Well I'm finally getting around to putting this stuff back on the internet. The server that used to host imp-detail.org has been sitting on the floor in the corner of this room since January, waiting for me to copy things off of it and on to the new host. I decided before I moved last that I'm sick of dealing with upgrades and compiling and power outages and UPS failures and disk failures and everything else that goes with running a server, so when I moved I pulled the plug on imp-detail.org with the intention of having it totally hosted on site5 forever (or whatever). I got as far as e-mail, then lost interest, and the web site was MIA until a few days ago, when I decided that I wanted the thing working again.
Sounds so easy, but I never really planned for this and all of these blog posts (and all of my photos, and several other things) are stored in a MySQL database and it's kind of inconvenient to export and re-import that stuff, or at least it's not immediately obvious how to do it, so I've been going through a manual process of copying posts off of the old server (which is turned on ... I had forgotten how loud it is! Oh, does someone want to buy a server? It's very nice) on to the new one; fixing database names and include locations and all of that crap that I had very carefully configured to be secure and logical on my own server.
Why did I want to do this again? I don't remember.
Anyway, as of today I've got all of the blog posts back up. Don't have the photos yet. That's going to take a while.
In the meantime, I've moved off of the TVIS project and on to a new one: Displays and Controls for the (as yet designed or really even authorized) Crew Exploration Vehicle. I realize that it seems premature to get on this before the Augustine commission is done and the president has decided something, but I'm assuming that whatever the outcome, we'll still have a manned space program and still need cockpit avionics for it. So I should be fine :)
Maybe I'll post more later, now that I've got this thing again. Honestly ... I've been at this for a few hours now and I just don't get so excited about spending hours sitting in front of the computer anymore. Maybe tomorrow.
Oh, I'm taking Thursday and Friday off work, just because. Woo!
Historical note: that apartment was a craphole and the management company (Finger somethingorother) was a bunch of crooks.
Yep ... again. I only managed a year and a half at the Park at Armand Bayou, and I'm sick of it. The appliances suck, the building is settling, the maintenance staff aren't good at their jobs, whenever it's cold outside the place smells like an ashtray because of someone who smokes in another apartment, the parent company is a collection of assholes, and the rent keeps going up. This is in addition to the minor annoyances (entrance gate, detached garage, no guest parking, etc). So I'm giving up my 3 mile commute from Pasadena in exchange for a 9 mile commute from the house I'm going to rent in League City. E-mail behavior will be different this time, because instead of turning off the server and having nothing for a month or so like normally happens, I'm going to offload all of that crap onto a hosting company and pitch the server. 12v.org is also being offloaded, and I'm going to be much happier. Woo! This does mean that the last surviving installation of Peachtree Linux is being turned off, but I doubt if anyone cares.
At any rate, I don't have a move in date yet but it's likely to be around the middle of this month. Anyone who wants to help me move is welcome to drop by any time :)
I said I would post about this, but then I didn't. Work is really hectic. So the short version: Ike was annoying; I woke up and the TV said we were evacuating, so we packed the animals and a pile of junk food and not quite enough clothing into the car and headed northward. Evacuating was fun (less fun for Clio) and I got to see new places and meet new people, then we came back (after Clio pooped on someone's rug and bit someone else we figured it was time) and didn't have electricity or running water at my apartment for another week. I shacked up elsewhere until that was resolved, and now things are basically back to normal, except that my office is in a hallway because the roof leaked in our office building. Supposedly we get to go back to the 6th floor next week.
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And that's the short, <i>short</i> version. Now I gotta get back to work.
If you tried to send me e-mail in the last couple of weeks, it bounced because I was without power. Now I have power and e-mail (and air conditioning, and potable water, and refrigeration, and such). I'll talk about this later; I have to go to work soon.
Historical note: I have no idea what this was about.
That's all.
I just realized it's been several months since I took that vacation, and I still haven't finished posting about it. On top of that, I can't seem to find the text I wrote.
I don't feel too bad about it because I don't recall writing very much. Basically, I had an uneventful trip to Prague, and when I landed around 3pm it was already dark outside, and very cold (though I was prepared for that). I wandered around Prague for several hours, bought some really good food at some sidewalk stands, and had some good beer (pilsner, of course) but didn't try this one. [Historical note: this photo is lost forever] I actually wish I had, because I hear that it's actually really good (unlike the American beer of the same name). I didn't know it existed until I was waiting at the airport for my flight, and at that point it was too late (early?). I'll just have to get some next time.
And there will be a next time - Prague seemed like a really nice place, and the hotel I stayed at is easily one of the nicest hotels I've been to. The food in Prague was excellent, the airport was nice, the people were friendly, and the city seemed beautiful (at least in the dark). If I could do it all over, I would have spent one night in Milan, skipped Rome, and spent a few days in Prague instead.
Is it bad that I'm already planning my next trip? I have no hope of affording it. Which is too bad; the thing I really miss from my last job is the international travel.
Anyway, there you have it - finally the last post about vacation. Stay tuned for the next one, whenever that turns out to be! Hopefully it will involve Cyprus.
Historical note: amazingly, I still have some HD-DVDs. I saved the ones that were dual-format DVD + HD-DVD. My HD-DVD player broke years ago and I eventually got a Blu-Ray player, but anymore the discs are just gathering dust. Eh.
How did Sony win a format battle? This is horrible. Anyway, I'm keeping my HD-DVD player and all my HD-DVDs (and not buying a Blue-Ray player) until I'm either forced to switch formats, or something better comes along. It's not like they're gonna spoil. I refuse to support Sony as long as they're being stupid about DRM and copyright law.
On the plus side, HD-DVDs should be nice and cheap for a while! Get 'em while supplies last!
Still haven't posted those last few vacation entries. I'll get around to it some day. It's on the list ...