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GRAFFITI -- October 11, 2010 thru October 17, 2010 >> Link to the Current Week << Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week Search this site : Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable.     About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.

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October 11, 2010

Wait for it ....

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October 12, 2010

1956 - Busier than ever. My second class, Business Writing, started Sunday. But... but: I finished the table and delivered it. Pix can be found here on my Flickr account. Now, back to schoolwork. Ciao!

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October 13, 2010

No Post...

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October 14, 2010

No Post....

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October 15, 2010

2036 - Work and school. I can't really talk much about the former, and the latter is soul-eatingly awful ... so far. I don't expect the CMIT course to get one whit better. The writing class has a top-notch professor, and I intend to learn something new, come hell or high water. But the CMIT course is a grave disappointment, and if I didn't need it for the degree, I'd drop it in a heartbeat. Given the material, I'd hate it anyway, but ... well, I'll save my commentary until the course is done. Still, a successful week, as such things go. Next week I've got a Tripwire event to attend in Tyson's Corner, and lots of prep for a weekend go-live event. This weekend, I'll get ahead on the reading for both courses, so that I'm on top of the game. See y'all later. Hey, did you like the table? Ciao!

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October 16, 2010

0954 - A technical change - I moved my virtual XP instance from VMware Server over to VirtualBox. The impetus for this change was VMware Server's behaviour around system updates. Because VMware Server isn't "native" to Ubuntu as it is to the RHEL family, modules need to get rebuilt when new kernels come in. Tracking the latest Ubuntu as I do, that was a problem. Worse, after rebooting, I'd have to remove the oh-so-helpfully-migrated modules from the new kernel tree, reboot again, then reconfigure VMware for the new kernel. I've been doing that for far too long a time.

Last time I tried VirtualBox, it was shortly after Sun acquired the software. At the time, it didn't seem stable and proficient enough to meet my needs. Today, it is. And my virtual XP instance is, frankly, significantly faster under VirtualBox than it was under VMware Server. I was able to use the VirtualBox tools to migrate my virtual disk (in VMware's VMDK format) to the VirtualBox native VDI format in a relatively short time (given a 24G "disk"). I still have some disk management things to do - I'd like to uninstall a bunch of software, defragment and shrink that down to a more appropriate size. I'll get that process going this morning while I study. Back later if events warrant... Ciao!

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October 17, 2010

2320 - OpenBSD 4.7 installed in a VM. Solaris 10 next. Shopping and lawn today, some reading, a nap, and some gaming. Not the right choice, but the sane one. And now...

Another crappy week in Afghanistan. Our condolences to the families and units of these fallen warriors:

• Lance Cpl. John T. Sparks, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, died Oct. 8 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. Frank R. Zaehringer III, 23, of Reno, Nevada, died Oct. 11 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Staff Sgt. Dave J. Weigle, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died Oct. 10 of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
• Spc. David A. Hess, 25, of Ruskin, Florida, died Oct. 10 of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
• Spc. Matthew C. Powell, 20, of Slidell, Louisiana, died Oct. 12 at Kandahar Airfield, of wounds suffered at Ghunday Ghar, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his military vehicle using an improvised explosive device.
• Lance Cpl. Raymon L. A. Johnson, 22, of Midland, Georgia, died Oct. 13 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Cpl. Justin J. Cain, 22, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, died Oct. 13 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge, 19, of Saint Charles, Missouri, died Oct. 13 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Lance Cpl. Joseph E. Rodewald, 21, of Albany, Oregon, died Oct. 13 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Pfc. Victor A. Dew, 20, of Granite Bay, California, died Oct. 13 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Pfc. Jordan M. Byrd, 19, of Grantsville, Utah, died Oct. 13 in Yahya Kheyl, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire.
• Lance Cpl. Irvin M. Ceniceros, 21, of Clarksville, Arkansas, died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood, 19, of Byron, Illinois, died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. Eric C. Newman, 30, of Waynesboro, Mississippi, died Oct. 14 in Akatzai Kalay, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.
• Sgt. Carlos A. Benitez, 24, of Carrollton, Texas, died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations between Moqur and Darreh-Ye-Bum, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
• Spc. Rafael Martinez Jr., 36, of Spring Valley, California, died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations between Moqur and Darreh-Ye-Bum, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
• Pfc. Tramaine J. Billingsley, 20, of Portsmouth, Virginia, died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations between Moqur and Darreh-Ye-Bum, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
• Lance Cpl. Joseph C. Lopez, 26, of Rosamond, California, died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Lance Cpl. James D. Boelk, 24, of Oceanside, California, died Oct. 15 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

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