I am really beat tonight. Could be too much geeking out last night, lack of good sleep, or anything else. I’ve had this chest cold thing going since the weather changed (which was about the time I got laid off, coincidence or not) and its been dragging me down today.
I think my best plan tonight is to spend the rest of my waking hour(s) in bed with a book.
I was about to flag this job posting on Craigslist when instead I gave it a second look. A puzzle! Can you figure it out?
01101100 00110011 [&&] M3Q= [&&] 103 108 111 [&&] 62 61
Reply to: job-928714601@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-11-21, 3:52PM ESTIdeal candidate for job will determine how to apply for the position.
* Compensation: TBD, as you might guess from the above!
* Telecommuting is ok.
* This is a contract job.
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
* Please, no phone calls about this job!
* Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.PostingID: 928714601
Hint: it is in the “Software Jobs” category (duh). And, no, I haven’t a clue what it says!
Update: Here’s some chitchat on LinkedIn from folks who’ve given it a try. Apparently a few have cracked the code, too.
(Judging by the LinkedIn post, the Craigslist ad has a typo in it.)
I posted my last entry meaning it to be the last thing I did yesterday before bed. Of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I continued to tinker with Myth.
It turns out the OS X clients were definitely buggy and needed upgrading, as I posted before. However I never did get a good recording going, especially with the HD channels. There’s just too much data to be moved with a 1080i stereo datastream.
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Looks like I’m getting closer to getting my MythTV box working with ATSC/QAM digital television.
MythTV is a two-part system: the backend (the server) and the frontend (the client). Both are needed to carry the TV pictures from the ether to your eyeballs. When I fired up my Ubuntu MythTV frontend (as opposed to the OS X clients I’d previously been using), I was happy to see video! Upgrading the OS X Myth frontends also provided me the desired digital video. Progress!
However, the Myth backend is still not recording the programs. Instead it creates infuriating zero-length files and displays the show as recorded in the UI. Only when you click on the show do you get told the file doesn’t exist. Its handled very, very sloppily.
The other issue coming up is apparently the slow hardware I’m using for my backend server. A 1 GHz Athlon on a 7 year old motherboard just isn’t cutting it. The video is still throwing junk on occasion and freezing up other times. I know it isn’t the networking as I get the same results whether on a 100Mbps wired connection or a 54 Mbps wireless one.
Its obvious I need to put some more horsepower on the server end, including perhaps upgrading the drives, so that I can get this thing working the way I want it working.
I’m so glad to be back to using Ubuntu Linux for my primary desktop. Most people would consider it a step down to go to a Linux machine from a Mac OS X one, but not me. I was a bit surprised to find myself longing for the freedom of free software.
While GNOME and Ubuntu aren’t perfect, they do suit me.
A diabolical plan was hatched at MT.Net. A mutiny, really. The rest of the family has been scheming behind my back to force me to fix the broken MythTV server.
Their plan of attack? The daily watching of The Wiggles DVD – and the only one we have – over and over and over. I find no redeeming value whatsoever in The Wiggles. None. Well, they do have some mighty colorful shirts, but that’s it.
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After thawing out from our parade this morning I turned on the TV and was happy to see the Wolfpack ahead of the dreaded Tar Heels, 10 to 3. It was the start of a 41-10 drubbing the Pack would hand the Heels on their home field, on Carolina’s senior day no less.
Coach Tom O’Brien has carefully crafted the team into what it is today, and today the Wolfpack seemed utterly unstoppable. Any win is a good one against the Heels but this one was one for the record books.
We took the kids to the Raleigh Christmas parade this morning. It was in the 20s with a steady wind, and we were in the shade at the corner of Fayetteville and Hargett. Even so, we all had a great time watching all the bands and floats go by.
We also took the opportunity to ride the bus to and from the parade. It was super easy, and though the bus only runs hourly on weekends we spent the extra time hanging out in Marbles. I think the kids enjoyed the bus ride as much as the parade itself.
I’ve been so busy job hunting (and making my rounds of civic meetings) that I forgot to post about Monday’s CAC presentation by Raleigh police chief Harry Dolan.
Chief Dolan spoke about the state of crime in the city and what needs to be done to reduce it. He stressed again and again that it begins with the parents and the community, not the police, and I fully agree. It was easy to tell that while the chief would rather not put kids behind bars, until someone close to these kids can show them a better way he’ll keep locking them up. But he’d be much happier if these kids had mentors.
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One thing I’ve always liked about Monster.Com‘s user interface is that the button you click on when you fill out a form says “get results” rather than the word “submit,” “Get results” is far more positive than “submit.” Nearly everyone would rather get results than simply submit. I know I would. Now if Monster could only scrub their user interface of all those sneaky University of Arizona signup pages they’d be all set.
On a related note, one thing I hate about submitting my resume to sites like Monster and CareerBuilder is all of the solicitations I get from pyramid scheme-ish “business opportunities” or “affiliate marketing programs.” I’ve already sent three of them to the bit bucket this week.
Sheesh. Save the scams for the suckers, please!
