after seeing that water experiment on the ISS, i became really fascinated by what life must be like on that space station. well, there's a video tour given by one of the astronauts on board. very cool look at how they do things. makes me wish i could try something like that for a few months.
in the words of napoleon dynamite: *sigh*. . . lucky.
anyway-- two links to the video tour (just in case one of them becomes defunct)
official ISS tour video provided by NASA (broken up into several clips)
a youtube posting of the ISS video (one, full length video-- as opposed to being in separate clips)
if anyone happens on this page, check it out. it's really cool. i mean, i can even get my kids to sit down and watch it!
but, if nobody ever ventures this way-- that's ok. i'd like to come back here from time to time to remind myself to watch it again. it's just so cool.
20130426
20130425
melog-20130425.log
often when i vent, i only discuss the negative things. i can see how that might make me sound disgruntled or always upset about something-- malcontent and ornery.
well . . . it's true.
naw, just kidding.
i love my wife and kids very much. i can't talk to them about what bugs me about them all the time. they would feel bad and i doubt it would help. so, i vent it here. but, at the beginning and end of the day, i wouldn't want to delete any of my family from my life.
my son is bright and full of promise. he's insecure, but wants to achieve so much. he's creative and i can see him doing something amazing with his life if he doesn't loose sight of the fact he must be persistent have a good work ethic, and never give up.
my daughter is a sweetheart little girl also full of promise. she just can't stop hugging people. annoying, but it just means she's got a lot of love to give. she's bursting with compassion and she seems to have taken on her mother's sense for art and creativity. and just when you might think to count her out, she surprises you and show you that you had better count her in, instead.
my wife is my best friend. we understand each other. we get each other's ideas and thoughts before we finish them sometimes. we have code words that we didn't even agree upon because we just understand each other-- something of our own language sometimes. she loves our children and wants the very best for them and pursues that with a tenacity i simply don't have. she shows her love for me daily and tries very hard to keep our relationship from being one-sided. i wouldn't know what to do if i were suddenly single and available again. i'd be so afraid to look for someone new.
so should i ever vent in the future, i need to make it known to myself and anyone else that the above description of my family is the frame of reference from which all my venting comes.
well . . . it's true.
naw, just kidding.
i love my wife and kids very much. i can't talk to them about what bugs me about them all the time. they would feel bad and i doubt it would help. so, i vent it here. but, at the beginning and end of the day, i wouldn't want to delete any of my family from my life.
my son is bright and full of promise. he's insecure, but wants to achieve so much. he's creative and i can see him doing something amazing with his life if he doesn't loose sight of the fact he must be persistent have a good work ethic, and never give up.
my daughter is a sweetheart little girl also full of promise. she just can't stop hugging people. annoying, but it just means she's got a lot of love to give. she's bursting with compassion and she seems to have taken on her mother's sense for art and creativity. and just when you might think to count her out, she surprises you and show you that you had better count her in, instead.
my wife is my best friend. we understand each other. we get each other's ideas and thoughts before we finish them sometimes. we have code words that we didn't even agree upon because we just understand each other-- something of our own language sometimes. she loves our children and wants the very best for them and pursues that with a tenacity i simply don't have. she shows her love for me daily and tries very hard to keep our relationship from being one-sided. i wouldn't know what to do if i were suddenly single and available again. i'd be so afraid to look for someone new.
so should i ever vent in the future, i need to make it known to myself and anyone else that the above description of my family is the frame of reference from which all my venting comes.
20130424
melog-20130424.log
is blogging dead? i've heard both a resounding YES and a resounding NO. but, i think we may need to dig deeper into a more important concern:
is social media and technology forcing us to only have time for tweet sized packets of information? and, what will the implications be if we develop into a society of people that cannot stay tuned for long enough to finish a few pages from a book-- or even take the time to methodically write one?
most people who say blogging is dead cite the reason as being the advent of social medial. it's faster (instant gratification) and as a result has become all the rave. they point out that the success of twitter and the captivating nature of facebook as the reason why blogging is obsolete and warn that if you want your business to have any useful presence online, you had better learn how to tweet and use facebook for your business.
