment the evening was beyond words. People say that when a Jew comes to Israel she is coming home - for me having Shabbat with the Goldfarbs was coming home. We got home late, sat out on the merpeset (porch) and talked while the boys played sheshbesh (bacgammon) and chess. Then we fell asleep. Today we are going to Ashdod to spend the day with Herzel's sister Ruti and the rest of the Saig family. We are all very excited. Gotta go now, breakfast is calling-
Friday, April 02, 2004
Ambigeddon
Well, this is it. The final Ambilogic post. At about 4:00 today I added "CCNA" to the alphabet soup on my business card.
This test was hard (although not as hard as the 70-297 test that NOBODY has to take any more - not that I'm bitter!). In the end I was able to squeek out an 893 (passing score is 850), so I'm not too upset.
But I am relieved. With the whole battery of classes and tests behind me, it's hard to believe everything that has happend. Hopefully it won't be as hard to remember all the great stuff that I studied!
More than anything though, it will be great to get back home and back to that level of insanity called "normal"
This test was hard (although not as hard as the 70-297 test that NOBODY has to take any more - not that I'm bitter!). In the end I was able to squeek out an 893 (passing score is 850), so I'm not too upset.
But I am relieved. With the whole battery of classes and tests behind me, it's hard to believe everything that has happend. Hopefully it won't be as hard to remember all the great stuff that I studied!
More than anything though, it will be great to get back home and back to that level of insanity called "normal"
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Ambilogic and the Raiders of the Lost Arp
All I can say is that things are getting there. Today we learned about subnetting, which is a topic I thought we had fully covered in the Microsoft series. Little did I realize that Microsoft is more than a trifle vague in thier descriptions, and will accept a wide range of creative answers.
Cisco is all about subnets, and they want the right answers.
It's the difference between wading in with your floaties versus doing laps with the high-school swim team.
The difference is physical, too. Whereas I felt refreshed each morning and could get up without a problem during the Microsoft courses, this week it is harder and harder to get out of bed. I am enjoying the class, but I'm much more drained.
Which is all OK. We're on the final leg of this mission - just another 2 days and then I'm back home. I figure it will be one enormous pile-on once I get in the door.
I can hardly wait.
Cisco is all about subnets, and they want the right answers.
It's the difference between wading in with your floaties versus doing laps with the high-school swim team.
The difference is physical, too. Whereas I felt refreshed each morning and could get up without a problem during the Microsoft courses, this week it is harder and harder to get out of bed. I am enjoying the class, but I'm much more drained.
Which is all OK. We're on the final leg of this mission - just another 2 days and then I'm back home. I figure it will be one enormous pile-on once I get in the door.
I can hardly wait.
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Dazed and Confused at Ambilogic
OK, so let's just say that this Cisco stuff is not coming as easily as the Windows stuff was. Part of it, I'm sure just has to do with experience, plain and simple. I work with PC's and servers *a lot*. I work with network devices... well, how about NEVER.
Plus, I suffer from dyscalcula (dyslexia, except with numbers), so all the math is really starting to get me down.
(for the record, I have never been diagnosed with any such thing as dyscalcula. But is sounds a whole lot better than "I suck at math", which is probably the more clinical description for my particular condition).
It's only day 2, so I figure i have a couple more days before real solid panic needs to set in.
However, I got another annoying piece of news today. Remember when I described the 70-297 test (listed as "widowmaker" on some of the internet lists for MCSE-hopefuls)? That's the one where you have 4 scenarios and 20 minutes each to answer a bunch of design questions that would challange the psychic abilities of Karnak and John Edwards combined.
News flash, sports fans. You can take the easy test instead. That's right, instead of 70-297, you can cuddle up with 70-220. That's the Windows2000 version where you have 4 scenarios and *1 HOUR* per scenario. I would have paid good money for that extra 40 minutes. Once again, Bill Gates has found a way to make my life an absolute misery. I can only take comfort in knowing that his wife probably laughs at his pimply butt when he gets in the shower.
Then again, his shower probably costs more than every house I've ever owned, combined.
There's just no justice in the world.
Plus, I suffer from dyscalcula (dyslexia, except with numbers), so all the math is really starting to get me down.
