Rands In Repose: Free Electron The title “Free Electron” definitely applies to some sysadmins, too. I don’t like labeling myself, usually because it makes my ego look huge, but Rands’ description of this type of tech kinda hits home. (tags: blogs software productivity management) Flying Objects! – Things Stuck in MRIs (tags: MRI physics magnetism) Pharyngula: Sex in the MRI Ostensibly NSFW, but the photos aren’t “pr0n”. (tags: MRI NSFW)
Hey, sorry I’ve been quiet these last couple of weeks. I’ve been building up to a vacation, which I am on right now. I’m actually about to leave for San Diego, heading to Coachella this weekend. I so needed a vacation, especially after preparing for vacation. You ever notice that if you’re stressed out it just gets 500% worse right before you leave? Who’s your backup at work? What do they need to know? Finish that script. Charge your iPod. Find your camera. Do laundry. Pack. *sigh* I did finally do something about comment spam, having just discovered 221 comments in moderation. The “Did You Pass Math?” plugin is the winner. Can you add 2 and 3? 7 and 5? …
The Worst Job in IT – Leadership Research Center – CIO (tags: management work)
Remote Sensing Applications Center – USDA Forest Service (tags: fire map modis) Star Trek™ Voice Operated Dimmer – 21014 I think the quote on Slashdot was “simultaneously turn off your lights and your significant other.” (tags: humor x10) Reflectivity of Asphalt Shingles (tags: home roofing) American Craftsman Windows – Installation Information (tags: home improvement) Energy Efficient Rehab Advisor (tags: home improvement) The Home Energy Saver (tags: home energy house) U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Home Page (tags: energy home improvement)
Market Post Tower – Gateway to Global Internet and Telecom Data Echange Network 70% of all west coast traffic goes through this building. Crazy. (tags: network internet)
“Hey Bob, big important web server A isn’t working right after you patched it the other day. We need to roll the patches back.” “Can you tell me what’s going wrong first?” “PHP can’t talk to the Oracle databases.” “Does the test environment work?” “Yeah.” “It’s identical to production.” “Um… I don’t get it.” “I put the same patches on the test box that are on the production machine.” I always do. That’s the point. “Well, maybe it’s on a different network.” “What’s on a different network?” “Did big important web server A switch networks?” At this point an alarm is going off in my head. Switch networks? Yeah, I just randomly change the IPs of my servers because it …
There was a post today over at 37signals about sunk costs that I’ve been thinking about. It’s been rolling around in this skull of mine all day. If you aren’t familiar with the idea of sunk costs, Wikipedia states that they are costs that have already been incurred and which cannot be recovered to any significant degree. The Economics Web Institute has a good definition, too (search on that page). I was first introduced to this concept by an old boss who was studying for his MBA. “You have to be able to walk away from sunk costs,” he said. So many people consider walking away a waste of time, money, and effort, though. In order to not waste their …
Flickr Photo Download: Look at what’s there > Do Something > Repeat Amen. Make tiny decisions – Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals) Amen. (tags: 37signals business management productivity) For Best Results, Forget the Bonus (tags: business management productivity work)
Crossword Puzzles (tags: games puzzles crosswords)
“There’s no such thing as tough. There’s trained and untrained.” – Denzel Washington’s character John Creasy, Man on Fire. I have 19 comments, all spam, waiting to be moderated. They have all arrived in the last 12 hours. Time to deal with this situation. A blog cannot operate without comments. It’s a conversation, even if I do sometimes talk a lot. Ten minutes in a room with me and a spammer will never send spam again. Ten minutes in a room with me and a script kiddie will never h4X0r any b0X3z again. Grrr. I’ve got all comments set to be moderated — I’ll build a way out of this tomorrow. In the meantime, sorry if your comments get delayed.