I’ve been managing to keep my self busy with various projects here and there. Here is a re-cap of things since my previous post.
I’m going to order myself a new work laptop. My old G4 is simply not cutting it anymore. I was having a hard time deciding wether or not to go with a portable workstation or another compact and I think I’ve decided on getting the smaller of the two. I’ve also decided to stick with a Mac since I feel that the OS is simply better (since its practially tailored for the hardware). I’ll aim to have it ordered, hopefully, early next week.
Raf back @ Work
For some reason, my webcam stopped working. I think it was due to either a Windows XP update, or a VMware update. Regardless, it took a while to get it working again for a few reasons. 1) It really isn’t supported on Windows XP. 2) It is also not supported on Linux. 3) I forgot the steps I took to get it to work the first time. I started to suspect that their might have been a problem with the VMware update and how it passes USB to the VMs. I eventually clean up my XP VM, allocated more RAM to it (since it was painfully slow), and re-ran multiple installs until I got it right.
I’ve been working on a demo install of Xythos Enterprise Document Management Suite. It took me a while to get past the install, but I managed to get it installed with some help form the Xythos Support Staff (we apparently didn’t setup PostgreSQL properly, thanks Ubuntu), but I’m now in the process of thinking through a possible migration strategy. It is too bad that their import scripts don’t deal well with Solaris ACLs and recursive directories. There is also a larger issue with looking up group information, but I’ll have to revisit that one with Xythos Support, or most likely Professional Services ($$$). On the surface, this might work however our migration path is looking to be an absolute pain. I’m at the point where I’ll probably import over a few user folders and let them loose on the demo system to get some feedback.
Hrm, I have another WordPress update to do. I’m thinking I’ll hold off a bit longer, however since the last one went rather smoothly I’ll probably do it once I have some downtime. I also have a Gallery update to install. Since my last Gallery update when horribly wrong, I’m definately going to wait until I have some downtime.
I still have to plan some SAN updates, however I need everyone in my Dept. to be tuned in and on-board regarding the procedure. At this rate, I may end up doing them in late July or early August. I don’t anticipate them being too troublesome, as long as I can schedule a large enough down time window. Beyond a simple software update I would prefer to do a hardware update but, without a boss to budget and approve such an order, that operation is above my pay grade. What I really want to do is try out a few Failover Manager(s) on our VMware config., that might be asking too much especially since it puts the VMware config in a mission critical sort of production that we’d rather avoid.
2nd planter close up
At home, I’ve been busting ass building planters from recycled pallets. I was surprised by how awesome they look, if I do say so myself. Click on the image to see more pictures of the progress I’ve made thus far. I have two more planters to make from heavy duty industrial pallets, which took a while to break apart. I have a few more ideas for recycling pallets, but I have to finish two more before I can move on. I got the idea to use pallets from the Instructables website. The best part of the project was hunting pallets. The worst is a three way tie between pulling nails, taking apart industrial pallets, and hauling dirt.
Hrm, I guess that pretty much sums it up. There are probably a few thing here and there that I’ve omitted, but I think I’ve included the juicy bits.
Laters,
–Raf