mikefern(dot)net

So in the last few weeks a lot of things I feel are really starting to kick off. I’ve never really felt so involved with my schoolwork as I have this semester, mostly because of my Unix administration class since it has a very hands-on project. I need to take virtualization software and create a virtual machine with it that is running CentOS 5, a free enterprise Linux distribution.

While not my favorite Unix distro, I guess it does what it needs to do well. The web server portal is up and running using everyone’s favorite open source blogging tool, Wordpress. The server is up at http://131.94.134.16 although the individual blogs are password protected due to an assignment for our regular server maintenance.

My other classes are pretty alright as well. There’s Java Programming II, which has a very nice teacher that taught himself Java so I like the way he thinks already. We already been given one assignment, which I’ve already completed since it was actually fairly simple when compared to normal Java standards.

Next class is Microorganizational Computer Systems. Basically the hardware portion of the A+ certification class. My instructor is actually the supervisor for one of the branches of my department where I work. Fixing and breaking computers, who doesn’t love that?

My last class is Intro to Psychology, and while my girlfriend might persuade me to think otherwise, I’m not very much into it because I don’t like the material. My first exam was last night and I felt like I was studying for my MCAT with all the different questions I was being asked about the brain. My other gripe is that the teacher gives simply too much work for an introductory course. With the material I really think it should have been a 3000 level course intlstead of 2000.

My recently purchased Eee PC that I mentioned in my last post is actually no longer running Linux since I decided to find out if Microsoft has gotten the process of making an OS that actually runs well on laptops right this time. I installed the Windows 7 beta on my laptop and while not really flying at blazing speeds like it is on my desktop, it’s definitely holding it’s own. Let’s hope that some more updates are going to be in order as I am already inpresed with where this OS is going. Now on to more personal matters.

I’ve been considering moving out now that I’m 21. I’ve always loved living at home since the perks are too many to count, but I don’t see any reason to really start prolonging the inevitable. Sure, I might not move somewhere far away since I’m still in school and all but I need to learn to be a lot more responsible. I don’t know how to cook for myself, or even do laundry since that’s something my grandmother, God bless her, has always delegated to herself my whole life. I’m also not too stingy with money since I have no other place to put it so maybe adding that nice big rent to my list of bills will finally do me in and force me to open a savings account.

I dunno. Maybe it’s all a little too sudden for me bit I definitely think that the time is now to start doing something like this because I don’t want it to be too late like some of the people I know. Maybe I should wait until I graduate. I won’t have scholarships or pre-paid plans to cover me since I’ve already dropped classes so the money I’ll be saving needs to go that. Arg.

Until next time I suppose.

So ever since I made the venture into the Linux realm about 5 years ago I think one of my biggest issues with using it was the inability for Linux to work at all times with the wireless connections either at work or at home. This obviously troubles me to this day because Linux has been getting better and better, but this issue still persists with some wireless cards that come with computers. Most notably Broadcom wireless cards or Atheros chipsets, like the wireless card in the recently purchased Eee PC I am now using.

The only fix that I think has been able to resolve most of my issues with wireless cards is using a Linux utility called ndiswrapper. ndiswrapper to put it mildly takes .inf files from Windows and installs wireless drivers in Linux distributions with them. Support for ndiswrapper has become a lot better in recent years, as Linux is also supporting pretty much all wireless encryption methods now too.

To install ndiswrapper, you need to install a few packages for your Linux distribution. For Ubuntu you can use these commands:

sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-common ndiswrapper-utils-1.9

Of course this will require that you have a working internet connection to do this, but there is also a possibility that you can get the ndiswrapper packages and utilities directly from the distro’s software repositories and copy them to a thumb drive. http://mirrors.kernel.org is a good place to start looking for packages to download them directly.

After installing ndiswrapper, you will need to obtain the Windows driver for the device in question. These can most likely be downloaded from the manufacturer of your laptop, or a driver CD that came with an external wireless card (if that is in fact the case).

In my case, my drivers were located in a file called net5211.inf. To install this driver you would use

sudo ndiswrapper -i net5211.inf

This installs the driver but does not load the module. To load the module use

sudo ndiswrapper -m

Then to have ndiswrapper load at startup use this little command:

sudo ndiswrapper -mi && sudo ndiswrapper -ma

Give your computer a restart and you should be well off! If you use Linux and you happen to come across this, gimme a comment and let me know how it worked for you.

I can’t say that I’ve definitely taken as much time as I used to to try and find new music and the like. It used to be a tad easier for me, and it’s not that I haven’t opened my mind to it. Bring me your tired and hungry artists and I will listen with the utmost urgency, fresh for a new taste and style.

I’ve had my 120 GB iPod for months now, as I always prided myself on carrying as much music that I could probably even handle myself, although probably not varied as I could imagine it to be. But it’s been stagnant. There was a point where I had lost all of my music due to a unfortunate syncing incident that caused me to lose quite a bit of the music that I hadn’t made to effort to back up. This is whether I obtained it through my own means or from someone else.

So in my very expensive Moleskine notebook I used my knowledge and the knowledge of my girlfriend and other associates of mine to make notes of groups that I need to find the music for again, as well as other new names and faces my small-minded self has failed to discover.

That list has yet to be touched in well on to about a month+. What happened to my curiosity? I guess it went out the door but in any case, maybe I need to figure when I should take the time to give my collection the lovin’ it deserves.

I did get my refund from my school so I could be irresponsible and purchase a bigger hard drive, since that’s what is also holding me back from doing much of anything. Drives are getting to such ridiculous sizes and for even more ridiculous prices. Could it be the economy? Who knows..

I digress. I guess the reason I decided to write this down was because I’m in a strangely somber and reflective mood and I can’t seem to place why. Not in a bad way either. I lay the blame on Dallas Green’s acoustic session for his songs from his group City and Colour. Supposedly it’s a side project from a post-hardcore band he is (or was) in called Alexisonfire. Heard the name but never listened, and the words post-hardcore give me many reassurances to tell you the truth.

Seriously. Against the Grain and Body in a Box are amazing tunes to just sit and reflect or listen to. Give them a listen, and you shall not be disappointed I assure you. There’s Body in a Box for your listening pleasure.

Sure, school started a week ago and I went back to work, but that doesn’t really matter all that much. My break truly ends when all of my friends have finally made the long trip back to their second homes I should say. continue reading »

My friend Danny over at RandomXS.com posted up a pretty awesome video from the pretty awesome show, Arrested Development. If you liked this episode, Hulu has the entire show up to watch for free!

Prince of Persia was definitely one of those games on my list that said “This is going to be amazing. I can already tell.” The videos were great, the combat looked sick, and it looked to be a completely different and beautiful experience visually from the last three games. Did it live up to what I was expecting? I guess it did, in some aspects.

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So I was among the many that had very high hopes for Mirror’s Edge, from DICE, of Battlefield fame. Sadly, I was discouraged like everyone else that I’ve seen, read, or heard play it.

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So the Fall term has finally finished for me and it definitely wasn’t the best I thought it could be.  Let’s take a recap and see how I did.

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This is probably one of the most atrocious and unhealthy things I have ever seen.

…then why do I want to try it?

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I really need a Mac. Just so you know. I’d be very nice for me to be able to carry a nice cheap one, but the idea of that is further taken away from me with the new models (which I do not like AT ALL), and the ever growing hole in my wallet.

Damn Christmas.

I used to have one but it was a very old G4 that I don’t think I can really do much of anything with it. Go figure.