Well, it's been a bit. Since the last post, I've been doing a lot of thinking about music- my music collection specifically, and how to best quantify it. I had decided that I would use either Access or Excel for this project. After much thought, and several trial-and-error tests, I came to the conclusion that the best solution for my particular application would be to use both.
Why? After all, it seems to be a bit counter-intuitive to create multiple copies of the same dataset and have it in several places. However, in terms of music, when quantifying, I not only mean artists and albums and similar facts (which belong in 42, my database), but I also want to create a sort of "Top 42" group of lists which will track usage, rather than ownership. In other words, Access will store data on each album- title, artist, format (CD, mp3, etc.), UPC (if applicable) and related inventory type data. The flat database (spreadsheets) will be used to store the usage data, such as number of plays, last play, plays per artist... and any other minutiae that pretty much only I would be interested in.
As for duplicated data, I expect there will only be two datasets that are duplicated- one will be the artist/album dataset, and the other will be the album/song dataset. The former will be my master list of albums, and the latter will be a list of those songs that are a part of a collection, compilation or soundtrack, or individual mp3's that were not part of an album when acquired.
I'm very much looking forward to the results of course, but before this grand Top 42 launches, I've got a great deal of data entry and design to do. The data entry is proceeding slowly but steadily, with twenty-one albums and their tracks. Track (song title) and total times still need to be added.
A corollary project is the cleaning of the music players on two computers. Over the years, several standards were partially applied to these databases, and as a result, the organization is... well, it isn't very organized. As these will be major sources of quantitative input for the Top 42 flat database, they need to be cleaned up, standardized and partially deduped.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Data before year's end
I'm going to apologize right at the start- this is not a Christmas blog, nor is it a year-in-review blog. It's merely a near end-of-year blog about the state of my data.
So, what, exactly, does the author wish to communicate? Well, for starters, I ran into an interesting enigma in my data....
Long ago, I purchased some CD's that had sound effects. Today, the internet has made them fairly irrelevant. So, the not-so-big data question is this: do I include them in in my inventory, even though I may never use them? Honestly, even though this database IS at least in part intended for insurance purposes, I don't think I'll miss those two disks. How about videos? I have a DVD produced by the Chicago Tribune which commemorates 9/11. It was free with my newspaper subscription, and is probably irreplaceable. But- I'm guessing it's hardly collectible. So, that one will also NOT make the cut. Books- both physical and e-books... I'm nowhere NEAR starting on those, but I think you can see the trend.
Owning the data gives the DBA a huge advantage, as is shown in the previous paragraph. The problem, though, is that if you're a small-time operator (as I am), there's no one to fact-check, proofread or cover your (data) back. So, I'm hoping to correct at least one of these deficiencies in 2019, by enlisting someone else to do some of the data entry (we'll see how that goes!).
So, what, exactly, does the author wish to communicate? Well, for starters, I ran into an interesting enigma in my data....
Long ago, I purchased some CD's that had sound effects. Today, the internet has made them fairly irrelevant. So, the not-so-big data question is this: do I include them in in my inventory, even though I may never use them? Honestly, even though this database IS at least in part intended for insurance purposes, I don't think I'll miss those two disks. How about videos? I have a DVD produced by the Chicago Tribune which commemorates 9/11. It was free with my newspaper subscription, and is probably irreplaceable. But- I'm guessing it's hardly collectible. So, that one will also NOT make the cut. Books- both physical and e-books... I'm nowhere NEAR starting on those, but I think you can see the trend.
Owning the data gives the DBA a huge advantage, as is shown in the previous paragraph. The problem, though, is that if you're a small-time operator (as I am), there's no one to fact-check, proofread or cover your (data) back. So, I'm hoping to correct at least one of these deficiencies in 2019, by enlisting someone else to do some of the data entry (we'll see how that goes!).
*****Happy New Year*****
Well, I want to publish this, so I may as well post a few New Year's thoughts. For starters, it's officially 2019 in my neck of the woods, so Happy New Year. I'm enjoying what is probably the best egg nog I've ever had (from Southern Comfort- but no alcohol in it) in a vintage 1960's vintage tumbler. The tumbler is tall and narrow, with dusty rose screening of different cities around the world- rather appropriate for New Year's Day, n'est-ce pas?
I don't follow many other blogs, but I do follow some blogging "experts" on twitter. I generally agree with the "experts"- one of the secrets to blogging is frequency; the other is content. If you've been following this blog for any length of time, firstly, thank you. And secondly, thank you for putting up with my subject matter- I'm hoping that this is a reflection on YOUR eclectic reading tastes.
And FINALLY, the state of the database, December 31. 2018. As of the last entries, the music database stands thusly:
Number of groups: 156
Number of albums: 79
Number of songs: 1035
And that is all for 2018. I wish every reader a peaceful, joyous and profitable 2019.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data management and and analysis so you don't have to.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Graphically speaking....
The SUL (Secret Underground Lair) has been in a bit of turmoil. This past year, in the space of a month, two of my computers have died. In your world, perhaps, this might not be a disaster. Then again, in your world, you might be off to the Apple Store, weeping inconsolably. If the latter is you, this blog is not for you.
So, a PC died several months ago. No biggie-- I put a spare in as a replacement (note to Apple fans: how many of you have 2-3 in spares?)
Unfortunately, my spare died as well.
To be honest, it didn't really die- it just lost internet connectivity. So. I was living off of my laptop, and Mr. T. and I have decided we're going to build a new desktop. For me.
I started writing this several months ago, and not long after that, my laptop battery gave in. Not a big deal- just another kick in the shins.
In the interim, I pulled another PC out and swapped out the hard drive. In short order, it, too, gave up. Mind you, both of these desktops were originally XP boxes which had been upgraded to Win7; that should give a hint as to their age.
Fast forward several months and I am running on Great White, a massive box with a tiny non-Ryzen AMD mobo. How tiny is the mobo? Well, the case is so large and the mobo is so tiny that the front case usb cable does not reach the usb header on the mobo. The specs of the board unsurprisingly are fairly underwhelming, as one might expect: 16GB (2 sticks) of DDR3, for starters- and this is maxed out.. Well, it does have a 550 watt 80+ EVGA platinum certified modular PSU, 120GB flash boot drive, 2TB internal HDD (with room for five more HDD's) and a 5 channel fan controller. Other than that, 3 external USB HDD's and... well, the graphics are on the CPU (AMD APU). On the bright side, the APU graphics are much better than I experienced on the previous APU-supported mobo.
Fast forward....
So, I was on amazon.com Wednesday and saw a graphics card that seemed pretty decent for the price. I mentioned it to Mr.T, and he was at first unimpressed. After a few cups of tea, though, it looked like a better deal, and then he looked into some cards. Now, truth be told, I do not absolutely need a graphics card right now, but the graphics card will probably be the next upgrade to this system as it is the only other stand-alone component which can be added before upgrading to a Ryzen.
Interestingly enough, it's now the wee hours of Tuesday morning and I'm *finally* getting around to finishing this. Among other things, I got some work done on 42 (in case you are new to this blog or have forgotten, 42 is my personal database project). Progress has been predictably slow, as my keyboarding skills are not really skills; I think I'd say I'm more familiar with a keyboard than skilled. J and I got new keyboards in November, and I'm loving my new mechanical keyboard. Cherry MX blue switches are absolutely to wonderful to type on, and for some reason I find myself making fewer mistakes on this keyboard.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
So, a PC died several months ago. No biggie-- I put a spare in as a replacement (note to Apple fans: how many of you have 2-3 in spares?)
Unfortunately, my spare died as well.
To be honest, it didn't really die- it just lost internet connectivity. So. I was living off of my laptop, and Mr. T. and I have decided we're going to build a new desktop. For me.
I started writing this several months ago, and not long after that, my laptop battery gave in. Not a big deal- just another kick in the shins.
In the interim, I pulled another PC out and swapped out the hard drive. In short order, it, too, gave up. Mind you, both of these desktops were originally XP boxes which had been upgraded to Win7; that should give a hint as to their age.
Fast forward several months and I am running on Great White, a massive box with a tiny non-Ryzen AMD mobo. How tiny is the mobo? Well, the case is so large and the mobo is so tiny that the front case usb cable does not reach the usb header on the mobo. The specs of the board unsurprisingly are fairly underwhelming, as one might expect: 16GB (2 sticks) of DDR3, for starters- and this is maxed out.. Well, it does have a 550 watt 80+ EVGA platinum certified modular PSU, 120GB flash boot drive, 2TB internal HDD (with room for five more HDD's) and a 5 channel fan controller. Other than that, 3 external USB HDD's and... well, the graphics are on the CPU (AMD APU). On the bright side, the APU graphics are much better than I experienced on the previous APU-supported mobo.
Fast forward....
So, I was on amazon.com Wednesday and saw a graphics card that seemed pretty decent for the price. I mentioned it to Mr.T, and he was at first unimpressed. After a few cups of tea, though, it looked like a better deal, and then he looked into some cards. Now, truth be told, I do not absolutely need a graphics card right now, but the graphics card will probably be the next upgrade to this system as it is the only other stand-alone component which can be added before upgrading to a Ryzen.
Interestingly enough, it's now the wee hours of Tuesday morning and I'm *finally* getting around to finishing this. Among other things, I got some work done on 42 (in case you are new to this blog or have forgotten, 42 is my personal database project). Progress has been predictably slow, as my keyboarding skills are not really skills; I think I'd say I'm more familiar with a keyboard than skilled. J and I got new keyboards in November, and I'm loving my new mechanical keyboard. Cherry MX blue switches are absolutely to wonderful to type on, and for some reason I find myself making fewer mistakes on this keyboard.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Monday, November 19, 2018
The Lego database, reboot
The "reboot" seems to be something of a thing in Hollywood these days, and so it only follows that Life would imitate "art" as I reboot my Lego database.
For those who have been following this blog for some time, I think you may be aware of my Lego database project. It is one component of "42", my personal, ultimate repository of those possessions of mine which I have chosen to catalog.
I've just started using Microsoft Office 365, and the Lego data came from rebrickable.com. Their dataset is very comprehensive, but I don't think I've ever downloaded ANY Lego dataset that was usable by me as downloaded... and this data is no exception.
I mentioned that the data is quite comprehensive, which means it contains things which I don't necessarily need or want. For example, I do not care about any decals, paper or cardboard items, books, or even certain parts of the Lego product line. So, these need to be removed. The data also appears to come from more than one source, and formatting is necessary. Punctuation needs to be removed from many entries, and part names need to be standardized. Some data needs spelling changes- there are cases of the Queen's English being used, so "windscreen" and "tyre" need to be changed to "windshield" and "tire". These are the major changes that need to happen before I can even think about exporting to an Access database. And these are just a few examples.
But, I digress. Here are the numbers as of December 4th.
When I first started out, there were approximately 29,000 records. As of last night, after culling out items which I knew I would not be inventorying, I had 27,164 unique items. When I deduped the group to include ONLY the base part numbers- excluding all decoration variants, I ended up with a working list of 8,747 unique base part numbers. As I copy the part descriptions to the new inventory list, they are being further culled.
I am now at the point where everything must be done by hand. I find myself going back and forth between rebrickable and my flat database, verifying that the part number in the list is a part that I (may) actually own... and want to count. At a certain point, some of the data is subjective, and even though it is valid, I will count a complete assembly rather than, say, a special tile, wheels and tires as separate parts.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
For those who have been following this blog for some time, I think you may be aware of my Lego database project. It is one component of "42", my personal, ultimate repository of those possessions of mine which I have chosen to catalog.
