paper romance

this is a bit nerdy but they use public IP ranges internally on the LAN for all devices. why?!!!. it means that we have a limited number of subnets with limited capacity and i have 8 new servers to build and it looks like i will be struggling to find free IPs in the 2 subnets for servers that we have. why not use 172.16, or 192.168 or 10.0 ranges and subnet them up to give yourself abundant ip addresses in different subnets?.

why does my pc on my desk have an IP for a public range but is never going to be needed to be accessed from outside. maybe i am the idiot and don't know what i am on about. there are people here that are infinitely cleverer than me, have miles more knowledge and ability and skill, but the whole IP thing is just silly and makes no sense.

anyways, thats just me whining because i am tired and i have a big pile of boxes to unpack of new servers and will be spending the next couple of days installing them. boring!!!. am supposed to be building a database cluster but they haven't come in yet, which was what i was looking forward to doing, because i haven't done one before, but thats been delayed. urghh!!!.

its rained all week and the forecast is for rain for the next few days. its supposed to be sunny on saturday but who knows, it could rain then as well. when i say its rained, i mean its raining in the morning when i wake up, its raining at lunchtime when i go out and its raining on my way home and raining till i go to bed. oh, and one last detail, i can't stand the rain.

still no word about that other job. let me guess, they didn't like the fact i can't start tomorrow and so will end up repeating their mistake of 2 months ago and hire someone who can, and let that form their decision to employ them, as opposed to their ability, and then it will be a lottery as to whether they can actually do the job they were hired for. urghh!!!.

have slowly started studying for an exam but its very early days yet and its like walking through knee high mud....blinfolded.....with a heavy backpack on......and its snowing. basically its a bit tough going at the moment. still, no bother, i will just have to get it done because it needs to be done and if it hastens my departure then thats something worth doing.

today i have mostly been listening to groove armada - paper romance. this is not the type of thing i usually post, but its actually a very good tune and i like the vocal. video is a bit odd. some girl looking a bit wasted just roaming around. whatever.

have a good week. its tough going but we will get through.

rocket

can't be bothered. silly hardware issues, server decomms, server builds, upgrades. its ok doing a few but it seems its all i have been dealing with for the last few months. i have little patience for it just now. i have got 8 more servers to build this week. nothing clever required, just do the paperwork and the intalls. boring!!!. actually its the paperwork and form filling and administration bit that i just have no enthusiasm to do, and especially not in february.

it was chucking it down this morning. it was torrential rain at 7.30am as i was walking to the train station. to top it off the bakerloo line got suspended just as i was about to get it, and so i had to walk 10 minutes to work, instead of getting the tube just a couple more stops, so i had some more horrid weather to endure. a lovely monday morning.

weekend was quiet. manged to cycle to the gym between rain showers. the ground was wet but i managed to find a window in the afternoon when it wasn't raining when i cycled to and from the gym. it does mean my bike gets filthy with all the spray that comes off the road. anyways, i cleaned my bike on saturday when i got back because the forecast was for to be dry on sunday and i don't like riding a dirty bike.

sunday comes around and it rained again which means my bike got dirty all over again. how lovely. you would be amazed at how much dirt and gravel that gets kicked up from the road when its wet. why don't i live somewhere nice. why don't i live in los angeles or san diego. why have i been forsaken here in london.

going around regents park i saw some guy riding one these. a lovely looking machine. cycling seems very popular in london, despite the shit weather. i wouldn't be happy at all if i had one of those and it got caked in dirt, like my bike did.

today i also got a call about a job. its the same job i had got called about a couple of months ago, that was paying quite a lot of money but they wanted someone to start in 5 days. i think that was one of the reasons they didn't go with me, and at the time i recall thinking it was so silly to pay so much money and the only people they were considering would be those that could start the following monday, and how they might not get the best candidate.

anyways, like i suspected might happen, they are looking to fill the same role again. let me guess what happened. they hired someone in a mad rush before christmas and it turns out they are no good and now 2 months later you are going to replace them. what a pointless exercise and a waste of time.

