Technocrati

My Son and Daughter Gelo & Nirel at the Beach

There was a problem with our proxy server, the internet is okay but the user’s workstations cannot connect to it, I tried to ping the server but the message was host not found.  Tried to detached and attached the calbes to no avail.  Then, I turned off the server and after 3minutes turn it on and yes, we’re connected again to cyberspace.  Maybe, there’s a problem with the OS, or the memory (RAM) or the motherboard itself.  Have to do a thorough check on this machinem but before that have to set-up an alternate proxy server that will take over once I down the existing server.  Am thinking of ipcop.

What do you think?

 Another call, this time from the MSD Manager.  She’s complaining that she cannot connect to the internet.  Tried to verify her LAN presence by Pingi(ng) her machine, hey, no response.  So I went to her PC to check her IP and I discovered that the ip address is not assigned by our router (dhcp).  So I tried to release the IP using ipconfig /release but it won’t budge.  So what I did is assigned it a temporary static ip and tried if it can connect, but still it won’t.  What I did next is turn it off by restarting.  After it booted into its gui screen I checked its IP again with ipconfig, and the static ip I assigned it still there (obviously).  Fire up the browser to see if I can surf, yes I can.  Next thing I did is reconfigure it to auto obtain an IP address.  After a few seconds and back to normal.  What happened? Don’t know?  The quirks of technology? MS OS problem? maybe.  Time to shift to Linux Desktop?  Don’t think they are ready, but who knows?

My first tech support of the day.  The legal manager complained that he cannot log-in to his Win2k computer, there was a pop-up message that says his profile was corrupted.  This was the third time it happened.  I also am puzzled why it re-occured.  What I did was reset his password and re started the computer and it functioned normally.  I run both anti-virus and anti-malware software and came up with nothing.  I suspect malware did the profile corruption. I’ll get back to you.  Time elapsed:12 minutes

Another user called, this time from the engineering division.  He cannot surf the net.  He is using a laptop but connected to the network using cat 5 cable.  I noticed that his LAN connection icon on the lower right portion of his screen is unlit with x on its icon.  I traced the cable to an 8 port switch connected by another cat 5 cable connected to a port protruding on the floor under one of the cubicles of their office.  The port number led where his cable is connected is also unlit.  What I did next is to detach all the cables connected to the switch including its power adaptor, after 2 minutes re-attached back all the cables and checked back the connection and voila, we are in business.  The user is online and can surf once again.  Time elapsed: 16 minutes
 

Today is monday.  We had our flag ceremony at 8am.  Proceed to my workstation.  My supervisor received a call from the office of the manager.  The TA is having some problem with her usb flash drive.  Mumble something.  Check what’s the problem.  She’s wants to unplug the flash drive from the usb port, but she won’t until she can stop the drive.  There was a message telling her that some files are still open or being used.  She closed all open files but still can’t stop the flash drive.  What I did was just unplug the drive while she’s not looking. (Sshh, please dont tell her…) Then re-insert the flash drive to the usb port and test if it’s still working… and yes it still is working.  I then check the anti-virus and anti-malware if its updated and run some other check.  Whew. Time elapsed : 20 minutes

When I got back to my workstation another job is waiting.   A follow up on his IBM desktop which is not switching on.   I check the power cables and seemingly all is fine but when I plug the power cord to the desktop, the power led lit up and the power supply fan gave its normal noise, but no display.  The user of the desktop complained that he need some files from the hard disk.  So I pulled out the hard disk and tested it on another unit that I was troubleshooting and luckily it still is accessible.  I transferred the needed files through the network on another desktop near this user. Whew. Time elapsed : 30 minutes

In 1987, I enrolled in Advance Basic programming with the same school but in their main campus (but its not a campus, more of like office with classrooms and computer laboratories).  This time we are using IBM PC/XT compatible computers.  The basic interpreter we were using (MS BASIC and BASICA) was similar to the MS BASIC under CP/M I was running on my APPLE II plus compatible computer at home.  So I was really happy doing the programming assignments & exercises at  home.  The only hitch - the file formats of those computers are different.  When I finished the assignments at home, I have to retype it at school for checking and submission.  My 5.25 Apple (CP/M formatted) diskette cannot be read by  an IBM PC and vice versa.  Soon, I got tired of re-typing the assignments that did the exercises and assignments at school and made my Apple computer a gaming machine.  There were many great games for the Apple at that time that my older brother competes with me on playing on that machine.