I've just started using Microsoft Office 365, and the Lego data came from rebrickable.com. Their dataset is very comprehensive, but I don't think I've ever downloaded ANY Lego dataset that was usable by me as downloaded... and this data is no exception.
I mentioned that the data is quite comprehensive, which means it contains things which I don't necessarily need or want. For example, I do not care about any decals, paper or cardboard items, books, or even certain parts of the Lego product line. So, these need to be removed. The data also appears to come from more than one source, and formatting is necessary. Punctuation needs to be removed from many entries, and part names need to be standardized. Some data needs spelling changes- there are cases of the Queen's English being used, so "windscreen" and "tyre" need to be changed to "windshield" and "tire". These are the major changes that need to happen before I can even think about exporting to an Access database. And these are just a few examples.
But, I digress. Here are the numbers as of December 4th.
When I first started out, there were approximately 29,000 records. As of last night, after culling out items which I knew I would not be inventorying, I had 27,164 unique items. When I deduped the group to include ONLY the base part numbers- excluding all decoration variants, I ended up with a working list of 8,747 unique base part numbers. As I copy the part descriptions to the new inventory list, they are being further culled.
I am now at the point where everything must be done by hand. I find myself going back and forth between rebrickable and my flat database, verifying that the part number in the list is a part that I (may) actually own... and want to count. At a certain point, some of the data is subjective, and even though it is valid, I will count a complete assembly rather than, say, a special tile, wheels and tires as separate parts.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Friday, November 16, 2018
A very rare Friday night
As I think most readers have surmised by now, I'm an American. And, like it or not, each and every one of us- consciously or not- probably shares some stereotypical "national" behavior with a great number of their kinsmen, whether they choose to admit it or not.
Now, it's Friday night, and normally I would be busy at work doing something job-related. .. but, not tonight, because this is my first official sick day of the year. I say "official" because I had a sick day in October, but as I am eligible for overtime, I made the day up later in the week and was able to score some overtime.
And this is where "national traits" comes into play.
According to studies I've seen, Americans- even when they are genuinely ill- do not always take sick days. I'm not sure exactly why this is, but apparently it's an "American thing". Many of these same studies suggest that American are loathe to take their full vacation.
I, for one, do my best to avoid taking sick days, unless they are truly necessary- and tonight is one of those nights. But vacation time- it's part of the employment agreement with my employer, and per that agreement, I am entitled to "x" amount of days off per year based upon my tenure with the company. And even though I may not do anything blogworthy on my vacation, I've earned this time off and to not take it would be cheating not just myself, but my family as well.
However...
There is a certain stigma attached to taking certain days off as sick, even if they are legitimate. For example, if one is a Major League Baseball fans (Chicago Cubs or Chicago White Sox where I live), if you were to take a Monday or Friday off as a sick day, and this day just HAPPENED to be your favorite team's home opener- even if you were really sick, the talk at the water cooler would, of course, infer that you weren't really sick, but attending the game. Likewise, the #2 reason for taking a Friday or Monday off is a big weekend.
Fortunately for me, none of these factors were applicable. I had taken Monday and Tuesday off this past week pretty much because I have vacation days left. But, when I came in Wednesday night, I almost immediately started feeling out of sorts with a major head cold building. Thursday is our busiest night of the week, and I had a simple plan: take care of the important business, and then go home early.
That was the plan. It was brilliant- except for one thing: there were two other jobs that required MY attention, as we would be short-handed on Friday. So, instead of leaving early, I left late. And when I got home, I went straight to bed.
But before I left work, I spoke to a senior coworker about my situation. Generally speaking, one does not know at the end of a shift if one will need to take the following day off as a sick day. However, she encouraged me to take the sick day, especially as I had taken on two projects that needed to be done before the weekend.
Now, a treat.
Before I discovered ramen, this was my goto Friday night bachelor treat. If you can't make it out, it mac 'n' cheese, tuna, corn and mushrooms. This was my bachelor Friday night treat, and I made it tonight! Apart from the sodium, I'd guess it's a pretty healthy meal. The only modification I do to the mac 'n' cheese recipe is to double the milk from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. You can also add garlic powder, onion powder and celery powder to taste. Yum!
As always, I am hochspeyer,blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Now, it's Friday night, and normally I would be busy at work doing something job-related. .. but, not tonight, because this is my first official sick day of the year. I say "official" because I had a sick day in October, but as I am eligible for overtime, I made the day up later in the week and was able to score some overtime.
And this is where "national traits" comes into play.
According to studies I've seen, Americans- even when they are genuinely ill- do not always take sick days. I'm not sure exactly why this is, but apparently it's an "American thing". Many of these same studies suggest that American are loathe to take their full vacation.
I, for one, do my best to avoid taking sick days, unless they are truly necessary- and tonight is one of those nights. But vacation time- it's part of the employment agreement with my employer, and per that agreement, I am entitled to "x" amount of days off per year based upon my tenure with the company. And even though I may not do anything blogworthy on my vacation, I've earned this time off and to not take it would be cheating not just myself, but my family as well.
However...
There is a certain stigma attached to taking certain days off as sick, even if they are legitimate. For example, if one is a Major League Baseball fans (Chicago Cubs or Chicago White Sox where I live), if you were to take a Monday or Friday off as a sick day, and this day just HAPPENED to be your favorite team's home opener- even if you were really sick, the talk at the water cooler would, of course, infer that you weren't really sick, but attending the game. Likewise, the #2 reason for taking a Friday or Monday off is a big weekend.
Fortunately for me, none of these factors were applicable. I had taken Monday and Tuesday off this past week pretty much because I have vacation days left. But, when I came in Wednesday night, I almost immediately started feeling out of sorts with a major head cold building. Thursday is our busiest night of the week, and I had a simple plan: take care of the important business, and then go home early.
That was the plan. It was brilliant- except for one thing: there were two other jobs that required MY attention, as we would be short-handed on Friday. So, instead of leaving early, I left late. And when I got home, I went straight to bed.
But before I left work, I spoke to a senior coworker about my situation. Generally speaking, one does not know at the end of a shift if one will need to take the following day off as a sick day. However, she encouraged me to take the sick day, especially as I had taken on two projects that needed to be done before the weekend.
Now, a treat.
Before I discovered ramen, this was my goto Friday night bachelor treat. If you can't make it out, it mac 'n' cheese, tuna, corn and mushrooms. This was my bachelor Friday night treat, and I made it tonight! Apart from the sodium, I'd guess it's a pretty healthy meal. The only modification I do to the mac 'n' cheese recipe is to double the milk from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. You can also add garlic powder, onion powder and celery powder to taste. Yum!
As always, I am hochspeyer,blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
...and I THOUGHT I was a basement A+ man....
It seems that my Dad and I, even though he passed away several years ago, share an affinity for hardware. The difference is that while his hardware was measured in cubic inches, MPH and RPMs, mine is measured CPU, GHz and FLOPS.
He was a back alley mechanic that learned it on the fly, and became a master of the craft. Me? Not so much of an expert, although I've built enough computers, spreadsheets and databases from scratch to be quite confident when opening something up, and I couldn't say how many PCs I've upgraded, rebuilt, etc.
Last Sunday night, though, I ran into something I'd never experienced before.
I'm quite familiar with the care and feeding (and installing) of hard drives (HDD's), and I had one that was way overdue for installing in Great White- my computer, not the 80's hair band. The project started, though, with speakers. I had decided a while ago to do a peripheral upgrade to the PC prior to the (ouch) MOBO + processor + memory upgrade, so a few peripherals trickled in over the course of several months- HDD, mechanical keyboard, and finally speakers. The keyboard went on the weekend before last, although I still need drivers. I untangled all of the wires, prepared a place and installed the speakers; and cut some antiskid foam to keep everything from sliding all over the place. Mr. T had actually installed the HDD a few weeks ago, so I was all set to visit R-Stats and download the latest version of R, and then download Processing for the Arduino, and maybe start copying a clean- no dupes- version of my music library.
But, first I had to initialize my HDD... initialize? Yup, that was a new one on me. I've wiped, partitioned, formatted, repartitioned, reformatted and even used a hacksaw to remove a HDD from an oddly-configured case. But, I'm not certain that I've ever initialized a drive.
So on a Sunday night, I initialized a drive. Mind you, it wasn't difficult. Just new. Next, the printer. I finally got around to getting a fairly old HP all-in one tested and running again. Well- it prints every color EXCEPT cyan, and wouldn't you JUST know that I'm fresh out of cyan. I empathize with Rowdy Roddy Piper, as I came to print, and chew bubblegum, but I'm all out of ink... yes, yes the reference is pretty weak, but this is a mostly G-rated blog. I also got my social media accounts which had been in hibernation for some time back up and running, but the really big news is...
I found a Lego Master database. It's quite good, but not 100% complete. Then again, even Lego does not have a complete database of their own parts. However, I can get back to the inventory and database.
Now all I have to do is find and organize all of my Lego elements.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
He was a back alley mechanic that learned it on the fly, and became a master of the craft. Me? Not so much of an expert, although I've built enough computers, spreadsheets and databases from scratch to be quite confident when opening something up, and I couldn't say how many PCs I've upgraded, rebuilt, etc.
Last Sunday night, though, I ran into something I'd never experienced before.
I'm quite familiar with the care and feeding (and installing) of hard drives (HDD's), and I had one that was way overdue for installing in Great White- my computer, not the 80's hair band. The project started, though, with speakers. I had decided a while ago to do a peripheral upgrade to the PC prior to the (ouch) MOBO + processor + memory upgrade, so a few peripherals trickled in over the course of several months- HDD, mechanical keyboard, and finally speakers. The keyboard went on the weekend before last, although I still need drivers. I untangled all of the wires, prepared a place and installed the speakers; and cut some antiskid foam to keep everything from sliding all over the place. Mr. T had actually installed the HDD a few weeks ago, so I was all set to visit R-Stats and download the latest version of R, and then download Processing for the Arduino, and maybe start copying a clean- no dupes- version of my music library.
But, first I had to initialize my HDD... initialize? Yup, that was a new one on me. I've wiped, partitioned, formatted, repartitioned, reformatted and even used a hacksaw to remove a HDD from an oddly-configured case. But, I'm not certain that I've ever initialized a drive.
So on a Sunday night, I initialized a drive. Mind you, it wasn't difficult. Just new. Next, the printer. I finally got around to getting a fairly old HP all-in one tested and running again. Well- it prints every color EXCEPT cyan, and wouldn't you JUST know that I'm fresh out of cyan. I empathize with Rowdy Roddy Piper, as I came to print, and chew bubblegum, but I'm all out of ink... yes, yes the reference is pretty weak, but this is a mostly G-rated blog. I also got my social media accounts which had been in hibernation for some time back up and running, but the really big news is...
I found a Lego Master database. It's quite good, but not 100% complete. Then again, even Lego does not have a complete database of their own parts. However, I can get back to the inventory and database.
Now all I have to do is find and organize all of my Lego elements.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Going on 31
I used to be quite active on twitter, but a hard drive crash put an end to that. And, I'm sorry to say, a new phone just added to my woes.
So, in lieu of twitter, I've somehow managed to stay active on pinterest....
I know, I know, pinterest is generally considered by outsiders to be the "stay-at-home moms" and "cat lovers" site, and not something "manly" or "professional".
Well, that's completely inaccurate. Pinterest is full of good stuff- programming, Lego, makerspace... the list goes on and on.
