Digital Choke Daynotes

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Full day today. Awards ceremony for my youngest daughter, graduating from high school this year. Catch up at work from a long weekend. Dinner at Mel's Drive-In. Then the final clean up at the old apartment.

You'll have to make do with that report for now. But we are at the new house, although there is still some stuff to move from the storage place. A full report on the big move will appear late tomorrow night.

Friday after work, my wife decided to move beds and stuff from the apartment to the new house. With the help of the son-in-law (Jared) with his truck (full size) and mine (Ford Ranger) and the father-in-laws (big full-size), we loaded up beds, frames, dressers, and clothes. And then took them all to the new house. We got the basics arranged so we could spend the first night at the new house.

Early Saturday morning, Pam and I went to the U-Haul place to get the truck. We got there right after they opened, which was a good thing, since there was soon a line of six people after me (and two before). And the U-Haul guy was in a bit of a panic, since there were too many people and not enough trucks. Evidently, some of the trucks weren't returned on time. I got mine, though, an 18 footer with a diesel engine. A quick trip over to the nearby gas station for a half-tank of fuel, then off to the storage shed.

We had lined up a couple of friends of Stacy's, strong teenage boys, and one adult to help out. We loaded up the truck with the stored furniture, appliances, and other junk, and brought it to the house. Unloaded that, had a short break for lunch (Taco Bell all around), then off to the apartment to move the couch, recliner, and other odds and ends. A stop at the Arco for some fluid replenishment, then back to the house for an unload.

On both unloads, I got in the truck and handed out boxes with instructions for placement. ("Kitchen." "Master Bedroom", etc.) The guys dutifully schlepped things to their destinations. The washer had to go upstairs; that was not too bad. The new dryer was already delivered and installed. Then one of the couches went upstairs. That took all five of us to get it up the stairs. We then decided that the other couch and recliner would stay downstairs in the family room.

We finally got done about 3pm, so I returned the truck (which was immediately given to someone that was waiting for it). Then back to the storage shed for a small load in my truck, back to the house, unload, and we quit for the day. I did hook up the TV in the family room, so we were able to relax a bit.

Sunday we slept in a bit, then off to church, back home for an afternoon snack, relaxed a bit more, then off to the in-laws for dinner. It was a small celebration for my sister-in-law's second husband's daughter's college graduation. Barbequed steaks were the main feature, with a photo cake for dessert (with some Baskin Robbins ice cream).

Monday (a holiday here in the States) found me back in my truck making another trip to the storage shed. Then I started unpacking all the garage stuff. The garage has a bunch of storage cabinets (the kind that you put together from the home center; not fancy; about 4 x 6 feet with doors, and there are about 10 of them). So there is lots of nice storage space to keep things neat. That took most of the day for me; Pam finished unpacking the inside of the house. There are still more to unpack, and some more stuff to get from the storage shed.

Tuesday was back to work, as previously reported. Wednesday was more of the same, although I did get to go to the dentist to get the permanent crown installed. While I was there, Pam did the final cleanup of the apartment (just a final vacuum was needed; we did all the rest on Tuesday.) Then a quick trip to Costco (new vacuum, a couple of 2.4G cordless phones), then back home. I was too tired to post anything last night.

That brings us to today. I worked on some existing projects (security guidelines), and some more setup/preparation for the Microsoft Software Update Server (SUS). That's a local server that contains all the updates that you'd normally get from the Windows Update site. For a large organization, you can get all the update files on a local server, then configure all the workstations for automatic upgrades. When a new upgrade comes in, the SUS administrator releases it for installation. Then the workstations are set to poll the SUS server once a day to see what updates are available. You can configure the workstations to automatically install, even if not logged into the network. You just leave the computer on during the scheduled update time, and the update process on the workstation takes care of downloading the update from the SUS and installing it. Of, you can configure it for the update to happen after a user logs into the workstation. It's a useful tool to keep lots of workstations current, although it only works for Win2K and WinXP OS. It will also work for servers, but we will configure those for manual updates, still pulling the updates from the SUS.

So I spent some time tweaking the installation documentation. I set up the SUS in October last year in one area, but it was never fully implemented. So there is a SUS update that I need to install on the SUS server, then we'll roll out the workstation client part to some test computers. The plan is to get the testing done by the end of June, then install it on all workstations company-wide by the end of July. The workstation client part can be installed as part of a login script process, or pushed down with Novell's ZEN process. When we are all done, having all workstations automatically updates will be a big security advantage.

After work, we had a nice dinner of teriyaki chicken chunks over rice, with some fresh green beans and a salad. We sat outside on the patio -- it was only 85 today, after getting to upper 90's yesterday. Tonight there was a nice breeze to cool things off.

