Dustin’s Blog

Where I work, I routinely get a zip file that contains files for a website. It has multiple file and folders. I simply copy these files into the directory for the website but this time I thought I’d unzip the file first to see just how long it takes. I’ve heard Vista’s extraction is slow…but I didn’t think it could be this bad.

This system is pretty new, 10k drives, 2.4Ghz C2D processors.

I have an online photo album that, when a file is uploaded, will create a thumbnail size and an intermediate sized photo along with the full size version. I needed to copy the full size version of the file out while skipping the thumb and sized versions. I was able to accomplish this task using a single command:

[root@drue Wedding]# for I in `ls | grep -v sized | grep -v thumb`; do cp $I /var/www/html/pics/; done

This would have taken a lot longer using any other method. Using a GUI, say, Windows Explorer, I’d still be selecting which files to copy by the time the above command completed the work.

I picked up the above mentioned monitor a couple of days ago. It’s a 22″ flat panel, 1680×1050 native resolution, 2ms response 3000:1 contrast ratio (using dynamic contrast). Sounds great on paper but is actually surprisingly bad in practice. What I’ve learned is that virtually all 22″ monitors use the same type of LCD panel, a TN (twisted nematic). These panels are cheaper than the other types available and have the poorest viewing angles of all available types. For some reason this panel is raved about on the Internet and gets top picks in reviews. Maybe I’m overly picky compared to most people but it really bothers me to see different colors on the screen depending on where I site, and even worse to see contrast so different between the top and the bottom of the display. My laptop’s display suffers from the same issue, but on such a small screen it’s hardly an issue. With a screen this large, it’s not acceptable.

I’ve had the Mac mini for a few weeks now so I thought I’d write a bit my thoughts on the mini and OS X in general. There is a lot to like about the mini and OS X but there are also a few items I’ve come to dislike which I’ll discuss below.

The Mac mini is a tiny computer that looks great. I am personally not aware of any sort of PC that is this small, includes the same features AND looks good doing it. That said, aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder and are a matter of opinion. With that in mind I’ll try to steer clear of personal opinion and concentrate more on practicality and usability.

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Here is a tip for anyone who may read this. When you send an email, it should always have a subject. Always. It’s just common net etiquette. An email without a subject is like a book without a title and a book without a title is not something you would want to read because it apparently has no point. If you’re writing an email and you can’t come up with a subject, then you need to rethink whether or not your email has any purpose in the first place and if not, then don’t send the email.

Subjects provide the potential reader with a starting point of what your message is probably about. It sets the tone, makes it so the message is easy to find again later and sets it apart from all of the others. A subject allows the reader to sort messages, follow a conversation, group related messages and most importantly it tells the reader that your message has some sort of purpose.

So please, the next time you’re about to click that send button, take a moment to check your subject field. If it’s empty, fill it in. If it’s not then kudos to you my friend.

So I have a little something to admit. I’ve never played a console game over the internet. No really, I never have. Way back in the day when 56k was the next best thing I played a Star Wars game online with a buddy but that’s pretty much the extent of what I’m done.

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A while back I wrote about my luck when it comes to items I purchase and the service we get. Well it just seems to continue for me.

I just sent my Wii off for repair. It would begin to buzz loudly after playing for a while as the system reached operating temp. The “nice” thing about working with Nintendo is I got someone on the phone right away, they didn’t speak with any kind of accent and they didn’t try to walk me through some automated script that had nothing to do with my problem. They even told me my warranty would be extended another year from the date it was sent back to me. That’s good service.

Now tonight, as I write this, I’m on my laptop, plugged directly into my network because my wireless router, which is less than a year old, has seemingly gone haywire. I’m within 10 feet of the thing and I’m connected at 1Mbps. If I get connected at all, it isn’t for long and it’s very slow.

Poor me.

Today I was approached by someone in need of some help. They had purchased a VCR and DVD recorder combo and didn’t know how to use it. They asked if I knew how to use such a device. Having never had the desire to transfer video from tape to DVD (garbage in/garbage out anyone?) my was answer was no. They then asked if maybe I would read the book for them and then show them how to use the device to which my response was, sure, at my rate of $25 per hour.

To this the person, who works with kids, presumably a teacher at some level, responded with something along the lines of why do you get paid so much and the kicker, “my job is more important that yours.” This took be by surprise because for one it’s a little rude to throw around who’s job is more important and two because it makes me assume they think I should do the work for free. I mean seriously, here is a person asking me to do something they aren’t willing to do and balking at the idea that someone might actually want to get paid for it. Do they say the same thing any other trained service technicians working on their car, plumbing or what have you? Have they ever considered what they’re paying them in that case?

Besides that if they’re a teacher then why not…you know…teach yourself how to use an item you purchased?

I’ve noticed a new trend in child discipline. Counting. I hear parents every day counting to their kids when they’re doing something wrong and it just makes no sense to me. Granted, I’m pretty new to all this so maybe someone can explain to me why counting to my child is supposed to keep them in line but I’m not seeing it.

As I watch and listen to parents counting to their child I can’t help but wonder if the child is going to grow up thinking that they have until the count of 10 to do what ever they want. Many times the parent will count to some number, the child will stop and then nothing happens. What really does the child take away from that? I mean, will they be at home later that week and think, “I can pull my sisters hair until mom gets to 9, if I stop then all is well”?

I have decided, after a little bit of reading, that HDCP should hence forth be pronounced as, handicap.