Diary of a Network Geek

Well, I’m starting to have power issues here in Jersey Village.

Apparently, they announced on the news that Jersey Village is without power. Currently, I have power, but it’s blinked out at least twice more since I wrote about power the last time. I only know that I’m supposed to be without power because J. called to tell me. So far, I’m happy to be making the news casters at least partially liars. Not sure how long my power will hold, either, since the cable seems to be on the blink. Obviously, my DSL connection is holding up okay. That’s not a surprise, honestly, and one of the reasons I went with DSL over cable.

I probably won’t post again until morning, barring any power issues. All things being equal, I’ll end up sleeping through the worst of it. I’m going to turn down the A/C, so it gets nice and cold, in case the power goes out. At least it’ll take longer to warm up and get uncomfortable.
Either way, I know I’ll be able to make a cup of coffee!

At 8:03pm, we had the first power blip.

It was little more than a blink, but it made the TV and the cable box bounce.  Though, it wasn’t off long enough for the cable box to reset to the default, power-on channel.  And, it didn’t reset the microwave or the coffee maker.  Still, it was enough to remind me that it got dark much too early and that Hurricane Ike is the reason.  He may be a blow-hard, but Ike’s blowing hard in my direction!
No rain yet.

I think I’m going to make the bed, now that my laundry is done and before the power goes out.  Then, a big bowl of ice cream, before the power goes out and it melts. 🙂  And, finally, run the dishwasher!

If you’re in Houston still, stay safe!

LastChanceGas

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

Well, this is about your last chance to get what you need before everything that’s open still closes.

I didn’t manage to top off my tank Thursday, so, when I went to get my friend’s DSL working, I swung into the Shell at the corner of Clay and Beltway 8. They were still open and there weren’t lines, even though they were busy, and they weren’t even price gouging, as you can see from the picture here.
I’m afraid I wasn’t very helpful to my friends, though, since they’d done everything right, as far as I could see. So, they ended up calling support who told them the last step that the automated setup seemed to leave out. At least one of the their laptops was connected to the Internet when I left. The other one had some other problem with it. I think it was a virus or spyware because as soon as we got an Internet connection working, the machine slowed to almost a halt.

Oh, and let’s see…
I’ve got my last load of laundry drying right now. And, the dishwasher is full, so after dinner tonight, I’ll run that, too. I’ve filled all my water containers, and the bathtub upstairs.
It’s been nice for most of the day, really. Cooling off a bit. The wind is starting to pick up a little bit and there are clouds, which are getting pretty dark, but, so far, it’s not a big deal.

The weathercasters on all the news networks, and the Weather Channel, are all starting to irritate me. One guy on the Weather Channel started out saying that a “large number” of people in the Houston area *may* lose power and in the space of an hour had changed his story to “more than a million people in Houston *will* lose power”! What a crock of shit! Okay, look, if things are as bad as they look, a lot of people can expect to lose power for at least a couple hours, sure, but these “journalists” are trying to make it sound like we can be certain that everyone in Houston is going to be without power for weeks! C’mon!
Oh, yeah, and one guy on regular news was so clueless about what was going on that he admitted to having to e-mail someone to find out just what “storm surge” was and why it mattered! This mouth-breathing drooler is who I’m relying on for weather news that could save my life? I think I’ll take my chances with just plain old common sense, I think.

Well, I’ll have more later and things get more interesting.

StormAlert

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

Okay, so if somehow you haven’t been watching the news, or just don’t care about Texas, there’s a storm in the Gulf headed our way.

There are a bunch of computer models, but they’re all pointing toward Galveston and Houston. It really looks like this is going to hit us dead on this time. Oh, sure, they said the same thing about Rita a couple of years ago, but, well, let’s face it I’m just not lucky enough to miss this one, too. I mean, sure, I got out of an ugly marriage clean and I beat cancer, but I don’t think even I’m lucky enough to dodge two hurricanes pointed directly at Houston.

