Time for a geek update. I finally got around to upgrading from Jaunty Jackalope to Karmic Koala and all my Asus F5 dreams have come true. All the ACPI stuff finally works, everything just WORKS! Well worth the wait.
Oh, and it's dead sexy. 'Nuff said.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Grinding me down
I have this at home somewhere on cassette (anyone remember those?) The title song, "(Don't let 'em) Grind ya down" is fairly self explanatory but I gotta tell you, some days it's easier said than done.
This is the kind of stuff that really does my head in, and I might find it funny if it happened to someone else.
Example #1.
I ordered a replacement DVD/CD combo burner for a member of staff's notebook computer. First they argued as to whether he really needed it or not(?!!), then what account code we should use. Then after the requisition was submitted, Finance decided they didn't want to process the order because it was too small ($99) so someone had to order it on their corporate credit card. For reasons beyond my reckoning a subsequent attempt at getting a purchase requisition to stick (since the person whom I asked to order it using their corporate credit card evidently didn't) was more successful because it turned up yesterday, a mere 5 months after I first attempted to order it.
Example #2.
By comparison this has happened at the speed of light. December 1 2008 - receive quote for replacement LCD. After much bouncing around, I finally trick someone into requisitioning the part mid-February. Inquiries by the hopeful recipient of the LCD led to a dead end where no one was even able to confirm the part has been requisitioned. A call to a contact in Finance revealed (after much, much searching of the finance system) that the part has indeed been duly requisitioned, approved, a purchase order raised and dispatched to the supplier and (now) a followup email requesting an ETA on said part sent.
The corporate solution to this mess? Force me to have a corporate credit card (from whence I can become "empowered" and oh, by the way also the purchaser of pens, pencils, miscellaneous stationary, whatever folks in my building might want, and, presumably whatever IT stuff I might actually need (usually on behalf of someone else), in spite of IT purchases being forbidden by the credit card policy). Then I have the joys of responsibility for the cards safekeeping, monthly reconciliations and the new career path of a purchasing officer/bookkeeper. What's not to like?
I won't bore you further with the most recent ordeal of ordering a notebook computer for someone; that requisition only took about 7 weeks to grind it's way through the system so it barely rates a mention.
Stuff like this can start get a person down...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Shortening the list
Finally got on top of a few jobs this weekend, namely getting both Shoguns up and running with new cassettes, chainrings and even fancy Shimano chains. The Samurai isn't quite right yet, the front derailleur needs a bit more tweaking but it's completely rideable though the bar tape isn't what I was expecting and I did a horrible job applying it.
Also fixed the no idling problem on the venerable Honda VT250 circa 1985. The idle speed adjustment screw has been bent ever since we got it and I finally decided to straighten it out after it was driving me crazy while trying to adjust the idle after tweaking the mixture screws the other day. Put the nice straight screw in to be rewarded with no idle at all. It turns out that (in typical Honda engineering for the sake of it style) there's a little do-dah that the screw presses against which in turn presses on the cable pulley to set the idle speed. This little sucker will flip down if you remove the screw, necessitating removal of the petrol tank, airbox and little plate thingy that holds the carbies together in order to fix it. I should also mention that to make any adjustments to the idle speed, you will very likely burn your fingers on the front cylinder head cover. Nice.
Patched a couple of tubes and replaced the shagged rear tyre on the Tri-Sport too. Not bad considering the late starts (hey, I was going to get up early but I slept in in the interests of better health, I can't find a link, you'll just have to trust me) and the fact that I crashed out in the afternoon and got nothing done.
A while back I bought two of these hoping to resolve a bit of the bike storage crisis (I need to get rid of a few but I'm a hoarder). Sadly it doesn't look like it's destined to be. I put one up but it's a bit shaky with our MTB's on it. It might be ok, but if it falls over it's going to be ugly. The jury is definitely out.
Also fixed the no idling problem on the venerable Honda VT250 circa 1985. The idle speed adjustment screw has been bent ever since we got it and I finally decided to straighten it out after it was driving me crazy while trying to adjust the idle after tweaking the mixture screws the other day. Put the nice straight screw in to be rewarded with no idle at all. It turns out that (in typical Honda engineering for the sake of it style) there's a little do-dah that the screw presses against which in turn presses on the cable pulley to set the idle speed. This little sucker will flip down if you remove the screw, necessitating removal of the petrol tank, airbox and little plate thingy that holds the carbies together in order to fix it. I should also mention that to make any adjustments to the idle speed, you will very likely burn your fingers on the front cylinder head cover. Nice.
