another day in the life of Darryl

2003-09-15T20:13:00.000-03:00

The US now has a Head of Federal Cybersecurity? < speechless >

2003-09-07T16:55:00.000-03:00

2003-09-04T18:52:00.000-03:00

I'm a cubicle dweller now.. h e l p m e

It's actually not that bad. My cubicle is one of the better ones here. Nice high walls. :)

What is YOUR cubicle like?

2003-08-29T08:02:00.000-03:00

After reading these, I will never eat at a fast food joint again.

2003-08-27T15:34:00.000-03:00

A few weeks later.. I've found a car, and my wife found a daycare for our son. Life is good. :)

2003-08-06T15:10:00.000-03:00

Getting a new job is great.. but now it creates a few problems. We need to find a babysitter for Declan really fast. I also need to get another car. All of this needs to be done in just under 4 weeks(!).

2003-08-05T09:21:00.000-03:00

I got the job... and the pay is good! :)

2003-08-01T10:08:00.000-03:00

Three interviews later, I'm still waiting to hear about a possible job opportunity (yet another IT position). I should hear today, but the CTO of the company is based in Colorado.. three hours behind my time zone!

2003-08-01T09:55:00.000-03:00

This is pretty cool.. I'm sure the military machine is drooling over the fact that it was successful.

2003-08-01T09:51:00.000-03:00

Another day.. another dollar FINALLY! I'm back to work after 6 loooong months of being unemployed. It's only temp work, but the money is good.

2003-03-26T13:20:00.000-04:00

Wow.. I haven't posted anything in over a month.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Starbucks coffee.. too bad I'm stuck with crappy Tim Hortons.

2003-02-20T09:26:00.000-04:00

Shift is dead.

2003-02-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

Finally! They air a new Enterprise episode that is somewhat interesting. The previous two episodes were so boring that I switched the channel shortly after they began. I think Star Trek should take a break for a few years.

Speaking of taking a break.. I think I'll go play Wyvern.

2003-02-06T08:41:00.000-04:00

LOL

2003-02-02T10:23:00.000-04:00

Being unemployed and having an infant son to support makes you re-think your priorities. I'm seriously considering becoming a stay-at-home Dad when my wife goes back to work in September. I also plan on consulting out of my home as well. What do you think?

2003-01-10T23:36:00.000-04:00

I got laid off today.

The IT industry sucks.

2003-01-06T15:21:00.000-04:00

Just saw this on ns.general.. thought I would share.

Donair Sauce
(taken from King of Donair, on `Pizza Corner', Halifax)

2/3 cup canned milk (evaporated is best)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Corn starch (optional)
Stir canned milk, sugar and garlic powder until sugar is dissolved.
Add vinegar and continue mixing. The quicker you add the vinegar and
the less you mix, the thicker the sauce will be. Let sauce sit for at
least one hour in refrigerator before using.

If your sauce is not thick enough (I like spoons to stand up in it)
try adding a teaspoon of corn starch and boiling it in a pot for a few
minutes. You should follow the directions on the corn starch box for
thickening sauces. Be careful though, I used too much and it was
remarkably thick (as I hoped) but it gained a starchy flavour.

Please note, the amount of sauce provided in this recipe will likely
last two servings at most (if used properly). I find that the sauce
can be made in larger batches and actually freezes quite well.
Repeated thawing and reheating of sauce does not seem to affect the
taste or quality.

2003-01-06T11:51:00.000-04:00

Word of the day.. paranoia

2003-01-06T10:17:00.000-04:00

I'm back to work today after a nice long Christmas break.

Significant happenings during my break:

- installed FreeBSD 4.7 on derbtech.d2g.com (a previous Red Hat 8.0 upgrade broke it)
- got a cold two days before Christmas (why does this happen when you are on holiday?)
- finally watched Die Another Day (it was a bit ridiculous.. even for a James Bond movie)
- saw LOTR : The Two Towers (Legolas and Aragorn rule.. the Ents seemed a bit small to me)
- watched LOTR : Fellowship Of The Ring extended DVD (makes more sense.. good documentaries as well)
- finally started reading Cryptonomicon (after 4 previous attempts)
- enjoyed every moment with my wife and son (I really didn't want to come back to work today)

2002-12-26T17:30:00.000-04:00

I still haven't watched Die Another Day.. just too busy with real life.

