Diary of a Network Geek

No, not the traditional dangers.

Most outsourcing is done to countries other than our own. At the moment, the majority of our outsourcing goes to either India or the Pacific Rim. (For those of you who don’t follow this sort of thing, the Phillipines seem to be the next “hot” market, sucking away significant portions of India’s outsourcing revenue.) Sure, the prices are right and, depending on the type of outsourcing, the work might even be comprable to what you’d get in the States, but what about the other dangers? When was the last time we had a tsunami? And how long has it been since we had a major bombing here in the States? Now, I’m sure some of the people who stumble across this blog searching for information about outsourcing to India or the Phillipines or where have you will call me a racist. I’ve been called that before when I said I thought American companies should give American workers jobs before sending them offshore. But, I promise you, nothing could be further from the truth.

Still, I find myself remembering the mortgage company I worked for when I first came to Houston. We employed a small town in the rural United States to be our phone center. That job could have easily been sent offshore to an outsourcing company in Mumbai or New Dheli or Manila. But, it turns out that it was just as cost-effective to employ American workers. Also, we never had a complaint that our customers couldn’t understand our phone center workers. Now, keep in mind, I’m just being realistic here. Not everyone who speaks English as a second language has an impeniterable accent, nor is being a native speaker any guarantee, either. But, that little town was safe. No worries about things like tidal waves or bombings or coups or even hurricanes. Even blizzards didn’t stop them, though they did slow down a little the times they got hit with that. Still, they were safer from a disaster than we were in Houston and still enjoyed the comfort of knowing that the United States was a stable government who kept the peace in their own borders. Yes, we’ve had our share of tragedy, but, mainly, we’re a safe place to live and work. Safer than most of the world, really.

So, tell me again, how is this outsourcing, offshoring thing such a good deal?

No, I’m not talking about “that time of the month”.

It’s hurricane season again. Yeah, already. I mention this because a fairly heavy tropical storm has already started up and is smacking Florida around. So, if you haven’t started thinking about how you’re going to survive this year’s hurricane season, you better start.

First of all, let’s talk business, okay? Do you have a plan yet? Better get one quick. Really quick, at this point. What are you going to do if your business gets hit? Where are you going to set up shop while you get your damaged location fixed? Who’s going to staff that temporary location? What about your data? Who’s in charge of protecting it and getting it to a secure location in the event of a disaster?
Don’t know the answer to these questions? Better figure them out in a hurry. Oh, don’t think it’ll happen to you? Check this story on Computer Business Review Online. A lot of those folks didn’t think it would happen to them, either.
Need help with the questions? Oh, yeah, those few, little questions I fired off are just the start. This article on Continuity Central has all those and a whole bunch more that will keep you awake at night until you answer them. It won’t write the plan for you, but it sure will let you know where the holes are in your disaster recovery plan.
Still need help? I recommend checking out SunGuard. I’ve used them, professionally, before and they’re very good at this sort of thing. Very good.
Now, what about you and your family? Considered that yet?
I remember last year when Katrina hit, followed by Rita. It was a disaster with a capital D. People were panicking and running. Gas stations ran out of gas. Grocery stores ran out of canned food and bottled water and batteries. You couldn’t buy a generator at any price. It was a real nightmare. And that was just a close call. Imagine what it would have been like if Rita had actually hit us here in Houston. Right.
So, now is the time to lay in that canned food and the water purification tablets and the batteries and candles and … Well, there’s a lot of stuff, isn’t there? Luckily, there are a lot of different lists and guides to preparing for a hurricane. All you have to do is start now, while it’s still easy. I’ve found links to do-it-yourself hurricane survival kits at Southcom, Hurricaneville, and the Tampa Bay Government website. Also, if you have pets, check out the Pet Survival Kit at the Tampa website. I like the Hurricaneville one because it’s a downloadable PDF file that includes pretty good advice about hurricanes in general and not just what stuff to get to make it through one. It offers practical advice and has good general information about tropical storms and hurricanes.