Patched a couple of tubes and replaced the shagged rear tyre on the Tri-Sport too. Not bad considering the late starts (hey, I was going to get up early but I slept in in the interests of better health, I can't find a link, you'll just have to trust me) and the fact that I crashed out in the afternoon and got nothing done.
A while back I bought two of these hoping to resolve a bit of the bike storage crisis (I need to get rid of a few but I'm a hoarder). Sadly it doesn't look like it's destined to be. I put one up but it's a bit shaky with our MTB's on it. It might be ok, but if it falls over it's going to be ugly. The jury is definitely out.
Friday, February 20, 2009
What a let down
An aborted bunch ride for me yesterday sadly. I got a puncture in the rear tyre within a couple of km of starting, fortunately I was prepared and a new tube was installed pretty quickly with the help of a couple of guys who stopped. The rest of the bunch were waiting around the corner and we all resumed where we left off. I'd checked the tyre briefly for things sticking through to the inside, but couldn't feel anything. It was only a quick check because I was feeling bad about holding everyone up.
About a kilometre later it punctured again and that was the end of my ride. I borrowed a mobile phone and called someone to rescue me and started walking back into town. Thinking about it I could have patched a tube and ridden back in since time was no longer a concern, but the walk was good.
My back tyre is badly worn which is disappointing considering it's only done 1700km. It's a Michelin Speeduim 2 which might be some kind of race tyre, I don't know, I just bought it because it was cheap(ish). I didn't have time to investigate the source of the punctures when I got home so this morning I rode the bike I actually built up for the purpose of commuting. It made me realise how fortunate I am to be able to pick and choose.
This weekend I'll hopefully get both Shoguns back in action, I bought some new 7 speed cassettes and chainrings as both sets were shot. I really need to pull the back wheel out of the commuter and reset the rear triangle. I did a shonky job of it to fit the Nexus 8 speed hub in there but it handles terribly so I'd guess I did it unevenly. I've since done another bike using Sheldon's technique. It worked perfectly and wasn't nearly as much effort as I'd anticipated.
About a kilometre later it punctured again and that was the end of my ride. I borrowed a mobile phone and called someone to rescue me and started walking back into town. Thinking about it I could have patched a tube and ridden back in since time was no longer a concern, but the walk was good.
My back tyre is badly worn which is disappointing considering it's only done 1700km. It's a Michelin Speeduim 2 which might be some kind of race tyre, I don't know, I just bought it because it was cheap(ish). I didn't have time to investigate the source of the punctures when I got home so this morning I rode the bike I actually built up for the purpose of commuting. It made me realise how fortunate I am to be able to pick and choose.
This weekend I'll hopefully get both Shoguns back in action, I bought some new 7 speed cassettes and chainrings as both sets were shot. I really need to pull the back wheel out of the commuter and reset the rear triangle. I did a shonky job of it to fit the Nexus 8 speed hub in there but it handles terribly so I'd guess I did it unevenly. I've since done another bike using Sheldon's technique. It worked perfectly and wasn't nearly as much effort as I'd anticipated.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The lowest of the low
It simply beggars belief, but it seems that some people (though I am loathe to include them with the rest of humanity) are looting the homes of bushfire victims in Victoria. It's the single most un-Australian thing I've ever heard of. Utterly despicable.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Microsoft hell
I volunteered (yes, really) for some microsoft training the other day. Today was day one, and thankfully tomorrow will be the finale. In the past I've attended some "Microsoft Official Curriculum" stuff and, once you get past the ubiquitous microsoft cheerleading, it was actually quite useful, particularly when it came time to roll out a sysprep setup of our labs.
But today was different. Instead of a folder chock full of microsoft speak (but thankfully doubling as a useful reference) we got a notepad. This was indeed a shaky start and it didn't really get much better. Probably the single most useful thing I took away from todays session is that a project called mono may take some pain out of the impending exchange rollout (more on that later).