So, I spent the morning cleaning out my yard and cleaning off my porch. I filled the fountain, so I’d have flushing water. (I’ll show a picture of my fountain later, probably.) Then, I filled two collapsable water containers, that total five gallons together. And, I filled a five gallon SunShower, as well as my percolating coffee pot and my regular coffee maker and a tea kettle and an 18 quart pot. I’ll fill a few more containers later this evening, just in case. Last year, I kind of freaked out about having enough drinking water, so this year, I’m making sure I’m okay. Oh, and I have a hand-pump Katadyn water filter, too! So, if worse comes to worse, I can drink water from my ponds.
I’ve checked my batteries in my lantern and made sure I know were my candles all are, not to mention lighters and matches. I’ve cranked my Freeplay radio/flashlight, to make sure it has a charge. And, I have a spare battery fully charged for my camera. So, as long as I have an Internet connection, I’ll keep posting. After that, I’ll keep taking pictures to upload later.
I’ve got a load of laundry in right now and I’ll run the dishwasher after dinner, so I’ll have clean clothes and the maximum amount of clean dishes, too. I’m debating about going out and getting my tank totally topped off, as I didn’t have a chance to do that yesterday. See, I was a loyal employee and did everything I could to make sure our systems were good for the storm. You’d think I’d learn better by now, right?

Okay, the thing that drives me nuts about this Hurricane Ike coverage on the Weather Channel is that these guys are really, really hyping this all the way up to justify their own existence. I get that, but I wonder if they feel bad at all about making people panic? Do they really think they’re doing such a public service with that?

Well, since it’s before noon and the high winds aren’t supposed to start in my area until something like 7:00pm, I think I’m going to run over to my friend’s apartment and get their new DSL working for them. They don’t have cable and I’d hate for them to be cut off from communications about any storm danger or anything. Also, it’ll give me something to do. And, while I’m out if I see a gas station with gas, I might swing in and top off.

Stay tuned, readers! More pictures and posts later!

Okay, that title is kind of a lie.

I want you to review Fables.
Yeah, seriously. I’ll give you a capsule synopsis, but that’s it.
Okay, so it’s a comic book, first in a series, that were later collected into graphic novels, written by comics genius Bill Willingham. The idea is simple, really. What if the classic fairy tales got lost or kicked out of fairy-tale-land and ended up here, in our world, someplace like New York City? What would that look like? What would they do? What kind of problems would they have? How would their stories change?

That’s it. That’s Fables. As with all good pushers, D.C. under their Vertigo line, is offering the first one free. Hit the link and find the free one at the bottom of the page.
Enjoy. Review.

Or, if you prefer, the end of the world is nigh!

So, yeah, there’s a hurricane of respectable size and intensity named Ike headed my general direction.  As per usual, I will not run like a rat deserting a sinking ship, but will, instead, bravely blog my way through what will no doubt prove to be far less than the crazy weather people are predicting.  Oh, I’m sure it won’t be “good” and we will probably lose power for a couple hours, maybe more, but I doubt that it will be as bad as the people who make their living scaring the public with tales of Mother Nature gone wrong are making it sound.

Long time readers will recall that I stayed when Rita was supposed to wipe the greater Houston area off the face of the Earth, too.  And, I blogged then, too.  Not much to report then, and I doubt there will be much to report this time, either.  Oh, one important difference is that I have a good digital camera, so I’ll have pictures this time.  In fact, I may just have a picture for every post this time around.  Or not, as the mood strikes me.

In any case, if you’re in the area, be safe.  Otherwise, I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated!

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"You may give out, but never give up."
   --Mary Crowley

Fiction writers may have thirty-six plots to choose from, but bloggers only have seven posts.

According to humorist Lore Sjöberg, all blog posts fall into one of seven categories. I would like to refute this assertion, but, alas, I don’t think I can. Even on my own blog! In short, those seven categories are 1) Be Upset about X! 2)Buy Product X! 3)Animals are Cute! 4)People are Dumb! 5)Something I like, but Different! 6)Weird Science! and 7)It’s ALL about Me, the Blogger! Okay, now, keeping those seven categories in mind, where did your last seven posts fit? Yeah, c’mon, admit it. He’s right! Curse you, Lore Sjöberg!

Saturday, I gave some time to Habitat for Humanity.