Personally, I prefer to use solar and dynamo power over batteries when I can and I have that stuff I got last year. I still need to get more canned food and, maybe, some MREs. Never did get that shotgun, either. Not to mention the gas cans or the first-aid kit. I did get a book on First Aid for Dogs though, just in case. And, maybe it’s time to get a couple decorative oil lamps, too…
Excuse me while I exorcise the latent survivalist in me. I know it seems crazy now, but when I’m sitting pretty after the next hurricane, all you Houston readers will be stopping by for coffee, since I’ll be the only one with any!
Seriously, though, folks, it’s never too early to start planning.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized."
   --Leo Buscaglia

Oh, the joys of home-ownership!
So, Saturday night Ms. NewGal and I get home after being out to church, dinner and my favorite bookstore to find water running from somewhere under Doc’s car. Now, I don’t mean a little trickle, but rather a fairly steady stream of water, as if the hose had been left on. And, in fact, that’s what I figured had happened. I walk over to turn off the hose, figuring that Doc had watered up front and just not quite turned the handle quite all the way closed. That’s when I saw the water shooting out of the wall. Yes, gushing right out of the brick around the pipe where it goes into the house. Keep in mind this is about 11:00PM, I’m tired and have no idea how much of this water is gushing into the space between the exterior brick and the interior wall. In short, I was not very happy.

Luckily, my girl was able to talk sense to me and remind me that there’s a reason I escrow home-owner’s insurance. So, we filled some buckets of water to use for flushing over night, just in case, and turned the water off at a handy valve that was in the line just before the leak. The next morning, I searched the Internet and she searched the Yellow Pages to find a plumber with “cheap” emergency rates who would come out on a weekend. She found Mr. Rooter, who I would have assumed was a tree-root specialist. Luckily, not only are they a full-service plumber, but they have multiple locations in Houston and don’t charge special rates for the weekend! I was absolutely shocked! I can’t remember the last time I heard about a plumber, electrician or anyone else like that who didn’t charge extra for weekend work.
The dispatcher got me on the list for that same day between 11:00am and 2:00pm, which was another miracle to me. Just before 2:00pm, Melvin, the plumbing “technician” showed up at my house to give me my estimate. Tall, thin and polite, Melvin was neatly dressed in a Mr. Rooter uniform and was quick with his slightly gap-toothed smile. He took a quick look and warned me that they didn’t replace brick, which he’d have to remove to get the work done. He did promise, however, to remove only as much brick as absolutely necessary to do the repair. His initial estimate was just under $500. I was so relieved, I almost cried. That’s less than my deductible on my home-owner’s insurance and about a third of what I was afraid it would cost to have someone out on a Sunday to get this fixed.

An hour later, Melvin was giving me an update on the status of my problem. He’d removed a single brick to get a better look at where the break had occurred. Again, luckily, it didn’t look like there was any water damage inside the house. The leak had happened inside the mortar and been forced out from that point. In fact, when I put my hand inside the small hole, it was bone dry. Someone “upstairs” was watching out for me again! (No, I don’t mean Doc, but the Big Guy.) So, at this point, Melvin had to go get some additional parts to make the connection like it was, only not leaking, which means a trip to Home Depot since the plumbing supply houses are all closed. It also meant an additional $240, which bumped my total to $700. Ouch! Still, it had to be done, so I sent him off to get what he needs. While I waited, though, Melvin bypassed the shut-off by the house to give me water so I could run the dishwasher, take a shower or just enjoy how civilized flush toilets really make me feel.

When he got back, I asked him what he thought caused the leak. He showed me the short piece of galvanized pipe he’d had to cut out and pointed out the crack in the threads. It was his opinion that something had to hit that pipe pretty hard to have made the crack. So, I’m not sure when it happened, but, most likely, someone tagged that valve earlier in the week and it just got worse over time until it finally popped out through the mortar. Sadly, at this point, there’s not really any way to know for sure who did it, so, I just have to eat the cost of all this.
Now, here’s where Melvin got to try out his salesmanship on me. He offered me a deal. I could take the $240 hit for the extra parts, or I could get the Mr. Rooter “Membership”, which gives me 15% off all work they do and annual sewer drain inspections and annual hot water heater drainage for the next five years. In exchange, he would apply the extra fees for the plumbing fixtures to the price of the membership, which was a wash. So, in essence, I got a five year 15% discount on plumbing work, which was already reasonable, and annual service and inspection for nothing. Not a bad deal, was it?
Melvin was done by about 5:00pm and getting my Amex number. He wore little booties into the house, so as not to track imaginary brick dust on my filthy, dog-hair-covered carpet. But, what amazed me was that his uniform hardly had a spot on it. Not even much dust on his navy work pants. The guy was good. Pretty damn fast, too, all things considered.