But-
This October will be Jennifer's and my 31st marriage anniversary. We've beaten a few of the "odds", I suppose, but at this point you're probably wondering where all of this is going.
Pinterest likes to send suggestions based upon your likes and post and who knows what else, but a few days ago, one of the suggested pins went something like this, "A king should not search for a princess in distress, but rather for a queen who will fight by his side."
I suppose I could have said this from Day 1, but after nearly 31 years, I would not choose to live without this woman.
Happy anniversary to my best friend, my lover and my confidant.
So, in lieu of twitter, I've somehow managed to stay active on pinterest....
I know, I know, pinterest is generally considered by outsiders to be the "stay-at-home moms" and "cat lovers" site, and not something "manly" or "professional".
Well, that's completely inaccurate. Pinterest is full of good stuff- programming, Lego, makerspace... the list goes on and on.
But-
This October will be Jennifer's and my 31st marriage anniversary. We've beaten a few of the "odds", I suppose, but at this point you're probably wondering where all of this is going.
Pinterest likes to send suggestions based upon your likes and post and who knows what else, but a few days ago, one of the suggested pins went something like this, "A king should not search for a princess in distress, but rather for a queen who will fight by his side."
I suppose I could have said this from Day 1, but after nearly 31 years, I would not choose to live without this woman.
Happy anniversary to my best friend, my lover and my confidant.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Music Without an Agenda
I can't speak for anyone else, but when I have music going on my computer, its generally for a purpose. I NEVER shuffle my music, because my music collection- although conventional- is rather eclectic. Now, before you walk away, realize that this admission is akin to admitting that "jeans day" at work is having the ability to wear jeans. Just like everyone else.
However, THIS blog is about being contrarian in the face of conventionality or trends.
After a LOT of years, I've decided to build a computer for myself. In the past, we've built computers for Jennifer and Mr. T, and now its my turn. I suppose the first question is, "Why build a computer"?
Well, for starters, because I CAN. On a certain level, PC building is a lot of fun. On a more personal level, its a bonding experience for Mr. T and I.
At this point, I need to make a note about this particular build. After having three PCs die on me during this year, I decided it was time for a NEW PC. So, I spent a month or two researching cases.
Eh?
Yes, you read that correctly. I spent a few months researching cases. Why, you may ask.
Well Jennifer's PC was one of our first builds, and it was a "bare-bones" kit which included everything needed to have a running PC- all that was needed on the purchaser's end was a few additional parts, an operating system and assembly. As Mr. T puts it, "building a computer is a lot like making something out of Legos. Very expensive Legos". Then, he specced out an I5-based computer for himself, and we built it. In the interim, I've had several PCs die on me (apologies to readers who less blessed- this is TRULY a 1st world "problem"). Having said that, though, by "1st world standards" my family is comparatively not particularly wealthy- we just look for the best value we can find.
Of the 3 PCs that died on me this year, two were ancient boxes which I purchased some years ago as refurbs- and they were at least a few years old then. And honestly, they served me well. The third, however, was my laptop, which suffered a harddrive (HDD) crash. After that, the power supply died. This was the only one of the three worth salvaging. As much as I really like my Lenovo laptop, I need a desktop- something with a large screen (or two) which I can crunch numbers on and look at data. And play some games.
So, after a few months of research, I had narrowed my choice of cases down to a few. Mr. T had envisioned this build as a small case with a small ITX motherboard. After doing some research, I decided that the ITX had too many limitations, and decided to "go big or go home".
In the course of my research, I eventually narrowed my choices down to two, both Thermaltake offerings: the Core X5 tempered glass, and the core X9. Both are MASSIVE cases by any standard.
In the end, I decided to go with the Thermaltake Core X9 Core Snow edition. Now, the picture at the right shows the case in its shipping carton. For reference, we have four cats, and the cat tree behind the case is six feet (~2M) tall.
Snow Edition? Yes, I paid extra to get a white case... ~30 USD, actually. And why? Jennifer and I had this discussion, and after all of his resistance, Mr. T stepped up in my defense., saying , "This is his build. He's going to be the one looking at it for the next several years." And beside that, there is a very practical reason for white: when building, its harder to lose things!
So, I bought a white case. But, unlike a lot of the DIY PC folks who put their builds up on youtube, my pockets are neither deep or wide. The case is just the 1st step. One of the things that Mr. T gave me grief over during the initial planning stages was the inclusion of a Raspberry Pi in the case. I didn't have a specific scenario, but thought that the inclusion of a Pi in a large case would be schweet!
However, THIS blog is about being contrarian in the face of conventionality or trends.
After a LOT of years, I've decided to build a computer for myself. In the past, we've built computers for Jennifer and Mr. T, and now its my turn. I suppose the first question is, "Why build a computer"?
Well, for starters, because I CAN. On a certain level, PC building is a lot of fun. On a more personal level, its a bonding experience for Mr. T and I.
At this point, I need to make a note about this particular build. After having three PCs die on me during this year, I decided it was time for a NEW PC. So, I spent a month or two researching cases.
Eh?
Yes, you read that correctly. I spent a few months researching cases. Why, you may ask.
Well Jennifer's PC was one of our first builds, and it was a "bare-bones" kit which included everything needed to have a running PC- all that was needed on the purchaser's end was a few additional parts, an operating system and assembly. As Mr. T puts it, "building a computer is a lot like making something out of Legos. Very expensive Legos". Then, he specced out an I5-based computer for himself, and we built it. In the interim, I've had several PCs die on me (apologies to readers who less blessed- this is TRULY a 1st world "problem"). Having said that, though, by "1st world standards" my family is comparatively not particularly wealthy- we just look for the best value we can find.
Of the 3 PCs that died on me this year, two were ancient boxes which I purchased some years ago as refurbs- and they were at least a few years old then. And honestly, they served me well. The third, however, was my laptop, which suffered a harddrive (HDD) crash. After that, the power supply died. This was the only one of the three worth salvaging. As much as I really like my Lenovo laptop, I need a desktop- something with a large screen (or two) which I can crunch numbers on and look at data. And play some games.
So, after a few months of research, I had narrowed my choice of cases down to a few. Mr. T had envisioned this build as a small case with a small ITX motherboard. After doing some research, I decided that the ITX had too many limitations, and decided to "go big or go home".
In the course of my research, I eventually narrowed my choices down to two, both Thermaltake offerings: the Core X5 tempered glass, and the core X9. Both are MASSIVE cases by any standard.
In the end, I decided to go with the Thermaltake Core X9 Core Snow edition. Now, the picture at the right shows the case in its shipping carton. For reference, we have four cats, and the cat tree behind the case is six feet (~2M) tall.Snow Edition? Yes, I paid extra to get a white case... ~30 USD, actually. And why? Jennifer and I had this discussion, and after all of his resistance, Mr. T stepped up in my defense., saying , "This is his build. He's going to be the one looking at it for the next several years." And beside that, there is a very practical reason for white: when building, its harder to lose things!
So, I bought a white case. But, unlike a lot of the DIY PC folks who put their builds up on youtube, my pockets are neither deep or wide. The case is just the 1st step. One of the things that Mr. T gave me grief over during the initial planning stages was the inclusion of a Raspberry Pi in the case. I didn't have a specific scenario, but thought that the inclusion of a Pi in a large case would be schweet!
Saturday, May 5, 2018
5-2, IF
Yes,
Aware- it's almost exactly six months since I wrote anything... and even longer since I published anything.
Until certain things change, I'm not at liberty to discuss things- one of which is my frequency of publication.
I'm going to take this opportunity to welcome those of you around the globe who have waited for a new installment of this blog. I hope your patience is rewarded.
So for those both new and old, this blog is about data... although it takes frequent and random side journeys! Today may be one of those side journeys, so strap yourselves in... we're going KETO!
Well, not just yet, anyway. JJ's friend had suggested a keto diet a month or so ago-- she is experiencing carb-related health issues, and this was her polite, Asian way of saying we were fat. In point of fact, she was actually just being polite, and looking for some diet buddies.
However, I've done a modified keto diet before, and lost a metric ton of weight without really breaking a sweat. As I have a good idea of what I'm getting into this time, I'm easing into it this go round.
For starters, the goofy title of this post is actually the regimen I've been following for the past two weeks. IF= intermittent fast, and 5-2 is days on fast, and days off. So, from Monday to Friday, I'm doing a 16 hour fast, with 8 hours of "regular" eating at the end of the fast. Today is officially the end of the second week of the fast, and I've got to say that it hasn't been as difficult as I would have thought, and this is primarily because of my nonstandard work schedule.
During my "normal" workweek, most of my calories are consumed at work. I've had to make a few adjustments to what was my previous norm, but after my 1st weigh-in, I had really positive results. I discussed this briefly with someone I know who is familiar with metabolic processes, and he and I agreed that the unusually initial high loss was probably water weight. However, its still cool!
Now that I'm on the fitness train, I want to see how far it will take me.
I have a coworker who's a fellow foodie, and we both agreed that its just plain wrong to throw out food- even if its ramen! So, keto is still a way off, but some carb restriction is doable.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Aware- it's almost exactly six months since I wrote anything... and even longer since I published anything.
Until certain things change, I'm not at liberty to discuss things- one of which is my frequency of publication.
I'm going to take this opportunity to welcome those of you around the globe who have waited for a new installment of this blog. I hope your patience is rewarded.
So for those both new and old, this blog is about data... although it takes frequent and random side journeys! Today may be one of those side journeys, so strap yourselves in... we're going KETO!
Well, not just yet, anyway. JJ's friend had suggested a keto diet a month or so ago-- she is experiencing carb-related health issues, and this was her polite, Asian way of saying we were fat. In point of fact, she was actually just being polite, and looking for some diet buddies.
However, I've done a modified keto diet before, and lost a metric ton of weight without really breaking a sweat. As I have a good idea of what I'm getting into this time, I'm easing into it this go round.
For starters, the goofy title of this post is actually the regimen I've been following for the past two weeks. IF= intermittent fast, and 5-2 is days on fast, and days off. So, from Monday to Friday, I'm doing a 16 hour fast, with 8 hours of "regular" eating at the end of the fast. Today is officially the end of the second week of the fast, and I've got to say that it hasn't been as difficult as I would have thought, and this is primarily because of my nonstandard work schedule.
During my "normal" workweek, most of my calories are consumed at work. I've had to make a few adjustments to what was my previous norm, but after my 1st weigh-in, I had really positive results. I discussed this briefly with someone I know who is familiar with metabolic processes, and he and I agreed that the unusually initial high loss was probably water weight. However, its still cool!
Now that I'm on the fitness train, I want to see how far it will take me.
I have a coworker who's a fellow foodie, and we both agreed that its just plain wrong to throw out food- even if its ramen! So, keto is still a way off, but some carb restriction is doable.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Sep 5
Its my birthday, so here's the obligatory birthday post.
Wait- is there even such a thing???
IDK- I'm 50+, and I don't feel or act 30+. Or act 30+.
So anyway, I've been thinking of THAT song recently.... you know, the Lesley Gore song. No particular reason, especially since that that song has nothing to do with me or my life.
But anyway, I suppose that since its my birthday I'm allowed to reminisce randomly on 50+ years of life.
For those of you who know IRL, I'm bloody well on the way to... 60. FUARK.
I can't accept that on a certain level.
Happy birthday to me.
Wait- is there even such a thing???
IDK- I'm 50+, and I don't feel or act 30+. Or act 30+.
So anyway, I've been thinking of THAT song recently.... you know, the Lesley Gore song. No particular reason, especially since that that song has nothing to do with me or my life.
