Diary of a Network Geek

Hey, can the folks at 132.3.57.68 , which seems to be an Air Force network operations center, please stop hammering my blog?  Not sure what y’all are looking for or trying to do here, but if you would contact me directly, I’d be happy to help you out.  In the mean time, though, my web host would really appreciate it if you’d stop doing all the aggressive GETs on my site.  It’s playing havoc with their servers.
Thanks!

UPDATE: Hey, it seems like someone in 754th Electronic Systems Group is taking an extreme interest in this blog for some reason.  From public records, someone in either Montgomery, Alabama, or Henderson, Nevada, or Colorado Springs, Colorado.  But, I still have no idea why they’d be interested in this blog.  Anyone have any ideas?

I love energy bars, but, at heart, I’m a cheapskate.

Besides, most of those store-bought energy bars aren’t even really all that healthy for you!  I love them for a lot of reasons.  They’re quick, easy, portable and can easily be thrown in a bag when I head out on an adventure.  But, like I already mentioned, there are downsides.  The store-bought ones generally aren’t cheap, or all that good for you.  So, what to do?
Well, naturally, make your own!

Let’s start with one from Men’s Health magazine; Peanut Butter and Chocolate Energy Bars.  Not bad, but that’s just one recipe and I tend to like a lot more variety than that.
So, here are FOUR very different recipes for energy bars from Chow.  One of the things I like about these four is that they’re inspired by some of my favorite mass-produced energy bars, so I have some idea what I’ll be eating even before I make them.  Also, more variety!  Yea!
And, then, there are three from Alton Brown, which he featured on Good Eats at the Food Network.  These include protein bars and granola bars, for even more variety!

I don’t imagine these will keep too terribly long, but if you use them regularly, making your own can really save you a lot of money.  And, of course, controlling the ingredients means that you can keep them healthier!
Now, you have a project for the weekend!

I love science-fiction.

I love sci-fi in pretty much all its forms, but I have to admit, I especially like science-fiction television and movies.  And, these days, as Hollywood produces more and more of the same stuff over and over, unwilling to take risks, I find myself loving sci-fi television more.
Now, with cameras and equipment as reasonably priced as they are, it’s possible for small, independent film-makers to roll their own media, in both film and television.  Combine that kind of low-budget, but high-level of passion for production, with all the different ways people are funding their favorite projects and, well, what you’ve got is Pioneer One.

Now, I have to admit, I haven’t shelled out the money for it just yet, but go check out the trailer and tell me if you aren’t at least a little intrigued by what you see.  I know I was.  Kind of looks like the X-Files, but crossed with Operation Blue Book.  Seems like it might lead somewhere.
Oh, and they must be doing okay, because they’ve got six episodes now, so someone is coughing up the money to keep this worth pursuing for them.

In any case, it’s Friday, so why not at least check out the trailer?  You won’t be sorry!

And the word is techno.

My musical tastes are varied and variable.  There is no telling what trend or style will suddenly catch my fancy and become my obsession.  Really.  Of course, my musical tastes are also tragically unhip, I’ve been told, by more than one of my music loving friends.  And, I’m rarely in step with anything current or any hot trend.  So, believe me when I tell you that I haven’t seriously listened to any techno in years.  Honest.
But, recently, thanks to Boing Boing, I found an interesting techno project: Techno is the Word.

It’s pretty straight forward, really, go to the site, then enter a word and let it generate the techno.
The site prefers Chrome or a recent build of Webkit installed, but as a way to kill time and annoy your music snob co-workers on a Friday, it can’t be beat.  I recommend just installing Chrome.  It’s worth it!  Besides, you may find you enjoy the browser even after you get tired of the techno.
Enjoy the generated music and your weekend!

Have New Year’s Resolutions ever worked?  Really?

Yeah, I’m pretty sure no one has ever stuck to a New Year’s Resolution, ever in the history of New Year’s Resolutions.  Seriously.  I’m sure there are a thousand reasons for that, but, well, doe they matter?  Not really.
So, rather than be serious, why not try something more fun this year and generate your resolution randomly with the Diary of a Network Geek’s New Year’s Resolution Generator!
It’s fun! It’s FREE! And, I have to admit, it tends to lean toward resolutions that involve hard liquor and inappropriate behavior, especially with strangers.
Trust me, you’ll love it. Be sure to share it with all your drunk friends this weekend at your parties!
See you next year!

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after."
   --Ernest Hemingway

I seem to be fixated on New York this month!

