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February 27, 2005

Life goes on

I completed my second full week as the Director of Information Technology for SkyWay USA on Friday. I've gotten an amazing amount of things accomplished during this time.

1. Setup new Web, E-mail, FTP, SQL server.
cPanel is a great utility, and I'm digging it far more than I thought I initially would. Configuration is a snap. You load a Linux server with the basics: kernel, wget, sh, and a few other command line applications. You use wget to pull down an install script from the cPanel Web site, and use SH to execute it. cPanel does the rest.

Once it's installed, it's only a matter of a few configurations here and there, and BOOM, instant server that runs like a dream. My gawd, I love the simplicity of Linux.

2. Setup a new file server.
I've been wondering what the people that came before me were thinking when they setup some of the equipment that SkyWay was using. Their main file server wasn't even theirs. It belonged to a friend, who was really wanting it back.

No problem.

I took an existing machine that was doing nothing, wiped it out completely and installed RHEL on it. Within a matter of 30 minutes, I had a complete file and WINS server up and running. The thing that took the longest was moving all of the damn data from the old server to the new one. We're talking around 100GB of data.

3. Create a backend for the new modem we're going to be offering.
We have this sweet ass modem that we're going to be offering customers in the very near future. It's part of the rollout of the new system that I've been building. It's going to make life extremely easy for both SkyWay (on the tech support side) and for the customer (on the installation side).

Well, this new modem needed a custom backend. I finished creating the layout for it this weekend. I gave it something that we're dubbing the "Fisher Price" look, which is very clean and easy on the eyes. It's also something that people are kind of used to seeing already, so when they use this modem they'll feel right at home.

I hope to be able to reveal some of this stuff soon ... I'm very proud of the work that all of us at SkyWay have put into this thing thus far.

4. Revamping the phone system.
Thank goodness for WHAS and the things that I learned while I was there. Had I came here without having my experience at WHAS, I would be completely green on this phone system and how in the hell to operate it. But since I've been a telephony admin for a little over 2 years, this phone system has been cake.

I got the company that SkyWay purchased the system from to send down the software for the PBX, and once I had it, I was able to navigate through the system with minimal effort. There were a few things that I wasn't familiar with, but that's due to the way that the vendor calls certain functions/services contained in the PBX.

In roughly 30 minutes, I was able to go through most of the menus and edit extentions and start creating new call groups. While this system as a much easier interface than the S8700 I was used to using at WHAS, it still lacks the raw administrating power that I'm used to. In many ways, I still feel somewhat limited on what I can and can't do on this system.

I'm sure that'll pass though.

So, there you have it. That's what I've been doing for my first two weeks at SkyWay. There's still more that happened, but these are the 4 major things that were accomplished. I'm also hoping the laptop that was ordered for me middle of last week will be in early next week so that I can really get some more things done.

~out...

Posted by ed at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2005

If this is true ...

... then Lucas might have just redeemed himself.

Click here for Episode 3 pictures.

Warning: This *may* be a possible spoiler for the movie. Don't look unless you don't care.

Posted by ed at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2005

The meaning of a word

Indecisive
in·de·ci·sive

  1. Prone to or characterized by indecision.
  2. Inconclusive: an indecisive contest.
  3. Not clearly defined; indefinite.
  4. Ed Engelking.

Posted by ed at 08:42 PM | Comments (2)

February 19, 2005

What a Linux distribution should be

I bought some new computer hardware today. Included in this purchase was a new ABIT motherboard and an AMD Sempron processor. I've been meaning to do this kind of upgrade for a while now, but I've either lacked money or couldn't convince myself to spend the money to do the upgrade.

Amanda made me purchase the items tonight. Apparently she's tired of my being indecisive when it comes to purchasing things like this. It's a really bad habit of mine, but that discussion is best saved for anther day.

