Mar 26 2008
I love these show recaps – everything you need to know about the award-winning series Battlestar Galactica over the last 3 seasons so your up to date before Season 4 begins on April 4th. Even if your not a fan of the show, the quick talking and witty narration is very frakin’ amusing – enjoy.
Mar 11 2008
Update: After some testing of the drives in the ol’ G4 and reading an online tip that lack of power may be a culprit, I managed to further figure out a way to temporarily rig the pair of drives to be recognized. Seeing how the drives powered up (but not readable) when tested in the G4 proved that the drives themselves may be ok but required the original RAID controller built into the LaCie to properly read the drives in their current RAID configuration (see pic below).
Its Alive, ALIVE!
The solution involved using the G4 as an extra power source through the use of a Y-Connector Power cable – this allowed to independently power each hard drive and ensure they spun up properly. The next hope was that the original LaCie power cable would have enough power to run the controller board and allow access to the drives.
A final connection was a FireWire 400 cable between my G5 and the LaCie to hopefully access the files on the hard drives from my desktop. So I powered on both Macs, turned on the LaCie, and…
SUCCESS!!! ‘Six’ mounted on my desktop without a hitch and I was able to access all the files just like before. So what does this now mean? It may be that either
a) the LaCie power adapter needs to be replaced or
b) the controller chips have burnt out on the LaCie preventing enough power to get to the drives.
I need to find a source with a working adapter to test this, but in the very least I know the hard drives are fine and if needed I can pick up a new RAID controller enclosure. Just NOT a LaCie.
Sometimes it good to be a geek 
Mar 09 2008
Today I was out shopping on a beautiful sunny day after yet another big snow fall the day before and was stunned to have a total stranger come up to me and ask me if I had lost my phone. Now I have a Treo 650 smart phone – loaded with features, emails, software and info that IS practically my life in the palm of my hand – and for the first time I can ever remember, I had lost the phone in the snow as it somehow popped off my belt clip without me knowing. But what a relief that such a nice woman was courteous enough to search me out and then ask me if I had lost the phone when she could have so easily kept it! That restored some faith in humanity for me and really made me day! A special thank you again to you!
That was the good. But when I got home, I felt the balance of the universe kick in and give me the bad.
My backup external 600 GB Lacie d2 Extreme hard drive died. It would not mount or startup and simply flashes its blue light, mocking me. Of course, its 6 months past warranty so I’m left to my own devices to find a way to see if I can fix it or get some of the info back. Its mostly used for backing up all my important data and also the drive for my EyeTV software which acts like a PVR with my cable connection on my Mac. So if anything, I lost all my backup data (not the main data thankfully!) and ALL my recorded TV shows and can’t remember what else was on the drive besides that.
So my Sunday afternoon has turned into a Geek-fest Resuce Mission – taking apart the LaCie drive, pulling out old Macs from the closet, lots of cables testing, trial and error, Googling any ideas and help I can find *sigh* this is still supposed to be a busy work day (and it will) so there’s only so much I can do for now. But what I have learned are the LaCie drives have a vast history of failing just after warranty – so lesson learned AVOID LACIE products!!!
On the plus side, I’ve gotz me some cajun catfish with sweet potatoes and corn to be cookin’ up this evenin’! Yum!
Mar 06 2008
This event snuck up on me and is an interesting one in that it highlights independent music around Toronto for the few days its live. I wish I could go see all the concerts as the last few years I’m finding many hidden talents in the independent scene that really rock the shit out of most of the mainstream ‘muzak’ that is put out these days. The official website is a bit of a mess to navigate but somewhere in there, is all the info [link: CMW.net].
Your best bet for a complete listing of all thats going on during the event (and in the city in general) is the free Eye Weekly magazine you can pick up at any newstand or subway station around the city. [ link: EYE Weekly.com ]
My real complaints with the event are 1) the bands I would like to check out are playing well after midnight! and 2) this damn snow and cold weather makes club hopping a less then desirable experience. Well at least the internet offers a warm and cozy way to check out the bands from the comfort of home (and buy their music – don’t steal it!). Here are a couple cool bands I recently came across and like – both from Toronto:
Scarlet Sins – http://www.scarletsinsonline.com/
Music speaks for itself, but when it comes to Toronto’s Scarlet Sins, it shouts in your face.
From the inimitable cover of their debut independent eponymous effort—the alchemical symbol for androgyny—to the 13 tracks of thick, undulating metallic rock inside, this is not your typical band. The sinister, mysterious passion put forth on Scarlet Sins proves this quartet’s ambition is matched only by their technical prowess and undying aural allure.
Die Mannequin – http://www.diemannequin.ca/
Loaded with infectious hooks and melody yet sharp as knives slashing through your speakers, Die Mannequin is a monster trio that will leave you craving more. That, and care failure has bigger balls than any man I’ve ever met!
Ian D’Sa – Billy Talent
credit to Bean on Fire for introducing me to this group on YouTube.
Mar 06 2008
Definition (courtesy Wired.com):
The Internet treats all data equally. That riles some ISPs, which would like to charge certain companies, say, Google, big bucks to provide faster service. Over the past year, Congress has considered four bills that would either codify an equal-opportunity online environment or explicitly legalize tiered service. A non-neutral Net probably would create crippling costs for the Googles of the world — which is why the search giant has opposed it. On the other hand, it might help ISPs fund long-overdue service upgrades.
Net neutrality goes beyond just media companies and delves deeper into the ISPs and other companies who host and manage the net as we know it. Sure we can make a network among our neighbours ‘free from media’ but then all you see is each other. What if you want to see YouTube? Research something on Wikipedia? Learn about the history of African cultures, etc, etc, etc. You can’t do that unless you are ON the internet.
The threat to net neutrality is that the companies who control our gates, or access, like the Rogers, the Bell, the AT&T, Sprints, etc. WOULD love to charge us and extra ‘fee’ for downloading or accessing higher bandwidth content like videos. Apple & iTunes is not immune – think of this – you want to download an HD movie you bought from iTunes, you click the link, your card is charged and you get ready to download the video but wait! Rogers pops up a window saying that the content is deemed by it to be ‘high broadband and you need to upgrade your plan another $20/month to access it. This, after you already paid for what you thought was ‘high speed’.
Rogers and Bell already have been forced to admit they do ‘throttle’ your speed regardless of what you pay as THEY seem fit – notice how the term ‘unlimited download’ nolonger exisits on all broadband plans? Its all about the money and greed and essentially does create a divide where those who want to get access to the ‘broadband’ content will have to pay extra ‘access fees’ and once you let that happen, you bet your ASCII that the media companies will follow suit and be ready to charge you for premium content.
Rogers is already ‘testing’ this type of ’service’ for its customers – link on the Star
Mar 04 2008
It never ceases to amaze me how humans, the supposedly most intelligent creatures on Earth, are capable of inducing the most hanneous acts of violence and cruelty to both their fellow man and all other living things.
The fact of the matter is that as intelligent beings, there should never be any ‘excuse’ for this kind of behaviour – creating one only further shows we are by far the weakest minded being on the planet.
Mar 03 2008
My first run began on May 11, 2007 and was 2.51 km. Today marks nearly 10 months, 49 runs AND 251 km (funny how the numbers worked out that way)!!!
[ click image to view full size ]