After dinner, I fixed the old vacuum cleaner (it had a congestion problem in the hose). And set up the new cordless phones. Pam had some visitors from church for a bit, while I puttered in the garage. Then a bit of web surfing for me; I'm looking for a basic computer system for Stacy to take with her to college. Dell has a decent system for $699 with free shipping. That includes a flat screen monitor, and we'll add a floppy drive and extra memory for another $90. That looks like a good system for her, although we might not purchase it until next week (if it's still available). If not, there will probably be a new special that will work out.

I could build a system out of generic parts from Fry's or wherever, but I don't think that I'd save a whole lot of money. And I think it would be better to have a complete system from someplace like Dell, so if there are any problems, she can call Dell for support and repair.

And we also decided to hold off on the DSL connection for now. It's a good idea to let the finances stabilize a bit, and there still is some more furniture shopping to be done. On Saturday, we plan on cleaning up the trailer to get it ready to sell. The proceeds from that will help fund the furniture shopping, and perhaps the big screen TV. I think that the prices of HDTV will be going down this summer (perhaps fall), and the 36" TV I have now is sufficient.

I think that you and I are caught up now. It's getting a bit late, and I need to figure out why there is a small water leak in the refrigerator. (It's probably from the water connection; even though I used a new hose, it may just be a bit loose.) And it also sounds like something's loose around the motor; I'm hearing a regular rattling type noise from that area. The refrigerator is about 8 years old, and was working fine at the old house. It did sit in the storage shed (unplugged with open doors) for a couple of weeks. Perhaps it's mad about that. We shall see.

Not sure what happened to yesterday's post. It's probably not there because I didn't write anything. That was probably a bit obvious.

It was a pretty quiet day at work, at least until the end. I worked on a few security policies, and did some test audits with Bindview. I was trying to create a report that could be used as a security scorecard. If there are certain standards for user accounts, for instance, then an audit report should tell me how close a particular group of users are to the security standards. I made a bit of progress on it, but it's not quite there yet.

Usually I try to leave by 4pm on Fridays, to try to beat some of the traffic. My commute takes me out of Sacramento out Interstate 80 towards Reno. But that's a major route to the weekend play areas, and there is a lot of traffic from San Francisco area that head for the hills. And they get to Sacramento during the evening rush hour. So we try to leave a bit early from work to miss most of the traffic.

But, the big secret project is going into place on Monday. And our little Security team had to do some final testing of a few things before I could leave. That delayed our departure until 5pm, so we did get into the traffic a bit more than I liked. But, I've been through worse.

We had to make a few stops before getting home. First to "PriceLess" (discount drug/variety store), then to the oak furniture place where we made the final payment for the kitchen table and chairs. And we stopped at the local Dairy Queen for a gourmet meal.

By the time we got all that done, it was about 730pm before we got home. I changed into something a bit more comfortable. Then I laid down on the bed to watch a bit of TV. And promptly fell asleep. By the time I woke up, it was about 10:15pm, so I gave in and crawled under the covers and went to sleep.

This morning I slept in a bit, then jumped into the truck to get a couple of loads from the storage shed. After loading and unloading, I did a few things on the new list. I installed the under-counter can opener, and then took a look at the refrigerator. I pulled it out from the wall, and made sure that the connection to the water (for the ice maker) wasn't leaking (it wasn't). The temperature in the freezer is cold enough. I think that the freezer wasn't cold enough, and the ice was melting so there was a bit of water in the opening where the ice comes out, and then it would slowly leak on the floor. But it also might be some condensation that is supposed to get into the drip pan (which isn't there; I think that it is in the garage). So I put some newspaper under there to see what it will show.

I also replaced the air filter for the heating system. And I hosed off the back patio, and gave the plants an extra bit of water. Everything is on a sprinkler timer, and all the plants are watered by a drip system, but a bit of extra water due to the warming (hot) temperatures was probably a good idea. The weather today was in the 90's, with a prediction for low 100's by Monday. But we usually don't have very high humidity, so it's not like 90-degree weather on the east coast, where the the temperature and the humidity are about the same.

I also put together the new vacuum, and tried it out in a few rooms. And I put together a small tricycle for our granddaughter, who stayed with us today. Pam and Stacy took her to see the "Nemo" movie (good reviews from all), and then to Toys-R-Us for a few toys for both grandchildren when they come and visit.

We topped off the day with a hot date to the local Safeway grocery store for some vittles, and a stop at the frozen yogurt store for a bit of dessert. Then back home to put away the groceries, then a bit of relaxing in front of the TV. My wire likes to watch "Trading Spaces", so that's going on in the background as I write this.

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