the boredom of ramfree17

Today I received a peculiar office memo; it gave five steps on what to do when a water/sprinkler leak occurs. The contents are pretty much in the realm of common sense

• cover and shut down electrical equipment.
• contact the company facilities department
• don’t power up equipment until conditions have been verified.
• if evacuation is required, follow proper evac procedures.

I merged two items since they are basically the same thing. What made this peculiar is that the memo was from the company’s information security department. I would expect this to come from the facilities department as it is a basic operational reminder but from the security team?

The only reason I can surmise is found in the last item. They are considering it as a localized disaster if it would require an evacuation. Nevertheless, this information should have come from the correct source as I am seeing a blurring of the distinction of the boundaries of the IT security team’s area of responsibility.

I am wondering though which office sprung the leak to prompt the memo. And how many employees actually tried to work while a leak or flooding is in progress.

ciao!

Tags: Rubbish, Work by Erin
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Among the numerous energy drinks available in the market, the only thing I have tried is the “Extra Joss” brand mainly because of the packaging. It is very convenient as it comes in a sachet that you just add to a cold glass of water.

The last time I drank one was years ago when I had to stay with my mom in the hospital when she had a stroke episode. I would like to think that the energy drink gave me some boost in that week long “endurance” and little sleep. The citrus taste and fizzy texture was a very pleasant experience.

A couple of days ago I saw the TV ad that there were two new flavors: club soda and apple black currant. I have been wimpy and stressed for the previous week and really tired so I bought 3 packs (one of each, including the original) from the convenience store at the ground floor of the office.

The first I tried was the “apple black currant” variant because I don’t know what “club soda” really tastes like. I got a black mug from the pantry and labored with opening the sachet. In the defense of the packaging, this is really stupidity on my part. I saw two dots in the middle that I took as perforation marks so I tried to open it from there. Only after thinking it through was I able to spy the real perforation marks near the corner.

Back to the preparation, I dunked the contents on the mug and added some cold water from the dispenser. The powder fizzled so I gave it ten seconds to settle down somewhat before drinking. I first tasted apple but it might be because that is the first smell that registered in my brain. About halfway with the drink the bitter taste hit me head-on that I nearly spat the liquids in my mouth. I just swallowed what I already have in my mouth and then inspected the contents of the mug. I was surprised to see that some of the powder was still solid at the bottom. I don’t remember seeing this insolubility before. I added more water and swirled the mug a couple of time to shake things up. When I drank the remaining energy drink the taste was already too diluted but the bitterness was still there.

I am no longer sleepy so the drink must be working, but I don’t think I will try the black currant variant anymore. Once is enough. I am used to drinking black currant flavored drinks (Absolut vodka comes into mind /lol) but I can’t say that they taste bitter. Hopefully the club soda variant is going to give me a better tasting experience.

ciao!

Tags: Reviews by Erin
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My laptop developed some problems late 2007 which causes it to freeze regardless if I have Linux or Windows running. I initially thought it has something to do with the installed operating systems but reinstalling various Linux distributions didn’t help. My initial suspect was a heat problem. I turned Lala upside down and proceeded to vacuum the bottom side with the help of a couple of toothpicks to help remove the lint (and two years of use can accumulate a lot of those!).

Last February I walked by a CDR-King shop and decided to get a laptop cooling pad. The models available are only the slider ones which I don’t want. I wanted something that I can use as a prop stand while doing portable computing in the bed. The only non-slider model they have is the LSY709 so it is the model I got after being assured that it can accommodate a 15 inch laptop. If I remember correctly this peripheral is given a 7-day warranty.

First off, the cooler pad is able to hold Lala but not by much. The laptop is protruding by almost an inch on both sides, and 1.5″ at the hinge side. I don’t think the shop contains any cooler that is bigger so this is not something that can be helped. The pad’s construction is slanted which raises the back portion higher. It also has two plastic “stands” at the top corners that elevates the placed laptop a little further and gives a little air pocket between the pad’s metal surface. Overall the pad still fits in my laptop bag quite comfortably but I am anxious on the bare edges because even if they are smooth they may still rip the padding if placed incorrectly and forcefully,

One thing that is not shown in the site is the view from below so here it is:

The wires are pretty open which can be something to worry since I want to put this in my lap. Fortunately the fans are protected by grills so there is no possibility of my leg skin getting into contact if I place it on my lap while it is in operation. But the wires is still ugly as it is something that looks like what I would have done if I constructed it myself.

This cooler, as can be seen from the image posted in the cdrking site, has three quiet fans in the middle that pulls the heat from the laptop placed on top. Unfortunately my laptop’s bottom vents are on the top portion near the hinge so they don’t really line up. Again this is something that I don’t think can be helped because I reviewed all the cooler pads in the site (at the time) and all of them has the cooler in the middle. I think it is the laptop design (a Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pro V7100) that is at fault here. I need to check the other laptops if the placement of the heat vents are in the middle. Nevertheless the air pocket between the laptop bottom and the cooler pad surface is enough to produce a swirling ventilation.

I have used the pad whenever the laptop is in use. The elevation works great especially when I am placing the laptop down on the bed. As everybody who owns a laptop should know (yes Boi, that includes you), putting laptops on top of fabric or paper is not recommendes as they are soft enough to block the vents. The cooler pad gives the laptop enought elevation that even if the fans are blocked, the laptop vents are still free to swirl the air around. I haven’t experienced any lock-ups yet.

