Tag: lessons

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100k Dog

I tried to get out of the house a little early today since we had the whole sales team in town from all over the country. I didn’t get out as early as I would have liked, but we weren’t really needed anyway. Full Self Driving failed on the drive in, which was surprising given the cool air and lack of sun. It’s pretty upsetting that one bad camera kills so many of the safety features of the car.

It wasn’t long before I started to get busy. From looking at a television to see a cable was plugged into HDMI 1, and then to an inability to upload attachments to ChatGPT. The second one ran me around a little bit, but I think I narrowed it down to our Sophos endpoint protection.

Later on, I had to help Amanda with her check scanner, but this time I could never get it working. I was down there for most of the afternoon, failing to resolve the issue. No driver or service changes helped, and my last guess was an issue with old, improperly or unsigned drivers. I’ll have to pick up on that again tomorrow.

I had a break in the middle of that to eat some leftover catered fajitas with Janice, Elizabeth, and Amanda. Then we got to chatting about our UPS invoice process, and though I understand a desire to confirm quotes to invoices, I’m still not sure of the best way to do so.

Late in the afternoon while I was still downstairs, Kaleb came down and started playing with Muad’Dib in the floor. He asked if I’d take $50,000 for my dog, and said he was a good dog that would be worth it. Then he asked if I’d take $100,000. My initial thought at 50 was that I’d have to think about it. By the time he got to $100, I had decided that even that amount of money wouldn’t make any meaningful difference in my day to day life, and I’d rather have my good boy.

I drove the entire way home, since Full Self Driving was likely to fail immediately. We got home and left on our run since Summer had to close. Muad’Dib did really well, and then we stopped at my parents’ house to eat. Mom had shrimp soup planned, so I called Summer to stop by on her way home. We ate, and then she left while I visited with Dad as he and Muad’Dib finished eating. Then we made it home in the dark.

It was too late to do much else, but I put away my new Vine stuff as I got ready for bed.

Besides, you can’t even say his name!

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No, I Do Not ‘C.’

Summer got up and we had some coffee before she went to the gym. Eaddie came by to clean up before going to practice for the game in the evening. I finished up some leftovers and then got cleaned up for the day. Kevin came over to mow, and I went outside to pick up some fallen branches and sticks out of the yard. After Kevin left, I tried swapping license plate frames on our cars, but my original screws weren’t long enough, and the ones that came with the frame were the wrong diameter. I was able to get Summer’s replaced, though.

The afternoon went by quickly, and we had to go to Tech for the party in the plaza. I dropped Summer off and had to go park out by the pastures. Just as I got on the Onewheel, I noticed a giant caterpillar in the middle of the parking lot. I scooped him up and carried him with us to the band, who was just finishing up. A young officer came up and asked me to leash Muad’Dib, who was being a bit ornery anyway, so I unwrapped it from around his neck and held onto him. The guy seemed impressed with Muad’Dib’s behavior, but I wasn’t.

Summer and I struggled to get the caterpillar off of her stadium seat where it had been riding along with me, but we eventually got him onto my sleeve. Muad’Dib and I went back to the car and then headed to my parents’ house for a while. It got cold fast, so Muad’Dib and I did a quick run around the block at his fastest speed since last winter. After that, we headed home for a few minutes before going back to pick up Summer.

We had to wait in the car for a few minutes, but we got Summer and headed back to my parents’ house so I could get some food. I hadn’t felt well all day, but by that time I was super hungry. I cleaned up some lemon grass chicken and rice, and then we went home for the evening. I dug out a new rimless aquarium for the caterpillar and set it up in the garage for the winter while Summer went to bed.

I assumed it was the cappuccino that had me burping all day, and I’m sure the tiny scoop of ice cream I had for dessert didn’t help. I just couldn’t stop, and my chest felt full all night long.

I know. I have improoooved it.

