College Success

It is December 14, 2009. The holidays are upon us! My thoughts are on a time over four years ago, also in winter. It was when I decided to go back to school and earn a college degree.

After careful research of many on-line Computer Science programs I selected Baker College as my school. It is  now a few years years later and, as of today, I have completed the last of my required hours to earn a B.S. in Computer Science.

I wanted to write this blog post to personally thank everyone who has helped get me to this point. Looking back, the academic workload combined with a full time job has probably cost me a lot of social “free” time and even a relationship or two. Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me, hit me over the head to make me do my homework, or otherwise encouraged me to finish my degree.  There are a few people I would like to personally thank as well..


Erica – You may be my ex-wife, but thank you for always encouraging me to finish what I start (even if our marriage wasn't one of those things).

Carrie – Thanks for the encouragement, even though our relationship didn't quite make it.

Samuel T. - You're a great friend and a source of infinite wisdom. I appreciate you listening to my rants over the past few years.

Jeremy B. – Thanks for the intellectual conversation and for being a friend.

Jeremy S. – I have to give props to the best damn programmer I know. Thanks dude!

Doug P. – We don't talk much anymore, but thanks for encouraging me to go back to school.

Brandi S. (bs) – Thanks for the encouragement and not laughing at me too much when I had issues with my Philosophy of Ethics course. :)

Anthony H. - Thanks for the never-ending encouragement, sir. It means a lot.

Lee F. - Thanks for helping keep me on track when the combination of work and school became too much to handle.

Steve & Marie – By far the oldest (in duration, not age!) friends I have. Thank you both for helping get through some tough times and for always being there. Merci beaucoup!

Richie W. -- Thanks for the non-stop flailing. I'm sure it helped...something.

Emilie - Thanks. :)

Also, to my family: I have missed out on countless family functions and important events for the sake of academic success.  The past four years have been unbelievably challenging. Thank you for being there.

I'm sure there are many names I should add to this list. There are just too many to list. You all know who you are! So, thank you.

Jeff

A new site.

Just finishing up the implementation of The Pink Sink. The store carries a full line of handmade soaps, lip balm, and other gift items. Admittedly, it is the first "pink" site I've ever done, but I think it turned out nicely. Head over and check out their product line.  The "Gifted Chicken" product line is cool for us guys. I mean, who doesn't need some Zombie Survival Soap for when the Zombies attack?

Disable PC Speaker in Linux

Just a minor annoyance. The PC speaker "beep" on my laptop is annoyingly loud. I always disable it after I install Linux.

Either via sudo or as root:

Using your favorite text editor, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and add the following line to the file:

blacklist pcspkr

Save and Exit.

It will be disabled on your next reboot. In the meantime, you can 'rmmod pcspkr' to disable it immediately.

Compiling Chromium on Linux Mint 7 - Gloria

I was working on compiling Chromium on Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) and found that the nifty script provided by Google only supports "Ubuntu" by checking the Linux version via "cat /etc/issue". A quick hack and it supports Mint (x64 and most likely x86 as well).

Download modified version here: install-build-deps

Otherwise, just download the original version directly from Google, open it in your favorite text editor, search "Ubuntu" and add an appropriate entry for "Linux Mint". It should be self explanatory.

The rest of the instructions you can follow verbatim from the Google Chromium Dev Site.

Your next step will be to get the code either via tarball or SVN.

All the info you need is here: Chromium Developer Documentation - Get the Code

I'm currently grabbing the source via SVN and will post up any additional helpful details.

Btw, if this post was helpful to you, please leave a comment. I would love to know someone is actually reading my blog. :)

UPDATE: 1:55AM 8/11/09 -
The build was successful. The latest dev build is unstable, as expected. However, there is a *lot* of promise here for a great browser. Load times are unbelievable. No flash or other plugin support yet, but I think this is a preview of something great.

In any case, the build instructions (using the modified script I provided above) work fine on Linux Mint 7 (x64). The instructions provided on the Google link are also precise. Have fun!

