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10 years of Dvorak

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KB_United_States_Dvorak.svg10 years ago, I posted in my previous blog (migrated here thanks to the waybackmachine and some quick munging) that I had just switched to the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard layout. Since that time, I’ve obviously learned how to type properly with it, and I can honestly say, I’ve never looked back… though, I do still have to switch back and forth between Dvorak and QWERTY since I admin/support several systems that still use QWERTY. I would, admittedly, probably type faster if I didn’t have to change back and forth, but with Dvorak I type about the same, or a bit faster than with QWERTY, and certainly more efficiently (I can actually pay attention to typing, and realize how little I leave the home row).

I will say, my coding slowed down, and never really sped back up. I think this is just due to the layout of certain characters and how they changed position in Dvorak, but I really can’t say specifically. It just seems like I code slower than I used to.

All and all, I’m happy I made the switch. If you’re thinking about doing it yourself, I would highly recommend finding a keyboard to rearrange the keys on, so you can learn that way. You may also want to get a keyboard overlay, or stickers, for your laptop, as most laptop keyboards are a pain to rearrange the keys on. Also, ideally, switch completely. You’ll regret having to flip back and forth. Your coworkers, friend, etc will be annoyed with your new layout, but you’ll be happier that they can’t use your computer. =)

LOM Shark

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Apple-XserveWe’re still using Xserves, and thankfully two of them are the last revision. Unfortunately, one of those two got stuck booting the other day ((Pressed power, network lights would cycle every 5 seconds or so, but never got all the activity lights to cycle, etc)), and having dealt with this in the past, I knew LOM (Lights Out Management) can be the cause. So, I unplugged the server, and let it sit overnight. Next morning, it still wouldn’t boot.

So, I pulled the machine and tried in another location. It booted.

So the only thing I can figure is that LOM must get enough voltage/current over the network connections to keep it “alive”, and moving the machine disconnected that last lifeline.

So, moral: If LOM is being difficult, unplug power and network, and let things sit for a few minutes.

Silly LOM.

Star Trek Into Darkness

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star-trek-into-darkness-posterTime was, Star Trek movies appealed only to Trekkies, and worse, for years only the even numbered movies were “good”. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/, The Voyage Home, The Undiscovered Country, First Contact. Nemesis pretty much broke that tradition, as it wasn’t very good.

With the J.J. Abrams movies, things have changed quite a bit. The movies no longer require the Trekkie aspect, and so far, both the movies have been good, even if they aren’t terribly “Star Trek”.

With all that said, “Into Darkness” starts out pretty quickly, and could easily be seen as just continuing on from the first movie. Everybody is still around, and they’re all doing pretty much the same things they did in the last movie.

The movie starts out fairly quickly with the Antagonist (Benedict Cumberbatch) indirectly blowing up a building, then Starfleet deciding to go after him, when he then runs off to Kronos (Qo’noS), which given the time period, is serious (the Federation and the Klingons don’t really get along). So there’s drama there. You do get to see Klingons, which is something there haven’t been in a Trek movie for a while (short of Worf).

The movie maintains a good pace throughout, and while a bit predicable (or in one case, predictably groan-able), it kept the audience entertained. I did not notice all the lens flare this time, though a coworker did say it was there. So maybe there were more, but they seemed less “in your face” than in the first movie.

I don’t want to give away much more, but Benedict Cumberbatch was definitely a better Antagonist than Eric Bana, but much of that could have been writing, and also, the first movie didn’t have a whole lot of room for an Antagonist… it was largely about character development. Nero was just a means to an end. Benedict is definitely an Antagonist, and does the part well for being an otter. Highly enjoyable!

[xrr rating=5/5]