After I graduated from high school, I transferred to a big city, around 150 kilometers from the provincial city where I grew up.  This city is not unfamiliar because this is the place where I was born, where my mother grew and her parents settled.  I enrolled with a Jesuit university and lived in my grandparents house.  I took up Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Accounting. 

At that time I still had no computer of my own, limited network of friends in that city and no girlfriend. Sigh…

Also, I experienced university culture shock.  I had a hard time adjusting to my new classmates life style and the rigors of university life.  Unlike the provincial high school where even studying was laid back, at the university I was really forced to study and give my best.  My first year at the university was a battle with the self as low self-esteem and inferiority complex was creeping in my life.  I fought it with re-training, a shift of outlook, adjustment in dealing with new people and my "computer" skills. The life of a freshman, a neophyte.  

Gas Pumping Tips from someone in the Petroleum pipeline business!!

I’ve been in petroleum pipeline business for about 31 years, currently working for the Kinder-Morgan Pipeline here in San Jose, CA. We deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period from the pipe line; one day it’s diesel, the next day it’s jet fuel and gasoline. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

Here are some tricks to help you get your money’s worth:

1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature is still cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you’re filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and temperature of the fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products) are significant. Every truckload that we load is temperature- compensated so that the indicated gallonage is actually the amount pumped. A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for businesses, but service stations don’t have temperature compensation at their pumps.

2. If a tanker truck is filling the station’s tank at the time you want to buy gas, do not fill up; most likely dirt and sludge in the tank is being stirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might be transferring that dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car’s tank.

3. Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty), because the more gas you have in your tank the less air there is and gasoline evaporates rapidly, especially when it’s warm. (Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating ‘roof’ membrane to act as a barrier between the gas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing evaporation).

4. If you look at the trigger you’ll see that it has three delivery settings: slow, medium and high. When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping at the slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you are pumping. Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as a return path for vapor recovery b" from gas that already has been metered. If you are pumping at the high setting, the agitated gasoline contains more vapor, which is being sucked back into th e underground tank b" so you’re getting less gas for your money.

Hope this will help ease your ‘pain at the pump’

************************************************* 
*REMEMBER.PRG 
  © Tom Rettig * 
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*Sometimes we forget…
USE Yourself 
SET TALK OFF
CLEAR
*
DO WHILE ALIVE
    STORE "Love" TO Heart
    STORE "Health" TO Body
    STORE "Peace" TO Mind
    STORE "Compassion" TO Others
    STORE "Esteem" TO Self
    STORE "Trust" TO Humanity
    STORE "faith" TO God

    IF its_time 
      EXIT 
    ENDIF
 
ENDDO
* 
SAVE TO Always 
CLEAR ALL 
RETURN 
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* EOF: remember.prg

Picked up from: 

http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?Wiki~TomRettig~People 

Never love a DATABASE girl since she always wants her husband to be a UNIQUE key.

Never love a C girl because she always have a tendency to BREAK the things and EXIT from house.

Never love a C++ girl as u may encounter some problems in INHERITANCE.

Never love a JAVA girl since she always throws EXCEPTIONS.

Never Love a VB girl since she has divorce FORM with her always.

Never love a UNIX girl, she always dump u with a core.

Never love a PASCAL girl; she always scolds u as rascal.

Never love a COBOL girl since she may be very good in DIVISION of families.

Never love a NETWORK girl since she may be very good in shooting troubles.

- Picked up from the Net

In October of 85, I enrolled in BASIC 2 - Advanced BASIC programming.  Subjects we tackled are advanced DOS commands and of course advanced BASIC commands such as those for arraying, database file creation, disk access, sorting (bubble sort, super sort, etc) and graphics.  I was really into it that I bought a book on Apple Machine Language.  I think machine language is too far out but I tried.  Back to games(Yes!).