Avoiding the avalanche of information.. http://infomountain.org Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:27:45 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://infomountain.org/images/M_images/sitelogo.png http://infomountain.org Avoiding the avalanche of information.. http://infomountain.org/content/view/413/66/ It's been a long week writing code, writing design documents and generally trying to keep up with life. We had a nice rain this week so I'm looking forward to cutting my now green lawn and picking a few more fresh vegetables from the garden. I've also resolved to finally upload the pirate weekend pictures to flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rax262/2770121919/), which I haven't done yet. Speaking of pirate weekends it's hard to believe that it's nearly Labor Day and time, again, to head to the beach for fun, sun and crab fishing. After my last trip I think I've hit onto something with the raunchy bait and fully expect to freeze even more crab Sunday night. If my luck holds out the Captain may even be in town for a little sailing action. Persona - Farmer Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:05:54 +0100 http://infomountain.org/content/view/410/69/ Technology can bring out the best and the worst in people. Recently my team released a few upgrades that laid the ground work for a future overhaul. Though the change was minor we couldn't make it without affected some users. Despite the impact, the change was deemed more important than the temporary discomfort of a few folks and the was given the "green light" for release. Changes rarely go 100% as expected and this change was no different. In the end a few key features were unavailable for longer than we'd anticipated though ultimately information was not lost, only delayed. This was still unacceptable to a few who vocally made their displeasure known. Of these "complaints" only two were truly related to the problem with the rest falsely correlated with the upgrade. In other words most of the problems weren't a result of our change but that didn't stop people from blaming it anyway. Users are funny like that and we in the IT development and support field find it comical at first, but it can quickly become a nightmare if you don't set the record straight immediately. In our case a quick email blurb informed everyone that the problem was isolated and would only delay things, not destroy them. For most this was enough, unfortunately for a few others it did little to reassure them nor to reinforce my belief that users actually read system status bulletins. In my opinion if it isn't a 5"x7" flashing yellow warning sign that pops up when you first log in someone will miss the "memo". IT - Solutions Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:38:42 +0100 http://infomountain.org/Persona/Farmer/Bumper-bean-crop.html As I mentioned earlier Saturday was a work day and after the automotive portion I moved on to garden activities. My Ford Hook limas (http://www.directgardening.com/detail.asp?pid=6026), or butter beans, were starting to fill out and there were plenty of tomatoes and green peppers to pick. Three rows of beans netted around half a 13-gallon bag full of pods. The toughest part about growing lima beans is shelling them and at present it looks as if I have my work cut out. Once we were back home and everyone was settled in I sat down with the wife and watched Into the Wild (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/) while I worked the produce. Sure it sounds thrilling, even a bit like my grandparents' idea of a good time, but in the end the reward is worth the effort. Like other forms of home grown produce these beans taste nothing like the bland, green tasting frozen variety and have a better texture than canned beans when they aren't over cooked. Despite the fun I think I'll skip planting limas next year for two reasons. First this season has produced a bumper crop and I'll have all I need for the next two years. Second at the moment I'm the only person in the house who likes lima beans. The kids haven't tried them yet so I continue to hold out hope. The wife, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. So far she's been reluctant to eat anything from the garden and I think that will continue to be the case until I can grow something that yields chocolate cake. On second thought to heck with all of these heritage varieties.. I'm going to start a confectionery farm! Persona - Farmer Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:34:46 +0100 http://infomountain.org/Persona/Mechanic/Bumper-to-Bumper.html Few things can be said about the Volkswagen which don't include the words "and then I fixed it". Saturday I managed to knock a few more to do items from my list by replacing a set of bad tie rod ends (http://www.germanautoparts.com/Volkswagen/Passat/Steering/222/6) on the Passat. The car started to feel uneasy a few months back and I noticed that I had to apply more counter steer (turning the steering wheel to one side) in order to keep the car driving straight. The steering also felt generally loose instead of crisp as you'd expect and would rattle a bit over severe bumps. Long story short I spent around 2 hours removing the old one and replacing them with new, slightly upgraded tie rod ends. Then with the help of my dad and his specially constructed "laser alignment kit" we set the toe and everything was good to go. I immediately noticed a difference and was incredibly surprised to find the steering wheel settled into a nearly perfect position. I still plan to have the car realigned but at this point it's not a pressing matter. Thankfully this was and straightforward change and easy enough to accomplish without taking all day. Persona - Mechanic Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:11:25 +0100 http://infomountain.org/BlueCrab/A-New-Catch.html