Marilyn Levin has generously decided to give one of her kidneys to Thomas Harris. The transplant is tentatively scheduled for August. But without your help, the life giving transplant will be delayed.

«	August 2008					»
Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

Aromatherapy [40]	[RSS]
Bullshit [48]	[RSS]
Day to Day [163]	[RSS]
Geocaches [3]	[RSS]
Projects [8]	[RSS]
Software [112]	[RSS]
Squirrel Thursday [26]	[RSS]
Technology [93]	[RSS]

BLOGS & Friends Pages

Honest Tunes Radio

Chad's Homepage

Mad Geek!!!

Joe's Home

Engadget Podcast

LugRadio

Schneier on Security

Damn Interesting

hecker's weblog

EINSTEIN@HOME - FreeBSD

Team FreeBSD HOME

Team FreeBSD Stat Page

Join Team FreeBSD

Interesting Web Sites

One Dollar BLOGS

Multicultural Advocates

Nature's Gift

Clientcopia

Links Visited Daily

Worse Than Failure

Forever Geek

Neatorama

Ars Technica

Engadget

digg

Boing Boing

Gizmodo

Hack a Day

My Content and Media

My Musical Preferences Stats

My Shared RSS Snippets

A Picture of Me

My last.fm Home

Music List

My Pics (GEEKY)

Wish List

Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

Samsung YP-U2 (black)

5 Person Chat if I am On-Line - give me a shout!

If I am on-line and you want to chat in real time, or if I am off-line and you want to leave a message with my local IM program, allow pop-ups, then :::

[click on this link]

PDF and a JPEG image of my home power network - two up-step inverters & a transient power regulator with most household items on the same circuit

19 August, 2008 07:55

I am currently working on a detailed publication in relation to a major company re branding devices based on the type of customer with differences in price up to 350%.  My research is almost complete, it has been verified, however I need another source of verification before I feel comfortable posting my content (hence the lack of any Blog posts).

In the mean time, here is a PDF and JPEG image in relation to my post: "jpg image of my power network - 2 up-step inverters and a transient voltage regulator - all devices on one outlet, most household items on the same circuit...".

The original description for this crazy segmented power network can be read by the above link, and by clicking on more and permalink links at the bottom of this post..  Chime in on this if you would like.  I try not to tell many that come to my house that I do this because of its hard to believe personal safety issues they may have.

If you have similar network, or have any suggestions or ideas for better power utilization, let me know..  Enjoy my crazy and lazy PDF (power network.pdf), which is of much higher quality, and the JPG sketch you may click on above for the diagram...

to note: several more devices have been added since the related post...

 (More)

[Technology] [Projects]
[Comments(0)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

My Samsung U3 - though not the U2 in my wish list for the past several months, I am happy with my purchase decision.

07 August, 2008 09:06

It's not the Samsung YP-U2 - instead I purchased the Samsung YP-U3.  I know, the U2 has been listed in my wish list area for almost a year, but I found this model to meet all my needs.

Best Buy had them on sale for a little under $50 bones, with the exception of the black YP-U3 which was $10 more than the green that I decided on.

I used to represent a technology company in which I would work in the store, so when I had seen the good old manager walk by I couldn't resist saying "what the hell is this, $10 bucks - out of your mind?".  In any case, I was not willing to pay for a color, as I have posted in the past that features and options were specific making a purchase decision for any mp3 player.

My player has 2 GB of storage, a FM receiver, plays MP3's, OGG Vorbis, WMA DRM 10, and a couple other formats such as WAV that I will not be taking advantage of.  Battery life is between 11 and 13 hours, which is re-charged by a snap out USB connector.  In addition, it offers 128 bit mp3 voice recording.

So far I couldn't be happier, although the U2 would have been nice - after looking at my needs however, this Samsung model suits my, on the road, musical personality the best without breaking the bank.

[Technology]
[Comments(0)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

my failure to prevent failure, I am in need of HD witches brew - most of my 5 year warranties are up

17 May, 2008 05:49

Many of my friends know I have been putting off purchasing storage for my computer for almost a year.  My 5 year warranties are past due, and the thought of any amount of data loss frightens me.  Again, finances show an outlook another month ahead.

That's when I noticed my post About Gizmodo's HD failure dance tracks contest.  I have archived in my album one of my favorites in the contest.  In a complete turn around, I have to admit, the DJ kicked some spindles when making this jam.  I love it.

(for those using rss, please visit this post for the audio)

[Day to Day] [Technology]
[Comments(0)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

do you use Charter Communications for your ISP? if so, you hold no secrets to your online activity in all its provided provisions

15 May, 2008 14:02

"Charter Communications, one of the nation's largest ISPs, plans to begin eavesdropping on customers' web surfing activity, to help web advertisers deliver targeted ads.

