Several times this season, we have had record-breaking blizzards. And, nearly every time, my efforts to deal with them have been thwarted due to failures of the brand new snow-throwing equipment I’ve purchased. Fortunately, my neighbor has come to our aid several times and, thanks to his tractor, our driveway remains clear and we can get to and from our house. Continue reading “Linux Saves its Neighboring Windows – Twice This Week”
Man Page Minute – mv
MV(1) User Commands MV(1)
NAME
mv – move (rename) files Continue reading “Man Page Minute – mv”
Man Page Minute – cp
CP(1) User Commands CP(1)
NAME
cp – copy files and directories Continue reading “Man Page Minute – cp”
Jim Cramer?s "Stay Mad for Life" – Part Two
Continuing where I left off reviewing this book, chapter 3 covers planning for retirement, and the five biggest mistakes people make with their 401(k) plans. Since I own a small company, we currently have no 401(k), but we do offer a SIMPLE IRA for our officers, and most of these points hold true for me as well. They are:
- Buying the employer’s stock
- Investing in stable-value funds
- Accepting the default offerings in their company’s 401(k)
- Cashing out their 401(k)s when switching employers
- Not paying attention to where the money is going (which seems to me to be the same as point #3)
He then covers a few practical tips to make the most out of your 401(k), such as automatically contributing to it each month, instead of waiting ’til year end. I’m guilty of not doing this, but luckily cash flow isn’t an issue right now, so I can still contribute. Cramer also advises that you contribute the maximum amount to your 401(k) that your employer will match. After that, you want a separate, self-managed IRA, which gives you more flexibility than your employer’s plan.
So far, I’m liking the advice I’m getting from the book. Check back in thirty years to see how it worked out.
Symantec Endpoint Protection: Right Up There With Norton Internet Security
Two of my staff and I spent the entire day at a client’s, in an attempt to upgrade the system (of approximately 150 PCs) from an ancient Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition 7.6 to Symantec Endpoint Protection 11. Why? Because sometime in the last few weeks, it stopped getting anti-virus definition updates. Continue reading “Symantec Endpoint Protection: Right Up There With Norton Internet Security”
Citrix's Flagship Product Now Known as XenApp
XenIf you haven’t heard of Citrix, well… look them up. Last week, I hit their web site to download a new client, and… WTH?!?! Where’d the stuff go! I was shocked to find that they renamed Presentation Manager (formerly known as Metaframe XP, formerly known as “Citrix,” formerly known as “that thing you run on Windows NT to make it like pcANYWHERE for multiple users) to “XenApp.” Continue reading “Citrix's Flagship Product Now Known as XenApp”
The Race Continues
Uhm, guys? You’re not really getting it, are you? As of today, I still have only 53 followers, and Harlem now has 64! Follow me! Not him, me!
Okay, tell you what. I’ll make Harlem’s posts filter into my Twitter feed via TwitterFeed, that way, all of you people who are following him can unfollow him, follow me, and get everything you need. See how easy that is?
If I don’t take the lead this week, the personal attacks are going to start. You know, stuff like “I hear Harlem still uses Windows…” Don’t make me go there. You’ve been warned.
The Race to 100 Followers
Last week I decided to challenge the host of the Fresh Ubuntu Podcast to a race to see who could get 50 followers on Twitter first.
Of course, I was too late. I looked and saw he had 52 to my paltry following of 48. So, I did what any trailing contender would do – change the rules! So I said “let’s race to 100!”
Today we’re at 53:59. The math is simple: Harlem’s pulling ahead. Obviously I’ll have to come up with some sort of campaign promises or something to claim the lead. Linux on every desktop! A penguin in every pot! No laptop left behind! Universal backup coverage!
Follow me on Twitter!
Google's Concerned for My Health
This morning, after reinstalling WordPress because I was getting some odd behavior after the latest upgrade, I hit my blog and was greeted with the image you see at right. I have to wonder if this is a coincidence, or if Google’s indexing the content Twitter badge, where I’ve been bemoaning my poor health these last few days, led to them recommending some nasal sprays. Even though it makes perfect sense when you think about it, I find it a little creepy when Google “knows” I’m sick and is recommending solutions.
Easy, No-Mess, Air-Popped Popcorn
I love popcorn. I mean I love popcorn. Popcorn is to me as spinach is to Popeye, you get me? Air-popped with butter is the best, but kettle-popped is good too. I don’t really care for movie theater popcorn or microwave, but it’ll do in a pinch. But I digress – on to the main event!More…
As I said, air-popped ‘corn is the best, but the thing I don’t like about it is, no matter how big a bowl I use, some kernels always end up flying out on the counter, on the floor, into the sink, etc. What’s worse, having to dig up that episode of Mythbusters to see if the “3-second rule” really works, or if it’s worth trying to grab that one that went into the sink, which invariably ends up soggy… eww… soggy popcorn… But I digress, again!
Solution! Get a medium-sized paper bag, and hold it under the mouth of the popper while the corn is being ejected. The bag will catch all of the kernels, and even if some of them pop while in the bag, they have a much harder time escaping than they would from a bowl.
Safety note: I would not use a small bag, or totally suffocate the popper. I don’t know how hot these things can get, or if they could hit 451?F, but why take the chance? Also, don’t use a plastic bag. Even if the air doesn’t melt it, an unpopped kernel or two surely could.
UPDATE: If you cut a flap in one of the sides of the bag, you can stand it up straight under the spout, instead of having to hold the bag in place.
Happy popping!
So… do you think Gawker is hiring? I think I could be an occasional Lifehacker correspondent.