Managed to design, configure, test, and implement a cross-WAN multi-backup, caching, and cross-site mirror and data transfer setup for the current employer ( Read more... )

While replacing a busted tail-light on the car - the globe was fine, but something had smashed the covering - it was brought to my attention that the brakelight on the other tail cluster doesn't work. Power to the cluster is fine, as the indicator works, and the bulb is fine - I swapped it out with a working one to test it; no go - which means ( Read more... )

Got the lawns mowed, the shrubs cut back from the walkways, the garden beds weedsprayed, old clothes thrown out, quite a lot of sleep, a lot of washing done, shaved off the beard and got a much shorter haircut, cleared some floorspace, cleaned the ensuite, and re-read Seanan McGuire's Sparrow Hill Road series ( Read more... )

Nothing quite like spending a screwdriver-wielding day up to my elbows in printer guts and diagnostics to give a sense of accomplishment. There's something wonderfully clarifying about being able to simply junk a whole pile of oversized IT hardware in order to help clear the decks, mentally, metaphorically, and literally ( Read more... )

Having spent most of today wrestling with an internet gateway box which suddenly decided it was not going to pass packets, and having trawled through the net only to run across multiple incompatible causes and solutions, I can say:

If your ifconfig -a output has a __tmpnnnnnnnnnn entry where there should be an ethN entry (eth0, eth1 etc), the ( Read more... )

There's something to be said about mowing lawns with a mower which has a handle just that little bit too short.

That something is "Ow, my lower back."

Oddly enough, internet how-to sites don't really convey the realism of changing a car battery. For instance, they assume that you will not have to worry at multiple rust-encrusted bolts with a small spanner. They assume that should you have to unbolt anything, there will actually be room in the engine bay around the battery sufficient to operate ( Read more... )

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- Replace all shoes for 25% off, check ( Read more... )

Finished work early. Dropped off drycleaning before the closes-ridiculously-early drycleaner closed. No rain today, so was able to bring in lots of washing and put out another lot. Went shopping and bought fresh fruit. Found three jobs on the net today which were in this city, for a better employer, which matched my experience, and paid better than ( Read more... )