Signals from space

Yesterday’s space shuttle launch finally motivated me to dust off my DVB-S card and set up satellite reception in our new home. I’d put it off for almost a year, thinking the tree cover in our back yard was too extensive to find a good shot at the sky. It turns out I discovered a very nice spot right on our back deck, so Travis and I spent a little time building a temporary stand for a dish, aiming it, and threading the cable back into our network closet. After a few duh moments where I shook off the cobwebs covering my knowledge of DVB-S, I got reception of the NASA channel – only three hours after the shuttle launched! Better late than never.

Even so, I wasn’t able to get Myth to pull down video for some reason. The dvb-utils applications can tune (and capture) the streams just fine, but Myth just shows a blank screen – even though it can tune the channel and see a signal from the transponder. I don’t know what else I can tinker with to get Myth working with it but I’ll keep hacking at it.

Greener by the minute

The total lack of sunshine this weekend has made things look darker than they usually do, but I swear this non-stop rain is doing more than that. I swear I can practically see the leaves popping out on the trees and bushes. I think last week’s warm spell coupled with this rain is waking nature from its long winter slumber.

Swarm streaming

The ACC Tournament started today and practically the whole office was consumed with watching it. Someone sent out a link to an Internet stream of it but I didn’t bother clicking on it, thinking it would be one of those horrible, unwatchable “buffering … buffering…” experiences

Then a co-worker announced he had it going in his cube. I walked over to see the game on TV clear as day.

“Where’s the antenna?” I asked him.

“There’s no antenna,” he replied. “That’s from the Internet stream.

Whoa! I couldn’t believe my eyes. It seemed pixel-perfect.

It turns out the streaming was done by a company called Swarmcast, using a swarm-type technology that predates BitTorrent. Unlike BitTorrent, Swarmcast allows viewers to watch their shows instantly rather than having to wait for the whole download. It was an impressive demonstration that had me marveling the rest of the afternoon.

Interestingly, Swarmcast began life as an open-source application, and Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow was onboard in its early existence. Neither one applies today, however. I scoured the Internets today in search of Swarmcast’s once-GPLed code but could find no trace of it.

I’m now looking at the apps mentioned in Wikipedia’s Peercasting page to see what other tools might offer the same experience. This “swarm streaming” stuff has me hooked!

Optimism

It’s funny. We’re in the midst of a recession, unemployment in the state has reached 9.7%, and I don’t have a permanent job, and yet still I found myself daydreaming of the Good Life today. It wasn’t something out of reach, but actually something waiting for me. Maybe a glimpse into the future.

In spite of the uncertainty around me, I’ve got a pretty good life now. I have to say I’m happy with myself, my family life, and the things I’m doing. Could things be better? Sure, but I’m not one to look past the wonderful things I have now.

Where I’ve worked: Carowinds

Carowinds. To a 16-year-old it was the ideal job: I spent a few hours a day serving guests and in exchange I could ride in my offtime all the roller coasters I could stomach. So what if I had to wear a silly-looking uniform, got paid the minimum wage of $3.35 an hour, and had to fill out an income tax return on that measly amount for both North Carolina and South Carolina because the park straddled the state lines, it sounded like a good deal to me!

The year was 1985: the Eighties were in full swing. We had lived in Charlotte for two years. Mom pointed out an ad in the paper for a Carowinds job fair and my brother and I interviewed. He got hired to work in a restaurant and I got hired as a photographer putting people’s pictures in magazine covers. We carpooled the long way out to Carowinds.
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Where I’ve worked

Tonight I wrote the first of many posts about the places I’ve worked. I’ve worked so many dadgum places that this guarantees I’ll never run out of things to blog about!

I’ll start it off talking about my job at Carowinds – the first job I ever had.

Waah-fi

I was all psyched when I learned Friday that Raleigh is seeking bids to build a free wireless network downtown. Finally, Raleigh puts some effort towards bring some high-tech to downtown, maybe enough to convince more software companies to call downtown home. It would also make downtown Raleigh very visitor-friendly, as our guests would have the ability to make the most of their visit (and, spend their money) while they’re here. Imagine my surprise when I found the comments on the New Raleigh blog had turned into a major whine-fest.

If the city wants to put wireless in the city’s public spaces – for the public to use – I’m all for it. It’s a cheap investment in making our city more tech-savvy as well as friendlier to guests. If you’re just going to whine that Downtowners have all the fun, come on down: we’re happy to share!

Miracles do happen

Amazing, isn’t it? This is one Daylight Saving event where I didn’t post one comment about it.