Solving Word’s Problems… by ditching Word.

So I’ve previously discussed a series of problems Microsoft Word has, and as Josh rightly pointed out, we’re using a tool that wasn’t made for what we’re using it for. 🙂 Thus I began hunting for a new method of writing documentation.

Minecraft with Hey0 Mod, compiled from Git

Josh,

I’ve managed to get Hey0 Mod compiled from his GIT tree, and it looks like Beta SMP is working but he hasn’t gotten around to a release yet. If I managed to write up some SyS V init scripts and packaged it all up nicely, would you be interested? I can probably have it done and tested by Sunday night.

I’m probably going to end up asking permission to commit this all into the official Hey0 Mod Git tree anyway… doesn’t look to me like he has a unified Makefile, dependency tracking, or any of that built into his packaging process. Seems like he does it by hand by adding files to a .zip archive.

Jon (sheepsimulator) and I discovered these two gems at work this week, so I made them into demotivational posters. Enjoy.

Hating Tools You Use Daily (A Microsoft Word Rant)

Well, since we’re discussing various projects we work on regularly, I’ll share (read: vent) some of my frustrations with a tool I use daily: Microsoft Word 2007.

A Sysadmin Advent Blog

So Jon P. (sheepsimulator) sent this to me at work today. It’s a blog where they’re counting down to Christmas with a new blog post about sysadmin tips and tricks. The moment I saw it I knew I had to share it. Pure awesome.

http://sysadvent.blogspot.com/

Servers From Joe

Josh (and anyone else who’s interested),

Remember I talked to you last week about Joe having some extra servers he’d be willing to part with? They are all Dell Poweredge 2850 servers with the following specs:

• 2x Dual-Core 2.6-3.0 Ghz processors
• 4 to 8 GB of RAM
• Dual 36GB 10,000 RPM SCSI drives
• Dual 1GB Ethernet ports

I would assume the rest of the specs line up with the official 2850 documentation: http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pedge/en/2850_specs.pdf

Joe may also have a series of 500GB hard drives available.

I’m not sure if he was intending in reselling these cheap or gifting them to interested parties. That said, let me know if you’re interested and I’ll give you his contact information or act as an intermediary.

Me, Matthew, and Minecraft

Matthew and I are now playing on the Table minecraft server. Thanks, Josh, for getting it running. Matthew is building an impenentrable bunker NE of Christa, and I’m building a Sietch in the desert beyond Chad’s wall. If anyone has ideas for what needs to be in my sietch other than lots of sand, a water trap, and a place to store weapons for my Fremen horde, let me know.

Farewell, OpenSolaris.

OpenSolaris was one of the few “pure” Unices (read: not Linux) that didn’t frustrate the heck out of me when I tried it. Apparently the May 2010 release date slipped, and now that Oracle bought Sun, it’s official… OpenSolaris as a community distro is dead. Solaris, the Sun Oracle closed-source product, will still be shipped.

Ars Technica Article

Back from GenCon, Need Moar BattleTech

No posts here in a while, so I’m going to fix that. I’ve been microblogging lately, as I find that whenever I write in a forum that gives me lots of space to write, I try my darndest to fill it. You can follow my smaller, near-daily musings on @trentonjhawkins on Twitter, or just look at my Facebook feed, as they’re all cross-posted to my Facebook account.

Just came back from an awesome GenCon. I got to meet my writing idol, Michael A. Stackpole, who generously signed my copy of Isard’s Revenge. I also sat in on his lecture “20 Ways to Kill Your Novel”, which was excellent, and made me realize I treat my writing like a hobby instead of a business (which I’m okay with, since I’m really not trying to publish anything). I’d love to attend more of his lectures.

This is the first year I spent time outside of the Vendor Hall at GenCon (attending the aforementioned lecture), and it really opened my eyes to the number of awesome events and panels and matches that go on besides all the great sales. I think next year I’ll sign up for some “How to GM Better” panels, and get involved in some BattleTech matches.

Which brings me to my question – If I were to host regular (bi-weekly or monthly) matches of BattleTech for 3-4 hours on a weekend at The Board Game Barrister in Bayshore Mall in Glendale, would anyone want to join me? I own the new Catalyst rulebook with all the erratta’d rules built right in, a series of mechs I’m working on painting, cardboard proxies, and a map that can be drawn and re-drawn with wet-erase markers. I’d be happy to teach anyone who’s interested.

So far I’ve got a Matt, myself, Erin, and Gordon Lugauer (manager of The Barrister) who have expressed interest.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Erin, Matt, Kurt, and I went to go see M. Night Shyamalan’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” last night, and I can say that I feel like I’ve been ripped off. I want my money and my evening back.