on the other hand, people who still have confidence in blogging point out that social media isn't always powerful enough to provide a rich on-line experience. social media doesn't always go in-depth on important topics despite being a good springboard for grabbing people's attention. blogs are still enjoyed by many people and it's a good way to display really cool content as well as one's talents in ways that facebook and twitter cannot always do; unless however, they forward the reader to-- guess where?
someone else's website or blog.
even so, blogs seem to be getting shorter as people's tolerance for reading lengthy material seems to have diminished. i think we'll find that popular blogs will hang on for some time to come, while small-time blogs like mine will hardly ever be noticed. but, that's personally ok with me. i blog mostly for myself-- gaining any readership or picking up a few on-line buddies along the way is icing on the cake for me. oh-- i do love icing, too, by the way. but, my feelings won't be hurt if no one ever reads another post that i write. remember-- i feel lucky that anyone even finds me online in the first place!
what bothers me more is the consequence of people not being able to pay attention because of social media. i'm starting to see it some at work with younger people. many of the "20 somethings" who are fresh out of college at my job cannot have a conversation with you without checking their phone every other second because of some new tweet or text message from a friend. some breaking news update or a blurb about the latest popular meme keeps interrupting work flow and stalls important discussions on how to implement priority projects at work. worse, these same people have a tendency to then interrupt each other (and those nearby) by physically visiting one another in their respective cubicles-- discussing the very interruptions which are constantly bred by their digital devices. and then their chatter interrupts those around them-- those of us who are trying to concentrate on real work.
don't get me wrong-- the younger crowd can be clever and quite dedicated once they get back on task. you get to see a lot of fresh creativity and amazing talent and flexibility for problem solving from younger people. but, i'm not sure the trade off always pans out in the end. despite all that talent, the a fore mentioned mentality that i described cannot be helpful when an emergency is happening in the office environment. As if oblivious to the pressures of prospective unemployment, they still insist that you still stop to hear this really funny joke that someone just re-tweeted while the manager is standing around asking why the server isn't up.
ain't nobody got time for that.
is social media and technology forcing us to only have time for tweet sized packets of information? and, what will the implications be if we develop into a society of people that cannot stay tuned for long enough to finish a few pages from a book-- or even take the time to methodically write one?
most people who say blogging is dead cite the reason as being the advent of social medial. it's faster (instant gratification) and as a result has become all the rave. they point out that the success of twitter and the captivating nature of facebook as the reason why blogging is obsolete and warn that if you want your business to have any useful presence online, you had better learn how to tweet and use facebook for your business.
on the other hand, people who still have confidence in blogging point out that social media isn't always powerful enough to provide a rich on-line experience. social media doesn't always go in-depth on important topics despite being a good springboard for grabbing people's attention. blogs are still enjoyed by many people and it's a good way to display really cool content as well as one's talents in ways that facebook and twitter cannot always do; unless however, they forward the reader to-- guess where?
someone else's website or blog.
even so, blogs seem to be getting shorter as people's tolerance for reading lengthy material seems to have diminished. i think we'll find that popular blogs will hang on for some time to come, while small-time blogs like mine will hardly ever be noticed. but, that's personally ok with me. i blog mostly for myself-- gaining any readership or picking up a few on-line buddies along the way is icing on the cake for me. oh-- i do love icing, too, by the way. but, my feelings won't be hurt if no one ever reads another post that i write. remember-- i feel lucky that anyone even finds me online in the first place!
what bothers me more is the consequence of people not being able to pay attention because of social media. i'm starting to see it some at work with younger people. many of the "20 somethings" who are fresh out of college at my job cannot have a conversation with you without checking their phone every other second because of some new tweet or text message from a friend. some breaking news update or a blurb about the latest popular meme keeps interrupting work flow and stalls important discussions on how to implement priority projects at work. worse, these same people have a tendency to then interrupt each other (and those nearby) by physically visiting one another in their respective cubicles-- discussing the very interruptions which are constantly bred by their digital devices. and then their chatter interrupts those around them-- those of us who are trying to concentrate on real work.
don't get me wrong-- the younger crowd can be clever and quite dedicated once they get back on task. you get to see a lot of fresh creativity and amazing talent and flexibility for problem solving from younger people. but, i'm not sure the trade off always pans out in the end. despite all that talent, the a fore mentioned mentality that i described cannot be helpful when an emergency is happening in the office environment. As if oblivious to the pressures of prospective unemployment, they still insist that you still stop to hear this really funny joke that someone just re-tweeted while the manager is standing around asking why the server isn't up.
ain't nobody got time for that.