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Glowout

I slept in a little bit today and felt rejuvenated for it. We still had milk, so I made a cappuccino and sat with Summer in the living room for a bit. Eaddie left for marching rehearsal and Summer mentioned going to Walmart to order a cake to donate to the junior high, but we ended up skipping that so we could relax a while before going to Eaddie’s game.

We eventually made it to Tech and I rode a couple circles around with Muad’Dib. We got a picture of Eaddie while they were practicing and then made it back to Summer for their march in. As soon as they finished, we left Summer to watch the game, and went home to clean up a bit around the house.

Mom had called earlier about coming to eat rolls, but then just said to come make it myself. Summer had a run immediately after the game, so I figured I should take my opportunity to get a meal for the day. As Muad’Dib and I pulled in, my parents were leaving for the grocery store. Mom had just a little bit of bún bò Huế left in the pot, so I finished that instead of making rolls.

Summer texted with perfect timing that they were almost to halftime, so we left and went straight back to the stadium to pick her up. She ended up being hungry and had more time than she expected, so we stopped by Ridgewood Brothers for some ribs. We sat outside with Muad’Dib, and he sat up on the bench with me. Grant was finishing up his day and came out to chat with us for a little bit, and invited us out to their soft opening for the Conway location, so we were excited to go to that.

We still had time for Summer to go home and change for her run, and then we headed to St. John’s after dark. They were having a glow run fundraiser, and Summer warned me of fireworks from last year. We dropped her off and parked on the opposite end of an adjacent parking lot, then rode the Onewheel over to the crowd. Muad’Dib did really well at that time, but we had to ride away and hide for the start of the race. We should have gone back to the car, but instead I took him around to the other side of the building where I thought I could shield his ears a bit. He still squirmed away and laid down under a bush.

After the fireworks were over, I tried taking him back out to run around some more, but then a helicopter came in for a landing right next to us at the hospital. That really freaked him out, and he took off running. I had to chase him down the street, but luckily he didn’t get into too much traffic. He ended up coming back around to the car, and we sat down in the cool air with some music to settle down. Once Summer was about done, we headed back to the crowd, but he was still high anxiety. I kept him on a leash at that point, and he got a few pets while Summer was cooling down. The kid I bought the Pint X from came up to tell me he got his e-bike, and then wanted to ride his old Onewheel around a bit. I let him take off on it and he buzzed through the crowd. Summer didn’t want to stay for awards, so we left after that.

We made it home and I dawdled way too long. Summer was long in bed, and I gave Muad’Dib some melatonin so he could rest well. Eaddie brought Eli over to watch TV, and I eventually made it to bed after midnight.

Now in stereo!

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Milk Duds

We all slept pretty hard last night after such a big day, but we didn’t sleep in terribly late. Summer wanted to go to the gym, but wasn’t in a big rush. I wanted to make breakfast, but that slowly slipped into brunch, then lunch, then a late lunch. I got Summer to try Half-Life: Alyx in VR with some success, but we still need room to play properly. She ended up wanting to take a nap before going to the gym while I cleaned the kitchen.

Eaddie left with Eli for the day. I had Summer pick up some milk on the way home, and I got out some old cube steak she had in the freezer. I’d never made country fried steak before, but I figured it would be a good way to get the meat out of the freezer. The breading and frying turned out pretty good, and I warmed up some canned corn at her request. We had some instant mashed potatoes, and I made gravy from what was left of everything, so there was zero waste for the entire meal. I think some of it came out a bit more dense than it should have, but overall it wasn’t bad for my first try. Unfortunately, I think all the milk in that, plus the latte that I had earlier, gave me some intense stomach cramps for the rest of the day.

I laid around a bit trying to feel better, but eventually needed to take Muad’Dib out for a run. We skipped a couple blocks on the way to my parents’ house, and then headed home pretty quickly as it got dark. On our last block, we ran into the old mechanic from around the corner again, and he wanted to come up and shake my hand and chat for a minute. He was excited to have walked off some weight and gotten his heart condition under control, and wanted to share that some lady offered him $2k less than the $10k he was asking for an old Nissan Titan he fixed up.