There are a lot of geeky landmarks in New York City.  From movies like Ghostbusters to comic books like the Fantastic Four to movies about comic books, there are a lot of references made to the Big Apple.  If you’re a geek and plan on being a tourist in New York, wouldn’t you like to hit these hot spots and revisit your favorite geek moments?  Or just take a photo of yourself where your favorite geek event, movie, etc. actually happened or was filmed?
Now, with the aid of the Ultimate Nerd Guide to New York City, you can.  (Though, personally, I prefer the term “geek” to “nerd” for a number of reasons, at least one of which should be obvious!)  Brought to you via Slashfilm, the Ultimate Nerd Guide to New York City has a map, showing you just where all those cool or famous or geeky things are to be found, including, yes, the building used for the Ghostbuster’s HQ as well as the building used for the Fantastic Four’s HQ, and many others.

I’ve never really done any “geek tourism”, but, after seeing this, I may start!
Anyway, it’s Friday and you’re not doing any work anyway, so you might as well check it out and plan your next vacation!
Have a great weekend!

No, not geek professionals, in this case.

Normally, I don’t blatantly promote other people who aren’t either ultra-cool geeks or paying me money, but, in this case, I’ll make an exception.
I’m really into photography.  I wasn’t always, but the December after I finished chemotherapy, I bought my first digital SLR camera.  It cost what I thought of as a small fortune, but it was worth it.  Shortly after that, I took a couple of seminars.  One from the ever popular Joe McNally and another one by a guy named Syl Arena.  The class I took eventually became the book [amazon_link id=”032171105X” target=”_blank” ]The Speedliter’s Handbook[/amazon_link] and is pretty much THE book to have for someone shooting with Canon Speedlites.  The class, and book, were fantastic.  Syl was a genius teacher and a really nice, patient guy, too.
Well, he’s the inaugural “pro” on the Pros You Should Know feature at the Borrowlenses.com blog.  It’s worth checking out, not just for him, but for the rest of their blog, too.

And, if you’re not into photography, I apologize for not having something for you this week.  If you ARE, though, trust me and go read up on Syl Arena.  It’s worth it!

No, this isn’t a post about eating disorders!

Rather, it’s a post about secret places to eat in New York City!
I have to admit, I’ve always been fascinated by people lining up to get into places so secret that they have no name or no sign over the door.   Maybe it’s having grown up in Chicago with a grandmother who was actually around when speakeasies were up and running that’s made this so interesting to me.  Maybe it was just being a geeky kid who was always on the outside.  Maybe, it was the idea that my great-grandfather was friends with Bath-house John Kenzie and Hinky Dink Kenna, two of Chicago’s most notorious aldermen and crooks, who ran a “pool hall” with a secret room.  In any case, places like that fascinate me and the idea that they might exist in New York RIGHT NOW is almost irresistible to me!

So, tell me, New York readers, have you ever tried one of these “Secret Eateries” in New York City?
Inquiring minds want to know!

Well, Halloween is just around the corner, if you aren’t celebrating already.

I could go on at length about the historical and cultural phenomena that is Halloween, but, really, if you cared about that, you’d just go to Wikipedia.
So, no, instead, I’ll just share a quick fun link to some Halloween LEGO creations over at Blastr.com If you remember playing with LEGOs as a kid, you need to go check that link out, because I can pretty much promise you that you weren’t creating things like they’ve got over there.

And, remember, when you’re out trick-or-treating, or drinking yourself blind, this weekend, please, be safe.  Not just for you, but for the people around you, too.

Yes, I’m cleaning them out.

I’ve had this blog going, in one form or another for more than eleven years.  In that time, I’ve gone from writing the HTML pages by hand, often in a text editor, to using two different blogging software packages.  Currently, I’m running WordPress, which I do my best to keep up to date.
However, along the way, I’ve written a lot of posts that didn’t quite make it to the live blog.  So, I’ve developed a small backlog of posts.  Some of them, I’ve deleted because they were a little too topical and their time has passed.  Their “freshness date”, as it were, has expired.
There are, though, a few posts that are still, I think, relevant.  Those, I’m editing and updating and, in some cases, finally finishing, so that they can see the light of day.  I can’t tell you for sure how many there will be, but, as you see posts here referencing old articles various places on the web, that’s why.  It’s just me working through an eleven-year backlog of incomplete posts that, I think, still have some merit.

I just thought you all should know, in case anyone was curious.
Thanks.