20130423
melog-20130423.log
there is a reason i avoid doing OS patches. luckily, things didn't turn out too badly. had some hiccups this morning. it's hard to troubleshoot at 04:00 and you've been up almost 24 hours prior. let the people who come in at 08:00 fix it. geesh.
one thing i've really wanted to do lately is dig into learning math better. i've got it stuck in my head that math is the highest expression of human reason. maybe it isn't but i'm thinking that these days. as a result, i want to sharpen my math skills. i have the good fortune of having an acquaintance who just earned his math degree. he is eager to assist anyone who may have any interest in math-- so he provided me with several texts that undergrads would read if they were pursuing a math degree. he cautioned me not to get too hung up in any one chapter; in other words, not to feel like i have to totally grasp chapter 1 to move on to chapter 2 because the ideas often times get revisited and some ideas are really just introductory-- so they will be better explained in more detail later. but, i've done a poor job of following his advice as i still find myself in chapter on of each book he gave me.
it's amazing how we start with the simplest of ideas and before you know it, you're wading in some really deep thoughts. i often find myself reading along, going-- yeah, yeah, that makes sense. yeah . . . uh huh, yeah, that follows . . . yeah . . . yeah . . . hey?! WTF . . . how in the hell . . . whoa.
another activity i want to partake in more often is playing the game of wei qi, or more commonly known in the states as the game of go. some may also know this game as baduk, as well. apparently, this game it great for keeping sharp and game play is far more difficult to master than chess. the rules are easier, but the number of combinations are far greater and more decisions are required before considering your move. not to suggest that chess is inferior, though. anything that helps with problem solving is a great activity to do.
i guess that's why i'm becoming drawn to such games and activities-- i want to improve my problem solving skills. they suck, but it's something i enjoy doing nonetheless. i'm hoping these actives will help me grow-- much like sudoku did for me some years back.
one thing i've really wanted to do lately is dig into learning math better. i've got it stuck in my head that math is the highest expression of human reason. maybe it isn't but i'm thinking that these days. as a result, i want to sharpen my math skills. i have the good fortune of having an acquaintance who just earned his math degree. he is eager to assist anyone who may have any interest in math-- so he provided me with several texts that undergrads would read if they were pursuing a math degree. he cautioned me not to get too hung up in any one chapter; in other words, not to feel like i have to totally grasp chapter 1 to move on to chapter 2 because the ideas often times get revisited and some ideas are really just introductory-- so they will be better explained in more detail later. but, i've done a poor job of following his advice as i still find myself in chapter on of each book he gave me.
it's amazing how we start with the simplest of ideas and before you know it, you're wading in some really deep thoughts. i often find myself reading along, going-- yeah, yeah, that makes sense. yeah . . . uh huh, yeah, that follows . . . yeah . . . yeah . . . hey?! WTF . . . how in the hell . . . whoa.
another activity i want to partake in more often is playing the game of wei qi, or more commonly known in the states as the game of go. some may also know this game as baduk, as well. apparently, this game it great for keeping sharp and game play is far more difficult to master than chess. the rules are easier, but the number of combinations are far greater and more decisions are required before considering your move. not to suggest that chess is inferior, though. anything that helps with problem solving is a great activity to do.
i guess that's why i'm becoming drawn to such games and activities-- i want to improve my problem solving skills. they suck, but it's something i enjoy doing nonetheless. i'm hoping these actives will help me grow-- much like sudoku did for me some years back.