Anyhow, anyone who's ever done a major upgrade like this knows how tricky it can be to get your existing OS to follow over. Most sane people take the easy road and backup all of their data before doing an upgrade. I am not one of these sane people. After doing the hardware changeover, I started the machine and saw the Windows boot screen for about a 1/2 second. The machine then rebooted. Again and again.

I had a decision to make at this point ... would I worry about getting Windows up and running again or would I reformat my machine? I choose the latter option, but decided that I wasn't going to put Windows on my nice new fast PC. Instead, I chose to install Linux instead.

However, the distribution that I installed isn't one of the regulars I generally use. A few weeks ago, I sent off for about 20 copies of Ubuntu Linux. I did this for two reasons ... 1. I had heard good things about the distro ... 2. They were going to ship me 20 CD's at no charge.

After the CD's arrived, I loaded the Ubuntu LiveCD on my machine at home, which to be honest wasn't terribly impressive. Every LiveCD that I've ever tried had loaded up just fine on my existing hardware. But what really won me over was when I tried booting the LiveCD on the Dell D505 I used at WHAS. Until this point, I had been unsuccessful in getting any LiveCD's to load properly on this machine. I generally ended up with a green screen and had to do a hard reboot on the machine.

To my surprise, Ubuntu loaded a desktop. At this point, I knew I had something special on my hands.

Now, I've been busy over the past few months, working at both WHAS and at SkyWay. I haven't had a real chance to mess with Ubuntu because of this. This weekend, however, I was determined to get the CD's out and play around with it a bit. Now that I took the plunge, I must admit that I've been pleasantly surprised.

Unlike most distributions, Ubuntu comes in a single CD. It gives a base install of the Gnome 2.8 desktop and very little else. Since it's based on Debian, it comes installed with APT (which anyone who knows me understands that I LOVE APT) and the Synaptic GUI. Within a few minutes, I had Synaptic up and running, downloading and installing some of my favorite applications. In all, it took me about 30 minutes to find everything that I wanted downloaded and installed.

Here have been the benefits of Ubuntu thus far:
- One CD
- Simple Install Process
- APT and Synaptic pre-installed
- Firefox and Evolution 2.0 pre-installed
- Gnome 2.8 is the standard desktop

Here are some of the drawbacks:
- One CD ... if you want additional packages you'll need to download them. This can be a pain if you're on dial-up.
- The install process is all text based. Some people might not like this. I've been using text based installs for so long now that they're just second nature to me, so I don't really give a rats ass.
- There's no KDE, only Gnome. There is no Dana, only Zuel.

Anyhow, if you're wanting to try a different Linux distro, give Ubuntu a try. I think most will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Posted by ed at 11:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2005

Moving on

This week I started working for SkyWay USA officially. Technically, I've been doing work for them since around the beginning of the year. As first weeks at a new job goes, this has been a very easy transition for me.

I've spent the week working on several items. First off, I've been working on the new Web and e-mail server. I've decided to use cPanel for the backend of the system, and have thus far been extremely happy with the product. It's powerful, and setup was a breeze to do. Even better, the interface can be changed by use of themes, which I plan to be designing one specifically for SkyWay.

My second project of the week has been getting a new file server up and running. Upon my arrival here, I learned that their old server was on loan, and the owner was wanting it back in a bad way. I had to setup a new server and get the files copied over rather quickly, working on creating a new organizational structure. Based on my past experience with doing this at WHAS, I knew that there would be a little chance that some people may not like the change, but for the most part it was a cake walk.

The third project I've started working on has been the phone system, which up to this point hasn't really been touched. Good thing that I have a background as a telephony administrator, or else this would be a really tricky thing to do. Their current setup makes use of a Panasonic PBX, which really took me off guard. Slowly but surely I've accepted that this system would most likely remain, and have been working to aquire manuals and software so that I can properly configure the system, including voicemail (which currently sucks).

Anyhow, that's all I have for the time being. It's been a busy week and next week only looks to be busier at this point.

~out...

Posted by ed at 06:04 PM | Comments (2)

February 13, 2005

Hello Moto

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 27.