After another handshake into a shoulder pat, we made it home and got cleaned up for bed. I took a late shower, took care of my plants, and crashed a little early.

Dyshidrotic?

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Modbus?

I felt myself get warm and cozy this morning, but I fell back to sleep and woke up just minutes later from a super deep, dream-filled sleep when my alarm went off. I remember finding a clam in a small grotto, but then being in some weird, dark alley or basement area with my buddy Brandon, talking to a vendor selling a variety of large mussels to eat. I felt like I was having to wake up from the dead, and crawled around on the floor to stretch and try to wake up.

I got out the door a little later still, but had time for a burrito. I realized it was a mistake to sub cheddar for the nacho cheese, because the hot, melty, gooey breakfast burrito was way better. We made it to work after fighting traffic that wanted to come to a complete stop on the onramp.

I was pretty excited to get into PRTG and my PLC project again, but of course the more I learned, the more I discovered that every path I had taken over the past couple days was probably wrong. Furthermore, I had asked Charles’s vendor buddy about the Modbus protocol when I first started, and he replied that the controller didn’t support it. Now that I understand a little bit more about the different components, I feel more confident in saying he was wrong.

We went to Taco Bell for lunch since we hadn’t been in a while, and then it was a long, dragging afternoon. The drive home was pretty easy, but the car wanted to take the second exit instead of the third for some reason. I couldn’t tell if there was backed up traffic or something, but I didn’t fight it.

Summer was hungry when she got home from the gym, and wanted to get some Chinese. I had a big lunch, and suggested the Spices food truck instead of a buffet. She jumped at the chance, so we loaded up and went to eat at the picnic tables there. Muad’Dib was laser-focused on the cat and kept trying to chase it under the truck, so I had to zap him several times. Sometimes something just gets into him and he goes out of control like that, and I have to assume the cat said something ugly to him.

We shared some noodles and I had a little cup of soup. Then we took Summer home and went on a run in the dark. Dad gave Muad’Dib a bunch of spaghetti noodles, and we eventually made it home to get ready for bed.

Wrong so many times I became right again.

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Lessen Learned

I woke up in the middle of the night with a charley horse in my left leg, eventually got back to sleep, and then woke up to my alarm and another charley horse starting in my right leg. I was able to walk it off fairly quickly, then got ready for work. I kept thinking we had a call in the morning, but Tammy reminded me it was for tomorrow. I was all out of sorts, but eventually got into my tablet project again. I finally went down and showed Marivic, then took it back upstairs to tinker some more.

I met Summer at Ortega’s on her way to Little Rock, and they sat us way in the back. Not long after, Joel, David, and Shane walked in and sat at a table beside us. I didn’t overstuff myself, and had a better afternoon for it. Later, Shane came by to talk to me just briefly, and then it was super quiet the rest of the day.

When I got home, I had a strangely lumpy package to unbox. Inside was a poorly packaged box of nearly the same size, full of glass bottles of soda. A surprising few of them were smashed, but I still had to take them all apart to clean up the broken glass. Eaddie got home in the middle of that, and then Summer arrived just as I finished.

Summer was basically in the bathroom until she went to bed. Eaddie left, so I made myself a chicken sandwich and then took Muad’Dib for a run. We did most of our regular route, but he cut us short a couple blocks. It didn’t feel terrible, but it was still very hot, and he was tired. I aired up my tire at my parents’ house because I forgot to do it before we left the house. Then we got back home just after dark. I cleaned up where Eaddie had left a bunch of sugary dishes out to collect more ants, and got to bed.

Tired of oopsies.

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Oh Brew Hoo

I got up to a banh bao this morning, made a cup of coffee, and then nearly immediately knocked the full mug over, spilling hot, black coffee all over my desk in the worst place possible. My stack of old phones, flash drives, card readers, the front of my computer, a stack of paper receipts got the first wave. Then the coffee flowed down between the glass and the frame of my desk, getting all over my home theater receiver, both of my laptops, tablets, my subwoofer, and eventually the carpet.