20130422
melog-20130422.log
Well, i got that nap in. so, looks like i won't be doing patches tonight cause my nap really threw my schedule off. i'll have to work those patches back in on another day this week. maybe monday night or early tuesday morning in the wee hours. i know, technically, today is monday, but i intended to finish up my patches sunday, though.
despite my nap, i think i'm still sleepy. i think i'll hit the sack.
my wife mowed the front lawn today and my son mowed the back (finally got those damn lawn mowers to start). we went to lowes and got some weed 'n feed for the grass. i took a nap after changing out all the florescent bulbs. i had to crawl into some really awkward spaces to get to some of those light fixtures.
i wake up from my nap to find that the lawn mowers are still outside and the fertilizer bags are everywhere. i guess i should clean it up since they did most of the actual yard work-- i suppose that's the least i can do.
i've been in a training class all last week. so, going into the office monday morning won't be fun. i've got a lot of work that's probably waiting on me and several co-workers who probably have save up a lot of dialogue for me to hear-- which makes getting work done quite difficult.
time management to the rescue!
every morning for school, my daughter can't find her shoes, book bag and a pair of matching socks. but before she went to bed i said to her-- repeat this word, "routine". after she did that, i told her she needed to make it a routine to find her shoes and place them by her bed before getting in it. i made her find a pair of matching socks, fold them up into a little ball, and stuff them in one of her shoes. i made her hang up her bookbag after placing her various folders in it for school. i'm going to make it a point to teach her some basic, but important routines. finding only one shoe when you're in a rush sucks!
Oh yeah, and there's a cool video where an astronaut on the ISS takes a cloth and soaks it with water. Then, he wrings the soaked cloth. What do you think happens? Make a guess and then go find out: Experimentation at it's best.
despite my nap, i think i'm still sleepy. i think i'll hit the sack.
my wife mowed the front lawn today and my son mowed the back (finally got those damn lawn mowers to start). we went to lowes and got some weed 'n feed for the grass. i took a nap after changing out all the florescent bulbs. i had to crawl into some really awkward spaces to get to some of those light fixtures.
i wake up from my nap to find that the lawn mowers are still outside and the fertilizer bags are everywhere. i guess i should clean it up since they did most of the actual yard work-- i suppose that's the least i can do.
i've been in a training class all last week. so, going into the office monday morning won't be fun. i've got a lot of work that's probably waiting on me and several co-workers who probably have save up a lot of dialogue for me to hear-- which makes getting work done quite difficult.
time management to the rescue!
every morning for school, my daughter can't find her shoes, book bag and a pair of matching socks. but before she went to bed i said to her-- repeat this word, "routine". after she did that, i told her she needed to make it a routine to find her shoes and place them by her bed before getting in it. i made her find a pair of matching socks, fold them up into a little ball, and stuff them in one of her shoes. i made her hang up her bookbag after placing her various folders in it for school. i'm going to make it a point to teach her some basic, but important routines. finding only one shoe when you're in a rush sucks!
Oh yeah, and there's a cool video where an astronaut on the ISS takes a cloth and soaks it with water. Then, he wrings the soaked cloth. What do you think happens? Make a guess and then go find out: Experimentation at it's best.
20130421
melog-20130421-03.log
physicists are "on a roll" lately. they discovered the higgs boson particle and may have now found indirect evidence that dark matter isn't just some idea people pulled out of their asses.
fascinating.
melog-20130421-02.log
time management for system administrators is a book i've been going through from time to time. it has been helpful in the past few weeks.
system administrators are IT professionals who have the primary job of caring for computer systems that provide services for users.
computers run 24x7-- including holidays and on your scheduled vacation. so then . . . being a system administrator is often advertised as an 8-5 M-F position, but servers can crash or require preventive maintenance outside of that window. old school employers still want to know why you didn't come to work at 08:00 sharp, but you were up at 03:00 installing patches . . . or you worked saturday or sunday performing extra work.
i always felt like i was never getting anything done, but i was always working, working, working. i didn't realized that my time management needs were unique because a system administrator has to manage a 24x7 responsibility, an 8-5 job description, and then possibly a demanding home or social life all at once.