(for the record, I have never been diagnosed with any such thing as dyscalcula. But is sounds a whole lot better than "I suck at math", which is probably the more clinical description for my particular condition).
It's only day 2, so I figure i have a couple more days before real solid panic needs to set in.
However, I got another annoying piece of news today. Remember when I described the 70-297 test (listed as "widowmaker" on some of the internet lists for MCSE-hopefuls)? That's the one where you have 4 scenarios and 20 minutes each to answer a bunch of design questions that would challange the psychic abilities of Karnak and John Edwards combined.
News flash, sports fans. You can take the easy test instead. That's right, instead of 70-297, you can cuddle up with 70-220. That's the Windows2000 version where you have 4 scenarios and *1 HOUR* per scenario. I would have paid good money for that extra 40 minutes. Once again, Bill Gates has found a way to make my life an absolute misery. I can only take comfort in knowing that his wife probably laughs at his pimply butt when he gets in the shower.
Then again, his shower probably costs more than every house I've ever owned, combined.
There's just no justice in the world.
Monday, March 29, 2004
Amblogic Live, at the Hollywood Bowl
(appologies to the fine men at Monty Python for today's title)
And now for something completely different...
Microsoft and Cisco are worlds apart, when it comes to their training and testing outlook. Oh, sure you have the same vague questions. As one student put it, instead of asking "From which direction does the sun rise?", Cisco will say "You are in Oakland facing the Golden Gate bridge. You feel something warm on your back. What is it?"
But overall you are using less technology (just hubs, routers and switches, and really just routers and switches) to do a very focused set of tasks (get data from here to there).
That doesn't mean it's easy, and it certainly doesn't mean it's within my range of experience. All the different, competing and completely valid standards for cable, transmission, connection, encapsulation. Stop the network, I think I'm going to be sick.
And now for something completely different...
Microsoft and Cisco are worlds apart, when it comes to their training and testing outlook. Oh, sure you have the same vague questions. As one student put it, instead of asking "From which direction does the sun rise?", Cisco will say "You are in Oakland facing the Golden Gate bridge. You feel something warm on your back. What is it?"
But overall you are using less technology (just hubs, routers and switches, and really just routers and switches) to do a very focused set of tasks (get data from here to there).
That doesn't mean it's easy, and it certainly doesn't mean it's within my range of experience. All the different, competing and completely valid standards for cable, transmission, connection, encapsulation. Stop the network, I think I'm going to be sick.
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Ambilogic Reloaded
(credit goes to Eric Taylor for today's title)
Actually, it's more like Renewed, Recharged, Revitalized. 2 completely stress-free "down" days to get ready for the next set of tests - CCNA. What am I doing to prepare? Laundry. Surfing the internet. Kibbitzing with Eric on everything from pediatric emergency technique to the latest VH1 stars. And calling Debbie every chance I get. April 3 can't get here soon enough.
Actually, it's more like Renewed, Recharged, Revitalized. 2 completely stress-free "down" days to get ready for the next set of tests - CCNA. What am I doing to prepare? Laundry. Surfing the internet. Kibbitzing with Eric on everything from pediatric emergency technique to the latest VH1 stars. And calling Debbie every chance I get. April 3 can't get here soon enough.
Friday, March 26, 2004
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Ambilogic Impossible
brave, reckless, confident, unprepared, hopeful naieve, prepared...
(again. you aren't missing something. It's just deja vu all over again)
Our mission: exam 70-297 Windows 2003 case studies
The low-down: 4 case studies, 10 questions each, somewhere around 20 minutes to complete each one and you don't get to carry your time over to the next study.
No, I did not pass. Yes I am pissed.
First, one of the case studies was 15 minutes. That's one-five. Can I just ask what is proven by my ability to read and click in 15 minutes? Are we checking to see if I'm a candidate for Evelyn Woods' course? All I could think was "there's an ADA lawsuit in here somewhere". What if I was blind and needed to be read to? What if, what if.
If wishes were fishes.
Second, 20 minutes isn't noticably better.
It's do-able, because my 2 other compatriots (the 3 crazies in the group) tried and succeeded. But only barely. This is another one of those tests were the top score is 800 and passing is 700. Not a lot of room for mistakes.