So, in short, I’ve never been happier to pay $700 I didn’t have to do a plumbing repair. After all, I could have had an entire wall come down or part of the ceiling or any of a number of terrible things. A guy I talked to later said that he had a plumbing problem in his attic once that had he and his wife out of the house for three months while they gutted it. So, yeah, it could have been a whole lot worse.
Oh, and I patched the brick myself. That was about another $20, or so, to get the trowel and the mortar patch from Home Depot. Not the most professional job, but quite sturdy this morning when I left for work. You wouldn’t know it to look at me, or read this blog, but I’ve actually done some of that kind of work before at my parent’s house. Oddly, this was something I learned from my father who repaired a front porch step. But, at the time, he’d never done it before. We figured it out together, he and I. And, I never thought it’d be a favorite childhood memory, but, well, as I was working that trowel last night, I thought of him and that day and smiled. I actually finished the job on the phone with him and my mother.
I’m pretty sure that was pride I heard in his voice when I reminded him of that day and told him that I’d learned enough to do this repair myself. And, that I’d had this potentially giant problem and had handled it without calling for help, or advice, or money.
I guess I’m growing up.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects."
   --Arnold Glasgow

Yeah, so I’ve been thinking…
Again, this is often a problem area for many reasons, but I just can’t seem to get through the day without it, so I keep on doing it. In this case, I’ve been thinking about Hurricane Rita. Or, actually, I’ve been thinking about what I would have liked to have had on hand when Rita hit, that I either didn’t have, or didn’t think of until afterward.
Here’s most of what I ordered from REI.com:
Candle Latern
Candles for Candle Lantern
A NICE battery-powered lantern
Folding Water Carriers
Portable Water Purifier (Because I’m just not going to worry about this again!)
Sun Shower (Because a little disaster shouldn’t mean that I stink.)
Percolator Coffee Pot (Because a nice cup of coffee is a giant leap toward feeling civilized again!)
And, I’m still debating on which first-aid kit to order. It’s important to have a nice one that includes a good emergency first-aid manual, if you’re not well versed in emergency care already. I have First Aid Merit Badge, so I’m reasonably confident that I’ll be able to muddle through.

From RealGoods, I’ve ordered:
FreePlay EyeMax Radio (It runs on dynamo or solar power and has a built-in flashlight.)
Sidewinder Cell Phone Charger (You can laugh about this one, but that cell phone may be the only communication I have and it won’t work without power.)

Still to get:
A good shotgun and shells, for both emergency hunting and looters (Meat is meat!)
Gas cans! Even if you don’t have a generator, it’s nice to have gas.
MREs They have a shelf-life of years and, with a little clean water, you can have an instant hot meal. The might not be really super tasty, but they’re not bad and they are food. (Again, meat is meat!)
Extra dog food! I need to get that BEFORE the streets get crazy.
Oil lamps and oil. Safer than even the candle lamps, generally, and in the non-hurricane season, they can be decorative.
And, for the long-term, either a generator or solar backup solution. If I can find a way to protect the panels eaisily from wind damage, I think that’s best. In 6-8 hours after the storm hits, we’ll probably have sun again, so I can start charging batteries, but gas may be a long time coming!

I’m sure there are more things, too, but, for now, that’s a good start. Of course, I may move away before that, but, still, the latent survivalist in me would love to have all this on hand, just in case. I mean, if the Rapture comes and I’m left behind, I may just have to “civilize” the heathens! (Hmm, maybe I should add a Bible to that list…)

I just got back from a little drive with Hilda.
Some friends called eariler, looking for help with a downed fence. They’ve got dogs and wanted to make it safe for them to be out in the back yard. They offered to trade some barbeque for a couple minutes work, so I grabbed my hammer and nails, loaded Hilda into the car and headed over. I stayed on the feeder road down 290, even though traffic was moving quite well, so I could see the damage. By the time I got to Tidwell, there were large sections of the city that had no power. I took side streets to their house and, again, mostly there was no power, but occasionally there would be neighborhoods that still had traffic lights running. A lot of cars stopped out there, obviously out of gas.
I got there and socialized a bit, as did Hilda. She’s a little hyper for a dog that’s almost three years old, but she’s pretty happy, too. Everyone loves her. Then, I mooched my meal (which was delicious!) and got to work on the fence. I had the worst of it done in about fifteen minutes and then we nailed some plywood from their windows over the other part. It’s a temporary fix, but good enough to let the dogs out to stretch. And, tonight, I imagine it’ll actually be cooler outside than inside, if it’s not raining.
Then I headed home. Again, I stuck to side streets and the feeder. Every filling station I passed on the way to 290 had no gas, but dozens of cars lined up and parked outside, just waiting for gas. Thankfully, when I got home, my gauge was still on F. I got really lucky getting gas on Wednesday at lunch-time when I did. Heading West on the feeder road, I saw a convoy over a mile long of emergency vehicles coming into Houston from out of town to help. It was an amazing and beautiful sight. Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulences, all with their lights going, three lanes across for more than a mile. And, in among them, I saw at least three tanker trucks coming in already with gas. I have to admit, I got a little choked up about that. We had very few problems here in Houston, especially compared to what happened with Katrina, but, still there were extra folks coming to help out the people who had been working 30+ hours without a break. Those professionals are just amazing.
God bless them.