time management for system administrators has really helped me these past few weeks. I've gotten more done without feeling that my efforts are useless or that i'm trying to complete an infinite task.
the book doesn't just help me manage work, but home life too. for the first time in a few years, i've finally replaced all the florescent lights in my home.
and . . . i just might get some server patches done today. i've been putting that off for a good while. you know . . . patches are necessary until they break production services.
thank the lords of kobol for snapshots!
system administrators are IT professionals who have the primary job of caring for computer systems that provide services for users.
computers run 24x7-- including holidays and on your scheduled vacation. so then . . . being a system administrator is often advertised as an 8-5 M-F position, but servers can crash or require preventive maintenance outside of that window. old school employers still want to know why you didn't come to work at 08:00 sharp, but you were up at 03:00 installing patches . . . or you worked saturday or sunday performing extra work.
i always felt like i was never getting anything done, but i was always working, working, working. i didn't realized that my time management needs were unique because a system administrator has to manage a 24x7 responsibility, an 8-5 job description, and then possibly a demanding home or social life all at once.
time management for system administrators has really helped me these past few weeks. I've gotten more done without feeling that my efforts are useless or that i'm trying to complete an infinite task.
the book doesn't just help me manage work, but home life too. for the first time in a few years, i've finally replaced all the florescent lights in my home.
and . . . i just might get some server patches done today. i've been putting that off for a good while. you know . . . patches are necessary until they break production services.
thank the lords of kobol for snapshots!
melog-20130421-01.log
what is it about lawn mowers? i have two, so it's twice the trouble to just to get one started.
soooo sleepy, but nobody will let me sleep . . .
soooo sleepy, but nobody will let me sleep . . .
melog-20130421.log
i'm exhausted from helping my wife with a short paper and running errands all day. my niece is also spending the night, my wife let my daughter sleep in our bed and my son crashed in the living room. i feel a bit displaced in my own home.
i took my son to the eye doctor today. she told me that he has intermittent extropia which basically means my son's eyes function independently of each other and as a result, he sometimes doesn't get to enjoy the stereoscopic experience. in other words, he doesn't see 3-D very well. i don't mean just at the movie theater-- i'm also mean with everyday living. no wonder he stumbles around more than i'd like. he has issues with depth perception.
you'd hardly know it, but sometimes he does have the moments where he seems accident prone. now i know why. so, when he put on the 3-D glasses at the doctor's office and couldn't see the pop up images, i began to really wonder what was going on. now i know.
the doctor told me to look into visual therapy, but stated that we don't even have anybody who practices that in our state, otherwise she'd refer me to one.
i saw on where a few studies have been done expressing that people with this condition are three times more likely than the average person to have mental illness by young adulthood. wow . . . that made me feel warm and fuzzy. mom already deals with clinical depression . . . at first glance it looks like the cards are really stacked against my boy. he's all of a sudden taken up the desire to become good at basketball. i'm short . . . his momma's short . . . he's got hardly any depth perception . . .
yet, you know what? i can't stop believing that he'll be ok. he still bought a new basketball today after hearing the doctor tell him that he'll have trouble with sports. he seems to really have found a way to adapt to his condition. so, maybe it won't be too much of an issue.
but now i understand why he tripped and fell a lot in soccer.
anyhow . . . i won't discourage him. if he really loves the sport of basketball like he claims he does of late, depth perception will simply be another problem that he'll learn to work around.
time to take a hot shower and find some corner of the house to sleep in. i took a training class last week, so i've got a lot of work waiting on me. yeah . . . and i gotta do server patches later today, too.
boy, i'll be glad when things slow down.
i took my son to the eye doctor today. she told me that he has intermittent extropia which basically means my son's eyes function independently of each other and as a result, he sometimes doesn't get to enjoy the stereoscopic experience. in other words, he doesn't see 3-D very well. i don't mean just at the movie theater-- i'm also mean with everyday living. no wonder he stumbles around more than i'd like. he has issues with depth perception.
you'd hardly know it, but sometimes he does have the moments where he seems accident prone. now i know why. so, when he put on the 3-D glasses at the doctor's office and couldn't see the pop up images, i began to really wonder what was going on. now i know.
