My Slice of Reality,

Now that I’m finally debt free (well, excluding college loans which’ll take me the next 20 years to pay off) and the only expenditures I have coming up that I’m aware of is the possible apartment with Laura, I’m tempted to drop a little cash on myself.

The last time I really bought something for myself was my birthday where I got myself a new 19in wide screen monitor. Its a beauty, especially for the price I paid ($129 for an Envision widescreen with DVI? Not bad). However, I’m also tempted to buy something else now. See, theres two options from the way I see it.

1. Xbox 360 or Wii
2. New computer intended for linux day to day

Now if my parents were involved in the decision they’d most likely smack me upside the head and ask what I was thinking. See, I have a pretty decent computer at the moment (Dual core, 2Gb of memory and an X1900GT) which is more than suitable for gaming and day to day work. I also have an Xbox (unmodded sadly) which works alright for older games. Sadly, there aren’t too many new games coming out for the Xbox and its graphics are starting to look a bit dated. And yes, my computer can run 99% of games out there and its more than fast enough for wordprocessing, movie watching and everything else I do but man it puts out a lot of heat. Leaving it on 24×7 makes my room into an oven.

What makes it even more complicated is that a new computer build (Athlon x2, 2Gb of memory, 690G board, hd, case and burner) would cost roughly around $400ish shipped. An Xbox 360 with an extra controller and a game is going to run roughly the same. So, either one puts me back the same. Ones dedicated to gaming solely and the nice thing is you don’t really have to worry about “oh man, can my system play the latest game?” If its designed for the 360, it’ll play it. Still doesnt take care of the heat related issue with the computer though.

Some people might ask why the hell two computers would simplify the heat issues but I could actually shut down the 2nd, gaming, current computer when I dont need it. The new one would be alot more frugal on both power, and heat since it’d be based on much new processes and designs.

For example, my current processor uses about 90-100 watts of power at load where the new one is a 65 watt max processor. My current video card at load uses probably 18-20A and runs close to 75c at load. The integrated on the 690G uses far, far less but even has HDMI/DVI integrated on board

Its an interesting dilemma and honestly, I probably won’t punch the button for a few more months but when Im bored (like now), its damn tempting.

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Life has an odd sense of humor. Last night I needed something to read and I was looking for Heinlein’s Numbers of the Beast but couldn’t find it. Instead, what stood out was William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition. I’ve read it before, thought it was ok and set it aside. As is his style, its very graphical and descriptive, deep in its imagery. So deep you can almost taste it.

Until, ten minutes ago, I got to the part where Cayce (the main character) remembers September 11. The chapter where, faced with jet lag, she lets go and brings it all back. The disappearance and possible death of a father, a changing of paths, a changing of a nation, and most of all a changing of fate.

I will always remember that day, as I think most people in this country will; but maybe not for the same reasons. I remember being in chem class and the announcement coming over the loud speaker that “america had been bombed.” I remember skipping my next class and going to the computer labs franticly loading websites but none of the mainstream media pages loading. I remember going to arstechnica and hardocp and checking their forums, then anandtech. The rumors flew and swirled. It felt like I was in a maelstrom.

I remember every class being focused solely on the televisions in each classroom. Everyone discussing, amongst themselves what had happened. Possible causes; possible enemies; possible responses.

I remember how we were supposed to have a soccer game that night, against who I can’t remember. It was canceled. I remember walking out to my friends car for a ride home and thinking: “My god, what a beautiful day.” My head couldn’t get around the displacement. It was like two different worlds; mirror worlds.

In one, there were no planes, no distractions; even the sound of traffic was muted. Birds chirped and flew like normal, the clouds passed effortlessly across the sky but in the other world? Death. Screams of pain, of agony. Tongues of flame and fire and suffering.

Its funny how a book grabbed at random can make memories come back; make you rethink things. I had other things planned for tonight, other things to think of but for some reason these thoughts feel right.

Its late, but I remember.

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Starting my second day on the phones I feel alot less nervous, a bit more sure of myself. While I cant say I have the hang of it yet, alot of the training is coming back and things are falling into place. Just as I thought though, its not the phone calls that are the problem. Its the processes after the call is finished and trying to peice together the sixty bajillion technical things that are floating around in my head.

I think it might be easier if we didnt have so many products to support but beggars cant be choosers. Alot of it though at this point is take the info and punt because we’re still not comfortable enough to actually issue fixes. Hopefully in the next month or so I’ll have the processes down enough tat I can actually get to the point of troubleshooting and then, most of all, learning all the cool, juicy bits that we own.

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Tomorrow is officially my first true day of work on the phones at Sun. While I can’t exactly say I feel "ready," I can say I’m in better shape than a lot of people. In fact, I’m more worried about processes than any technical or personal aspect of the job.

I guess time will tell.

By the way, this is the first post of the new blog. Here’s to many more

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I know this probably won’t be of interest to many of our readers but Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has now had its warranty expanded to three years” Now, having had a few friends receive the wonderful red rings of death I’m not only happy, but quite surprised that Microsoft took this move. They didn’t have to cover their product with a three year warranty and, from everyone I talked to, they’re quite good with warranty repairs. Still, most electronics companies in the U.S. sure as hell don’t warranty their product for three years; you’re lucky when you get one.