The weekend brought a welcome relief from work but also a promising result for a new bait technique. Friday I acquired some turkey necks from the local grocery store and that evening slipped out into the water to set gear. High tide was forecast for 8:40pm so I launched the Whitehall Spirit around 7:30 despite an impending rain storm and heavy cloud cover. As I scouted my crab spot I noticed that night was rolling in a bit early because of the storm and made a rapid deployment of my gear before heading back to the dock. By the time I pulled the boat from the water it was completely dark but I was satisfied that my crab pots were in the water. Saturday afternoon I ventured out to check the bait and was extremely happy to find many crab in all three pots. The turkey neck held up nicely though it smelled quite foul. I knew that I'd be busy the next evening when I returned and was anxious to count my crab but I nonetheless returned home and patiently waited for the next day's haul. Sunday was a perfect day and when I pulled the pots with the help of my trusty brother-in-law first mate I managed to gather 26 total with 5 undersized and 21 keepers. Later that evening I iced down the catch in a cooler to make them dormant and then processed the catch. Each half crab piece was carefully placed on a baking sheet and frozen for easier storage in a few large freezer bags. Each of the bags made the long trip home and I now have a nice store of fresh crab meat at the ready. Now all that's left is to find a few stout souls who'll enjoy the crab extravaganza with me. The photo tour begins here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rax262/2743227780/) Blue Crab - root Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:08:09 +0100 http://infomountain.org/BlueCrab/A-New-Season.html At long last the crabbing crew returns to the backwaters of the Cape Fear River. The RCGL has been renewed and there are several new items for the expedition most importantly a pair of "homemade" crabbing gloves. For the past year I've struggled with how to protect my hands and to still keep them dry. A typical set of work gloves protect fairly well but easily absorb water and become soaked rather quickly. Alternatively a set of rubber gloves provide little protection but will repel water and more importantly the muck that clings to the bottom of the pot. My answer was to double up the gloves by buying a pair of tight fitting cloth gloves and to wear a thick pair of rubber ones over top. Another key item on my list was a crab gauge. The gauge is nothing more than a plastic stick for measuring legal "keepers" and I've even fashion my own in the past. This nifty red one comes directly from a marine retailer and features a 5", 5 1/2" and smaller measuring section. I've also opted to strengthen my cordage with 25' worth of 3/8" sinking line. The line along with two stout bricks should prevent any pot loss especially in the shallow branches of Bald Head creek. My last addition for this trip is a pack of Turkey necks which I'll use as bait. The meat is considered scrap but is still useful to crabbers because it's tough and will last when submerged in the ocean. Professional crabbers may scoff at the proposition of using such bait but it's one of the few options for recreational fishers who don't have a stock of fish heads lying around. Hopefully the new bait will attract a lot of crabs and will last throughout the weekend. No loss if it doesn't since the bait is cheap and readily available. Blue Crab - root Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:55:41 +0100 http://infomountain.org/Internal/No-News.html No news is good news right? Well actually no news = no news. From a technology standpoint things have been quiet lately. Aside from the search for a new home printer very little has been done over the past two weeks that's all that exciting or noteworthy. That being said I haven't been idle. With two small children, a home and other responsibilities I've found life less technical but far from boring. The good news is that I have a crab fishing trip slated for next week so in the least there will be a small bit of fodder for the old website. Internal - root Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:07:16 +0100 http://infomountain.org/content/view/406/46/ Seems like bad news is around every corner but why worry? Get your daily laugh despite the grim outlook thanks to The Daily Show Fun - RnR Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:15:00 +0100 http://infomountain.org/content/view/405/46/ Today's distraction provided by the offspring breeding department. Sadly, I've heard of a few of these items though none currently can be found in my home. 20 Baby Products Great For Traumatizing Infants (http://www.cracked.com/article_16475_20-baby-products-great-traumatizing-infants.html) Fun - RnR Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:20:31 +0100 http://infomountain.org/IT/Confessions/Worst-tech-ad-ever.html Few things are more uncool than when you mom or dad latch on to the latest slang phrase or start leaving comments on your MySpace page. The following is much worse my friends. It's an attempt by corporate mofos to sound hip and to start something viral. This video was a nominee for "Best Song" according to last year's Pwnie awards (http://pwnie-awards.org/2007/awards.html). Take that for what it's worth: Yes, that's Dan Finnerty (aka the wedding singer at Will Ferrell's wedding in the movie Old School). He's about the only redeeming thing in this video since the words are no more than oddly placed industry jargon and lamo rhymes. Hell I'm in the industry and still didn't understand what they were trying to say. Hardware/Software based security? Not if it's put together by the same guys that made this video. IT - Confessions Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:51:07 +0100