Diary of a Network Geek

Oh, boy, where to start.

Well, first, let me say that I probably just won’t be posting for a bit. My wife left me last week Sunday, right before Thanksgiving, and we’ll be getting a divorce. So, that’s going to be taking a lot of my time and energy, which will leave little left over for the blog.
Second, I’m afraid that I might say some things that are legally innapropriate considering my current marital situation, so, again, not a good idea to post anything for a bit.

Not sure how long it will take to get this resolved, but, when I do, I’ll start posting again.

Thank you for your support. If you’re the praying kind, keep me in your prayers.

Well, maybe….

According to this article on Groklaw, the recent spate of cases that Novell has brought against Micro$oft may, in fact, have far-reaching implications in the legal realm of intellectual property and anti-competition. Specifically, how these cases are handled may have some direct impact on the rest of the pending Linux infringement cases that have been SCO’s bread-and-butter. So, in short, the author (“marbux”), encourages us to pay attention to the outcome of these cases. They matter and can effect the lives of Linux geeks everywhere.

The Patron Saint of Geeks?

Well, according to this article on Wired, maybe so! Of course, that depends on whether or not he’s really a saint at all, but, it sounds good.
Apparently, there are quite a few urban legends surrounding this Saint, but he’s still revered by hackers and other computer consultants. At least, he is in New Orleans. And, according to the testimony in the article, praying to him works! At least one person claims to have gotten a tech job fast after praying to good, old Saint Expedite.

Well, it can’t hurt, can it?

Or, you might just loose it!

No, really, I’m not kidding. According to this article on Netcraft, it’s about to get easier for someone to hijack your domain. Apparently, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has changed the rules regarding domain transfer requests. As of Friday, they will be automatically approved in five days unless they are explicitly denied by the account owner. So, if you have a cool domain name, you may want to make sure your contact info is up to date and always be less than five days away from access to e-mail. Or, just give up and become a Luddite. Hmmm, that doesn’t sound so bad some days.

Anyway, news brought to you a little late, as always. Too busy to be timely!

Been a while in between Novell stories…

So, I thought I’d remind all my regular readers about NUI, Netware Users International.
First of all, if you use Netware, you’re probably already familiar with NUI. Novell did a pretty big marketing campaign a couple of years ago when NUI was just starting to get big. Well, now they’re big.
Secondly, it doesn’t cost anything to join. Yep, that’s right, it’s free.
Thirdly, you actually get benefits! Yeah, no charge to sign up, but you still get membership benefits. Cool!

So, anyway, if you haven’t signed up, or even thought about NUI, lately, you might want to check it out. Hey, it’s free, what have you got to loose?

I admit, a lot of us probably need one, but…

Okay, first off, I hate those stupid tests that some employers make you do during the interview process. My value lies not in being able to pass a standardized test, but my ability to solve real world problems. That being said, I have seen people in IT who couldn’t think their way out of a paper bag, so maybe a general IT literacy test isn’t such a bad thing.
In any case, there is one. A company called ETS is offering an Information and Communication Technology literacy test. And, based on this note to employers, they’re selling it right to the kinds of people that would hire guys like me.

Not sure how I feel about this, really, but it seems like a growing trend. I guess it’s a good thing I take tests well!

–1 Thessalonians, 5:2

Last night, in the dark, small hours as I tried to fall asleep, it occured to me why it is that people have made glow-in-the-dark crosses and rosaries and saint night-lights. When things are darkest, that’s when I need to find God the most. I don’t usually post much about my personal life, and I’m not going to go into much detail now, but I’m going through a rough patch. I’m in emotional pain because of choices that I’ve made and continue to make. In fact, it’s become a daily choice, and challenge, to stay in the current situation and ride it out, no matter how painful it might be or what the outcome will be. I won’t get all angry and bitter here, but the situation is not entirely of my own making. Someone else is in the driver’s seat and that’s very, very frightening and frustrating for me.
So, what to do? When I’m all alone in the small hours of the night, what can I do? I can’t impose on friends any more than I already have. Though, to be honest, several of them have told me that it would be okay. I still can’t make myself do it. It seems to rude. So, what do I do? Well, I fall back on my oldest “crutch” and cry out to Heaven. And that’s where I found myself last night, alone and lost in the dark, searching for answers that will never come, silently crying out to God, or anyone who would listen, to save me. To save me from the pain and anger and frustration and deliver me to peace and the outcome I so badly desire. Of course, that’s my problem. I desire a particular resolution that most likely will not come. What I want in this regard no longer matters. It would be a miracle if that were to happen now. I love God, but I think I’ve already used my quota of miracles for this life. So, now I pray to let go and let God’s outcome happen. I pray for the strength to deal with whatever that result is.
If you’re the praying kind, and you feel up to it, I’d appreciate any prayers for acceptance you could throw my way.

(BTW, the full verse is ” For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” –1 Thessalonians, 5:2)

Hey, speaking of Christmas shopping…

You NEED a Room Defender. No, really. C’mon, admit it, you’ve always wanted an automated sentry robot of your very own, if for no other reason than to torture your cat. Oh, if these had existed as a kid, I would have been begging for one every year until I got one.

Aw, geez, it’s been a long week, but it’s Friday, go look at it!

Yeah, this pretty well sums up my experience with them.

Okay, so you all may remember my horrible experience with Best Buy a little while back? Well, according to this article on Ars Technica, I may have just been one of the lucky few that they wanted to get rid of. Now, I know that I’m not all that great about doing things like filling out rebates and such, but I sure do shop around to check prices. I mean, hey, money is pretty tight these days, so I can’t afford to be fat, dumb and happy when I’m shilling out my hard-earned cash for tech stuff. Besides, I practically live on the web, so I’d have to be some kind of idiot if I didn’t at least look at prices before I bought something.
Anyway, if you’ve ever been jerked around by Best Buy, the article is pretty interesting and informative. I highly reccomend it before doing your Christmas shopping at Best Buy.

Wow, there’ve been a lot of stories about Novell in the past two days!

Let’s see, where to start…. First off, Novell whupped Micro$oft to the tune of $536 Million, according to this press release from the networking giant. Apparently, Novell and Micro$oft agreed to “settle potential antitrust litigation related to Novell’s NetWare operating system in exchange for $536 million in cash.” Hmm, not a bad deal. I wonder what that will do to their stock? What’s even more interesting to me, is that Novell also announced it will file “an antitrust suit against Microsoft in the United States District Court in Utah seeking unspecified damages in connection with alleged harm to Novell’s WordPerfect application software business in the mid-1990s.” More cash? One can only hope.

In other Novell news, my favorite Open Source company has released a “new” Linux desktop. Yes, that’s right, they’ve got a Linux desktop, with the option to purchase support. I guess there really are advantages to living way out in Orem and not having anything else to do during the winter months but think! If you follow that link, by the way, you can download a free trial. I know I will be!

Yea, Novell! You go!