Whats most interesting is that the Xbox has generally always been a losing division for Microsoft. They almost never made money on the original Xbox and granted, I haven’t followed the 360 that much either but I dont think; they’ve made money in that division yet either. In the face of that, they’re taking a one billion dollar loss extending this warranty service.

As much as people might decry Microsoft and all their motives and methods sometimes they do actually come out for the customer. Now, whether they’re doing it to save their own asses from a probe from the AG’s, who knows. I can’t help but feel better about it since I’m considering buying a 360 around Christmas time.

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Just a little bug I’ve recently run into with Trillian running on Vista. Apparently, it attempts to write all chat logs under your Programs File directory which it doesnt have permissions to do, so it’ll never log anything. If you do want it to log chats, just move the logging directory to your C:\User\Documents. This can be done under the Text Conversations tab in the preferences menu. You have to create the directory first, it doesn’t automatically create one

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Well as tycho said the other day I was going to start a new series this thursday dealing with technology but I was delayed and really, this time it wasn’t my fault but rather that of life itself. All of a sudden I have half a dozen things requiring my attention and focus and I wouldn’t be lying if I said it was stressful.

The good news is that in the next two weeks I’ll be starting a new job; one thats not based on retail sales. Instead, I’ll be doing contracted support for Sun Microsystems. It’ll mainly deal with Solaris support but could also be Linux/Windows based as well since they’re allowing that to be installed on their servers. I honestly can’t wait. So, yes, its delayed my article a tad but I hope to have the first part of the series online tomorrrow.

Didn’t help that my damn screenshot application wasn’t working either. Silly Microsoft for not having anything better than “PrintScrn” built into XP in the first place. Bah.

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It’s been two days now since Virgina Tech was tarnished by tragedy and beyond the wounds that will never heal lie quite a few questions. Foremost among them, why? Why did Cho Seung-Hui do what he did? Why wasn’t he monitored more closely after his disturbing actions of the past? Why was the response of the authorities so slow after the first two murders in the dorms? Most of all, just plain why. Why did this happen, why does it continue to happen to innocents who’ve done nothing to effect their murderers. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like for the families, for the friends, for the community itself. Its a life changing experience and the shocks that will radiate out from it for months and years to come will be groundbreaking.

We thought our society would change after Columbine and it did. We witnessed a crackdown on school security, the eroding of student rights even further and a rentless assault on video games and music which some think are to blame. I cant help but wonder what the changes will be that result from the dark day that was Monday. Who and what will be blamed now?

One result of the shooting that has infuriated me was the literal frenzy the media went into just hour afterwards. The press conference held around 4 p.m. Monday was an embarassment. The questions asked of the schools police chief were ridiculus and harmful. Many questioned why the school waited so long to send out a warning; many asked why the school wasn’t on lock down. The answer is simple: size. Virginia Tech is an institution that sprawls over 2,600 acres, has more than a hundred seperate buildings and a student body of over 26,000 people (roughly 9,000 live on campus).

You have a population of a small town, widely scattered, with varying primary methods of communication. The one method the schools have that scale well is email, which is how they first responded. Two hours after the first shooting. Some say that if an email had been sent early and the school locked down the second shooting might have not taken place. Thats bullocks. Even if the email had been sent minutes after the first shooting the likelihood of the majority of students seeing it before arriving on campus is minuscule. If the school was then placed into lockdown, you would have students milling around on campus before slowly leaving. What would be created is a target rich environment. Instead of groups of students in known locations they’d be scattered over those 2,600 acres. An impossible to defend target. Having said that, the school should have responded earlier but as they say, “hindsight is 20/20.”

One final thought that I can’t help but ponder, is what the effect would have been in just one of those students or teachers had been armed. If just one had carried a concealed handgun the entire chain of events could have been different. The key point is could have been different. The person would have to be trained, unlikely to freeze, and in the right place at the right time.

I’ll close this post with my prayers reaching out to those affected; the families and friends. Tragedy affects us the world over even if our eyes are too closed to witness. Here are the closing words of Nikki Giovanni’s speech, preaching defiance in the face of pain:

The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness. We are the Hokies.

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This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you’ve read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien 2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov 3. Dune, Frank Herbert* 4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein* 5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin 6. Neuromancer, William Gibson* 7. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke[1] 8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick 9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley 10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury 11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe 12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr. 13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov 14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras 15. Cities in Flight, James Blish 16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett 17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison 18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison 19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester 20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany 21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey 22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card 23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson 24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman 25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl 26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling 27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams 28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson 29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice 30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin 31. Little, Big, John Crowley 32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny 33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick 34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement 35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon 36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith 37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute 38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke 39. Ringworld, Larry Niven 40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys 41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien 42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut 43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson 44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner 45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester 46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein 47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock 48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks 49. Timescape, Gregory Benford 50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

[1] One of the best sci-fi books I’ve never heard talked about. Bought it second hand at a book far and have loved it on each read through. One of the few my father actually hasn’t read before.

Tags: Meme

Tags: Books, Fantasy, Geek, Sci-fi

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