Neglect
Posted by RnR in Day to Day on February 8, 2012 11:33 am
Need to get some one in here to dust….
Burning the Midnight Oil
Posted by RnR in Day to Day on December 8, 2011 1:01 am
Current project in the middle of nowhere USA has me working on a migration and architecture design document. Seeing as I have never done any kind of migration and architecture design, this is a learning experience for me. It’s not the shiny, happy kind of learning experience where one works with someone that has done this before and guides you along. Nope, this is the “Throw you in that section of South African Coastline where the Great White Sharks JUMP OUT OF THE WATER” kind of learning experience.
I am not all alone in this endeavor thankfully, and I do have some guidance. But the folks that are ultimately in charge of this are too busy focusing on the other portion of this project, and are masters pf delegation. I’m doing the best I can, which is all I can do.
Enough bitching though. Basically, I have spent that last few nights staying up late writing portions of the document. I’m getting a little bit sleepy.
Management of My Digital Self – Continued
Posted by RnR in Day to Day on November 16, 2011 11:12 am
Continuing the work to manage my digital presence.
I just stumbled across two posts about Google continuing to “DO ALL THE EVIL”.
The jist of it all is that Google is taking the publicly broadcasted SSID of wireless networks and creating a database to help their location services. Pitching it like they are helping you help yourself, they are also saying that if one does not want to participate they should append their wireless SSID with “_nomap”. It’s all here in this post.
The Lone Sysadmin, someone I follow via RSS had a nice rebuttle to the Google post. Basically, Google should not make it seem like they are doing us a favor and ‘man-up’ about the fact that they are doing this to sell to the highest bidder. I like the points he makes.
It also reminded me of a few things I need to do with my wireless router. First off, I need to stop broadcasting the SSID. Secondly, I might need to look into making the SSID a bit more unique. I may or may not do this, since I won’t be broadcasting. However, a more unique name (or better yet phrase) will make it harder for someone to still randomly connect. Third on the list is to look into securing connections via MAC Address. I know a few folks who do this, but they are in the suburbs, so it makes no sense to me why they do it. It makes more sense for me to do it living in the city. Along those lines, I should look into possibly creating a DMZ so that I can keep some portions secure while at the same time leaving some portions open for visiting friends and or family. Fourth and final on the list is to get some new hardware. The stuff I have is pushing 8 years old. I should probably check the firmware on it as well.
Outside of that, the only other thing I am working on is the decision to delete my FB account. I only ever post links to things I find interesting. And those folks that might find them interesting, I can have them follow me on Twitter. I’m still not sure about this.
Why Am I Fighting This?
Posted by RnR in Day to Day on November 8, 2011 3:59 pm
I seem to be fighting the situation I am in tooth and nail and not taking it for the opportunities that it is handing me. I think I just hate the fact that I am here doing something I do not want to do SO MUCH, that my mind is looking at every opportunity to impress as anathema. I am sabotaging myself. It is so very strange.
Not Even a Week
Posted by RnR in Day to Day on November 3, 2011 1:37 pm
If at first you don’t succeed, fail the same way every year!
The Casual Gamer
Posted by RnR in Day to Day, Gaming: Console, Gaming: MMO, Gaming: PC, NaBloPoMo, The Casual Gamer on November 1, 2011 4:02 pm
Going to start a section of the blog called ‘The Casual Gamer’.
I have been mulling over the idea of writing about the games(video mostly, but interested in some tabletop and card games) I play. I see a casual gamer as the person who plays when they can, as a stress relief or to burn small amounts of free time. There will be the occasional bender as real life allows, yet the casual gamer is far from the stereotype. This is not the child yelling for chocolate milk or the man living in his parent’s basement, covered in Cheetos dust and playing non-stop.
I’ve talked about gaming here before, but it has always been spotty and at times incoherent. There are the posts about what I was playing at the time, half-hearted attempts at reviews, and one or two rants thrown in there.
My hope here is that this new type of post will be different. That is the hope, anyway. The reality of it all is much different, as seen in past grandiose ideas. But what is life without grandiose schemes and ideas that end up falling on their face? Successful….oh yeah….that’s what life is without the falling down part…… <.< >.>
There are also ulterior motives baked into this half-baked idea (it can be called pudding if you want!). If I can stick to it, my writing and communication skills will improve. That is the major benefit I see coming from it. A secondary, and quite possibly awesome outcome, is that a small time gaming site will like ‘the cut of my jib’ and let me do some freelance reviews along the same casual gamer line.
So, the tl;dr version is that I am going to play more games and write about them, land a posh gig writing about them and then build a giant vault in the middle of town which will allow me to swim around in all the monies I will be raking in.
In all likelihood though, this won’t go anywhere. And I’m okay with that.
