Of aliens and urinals

I just had a very short trip to Pune , with to and fro travel by KSRTC bus .
The KSRTC website dates back about 50+ years when "Pune" used to be called "Poona". This is important since I have type the source and destination, there isn't any dropdown for selection. And putting the destination as Pune results in the error "an unknown error occured" or some generic crap like that.
Finally made the booking after getting this knowledge from a friend.

So we go on the scheduled day to this filth of a place called the KG bus stand. First thing that hits me is the odour of too many people in one place. Smell of unclean armpits(likely) , unwashed underparts(probable) and rotten limbs(possible). Now I know I can't ever live in Mumbai again :(

I visit the restroom.
W/o the stiff upper lip, it's "i go to the loo".
Or , "use the toilet".

You cannot be honest and use any of the above for the loo in the bus stand. A honest quip would be
"let me go have have my nose on a high with the stink of ammonia and methane, avoid fainting or having epileptic seizures , control my pulse to avoid turning into a green monster, avoid slipping on some human faeces and take a leak."

On the way back by bus, in a stop for dinner, there was a toilet for aliens !
You enter the toilet through the narrow door , and find only one urinal and it's upside down.

The appropriate screws have been unhooked to get a very wet experience.
So, when your pissstream hits the inverted bowl it splashes urine back in your direction. This may be important for an alien species which survives by drinking urine mixed with slight amount of cholera infected faeces.
Yeps, there are bits of goo stuck to the urinal. Wonder how someone managed to shit into the urinal. Must from the other alien species which shits into the urinal and hence shares a symbiotic relationship with the pee-drinking one.

Do excuse the language here, i can't describe this in milder words. And please do carry a pair of adult diapers rather than using public toilets. And remember that urinals are meant for pissing , you have to use the other similar looking bowl for shitting, ask your nearest public toilet attendant for additional information.

Gtd is back with a vengeance !

I just made David Allen richer by 16$ and got my first legit(!) copy of his book.

I'll use "Things" on my iPod touch this time, instead of Thinkin Rock on my lappy.

Don't want this to sound like Anne Frank's diary again, but i have to say that, this is just to stop me from digging further when I find myself in a time-management hole :(

Test post from iPod touch

Well, if this works I'm gonna be a regular.

Totally f*cked up doc

Want to puke without any food in your belly ?

This is the documentary for you "Bumfights Presents - Terrorists, Killers and Middle East Wackos "
I got this one from my regular nightly routine , Start->Firefox->Bookmarks->Mininova->Documentaries -> Sort by seeds.

The entire doc film runs for about an hour with short video clippings which contain beheadings , chopping up of genitals , disembowelling , amputating limbs, general slaughter, rape , stoning , shooting and road/air/boat accidents.
All of the above with "happy happy" country music in the background.

The psychopath in you , will be interested in hearing the guttural sounds made when a throat is slit or the subdued whimper which follows a few bullets in the torso.


For me , I've lost enough bile to need an intravenous drip.

Matrix

There were 8 servers connected to one of our switches, each contributing 4 nics.
Each NIC supposed to be on a separate VLAN.

After the power maint. on the weekend, we found that our VLAN config got all mixed up.

Now one pair of servers had all 8 nics on one VLAN, with next pair of servers on another VLAN and so on.(!)
Conveniently we had forgotten the switch password.

Now the only way to reset this on cisco is to get a console cable connected to serial port of a laptop
and play with the mode button.
Wasn't enough time for that ( and we didn't find a console cable) , so we had to "transpose" the VLAN matrix.
The VLANs were EST (tagged on the switch ports) , so had to rejig all cables to get the original config back.
That's not easy if you throw in patch panels and unlabelled cables into this mess.

6 hours of manual labour on a Sunday ? That's real dedication , mate !

Fabric issues

I wonder if anyone's got the hang of Lefthand Networks VSA.
Not as simple to configure like Netapp or a Clariion in my opinion.
The thing has just too many areas to look at for getting stuff done.
I figure it's still better to use the VSA ,than the aging CX-320 for ISCSI.
Don't want to do too much to that old beast , its too cranky.

The other thing that cranky is our fabric.

I had shutdown our switches before a scheduled power maintenance on Sat.
On the brocades I ran a normal sysshutdown.
Come Monday after power them on, and this switch is acting all weird, the web interface doesn't work and
even a "zone show" results in "Fabric busy try again later" ??
Rebooted it , still the same issue .
I had to perform a persistent disable of the switch , fast boot it , then re-enable config to get it to work.
Dunno what was the RCA , I guess I need someone with a BCFP to analyse the supportshow dump for me (Or I should get one myself)

4 gig problem

I had bought extra RAM for the box , upping total to 4 gigs.