Now the bad parts:

• While the fans are quiet, their output must not be that strong. I can barely feel the airflow when I switch on the fans.
• The bare metal approach is not comfortable if you put it in your lap. I get dent marks on my legs whenever I forget to put a throw pillow on the edge that touches my skin. The laptops weight (~2.5 kilos) might also have something to do with it.
• Shabby wiring. As of today, the fans are dead. I think I can see where the wires got damaged and may be able to fix it if I get the time, tools and inclination. Right now this pad is only good for elevation.

This pad is now due for replacement. Will I get the same model? Probably not. It was a value for what I paid for it but I think there might be something better out there that provides the right balance of price and functionality.

ciao!

Tags: Gadget, Reviews by Erin
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Just venting.

I think I am nearing the “warning” levels of my stress tolerance. I am now easily affected by the inconsideration of everyday strangers. I haven’t been awake for more than 4 hours and my temper already flared with:

• The jeepney driver who stopped in the middle of the road, checked out the “prospective” passenger in the sidewalk, and then start again when I was overtaking his vehicle and directly in line with his vehicle. This is one of the reasons why I hate driving. This person needs to be hit by a “driving for dummies” bat.
• In a tight two lane street (the breaker of a floodway circuit) that already have a lot of vehicles parked smatteringly on each side, a pedicab driver stopped in the middle, and then exhanged a long bantering with a pedestrian who he has just passed by. Here is your stupid and inconsiderate sign, and a generous amount of honking as a bonus.
• The elevator going up to the office floor only has a few passengers since it is still early. I normally go to the back since I dismount at the next to the top floor being serviced by the elevators but since this time I was near the door. In the floor before my stop, a female rider carrying 3 bags: a typical oversized female handbag, a paper bag, and a laptop backpack, alighted. The problem was that the backpack was only slung using one of the straps so it was dangling and it hit me. Since the woman was from the same company as I am (we are occupying that floor also), I just smiled and raised my right hand in a typical open-palm pinoy fashion to sign “no worries, everything is alright”. Then the frigging woman (I refuse to call her a lady), stopped when she was out of the elevator door, and gave me the evil eye. Here is your stupid and inconsiderate sign, if you have been careful to make sure you carry your belongings securely then your heavy laptop bag won’t have dangled and hit me. And I don’t care if you are a manager, you deserve to be hit by a large etiquette bat in the head.
• The Indian support engineer handling my ticket that got redirected to the India support team (WHY oh WHY?). My tickets are usually handled by the Manila server team who are much more competent at this. Even with me painstakingly exerting every effort to make my ticket description as detailed and complete as possible, the engineer had the gall to send me an email with this thinly veiled ultimatum:
  

  After reviewing the ticket, it has been determined that some information will have to be verified from you before we proceed with your request. Please refer to the questions/clarifications below:
  1) Managers approval required
  2) Kindly let us know in which project id needs to be created

  or reply to this email with your answer/s on or before <28-05-2008>.

  Your reply is very important to us as we aim to provide quality services through better management of tickets. Please note that failure to provide the information needed on or before the date mentioned above may result in ticket closure.

  Why am I mad? Because I have attached the approval in the original ticket, all of the details are already in the description, and I created the ticket yesterday (>>May 28, 2008< <) at 7PM (GMT+2), received the reply at 9:45PM (GMT+2). Apologies to all of my friends in the support business but this one needs to be bashed by a big “reading comprehension” bat.

As they say in the street: Ang aga-aga, pinapainit nyo ang ulo ko! (It’s still early and you are already testing my patience!)

File system consistency check you all.

Goosefraba… Goosefraba…

Now I feel better.

ciao!

Tags: Rubbish, Work by Erin
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The Philippine Linux User Group (PLUG) mailing list currently has a thread that (according to the archives.free.net.ph) is 44 replies strong. The thread started about a query on how to increase one’s technical portfolio (I assume for job interviews, but it is still too early to trust my memory) but, in typical internet forum style, morphed into opinions and lamentations that the PLUG lists are getting boring and losing the old hands.

Various comments were put forward but the reasons that stuck with me were that (1) the usability state of Linux has evolved that solutions to majority of technical issues are just a Google away, and (2) the old posters have moved on to the pressing need of their real life.

I don’t see myself much of a contributor but I have been a member of the list for more than five years and I am not posting as much as did. I don’t even police the lists anymore but I have always attributed that to the reduction of the number of PLUG mailing lists, the members sharing the policing responsibility, and the members actually knowing better than to post off-topic questions. The last two signifies that the PLUG mailing list members have grown up and the new members are savvy enough to respect proper list netiquette or they are afraid to post, whichever you want to believe in.

People might not grow up proportionally to the rate they are growing old but they will grow up nonetheless even if they don’t realize it. The PLUG thread sparked an eureka moment, I am growing up. I just noticed that I now often sign my blog comments using my nickname instead of just “ramfree17″, and if left unchecked I am using proper capitalization on those comments which is a far cry from the “all low-caps” rule that I was imposing when I was younger . The downside if it can be called that is that I am losing some of my idealism in favor of pragmatism. I was always in favor of pragmatism since childhood but I guess right now the pragmatic part of me is consuming more of the idealistic share.

An email reply jokingly contributed that the “golden years” of PLUG might have already passed but it is time for the new blood to step up. Whenever I hear the term “golden years” I remember this snippet from Mary Schmich’s essay “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” (made popular as Baz Luhrman’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”):


Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.


ciao!

Tags: FLOSS, Rubbish by Erin
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