A simple matter of…

A large part of system administration is planning at one level or another: * strategic planning * tactical planning * contingency planning Strategic planning is a fancier way of saying “long-term planning”. This is important as you need to know where you are going so that you can take steps along that route and not [...]

About five months ago I left my old job and started my own [http://bitcube.co.uk Linux infrastructure consultancy]. It’s been a nice ride, the freedom and control is fabulous. One benefit I particularly like is the ability to be really flexible with my hours. Whilst I used to take the odd hour out to cook a [...]

It’s been a year since I started using [http://www.smop.co.uk/blog/index.php/2009/01/23/getting-things-done/ Getting Things Done] methodology. Even whilst reading the book I couldn’t wait to get started. How has the last year worked out? Do I still use GTD or was it just a flash in the pan, a fad destined to die a death? “Brilliant” would sum [...]

I’d just like to look at this recent airline bombing attempt to see how effective the security measures have been and will be: * no liquids > 100ml ** well it was solid and hidden * do not fly list ** with over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Fly_List one million] names on it, the terrorist was not on it [...]

My parents Freeview box no longer receives BBC One or BBC Two. They live up in Cheshire and a while ago the Freeview channels were updated with a [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=903723 split-NIT], when they retuned the TV following the recent Freeview channel changes (and also for them the analogue switch off), no longer can they receive all [...]

In a follow up from yesterdays entry, I opened up my graphics card (Nvidia 8800GTS) and got rid of the dust. As you can see – there was quite a coating! Shame Nvidia made it so hard to clean (there’s normally a cover over this lot so you can’t see it, or clean it), I [...]

I’ve taken the plunge and bought an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Hero HTC Hero] phone. Overall I’m very happy, it’s great having the internet in your pocket – browsing, email, calendar syncing, GPS navigation etc. There are some niggles I have – some minor, some more problematic. The worst by far is “loss of service” – often I find [...]

I wonder if anyone makes a “warning: no lights” sensor for car parks, petrol stations etc. Pretty simple really – a sensor to detect daylight (or lack of), a sensor that detects headlights (either a camera or a simple light sensor – for example mounted on a car park wall) and a sign that illuminates [...]

I’ve now left Opsera to run my own Linux infrastructure consultancy company called [http://bitcube.co.uk Bitcube]. I’m looking to do some consultancy, a bit of contract work based around the excellent [http://reductivelabs.com/products/puppet/ puppet]. A product is also in the pipeline although it is very early days for that. One thing I’m very keen on is giving [...]

I’ve upgraded my Eeeeeeepc to Karmic (yes, it’s early). It seems to have mostly worked fine which is good. The login screen now has highly visible shutdown buttons etc which is nice. However it also looks horrible (I really liked the jaunty one) and displays my user details (the full name, not username) which I [...]