I install the chips , boot up Vista and check under “My Computer-> Properties” and it shows 4gigs. So , chips are ok and everything’s cool.

Week passes by , I’m try to run multiple VMs and seem to run into a performance snag .

So , I start the windoze troubleshooting ritual by opening up task manager. So here comes the funny part , it shows 2.5 gigs of physical memory ? But “My Computer-> Properties” shows 4gigs ?

After reading up forum posts on this , here is what I understood.

1> My Computer –> Properties shows you the physical memory present on the box.

2> Task manager will show you the physical memory that is actually getting used by Vista.

3> PAE is disabled in Vista (PAE lets 32 bit windoze OS’s go above the 4GB barrier)

4 If you have 4gigs , then this formula applies : Memory that can be used by Vista = 4GB – Graphic Card RAM (1 gig in my 8600GT) – Some RAM used by BIOS (~ 300 MB)

So , don’t go to 4GB on Vista 32bit , 3GB should be okay . Or install 64bit Vista (that’s what I did )

Ping Pong !

Squeeze those brain cells to get some blog juice ….

Life is beautiful

The job promotion into training is beginning to change life in many ways.

It was my karma to do this job.

Even as a support engineer , I was spending more time on helping others, than tackling my own work.

As I am just about to complete my first off-campus assignment , I sometimes feel like a stage performer during the training sessions.

I have learnt that a little humour goes a long way in building a student-instructor rapport.

Animated expressions and antics leave a longer lasting memory than plain vanilla "stand on the stage and talk" speeches.

Slumdog

I have always complained about 'Masala' bollywood movies with same old stereotypes and storylines .
But, if you have to make Masala-ishtyle movies , you better make 'em like this one.

I got a copy of the movie just coz it was receiving rave 'phoren' reviews and expecting that this would be, again, one of those same old western-indian crossover movies.

It turned out to be one of the best Masala movies I have ever seen (although I don't see many) .
Quoting a Bollywood cliche 'Isme action hai , Romance hai , Gaana hai , Mast item hai , fullto maximum paisa wasul hai baap '

For someone who has stayed in a Mumbai slum (in an old haunting past that I can't blank out) , I can vouch for the genuineness of the sets and life potrayed. Perhaps it is that emotional connection that makes me treasure this movie.

Mordor anniversary

Just another month to go .... Yeehaa ! I will be completing one year in my current company.

Had to scrape through the last few months , twas horrible .

Now I can update my resume and post it all over the place  !! One year is a reasonable looking time in anyone's CV.

Getting a new job isn't a big deal for someone with 6 yrs of experience , but finding the right one is a dark art.

Cookie

Ah ,the naughty one . There has been no peace in this house since she has arrived . But I like it this way .

Either , one of us is running after her to wrest socks out of the hellish jaws , or we are busy trying to keep her away from gnawing something/someone else.

A vampirish smile with sweet looking eyes which are waiting for right time and right body part to pounce at. Package also features a deep growling sound with a dolby woofer enabled bass booster.

Loves plastic and suspicious looking items like fur toys, sprite bottles and electrical wires.
WTF, BOFH excuse #97 may be true after all !!! (Small animal kamikaze attack on computer power supplies)

ESXi 3.5 "bare-metal" inside a VMware Workstation VM

This is pretty neat . I can run these "thin bare metal" hypervisor ESXi free versions from within VMware workstation 6.0 . I followed the steps provided on xtravirt.com for regular ESX 3.5 and applied it for the hypervisor.
All you have to do , is to create a new "Other Linux 64bit" VM and then close VMware and add the following in the VMX file :

monitor_control.restrict_backdoor = TRUE
monitor_control.vt32 = TRUE
monitor_control.enable_svm = TRUE (add this only if you use an AMD processor )

Then download the freeware hypervisor iso file (ESXi 3.5 U2) off the VMware website and install it.
I could setup the management network and connect VI client to access the ESXi box.
We can even setup VMotion by using a VCenter VM and 2 ESXi boxes , with shared storage provided by a filer appliance like openfiler.
This is going to be my next step , I'm off to buy more RAM to run all of these , would be difficult to squeeze all the above VMs in 2gigs.

In other news

Night shift ends in 3 days, will be back to regular day schedule for at least a year.