all that aside, i told the agent i was interested and to put me up for it. we shall see what happens this time. hopefully the fact they got burned will be in my favour and also the fact that its a japanese investment bank might be good because i have already worked at one in my first contract. also its quite a broad skill set which might mean that people that have spent years in the same bank doing the same shit might not be suited to the role, but that mercenarys with no loyalty, like me, will have a chance because we have had exposure to more stuff in more places. we shall see how it goes. i hope i get a call back.

today i have mostly been listening to goldfrapp - rocket. imagine someone like lady gaga but with out silly cheap gimmicks and with more talent and artistic integrity. this is a remix because the single version has embedding disabled courtesy of EMI. they really haven't got a clue have they. anyways, enjoy. its monday. its shit outside but we will get through it and find a brighter day soon.

glass houses

have had a couple of those days where i just feel like i should move on sooner rather than later. am struggling to motivate myself and am just getting shitty things to do which don't interest me too much. lots of hardware issues and swapping of system boards and processors and memory and shit like that. usually i quite like being huddled away and getting to do stuff like that, but when even that becomes tiresome, you know you are having a few bad days.

i think its a february thing. its by far the most depressing month of the year in london. there is nothing good to say about it. its utterly miserable. unfortunately the contract market seems to have gone quiet again after a little flurry of activity a couple of weeks ago. we shall keep the faith.

in other news, my boss sent a mail to our department saying he would be on holiday over the august bank holiday weekend and one of us would need to cover. thanks for that. christ he got in a bit early there especially as i ended up covering christmas and new year as well. give someone else a chance dude. actually i don't know why i am whining because i will be long gone by then. i will really be annoyed if i am still here.

anyways am off out tonight in shoreditch to meet up with some friends if we can get it organised. people are being awkward. they are saying they don't want to go to the bar which we have been going to for 3 years and that is right round the corner for 3 of the guys (not me), and so they are picking shitty alternatives. why is it that people turn into miserable gits as they get older. oh well, no bother as its friday tomorrow.

today i have mostly been listening to kids in glass houses - matters at all.

take a wheel

a standard weekend. gym and laundry. i strained something in my shoulder last week but managed to keep training by just missing out a few exercises that would put pressure on it. absolutely killed it yesterday and have also managed to lose a little weight at the same time as well. either that or the scales at the gym are not working but i did callibrate them to make sure it was set to zero properly. have been off the muffins ( i usually get one everyday with my lunch ), and its making a difference.

it was sleet and snow on saturday so i took the bus, but yesterday i was able to cycle as it was dry but very cold. i do like cycling but there are quite a lot of idiots on the road in london. i saw some guy in his car stuck in a queue of traffic and he was honking his horn at the cars in front and shouting for them to move. he looked like an idiot. what happens to people behind the wheel in london. that just turn them into assholes. tens of thousands of years of evolution regressing in that one person, behaving like some uncivilised idiot. if he could have seen himself he would have been embaressed.

actually its not just car drivers. whilst cycling around regents park i overtook someone who was in their lycra on their racing bike. i could see him going slowly for a couple of minutes as i came up behind him and just went straight past him. maybe he didn't like it because he immediately took my back wheel and sat there as i went round the park. its so annoying. back the fuck up you idiot!. he was literally riding like he was in the tour de france and was 6 inches from my rear wheel. thats just fucking rude.

i am pretty sure he was pissed that he got overtaken by someone wearing a backpack on a shitty bike, but he was coasting and i always like turning it up around the park. he even stayed with me even after i tried to shake him off by going a little extra fast. i suspect he felt thoroughly pleased with himself but riding in someones wheel is a lot easier than out front and you are still a twat mate.

i get overtaken all the time by the lycra men on their pinarellos and cervelos and trek bikes. they are way fitter and stronger than i am and occasionally i try and keep up with them but i will do it from 20 metres behind. i don't take the piss and take a wheel. thats just not good manners.

anyways i was in early to work today. i didn't need to be. my boss texted me last night saying he was going to do the early shift this week, but i didn't check my mobile. sometimes on a sunday i subconsciously, deliberately leave my phone in my gym bag when i get home. its nice not to feel chained down by the internet and mobile phones and facebook and email, for a few hours. be free for a few hours. give it a go. you can survive without it.