Okay, now that's over with. Here's the really interesting things that happened yesterday.

1. I had a lunch meeting with Dwayne and JP's co-worker, David. We talked about scripting among other things, and by George, I think we definately found the man for the job. He understood exactly what we were wanting to do, and took the ball and ran with it. This is going to free up so much of my time that I can't even begin to say how happy I am that JP recommended him to us.

2. So, I had to turn in my cell phone to WHAS on Friday. That really sucked because I'd gotten used to having a cell phone on me and not having to pay for the service. I went to Best Buy with Kyle that evening and started to look at the different cell phones with the differnet providers.

I found a model that I liked alot, the Motorola V551, and went home to do some research on it. After I was satisfied with what I had read, Amanda and I went to the Cingular store on 60 (near the mall). We purchased two of the V551 phones and decided on a family plan with 1250 shared minutes.

I also purchased two Bluetooth headsets to go with the phones, which ended up working extremely well. Even better, I got rebates off of practically everything I purchased, adding up to about $150. In all, I think that we ended up getting a really decent deal.

3. Amanda and I went furniture shopping. We went to Value City and found a couch that I liked alot. It is a faux suede, but it's extremely soft to the touch. I don't personally care if it's faux or not. It's a brown color, sort of a burnt tan if you will. It has two recliners built in. Just a really decent piece of furniture. In addition, we found an African slate coffee table in addition to two African slate end tables. We're planning on picking up the items next week.

4. Amanda's family came up for my birthday dinner last night. I couldn't believe how BUSY everything was in Louisville last night. Apparently there was some kind of dance or something that had all the 12 year old kids dressed up trying to look cool ... even though their parents were there with them. We finally decided on O'Charlies on Breckenridge, where we waited roughly 45 minutes to get into.

I ordered a Prime Rib steak, medium well. It came out medium rare. I sent it back, and it came back out with the edges medium well and the center medium rare. Amanda told me to send it back again, but I was just irritated by this time, and said no.

And Ashley wouldn't shut her dick sucker the ENTIRE night. If I didn't know any better, she just likes to hear herself talking sometimes. I finally started to tell her to shut the hell up, explaining that I was tired of hearing her lips flapping. And another thing... if she continues to disrespect Suzanne the way she does, she's going to have a pissed off Edward to deal with. Ashley, consider yourself warned.

Anyhow, that's how my day went. Pretty busy, and I got quite a few things accomplished. Now I just need to get ahold of a few people to let them know my cell number has changed so they won't try to call me on the WHAS number anymore.

~out...

Posted by ed at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2005

I knew it was only a matter of time...

SCO's going down, baby!!

ZDNet article "Judge slams SCO's lack of evidence against IBM".

Posted by ed at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2005

All good things...

That is the title of the last ST:TNG episode, which also happens to be my favorite. It also fits into this post perfectly.

I'm leaving WHAS-TV after 2 and a half years of dedicated service. I'm going to be working for a company called SkyWay USA, which is a rural broadband Internet service provider. I'm building their new Internet service from the ground up. It's a great new job, and a heck of a new challenge.

That being said, I'm sad to be leaving WHAS. I've made alot of friends here over the past two years, and I hate the thought of not seeing them on a daily basis. I've been told that my leaving will have a dramatic effect on the station ... and it very well may. Ultimately, there will be someone who will replace me and life will go on. I only hope that I'm leaving a legacy for someone else to follow.

Alot of the people that have come before me have left on bad terms and/or the people didn't care for them that much. I've heard horror stories about these people, and even worse I've had to clean up the mess that they left behind.

If anything, I hope that history will look back on my time here at the station, and it will be remembered as a good thing. I hope that I have left a lasting impression on my co-workers, my bosses, and perhaps even at Belo corporate. I received an e-mail from a counterpart at one of our sister stations saying that "while I didn't know you, you are well known." What a good feeling.

~out..

Posted by ed at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)