I still wanted to grill chicken to eat with croissants and pesto, so I mopped up what I could all morning. Then Summer and I went to the Neighborhood Market for some chicken breasts, thighs, and a cart full of chips. I started grilling when we got back, but I went too lean on charcoal. Summer took Muad’Dib for a walk at Bona Dea while I added more charcoal and got the chicken cooked.

My parents came over with some more basil, garlic, and limes to make more pesto. Eaddie left to hang out with friends, and then Summer and I ate when she got back. The sandwiches were incredible, and felt so light and fresh. I wanted more, but I just got back to cleaning up instead.

I eventually got my computer put back together, and my receiver seemed to be unaffected. I tried to shift things around a little bit, but the most important parts made it back to their usual places. Eaddie eventually came back home with dyed hair, so I made her a sandwich and then cleaned up the kitchen. The whole day was burned, but at least the dishes were done.

That’s one way to clean a desk.

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All I Do Is Win

I had a pretty rough start this morning, but we made it in. I got to talking with Teisha for a little while before I made it upstairs, and then I got into a few ongoing projects. I sent off my long email to Anneka last night, hoping that I wouldn’t have to pay more than double for my hood repair. It just made no sense at all to me how the estimates were so far off, even doing my best to decipher the line items. She called me back and tried to explain the “why,” but I pushed back by explaining why I understood my agreement was for the total out-the-door cost for everything. She took that back to her manager, and called back later to say that he approved the adjustment, so I would only be paying what I was originally quoted.

I also got into some routing and firewall configuration when I went out to hook up Heaven’s new printer. The first thing I noticed when we got out there was that they brought out a filing cabinet and moved the printer over to it in the entryway, past a doorway, where there was no network connectivity. I hoped that this was not permanent, but we would see. I also noticed that they weren’t paying attention when they assembled the hutch to her desk, and left the unfinished side of the wood facing out. I hope they fix that too, or else I’ll be inclined to do it myself.

I successfully got the new printer added to a new network, then created routing rules so traffic could get to it from our internal network. It was easier than I expected. I just never had the keys to do it back at Russellville, or at least, never tried. I was really proud that it worked, but now I need to start moving everything else over.

We eventually made it to Sonic for a super late lunch. It was miserably hot outside, even in the shade. Muad’Dib had to help me finish my food, because even for how hungry I was, I just couldn’t do it in the heat. We made it back, sweaty and cooked just from riding in the car that had been sitting in the sun without shades or cabin protection.

The afternoon went by quickly and quietly. I got the Aptean import needs sent back over to David, and received a different response than I was hoping to hear, much later in the evening. We ran through some rain on the way home, and passed someone who had very recently run off the road into the median. I really think that section of road just doesn’t shed water very well, because I’ve had trouble there on the way to work.

The garage was very close to flooding, but we got into the house. Summer was in the bath, so I cleaned up a bit and took care of my packages for the day. I did a bit of cleanup, Eaddie brought Eli and Ceci over to play with Muad’Dib, and I ate some more leftovers. It seemed everyone made it to bed long before me, but fortunately I wasn’t very late.

Everybody hands go up!

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Lefthandyman

I woke up surprisingly early this morning, but put myself back to bed since Summer was still out cold. We eventually got up for some brunch. She made herself an egg, and I had some Long John Silvers. I had some coffee and sat with her on the couch for a bit, tinkering with the Steam Machine. I got some laundry going, and she went to the gym. Eaddie got around and eventually started cleaning up her areas.

I kept going all day long, barely stopping, but didn’t have a whole lot of good to show for it. My biggest project went off the rails because I thought it would just be a simple power outlet replacement. I figured Eaddie’s bathroom socket was the culprit, but after I pulled it, I still had no power to the lines coming in there. I checked our closet receptacle and found that it was the end of the circuit, so I went back to the bathroom.

