Harvesting the Ephemeral
Tuesday January 31, 2006
Pbase.com ... in Kewl
I have my photo gallery over at Pbase.com. I really like being able to just upload a zip file and have the site process my images and create all the thumbnails. One major con though is that the site tends to be slow. But now they are upgrading their hardware, and they've posted photos of their new machines. Yep, that's right, Sun boxes. And I'm not talking about some 1U boxes, but a Sun Fire V890. Very sexy!
» Tags: SUN, Servers, UltraSPARC
Conversations with a Daughter, part II ... in Parenting
Another storm system came through the Bay Area yesterday. The clouds were low and hugging the hilltops by my house, and the occasional break would allow sunbeams to light up sections of the hills. A small cloud was particularly low, and my daughter said "Look daddy a puff of smoke." "Hmmm yeah. That's actually a cloud." I replied. She was fascinated. Earlier she had wanted to go to top of the hills to see the cows. I explained that the hills were too steep and muddy. She then said "if we could go up there we could touch the cloud." "Yep, we sure could" I smiled. She was silent for a moment and kept staring at the cloud. Suddenly she told me "we could ride the moon up to the top of the hill. But it would have to be this shape" and she made a shape with her hands. "Oh does she have to be full?" I asked. She shook her head "no it has to be this shape" and she tried to make a half moon shape. "Oh. Why does it have to be that shape?" "So we can sit on her and not fall off. She would come down and we would sit on her and she would take us to the top of the hill so we could touch the cloud" she patiently explained. "Yep I think that would work" I nodded seriously to her. She nodded in return and went back to staring at the cloud.
» Tag:Parenting, Daughters
Song of the Day ... in Music
I used to always confuse Bread with Blood, Sweat and Tears. I have no idea why - they have totally different sounds. Both of their tapes were highly played though during my 8-track period. I'm pretty sure we wore them out.
Today's selection for Song of the Day is "Baby I'm-A Want You" by Bread. A nice big serving of soft rock coming up ...
"Baby, I'm-a want you
Baby, I'm-a need you
You the only one I care enough to hurt about
Maybe I'm-a crazy
But I just can't live without...
Your lovin' and affection
Givin' me direction
Like a guiding light to help me through a darkest hour
Lately I'm a-prayin'
That you'll always be a-stayin' beside me
Used to be my life was just emotions passing by
Feeling all the while and never really knowing why...
Lately I'm a-prayin'
That you'll always be a-stayin' beside me ..."
Additional info:
» Tags: Song of the day, Music, iTunes, 8-track
Friday January 27, 2006
Bob Dylan and Friends ... in Artistry "Bob Dylan and Friends" is a small but pretty cool photo gallery over at Pbase.com. The guy with the beard and glasses is Allen Ginsberg. "Angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night ..."
Hands On With The Sun Fire T2000 ... in Work
We received a couple of the Sun Fire T2000's. They were slated for deployment at our datacenter, so I had a great chance for some hands on experience with the new machines.
Solid and clean - its a theme that repeats itself from the packaging to the machine. The boxes are solid - no need for me to worry about how they will do in the back of my truck. The rail kit and cable management are packaged in the same clean way.
After removing the machine and laying it on the staging cart, we took some time to admire the design and look it over. The LEDs on the front are nice. The power button is interesting. You need a stylus (or similar item) to press it. That's not a concern since most of us have the Treo phones. When you do press the power button, the fans fire off revving and then quiet down (a nice audio confirmation.)
We needed to install a card ... and it took less than a minute. No screwdrivers needed. Simply press the button (located in the lower center of this picture) and lift the cover. We could have done it quicker but we spent some time checking out the insides. Clean. Nice cable management. (If you look at the inside view shot, they've actually moved the SATA cables to the side for the picture). Lots of RAM. 
There's a lever that holds the slot cover, so simply swinging the lever enabled us to pull the cover out. We popped the card in, which fit perfectly. Swing back the lever and the card is locked in place. How sweet is that! I found myself staring dumbly at the screwdriver in my hand. At one point Will reached in and plucked out a fan - very nifty.
