Category: Journal

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The Tech Doctor – 2 years on

2 years ago today I closed and locked the doors on my office at The Tech Doctor Network Pty Ltd, a business I had bootstrapped up to 5 staff. Over the weekend the change happened, and it was reborn as Tech This Out on Monday morning. I had sold my business (though I retained the name with a 2 year no-trade clause)

Why and how I sold are probably posts for another day, but now that I’m free to use that name again, what do I do with it? It probably has limited value now, though I’m sure the email address and phone numbers will still receive their share of messages while people still have fridge magnets and cards stuck on filing cabinets and computers everywhere, but I have no real wish to do any more IT support than the handful of friends and family I still look after.

I’m thinking video. As long as 4 years ago I had the beginnings of a plan to record and sell IT Help Videos for those who missed part of the technology boat. Simple stuff like how to setup windows updates, how to spot scam emails, buying and selling on ebay and setting up a skype account. Stuff that comes naturally to most people under 30, but not so much to those a bit older than that.

It also needs to be something that fits in with the time I have available, or I’ll end up back where I started, but I’m older and wiser now…

What do you think?

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LSED: Crappy interface design

Upfront I have to say I’ve been listening to Steve Jobs’ biography by Walter IsaacsonSteve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography, and might be a little bit of a Mac fan-boy (for a “windows” guy), and I’m a very happy iPhone and iPad user.

I hate crappy interface design. Ugly I can live with, but poor layout making things difficult to use really annoys me.

Yesterday I spent some time at LinC Yarra Valley setting up a server/PABX for them. It was sort of working, but I could not get outgoing calls to work through the PSTN. Nearly 5 hours later, combing through pages of modules with hundreds of options, then lots of config files, I finally found this option buried in the middle of the following page:

dahdi_channel_g0

Disable Trunk!!

If you are going to have a setting to completely disable a feature:
a) why is it on by default?
b) why is it buried in the middle of the page, not right at the top?
c) why isn’t it highlighted just a little bit?
d) if it’s part of a configured system (which the page knows, because at the top of the page it says “in use by 4 routes”) why doesn’t it glow bright red and (heaven forbid) use the blink tag!

5 hours searching then Bam! Untick the box on two pages, and off it goes.

You learn something every day, I hope the freePBX team get it.

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Journal

LSED: Water tank filters

I learnt today what those filter baskets on top of water tanks are really for. Keeping leaves out is a minor problem.

It’s there to keep possums from crawling in and then dying and stinking the whole place out.

Eew, and I had to clean up the mess.

You learn something every day

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LSED: Swarf

Swarf is the little bits of metal that come off when you drill through metal.

Effectively it’s the metal equivalent of sawdust.

When you drill through metal, and the swarf flies off, it’s hot. Very Hot.

The thing I learnt today is that when you are drilling over your head, it’s best to wear a closed neck top (as well as safety goggles) not a polo shirt.

You learn something every day

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LSED: Drill bits

The quality of the drill bit is much more important than the power of the drill itself.

I was trying to drill a hole through a metal beam in the carport over the weekend to hang up a punching bag, and was having all sorts of trouble getting through the metal using the drill bit that I had that was the right size. In fact I could not even get a start, it was just skating all over the surface, and wouldn’t bite.

It was a cheap bit, but had always served me well (mainly drilling through wood/plaster etc.) I thought it might work better with a pilot hole, so I grabbed an older set of bits, clearly of better quality, and tried the biggest of them.

Bam, straight through.

That when I realized that the drill bit is everything, and it was also an interesting metaphor. Companies are often only as good as the reception people they have answering their phones or greeting their customers. That first point of contact is really, really important.

I went back to the crappy (but bigger) drill bit thinking that now that there was a pilot hole it would be fine.

No.

I grinded and pushed and grunted for ages and ages and ages and was barely getting anywhere. It was time to give up on that bit, at least for metal work) and head down to Bunnings for a properly sized sharp, designed to drill through metal, drill bit.

20140219-204001.jpg

You learn something every day..

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LSED: Learn Something Every Day

I’m starting a new category today called LSED: Learn Something Every Day..

I don’t for a second believe I’ll post something every day, but then maybe not everything I learn I want to share with the whole world… 🙂

Here’s hoping you learn something today too.

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Proxies in Ubuntu Software Centre

In order to be able to use Ubuntu Software Centre from behind a proxy, you need to jump through a few hoops:

Click the search button (top button on the left side), and in the search box at the top type

Terminal

In the Terminal type:

sudo pico /etc/apt/apt.conf

when prompted, type your password

add the following 3 lines:

Acquire::http::Proxy "http://comp101:comp101@proxy.education.netspace.net.au:8080";
Acquire::https::Proxy "https://comp101:comp101@proxy.education.netspace.net.au:8080";
Acquire::socks::Proxy "socks://comp101:comp101@proxy.education.netspace.net.au:8080";

and now you can run the Ubuntu Software Centre

 

and what does it all mean?

Terminal is the Program that gives you command line access to the computer.

Sudo gives you root (superuser) access to the machine.

Pico is a text editor

/etc/apt/apt.conf is the configuration file for APT, the Advanced Packaging Tool

the 3 lines in that file are of the format: Acquire::http::Proxy”http://user:password@proxy:port”

for the 3 types of proxy: http, https & socks

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Back on the air again.

It’s been so long, it’s almost “hello world” again. Since the last post I/we have worked frantically to get the caravan ready for out big trip, discovered Minecraft, had Christmas in Lakes Entrance, Travelled over 4500km with the caravan up the east coast of VIC and NSW, did some QLD theme parks, spent a few days with family near the Australia Zoo, and travelled back through the centre of NSW and Victoria in 38 degree heat. Then it was back to work, playing Minecraft, deciding to put the house on the market, decluttering, throwing stuff out, decluttering some more, cleaning, throwing more crap out and cleaning some more until finally just under an hour ago we’ve had the photos taken so the property can go on the market in a week or so.

In amongst that, I’ve been mentally up and down rather a lot, and mostly down, or at least too exhausted to feel up to any sort of blogging, so here we are. Easter has been and gone for another year, though it’s only early April.. no look at that’ its almost mid April, the year has flown by, even the kids are saying so.

I’ll try and keep the posts more frequent, I promise.

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VCE Results Day

Congrats to all VCE Students who received their results today, but remember your ATAR score doesn’t define you!

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Karate 11/12/2012

Our Sensai (teacher) challenged us last night to keep a diary of our training, and record the things we learned each week and what we want to focus on in the week ahead.

This week for me was about turning up. I missed last week because I was busy doing something, and I missed my normal 5pm class, dropping the caravan to the plumber for it’s gas works & certification. I really had to push myself to get to the 6:30 class, and almost gave up at the last minute because the school where the classes are held were having Christmas Carols and parking was a nightmare and we parked 1/2 a kilometer away and had to walk across the oval to get to class. In all honesty if Bec wasn’t with me at that point, I’d have gone home again.
Once I was there I was pretty much fine, other than something stuck in my throat that kept me coughing all class and evening and having difficulty responding and Kiaing.
My goal for next week it be there on time, ready & willing to participate fully (baby steps)