I ended up pulling out the outlet and both wall switches. One was just a switch for the heater and had no power coming in behind the switch. The other switches in the two-gang box had three lines coming in. I eventually worked out which was the power in, and then the other two were just lines to the light and the vent fan. There didn’t appear to be another line going out to the outlet, so that whole project was a wash. I did learn that the fluorescent light in our closet actually worked though, and just needed bulbs. I’ll have to see if I can find LED alternatives for it, otherwise I’ll end up pulling the whole fixture for some better lighting.

Summer got home and mowed, then threw together a quick pasta dinner for the three of us. I got the new shower fixture installed, but not at all to my liking, so that will have to be swapped again too. By the end of the night, I ended up using the new diverter with the old shower head and wand, but the diverter itself seemed to be inhibiting some of the awesome water pressure we had gotten used to.

I finally took a shower, Eaddie finally finished all of her cleaning, and Summer made it to bed. At least there was some success.

Back to work!

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It’s Hot up Here!

I brought some spare stuff to work with me so I could wire Heaven’s new office. My first goal was to get up to the switch cabinet in the shipping area to see if they just needed to be patched in. I had to ask Charles to get someone to clear a path, since there were pallets upon pallets of stuff all underneath where I needed to be.

They got that cleaned up and delivered a scissor lift quicker than I could have imagined, so Muad’Dib and I took a walk through the plant to try and find some cable. I tried to get him onto the lift, but he refused to jump up. He stayed right by me though, while I went up. The cabinet was completely full of the blackest dust and dirt that got all over anything it touched. The switch wasn’t protected at all. There were no air filters or dust covers anywhere. There also weren’t any unpatched wires, and I couldn’t see cables coming into the cabinet anywhere, so I came back down and drove the lift over to the other switch cabinet by the line. More dust, and still no cables.

I walked through asking everyone, and nobody knew where any of it was run. Finally, Charles went over there and took a picture of the other side of the cabinet, where cables were barely sticking out from behind the cabinet, just out of sight and reach. I took the lift back over, and managed to reach up from behind to grab them. It was super uncomfortable, and super hot up there, but I eventually got them down and into the cabinet.

Three of the four lines were Cat6a, so my fingers felt all torn up by the time I was done with those. We made it down and brought a laptop to Heaven so she could get signed in. Rhonda had a fit about her leaving, and then gave Teddy to me since Muad’Dib got hyped for a run outside. I let them run around before taking Teddy back in, and then Muad’Dib and I grabbed some Arby’s and McDonald’s fries for lunch. Our Aptean call was coming up quickly, so I just ate in my office right before the call. The call itself was pretty pointless since we hadn’t done any more testing. I really need to get Janice and Elizabeth set up.

We eventually made it back out to Heaven’s new office to terminate there. I decided to just use RJ45 connectors on both ends, then went straight into the switch, since I didn’t have any keystones anyway. I thought maybe they had used Panduit Mini-Com keystones like they did in our main rack, but they did not. I’ll just have to go back and do it right later. By the end of it, I was able to verify data on all four cables, though PoE didn’t test completely right. I chalked it up to the dirt that I couldn’t blow out.

Finally, I got to focus a little bit on the security gates again. I found some manuals and tinkered with the setup utility some more, but didn’t really have anything to show for it by the time we left. Everyone else was long gone, and we made it home through some fairly thick traffic.

Summer was doing her nails, and Eaddie came home and cleaned her room a bit since she wanted to unbox the vacuum-sealed sofa I got her. I grilled some of the squash and zucchini that I brought home from Janice, and the three of us finished up the ribs from the other day. I took Muad’Dib for a run as it got dark and cool, but it still felt pretty miserable and stagnant outside. We visited my parents, and made it home in the dark.

Summer went to bed surprisingly late, especially considering she had a race in the early morning. I got us tickets to see The Odyssey in IMAX, so I tried not to stay up too late.

Much to do!