But anyway, I suppose that since its my birthday I'm allowed to reminisce randomly on 50+ years of life.
For those of you who know IRL, I'm bloody well on the way to... 60. FUARK.
I can't accept that on a certain level.
Happy birthday to me.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
3 months between posts?
Intentions are a lot like opinions and other things... everyone's got 'em.
I really enjoy blogging. I enjoy writing fiction as well, although I've yet to complete more than a few chapters of any novel I've ever attempted. My good e-buddy Jesse (who is an ACTUAL, published author) has offered me some good advice and admonishment a few times regarding the care and feeding of novels, but so far all I've managed is a bit of weak writing on that front. And I'm not being self-deprecating- I'm just being honest based on what I've written vs what I like to read.
Even so, my blog has languished. Three months in internet time is like, what, two Ice Ages?
Not unexpectedly, the blog has a different title than the one originally imagined- it was originally going to be something like "I've never met a tool I didn't like" or "That tool just might work for this job". Common sense won out, and I offer a mea culpa instead of something clever.
...and here's where the tools come in. A while back, I installed a dual monitor mounting system and mounted a pair of identical LG 23" monitors to it. The original configuration also had a pair of Trendnet KVMs to switch between four HP/Compaq business-class minitowers. It was a nice setup but the PCs were not particularly power efficient (or cool: four PCs under a desk can throw out some serious BTUs!).
So, for some time, I've been running just one of the PCs, and the desk space where the other keyboard used to be is now the home of my laptop.
However, a few weeks ago I noticed that one of the monitors was leaning. I pushed it back into its proper position, but it just sort of wilted back down, with the screen generally point to the desk. Upon closer examination, I discovered the problem was a screw that had somehow worked itself loose. I'm not sure how exactly this had transpired, as it has not been in use for months.
To make a quite long story short, if you have a multi-monitor setup, it might not hurt to check the tension of the fasteners in the hardware.
It's been some time, but the Lego database is finally being actively developed again... hopefully with a "permanent" basis this time.
I really enjoy blogging. I enjoy writing fiction as well, although I've yet to complete more than a few chapters of any novel I've ever attempted. My good e-buddy Jesse (who is an ACTUAL, published author) has offered me some good advice and admonishment a few times regarding the care and feeding of novels, but so far all I've managed is a bit of weak writing on that front. And I'm not being self-deprecating- I'm just being honest based on what I've written vs what I like to read.
Even so, my blog has languished. Three months in internet time is like, what, two Ice Ages?
Not unexpectedly, the blog has a different title than the one originally imagined- it was originally going to be something like "I've never met a tool I didn't like" or "That tool just might work for this job". Common sense won out, and I offer a mea culpa instead of something clever.
...and here's where the tools come in. A while back, I installed a dual monitor mounting system and mounted a pair of identical LG 23" monitors to it. The original configuration also had a pair of Trendnet KVMs to switch between four HP/Compaq business-class minitowers. It was a nice setup but the PCs were not particularly power efficient (or cool: four PCs under a desk can throw out some serious BTUs!).
So, for some time, I've been running just one of the PCs, and the desk space where the other keyboard used to be is now the home of my laptop.
However, a few weeks ago I noticed that one of the monitors was leaning. I pushed it back into its proper position, but it just sort of wilted back down, with the screen generally point to the desk. Upon closer examination, I discovered the problem was a screw that had somehow worked itself loose. I'm not sure how exactly this had transpired, as it has not been in use for months.
To make a quite long story short, if you have a multi-monitor setup, it might not hurt to check the tension of the fasteners in the hardware.
It's been some time, but the Lego database is finally being actively developed again... hopefully with a "permanent" basis this time.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
If you've got a LinkedIn profile, this post is for YOU!
Mr. T is an avid gamer- there's quite honestly no other word for it. He also dabbles a bit with designing accessories such as clothing and armor for games like Team Fortress. He uses GIMP, Blender and a few other nice pieces of freeware that are quite commonly employed in the world of game design. He also uses terms like "procedurally generated" as part of his normal speech.
And this has exactly "what" to do with this blog?
Well, procedurally generated is generally a gaming term, but more specifically its a coding or programming term. If you're a gamer you're probably familiar with this term, but if you're not, consider a normal search on Google or Amazon. Let's say you're looking for a certain kind of cheese. Google and Amazon will both display results based upon your previous browsing history, other surfers' previous history AND general popularity. When I typed "c" into my browser, "complex" was the 1st Google result, and Amazon returned nothing. "ch" in the browser gave me "chicagotribune" while Amazon returned "charcoal". To get "cheese" out of Google, I had to type "cheese" + space); Amazon only needed "chee" to get me to cheese.
I told you all of that to tell you this: I have two drafts that I want to publish, but both of them are once again on the backburner- this time because of an observation I had whilst surfing contact suggestions on LinkedIn. Hence, it is not uncommon for my blog's subject matter to be procedurally generated after a fashion.
As in a previous post from July of 2016, I'd like to talk a bit about professional deportment. Last time I addressed email addresses specifically, but also addressed data quality. Today I'd like to get more personal and address your LinkedIn profile with some brutal honesty which I hope will help your online presence look a bit (well, a metric ***ton) better: it's your mug.
*I'm not sure about other parts of the world, but in American English, your "mug" is a colloquialism that can mean your portrait (as in, your mugshot- the photo the police take of you when you are apprehended). And, once again, it does not imply in any way that you've ever run afoul of the law- it's just a casual way of saying "your picture"- or selfie.
Apologies- for once- to my American audience: this blog is read in over fifty countries, of which the vast majority do not speak English as their 1st language, and many have to be transliterated. Trust me, as someone who has been formally exposed to over half a dozen languages: idioms and colloquialisms do NOT translate gracefully or accurately!
So, there I was on LinkedIn. I had received an invitation to connect with someone in my field, and I accepted it. Once I did this, LinkedIn offered a slate of its own recommendations, procedurally generated by my existing network, career field, and who knows what else!
As I am IRL decidedly NOT a social butterfly, I welcome the LinkedIn suggestions and peruse them. Here's where it gets real and if you've skimmed down wondering when the wall of words would end, swallow your beverage and START READING NOW.
Gentle readers, I've had tons of sales training, and yet (for a number of unrelated reasons) I stink at sales. One thing I remember, though, that was common to all of this sales training, is this: we buy from folks like us, or ones that we like. I do not like generic silhouettes, nor will I connect with them. After all (and this is true) I am terrible with names. If I cannot connect a name with a face, I cannot make a connection. If Nikola Tesla, H.G.Wells, Steve Jobs and Sir Richard Branson had all sent me LinkedIn connection requests multiple times, and all they had for an avi was the default silhouette, I would decline them every time. Lesson 1 is: put up a real picture.
There's a caveat here, though: occasionally, a portrait may be TMI. There may be very good legal or safety reasons for omitting a portrait. In this case, you'll need to be creative if you desire a social media presence of any sort, but please... avoid the default silhouette!
Lesson 2: Your picture should be you. Unless you have some real issues as noted in the caveat following Lesson 1, put your picture here.
Lesson 3: Your picture should somehow communicate your personality, your passion, or your profession. For professional men, I don't think you can ever go wrong with a suit... or something that infers that you came to the office in a suit, but by 10 in the morning the jacket and tie were gone and the sleeves were rolled up. If you're C-level, you have license to go either way. For professional women, I'm sorry, I have little advice because the three-piece suit is not standard women's attire... I think. OTOH, if you're a working professional in a specialized field, wear the eye protection or hardhat or hearing protection or operate a specialized piece of equipment. My picture is a bit silly- but prized. Although its not a great picture, it was taken by a coworker with my camera, it really reflects my personality, and I like it.
Lesson 4: Your picture should not be an afterthought. You've invested time into creating your LinkedIn profile- why use cheap wallpaper? See lesson 3 regarding my picture. But... the idea here is about pictures that probably should not be used in a LinkedIn profile. So, don't reuse badly cropped photos of ANYTHING. Don't use prom photos (yes, I've seen 'em), wedding photos (ditto), graduation/seminar photos (uh-huh), photos with bad flash, poorly lit studio shots that obviously show you're seated in front of a pretty backdrop, obvious bad selfies, photos with your complexion/skin tone unfavorably illuminated. Ladies especially: attire or photo angle that emphasizes a particular feature (noses, etc) or sexualizes your portrait. When in doubt, have a disinterested (honest) third party check it out.
"But," you might say, "it's only LinkedIn."
According to a recent report, LinkedIn has 467 million members. Only China and India are more "populous". The whole world is looking at your mug, my friend.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
And this has exactly "what" to do with this blog?
Well, procedurally generated is generally a gaming term, but more specifically its a coding or programming term. If you're a gamer you're probably familiar with this term, but if you're not, consider a normal search on Google or Amazon. Let's say you're looking for a certain kind of cheese. Google and Amazon will both display results based upon your previous browsing history, other surfers' previous history AND general popularity. When I typed "c" into my browser, "complex" was the 1st Google result, and Amazon returned nothing. "ch" in the browser gave me "chicagotribune" while Amazon returned "charcoal". To get "cheese" out of Google, I had to type "cheese" + space); Amazon only needed "chee" to get me to cheese.
I told you all of that to tell you this: I have two drafts that I want to publish, but both of them are once again on the backburner- this time because of an observation I had whilst surfing contact suggestions on LinkedIn. Hence, it is not uncommon for my blog's subject matter to be procedurally generated after a fashion.
As in a previous post from July of 2016, I'd like to talk a bit about professional deportment. Last time I addressed email addresses specifically, but also addressed data quality. Today I'd like to get more personal and address your LinkedIn profile with some brutal honesty which I hope will help your online presence look a bit (well, a metric ***ton) better: it's your mug.
*I'm not sure about other parts of the world, but in American English, your "mug" is a colloquialism that can mean your portrait (as in, your mugshot- the photo the police take of you when you are apprehended). And, once again, it does not imply in any way that you've ever run afoul of the law- it's just a casual way of saying "your picture"- or selfie.
Apologies- for once- to my American audience: this blog is read in over fifty countries, of which the vast majority do not speak English as their 1st language, and many have to be transliterated. Trust me, as someone who has been formally exposed to over half a dozen languages: idioms and colloquialisms do NOT translate gracefully or accurately!
So, there I was on LinkedIn. I had received an invitation to connect with someone in my field, and I accepted it. Once I did this, LinkedIn offered a slate of its own recommendations, procedurally generated by my existing network, career field, and who knows what else!
As I am IRL decidedly NOT a social butterfly, I welcome the LinkedIn suggestions and peruse them. Here's where it gets real and if you've skimmed down wondering when the wall of words would end, swallow your beverage and START READING NOW.
Gentle readers, I've had tons of sales training, and yet (for a number of unrelated reasons) I stink at sales. One thing I remember, though, that was common to all of this sales training, is this: we buy from folks like us, or ones that we like. I do not like generic silhouettes, nor will I connect with them. After all (and this is true) I am terrible with names. If I cannot connect a name with a face, I cannot make a connection. If Nikola Tesla, H.G.Wells, Steve Jobs and Sir Richard Branson had all sent me LinkedIn connection requests multiple times, and all they had for an avi was the default silhouette, I would decline them every time. Lesson 1 is: put up a real picture.
There's a caveat here, though: occasionally, a portrait may be TMI. There may be very good legal or safety reasons for omitting a portrait. In this case, you'll need to be creative if you desire a social media presence of any sort, but please... avoid the default silhouette!
