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SCO Unix Tip

I used SCO Unix at my previous employer, and ran into a problem trying to send syslog messages to a remote host. Part of the problem is that syslog was started before the networking component, and so the process would try to resolve the hostname (or even the IP addres) and not send syslog messages to the remote server. This was resolved by editing the userdef startup script and restarting the syslog process after the network process was setup.

Might as well make some use of this

So I have a new job (as most people know), but I’ve run into quite a few oddities being a sysadmin. I’ll start posting some helpful hints and personal stories from the world of Computer Administration once I can piece together a few more tips.

New titles

I’ve manage to pick up quite a few new games: Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass; Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords; and Super Mario Galaxy. All of them have been exceptional. The biggest surprise so far has been Super Mario Galaxy. I get the same feeling as when I was playing the original Super Mario Brothers 3. I can’t stress enough how epic the game feels. I think the Super Mario Galaxy is the game to buy a Wii for.

Saddle, not so much

it’s been a while, and a bunch of job transitions, so I’ve been out of practice. If anyone has been doubting the Nintendo DS, I’d say buy it as I feel “Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass” is worth buying the system itself (and I’ve only begun experimenting with the WiFi part!), as well as Flash Focus is interesting enough I’ll splurge on it. I’m off to a Halloween party (even though it’s November), and I’ll post more later.

Back in the Saddle!

It’s been a while, I was unemployed (briefly) and now have a new job and a new company in a new town. It’s still similar work, though I’m not doing Linux so much anymore I’ve moved on toward the dark side of using Microsoft products. Having a fresh start is extremely nice, and learning about Microsoft in a non-biased environment is pretty nice. I’ve also grown accustomed to quite a few of the products, and I can’t believe that more businesses don’t insist on using them (Exchange and Outlook are insane, I can’t wait to see it in action with a Blackberry and the enterprise integration software)! I guess going from an environment where I was overworked and my primary goal was to lessen my workload to an environment where I am trying to enable myself and everyone else I assist in working more productively and efficiently brought back the joy of working. Sure I was a little unsure the first day, but it’s the first day of a new career so I can’t say the feeling was all the unexpected.

In other news, I witnessed an injury-free-yet-brutal car accident around 23 months ago, and I was contacted by a Private Investigator about  the accident recently. I offered to speak with him over lunch about what I had observed. It may sound odd that I have the accident burned into my memory, even with my terrible memory, but anytime I pass the intersection or see someone run through a traffic light late I can’t but help thinking of the crash.

Nerdgasm Ahoy!

It’s been a while…

I wrote this last night, but saved it to publish it once I could proof it, so it might still be a bit incoherent.

Here’s a little story:

My DS isn’t as rugged as I thought it was. Because of my misconception, I carried it around in my backpack, in my cargo pockets, and generally slung it around like I did my GBA/GBC. My mistreatment of the poor polar-white DS Lite had earned a crack on the bezel and resulted in the “R” trigger taking a ridiculous amount of pressure to work. I contacted Nintendo, as the DS Lite had only been out for since July at the time, and was sent a shipping label for a free repair. Joy filled me as Nintendo offered to fix it for free, the only thing I had to provide was the packing material and box to ship it to Nintendo’s ARC. I let the shipping label sit for around 2 months, and then I managed to get a copy of Final Fantasy Advance VI a couple of weeks ago. So I sent my DS away to get repaired, and have finally gotten my DS Lite back.

Moral of The Story: Don’t be an idiot, take care of your stuff and get it repaired ASAP if the company is footing the bill!

I’m pretty close to having a nerdgasm from the idea of playing what is possibly my favorite game of all time (let alone of being able to take this sucker with me ANYWHERE I go)! I suppose I’ll post a review of it sometime later, once I’ve had a chance to run through it 2 or 3 times.

See you once I’ve pwnt Kefka!

Twenty… Six?

Twenty-six is supposedly the first year of true “self-dependence”, at least according to the majority of Americans. I can’t say that it seems like it will be a major earth-shattering day in my life, though I have had a history of anti-climatic “special” birthdays. When I turned eighteen I bought a lottery ticket, then went to bed as I had a test the next day, and when I turned twenty-one I was shopping in Duluth with my parents, and didn’t even have a drop of alcohol. I am glad that I’m going to be spending so much time with friends and family around my birthday, and even though “I’m not getting a party” (according to Amanda) I think I’ll end up at a bar. After hanging out with quite a few people younger than me (who are apparently not that good at math) I can’t say that I feel all that old, despite  the fact that both 20 year olds and 11 year old share the opinion that I’m “ancient”. Maybe age is just a mental thing, and I’m either too immature or too oblivious to notice, but I don’t see myself slowing down for a long time.

Frustration!

I’m back from my vacation, and the photos are up (view here). I had a great time, though it wasn’t what Amanda nor I expected, not that it wasn’t a welcome change. There were some expectations that weren’t met but some pleasant surprises also. I think that the entire group of 12 of us had a good time, even though Jared and Justin weren’t able to stay the entire time.

I didn’t realize how relaxed I was in Jamaica until I got back to Minnesota. The first few days of being back at work had me a little frazzled, however the frustration level quickly rose the second week (this week) I was back.
The good news: we’ve hired a new person, so hopefully my workload will drop (though it doesn’t appear to have gone down yet). The bad news: it seems he doesn’t have the internet at home, so I won’t be sharing an on-call rotation with him, nor does he have any Windows experience (this leads me to assume [though I could be wrong] that I’m going to end up doing the crappy user support, while he ends up doing any server support).
My boss asked me to let him know if I ever got to the point where I can’t stomach coming into work anymore, and I’m not looking forward to the fast approaching day where I get to tell him that.

It’s been a while…

since my last post. Guess I’ve just been busy! Thanksgiving, Xmas, Boxing Day (though I don’t get it off), New Years, and of course, getting my Wii have all been occupying my time. I think I’m rather blessed being able to spend time with my family and friends over the holidays. I am rather sad that I didn’t contact Terry; he even called me, but my phone had died. I have to say just playing Wii Sports with friends (and family) has made the Wii worth the purchase. All of the sports titles seems great, and I managed to pick up GT Racing (along with 2 steering wheels), and it seems pretty fun. I’m not to impressed with the new Zelda though, as it seems to be designed to run on GC Hardware and wasn’t upgraded at all to run on the Wii. I’ve really been drawn to Final Fantasy 12 on the PS2 though, and it seems amazing so far. I was so skeptical of it before, but I’m fairly sure I was reacting off of a scared observation of not having another role-playing game.

Also, I’ve been on an acoustic kick for music lately. Any recommendations would be nice, currently I’m listening to “Hurt” by Johnny Cash and “I’ll follow you into the dark” by Deathcab for Cutie.

Updates!

I’ve been busy, especially with work, but hopefully it will slow down a bit. Thanksgiving went well, and I even went to see a Country Music concert with Brad (Dierks Bentley, and it was crazy). I’ll probably forget to post more about any of the events, so if you have questions email me.

Next update: After Hank’s Wedding!