Screenshot of GMail running under Chromium on Linux for good measure..

Wiring your house for Ethernet

Everyone is doing the wireless thing these days.

I have decided to wire my house with CAT 6 Ethernet and ditch the poorly performing WiFi network I have now. The main reason is because I am having problems getting a stable connection with the second building I have a wireless bridge configured to. It works most of the time, but it is on the fringe of useful signal strength.

CAT6 cable is cheap, so I decided to go that route. While working through the process I have learned a few things that I want to share.


Need to run Ethernet cable outside? No problem.

I don't do this all the time, so I wasn't sure what was available in the way of cabling. It turns out that flooded, direct burial, CAT-6 cable is available on E-Bay for a reasonable price. I found 200ft for about $50.

I bought standard issue UTP CAT6 to wire inside the house. (E-Bay, again)

Other things you'll need to wire up your house:

Keystone jacks (CAT6 "approved" for gigabit speeds) and wall plates. These can be bought in all sorts of configurations.

Patch panel - These are relatively cheap but highly recommended. It gives you something easy to terminate all of your wiring from your wall jacks to in a central location and allows for easy cable diagnostics to that point.

Keystone punch down tool - Cheap, and any geek should have one. You can punch the wires down without one, but do it right. You'll thank me later.

Crimping tool for Ethernet connectors - Must have to install connectors on the ends of your cabling. E-Bay or your local electronics retailer should suffice.

Cable tester - Self explanatory. Not required but highly recommended if you value your sanity.

CAT6 connectors - Buy more than you need. You'll likely mess up a connection or two as you get the hang of using the crimper. They're cheap.

Gigabit switch - Cheap and widely available. Run patch cables from the patch panel to the router.

Router - Does not have to be gigabit necessarily since you will only be using this for IP address assignment and routing to the Internet. Your ISP will be your bottleneck, not the 100mbps router.

You could combine the router and switch and just use a router, but I find it easier to have a separate switch. A high quality switch will rarely need to be power cycled. Everyone knows that most consumer grade broadband routers have issues at times.

That way you can stash the switch in an out of the way place near the patch panel and run a single cable from the switch to the router that connects you to the Internet.

All devices on the switch will communicate with each other via the switch at gigabit speeds and Internet traffic will find its way through your router.

I'm still working on physically wiring my house. I'll update this post with pictures as I complete the project.

DD-WRT and freedns.afraid.org

I am currently using a Netgear WGR614v8 router running Firmware:DD-WRT v24-sp2 (03/27/09) mini.

I recently decided sign up with one of the many available dynamic DNS services. One of the supported services in the DD-WRT firmware is freedns.afraid.org. I really liked their user interface so I signed up.

Much to my dismay the initial login attempt from the router failed. After confirming my user ID and password were correct, I did a bit of searching.

Here's the secret:

When configuring the options in the DDNS configuration screen of DD-WRT you have to make a slight adjustment to the hostname field. You have to include the hash value for your site after the actual hostname.



Note the hostname field.

Now, you may be asking "Where do I get this mysterious hash value?" Easy!

Just log into your account at freedns.afraid.org, click on "Dynamic DNS" on the left hand side of the screen. Hover over the "Direct URL" link and copy the shortcut value to the clipboard. This will give you something like this:

http://freedns.afraid.org/dynamic/update.php?UUZGxRSVRTTUl25VUmMTozA
The part we care about is the value after the "?" in the query string. Now, just modify your Hostname value in DD-WRT to look like: myhostname.com,hashvalue and then save the settings.

That's it.

Linux Mint 7 "Gloria"

I finally made a permanent switch to Linux here at the house. Debian was my first Linux distribution so I have always had a soft spot for Debian based distributions. I think Ubuntu is one of the best desktop environments for the new Linux user.
A few months ago I was checking out distrowatch and noticed a distribution called Linux Mint.