Lesson 2: Your picture should be you. Unless you have some real issues as noted in the caveat following Lesson 1, put your picture here.
Lesson 3: Your picture should somehow communicate your personality, your passion, or your profession. For professional men, I don't think you can ever go wrong with a suit... or something that infers that you came to the office in a suit, but by 10 in the morning the jacket and tie were gone and the sleeves were rolled up. If you're C-level, you have license to go either way. For professional women, I'm sorry, I have little advice because the three-piece suit is not standard women's attire... I think. OTOH, if you're a working professional in a specialized field, wear the eye protection or hardhat or hearing protection or operate a specialized piece of equipment. My picture is a bit silly- but prized. Although its not a great picture, it was taken by a coworker with my camera, it really reflects my personality, and I like it.
Lesson 4: Your picture should not be an afterthought. You've invested time into creating your LinkedIn profile- why use cheap wallpaper? See lesson 3 regarding my picture. But... the idea here is about pictures that probably should not be used in a LinkedIn profile. So, don't reuse badly cropped photos of ANYTHING. Don't use prom photos (yes, I've seen 'em), wedding photos (ditto), graduation/seminar photos (uh-huh), photos with bad flash, poorly lit studio shots that obviously show you're seated in front of a pretty backdrop, obvious bad selfies, photos with your complexion/skin tone unfavorably illuminated. Ladies especially: attire or photo angle that emphasizes a particular feature (noses, etc) or sexualizes your portrait. When in doubt, have a disinterested (honest) third party check it out.
"But," you might say, "it's only LinkedIn."
According to a recent report, LinkedIn has 467 million members. Only China and India are more "populous". The whole world is looking at your mug, my friend.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Monday, January 9, 2017
The 3 (or so) faces of I.T.
As previously mentioned here, I did some network upgrades over the course of the holidays which were actually just completed on Thursday morning (1/5/17, or 5.1.17 outside of North America), The end result is a faster SOHO network. The work is not quite yet done, but so far the end users are not gathering up tar, chicken feathers and kindling....
I ran into an interesting topic with our older son, Big D. While we were hooking up various computers on the Steam Link, Mr T and I noted that Big D's box had the greatest lag on the network with the exception of my little corner- and my corner was expected. A quick analysis of his situation revealed a simple answer: of all of the known segments of the network, he was at the end of what I can determine is the longest piece of copper in the house. The problem is the location of his PC. Due to our upgrades, I have a spare switch that I could add and create a new segment, but I'm not certain that it would be beneficial.
Of course, this conundrum got me to thinking about I.T. from a higher level. Normally, when most of us (who are in some sort of business) think of I.T. ("information technology"), we generally think of our local I.T. person or the voice on the other end of the phone at the help desk. I'd like you to expand your I.T. horizons for a moment and consider what Dr. Sheldon Cooper might intellectually view I.T. as.
On the one hand, they are there to take care of your systems- computers, mice, printers.
On another level, they might fix your connectivity issues- basically, network problems.
A little deeper- they might even be able to deal with your data issues- backup and restore.
Finally, at my level (SOHO), I do that for everyone, plus ensure uptime, backups and data integrity.
At the SOHO level, one needs not only provide backup, but justify the cost of backup- as well as support the backup. Mind you. I'm not complaining. One problem a SOHO I.T. person shares with his or her counterparts in the business world is making a business case for a capital expenditure- in other words, "Do we really need this shiny gadget?"
Additionally, I (as a data-driven fellow) need storage. Just as a reminder, the unifying theme of this blog is data. I've lost metric **** (French- *****), German (********), Slavic languages (*****) tons of data due to recent crashes.I'm hoping that our new NAS (network attached storage) with 2x3TB HHDs will ameliorate this situation.
Finally, as Sir Richard Starkey once quipped, "I've got blisters on me fingers!" I don't really, but I always try to throw in what I hope is a clever little segue near the end of the blog.
I'm certain that I've mentioned in at least a few blogs that I'm not in the habit of making New Year's Resolutions... have no fear, I'm not changing. However, the convenience of January 1st as a sort of milepost of Life is something which is not to be wasted. With the network fairly squared away, I now have time to do some programming/coding.
Before I go any further, "programming" and "coding" are the same thing in this context. With my discovery of things like STEM, the Hour of Code and the Maker Movement, I was once "back in the game" of something I had experimented with- only to discard decades ago.
Out first computer was a Commodore Colt, an XT compatible machine. One day, I discovered that I could make programs in a language called GW BASIC. Having a bit of experience with BASIC, I found a book on GW-BASIC and tried my hand at programming. I don't recall exactly what the problem was, but the author(s) were so cavalier and asinine in their assumptions about their target audience (that would be folks wanting to learn GW BASIC) that they made a BOATload (where B=S, L=H, A=I and D=T) of assumptions, which made their book useless. Thanks to these dweeb losers, it took me over 20 years to get back to programming.
However, I eventually came back to programming, and in 2017 I hope to become familiar with Visual Basic 2015. Thanks to a free Microsoft version of of Visual Studio Community, I have access to Visual Basic 2015, as well as a few other programming languages. We'll see how it goes.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
I ran into an interesting topic with our older son, Big D. While we were hooking up various computers on the Steam Link, Mr T and I noted that Big D's box had the greatest lag on the network with the exception of my little corner- and my corner was expected. A quick analysis of his situation revealed a simple answer: of all of the known segments of the network, he was at the end of what I can determine is the longest piece of copper in the house. The problem is the location of his PC. Due to our upgrades, I have a spare switch that I could add and create a new segment, but I'm not certain that it would be beneficial.
Of course, this conundrum got me to thinking about I.T. from a higher level. Normally, when most of us (who are in some sort of business) think of I.T. ("information technology"), we generally think of our local I.T. person or the voice on the other end of the phone at the help desk. I'd like you to expand your I.T. horizons for a moment and consider what Dr. Sheldon Cooper might intellectually view I.T. as.
On the one hand, they are there to take care of your systems- computers, mice, printers.
On another level, they might fix your connectivity issues- basically, network problems.
A little deeper- they might even be able to deal with your data issues- backup and restore.
Finally, at my level (SOHO), I do that for everyone, plus ensure uptime, backups and data integrity.
At the SOHO level, one needs not only provide backup, but justify the cost of backup- as well as support the backup. Mind you. I'm not complaining. One problem a SOHO I.T. person shares with his or her counterparts in the business world is making a business case for a capital expenditure- in other words, "Do we really need this shiny gadget?"
Additionally, I (as a data-driven fellow) need storage. Just as a reminder, the unifying theme of this blog is data. I've lost metric **** (French- *****), German (********), Slavic languages (*****) tons of data due to recent crashes.I'm hoping that our new NAS (network attached storage) with 2x3TB HHDs will ameliorate this situation.
Finally, as Sir Richard Starkey once quipped, "I've got blisters on me fingers!" I don't really, but I always try to throw in what I hope is a clever little segue near the end of the blog.
I'm certain that I've mentioned in at least a few blogs that I'm not in the habit of making New Year's Resolutions... have no fear, I'm not changing. However, the convenience of January 1st as a sort of milepost of Life is something which is not to be wasted. With the network fairly squared away, I now have time to do some programming/coding.
Before I go any further, "programming" and "coding" are the same thing in this context. With my discovery of things like STEM, the Hour of Code and the Maker Movement, I was once "back in the game" of something I had experimented with- only to discard decades ago.
Out first computer was a Commodore Colt, an XT compatible machine. One day, I discovered that I could make programs in a language called GW BASIC. Having a bit of experience with BASIC, I found a book on GW-BASIC and tried my hand at programming. I don't recall exactly what the problem was, but the author(s) were so cavalier and asinine in their assumptions about their target audience (that would be folks wanting to learn GW BASIC) that they made a BOATload (where B=S, L=H, A=I and D=T) of assumptions, which made their book useless. Thanks to these dweeb losers, it took me over 20 years to get back to programming.
However, I eventually came back to programming, and in 2017 I hope to become familiar with Visual Basic 2015. Thanks to a free Microsoft version of of Visual Studio Community, I have access to Visual Basic 2015, as well as a few other programming languages. We'll see how it goes.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
MMXVII
I've always liked Roman numerals.For those unfamiliar, I'll save you a few seconds of searching: this post is titled "2017" in Roman numerals.
So, this is my first "official" post of 2017, and as I was looking at my blog stats earlier, I noted with pleasure and amazement that I had acquired a reader in... MONGOLIA! It ranked up there in amazement with my first African reader!
Now, I hope no one is thinking that I'm some... I'm not sure- fill-in-the-blank person from North America. Quite the opposite- I'm a casual writer who has, over the course of a few short years, had the privilege to have his stuff read in ~50 countries around the globe. And a fair percentage- if not an outright majority- do not claim English as their native tongue. So to all of my readers, old and new, I wish you a Happy New Year, Thank You and WELCOME to my blog... my little corner of the internet!
For those completely new to this blog, it has more of a "unifying theme" rather than a plot, theme or storyline. I try to keep it a safe place- no vulgarity or situations requiring the reader to agree or disagree with any political, moral or religious opinion. It sounds a bit like milk toast, but honestly, this blog is nothing more than my attempt to tell a few stories, chronicle some events and just communicate what Life looks like through my eyes... and the unifying theme is the Secret Underground Lair (SUL).
I'll reveal what is surely a pretty poorly kept secret: the SUL is a room in the basement of a modest home in the NW suburbs of Chicago (GO CUBS!). Our home is also the location of the Dungeon. our physical fitness training area- currently overrun by clutter. The rest of the basement is not named, with the exception of the Pantry, which currently is home to some chicken stock, canned tomatoes and a few other edible sundries.
The SUL is an office area, walled off from the rest of the basement and accessible by a door which has a bell on a string (we have four cats- three have learned how to use the bell. The 4th doesn't care). During our waking hours, Mr. T and I conduct business here. We pretty much sit kitty corner and back to back of each other. Both of our areas of control are in a fair amount of disarray, although the office is starting to come together. I'm not one of those folks who makes New Year's Resolutions, but I'm thinking that this will be the year when we FINALLY get the office in shape. We've made a few small steps already, discarding a few things and doing some organizing.
On the negative side, we're 18 months (at least) behind on this project.
I've noticed that Life seems to be a project, and the SUL is a great microcosm of this concept. I've already replaced some older Cat 5e cabling which was throttling network performance- I have one more switch on the way which will take care of a few other issues. I also have two older PCs which I'm thinking of adding a second gigabit NIC (network interface card)- which would theoretically double available bandwidth and throughput to the PCs. That's a question for later.
The last paragraph is a good example of my unifying theme. I shoot for data, but as I'm a hands-on SOHO I.T. guy, you'll often seen see speeds and feeds here. I hope everyone reading this will continue, possibly looking at some of my previous posts, and hopefully returning for more!
Lastly, I'm hoping we can dye the elephant this week.
????????
A year or so ago, I bought a plush elephant from a local retailer. I eventually also purchased a bottle of yellow dye. Why? Hadoop, of course! The unifying theme of this blog really is DATA... well, it tries.
It's time to put this to bed. I've read lots of articles, posts and blogs that were difficult to read, simply because they were presented as the dreaded "walls of text". No fear here- I try to keep my paragraphs short. I hope you've enjoyed this overview/review- please come back again!
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
So, this is my first "official" post of 2017, and as I was looking at my blog stats earlier, I noted with pleasure and amazement that I had acquired a reader in... MONGOLIA! It ranked up there in amazement with my first African reader!