the doctor told me to look into visual therapy, but stated that we don't even have anybody who practices that in our state, otherwise she'd refer me to one.
i saw on where a few studies have been done expressing that people with this condition are three times more likely than the average person to have mental illness by young adulthood. wow . . . that made me feel warm and fuzzy. mom already deals with clinical depression . . . at first glance it looks like the cards are really stacked against my boy. he's all of a sudden taken up the desire to become good at basketball. i'm short . . . his momma's short . . . he's got hardly any depth perception . . .
yet, you know what? i can't stop believing that he'll be ok. he still bought a new basketball today after hearing the doctor tell him that he'll have trouble with sports. he seems to really have found a way to adapt to his condition. so, maybe it won't be too much of an issue.
but now i understand why he tripped and fell a lot in soccer.
anyhow . . . i won't discourage him. if he really loves the sport of basketball like he claims he does of late, depth perception will simply be another problem that he'll learn to work around.
time to take a hot shower and find some corner of the house to sleep in. i took a training class last week, so i've got a lot of work waiting on me. yeah . . . and i gotta do server patches later today, too.
boy, i'll be glad when things slow down.
20130419
melog-20130419.log
Whoa. Been a while.
My daughter asked me if there could be life out there besides us and if we would be "the aliens" if we found other life.
I showed her pictures from the Hubble deep field telescope and explained that our planet sits inside of a solar system, that sits inside of a galaxy like one of those in that picture. I tried to help her get an idea of how big everything around us is.
Then I responded to her question with a question: Do you think it's possible that other life might exist since our universe is so big with so many galaxies like ours?
I admitted that we probably couldn't ever encounter life because the distance between the stars is so vast and the window of opportunity to encounter other life capable of meeting us is so small. But, ironically, the opportunity for life to form elsewhere in this universe is enormous.
Her question got me to showing her videos and then I remembered a blog post that depicted the atmosphere in relationship to ground level. That got me thinking . . . I haven't blogged in a really good while.
I worry about a computer system that doesn't have any logs to report. It's too quiet. Seems like the logs ought to show something somewhere. I get nervous when I look at logs and don't see anything at all but a time stamp of the last reboot that happened half a year ago.
Anyway, that got me to looking over old posts. I remembered why I did this. It's not to entertain others-- though if that happens, that's an added bonus. I did this to clear my head and to create artifacts for me to find again years later so that I may reflect. In other words-- this is my diary of sorts. I see that totally ignoring this endeavor is a mistake even if blogging seems to have gone out of style (Thanks for that, Facebook-- and you too, Twitter).
My daughter asked me if there could be life out there besides us and if we would be "the aliens" if we found other life.
I showed her pictures from the Hubble deep field telescope and explained that our planet sits inside of a solar system, that sits inside of a galaxy like one of those in that picture. I tried to help her get an idea of how big everything around us is.
Then I responded to her question with a question: Do you think it's possible that other life might exist since our universe is so big with so many galaxies like ours?
I admitted that we probably couldn't ever encounter life because the distance between the stars is so vast and the window of opportunity to encounter other life capable of meeting us is so small. But, ironically, the opportunity for life to form elsewhere in this universe is enormous.
Her question got me to showing her videos and then I remembered a blog post that depicted the atmosphere in relationship to ground level. That got me thinking . . . I haven't blogged in a really good while.
I worry about a computer system that doesn't have any logs to report. It's too quiet. Seems like the logs ought to show something somewhere. I get nervous when I look at logs and don't see anything at all but a time stamp of the last reboot that happened half a year ago.
Anyway, that got me to looking over old posts. I remembered why I did this. It's not to entertain others-- though if that happens, that's an added bonus. I did this to clear my head and to create artifacts for me to find again years later so that I may reflect. In other words-- this is my diary of sorts. I see that totally ignoring this endeavor is a mistake even if blogging seems to have gone out of style (Thanks for that, Facebook-- and you too, Twitter).
Labels:
aliens,
atmosphere,
galaxies,
Hubble,
reflections,
space,
universe
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