Datacenter deployment was simple as well. The rail mounting brackets simply snapped on. Sweet! The rails had a spacer tool which took a couple of minutes to figure out, but works very nicely. The only time I used a screwdriver was for putting the rails on the rack. There's no need to screw the server into place once installed - it simply snaps and locks into place. The really nifty item is the cable management kit. It mounts on the back and extends and folds out when you pull the machine forward, preventing your cables from being snagged or pulled out. And when you are wiring the machine, the arm can be released to swing out for easy cable installation. Schaweet! You can check out the Sun Fire T2000 Server Installation Guide for some nifty diagrams.
Additional info:
» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads, Servers, Datacenter
Song of the Day ... in Music
Continuing with the 8-track theme ...
I remember being dragged to a wedding as a kid, and of course I was bored. However, at the reception, they were playing pretty good music. Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "You Ain's Seen Nothing Yet" came on, and the next thing I knew I was on the dance floor dancing by myself. Which embarrassed my parents to no end. My father still talks about that moment ... When you gotta boogie, you gotta boogie!
"I met a devil woman,
She took my heart away,
She said, I had it comin' to me,
But I wanted it that way.
I think that any love is good lovin', and
So I took what I could get mmh,
Oooh, oooh she looked at me with big brown eyes
And said:
You ain't seen nothin' yet,
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet,
Here's something that you never gonna forget,
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet.
And now I'm feelin' better,
'Cause I found out for sure.
She took me to her doctor
And he told me of a cure.
He said that any love is good love
So I took what I could get mmh,
Oooh, oooh she looked at me with big brown eyes
And said:
You ain't seen nothin' yet,
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet,
Here's something that you never gonna forget,
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet. ..."
Additional info:
» Tags: Song of the day, Music, iTunes, 8-track
The Userless Datacenter ... in Distractions
The Userless Datacenter:
"Only real servers will be in this datacenter. Sun, HP, IBM servers. Any Intel servers will be running Linux or xBSD. There will be a cabinet labeled “NT Servers.” It will be empty. It will have cobwebs, and will be a focal point of positive energy."
Wednesday January 25, 2006
Song of the Day ... in Music
The theme for the next few selections are from what I call my "8-track phase." Remember those? My parents had quite a collection, and I loved listening to them while lying on the living room floor. I also remember at being excited to finally be able to take one apart - only to be disappointed at how simple the layout was. "All that space for that ???"
According to Three Dog Night's website, nobody had more Top 10 hits, moved more records, or sold more concert tickets from 1969-1974. That's pretty impressive. I know they were one of my favorite 8-track bands. I loved belting out "Jeremiah was a bullfrog ...", even though I had no idea what that meant.
I'm going with "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)" for today's Song of the Day. Written by Allen Toussaint, the song was recorded and released by Three Dog Night on September 28, 1974. It entered the Billboard Top 40 during the week of November 2, 1974 and stayed for 3 weeks, peaking at #33 the week of November 16, 1974.
"Well, I tried to run my game
She said Man, that's the same old thing I've heard before
And I'm too tired to go for your show (again and again)
And she started to explain
She said Man, I ain't sayin' what you're playin' just can't make it
But I just can't take it anymore
Play somethin' sweet, play somethin' mellow
Play somethin' I can sink my teeth in like Jello
Play something I can understand
Play me some Brickyard Blues
Play somethin' sweet and make it funky
Just let me lay back and grin like a monkey
Play something I can understand
Play me some Brickyard Blues
Well, I started to sweat
She said Don't get upset 'cause you just might break a string
And that won't do a thing for your show
So I said to myself
I said Self, do you see what is sailin' through my soul?
And I gotta have some more, don't ya know..."
Additional info:
» Tags: Song of the day, Music, iTunes, 8-track
Tuesday January 24, 2006
Skyscrapers ... in Kewl
[Image is from the 33 World Buildings Poster available at skyscaper.com]
If you're into architecture and big buildings, then skyscraperpage.com is a freakin' awesome site. If you check out the buildings that are proposed or under construction, you will find some absolutely fabulous buildings. In particular I really dig the Fordham Spire, Abraj Al Bait Towers and the Federation Tower.