Now, I hope no one is thinking that I'm some... I'm not sure- fill-in-the-blank person from North America. Quite the opposite- I'm a casual writer who has, over the course of a few short years, had the privilege to have his stuff read in ~50 countries around the globe. And a fair percentage- if not an outright majority- do not claim English as their native tongue. So to all of my readers, old and new, I wish you a Happy New Year, Thank You and WELCOME to my blog... my little corner of the internet!
For those completely new to this blog, it has more of a "unifying theme" rather than a plot, theme or storyline. I try to keep it a safe place- no vulgarity or situations requiring the reader to agree or disagree with any political, moral or religious opinion. It sounds a bit like milk toast, but honestly, this blog is nothing more than my attempt to tell a few stories, chronicle some events and just communicate what Life looks like through my eyes... and the unifying theme is the Secret Underground Lair (SUL).
I'll reveal what is surely a pretty poorly kept secret: the SUL is a room in the basement of a modest home in the NW suburbs of Chicago (GO CUBS!). Our home is also the location of the Dungeon. our physical fitness training area- currently overrun by clutter. The rest of the basement is not named, with the exception of the Pantry, which currently is home to some chicken stock, canned tomatoes and a few other edible sundries.
The SUL is an office area, walled off from the rest of the basement and accessible by a door which has a bell on a string (we have four cats- three have learned how to use the bell. The 4th doesn't care). During our waking hours, Mr. T and I conduct business here. We pretty much sit kitty corner and back to back of each other. Both of our areas of control are in a fair amount of disarray, although the office is starting to come together. I'm not one of those folks who makes New Year's Resolutions, but I'm thinking that this will be the year when we FINALLY get the office in shape. We've made a few small steps already, discarding a few things and doing some organizing.
On the negative side, we're 18 months (at least) behind on this project.
I've noticed that Life seems to be a project, and the SUL is a great microcosm of this concept. I've already replaced some older Cat 5e cabling which was throttling network performance- I have one more switch on the way which will take care of a few other issues. I also have two older PCs which I'm thinking of adding a second gigabit NIC (network interface card)- which would theoretically double available bandwidth and throughput to the PCs. That's a question for later.
The last paragraph is a good example of my unifying theme. I shoot for data, but as I'm a hands-on SOHO I.T. guy, you'll often seen see speeds and feeds here. I hope everyone reading this will continue, possibly looking at some of my previous posts, and hopefully returning for more!
Lastly, I'm hoping we can dye the elephant this week.
????????
A year or so ago, I bought a plush elephant from a local retailer. I eventually also purchased a bottle of yellow dye. Why? Hadoop, of course! The unifying theme of this blog really is DATA... well, it tries.
It's time to put this to bed. I've read lots of articles, posts and blogs that were difficult to read, simply because they were presented as the dreaded "walls of text". No fear here- I try to keep my paragraphs short. I hope you've enjoyed this overview/review- please come back again!
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Monday, January 2, 2017
So, what did your NOC get for Christmas?
So, it's Christmas here in the SUL, and of course I'm playing Christmas music. The SUL is home to our very modest- meaning there is a sparse amount of equipment, and not shy- NOC (network operations center). As is the case most, if indeed not all years, our NOC is on the "NICE" list rather than the "other" list. So, because a couple of PCs were on the "other" list because of hard drive failures, I resolved that I would be a better SOHO I.T. manager in 2017.
It is now the 2nd of January. I'm happy (but slightly drained) as I report that I've been a very good giver of gifts to the network in general and the NOC in particular. It all started out with our family Christmas present. I should note that over the years, we've scaled back our Christmas celebrations to a few Christmas cards, a nice dinner and Christmas music. Much less stress, much less expense (commercialism), and with a few cats, no destroyed decorations to clean up.
The family Christmas present this year was a Steam Link and a Steam Controller. What is Steam? Check it out here. By the way, this is also the simplest way to explain the Cloud to folks. In a nutshell, the Steam Link is a device that is on your network. It will automatically detect any computer that is running that has Steam, and then let you play your Steam-hosted games on your TV. So, I tasked Mr. T with installing the device. Valve (the makers of the Link) have provided everything one needs to get the Link operational quickly. They included several electrical adapters, an HDMI cable and a flat CAT 6 cable.
And this is where the dominoes started to fall.
The ethernet cable was about 2 meters short. Not a problem- I had a spare in the SUL that was going to be replaced by another, longer cable that we had received that same day. I gave Mr. T the cable from the SUL and it was 1 meter short. We searched a bit for a dimly remembered cache of ethernet cables, but it proved to be as real as the city of El Dorado. So, I traded the flat cable for my shiny new purple cable. All was good with the Link.
Mr. T then gave the Link a functional test, discovering the computers on our network. Unsurprisingly, all three of my PCs had huge lag issues- I had observed this before. However, over the network, my Steam games were unplayable. So, I went back down to the NOC, and after a few simple tests I was reminded that the NOC's primary (8 port) switch had a dead port. I looked at my other (5 port) switch. I noted at least one CAT 5e cable was in use, so I went beck and ordered more CAT 6 cables and another 8 port switch.
Its now Monday night, and I've done all that I can. The 5 port switch has been replaced by an 8 port switch. I was about to say all was up to date on the new switch, when I decided to take one more look at the cabling.
FRACK! One more CAT 5e cable to replace!
Well, that's done. There's actually one more CAT 5e cable, but its attached to a printer that has a 10/100 NIC, so it can stay. In another few days the other switch will arrive, and after its installation our NOC will be up to date. I still need to complete the configuration of our NAS (network atttached storage) device, but there's no rush on that.
My brain is officially on overtime- that's all for now from the SUL.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
It is now the 2nd of January. I'm happy (but slightly drained) as I report that I've been a very good giver of gifts to the network in general and the NOC in particular. It all started out with our family Christmas present. I should note that over the years, we've scaled back our Christmas celebrations to a few Christmas cards, a nice dinner and Christmas music. Much less stress, much less expense (commercialism), and with a few cats, no destroyed decorations to clean up.
The family Christmas present this year was a Steam Link and a Steam Controller. What is Steam? Check it out here. By the way, this is also the simplest way to explain the Cloud to folks. In a nutshell, the Steam Link is a device that is on your network. It will automatically detect any computer that is running that has Steam, and then let you play your Steam-hosted games on your TV. So, I tasked Mr. T with installing the device. Valve (the makers of the Link) have provided everything one needs to get the Link operational quickly. They included several electrical adapters, an HDMI cable and a flat CAT 6 cable.
And this is where the dominoes started to fall.
The ethernet cable was about 2 meters short. Not a problem- I had a spare in the SUL that was going to be replaced by another, longer cable that we had received that same day. I gave Mr. T the cable from the SUL and it was 1 meter short. We searched a bit for a dimly remembered cache of ethernet cables, but it proved to be as real as the city of El Dorado. So, I traded the flat cable for my shiny new purple cable. All was good with the Link.
Mr. T then gave the Link a functional test, discovering the computers on our network. Unsurprisingly, all three of my PCs had huge lag issues- I had observed this before. However, over the network, my Steam games were unplayable. So, I went back down to the NOC, and after a few simple tests I was reminded that the NOC's primary (8 port) switch had a dead port. I looked at my other (5 port) switch. I noted at least one CAT 5e cable was in use, so I went beck and ordered more CAT 6 cables and another 8 port switch.
Its now Monday night, and I've done all that I can. The 5 port switch has been replaced by an 8 port switch. I was about to say all was up to date on the new switch, when I decided to take one more look at the cabling.
FRACK! One more CAT 5e cable to replace!
Well, that's done. There's actually one more CAT 5e cable, but its attached to a printer that has a 10/100 NIC, so it can stay. In another few days the other switch will arrive, and after its installation our NOC will be up to date. I still need to complete the configuration of our NAS (network atttached storage) device, but there's no rush on that.
My brain is officially on overtime- that's all for now from the SUL.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
The State of the Blog, v.04 (2016)
Well, it has been four years of writing... well, blogging. I sometimes question the literary validity of blogging versus other literary pursuits. I think blogging will be (or may be currently) viewed as a legitimate literary form, and so I throw up my feeble thoughts into the blogosphere every so often for amusement and evaluation.
Before I forget, I'd like to say "Thanks!" to all of my readers, loyal and occasional, new and old. And, in keeping with internet survey options which really make no sense, those who would answer "Other" also get my thanks.
I'm afraid this is going to be one of "those" posts, the sort I'd guess most blog writers dread: I've gotta write something, but I've got absolutely no clue as to what it will be.
I suppose I could go with the "ever-popular" "Year In Review" theme. Except I don't think anyone enjoys reading those- especially folks who don't know me or my family personally.
For a change, I'd like to say that this year has been pretty exceptional. Unlike last year when I had cataract surgery, we've not had and major illnesses or injuries- and we're quite thankful for this! Jennifer's Dad has been the exception, and out of respect for her family I'll leave it at that.
Daniel is no longer a newb at his job, and has scored some pretty impressive hours for a newcomer. Amanda and Mike are still at the ranch. Mr. T is ISO employment, and sharpening his graphics skills in the interim.
Jennifer and I are still knee-deep in home improvement projects. With the roof out of the way and the mulberry trimmed, we can now (hopefully!) turn our attention to other projects- more on these later.
And finally, one might ask: what's up in the wonderful world of data and programming?
Well, my latest endeavor I've been trying to do something which seems pretty simple- download and install Microsoft Visual Studio. We have an internal project or two at work which would benefit from multiple programmers poking at it, but I have as yet been able to successfully download and install Microsoft Visual Studio completely on my (personal) laptop. I've downloaded it to my work laptop and Jennifer's computer, so I'm more or less in business.
I've not done much with R or Python, but hopefully that will change in 2017. Who knows? For now, Merry/Happy Christmas! Here are a few recent photos I hope you enjoy!
Before I forget, I'd like to say "Thanks!" to all of my readers, loyal and occasional, new and old. And, in keeping with internet survey options which really make no sense, those who would answer "Other" also get my thanks.
I'm afraid this is going to be one of "those" posts, the sort I'd guess most blog writers dread: I've gotta write something, but I've got absolutely no clue as to what it will be.
I suppose I could go with the "ever-popular" "Year In Review" theme. Except I don't think anyone enjoys reading those- especially folks who don't know me or my family personally.
For a change, I'd like to say that this year has been pretty exceptional. Unlike last year when I had cataract surgery, we've not had and major illnesses or injuries- and we're quite thankful for this! Jennifer's Dad has been the exception, and out of respect for her family I'll leave it at that.
Daniel is no longer a newb at his job, and has scored some pretty impressive hours for a newcomer. Amanda and Mike are still at the ranch. Mr. T is ISO employment, and sharpening his graphics skills in the interim.
Jennifer and I are still knee-deep in home improvement projects. With the roof out of the way and the mulberry trimmed, we can now (hopefully!) turn our attention to other projects- more on these later.
And finally, one might ask: what's up in the wonderful world of data and programming?
Well, my latest endeavor I've been trying to do something which seems pretty simple- download and install Microsoft Visual Studio. We have an internal project or two at work which would benefit from multiple programmers poking at it, but I have as yet been able to successfully download and install Microsoft Visual Studio completely on my (personal) laptop. I've downloaded it to my work laptop and Jennifer's computer, so I'm more or less in business.
