Well, my computer parts came in today as planned. I spent the morning assembling everything and installing the base system. I tried to go with Ubuntu, but it became problematic. Here’s why:
- I wanted to have separate partitions for /boot and /tmp. This nice development, once I worked it out, still screwed up the install of GRUB and the computer would not boot from the hard drive unless I put the install CD and manually made it boot from the hard drive.
- The madwifi (atheros chipset-based wireless cards) driver would not cooperate with wpa_supplicant (the binary for wireless cards to use WPA encryption).
- After getting #2 to work, the clock was screwed up (set to October 2006!) and would not let me use sudo (to correct the time).
- Of course, there is no root password, so trying to use su resulted in yet another problem.
So, I ditched Ubuntu and popped in dvd disc 1 of Debian Etch (the newly released isos with the RC for the debian-installer). It has a new graphical installation, but that’s over-the-top as the text installer is more intuitive and easier to use (I ran both for the hell of it!). My only difficulty was getting madwifi to work because it is not included on the dvds…I had to download it on another computer, save it to a disc, then install it manually. After installing it, it had some problem at first resolving the IP address from my router (small user error in configuring wpa_supplicant). But, it’s running nicely now (after manually building the alsa and madwifi modules). So, Ubuntu may be nice for those who don’t have a clue as to what they’re doing, but it also restricts what one is able to do if one knows what one is doing and likes root. Sorry (k|x|ed)Ubuntu, it’s just not my cup of tea.
Technorati Tags: debian, GRUB, madwifi, Ubuntu
Last Wednesday, my computer shot a spark out of its back (I’m assuming the power supply was the culprit). I’ve ordered some new pieces, but wanted to know if there was a way of testing the parts at home (I’ve got a really nifty multi-function meter) to see what’s salvageable. For instance, If I hook up a new power supply to a stripped down system (motherboard, cpu, and ram), do I run the risk of frying the power supply? The problem seemed to start a few weeks ago when the system would seem to build up static electricity (yes, I installed the mobo correctly). The system became sensitive around the front case fan (I had a total of three: one on the side, one in front, and one in the rear) and any sometimes touching the case would (1) cause a static discharge and (2) a system reset. Since I didn’t have much time to fool with it beyond trying to figure out where that was coming from, my solution was to not touch it. Well, Wednesday, it finally froze completely and would not shut down (even after attempting a hard reset), and my touch to the switch caused the fireball (it was cool, except for the dead system part).
So, here are some questions for other geeks:
- Could the case (or the case fan) be contributing to the imbalance in static electricity?
- Can using a new (and assumed good) power supply on a possibly fried motherboard (or cpu) screw up the power supply?
- I know that I can run memtest86 for the ram, but what about any tests for the motherboard and cpu?
- I’ve got an external adapter for the hard drive (so I can transfer my data if it works without screwing up a system), but are there any good tests for it?
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Published 1 year, 4 months ago
in General.
Final stats on my Hinduism paper: 15 pages of text, 1 page of bibliography. 24 hours of work. 11 books for reference. 3 journal articles. A total of 3994 words. And it’s not (technically) due until Thursday. But I’m leaving tomorrow for the mountains and snow.
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Published 1 year, 4 months ago
in General.
As my final term draws near, this is what I have left:
- Finish my Hinduism course (what’s left: a single research paper)
- Finish my Judaism course (begins 26 March)
- Read for my comps (see the 28-in-28 on the right)
- Take 3 comps (4 hours each)
- Find a job in the Philadelphia area that involves teaching religion and/or philosophy at the post-secondary level (i.e. community college or such)
I’m not worried about #1 at all (already have the research, just need to type it out). I don’t know what to expect with #2 because it is a relatively new professor (well, she’s been here for a year now). It’s an intro-level class, so it shouldn’t be too difficult (I’m hoping for no writing…). #3 is going smoothly. I’ve already contacted 3 of the 4 professors for checking my reading plans. #4 depends on #3, but I’m not too worried. #5 requires me to work out my resume and CV, which I will be doing this month so that I can look good when applying for these positions (I have found a few of them). We’ve already reserved a moving truck (and it was less than the one we got for the trip out here), so it’s just more of a wrap-up time for me. Oh, and I feel like I have “senioritis” again (and I’m not the only one in the department!), so it’s a good thing that I don’t have a whole lot to do.
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Here it is. A modified version of Now Reading that includes K2 compatibility, a sidebar module for K2, and the on hold feature. Only difference for on hold feature from previous post is the on hold section in the library page.
Also, I noticed one slight difficulty when I upgraded the NR plugin from an ancient one. With the addition of the “started reading” field in the database, it did not add the info from the pre-existing books. So, if you’re upgrading from an early version that only had “date added” and “date finished,” run this SQL:
UPDATE `wp_now_reading` SET `b_started` = `b_added` WHERE `b_started` = '0000-00-00 00:00:00` AND `b_added` != '0000-00-00 00:00:00`;
-
UPDATE `wp_now_reading` SET `b_started` = `b_added` WHERE `b_started` = ‘0000-00-00 00:00:00` AND `b_added` != ‘0000-00-00 00:00:00`;
In other words, set the date started reading to the sate the book was added whenever there is no start date but there is an added date.
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Talk
thainamu
Chris Martin
Wilson, Rick, brad, christopher, brad, christopher, brad, christopher, brad
christopher, Jeffrey Rodriguez
pfunked, christopher, pfunked
Jasen