I joked about Xtreme Geeking, but I guess this is the exam for it.
"Hello, I'm an MCSE. I don't spend a lot of time designing your environment, but you should watch me click boxes on a simulator screen!"
Somehow it's not the image I thought Microsoft wanted to project. Is the test hard? Yeah doggy! Is it even vaguely realistic? Not unless you also watch "Stargate-SG1" for it's biting social commentary and insightful scientific accuracy.
Trying again tomorrow. Hoping for better. What else is there to do?
(again. you aren't missing something. It's just deja vu all over again)
Our mission: exam 70-297 Windows 2003 case studies
The low-down: 4 case studies, 10 questions each, somewhere around 20 minutes to complete each one and you don't get to carry your time over to the next study.
No, I did not pass. Yes I am pissed.
First, one of the case studies was 15 minutes. That's one-five. Can I just ask what is proven by my ability to read and click in 15 minutes? Are we checking to see if I'm a candidate for Evelyn Woods' course? All I could think was "there's an ADA lawsuit in here somewhere". What if I was blind and needed to be read to? What if, what if.
If wishes were fishes.
Second, 20 minutes isn't noticably better.
It's do-able, because my 2 other compatriots (the 3 crazies in the group) tried and succeeded. But only barely. This is another one of those tests were the top score is 800 and passing is 700. Not a lot of room for mistakes.
I joked about Xtreme Geeking, but I guess this is the exam for it.
"Hello, I'm an MCSE. I don't spend a lot of time designing your environment, but you should watch me click boxes on a simulator screen!"
Somehow it's not the image I thought Microsoft wanted to project. Is the test hard? Yeah doggy! Is it even vaguely realistic? Not unless you also watch "Stargate-SG1" for it's biting social commentary and insightful scientific accuracy.
Trying again tomorrow. Hoping for better. What else is there to do?
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Fear and Loathing at Ambilogic
brave, reckless, confident, unprepared, hopeful naieve, prepared...
4 of us decided to take test #6 tonight - 70-294 "Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure" (is that a long enough title for you).
35 questions, 1 hour 35 minutes. Absolute top score is an 800. Passing is 700. You do the math.
Did we mention our teacher's "what the f**k" messages? Consider this an advanced notice. Somewhere out on the internet, Rich is swearing up a storm.
I shouldn't paint it so bad. 2 of us passed. But the 2 who didn't were, undoubtedly, the smartest of our bunch. The difference between the two groups? 70 points. Yep, top score was 730, bottom was 660. Even for the two who passed, when we (yes, I was one of them) came out of the testing center everyone said "you look like you've just been beaten up." And that's exactly how we felt.
There are also 2 (not one, but two) tests that contain completely unexpected, completely incongruous material. The "easy" test had 5 simulators. The "hard" ones had more than 11.
I'm beginning to seriously wonder about the fairness of these tests. What can be done? I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just lashing out as part of "survivor guilt" (no, not guilt about watching the TV show).
5 more people are slated to take the test tomorrow. You can only wonder what the dawn will bring.
4 of us decided to take test #6 tonight - 70-294 "Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure" (is that a long enough title for you).
35 questions, 1 hour 35 minutes. Absolute top score is an 800. Passing is 700. You do the math.
Did we mention our teacher's "what the f**k" messages? Consider this an advanced notice. Somewhere out on the internet, Rich is swearing up a storm.
I shouldn't paint it so bad. 2 of us passed. But the 2 who didn't were, undoubtedly, the smartest of our bunch. The difference between the two groups? 70 points. Yep, top score was 730, bottom was 660. Even for the two who passed, when we (yes, I was one of them) came out of the testing center everyone said "you look like you've just been beaten up." And that's exactly how we felt.
There are also 2 (not one, but two) tests that contain completely unexpected, completely incongruous material. The "easy" test had 5 simulators. The "hard" ones had more than 11.
I'm beginning to seriously wonder about the fairness of these tests. What can be done? I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just lashing out as part of "survivor guilt" (no, not guilt about watching the TV show).
5 more people are slated to take the test tomorrow. You can only wonder what the dawn will bring.
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