I've not done much with R or Python, but hopefully that will change in 2017. Who knows? For now, Merry/Happy Christmas! Here are a few recent photos I hope you enjoy!
 |
| Meerkat at home |
 |
| New cat tree- Kenji on top, Tinka below |
 |
| Meerkat, somewhere north of Springfield, IL |
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Om the road again- Dec, 2016
The Secret Underground Lair is once again abuzz with activity as Jennifer and yours truly have just returned from an epic- and somewhat unplanned- trip. My original plan for the remainder of my vacation time was to take care of some personal business in mid-December, but a family situation in November in which our assistance was requested took precedence.
As it was Jennifer's immediate family, I agreed that we would help and rearranged my vacation. Thanksgiving (this year, Thursday, November 24, 2016) is a holiday that the boys like to celebrate as a family with Jennifer and I and special meal, so we had dinner with them, did the dishes and then packed our luggage and made snacks for the trip.
Friday morning (Black Friday), we got up at 0600. Jennifer made final checks on everything and got our breakfast together, and I packed Meerkat, our trusty Subaru Outback. Our journey would be approximately 950 miles (~1530km), and take us through four states: Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Our first rest stop was in southern Illinois. It was a relatively quick one at a rest stop named "Homestead". Note the grass- it is late November, and the grass is still green!
We've done this route a few times before, so we had a rough idea of how far we needed to travel on the first day of the journey. We generally stop in Springfield, Missouri and overnight there. However, on this trip, because we were making such excellent time, we blew past Springfield and spent the night in Joplin, Missouri, adding 70 miles to our normal 1st day! Saturday was relatively easy, mostly because we were able to avoid most of the construction in Dallas!
I won't bore you with the details of our visit... suffice it to say that I can't remember the last time I did so much yard work! At one point, we realized we needed a chainsaw, and we purchased an electric one.
Long story short: we busted our buns in that yard!
So, we worked (much family drama deleted!). and a week later, snow had fallen. The pictures are not of the same places, but both were taken in southern Illinois, a week apart!
We busted our buns at Jennifer's folk's home that week. At one point, I (literally) could not walk and my hands barely worked. Still, all of the work was for family, and it was fun, so I have no complaints.
That's all for this trip. As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
As it was Jennifer's immediate family, I agreed that we would help and rearranged my vacation. Thanksgiving (this year, Thursday, November 24, 2016) is a holiday that the boys like to celebrate as a family with Jennifer and I and special meal, so we had dinner with them, did the dishes and then packed our luggage and made snacks for the trip.
Friday morning (Black Friday), we got up at 0600. Jennifer made final checks on everything and got our breakfast together, and I packed Meerkat, our trusty Subaru Outback. Our journey would be approximately 950 miles (~1530km), and take us through four states: Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
We've done this route a few times before, so we had a rough idea of how far we needed to travel on the first day of the journey. We generally stop in Springfield, Missouri and overnight there. However, on this trip, because we were making such excellent time, we blew past Springfield and spent the night in Joplin, Missouri, adding 70 miles to our normal 1st day! Saturday was relatively easy, mostly because we were able to avoid most of the construction in Dallas!
I won't bore you with the details of our visit... suffice it to say that I can't remember the last time I did so much yard work! At one point, we realized we needed a chainsaw, and we purchased an electric one.
Long story short: we busted our buns in that yard!
We busted our buns at Jennifer's folk's home that week. At one point, I (literally) could not walk and my hands barely worked. Still, all of the work was for family, and it was fun, so I have no complaints.
That's all for this trip. As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
The morning after
As a blogger with a worldwide readership base (well, excepting Antarctica... c'mon my loyal readers- someone has got to know someone [or someone who knows someone] in Antarctica- please recommend my blog... I'M BEGGING!), I suppose I should comment on the events of November 8, 2016, a.k.a., the General Elections in the United States of America.
But first, my blog title.
As the gentle reader may be aware, my blog titles are often tied directly to my subject matter, but also can be puns or cultural references. In this particular case, it is a bit of all three. Most importantly, it has absolutely nothing to do with RU-486, which became available in the United States in 2000, and was known as the "morning after" pill.
It is, in fact, a reference to the Maureen McGovern song from the original 1972 Irwin Allen classic disaster movie "The Poseidon Adventure". In a way,this movie symbolized the beginning of the demise of the hippie era, but it also shows that, when faced with dire straits, we all need to come together.
In a very broad way, this ties in rather well with U.S. politics and elections.
To some readers, this might seem rather odd, but please bear with me- I hope give a short, understandable explanation of the U.S. election process.
For starters, the basics: the United States is often referred to as a "constitutional federal republic". That's a mouthful, and quite honestly, many U.S. citizens would refer the the U.S. as a "democracy". This is inherently incorrect, as it merely says that the people participate in the government- primarily by electing proxies, or representatives. These "representatives" can be called representatives, senators, sheriffs, or any of a host of other titles.
"Constitutional" means that all of our laws are based upon a common document upon which all of our laws are derived. "Federal" means there is a strong central (national) government, and smaller (states) local governments. "Republic"- the head of state is elected or nominated by the people or their representatives.
Having said all of that, we have a new leader who will be installed as the President in January, 2017.
For what its worth, I did not support either candidate.
Anyway, its the morning after. I have a crashed HDD to deal with. In all honesty, the hard drive is more of a concern than the election.
...and for all those who follow this for my data snippets... nothing today, I'm sorry to report.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
But first, my blog title.
As the gentle reader may be aware, my blog titles are often tied directly to my subject matter, but also can be puns or cultural references. In this particular case, it is a bit of all three. Most importantly, it has absolutely nothing to do with RU-486, which became available in the United States in 2000, and was known as the "morning after" pill.
It is, in fact, a reference to the Maureen McGovern song from the original 1972 Irwin Allen classic disaster movie "The Poseidon Adventure". In a way,this movie symbolized the beginning of the demise of the hippie era, but it also shows that, when faced with dire straits, we all need to come together.
In a very broad way, this ties in rather well with U.S. politics and elections.
To some readers, this might seem rather odd, but please bear with me- I hope give a short, understandable explanation of the U.S. election process.
For starters, the basics: the United States is often referred to as a "constitutional federal republic". That's a mouthful, and quite honestly, many U.S. citizens would refer the the U.S. as a "democracy". This is inherently incorrect, as it merely says that the people participate in the government- primarily by electing proxies, or representatives. These "representatives" can be called representatives, senators, sheriffs, or any of a host of other titles.
"Constitutional" means that all of our laws are based upon a common document upon which all of our laws are derived. "Federal" means there is a strong central (national) government, and smaller (states) local governments. "Republic"- the head of state is elected or nominated by the people or their representatives.
Having said all of that, we have a new leader who will be installed as the President in January, 2017.
For what its worth, I did not support either candidate.
Anyway, its the morning after. I have a crashed HDD to deal with. In all honesty, the hard drive is more of a concern than the election.
...and for all those who follow this for my data snippets... nothing today, I'm sorry to report.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Don't just do well... Excel!
I'm going to talk a bit about some of my favorite Excel tips and tricks in a bit, but first I'd like to explore a certain fantasy of mine.
In another, more perfect world, I'd be an acclaimed, excruciatingly well-paid (and well-off) director of cinema with such an impeccable track record, I could write my own ticket for ANY movie. In this "perfect" world, I would have unlimited finances for my signature movie: a fantasy... or possibly sci-fi epic. This movie would be so epic that highly regarded movies such as "Gone With The Wind", "Citizen Kane" or "The Godfather" would pale in comparison to my movie. Sci-fi and fantasy standards such as Harry Potter (all of them), Star Wars (the complete series), Star Trek (the original TV series, every TV variant, and ALL of the movies), Blade Runner, the Peter Jackson LOTR epic or any other classic or standard one could think of would be mere footnotes in the story of the greatest fantasy epic ever filmed.
It would be so awe-inspiring, in fact, that, that Congress would unanimously pass the "hochspeyer Cinematic Protection Act" which would make the mere mention of Sting or Dune on my property a Class A misdemeanor, as this aberration of a movie could seriously undermine the morale of everyone associated with my movie, which in the law would be defined in the wording of the law as "property theft over 1000USD" (Legalese, in my own words).
In fact. my movie would be so perfect that I'd have to pay the leading actors and actresses of the day NOT to come and waste everyone's time by coming to my casting call, because I'd already have hand-picked my cast. I do know one thing, though: the soundtrack has already been recorded... in my mind. All of these songs are already in my collection. These songs would be so perfect for my movie that when I'd announce them, the folks who own the rights to the songs would would give me 75% of the royalties, and record companies would gift me their entire catalogs just to get one or two more tracks included. In my mind, ...
(hint: read the following in Superhero Speak)- that's Just. How. AWESOME (my movie will be). But... back to the soundtrack.
I'm actually a bit conflicted as to exactly what I should use as the main theme orchestral music, although I'm leaning pretty heavily towards Sibelius' Symphony #1. Why Sibelius... or, probably better, who is Sibelius?
Jean Sibelius is, from the narrative on the linked site above, a hero of Finland. I'm not an expert on classical music- and I'm using the term "classical music" in the popular, rather than the technical sense- but I think of his works as a bit "lighter" than German composers, but not as "sweet" as French or Italian folks. There would be other classical pieces, of course. Orff's intense "O Fortuna" would be prominent, as would several other easily recognizable pieces.
There would also be rock... symphonic, metal, epic, the very best of the best, curated, so to speak, by me- lots of it. There would be some obvious choices (to me, anyway). Uriah Heep would contribute The Wizard, Lady In Black, Stealin', and Easy Livin', at least. From Styx, I'd have Lords of the Ring, Castle Walls, Born For Adventure and Snowblind. Scorpions add Send Me An Angel, No Pain No Gain. Nazareth provides Please Don't Judas Me. Axe gives us Silent Soldiers, and Jennifer. Moody Blues? Nights In White Satin and For My Lady. Pink Floyd gives us Breathe and One of These Days.
At this point, some purists may take offense, but I'm going with Guns N' Roses' version of Hair of the Dog. I've got nothing against the original- it's just that I like Slash's Day Tripper riff and Axl's laugh at the end of their cover. Speaking of GNR, November Rain and You Could Be Mine are on the list. Poison contributes Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Cinderella gives me Don't Know What You've Got and Nobody's Fool. From Bad Company, Bad Company and Seagull. Bruce Springsteen has Badlands. Deep Purple provides Burn. Kix' Don't Close Your Eyes is a must. Queen, of course, gives us '39, Don't Lose Your Head. There are probably several few dozen more, at least.
You're probably wondering how one (exceedingly long) movie could have so much music. Pretty simple, really: technology. On current blu-ray discs, the viewer can select the language, subtitles or not, and in some cases even the camera angle. My movie will probably be a direct to video release, and will allow the viewer to select the soundtrack based upon their preferences and my impeccable offerings for them to choose from- and they'll choose from a list of songs for any given scene, if they so choose.
Whew! That was a bit more lengthy than planned. And now, a few of my favorite Excel Tips and Tricks.
I don't know about you, but I use the Microsoft Office suite quite a bit... primarily Excel.
I'm not trying to be a Microsoft pitch guy, but their Office suite does offer a lot of useful business tools. I regularly use Excel, Word, Access and Powerpoint, in that order. Here are a few of my favorite Excel tips and tricks.
White text- I'm starting off with a weird "in plain sight" trick. I have a spreadsheet that I use fairly often, and I need to track a quantity manually. As this quantity is unimportant to anyone but me, I don't want to draw attention to it so I've made the text in the cell the same color as the background- white.
"CTRL + ~"- If you know nothing about Excel except for constructing simple calculations, this is a vital shortcut. For those readers who are fairly new to Excel users, when you're working in a cell, you can see what you're doing in a cell by looking at the formula bar. When you type "CTRL + ~", you will see what is in every cell in your active spreadsheet- this is great for troubleshoooting.
