The nostalgic sound of dialup modems’ negotiations visually explained.
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Old Timey Internet Sounds →
A Duck Tape Story →
Hi there!
Some time ago my wife, Terry and I prepared for a few days vacation aboard a friend’s boat. On a similar previous trip, Terry had done all the packing and we arrived with way too much baggage. This became readily apparent when I discovered she had brought along, for herself, nine (9) white sweaters… to Florida.
She argued, one was a top, one was a shell, one was beige, and another off-white, etc. There was not a lot of storage room aboard the boat and we had to share the space allotted us.
So this time, while Terry packed, I supervised saying, “Don’t take this. Why are you taking that? Are you sure you need these?” Finally she said, “Pack your own stuff! I’ll pack mine. You pack yours.” OK. I was determined to show just how light I could travel.
Fast forward to our arrival. We climb aboard and exchanged greetings. I was intensely proud of the fact that I had only one small bag. We quickly got underway and started cruising. However, the boat was sailing only a short time when a minor disaster struck. I split my pants! Big time! My well-worn, soft, comfortable jeans tore open in front at the crotch. The tired cloth had separated thread by thread, and once the tear started, the entire area opened exposing my wildly colored skivies! Everyone laughed hysterically, (except me.) Finally Terry says, “For goodness sake, go change your pants. You’re an embarrassment. Put on your other jeans.” I say, “What other jeans? I only brought these.” Everyone laughed hysterically, (except me.) One of our friends disappeared below, and returned with a giant roll of Duck Tape. “Here. Seasoned boaters never leave the dock without Duck Tape!” while placing a large piece across the front of my pants. Everyone laughed hysterically, (except me.)
But this gave me an idea. I went below, took off my tattered pants, turned them inside out, pushed the cloth back together and criss-crossed several pieces of Duck Tape on the inside. I smoothed the tape carefully, put my pants on and returned topside. All were amazed at the nearly invisible repair. Everyone laughed hysterically, (including me.) The repair lasted for the rest of the trip! Duck Tape saved my vacation!
Fast forward to the present. These days we have our own boat and I always carry a fresh roll of Duck Tape and, oh yes, an extra pair of pants.
Yes, this type of tape was originally used to seal up DUCTS, and is generally called “duct tape.” However, this story is about the brand name, “Duck Tape.” My father wrote this intending to mail it as a submission to a “Duck Tape Saves the Day” contest. So there.
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Linode Nextgen →
Someone asked if I’d lower the techno-jumbo. Yeah, let me think about that; No.
Cisco Nexus 7000 routers. Cisco Nexus 5000 switches with Nexus 2000 Fabric Extenders. Linode outbound network cap increased 5x. Outbound monthly transfer quota increased 10x.
~ Linode.com, “Linode Nextgen: The Network“
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Nice. Attorney General Says President Can Kill Citizens →
… Just to review, the Attorney General just said yes, the President does have “the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial.” That’s funny, because I’m looking at some amendments here (I’m thinking IV, V, VI, and VIII) that say he doesn’t.
~ Lowering the Bar from, Can the President Kill a U.S. Citizen in the U.S. Without Trial? Attorney General Says Yes
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…and before you get all, “Craig you’re splitting hairs!” on me: Reasoned and pragmatic analysis is exactly what our [U.S.] governmental system of checks and balances is about.
Why, it’s almost as if the founders thought the executive branch might get out of control and created the judicial branch on purpose. And then down the road some more smart people felt the Constitution should be amended to make things even more clear.
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The Evolution of Classical Jojutsu →
When one considers it is really only a short, round stick of wood, it is even more intriguing to ponder what an elemental gap the hardwood jo has filled in the history and evolution of the martial disciplines of Japan…
~ Dave Lowry from, The Evolution of Classical Jojutsu
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There are also some apropos comments on weapons by Kanai Sensei in Aikido News issue 36:
[O-Sensei] would throw the uchideshi, (live-in disciples), with very little in the way of explanation and we would grasp what we could of the feeling of the technique while we were flying through the air…
~ Aikido Journal from, Interview with Mitsunari Kanai Sensei
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Science, yes. Politics or Religion, nope. →
In science it often happens that scientists say, ‘You know that’s a really good argument; my position is mistaken,’ and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn’t happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
~ Carl Sagan
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Freedom →
There are two kinds of freedom. Freedom fromto (positive freedom). The splitting of freedom into this binary framework can be traced at least back to Kant, was articulated by Erich Fromm in his 1941 work, Escape from Freedom, made famous by Isaiah Berlin’s 1958 essay, “Two Concepts of Liberty,” and explored more modernly by Charles Taylor.
~ Brett McKay from, Freedom From…Freedom To
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Our profession has a long way to go →
Here is the 2013 Super Bowl Dodge Commercial, “God Made a Farmer.”
https://youtube.com/watch?v=GdR5TOhHJGM
Here is the recent spoof, “God Made a Sysadmin.”
There are important differences.
Obviously the ‘farmer’ video is a commercial. It intends to stir up empathy and appreciation for hard work, solid work ethics, traditional American values, (and perhaps some spirit of ‘rally around the under-dog,’) and then the corporation hopes everyone will associate those positive characteristics with their product. (This is also known as, ‘Intro to Marketing.’)
The ‘sysadmin’ video is a spoof. It engenders a healthy dose of pride, enables those who work in the profession to smile at the references, and to have a bit of winsome fun.
There are also important similarities.
Both professions entail difficult work, (the type of difficulty is of course different,) and have clear work ethics. Without the farmers, or without the sysadmins, life as everyone knows it would end rather quickly.
But, here’s the rub:
The average person will understand all of the things which the farmers are said to do, but will understand almost none of those things which the sysadmins are said to do.
Sysadmins like to think, and I’ve said this myself, that they are part of a profession with a “long” history. In reality, computers and the profession are in their infancy. We have just 70-ish years of history if we measure from Alan Turing’s ideas, and we have just three different generations of people who have worked in our profession.
If we want to be treated as professionals, if we want to be individually granted a measure of respect based on our chosen profession the way farmers, doctors, and (some) lawyers are, then we must continue to work hard as we have done for 70-ish years.
We also need to work hard to raise awareness of our profession. We need to work together more, as a community of people, rather than an archipelago of individuals. We need to take better care of ourselves; We must not sacrifice our own physical and mental health at the alter of short-term advancement. We need to work to solve the larger problems — the ones which aren’t even system administration problems, but which are organizational, societal and philosophical problems — which put many of our fellows into untenable situations.
Our profession has a long way to go.
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vi registers →
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Suddenly, my paltry `dd` and `y` vi skills seem pathetic.
Note to self: Read this. Read it again. Repeat.
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Willpower →
Self-possession implies the capacity for self-restraint, self-compulsion and self-direction; and he who has these, if he live long enough, can have any other possession that he wants.
~ William Hanna Thompson
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