June 2005 Archives

And so vacation begins

As of the second I left my office today I am on vacation through July 4th. Yay!

Good way to start off the vacation too. Got home and took a nice 2 hour nap.

And then the Sox won and took back first place for the first time since April!

Friday Wisdom from System of a Down

Everybody, everybody, everybody livin' now
Everybody, everybody, everbody fucks
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin' now
Everybody, everybody, everybody sucks
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin' now
Everybody, everybody, everybody cries
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin' now
Everybody, everybody, everybody dies

Inotify in Mainline?

According to this e-mail from Andrew Morton, he's going to try and push Inotify in to the mainline kernel for 2.6.13. And all Beagle users rejoiced!

UPDATE: Read this again and he says more slogging needed. Whatever that means. With all the Beagle users using this already, I'm not sure what the concerns are as "concerns about the userspace API and internal implementation details" is kinda vague.

Ugh. Four days after the switch over from Homelink, Bank of America continues to drive me nuts. After complaining about the interface (which I continue to think sucks), the issues continue. Since Tuesday, the new one is that their DNS is all messed up. Almost every time I try to access their system I get a cannot find host error. After doing some checking on multiple DNS servers, it seems like their DNS is showing up and disappearing in a nice fluctuating manor. It also seems that some parts work while others break and then they switch. Good work on the switchover Bank of America, really, I mean it.

Gotta Love Massachusetts Drivers

So, classic MA driver move today. I get to an intersection with a green light, but in the intersection in front of me is already one car caught in the middle and the light has already been green for a bit, so I stopped at the crosswalk like a good little driver.

Well, the genius driver behind me, pulls off quickly around me and now is in the dead center of the intersection, not block one, but both lanes of traffic. About 10 seconds later, the light changes. With 2 cars still stuck in the intersection, everyone starts honking and are generally unhappy with the idiots in the intersection.

Finally, the traffic in front of them moves a bit and they clear the intersection. About a minute later, the light changes again, and I move through the intersection behind Mr Impatient. And sit behind him for a full 5-10 mins in traffic.

So to you Mr Impatient, good job on pissing off a whole bunch of people just trying to get home from work just to get one spot ahead!

Mmmm, menus

DVD menus

Excellent. Can't wait to see this in available source.

Homelink is Dead :(

So, I got switched over to the new Bank of America Online Banking this weekened, along with everyone else in Massachusetts. I checked it out this morning. All I have to say is I WANT HOMELINK back! This thing is totally ugly, totally confusing and not well laid out at all. Please Bank of America, use the code from Homelink and make your online banking bearable, thankyouverymuch.

The Joy of Strings

I re-strung my acoustic guitar today for the first time in a while. I sure forgot how awesome this guitar sounds with new strings. Definitely need to get in the habit of doing this more often.

Dear Sun ...

Just read this on Sun's Java site:

Most testing of Java RE for Linux in the English-locale has been conducted on Red Hat 7.2, with kernel patch 2.4.9-31. Most testing in non-English locales has been conducted on Red Hat 7.1. However, Java RE has undergone limited testing on these other Linux operating systems:

* Caldera Open Linux 3.1 (kernel 2.4.2, glibc 2.2.1)
* Turbo Linux 7.0 (kernel 2.2.18, glivc 2.1.x)
* SuSE Linux 7.1 (kernel 2.4, glibc 2.2.14)
* Turbo Linux for Simplified Chinese locale

Umm, Sun, RH7.2 is so ridiculously outdated that you should be taken out back and shot. The current incarnation, Fedora Core, is on version 4 (as of Monday) which means you are testing on a release that is 6 (RH8, RH9 and the 4 FCs) versions behind the times. This version has been unsupported by Red Hat for a few years. Please update your test environment to something modern. Thankyouverymuch.

Is it a problem ...

That is it 11:25AM and I am already ready for about 12 drinks? I hate dealing with tech support people.

Software Releases

A couple of software packages I follow had releases today.

J5 announced the availability of D-BUS 0.34 and Trow announced the availability of Beagle 0.0.11.

Liz Phair at The Paradise

Now that I have a ticket to this, I'll mention it here. Didn't want it to sell out before I got my tix :)

So, I noticed when reading all my local concert news e-mails (ticketmaster, teaparty, etc etc) that Liz Phair was coming to The Paradise next month. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that, since Avalon looked close to sold out last time I saw her.

A small venue like the Paradise should make it a pretty special show no matter what. Then I looked at their web site and there is a blurb about the show which says:

Join Liz for an intimate acoustic evening of songs from Exile in Guyville, Whip-Smart, Whitechocolatespaceegg, and her recent selt-titled release. Also, catch a sneak peek of some new material from her forthcoming album (due out in September)

Woah! An acoustic show? In a small venue? This should be fantastic. The show is July 26th. Tickets were still available as of yesterday afternoon, I'd grab em soon, The Paradise isn't that big :)

Trey in Boston

I'm hearing Trey Anastasio will be hitting Harborlights on July 20th.

Vegoose continues to look good

Now there is a Vegoose website!

Amusing E-Mail Forward

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me and we all could use more calm in our lives. By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr. Phil show, I have finally found inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started."

So I looked around my house to see all the things I had started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of both Prozac and Valium prescriptions, the rest of the cheesecake, some saltines and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel. Please pass this on to those you feel are in need of inner peace.