I go to church every Saturday night, with few exceptions. Well, this Saturday a group of us from Mercy Street, where I go to church, went over and donated some time to work on a house for a deserving family. I have to admit, I was surprised to find out some of the requirements to qualify and some of the details about how Habitat for Humanity is run.

For one thing, people aren’t just “given” houses. They’re sold these houses, but they’re sold to them for a price they can afford. In fact, Habitat doesn’t make any profit off the houses. What’s more, the loan they make to the new owners doesn’t include any interest. Why? Because of a Bible verse against usury. Yeah, I was surprised, too! Apparently, Habitat for Humanity is run based on Christian principles. Say what you will about organized religion, but this really seems like a good charity to me. Getting a family into a better home in a better neighborhood gives them a fighting chance to break the cycle of poverty.

Oh, the other thing I thought was really smart about the Habitat for Humanity system was that they require new homeowners to contribute 300 hours of service back to the charity. So, for the most part, they help work on someone else’s home, too. The system becomes self-perpetuating, which I love.

No, it’s not perfect, but I do think it’s a step in the right direction.
I don’t think this is going to end poverty as we know it, but I think it’ll make a dent. And, perhaps more importantly, it lets me put my faith into action. See, I don’t have a lot of money this year since I have more medical expenses than I expected, but I really wanted to give back in some way. Again, say what you will about organized religion, but part of what I was taught to believe was that we make the miracles happen. Helping each other, especially those who can’t do for themselves, is what we were meant to do. It’s what Jesus meant when he said “Love your neighbor as yourself”. It’s the Golden Rule in action.

It felt great to go and spend five or six hours helping give someone a leg up, so to speak. My parents gave me every advantage they could, but not everyone has the same opportunity. So, if I want my world to change for the better, I have to be the change. If I want to do away with poverty and raise the standard of living, I have to do my part to make it happen. So, I did. It wasn’t much, really, but at least it was something.
And more than I’d done in a very, very long time.
I have to admit, I was worried that I wouldn’t be useful enough at whatever they were doing, since I’m honestly not all that great at working with my hands, but they managed to find something for everyone to do. And, we had a family there working off some of their 300 service hours, too, which was a little extra cool.

So, if you’re looking for something to do that will make you feel good and help improve your community and world, there are worse things to do than give a little time to Habitat for Humanity.
I know I’ll be going back again to give more time.

Make yourself a safe room.

Hurricane season is upon us. Do you have a safe place to weather any storms in your house? Well, if DuPont has their way, you will. They’ve got this new system/product/”thing” that they’re rolling out to the public with the help of the Home Depot called the DuPont™ StormRoom™ with KEVLAR®. It’s for both new construction and existing homes, though I’d imagine a retrofit would be much, much more expensive. And, if you add optional plumbing, they say you can use this space as a “panic room”, too.

Years ago, I bought a book about doing this yourself called the Secure Home. At the time, of course, my ex-wife thought I was crazy for even thinking about it, but now, here’s a big company who’s doing it for a tidy profit.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes."
   --Sally Field

EvenMoreBooksonTable

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I don’t particularly feel like writing today, but, well, it’s time for an update.

Okay, that’s not quite true. I just don’t feel like writing anything that I feel comfortable sharing on the blog. Not that I have anything in particular going on, really, but there’s just no way for me to talk it through, so to speak, in writing and have it come through in a way I’m willing to put on the web for all to see. That may surprise some of my readers, considering what I’ve thrown out in the past, but there it is.

The picture here is one of several stacks of books in my house that make up my “to be read” queue, or, as I think of it, pile.
If you get in close, you’ll see a strange combination of subjects. At the bottom of the stack, there are books on chemistry, space flight, the Yakuza and gun running. All basically purchased for research for a semi-mythical story that will probably never get written. Still, these are all things that interest me anyway, so I figure it’s money well spent.
The next layer up is computer books. Specifically, books related to WordPress and web design or web page creation. These are all meant to help me build a better theme for this blog, and my other blogs. Not to mention potentially making a theme that other people might like to use and possibly even donate a bit of money to use. At least, that’s the idea.
The rest of the books are a mish mash of assorted subjects that have interested me to a greater or lesser degree over the past several months.

So, there’s an update of sorts to keep the Google-gods and blog-spirits happy. Ciao!