In letters being sent to some of its 2.7 million high-speed internet customers, Charter is billing its new web-tracking program as an "enhancement" for customers' web surfing experience. The letters were first reported by a BroadbandReports.com user on Sunday. The pilot program is set to begin next month." - http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/05/charter-to-inse.html

I have always been biased against Charter and all of their provided services.  This may be the nudge that some of you need to switch to an ISP with policies that protect, and not advertise the private uses of any paid (with hard earned money) services they offer.

[Technology] [Software]
[Comments(0)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

how to prevent fire with every item in your house on one circuit or power outlet - here is how I did it

23 April, 2008 21:14

Here is a list of items on one circuit:

1. 26" CRT Television
2. 575 watt stereo receiver
3. 75 watt stereo sub-woofer
4. computer 1: AMD 64 3.0GHz 2 core, one SATA HD, 2GB DDR2
   
   1. 19" widescreen LCD monitor
   2. two additionial PCI cards
   3. USB mouse RF receiver
5. computer 2: Intel 2.6GHz Celeron, one SATA HD, one two IDE HD's 1GB DDR400
   1. 15 USB ports on 11 controllers (built in & PCI cards)
   2. USB powered audio in/out to RJ-11 with carrier signals
   3. 17" CRT
   4. 19" CRT
6. computer 3: cobalt RAQ (low power consumption), 40GB IDE HD
7. network equipment:
   1. 250MHz router
   2. 5 port 1000mbit switch
   3. dsl modem
   4. NAS with a 200GB IDE HD
8. ML-1740 laser printer
9. document scanner
10. microwave oven
11. toaster oven

All other items, lights, etc, are on a separate circuit.  This are are the power devices in which allows me to still be living:

1625 watt 500 50-70Hz volt transient power protector:

"A transient voltage suppressor or TVS is a general classification of an array of devices that are designed to react to sudden or momentary overvoltage conditions. One such common device used for this purpose is known as the transient voltage suppression diode that is simply a zener diode designed to protect electronics against overvoltages. Another design alternative applies a family of products that are known as metal-oxide varistor (MOV) that protect electronic circuits and electrical equipment.

The characteristic of a TVS requires that it respond to overvoltages faster than other common overvoltage protection components such as varistors or gas discharge tubes. This makes TVS devices or components useful for protection against very fast and often damaging voltage spikes. These fast overvoltage spikes are present on all distribution networks and can be caused by either internal or external events, such as lightning or motor arcing.

Applications of transient voltage suppression diodes are used for unidirectional or bidirectional electrostatic discharge protection of transmission or data lines in electronic circuits. MOV based TVS's are utilized to protect home electronics, distribution systems and may accommodate industrial level power distribution disturbances saving downtime and damage to equipment. The level of energy in a transient overvoltage can be equated to energy measured in joules or related to amperage when devices are rated for various applications. These bursts of overvoltage can be measured with specialized electronic meters that are capable of showing power disturbances of a high amplitude, thousands of volts, that last for very short time periods, even nanoseconds." - en.wikipedia.org

My power regulator that can handle - 20% voltage step-up which connects to the transient voltable regulator.  Connected to the transient voltage device are items [1-4].  The transient device has industrial source power cord (biggest power cable I have seen, about double the size of a computer power cable), extended with another industrial rated power cord (also larger than a normal computer power cable).  Obviously I don't know my AWG specs.

The extension hooks into my power regulator: (110V, 115V, 120V or 220V, 230V,240V) +/-20% Input Voltage.  The voltage regulator powers devices [5-9] in which an outlet extends to the transient voltage regulator that powers items [1-4].

Another extension of the power regulator is a universal power supply:Input Voltage 100/110/120V or 220/230/240V.

Connected to the UPS are items: 7.[1-4] on the battery backup outlets.  Their is a cordless phone receiver also connected that transforms back to the power regulator.

The primary source for all items listed above is one power outlet.

The microwave oven, small, 800 watts and the toaster oven are connected to separate outlets.

When either the microwave or toaster is in use, the house starts beeping as the power regulator goes into up-step conversion, connected to the transient power regulator, and UPS thus allowing my life to continue while living in a small appartment.

[Technology]
[Comments(0)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

OPTI-UPS Value Series VS375C - provided software for this device breaks Ubuntu Server's run-levels and modifies the inittab

19 April, 2008 21:58

 [click here for a larger view]

Right off the bat, this post is indeed not to technically in depth - In relation to [this post] and the UPS battery backup device I purchased, I experienced some troubling and at first nerve-racking boot errors when needing to reboot the computer after installing the provided linux applications on CD with the UPS. 