Was my birthday on 28th July , one more candle added.
My sister sent one of the best birthday wishes I have read so far

"If I could gift you something in my life,
I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes.
Only then you would realize how special you are to us :)"

Lamentations 3:37

"Who is he that saith and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it is not"
-- Lamentations 3:37


Ah there it comes.

Here comes the bipolar swing again, a big one , goes to the sad pole this time.
This must be how bordering the edge of lunacy feels like.

A small family feud does the tip-over this time.
Retreating into my shell of misery , I start the self-sustaining manic-depressive cycle.
Looking at the world through narrow jaundiced eyes, fail to find any joy anywhere.

Of course , I do have family and friends trying to coax me out of it.
But asking a depressed person to come out of depression is like asking a diabetic to start producing insulin.

I do not have any reason to be really depressed, I am afflicted by the commonest of problems.

Hey , who doesn't have trouble brewing in their work-life ?
And does everyone get a US visa on first try ?
And who doesn't have family fights once in a while ?
And who doesn't have to juggle with finances ?

The issue , I think , is the fact that all of the above happened right around the same time.

I now take solace in the hope that it will swing to the other side soon and I will be back to my normal happy self again .

Can I get some sleep, please ?

F**king pissed at this damned night shift. Got to do it for at least 2 months every year . Sucks big time , coz I can't sleep during daytime . Heat and a lot of noise.

In this pathetic shit of a city , everyone likes to blare horns and want to go top speed in side alleys .
It's supposed to be a side alley in a residential area , you a***les ! Don't they know people like peace , more than the sound of fart growling engines ?!!
Has anyone here heard of a concept called noise pollution ? Forget the decibel meter , measure this damned noise on the Richter scale.

Especially auto drivers . Don't know what bloody vintage those rickshaws come from , their engines grumble like those road drilling machines.
Must be pouring 50% kerosene or something. Makes me have weird dreams about sucking their brain jelly out and squashing it. Dreams about disemboweling them all and becoming a martyr .

Plus , its hot as hell in the afternoons.
So that's the time the power goes off. Load shedding, i guess. Nice.
The gay sadists in the power corp must be having fun imagining sweat dripping bodies , when they flip the switch.

Top that up with loads of work in the office. I am really having a hell of a bad time these days.
Cherry on the topping ? Misery knows no company.

Ahh, power's back on . Sweat's drying . Will post this now and try get some sleep again .
4th installment today.

Goodbye Cruel World

Time to stick to family , they will always be there for me.
To all the others ..leave me alone.


Goodbye, all you people,
There's nothing you can say
To make me change my mind.
Goodbye.

Rescued by blood

Somebody said it right "You are your own worst enemy" .
Last couple of weeks have been slightly crazy , with my bipolar disorder swinging my moods from pole to pole. For no apparent reason that I can think of, the demons in my head were gnawing away all that was happy and good. Making me feel like my grey matter was turning into wriggling maggots.

Here comes little sister to the rescue , a cold-blooded reptile when it comes to feelings , moods and all that sentimental bullshit. Knew I could trust my own blood , we were always there for each other.
She takes in all the information that I give her , then turns all my feelings into chopped liver.
Her input is all your feelings at work or play .
Her output is a cold-logic processed data flowchart that can be literally pasted onto a Visio diagram.

Some people are real shredders when it comes to all the fluffy stuff and you cannot help but admire them .

Moral of the story ? I have to place this thought in my head, and make sure it stays there ,
"Suck your own thumb next time , you wimp !! Don't you f**king lose control over your go*damn moods again , you as**ole !!"

cat /etc/motd

"You cannot be lonely if you like the person you are alone with."
-- Wayne Dyer

Getting Things done

Getting Things done (GTD) is a project management
method proposed in the book by David Allen

It follows the principle of recording all the data (or thoughts) that we receive , into a database (either in software or in meatspace) , so that the mind is free from the work of storing this volatile data and can spend more effort in processing information.

Here is what David Allen says about this action management method :
“Get everything out of your head. Make decisions about actions required on stuff when it shows up — not when it blows up. Organize reminders of your projects and the next actions on them in appropriate categories. Keep your system current, complete, and reviewed sufficiently to trust your intuitive choices about what you're doing (and not doing) at any time.”

Check this wiki link for more information on this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done


As suggested in the seminar, I have tried using quite a few software based tools , the one that I liked the best is a free java based software called "Thinking Rock" , which strictly adheres to the GTD principle.
As they say , the best things in life and software are free.