Well, we made it just fine.
I lost my Internet connection last night about 6:00pm during a power flicker. The power did another little dance again right about 8:45pm and I shut down all my computers, just in case we had any problems. I still had cable, so I watched Battlestar Galactica and fell asleep watching Stargate Atlantis about 11:30pm. I woke up about 1:30am or 1:45am when the power went out and stayed out. So, I brushed my teeth and went to bed. The wind was blowing hard, but it really wasn’t too bad yet and there was hardly any rain at all. By then, I’d heard that we were going to get the soft side of this one and I wasn’t really worried at all.
I woke up this morning about 7:00am and still had no power. I got power back around 8:15am and, after it stayed on for a few minutes, I made a pot of coffee, flipped on the TV and started checking on folks. Pretty much the worst thing was everyone losing power. There was virtually no damage and only a little water. As far as I know, there was no flooding in Houston or Jersey Village at all. My own backyard was pretty dry. I had no standing water, except on my driveway, which gets more water from a thunderstorm. The only damage I’ve seen so far has been to my car port. The heavy sheets of plastic that make up the roof were peeled back. They’re still attached, but I’ll have to figure out how to re-secure them. But, I’m going to wait until after the winds die down.
After I check the neighborhood for signs of drama and damage, I’ll post the list of things I’ve been thinking about buying for the next time something like this happens. We dodged a bullet this time, but next time, I want to be really prepared.

It’s getting closer. I can feel it.
The wind is really kicking up now, but only in gusts. I took the dog outside, while I still can. She did her “business”, so I’m hoping Hilda won’t need to go again if the storm actually hits tonight. It could still be in the morning, though. The timing is not as exact as anyone would like.
I brushed my teeth one last time tonight, before filling the bathroom sink with water. My biggest thing now is worrying about water. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, to be honest, since we’re probably going to be pounded with water for the rest of the week, even if we get the “soft” side of the hurricane. Still, it was the one thing that everyone in New Orleans was wanting afterward, so I feel like I can’t have enough. I’ve also filled one of the kitchen sinks with water and put a pot on the stove filled with water. If I lose power, I figure I’ll start boiling water. I can hard boil my eggs first, then start on all that broccoli in my big freezer. Then, if I have any water left in that container, I’ll cook up some pasta. Effecient use of water, I think, to cook three things with the same water. The pasta will keep, if I keep it cool and covered, so I’ll set that aside while I cook as much as I can.
I’m not sure how long I’ll have power. A guy from work told me that someone in my general area has already lost power. No one in my block, though. We’re all snug as a bug in a rug, so far. The news was talking about brown-outs. Of course, they were also saying Rita might be a Category 2 or 3 hurricane when she finally hits land. Still, there will no doubt be lots of wind damage. I hope my roof holds. I really need a new one, but I’d rather not have to get one because a tree came through it! I’m also worried about my car port and covered patio. I hope it all holds together. Same thing for the fence. They’re all so old that I’m afraid a lot of the wood is just going to splinter apart and fly away. When I was out smoking my last pipe-full a couple of minutes ago, there were still birds flying and chasing bugs. The dark clouds are rolling in and, as I mentioned at the top of this post, the winds are really starting to kick up. I’m sure it won’t be too long now.
Oddly enough, the only thing I can think about is whether or not to take one last hot shower before I lose power. So tempting….

Hilda and I had a nice walk to 290.
It was really quiet out there, but we heard some folks doing some last minute work boarding up their houses or trimming trees. There were a few cars out, looking for gas, I’d presume. We walked all the way up to the feeder road and the gas station on the corner was closed and had all the pumps marked with “empty” signs. I assume they ran out sometime yesterday. Sadly, the closer we got to the highway, the nastier things got. Garbage everywhere. Food wrapers and empty bottles all over. Apparently, it didn’t occur to anyone to save their bottles for water later. More’s the pity. What got me, though, were the dirty, disposable diapers. I must have seen at least a dozen in the last block or so before the highway. Obviously, lots of people were getting off 290 and just leaving their crap, literally, where it dropped. Not their neighborhood, so they don’t care what a mess they leave it.
At least there didn’t seem to be too many cars that were abandoned. We didn’t go up on the actual highway, which is pretty well raised, but the feeder road was clear. There were some cars parked in the gas station and at the O’Reily’s Autoparts store. I hope whoever was in the one with the handicap plate made it to safety. We did meet one little family on our way back. They were doing about the same thing I was: just looking around. Not much else to do. The laundry is done, but I still have to fold it, and the dishwasher is running.
I stopped at the neighbors across the street, since they were out smoking. I introduced myself and let them know I was staying, in case anyone needed anything. They were pretty well drunk already. The one guy who introduced himself reeked of beer. But, everyone was friendly and they said if I got lonely, or whatever, to come on over. Incidentally, the walk actually seemed to help my back. I’m feeling much better, but I’m still going to keep taking ibuprofin, just in case.