....though saying that i did get the new angels and airwaves album last night. have only listened to it once but it sounds very good already. they have also done a nine inch nails and are giving the album away for free on the web which is thoroughly commendable and showing foresight and generosity. i suggest you pick it up here. what have you got to lose. you can only gain and you might discover your next favourite band. i have seen them live twice and they are a very good.

today i have mostly been listening to angels and airwaves, but i already posted a song from the new album a few weeks ago and they have not made any new videos for it yet. instead here is some idlewild - you held the world in your arms.

max q

i had a dream last night where i got a job in new york, and i was going to be living in brooklyn......and then i woke up and had my breakfast. seeing as i have been listening to yeasayer and applying for lots of jobs, it kind of makes sense i would dream about a job in new york.

anyways its friday once more and its been cold all week again, without even a hint of the weather getting any better. it should at least be dry this weekend which means my cycling won't be interrupted. i can't be bothered to do much these days but have to force myself. will need to study a little this week as i went for a job that is a little beyond me and i will just need to freshen up on some knowledge in case they ask me in for an interview. we shall see how it goes.

am also going to buy another book for another exam. the last exam i did was in december last year and that feels like a long time ago. i need to keep the pressure on.

its a £113m lottery jackpot ($165m) tonight. i bought a couple of tickets and then i was thinking about it and actually it could turn out to be quite a hassle if i won. random people coming out the woodwork making contact just because you have money. not because they are your friend or were concerned how you are, but just for the cha-ching.

anyway despite all that i have already picked out a nice modest house to buy for £3.6m, and have chosen the colour for a range rover. if i don't blog next week its because i won over a hundred million quid and i will be busy with accountants and estate agents and after that i might be in argentina on holiday.

today i have mostly been listening to Max q - way of the world. this features mr micheal hutchence of INXS and this was a side project.

have a lovely weekend.

baby voice woman

there is a woman in my office who talks in that voice you would use to talk to babies. you know that higher whispered voice that you would say "hey little fella, you alright, coochie coo?". she has that voice when she talks to everyone. at first i thought she was putting it on, but she isn't. that is her actual conversational voice. i wonder what she sounds like when she talks to a baby?. it must be not audible to human beings. i genuinely thought she was taking the piss when i first heard it. :-)

nothing else really going on. walked through soho to get my lunch. am gonna miss this part of town when i am gone. lots of different types of people walking around dressed in their fashions, unlike the suit and tie brigade in the city and canary wharf. it was sunny at lunchtime but still fucking freezing. we had a few flakes of snow but not enough to settle.

today i have mostly been listening to yaysayer - ambling alp. i think these fellas are from brooklyn, and in the last couple of years, brooklyn really does seem to have produced quite a few bands like MGMT and vampire weekend and these fellas and probably a few more i am not cool enough to know about. anyways this is a bit of a strange video. almost a little too strange. i suggest listening to the song a couple of times to get a feel for it, and then watching it with the distraction of the visuals.

take care, ok.

starry eyed

i had to work late on friday evening because there was an application that was being launched into production and they needed me around in case the server did anything silly, which thankfully it didn't. as there was a few of us staying all evening they decided to order in pizza for us which was a nice gesture. unfortunately it think there was something wrong with it because it gave me an upset stomach for most of the weekend. thanks for that. work extra hours for us and in return we will reward you with the shits.

on saturdy, even though i felt really rough, i decided to cycle to the gym in the freezing cold and do some training. at the gym i got as close to passing out as i have ever come, and had to cut my session short. i didn't want to embaress myself and went home.