Been sick with a cold the last few days as well.. just in time for Christmas. I did get a nice The North Face jacket from my wife. :)

2002-12-20T14:43:00.000-04:00

I plan on seeing Die Another Day this weekend.. and it won't be at a theatre. ;)

2002-12-18T15:29:00.000-04:00

This is so very very wrong.. but so very very funny at the same time.

2002-12-18T09:46:00.000-04:00

Another entry in the "Why didn't I think of this?" list.

2002-12-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

Do you want to install Linux but have no idea where to begin? Go here young grasshopper.. ;)

2002-12-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

OS/2 was ahead of it's time. I remember being very impressed with OS/2 Warp back in the day. It's officially dead.

2002-12-12T16:08:00.000-04:00

Someday...

2002-12-07T20:55:00.000-04:00

When you get laid off by a company, usually all ties are severed (especially in matters of security)... not in my case.

I was laid off by a company that shall remain nameless in April 2002. I just got a call from an alarm monitoring station about a burglar alarm that was going off at the local office of my previous employer. It would seem that I am STILL ON THE CONTACT LIST! I was also told that I am apparently not the only former employee on the list either.

One word... l a m e

2002-12-06T13:50:00.000-04:00

I guess Cyberpunk isn't dead.. not that I'm complaining.

Some of my favorite books of all time are Cyberpunk:

Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
Virtual Light, Neuromancer, Count Zero - William Gibson
Mirrorshades - Bruce Sterling

Blade Runner is my favourite movie of all time too. Speaking of which, it seems that the Special Edition DVD boxed set won't be out until 2003 now. :(

2002-12-05T10:47:00.000-04:00

Windows RG

2002-12-04T16:10:00.000-04:00

Another time killer..

2002-12-04T16:07:00.000-04:00

Hit the fan..

2002-12-04T15:41:00.000-04:00

Now THIS is a Christmas card!

2002-12-04T11:12:00.000-04:00

Viper Lair has a good HOW-TO on setting up an Linux Router/Firewall. I use a Smoothwall myself.

Dust that old 486 off.. ;)

2002-12-04T10:48:00.000-04:00

A new kind of tech support call..

2002-12-02T14:57:00.000-04:00

If hackers ruled the world...

2002-12-02T14:32:00.000-04:00

We got The Universal Command Guide For Operating Systems here at work today.. it would make a nice Christmas gift for me. ;)

2002-11-29T23:26:00.000-04:00

U2 rocks.. Sunday Bloody Sunday still gives me goosebumps every time I see them perform it live.

2002-11-29T14:32:00.000-04:00

Top 11 Signs You're Becoming A Geek..

11. Monitor tan.
10. Before heading to the bathroom you inform your friends you're off to
download and log out.
9. You become physically ill at the mention of the RIAA, and visibly excited at the mention of object-oriented programming.
8. You have a poster on your wall of the Linux penguin.
7. You're mad because all your friends got goodnight kisses after prom, but your sister just slugged you in the arm and said "Thanks, bro."
6. You think having twice as many computers as there are people in the house is a bare minimum.
5. You feel that living life like the movie "Tron" wouldn't be so bad.
4. In your little black book, you list (both) the girls you know in order by IP address.
3. You can type faster than you can speak
2. When your shrink says "Mother . . . " you say " . . . Board."
1. If, by some happy accident, you someday have kids, you want to name them after your favorite fonts.

Stolen from BBspot.com

2002-11-29T09:18:00.000-04:00

According to this article, I wasted my time getting my A+ certification. I disagree with the author's point of view... don't get me started.

2002-11-28T21:12:00.000-04:00

She loves you (rated PG.. NSFW)

2002-11-28T15:53:00.000-04:00

This is harder than it looks..

2002-11-28T15:06:00.000-04:00

My apologies for the lack of updates.. my "real life" has been very busy lately.

My wife and son had to move out of the house this week. We're getting our hardwood floors re-finished. The floors had staples all over it.. we can't have Declan picking his little hands and knees on the staples when he starts crawling.

The house is very quiet with them both gone.. I'm getting some "me-time" but I still miss them like crazy (even Declan's poopy diapers).

2002-10-28T16:17:00.000-04:00

I registered yougeek.ca today.. this blog may be moving there eventually.

2002-10-22T09:41:00.000-03:00

"trusted computing"

a scary prospect indeed

2002-10-21T14:35:00.000-03:00

My mother-in-law purchased a 2001 VW Jetta last year and has had problems with it ever since. She was always a Honda owner, but couldn't get a good deal on an Accord at the local dealer.

