All posts by cs

nerd stuff

computers

Wanting to discover what this LINUX thing is all about, I’ve undertaken a learning project. I tried RedHat Linux 6.0 a couple of years ago by purchasing their boxed installation. The technical support, which was what I actually bought (since LINUX by all standards is open source and therefore freely obtainable) lasted for 30 days or so. I found that my WINmodem hardware was not compatible with anything but Windows (surprise) and thus my LINUX OS, as cool as it would be couldn’t go online. A computer these days that can’t connect to the internet is crippled. Later, I resurrected the idea thinking that I could network RedHat 6 using my LAN. The network card however, was too complicated to locate drivers for and not supported. I bailed again. These attempts were abandoned, the disc partitions removed and WINDOWS back in full control.

Now I have the idea to try again only this time, instead of a dual boot machine, I will use a dedicated platform. S’man has traded up and his old box will have new purpose.

Starting with a fresh space from scratch, the first event was to wipe the C drive (and that felt good). I used format.exe on a DOS boot floppy disc. After researching the various distributions that are out there (i.e. SuSe, Debian, Knoppix, etc…) I picked FEDORA. Without buying some books on LINUX my only recourse is to learn what I can from Internet websites and most of that info is hit or miss, schetchy. For instance, the procedure calls for downloading 3 huge files (called iso images) that neatly fit 3 CDs. That’s a 1.9 gigabyte transfer BTW. I found a mirror site (Duke edu) which was reasonably fast at ~580 KB/sec., luckily, which is reasonably good for a home cable connection. The errata that I read said to burn these downloads to CDs and install from those. This failed. Back to the Internet to find out why, I dug deeper to find that not just any cd burner would do. Sure, I could copy the files to CDs, but that it would take more $ophi$ticated $oftware to handle things.

Maybe I’m just being thrifty but I am loath to spend money for an operating system that is supposed to be free. After all, after you buy a big fat computer book ($49.95), an at-cost CD set for shipping ($9.95) vs CD burning shareware ($29.95) you could have bought the shrink wrapped Windows XP. I poked around and found a freeware CD utility (well hidden) that did the deed. I also need a boot floppy disc and this effort required finding the Image file and downloading a DOS utility called RawWrite to convert it. The first floppy that I made failed. The second one too. The third one, after trying newer media worked a bit longer but then bombed out. I downloaded a different image from another site thinking that I just had a bad file. Nope. I downloaded another RawWrite file from another site thinking that might be it. Turns out, after more discovery, that the utility doesn’t work right from a DOS window in windows. You have to run it from outside windows. Too bad there isn’t a LINUX cookbook to tell me this stuff. I should write one. Day ONE is over and I now have some install discs. Ready to begin!

jumers

social

The Peoria Castle Lodge is notorious. Designed and styled in early Medieval Germanic Baroque the furnishings date from the 60s I can almost hear the theme from the Munsters. The dark woods, gothic tapestries, gas lanterns, deep reds lend the place a haunting atmosphere. The rooms are creepy with narrow stain glass windows and an oil picture portrait on the wall whose staring eyes seem to scan and follow your movements around the place. Our FA (a first time guest) had heard all of this from crew room chatter and was a little bit freaked. Its reputation was cemented when the night clerk behind the desk asked during sign-in if he wanted the haunted room 😉

Check-in complete we waited for the lobby elevator to take us up to our rooms. They are just large enough to handle the three of us. The elevator door blends inconspicuously into the side paneling and is just wide enough for one of us to squeeze. The FO stepped in and then the door rumpled closed at about twice speed. He was unable to halt the closure as the rest of us were reaching for our bags and the FA and I were left standing there in silence. I broke the tension by explaining how these places work — Like an Abbott and Costello movie they separate us one-by-one, then they…

That was enough the FA bolted and was last seen heading for the lounge.

I?m afraid that we will be one of the last to see the place in its grand old form. We are told that the Pedullas (owner & operators) have sold out! The Radisson chain is to gut and renovate.

big tips

social

If you ever wondered — On a busy day, a skycap could assist about 20 travelers an hour. If each traveler tips $2, the skycap earns $40 per hour. In an eight-hour day, that?s $320 in tips. Or $1,600 per week. $6,400 a month. $76,800 per year. [ read ]

from gizmodo

social

…about a Florida woman who was trampled in a mad stampede of people scrambling to buy a $30 DVD player at the local Wal-Mart. It was one of those stories that perfectly symbolized our nation’s unhealthy obsession with shopping, right? Well, we might be unheathily obsessed with shopping, but there is growing evidence that the woman, who is a “frequent faller” who has managed to injure herself nine times before at various Wal-Marts around Florida, is faking it. Over the years she’s also filed injury claims against six other businesses, as well. [ read ]