One of my Wikipedia projects is an entry for the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad: North Carolina’s first commissioned railroad. I’ve needed a photo to help illustrate the article but few if any physical remnants remain, the price of a state government that has traditionally shown little regard for Raleigh’s history.
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September 2008
Anniversary recap
Kelly and I had a great anniversary. We exchanged gifts in the morning, chatted throughout the day, and spend the evening together … with our kids! Hallie had her very first soccer game after work and a Conn Elementary Open House right afterward.
Hallie seemed to take to soccer. She loves it! Her team scored five goals so there was the thrill of victory. Actually, one girl on Hallie’s team scored every goal, or at least she seemed to. Hallie told us at bedtime she wants to become an “Olympic soccer champion.”
The open house was fun, but PTA meetings are PTA meetings. Its tough keeping the kids busy while PTA work is being done.
Hallie drew a “family tree” picture yesterday in class. She wrote “today’s my Mom and Dad’s anniversary.” Last night Hallie’s teacher congratulated us on our anniversary. Its true there are no secrets that first grade teachers do not learn.
Hallie also wrote about her soccer game that night. “I hope my Daddy can come,” she wrote.
I’m so glad I could.
DARE
Here’s another song that’s wormed its way into my head thanks to Pandora
It’s coming up
It’s coming up
It’s coming up
It’s coming up
It’s coming up
It’s coming up
It’s coming up
It’s DARE
It’s DARE
You’ve got to press it on you
You just think it
That’s what you do, baby
Hold it down, DARE
Jump with them all and move it
Jump back and forth
And feel like you were there yourself
Work it out
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Not so Great Atlantic Warranty
Got a mystery call to my mobile phone from a number which does not exist: 760-204-8438. I get so pissed off when I pay for Great Atlantic Warranty to spam my mobile phone.
In related news, many unhappy customers are flocking to my website, looking to vent about this untrustworthy company. If you’ve been called by them please weigh in!
Update 22 Oct 2008: Word on the street is that Great Atlantic Warranty is now North American Warranty Solutions.
Indy uses my photo without credit – and I love it!
I just discovered that the Independent Weekly used one of my photographs without attribution on their website. In this issue’s interview with Thomas Crowder about Raleigh architecture, Bob Geary used a photograph I took of Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium . . . er, I mean the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
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First WRT54G, then native Linux?
While I can start using IPv6 on my WRT54G, I found this on Earthlink’s IPv6 FAQ:
18. Why do I even need to use a WRT54G for this? It seems to me I could accomplish the same thing using my Linux or FreeBSD box.
You’re right, you could. But it involves some pretty serious Unix System Administration skills. You have to know how to configure IPSEC, how to configure DHCPv6, how to configure route advertisements, how to configure IPv6 routing, and several other things. And it would be very difficult for us to help people debug their configurations as they tried to get it all to work.
Ah, a challenge! I am well-versed in IPSEC configuration. I live and breathe it, actually. And I can pick up DHCPv6 fairly quickly. The IPv6 routing and advertisements would be all new to me, but with the help of my buddy Greg it could happen.
This could turn into a very interesting TriLUG presentation! I don’t think Earthlink even requires one to be their customer to use this, so anyone with an Internet connection could conceivably get IPv6 addresses through this program. And Earthlink doesn’t mind as it doesn’t cost them anything. Pretty cool!
IPv6
So my amigo Greg Brown has been raving about the wonders of IPv6 so much that I’m sick of hearing it. Thus, I will also take the plunge into the world of Even Longer IP Addresses.
Fortunately, I’m an Earthlink cable-modem subscriber and have an extra WRT54G lying around. Earthlink’s R&D department created a special firmware for the WRT54G to turn it into an IPv6 6to4 router, instantly making one’s network addressable by IPv6. Also fortunately, Earthlink packages their WRT54G firmware with a restrictive firewall so that all of your suddenly-addressable internal hosts are not completely exposed to the Internets.
I can’t let my geek friend have all the fun, you know. After all, I’ve got my Alpha Geek reputation to uphold. So its off to the Earthlink site tonight to void another warranty and get started on the IP Addressing Of The Future.
Anniversary
Its been nine wonderful years. Happy Anniversary, my love!
My morning in federal court
Jury duty: its the obligation of every citizen in our democracy. When I got my summons to appear I knew I could find a way out of it, if that’s what I wanted. How could I consider myself a citizen, though, if I shirked this important responsibility?
After a few days of false starts the day finally came. The 8 AM start didn’t seem as early as I’d expected, though I did walk in a minute or two late. Parking for the jurors is anything but a prime spot. It was a good walk from my space to the entrance to the building. Once I got there it was relatively smooth going through security.
I put my label on my shirt, hit the button for the sixth floor, and wandered into the windowless juror assembly room, already full of jurors.
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Jury through-ty
I’ve been cut loose from jury duty. We finally marched into the courtroom around 10:15 and a group of jurors were called into the juror box for questioning. I watched from the audience as they were questioned, but that was about it.
The judge called a recess at 11:00 AM and I was free to go. I’m now excused for any jury duty for the next two years.
More details tonight. For now I’m heading into work.