• @thinkgeek was holding a contest for the geekiest childhood memories, on Twitter.  I submitted mine, but I’m not sure if it was geekier than some of the ones submitted.  There were some good (funny) ones.
• @periapex was trying to explain Twitter to his wife.  I don’t know how my wife is going to react to Twitter.  At least she understood why I blog and being on Facebook.  So I guess it’s time to explain why I just sit here and send out “status updates” to people I barely know.
• Twitterank may not be a phishing expedition after all.  Others are also starting to agree, including Mashable who wrote about it being a scam in the first place.   But, just in case, I changed my Twitter password anyway!
• Network outage in the office.  Here, the Sysadmins joke that a person was dumb enough to pull the proverbial plug.  However, in the past, it has happened exactly that way in the data center: Someone did pull the wrong power plug, shutting down routers and switches.
• My persistence with coffee.  It gives me the jitters, yet I still subject myself to McDonald’s Caramel Ice Coffee.  I may have been brainwashed by their advertising.
• Being in a laptop computer industry, I found Wi-Fi to be essential!  I had admitted in the past that I won’t be able to survive anywhere without an Internet connection.  Now I can add Wi-fi as a must have survival equipment (though I will take 3G network as a good substitute).

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Lunch Bits – Edition 26

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To ensure my power needs are being met, I went out and got a new UPS.  This time, it’s a whopping 1500VA UPS from Best Buy.  It’s a re-labelled Cyberpower brand, into Geek Squad.  It can  handle a collosal 900 Watts of input, so I should have plenty of head room.  Another nice thing about this power supply is the LCD in front to show me the load and battery condition.   I really don’t need the supplied USB cable and software to monitor the UPS’ condition.

The outage also gave me the opportunity to clean up the tangle of cable mess near my server.  I only have a 15″W by 24″D space to work with, so it’s pretty cramped in there.  It’s like playing a jigsaw puzzle, trying to figure out how the mini-tower server, UPS, subwoofer, and the light fixture fit into the small corner.  After a couple of hours, it’s finally sorted out. Now it looks much tidier.  I still can’t avoid the gazillion cables back there, but I’m managing them using flexible tubes and twist ties.

My wife predicted in a few months, I’ll redo this setup.  I think she may be right.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Outage

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• How to bargain in Chinese stores.  Russell Peters explained it very well.
• Alkaline Ionized Water purifier for drinking.  It does not have healing powers.
• Legal drinking age in the British Isle varies from 16-19 years old.  Not fully enforced either.  However, they’re strict on drunk drivers, with first offense punishable by jail time.
• Housing slump, especially with condos.
• Top Gear.
• Government jobs are filled with whiny and lazy people, creating a hostile work environment.
• The usefulness of remote offices.  They are generally empty. Remote workers are usually out on business trips, or work from home.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plans:  avoid them!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Lunch Bits – Edition 23

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Check out other’s workstations at Gary Lee’s website.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

My Home Office

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