Linux Mint (current version 7 as of today) is an Ubuntu based distribution that makes Linux even easier to get going on the average user's desktop. Several media codecs come pre-installed. The "Main Edition" includes DVD playback out of the box, should your country of residence permit its usage. Please check the download page for more information.

Excerpt from distrowatch:

"Linux Mint is one of the surprise packages of the past year. Originally launched as a variant of Ubuntu with integrated media codecs, it has now developed into one of the most user-friendly distributions on the market - complete with a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, a web-based package installation interface, and a number of different editions. Perhaps most importantly, this is one project where the developers and users are in constant interaction, resulting in dramatic, user-driven improvements with every new release. "

It has become my distribution of choice for my desktop machines here at home. The look and feel is very slick and things seem to work rather well out of the box. It is so closely related to Ubuntu that any troubleshooting you need to do can be researched by looking for Ubuntu references. Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) is based on Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty). It is available in x86, x64 and with GNOME, KDE, XFCE, or Fluxbox.

I'll try to write more on Mint later, but time is short this evening.

If you're interested, I think it is worth checking out.

New Software Ideas

Has anyone noticed that there is an amazing lack of opportunities out there for "new" software? There is an app (or 10) for everything. I have been trying to come up with an original idea. That is hard to do these days!

At this point I think the only thing left is to explore niche markets where the existing applications may be legacy apps or apps that could be done much better than they are today.

Something to ponder..

Bellsouth DSL

I helped a member of my family install their Bellsouth/AT&T DSL Service tonight.  Upon initial inspection it seemed you had to use the CD provided with the modem in order to register for a user ID.  Nonsense, I thought..but I decided to proceed. After listening to a narrated audio recording of how to install DSL filters, the software generated a very helpful error..

"An error occurred that requires the assistance of the Helpdesk" or something similar.. 

The system was getting an IP address from the modem, I could surf to 192.168.1.254 and get to the "login page" on the modem, and no other problems were obvious.   After a quick Google search on another machine I found http://dslinstallation.bellsouth.net.  I used that site to register for a user ID and password.  Then I logged into the modem with that login information and voila.. Internet. 

Bellsouth/AT&T installation CDs remain useless. They could at least provide meaningful error messages.

IT Mindset

After several years in corporate America I have come to the conclusion that, for the most part, IT departments tend to suffer certain symptoms of severe 'group think'. I share with you now the list of symptoms of group think defined by Irving Janis way back in 1977:

• Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
  
• Rationalizing warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions.
  
• Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.
  
• Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, disfigured, impotent, or stupid.
  
• Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty".
  
• Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
  
• Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
  
• Mind guards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.

Now, consider the infrastructure of most backward-thinking IT shops. How many times have you been the victim of stereotyping by someone in the ranks of your organization's IT staff? If you are not "one of them" you are treated as a lower life-form. They also tend to take unilateral action without consulting the operations side of the business. Their way is the only way it shall be done.

Where did the message that other departments within the company are fact the customers of IT get lost? If external customers are treated in the same manner as internal customers the business would not be around for long.

I am not saying that every IT shop is this way. There are a few golden nuggets out there that are forward-thinking and customer service oriented. They fully understand that they are there to support the business, not own it and run it for the lowly CEO and other employees that don't really know what is going on.

I am in IT by profession so I guess I should be shunned for speaking ill of my own kind. However, this is the type of behavior I have witnessed time and time again. While I don't agree with it, I do understand it. I can see how, in such a technology driven workplace, it is all too easy for network admins, system admins, DBAs, and other IT employees to get the idea that they are the supreme overlords of the organization.

Just stop it. You're not in charge. We're not in charge. Companies live or die together as one unit. Departments are created in order to make the business more efficient. They exist to support each other in business operations, not to compete for power.

Welcome

Welcome to yet another pointless blog for the bored Internet surfers' viewing pleasure. My name is Jeff and I am a Computer Science undergraduate student attending Baker College. I currently hold an A.A.S. in Programming from the aforementioned institution.

This blog will be filled with everything from personal thoughts on life, my views on "work" issues in corporate America, and any tech tid-bits I find useful.