Floating Home

Whenever I head down to Long Island to visit the family, I take the Cross Sound Ferry from New London down to Orient Point.

The number one reason I take it is how it splits up my commute. Basically it will take me about an hour and a half to an hour and forty five to get down to the ferry in New London (depending on if I leave from work or home). It then about an hour an a half on the boat. And the third leg to the family is about another hour and a half. So, with this, I drive for a bit, relax for a bit and then drive for a bit. Rather than driving for 4-5 straight hours.

The second thing I love about these guys is their flexibility. Yesterday, when I got a reservation, I was not thinking fully and made it for Friday evening instead of Thursday evening when I planned on leaving. I noticed later in the day, so I called them this morning. A 2 minute conversation and I had my reservation switched. No fees, no fuss, just a quick change and all done. They will do this right up to an hour before your reservation. And they will take reservations at any time. Also, if you arrive super early for your boat, they will throw you on the one before if you can fit.

It's just a very nice service without any of the troubles that flying can be these days.

MT 3.17 is out

Six Apart has released Movable Type 3.17. Upgraded (hopefully this goes better than the last time).

BitTorrent Share Ratios

Here's a random question that came to me this morning. I download a lot over BitTorrent. Mostly shows from taper friendly bands, so it's all legal. I wrote a long time ago how I thought BitTorrent was the ultimate hippie application and I still continue to believe this. It's great to be able to get all these shows and the everyone helping each other nature of BitTorrent goes along very well with the culture of the jam band scene.

So, the question that came to my head this morning is what is considered a good share ratio? If you share 100% (basically sharing as much as you download) is that an appropriate time to discontinue being connected to the torrent? Or is it at some other point? Ideas welcome.

May Monthly Goals

At the beginning of May, I decided to set a few goals for the month. Figuring this would help me get through the month and try to improve my life. Also, there are some things on here to help me maximize some of the money I spend. So, now that the month is over, I thought I'd do a sort of report card.

Sleep in my bed every night

I am HORRIBLE about sleeping in my bed. Most nights, I just crash out on the couch watching TV. This is bad for my health first off, because I don't sleep comfortably and tend to wake up in the middle of the night and turn the TV back on. I hoped to at least sleep in my bed every week night, on the weekends, its a bit less important to make sure I get a good night's sleep.

Well, I did ok with this. I probably slept in my bed 50% of the time during the week. This is much better than the 0% of the time I was before this month.

Watch 10 DVDs from Netflix

I pay $20/month (about) for this service, I figured I really should maximize this investment. In the recent past, I have been as bad as not getting any new movies over the course of a month. That's just a big waste of money. When you are on a budget like I am, wasting money is VERY bad.

I did pretty good with this. I saw 8 movies this past month (it might have been 6 though, going off the returned date data). Still, pretty good. Gotta keep this up, if not only for maximizing the investment, but to try and get the 400 movies queue down a bit.

Read 3 books

I love reading, but have lost my drive for it, I figured I needed to get back in to this and it would go hand in hand with sleeping in my bed every night. Get myself away from the TV and spend more time enjoying other forms of entertainment.

I did OK with this, but failed a bit. I did finish The DaVinci Code (yeah, a bit late to the party). I should write up some thoughts on that some time soon. I also started Everything's Eventual, though I didn't get far in to that.

Drink less caffeine

I'm a hardcore caffeine drinker. I usually start off with some tea or iced tea in the morning and go straight through almost until dinner drinking caffeine. This affects all sorts of things (like sleep) and I need to cut down.

I did ok with this. Some days better than others. Gotta keep working on this.

Start Exercising

I'm getting old. I turn 30 in a few short months. I need to start treating my body a bit better and one of the things is to start excercising. Even if it's just a few situps and a few pushups. Or maybe even a jog around the block.

Well, I failed miserably here. Didn't even start this.

Post to blog every day

Good to keep up on this for many reasons. This would very much help my writing skills if I could post some good stuff here on a normal basis. Also, it would be nice to keep some readership going (and maybe even add some more).

I started off pretty hot on this, but it fell down as I got busy and went away and such things.


Well, that was May. On to June we go.

Welcome to June

We have made it to June. With May being just UGLY weather-wise, I'm hoping for a much better June. Got lots going on in June too.

First off, there's actually a Fakers gig this week (Thursday @ Shennanigans(sp?) in Southie). It'll be nice to see these guys play.

Next, a couple of shows this month. Friday, Gov't Mule with Robert Randolph and the Family Band are over at Harborlights. (Yes, it is and always will be Harborlights). I LOVE this venue, so I'm psyched to head over there. Hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate.

Next week, we have Ozomatli over at The Paradise. I've only seen these guys on Austin City Limits, but have heard all sorts of good things, so I'm excited to see them.

The Paradise also has Karl Denson's Tiny Universe on the 14th, but Don says he is out, so not sure who I can get to go to that with me. I would like to go though, great band.

The end of the month brings even more fun and craziness with Craig being in town from June 25th to July 3rd. I'm pretty sure I'm taking the whole week off to accomodate for the constant flow of alcohol that will accompany that week. I think we're even going to try and hit a Sox game that week, which will be the first of the season for me.

Hopefully, I'll also get a weekend somewhere in there to go visit the new nephew, I hear he's getting a lot bigger.

There's also one other semi-big thing going on this month, but I'll save that for when it comes.

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