I will tell you right away, I ended up getting it to administrate the UPS, but not after it copied my inittab file to inittab.dn* (forget the exact file name), and replaced inittab itself with run-level configuration that I would think would not work on Debian based system of any kind.

The new inittab does contain the path to the binaries to be run at boot, but why in inittab, I do not understand.

I needed to edit the new run-level file and remove the dnpowerd related variables, and copy it back over to inittab.  I did this while running in recovery mode, remounting the drive rw.

I then placed the applications referenced in the run level file, and placed them in /etc/rc.local.  I then starts a web server on port 9982 with a default login of admin and a password of 1234.

All important information is piped through /dev/console along with the http web interface.

You are able to change event variables, however you need a current windows controller application to change specifications like output watts, and other, more technical information.

The linux service is able to send out network broadcasts of power status, and SNMP connectivity to remote hosts.  It can also alert you by e-mail, or page you through a modem.

[Technology] [Software]
[Comments(0)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

Bruce Sterling's HACKER CRACKDOWN - Voiced By Cory Doctorow

15 April, 2008 11:51

I have taken each part and re-encoded the audio in mp3 format at 16kHz, 16kbits mono - about 1/8th the size of the below source audio, and just as enjoyable I want to add.

If you are unfamiliar with this book, here is part 1 with the preface:   

[The book is in 28 parts available here].

---

"Since last June, I've been podcasting a weekly reading from Bruce Sterling's 1992 classic journalistic history of the founding of the online civil liberties movement, The Hacker Crackdown, which chronicles the events that led to the founding of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, my former employer. Hacker Crackdown was the first book I ever read electronically, the first piece of "literary freeware" I ever met. It's a fantastic book and it was a fantastic read.

Yes, I'm done. It took 28 installments, and included some of the strangest stuff I ever read aloud (for example, a mind-bogglingly bureaucratic phone company document around which a great deal of controversy once swirled). Now that I've finished it, I've put together an XML feed for all 28 parts, as well as direct MP3 and Ogg download links -- it's all under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. I hope someone'll download all the parts, normalize 'em, trim out the intros, and piece them together into a single file.

I need to thank Bruce Sterling here for his gracious permission in allowing me to read this aloud. Reading Hacker Crackdown back in 1992 -- actually, 1991, since I got hold of an advance copy through Bakka, the bookstore I worked at in Toronto -- absolutely and permanently transformed my life. Reading it again has made me revisit more than a decade's worth of striving, writing, imaginging, working and agitating. This book's an education and a half.

Thanks, Bruce.

 

MP3s: Part 01, Part 02, Part 03, Part 04, Part 05, Part 06, Part 07, Part 08, Part 09, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28,

Ogg: Part 01, Part 02, Part 03, Part 04, Part 05, Part 06, Part 07, Part 08, Part 09, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26 Part 27 Part 28

Podcast feed of the whole book

My podcast feed" -- Cory Doctorow

---

[Technology] [Software]
[Comments(0)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

affordable power regulator on the cheap at newegg.com - (110V, 115V, 120V or 220V, 230V,240V) +/-20% Input Voltage + UPS

15 April, 2008 01:45

My apartment was absolutely nerve racking to live in with all my power drinking electronics.

It got so bad, my metal shelf had hot spots in various places along the height of the metal poles.

I needed a voltage regulator that I had been putting off for several months, along with some well gaged power cords.

---

(110V, 115V, 120V or 220V, 230V,240V) +/-20% -  (110V, 115V, 120V or 220V, 230V, 240V)+/-7%

---

Along with the voltage regulator, I picked up a UPS for my networking device and NAS in case my nighttime backups were to be disturbed by night time lightning.  The specs suck, but it will not be powering a computer nor a monitor, just a router, switch, and DSL modem along with the NAS drive in which the HD is usually sleeping at any given time.  I could probably get 15 to 30 minutes out of the 3 minute specification.  I don't feel like doing the math, so I will leave it with that estimate. 

---

Full load runtime 1.5 Minutes (375VA), Half load runtime 7.2 Minutes (200VA), <4 Hours to 90% charge

---

The UPS comes with a serial cable and is Linux compatible, so I am thinking about picking one up for hamper, my trusty dirty server of mine.  A lot of data goes through the hard drive bus consistently, and a clean shut-down would be nice. 

The power regulator has kicked in 3 times for step-up inversion when heating up my toaster oven continuing the flow of clean and consistent power.  I hope the step-down and breaker works as well as the up-step does.

Total cost after shipping: $79.58  Shipping kills good things in this world... 

[Day to Day] [Technology] [Projects]
[Comments(0)] [Trackbacks(0)] [Permalink]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  Next»

Land where drunk cows swim and home to my daily hand

myside myside@myspew.com