Now this pops up (or should I say "pops out").

I'm glad I just bought a Honda. ;)

2002-10-15T16:15:00.000-03:00

I'm a Linux user and fan.. but please don't lump me in with these guys.

2002-10-07T15:16:00.000-03:00

I'm a huge fan of Guiness.. but this is a bit too much.

2002-10-04T14:32:00.000-03:00

Apple releases a 120meg hard drive! Gotta get me one of those..

2002-10-01T22:51:00.000-03:00

This is something for any South Park fans out there.

2002-10-01T22:01:00.000-03:00

I'm gonna make one of these for my wireless network card. :)

2002-09-30T19:35:00.000-03:00

music that Declan likes (so far): Blink 182, Boxcar Racer, The Crystal Method, Puddle of Mudd

music that Declan dislikes (so far): Tuuli, Default, Korn, Jewel, Sheryl Crow

2002-09-30T19:02:00.000-03:00

I'm sitting here at the PC with Declan in a snuggly (it's the only way I can get time in front of the PC at home these days). He started getting fussy. I decided to play some MP3s. "Shut Up" by Blink 182 came on. He immediately stopped crying and started looking around while making pleasant cooing noises. Who knew that a 7-week old infant could like Blink 182?

.. gotta get him a guitar

2002-09-30T16:45:00.000-03:00

Red Hat Linux 8.0 is out. I think my ADSL will be busy tonight.

2002-09-30T15:54:00.000-03:00

drool..

2002-09-30T15:20:00.000-03:00

Another myth is dispelled.. I'm now proud to say I wear a size 8 shoe!

2002-09-30T14:49:00.000-03:00

Wanna go to MIT?

2002-09-30T11:03:00.000-03:00

Comments should be working again..

2002-09-30T10:45:00.000-03:00

the comments are broken.. thanks for letting me know tbit, :P

2002-09-30T08:24:00.000-03:00

Unhappy Mac users.. finally!

2002-09-29T11:57:00.000-03:00

Switch to Mac?

2002-09-29T11:35:00.000-03:00

Installed a new template.. look for the links section to fill up.

2002-09-29T11:30:00.000-03:00

OK.. it seems you can rip MP3s from Lifehouse's new CD. You just can't rip the first track (Spin).

Now that's all I'll say on the subject.

2002-09-28T21:42:00.000-03:00

Forgot to mention.. I did make a copy of Lifehouse's CD to play in my car (so just don't make any MP3s of it).. nuff said.

2002-09-28T21:40:00.000-03:00

On an XP Embedded note again.. I spent all day today working with it (yes.. I worked on a Saturday). It can be a pain.. BSOD anyone?

I actually bought a CD this week (!).. Stanley Climbfall by Lifehouse. I went to rip some MP3s from the CD and guess what? I COULDN'T. Seems the record labels are getting smart. I'm not condoning ripping CDs.. I actually got turned on to Lifehouse by an MP3 of Hanging By A Moment.

Declan's screaming.. gotta run.

2002-09-25T16:27:00.000-03:00

I will be having nightmares about Windows XP Embedded..

2002-09-24T07:50:00.000-03:00

It was only a matter of time..

2002-09-23T16:38:00.000-03:00

Since I used to work for CBC Radio.. I find this HILARIOUS!

2002-09-17T11:53:00.000-03:00

I installed Ximian Desktop on my RedHat 7.3 box here at work. I am very impressed so far. I used to be a KDE fan.. "used to" being the operative words here.

2002-09-16T14:28:00.000-03:00

I just noticed that I went through a blogging spurt today. Not that I'm not busy at work.. I'm on my "break".

2002-09-16T14:27:00.000-03:00

This is just strange.

2002-09-16T14:25:00.000-03:00

This is how I tend to do IT-related things.

2002-09-16T14:20:00.000-03:00

This looks interesting. Now if I only had a PocketPC. :(

2002-09-16T14:13:00.000-03:00

I started working with Windows XP Embedded today. I must say that it's VERY configurable. I'm just waiting for the first BSOD.

2002-09-16T14:08:00.000-03:00

Bored at work? Try this site.

2002-09-12T09:35:00.000-03:00

I becoming fascinated with the whole "Wardriving" concept. I updated the drivers for my RoamAbout card last night. It now works with NetStumbler. All I need now is a battery for my Thinkpad. Anyone know of any for sale (or trade)?