The first hour or so was spent listening to how many microsoft products would solve the many problems (many of which we were blissfully unaware of) we apparently have sharing documents and so on. I thought this was pretty grim, but after lunch as the monotony of the new features of office 2007 were repeated ad-nauseum I fought the urge to cry. I'm there mainly for tomorrow's session on exchange and outlook so hopefully it'll be worth it. Know thy enemy and all that.
I'm an avid mutt user. Sadly it doesn't appear to be exchange compatible (like most mail clients worth using). This'll be an issue in the foreseeable future as exchange is thrust upon us. Truth be told the executive want it so they can impress their baby boomer middle management pals when they come to visit. Apparently there's a calendar function which I'm sure they're all wetting themselves over too. If possible, I hope to never even examine my calendar. In the absence of imap being enabled on the exchange server (it's not going to be) or some plugin for mutt popping up, I'll use either evolution or see if I can make mono run outlook. I suppose that way at least when the next outlook trojan/worm/self replicating virus/exploit or whatever comes out there'll be no underlying windows os for it to infect. Still don't relish the prospect.
Of course all this is shown up to be the petty nothingness it is (and I'm not really all that bothered by it truth be told) when you consider the poor bastards who've lost everything they have, friends, family and sometimes all three.
But today was different. Instead of a folder chock full of microsoft speak (but thankfully doubling as a useful reference) we got a notepad. This was indeed a shaky start and it didn't really get much better. Probably the single most useful thing I took away from todays session is that a project called mono may take some pain out of the impending exchange rollout (more on that later).
The first hour or so was spent listening to how many microsoft products would solve the many problems (many of which we were blissfully unaware of) we apparently have sharing documents and so on. I thought this was pretty grim, but after lunch as the monotony of the new features of office 2007 were repeated ad-nauseum I fought the urge to cry. I'm there mainly for tomorrow's session on exchange and outlook so hopefully it'll be worth it. Know thy enemy and all that.
I'm an avid mutt user. Sadly it doesn't appear to be exchange compatible (like most mail clients worth using). This'll be an issue in the foreseeable future as exchange is thrust upon us. Truth be told the executive want it so they can impress their baby boomer middle management pals when they come to visit. Apparently there's a calendar function which I'm sure they're all wetting themselves over too. If possible, I hope to never even examine my calendar. In the absence of imap being enabled on the exchange server (it's not going to be) or some plugin for mutt popping up, I'll use either evolution or see if I can make mono run outlook. I suppose that way at least when the next outlook trojan/worm/self replicating virus/exploit or whatever comes out there'll be no underlying windows os for it to infect. Still don't relish the prospect.
Of course all this is shown up to be the petty nothingness it is (and I'm not really all that bothered by it truth be told) when you consider the poor bastards who've lost everything they have, friends, family and sometimes all three.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Near miss (EV Shopping Part II)
I dodged a bullet the other day, what the hell was I thinking? $10K for a 1988 Suzuki Mighty Boy? $15K for a 1992 Daihatsu Charade? Both of which had clapped out batteries so add another $5.5K or so and a practical range varying from 20km to a (claimed) 80km.
Fortunately I talked myself out of it, one of the benefits of being a tightarse I suppose. It would have been a seriously bad purchase, particularly when you consider this. Naturally I expect the range claims are lies but how many people can honestly say they regularly drive their car hundreds of km one way? I expect whatever range it actually has should be enough for 90% of trips and we could use the smogbox for the rest.
I'll be interested to see if it gets off the ground here anyway. I do feel sorry for these guys, though. But I tend to think it was inevitable that an auto manufacturer would come along and squish them (albeit unintentionally) sooner or later. At about $70K for the evME versus about $30K for the i Miev it's a bit ominous.
Fortunately I talked myself out of it, one of the benefits of being a tightarse I suppose. It would have been a seriously bad purchase, particularly when you consider this. Naturally I expect the range claims are lies but how many people can honestly say they regularly drive their car hundreds of km one way? I expect whatever range it actually has should be enough for 90% of trips and we could use the smogbox for the rest.
I'll be interested to see if it gets off the ground here anyway. I do feel sorry for these guys, though. But I tend to think it was inevitable that an auto manufacturer would come along and squish them (albeit unintentionally) sooner or later. At about $70K for the evME versus about $30K for the i Miev it's a bit ominous.
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