sunday i was feeling much better than saturday, though not 100%, but i had a normal workout, though the bike ride home was very hard again. its gotten freezing cold again, and it just freezes your joints. my back my shoulders, my legs and my arm all ached in the cold. enough already with this shit weather. i think i need to book a ticket for new york and/or LA soon. as is usual i will ask a couple of friends if they want to come along, and as usual they will not be convinced that it would be a good holiday. after all, who wants to go somewhere sunny with lovely beaches, nice restaurants and bars, beautiful women, lots of music and sports venues, and most importantly, away from the dirty grey streets of london. yuk!, southern california sounds horrible.

anyways, we are coming into the 3rd month of temperatures way below what they normally are. i saw something on the news this morning about mongolia where they are also having a particularly harsh winter. -50c and its killing all their animals. there was also 2 feet of snow in washington over the weeked. is it just me or is there a lot of extreme weather out there?. australia is supposed to be in one of its worst droughts in decades, if not centuries and the same goes for southern california. climates are changing. that is a fact and there is some dispute as to why, but i think we all have a pretty good idea why and the sceptics are our generations version of people in the 50's and 60's who denied that smoking gives you cancer. you can't pump that much poisonous smoke and chemicals into your lungs and it not do anything bad, and you can't pump that much shit into the sky and it not do anything bad either. its just common sense.

i read on bloomberg that steve wozniak (co-founder of apple computer) was talking about his prius. my sister has just bought one and they are nice cars and very econimical. it then said he owns 4. is that being environmentally friendly when you have 4?. shit, what if everyone bought 4 cars?. another famous person doing the old, do as i say, not as i do, thing.i don't feel so bad about secretly wanting a range rover. i only want 1 and i won't drive it a lot and i will still keep my bicycle. i reckon even if i got the 4.4L supercharged monster i would be better than steve. no chance of me actually getting one though.

i watched a bit of the superbowl last night but as its a school night i couldn't watch all of it because i have to get up early. am glad the saints one.

had a couple of calls about jobs last week. one of them sounded really quite good. if i get it, it will be very nice indeed and if i don't, thats fine as well.

today i have mostly been listening to ellie goulding - starry eyed.

first train

we had issues with our SAN and because we couldn't get it fixed in the evening because its hosting some applications that get used a lot at that time, it was decided to get it fixed early in the morning. how early?. 6AM. that meant i had to wake up at 4.30 and get the first train into work to be there on time to meet the engineer. we also had support from an engineer in australia from EMC for the first couple of hours before we switched to remote support from an engineer in Cork, ireland. we had people across the planet involved in fixing our problem.
anyways it all ended up ok and we were done by 9AM and most people would have been unaware anything went wrong.

i was going to go to the gym after work but i felt really tired on the train and i knew i wouldn't be able to train very hard, and so there is no point. will go tomorrow night when i will have had some sleep the night before.

health is my wealth

there is a bit of an ongoing joke with one of my friends where when either one asks how things are, or how work is, we whine about shit and then say at the end, its all good because my health is my wealth. its all done sarcastically but also as a way to acknowledge that although you might have trouble with your boss or hate your job or your bike got stolen or some other trivial thing, you still know what the imortant things are.

anyways, following on from, that my boss has had to go for a couple of brain scans today. yikes, that doesn't good at all. on top of dislocating his shoulder a few weeks ago when he went skiing, this seems like a bad run of things. hopefully its all clear but it makes you wonder.

weekend was quiet as always. still freezing outside but cycled to the gym. saw a couple of nice felt and cervelo bikes going round regents park. trained like a beast on saturday which left me a little tired on sunday, but i still had a good session and bike ride. health is my wealth after all, and we need to do what we can to keep ourselves fit.

applied for a couple more jobs but my phone is quieter than john terry's wife reading a tabloid newspaper....although thats probably only quiet for a couple of minutes before she screams john, you bastard!!.

today i have mostly been listening to patti smith - because the night. bruce springsteen also performs this song and i love that version as well.

take care of yourself. stay healthy