P.S. I don't want to "wardrive" for malicious reasons. It's merely for educational purposes only. ;)

2002-08-30T13:45:00.000-03:00

My life has been soooo hectic lately... newborns will do that to you. I go home after work and look after my son while my wife naps. It cuts in to my Neverwinter Nights sessions... not that I'm complaining. Declan is my pride and joy. Kids certainly change your priorities though (I have $20... beer or diapers?).

2002-08-19T22:45:00.000-03:00

Vin Diesel is a D&D player.. spread the word!

2002-08-16T22:14:00.000-03:00

I'm a Dad! Declan Roderick MacLeod was born on August 13 at 2AM.. now back to changing poopy diapers. The joys of Fatherhood.

2002-08-09T15:55:00.000-03:00

I wish my hometown had signage like this..

2002-08-07T22:53:00.000-03:00

Still no baby.. the kid isn't behaving already..

2002-08-07T15:29:00.000-03:00

Two days and counting to the "official" birth of our child. The waiting is driving my wife and I nuts. Where did the time go? It didn't seem that long ago when my wife paged me to let me know that she was pregnant. I was on a Network Security & Cryptography course in Halifax at the time. I can't remember a damn thing from it now. I kept thinking in my head.. "Holy shit! I'm going to be a Dad.".

Diapers here I come..

2002-08-05T00:50:00.000-03:00

Lifehouse is back. Spin is the new single. New album is out on September 17. Gotta love WinMX. ;)

Now I can't get the song out of my head..

2002-08-02T23:37:00.000-03:00

Why is it that people can't live without their PCs, yet they won't spend any money to upgrade their ancient machine they're using?

I'm working on a client's PC right now. It's an old PII 233. The ancient 2x CD-ROM drive won't read most of my CDs because it's TOO OLD! So therefore.. I can't install the software he wants installed.

bleh...

2002-07-31T09:33:00.000-03:00

Blogger seems to be working again. Look for updates later today.

2002-07-19T22:34:00.000-03:00

I think blogger is broken..

2002-07-18T10:27:00.000-03:00

My apologies for the lack of updates lately... real life has been keeping me busy as of late... ;)

l i n k a g e
Meet the Nigerian e-mail scammers...
Hopefully this car won't crash as much as Windows 98 does...
I don't usually think of sex and golf at the same time...

2002-07-18T10:22:00.000-03:00

please see above..

2002-07-05T07:59:00.000-03:00

I finally feel like an adult today.. we bought our first "real" new car. We test drove a few in the process..

Mazda Protege5 - it's pretty, but no "Zoom-Zoom" on the highway (our 94 Civic could take it)
Toyota RAV4 - nice rig actually.. they wanted 25k for a demo with 11000 km on it!

We ended up buying another Civic.. good cars for a growing family. Cheaper then the above mentioned cars too.

2002-07-01T09:46:00.000-03:00

Audiogalaxy may be effectively dead.. but mp3s are still out there.. you just have to know where to look.

Happy Canada Day too!

2002-06-27T07:46:00.000-03:00

Things are going well at my new job.. the in-house pool table is nice.. my fellow employees in the IT Lab are great.. but I hate using Microsoft Project!

2002-06-24T07:38:00.000-03:00

I have the first-day jitters..

2002-06-23T21:16:00.000-03:00

I start tomorrow at Techlink International. Gotta get my "Linux-legs" back.. or should I say "fingers".

2002-06-23T21:11:00.000-03:00

Some very cool teasers have been released.. Daredevil and Solaris!

2002-06-21T08:22:00.000-03:00

Slackware 8.1 has been released.. I may try it today. Gotta love removable hard drive bays.

2002-06-20T08:38:00.000-03:00

The science of superheroes.. from BBC (via Metafilter).

2002-06-18T15:17:00.000-03:00

Here's the RIAA's take on shutting down Audiogalaxy..

Damn them!

2002-06-18T14:42:00.000-03:00

Audiogalaxy has gone the way of Napster.. it's a sad day.

Welcome to tbit's readers too..

2002-06-17T12:08:00.000-03:00

I need one of these..

2002-06-17T08:15:00.000-03:00

Strange name.. great site..

2002-06-17T08:06:00.000-03:00

Good news! I'm employed again!

I actually got two job offers last Friday. One from EDS (Service Tech for HP) and another from Techlink International (Network Tech II). It was a tough decision.. be a tech-support geek (answering phones) at EDS or be a network geek (actual hands-on support and installation) at Techlink. Guess which one I took? ;)