Category: Skills
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The Weekly Feast – Side Dishes
Last week it was turkey. This week, I’m sharing my favorite side dishes that I use in a perfect Thanksgiving Feast! Mashies Mashed potatoes are a definite requirement at any Thanksgiving feast. The easiest way to make delicious mashed potatoes is to cut them into about inch square cubes, and boil them until they’re soft…
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Are Those Level 4 Plates? (I wish, Nerd Bable)
Sunday was supposed to be the day I migrated a couple of machines. I have a new physical device which is described as a Level 2 switch with SFP+ ports. The idea is to replace my small mixed routers, 2 SFP+ ports plus some RJ45 ports with either a L2 SFP+ only switch or an…
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Why Is It So Slow? Or How Many Bottlenecks?
My mentor, Mike, use to say “There is always a bottleneck.” What he meant by this, was that for any system, there will be a place which limits the throughput. If you can find, and eliminate, that bottleneck, then you can improve the performance of the system. Which will then slam into the next bottleneck.…
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Prepping – Thriving, not Surviving
There’s a difference between thriving and surviving. I notice a trend among those who call themselves preppers. There are two sorts: those who are prepared to simply go on living, and those who prepare to survive the apocalypse. The first sort have plans for growing food, hunting, trapping, collecting water, providing continuing light, creating electricity…
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Something SIGnificant
Monday, I had an opportunity to visit the SIG Academy/SIG Experience Center. In the late 70s, I had a chance to visit NYC for the first time. That feeling of awe, looking up at the skyscrapers. Trying hard not to have pidgin droppings fall into our open mouths. That is sort of how I felt…
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The Weekly Feast – Turkey!
It’s that time of year. Most of us enjoy a turkey over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. My family tends to do the “friendsgiving” thing on Saturday, but we also have a small gathering on Thursday afternoon. Turkey is ubiquitous. It’s also a bear to cook, if you ask many chefs. I’ve never understood that. My…
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Getting Old
I’ve had a slow leak in the right front wheel of my truck for the last year. When I went to have it fixed, I found that it wasn’t the tire. It was the wheel that was leaking. Leaking tire? $20. Leaking wheel? $150+ Well, that slow leak isn’t slow anymore. Ally asked for a…
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Prepping – The Art of Saying No
So there’s an emergency. The power is out, and your neighbor comes by to borrow a candle. It’s no big deal, you lend them one of your hurricane lanterns, so they can have light and be safe. You don’t even think twice about it. When it’s a short-term emergency, this is a standard response, and…
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The Weekly Feast – Chicken with Creamed Corn
I’m not a huge creamed corn fan, but wow, this was delicious! It was a bright, sunny looking meal on a miserable, chill evening. The sweetness of the corn complimented the savory chicken, and the entire dish came together in under an hour. I hope you enjoy! Ingredients: 2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into strips…
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One Step Forward, ??? Steps Back
Networking used to be simple. It is unclear to me why I think that. Maybe because when I started all of this, it was simple. Networks are broken down into two major classes, Point-to-Point (P2P) or broadcast. When you transmit on a P2P port, the data goes to a dedicated port on the other side…