links for 2007-07-04
Ritual Self-Mummification: The Strange Case of Japan’s Auto-Deities
Bob Plankers
Killing Television
Stephen O’Grady’s post, “Kill Your Television,” struck a serious chord in me. My family had a cabin (“the lake” in Minnesota parlance) that was fairly primitive. It wasn’t really a cabin, but a trailer and a shed and a bunkhouse and an outhouse. The shower was a black 55 gallon drum, which would heat in the sun. Running water? Sure, it ran when you pumped it. No electricity, either. Back at home, my parents would kick my brother and I out of the house here and there. “It’s a beautiful day, go outside,” they’d say. My friend Matt and I would get on our bicycles and ride for miles and miles around the Saint Paul area. Our stated goal one …
links for 2007-07-01
How to Change the World: Ten Questions with Scott Berkun, Author of “The Myths of Innovation” Forbes.com – Negative SEO Blondie Unlocks Car Video With A Tennis Ball Um, somehow I think others have probably known about this for a while. The Last Ripper (tags: revisit) chrismetcalf.net – blog » How-To: Dirt Cheap Wall-Sized Whiteboards (tags: revisit) Feature – Features – Fantastic Flop! – Portland Mercury Why the Fantastic 4 Human Torch ATV is a dumb idea…
Crazy Guitar
At work we’ll often eat lunch as a group around the conference table in the middle of the office. It has a projector and a Mac attached to it, so inevitably we’ll start roaming around YouTube for something to watch. Yesterday we stumbled into a bunch of crazy acoustic guitar playing. Edgar Cruz playing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody:” Andy Mckee playing Toto’s “Africa:” Wow.
What Data Do We Really Need In A CMDB?
A while ago I wrote a diatribe on keeping too much data. Recently I have been asked what data I do suggest keeping in a configuration management database (CMDB).My preliminary answer: Less is more. Store whatever data you absolutely cannot live without. Be stingy, for every item requires maintenance, and maintenance requires time which nobody has. Don’t store anything you can query from the machine or elsewhere. Do store information that will help you repair the machine if there is a problem.My suggestions for things to start with: Server name. (duh!) 🙂 Hardware serial number. From this you can usually look up the system configuration as shipped. Hardware manufacturer model number, which will tell you a lot. Hardware warranty expiration. …
Bad and Worse
“The usual choice is not between the good and the bad but between the bad and the worse.”– French Proverb(sounds like most enterprise software packages to me…)
…People Won't Be Sure You've Done Anything At All
“When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.” — God to Bender, “Godfellas” episode of Futurama.
Busy > Bored
Sorry folks, this week is going to be slow on the blog, and I am having a tough time getting to my email if you have sent me some. I have a big lighting design project to finish, taken as a favor to a friend in need, and it seems that last weekend and this coming one have been jam-packed with stuff going on. So my time where I’d normally write about stuff and answer my email… poof! Gone. You know what, though? I’d rather be busy than bored. Okay, maybe a little less busy. 🙂
Travel
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” — Miriam Beard (I liked this one so much I’m totally stealing it from my friend Maitri’s post… thanks Maitri!)
links for 2007-06-23
Seth’s Blog: Rochambeau the front line Craptails – CHOW Worst. Cocktails. Ever. Manhunt 2 – Can this game be saved? You know, it seems that this is a perfect opportunity for parents to teach their kids the difference between the real world and imagination, and that REAL violence isn’t okay. The less kids know about violence the less they’ll be able to defend themselves against it, or be able to stop it from happening.