Conditional formatting- a very sweet tool. It can be used in any number of ways. In a spreadsheet I currently co-manage, I use conditional formatting to alert me to when I need to reorder printer supplies. I also use it to manage my personal overtime.
Lastly, a just for fun bit of formatting.
You can make even a boring spreadsheet look a bit nicer by getting rid of the grid in some places, "simply" by changing the fill color.
Lastly, the most important trick is NEVER, ever do this in a production spreadsheet... that's tech talk for a spreadsheet which you really care about or would be lost without: ALWAYS MAKE A COPY, and work in the copy. I often need to use the data in a .csv or .xls/.xlsx file, and the first thing I do is copy the file to my desktop, rename it as a COPY_currentdata.xlxs, and then work from the copy. Never use the source file, unless your organization prohibits file copying. In that case, seek guidance from I.T. For all others, make that copy, and then delete it when you're done. If you have hardcopies (as I do), please be kind and deposit them in the shred bin.
That's all for now. I hope you've enjoyed my little movie fantasy, and can use one or two of my Excel "tricks". As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management do you don't have to.
In another, more perfect world, I'd be an acclaimed, excruciatingly well-paid (and well-off) director of cinema with such an impeccable track record, I could write my own ticket for ANY movie. In this "perfect" world, I would have unlimited finances for my signature movie: a fantasy... or possibly sci-fi epic. This movie would be so epic that highly regarded movies such as "Gone With The Wind", "Citizen Kane" or "The Godfather" would pale in comparison to my movie. Sci-fi and fantasy standards such as Harry Potter (all of them), Star Wars (the complete series), Star Trek (the original TV series, every TV variant, and ALL of the movies), Blade Runner, the Peter Jackson LOTR epic or any other classic or standard one could think of would be mere footnotes in the story of the greatest fantasy epic ever filmed.
It would be so awe-inspiring, in fact, that, that Congress would unanimously pass the "hochspeyer Cinematic Protection Act" which would make the mere mention of Sting or Dune on my property a Class A misdemeanor, as this aberration of a movie could seriously undermine the morale of everyone associated with my movie, which in the law would be defined in the wording of the law as "property theft over 1000USD" (Legalese, in my own words).
In fact. my movie would be so perfect that I'd have to pay the leading actors and actresses of the day NOT to come and waste everyone's time by coming to my casting call, because I'd already have hand-picked my cast. I do know one thing, though: the soundtrack has already been recorded... in my mind. All of these songs are already in my collection. These songs would be so perfect for my movie that when I'd announce them, the folks who own the rights to the songs would would give me 75% of the royalties, and record companies would gift me their entire catalogs just to get one or two more tracks included. In my mind, ...
(hint: read the following in Superhero Speak)- that's Just. How. AWESOME (my movie will be). But... back to the soundtrack.
I'm actually a bit conflicted as to exactly what I should use as the main theme orchestral music, although I'm leaning pretty heavily towards Sibelius' Symphony #1. Why Sibelius... or, probably better, who is Sibelius?
Jean Sibelius is, from the narrative on the linked site above, a hero of Finland. I'm not an expert on classical music- and I'm using the term "classical music" in the popular, rather than the technical sense- but I think of his works as a bit "lighter" than German composers, but not as "sweet" as French or Italian folks. There would be other classical pieces, of course. Orff's intense "O Fortuna" would be prominent, as would several other easily recognizable pieces.
There would also be rock... symphonic, metal, epic, the very best of the best, curated, so to speak, by me- lots of it. There would be some obvious choices (to me, anyway). Uriah Heep would contribute The Wizard, Lady In Black, Stealin', and Easy Livin', at least. From Styx, I'd have Lords of the Ring, Castle Walls, Born For Adventure and Snowblind. Scorpions add Send Me An Angel, No Pain No Gain. Nazareth provides Please Don't Judas Me. Axe gives us Silent Soldiers, and Jennifer. Moody Blues? Nights In White Satin and For My Lady. Pink Floyd gives us Breathe and One of These Days.
At this point, some purists may take offense, but I'm going with Guns N' Roses' version of Hair of the Dog. I've got nothing against the original- it's just that I like Slash's Day Tripper riff and Axl's laugh at the end of their cover. Speaking of GNR, November Rain and You Could Be Mine are on the list. Poison contributes Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Cinderella gives me Don't Know What You've Got and Nobody's Fool. From Bad Company, Bad Company and Seagull. Bruce Springsteen has Badlands. Deep Purple provides Burn. Kix' Don't Close Your Eyes is a must. Queen, of course, gives us '39, Don't Lose Your Head. There are probably several few dozen more, at least.
You're probably wondering how one (exceedingly long) movie could have so much music. Pretty simple, really: technology. On current blu-ray discs, the viewer can select the language, subtitles or not, and in some cases even the camera angle. My movie will probably be a direct to video release, and will allow the viewer to select the soundtrack based upon their preferences and my impeccable offerings for them to choose from- and they'll choose from a list of songs for any given scene, if they so choose.
Whew! That was a bit more lengthy than planned. And now, a few of my favorite Excel Tips and Tricks.
I don't know about you, but I use the Microsoft Office suite quite a bit... primarily Excel.
I'm not trying to be a Microsoft pitch guy, but their Office suite does offer a lot of useful business tools. I regularly use Excel, Word, Access and Powerpoint, in that order. Here are a few of my favorite Excel tips and tricks.
White text- I'm starting off with a weird "in plain sight" trick. I have a spreadsheet that I use fairly often, and I need to track a quantity manually. As this quantity is unimportant to anyone but me, I don't want to draw attention to it so I've made the text in the cell the same color as the background- white.
"CTRL + ~"- If you know nothing about Excel except for constructing simple calculations, this is a vital shortcut. For those readers who are fairly new to Excel users, when you're working in a cell, you can see what you're doing in a cell by looking at the formula bar. When you type "CTRL + ~", you will see what is in every cell in your active spreadsheet- this is great for troubleshoooting.
Conditional formatting- a very sweet tool. It can be used in any number of ways. In a spreadsheet I currently co-manage, I use conditional formatting to alert me to when I need to reorder printer supplies. I also use it to manage my personal overtime.
Lastly, a just for fun bit of formatting.
You can make even a boring spreadsheet look a bit nicer by getting rid of the grid in some places, "simply" by changing the fill color.
Lastly, the most important trick is NEVER, ever do this in a production spreadsheet... that's tech talk for a spreadsheet which you really care about or would be lost without: ALWAYS MAKE A COPY, and work in the copy. I often need to use the data in a .csv or .xls/.xlsx file, and the first thing I do is copy the file to my desktop, rename it as a COPY_currentdata.xlxs, and then work from the copy. Never use the source file, unless your organization prohibits file copying. In that case, seek guidance from I.T. For all others, make that copy, and then delete it when you're done. If you have hardcopies (as I do), please be kind and deposit them in the shred bin.
That's all for now. I hope you've enjoyed my little movie fantasy, and can use one or two of my Excel "tricks". As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management do you don't have to.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Forecast for tomorrow: sore everywhere, with scattered achy
There was one thing that I had hoped to get done on my vacation, and that was yard work. We're officially in early autumn here in greater Chicagoland, but the casual observer or visitor would not have surmised that based on the temperatures, it was late August. According to some websites, the area averages nine days per month with high temperatures over 80 degrees F (26 C), but this year we had fourteen. Only the last three days of the month saw highs below 70 F (21 C). We also had thirteen rain or thunderstorm days. So, not a lot of yardwork got done in September.
Earlier in the week, I mowed the front yard, but it was hot so I left the back for the following day. The next day, it rained. Of course. I swear I cannot make this stuff up.
The following day was warm and breezy. I did the back. Yay... the first part of my work was done. The next part, though....
Today, Saturday, started off as the perfect autumn day for yardwork. While Jennifer prepared a much anticipated breakfast of pancakes, sausage gravy and effs over easy, I made a cup of tea and got out of the way. Schwarz came out and sat down on the picnic table. I savored the moment, taking in the cool humid air while catching up on Words with Friends and sipping my tea. The local high school (American) football team was at home, and occasionally I'd hear the spectators cheer or the band strike up a tune. As I'd completely caught up my games and the tea was gone, I went back in and had the most incredible breakfast!
The next hour or so was taken up by a long overdue project: removing a line of concrete blocks I had installed many years ago to separate a narrow strip of garden from the lawn. Once they were removed, I backfilled the resulting trench with compost. Which means that... most of the yardwork is done!
In Lego/data news, the Ferris wheel is moving along slowly, as I had anticipated that it would. I experimented last night with creating supports for the spokes, and I have a promising system... pics to follow if it works!
In other Lego/data news, Sensei Wu has an upgraded Bō. Astute observers are probably wondering at this point why I'm messing with Minifigs when they are clearly not an area of interest for me?
Well, for starters, Wu is a cool-looking character, and his hat is a fairly rare part (yes, I'm one of those AFOLs [Adult Fans of Lego] that will buy a set based on parts rather than the model). Wu seemed to beg for an upgrade, though, and the best one I could think of was to turn the Bō into a scythe. No problem- Mr. T and I eventually came up with the True Neon Green x346 part, but the process of finding the part was tedious. I probably have somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100 of these in various colors, but none of them are in a dedicated parts drawer. We located the green one in a drawer dedicated primarily to Bionicles, but with so few Bionicles currently assembled, the drawer needs to be sifted through. An inventory and better parts organization would have probably saved me ten minutes.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Earlier in the week, I mowed the front yard, but it was hot so I left the back for the following day. The next day, it rained. Of course. I swear I cannot make this stuff up.
The following day was warm and breezy. I did the back. Yay... the first part of my work was done. The next part, though....
Today, Saturday, started off as the perfect autumn day for yardwork. While Jennifer prepared a much anticipated breakfast of pancakes, sausage gravy and effs over easy, I made a cup of tea and got out of the way. Schwarz came out and sat down on the picnic table. I savored the moment, taking in the cool humid air while catching up on Words with Friends and sipping my tea. The local high school (American) football team was at home, and occasionally I'd hear the spectators cheer or the band strike up a tune. As I'd completely caught up my games and the tea was gone, I went back in and had the most incredible breakfast!
The next hour or so was taken up by a long overdue project: removing a line of concrete blocks I had installed many years ago to separate a narrow strip of garden from the lawn. Once they were removed, I backfilled the resulting trench with compost. Which means that... most of the yardwork is done!
In Lego/data news, the Ferris wheel is moving along slowly, as I had anticipated that it would. I experimented last night with creating supports for the spokes, and I have a promising system... pics to follow if it works!
In other Lego/data news, Sensei Wu has an upgraded Bō. Astute observers are probably wondering at this point why I'm messing with Minifigs when they are clearly not an area of interest for me?
Well, for starters, Wu is a cool-looking character, and his hat is a fairly rare part (yes, I'm one of those AFOLs [Adult Fans of Lego] that will buy a set based on parts rather than the model). Wu seemed to beg for an upgrade, though, and the best one I could think of was to turn the Bō into a scythe. No problem- Mr. T and I eventually came up with the True Neon Green x346 part, but the process of finding the part was tedious. I probably have somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100 of these in various colors, but none of them are in a dedicated parts drawer. We located the green one in a drawer dedicated primarily to Bionicles, but with so few Bionicles currently assembled, the drawer needs to be sifted through. An inventory and better parts organization would have probably saved me ten minutes.
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
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