Their search form is pretty nifty as well.
» Tags: Architecture, Skyscraper
Song of the Day ... in Music
Kevin Godley and Lol Creme were half of the original group by 10cc along with Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart. In 1977 Kevin and Lol left 10cc at the peak of the group's popularity to start their own self-titled group. Even though their experimental music wasn't a commercial success, their videos sparked a creative revolution on MTV. Their video for "Cry" garnered several nominations in 1986 - unfortunately they were up against a-ha's "Take On Me" and Dire Strait's "Money For Nothing." Talk about a banner year for videos ...
"You don't know how to ease my pain
You don't know ...
You don't know how to ease my pain
You don't know what the sound is darlin'
It's the sound of my tears fallin'
Or is it the rain?
You don't know ...
You don't know how to play the game
You cheat
You lie
You make me wanna cry
You make me wanna cry
Cry...
You make me wanna cry
You don't know how to ease my pain
You don't know
You don't know how to ease my pain
Don't you hear any voices cryin'?
That's the sound of my love dyin'
Here comes the rain ..."
Additional info:
» Tags: Song of the day, Music
MacHomer ... in Distractions
What happens when you cross Macbeth with The Simpsons? Well, you get MacHomer! Rick Miller users over 50 voices for the one man show, and the script remains 85% Shakespeare. You can check out some audio clips here (via the MacHome website.)
"Is this a dagger which I see before me? Or a pizza? mmmm ... pizza ..."
Monday January 23, 2006
Song of the Day ... in Music
All weekend long I was walking around the house singing "I'm Not in Love" by 10cc. I have no idea why - the song was just stuck in my head (which isn't a bad thing - I really like the song.) My wife laughed when she heard the song, most likely due to my horrendous singing voice. 
She pointed out to me that the song was before my generation - meaning I should have been too young to be listening to it (I was still in grade school.) But that matters little. Actually for the longest time I only knew the fragment "Be quiet, big boys don't cry" from the song "Mr. Jaws."
I'm experimenting with an "Additional Info" section (see below after lyrics.) Let me know what you think.
"I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)
I like to see you, but then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you, don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)
Be quiet, big boys don't cry
Big boys don't cry ...
I keep your picture upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lyin' there
So don't you ask me to give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)"
Additional info:
» Tags: Song of the day, Music
Friday January 20, 2006
Musical Podcasts ... in Music
Ok I'm pretty much a noob in the area of podcasts. And I just recently figured out how to subscribe to them in iTunes. Yeah yeah I know ... 
Anyways ... so Watt turned me on to Coverville. Great music, but the commentary can be a bit inane. (There's a great soundbite that fires off in my head - on a local radio station a dj was trying to interview John Lydon and Mr. Rotten kept telling him in a sneering tone "just shut up and play the music.") But he won the People's Choice Award for Best Music Podcast, so what do I know. 
I just discovered Big E's House. "A 30 minute podcast that is designed to bring about the death of corporate radio. Some bands you know, some you don't, but it's all rock and roll, baby." You gotta love that! I've listened to a few shows, and I'm really digging it. 
Any others that I should check out?
Guy Kawasaki Enters The Blogosphere ... in Kewl
Looks like Guy Kawasaki is now blogging. He has entries such as "How to Kick Butt On a Panel", "How to Get a Standing Ovation" and "The Venture Capitalist Wishlist." Good stuff. And it looks like he's kamaaina. You know, da kine. So Aloha! (throws Guy a shaka) 
(If anyone knows where I can find a decent shaka emoticon, let me know!)
Extra: In the course of searching for a good definition of kamaaina, I came across "Going Native on Oahu." It's a great article on life in Oahu.
Thursday January 19, 2006
The Fab Four Reunites ... in Work
In an earlier post I had bemoaned the fact I had missed the Sun Founders Panel event at the Computer History Museum. Much to my delight there's a webcast available at www.sun.com. Sweet! It clocks in at 58:38.
