blog.emerick.org

FedEx delievered my missing monitor today!! Go FedEx!

I got it set up and it is AWESOME! It is huge and bright and excellent for writing code… which is what i should be doing right now.. but i had to give a quick plug to FedEx and show off my new 24″ monitor.. click the picture below for a bigger picture of my awesome setup…

Now i just need to get two desktops working under linux… already have it going under windows… but i must put of my linux hacking until i finish this code for homework…

Later,
J!

Well Dell has finally shipped me another monitor to replace the monitor that never made it here and somehow ended up in Austin, Texas (UPS lost it)… They are overnighting it and sent it via FedEx this time… Should be here tomorrow afternoon sometime… Cant wait to get that beast set up and going…

On the whole emerick.org website… lots of things need done, but so little time…

• Update wordpress to latest version and change some settings
• Create a theme that will work with wordpress and my other sites (mms, pictures, etc)
• Develop new picture gallery system (Coppermine just isnt cutting it anymore) may also look into other open source solutions before rolling my own…
• Get my MMS server working again… been doing some tests and i think i may have got it working again… just gotta try to port it back to my version…
• and much more im sure….

Well i have some homework that needs to be started… on the upside, one of my professors celebrates labor day and will be cancelling classes…

later,
J!

Just got our Adelphia/Comcast high speed internet… its pretty nice to have real internet instead of that crap NTC provided… 4mbps up and 1.5mbps down… very nice to have…

Anyways, there have been several articles about broadband providers DNS servers lacking, as in they are slow at serving DNS requests… So as soon as I got our internet set up, i went in to the router and set it up to use OpenDNS’s DNS server which are faster, safer, and helpful… the DNS requests are much faster now it seems and one nice thing is that it will fix typos for you so say you type craigslist.og instead of craiglist.org, OpenDNS’s servers will automatically correct that for you… also their DNS servers will attempt to filter out phishing sites to help make your internet browsing a little bit safer… You can of course disable the correcting of domain names and preventing phishing sites in the preferences… to me it seems like everything does in fact load a bit faster than using Adelphias DNS servers… go here to set up your own openDNS…

Once i get my room/apartment cleaned up a little, i will take some pictures of the new place and post them up…

311 concert last night was pretty awesome… had a good time… was in the 3rd row which was a pretty good view… got some pictures that i will post up later…

But i need to get ready and head to my only class of the day…

later,
J!

UPDATE (response from Greg using OpenDNS): It’s like you read my mind. As we have spoken before, the server/Internet service provided here at my beloved institution is lacking. I got a good 30-40 percent bump by doing the openDNS deal.

Griffon carriers riders up 205 feet, then hurdles them straight down 90 degrees at 70mph. Griffon will be the tallest dive coaster in the world; the first floorless dive coaster, and the first to incorporate two Immelmann loops (an inverse diving loop named for a WWI German fighter pilot), a second 130-foot dive and a water feature.

read more | digg story

Just to let everyone know, William Morva has been caught…

Blacksburg/VT is once again safe…

Later,
J!

A very interesting first day of classes… Went to my first class and everything went well but during my 2nd class, they closed the campus and told everyone to go back to their apartment… Yesterday William Morva escaped from custody when being transported to the hospital from jail… he overpowered the deputy and shot him along with a hospital security gaurd… the security gaurd died of his wounds… this morning Morva was spotted on the huckleberry trail which was right next to our old apartment… On the trail, Morva shot and killed a Montgomery county Deputy… Morva is still on the run as of right now… a good website for updates:
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/79080

Other than that, things are going well… couldnt pick up 311 tickets today becuase squires was evacuated/closed today… nor could we pick up orange/maroon effect shirts…

Still need to go get cable tv/internet…

crazy day…

Later,
J!

Well i think UPS lost my package containing my 24″ LCD monitor from Dell… which really sucks considering how expensive it is… I called UPS and the local UPS is supposed to call me… also emailed Dell and they are monitoring the order and sending me a free color printer… dont really need the printer but… if it is not here by monday @ 3pm i will be calling UPS again to complain…

When i first got to the apartment, there was a very strong open wireless access point for me to use temporarily while we get our internet… the WAP was named SaveDarfur… well the owners of that WAP decided to enable WEP for some reason last night… haha, WEP and only 64bit at that… 20 minutes of gathering packets and cracking later and i now have the WEP key (DBC2038F6E)… As soon as we get our own internet i will stop using SaveDarfur’s access but until then, they are such nice neighbors to allow me to continue using their internet access…

Well Erin just called and they were in the area and wanted to stop by, so i am going to go.. Once i get my room completely organized and what not, i will take a few pictures and throw them up on the pics website…

later,
J!

Just a quick note to let everyone know i am back in blacksburg for the fall semester at our new apartment in foxridge…

Now that i am no longer working 7 days a week, i hopefully should be able to update this blog more often and recount what all took place this summer…

But right now i am tired after driving 4 hours and un/packing a completely packed car….

Goodnight,
J!