My plan, incidentally, is to start drinking my beer when the storm is at least half over. Not sure how I’ll know that, but every plan has flaws. Then, when we lose power, I’ll start cooking and eating everything as it thaws out. When I can’t eat anymore, I’ll just keep cooking everything and keep it cool, or warm, depending. In between, I figure I’ll take cat naps and as soon as I can, I’ll start eating and drinking again. And, really, I’m only half-kidding about this. I really will start cooking a couple hours after we lose power. If we lose power.
Okay, so that’s damn optimistic, but, still, the way things are going, we could actually not lose electricity. That would be totally sweet! But, I’m not really expecting that. Also, you might be interested to know, I’m backing up my blog every other post now. That way, if the servers go away in the storm, I can restore all these posts and comments.
God, I am such a geek.

Making busy work now.
The laundry is in the dryer now. I’ve filled the tub with water for the dog to drink and for flushing. The sinks upstairs are filled, too. Tonight, I’ll fill at least one of the kitchen sinks and, probably, the bathroom sink, too. The dishwasher is ready to go. I’ll start that when I take the dog out for a walk in a few minutes. I thought I’d wander down towards 290 one last time to see what that looks like today.
I checked in one last time with a couple of friends here in Houston. One tried to talk me into going to the dog park with him, but I don’t want to use the gas until I know how things are going to look next week. I hope we won’t lose power, but I expect we will. No power means that there’s no way to pump gass. They might have it, but all the pumps use electricity, so there wouldn’t be a way to pump it. My other friend was freaking out last night to the point of trying to head to Brenham and Austin, but hit a wall of traffic and decided to come back. I’m a little frightened that I’m calmer than he is. I do believe that it is a sign of the End Times when your Uncle Jim becomes the voice of calm and reason, gentle readers.

If I have time, and power and Internet connection enough, I may post the mental list I’ve been making of survival gear that I would like to have bought for this. And, that I plan on buying after this is all over. Top of the list, a shotgun!
Well, the wind is starting to pick up some, so I better walk the dog if I’m going to do that. More later, if I can!

Well, there’s really not much to do.
Okay, I am doing two last loads of laundry, just so everything is clean, in case we lose power and water and everything. And, when that’s done, I’ll do one last load of dishes, again, just so everything is clean. I’ll check the fence one last time and make sure any loose boards are nailed down tight. Though, honestly, I doubt a lot of my fence will withstand 100 mile-per-hour winds. Still, if I can hold more of it together and keep it from becoming a hazard to me and my neighbors, that would be good.
It’s actually a really nice day, so far. It’s not too hot and the sun is still shining here. There’s a bit of a breeze, which is nice, but that is picking up some ominous speed. Just a few minutes ago, I was out in my backyard and there were all kinds of butterflies and dragonflies out there. And, still, a bumper crop of humming birds. Not sure what’s up with that this year, but I’ve been enjoying them this morning. The dog is just starting to get the hint that something is different. At first, the back patio being cleared of all obstructions was just a novelty to her, but, now, she seems a little curious about what is going on. She slept on the bed with me last night. Her namesake, Hildagard von Bingen, was a prophetess, but I think my Hilda just senses that her daddy is extra tense and on edge.
Or, it may be that I’m hurting a little this morning. I wrenched my back a little yesterday getting one of my ex-wife’s plants into the garage. She had this frangiapani from her grandmother, by way of her mother, I think, that she was always so concerned about. I think she’s either forgotten it or totally abandoned it, but, just in case she changes her mind about it, I’ve put it into the garage for safety’s sake. (And, yes, I’m hoping that she still obsessively reads my blog and sees that I’m taking care of it for her. Maybe that will inspire her to stop telling her daughter lies about me. Probably not, but, I’m an optimist, so hope springs eternal.)
The people I really feel sorry for are the folks that just started moving back to New Orleans. Right now, they’re getting rain dumped on them. The hurricane hasn’t even made landfall yet, though it will in just hours, and NOLA is already getting worse. Those poor people.
I’m glad I stayed, based on what I saw of people trying to get out. I hope my fellow Houston bloggers who did make a run for it got where they were going safely. When the dust settles from all of this, I’m looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible!