One of the T1′s at work just went down. I was just sitting here burning time waiting for Einstein Bagels to open, and thought I’d go surfing around. Luvly. The good part about being a telecommuter is that you can quickly catch any network outages: the bad part is that you’re so far away that you can’t exactly drive in to fix the really bad outages.
Nothing to see here, people, move along. (Literally, with the pages being down, there ain’t a thing to see, hahaha.) Sounds like the perfect time to go grab a bagel.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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Got my game face on. I’ve always been the kind of guy to make strange faces and noises while programming, and working at home has increased my wackiness. While testing a new stored procedure, the webcam caught me with my fist up, getting ready to give my computer the finger if it didn’t succeed. I happened to notice the webcam so I thought I’d save the pic for posterity. No particular reason. (And no, the stored procedure didn’t work the third time, either.)
Macromedia revealed their newest product at FlashForward today: Central. It strikes me as odd to name a product Central when it’s all about decentralized applications, but hey – that’s just me. Part of me says this product is doomed to failure because coders associate Flash with the Skip-Intro link, and this product is a heavy-duty Flash, but the other part of me is genuinely interested in building Central apps. The first one I can think of: blogging. It’d make for the perfect lightweight blog client, both for updating your own blog and for receiving other people’s blog updates. The second one I can think of is work-related, and you won’t pry that one out of me, muhahaha.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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The database server is undergoing maintenance at work, so I’ve got a few minutes. (And no, the machine pictured here isn’t the server.) I surfed over to Tom’s Hardware, one of my favorite review sites, and they’ve got an excellent evaluation of the new mini-ITX motherboards from Via. Mini-ITX is a relatively new compact form factor for motherboards that allows you to build a computer in much smaller packages. The motherboard itself is about 6.5″ by 6.5″, so you could pop one of these in a glovebox relatively easily. Plus, these Via models run cooler than conventional computers, and require less power, so they’re perfect for in-car applications where you don’t want fans or huge power inverters.
A great source of information for this sort of thing is Mini-ITX.com, a UK site that shows plenty of great examples of building Mini-ITX motherboards into cool pieces of equipment like a log cabin or a gas can. Why? Because you can.
I’ve been interested in Mini-ITX since I started playing around with an in-car computer, and I gotta confess, I wish my Volvo C70 had the Dolby Digital surround sound option. (Some of the C70′s have a fifth speaker in the center of the dash.) That would allow the uber-geek experience of wiring the Via’s Dolby Digital AC3 5.1 surround up to the Volvo’s speakers. The Volvo deck doesn’t have AC3 digital inputs, obviously, so it’d be an expensive proposition, finding a car-based AC3 amplifier.
Theoretically, I could buy a C70 surround-equipped dashboard top from a salvage shop or something, but the thought of tearing up my new Volvo isn’t pleasant. Maybe a couple of years from now.
Database server is back online. Back to work.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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Anybody who complains about Iraq not heeding the Geneva Convention guidelines would do well to read up on the history of our own country’s actions during our war for independence against the British. The Redcoats came marching onto the battlefield in formation, as was the military custom of that day, and our Minutemen picked them off from posts in the trees. I know my average reader isn’t going to know that offhand, but I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.” That’s the origination of the quote. That’s OUR soldiers. OUR past.
There’s no such thing as the rules of war. The most powerful countries always like to get together and establish guidelines, and then the smaller, less powerful countries break those rules – and win. We saw it in Vietnam, we saw it back in the 1770′s on our own soil, and now we’re seeing Iraq try it. Nobody should be surprised – like they say, all’s fair in love and war. Furthermore, no American should complain, because those types of seemingly immoral tactics won us our freedom. The pot is calling the kettle black.
Enough cliches for one post!
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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I went to the Bayou City Art Festival this weekend and left with a conviction that I’m doing the right things with my life. Odd, eh? I went specifically to meet up with Jimmy Ellis, a Dallas artist whose web site I did a long time ago. I love his stuff – very vibrant and fun – and we ended up having a long talk about the business of art. I wanted to know how he’d gotten started doing shows and making a business out of it. I didn’t really have any motive, I was just curious.
While we spoke, he had the kind of look in his eyes that I probably get when I talk about my work. It’s not a job, it’s something I am. He expresses himself on paper and builds things people will like, things they can identify with, and things they want to hang on their wall. I’d like to think I build things people will use, people will find valuable, and that they want to interact with on a daily basis.
I know a lot of programmers who just do it on a 9 to 5 basis, and that’s completely fine: but with me, I live this stuff. I just spent the last hour helping a guy in London get one of my ServersAlive templates working, and the whole time, I really enjoyed myself.
Anyway, the reason I started this blathering was this: talking to Jimmy, I became completely convinced that I’m doing exactly the work I want to do, work that makes me feel fulfilled. I’m having a great time with it. Now, having said that, I’ve gotta put some shine on a demo I’m doing this morning.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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Found my webcam software CD, so my desktop webcam shows the last 5 images again, with timestamp. Thank goodness. For years, I’ve been using Webcam32 from Surveyor. I bought it once, paid in full, and then proceeded to lose my licensed copy. I got a hacked copy, ran that for a while, and lost it as well. Just happened to run across the CD in an old dead machine that I was trying to resuscitate. Whew – I love this software. I’ve tried all kinds of webcam software, and this is by far and away the best: it’s simply stable. I’ve tried a dozen or more webcam programs from Download.com, and they’ve all been buggy.
Webcam32 6.01 hasn’t been updated since October 2000 when Surveyor bought it from the original author, Neil Kolban, but it includes all of the basic features you’d want in a webcam, and then some. If you’re looking for a webcam program, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make half a dozen copies of this CD and put them in various safe deposit boxes.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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I want a scooter. I know, I know, only dorks drive scooters, but since when have you known me to deny my dorkiness?
I used to have one back when I was fifteen, before I got my driver’s license, and I loved it. Living in Michigan, I could only drive it for half the year – you don’t want to be zipping around on the ice or in 30 degree (F) weather. Here in Houston, I would still only be able to drive it half the year, but it’d be the opposite six months. Down here, driving a scooter in the summer is insane.
Back then, I got a Yamaha because I had to be different from everybody driving those Honda Sprees. Some things never change, and when the scooter bug first bit me last month, I knew I didn’t want just any ordinary scooter. I needed something with style. (That’s me: a stylish dork.) The Vespas that Starbucks is giving away caught my attention and got this whole thing started, and sure Vespas have style, but they’re expensive.
I can’t believe how much the scooter market has changed in the last fifteen years. Back then, my Yamaha Jazz was cool because it had electric pushbutton start as opposed to those kick-start Sprees. Today, you can get scooters with remote starters! You push the button on the remote, and bam, it starts up. Why that’s important in a scooter, I have absolutely no clue. There’s also lots of different models from different manufacturers, all in different colors, looking like a flower garden.
Would I actually buy one? Of course not. Whenever I get one of these wild ideas, I put it in terms of opportunity cost: I could have a new scooter, or I could get a pair of 17″ LCD monitors for my desktop computer. That’s a no-brainer.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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Yaaaaawwwn. I got twelve hours of sleep last night, but now it’s a rainy afternoon in Houston, and it’s sleepytime weather. Erika worked today, so I spent the morning working on some ServersAlive web templates. My latest one will blow the doors off the SA user community, I’m sure. SA is a tool that helps you monitor your servers and make sure they’re up. I’ve been using it for years, I reviewed it in my column last month, and I can’t say enough good things about it.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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What an interesting night to be up late. I have to do some work tonight at 11pm, so I took an early nap and woke up to watch Survivor. Shawna was voted off (woohoo!) but that’ll probably be the least interesting thing on TV tonight. Bush will step in front of the camera in about seven minutes to address the nation, and being a news junkie, this is as good as it gets. I’m sure I’ll be up late coding tonight.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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Erika’s already sold on the Tivo Home Media upgrade. Yesterday afternoon, she was amazed by how easy it was to play MP3′s. (I’d describe the process here and post screenshots, but you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement to be a beta tester, so I gotta zip my lips.) I remember the grin she had when I first showed her Tivo, and yesterday she had that same grin.
I’m ready to Ebay my Sony 300-CD changer, because I’ll never use it again! The Tivo makes it obsolete, since I’ve got all of my CD’s stored in MP3 format on my computer anyway. As it happens, the changer looks like it’s going for around $100-$130 on Ebay, so that’ll cover the Tivo Home Media fees. Makes it even easier to justify the upgrade.
Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.
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