On a final note…it is not a coincidence that this endeavor falls upon November 1st….the same day that NaBloPoMo kicks off. And yes, I am taking another crack at it. My money says I’ll fail by the 8th
this year!
Only So Much I Can Do
Posted by RnR in Day to Day, Random on October 26, 2011 10:52 am
I understand that the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and although it is not my nature, I have made a concerted effort to be involved. However, I’m tired of chasing. I’ve been chasing all my life. It’s time that those out there interested and/or needing me involved come to me.
I understand the consequences of this decision. No one can read my mind (thankfully), so those who do not see me as important enough to have included as it is, will not even notice the change. You can’t win them all, but at some point a line in the sand must be drawn.
I haven’t had a hard life, but at the same time it hasn’t been roses and lollipops either. I am still looking for that place, that one place, where I feel I belong.
Management of My Digital Self
Posted by RnR in Random, Technology on September 27, 2011 6:00 pm
I have been reading a lot lately about the digital footprint that people are leaving on the web. Coupled with the debate around Googles seemingly anti “do no evil” stance against anonymity on the web, and Facebook’s total disregard for privacy, I have been giving more and more thought to my own digital footprint.
A recent google search of my name had relevant information about me on the front page. Granted, it was the bottom of the front page, but the front page nonetheless. Watching the way the world is going has also been making me more and more nervous. What if did come down to the line and I had to go “off the grid”, or even something not as harsh, but what if I have to hide my actions from an overzealous govenment/organization looking to cause trouble. How would I disconnect my personal life from the digital life?
I know that this sounds alarmist and crazy, but the more I read between the lines, the more I see something bad coming. The future is no longer the bright, happy place we all though it was at the turn of the century, or even eight years later when the “hope and change” bus came steamrolling in. Nor is it truly the dark dystopian future that we see in movies and television, read in books, or play in our video games. I see the world coming to an, Event Horizon, for lack of a better term. The point of no return, but also the point beyond which we cannot see and we do not know.
But enough of this high handed ‘no one can tell the future’ talk….there was a point to this when I started and I need to get back to it….
I have begun to identify and consolidate my digital information as best I can. No doubt I will miss something…or more likely several things. I need to start somewhere though. It will begin with standardizing my ‘username’ on the web. From there, I will begin to remove the unique identifier that is my given name from what I can. Eventually I hope to have just the ‘username’ out in the wild, and severe as many connections between it and my real life as possible. I cannot disconnect myself completely, without scrapping everything, so there will remain a few strands left.
Once the consolidation portion is complete, we’ll see what happens. The dreamer in me hopes that physical security and self sustainability would be next, but knowing myself I just cannot see me doing it. Who knows though. 😉
Litany Against Fear
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
Not a Good Idea
Posted by RnR in Conversations with Jeff on September 8, 2011 12:08 pm
Jeff: we should schedule a weekend for us to come down
Bill:
yes we should
September is booked up for us, however things look to clear up around 10/14
i’ll have to confirm with The Wife, as she is the Keeper of Time
I’m pretty sure she’s a member of the Bronze flight…but I cannot be certain 😉
Jeff: so what you’re saying is that if I get through the city fast enough to your place, I get a mount?
Bill: possibly…
Jeff: we should see spiderman
Bill: no
Jeff: ok, but yes
Bill: i shall not do that
Jeff: yeah you will
come on, U2, possible injury
Bill: but it is a musical…about SpiderMan….
it’s like Bono had NO IDEA what a comic book is
Jeff: I hear he randomly drops from the ceiling and gives an audience member the “upside down kiss”. That could be you Bill
Bill: nope…just checked….that IS NOT on my bucket list….
Jeff: if you read the spiderman comics they are basically a musical anyway
Bill: Jeff…this conversation needs to end before it begins
we are looking into the abyss here, and I fear neither of us will return….unscathed….
Jeff: i hear in the sequel play Spiderman’s battle with Doc Oc will be performed to Smashing Pumpkins: Disarmed
Bill: Eldritch horrors……
Jeff: there is a touching moment when he is clinging to the side of a building, holding MJ, reflecting on his life. Right then Lionel Ritchie walks out and sings “Stuck On You”
Bill: ….Mountains of Madness type stuff….
Jeff: I don’t know how I feel about Ang Lee directing, especially with the Spiderman – Wolverine camping scene
I’m sure it will work out though
Bill: Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn
also…I see what you did there…0_o
Jeff: also, Venom is going to be washed up crude oil from the BP spill, so they can send an environmental message
Bill: I implore you…do not continue down this path…..
Jeff: it will be ok Bill, they can change it all up in the 3rd play when M. Night. Shyamalan directs and you find out that the entire life of spiderman was just a dream in the mind of a software developer with a bad fever
……named Mr. Anderson
Bill: In the words of the late Master Computer…
“end of line”