Sha Naa Naa » work

336. A Failure and A Success (In One Tidy Package)

Marteki — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:50:05 +0000

I failed at everyday blogging. I think I’ll still try for “much more frequently than previously” blogging.
I succeeded in fixing my church’s internet.
I failed at not getting sick during tax season. Too many sick people handling my ballpoint pens. So now my throat is raw, yet coated in mucus. I cough when I want to laugh and I cough when I want to cry and I cough for no reason at all, except for when I sneeze instead. And my slowly filling sinuses are foretelling a world of hurt and headache for tomorrow.
I succeeded at pestering various UPenn officials into approving and officially posting the completion of my undergrad degree. My transcript even says that it’s as of “12-17-08″.
I failed at finishing the schoolwork and freelance work that I hoped to get done today.
I succeeded at starting the two hundred sit-ups program, despite my tendency to cough more violently when lying horizontal. Week 1, Day 1 results: 15+18+10+10+20 (column 3).

Tags: 200situps, blog365, exercise, general, health, work

351. Thoughts And Hints

Marteki — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:59:06 +0000

Traveling across the country throws your entire time off — but only just enough so that you feel weird, and not enough so that you can legitimately whine about it.
When your sense of time is off, you forget to do things — like call your father on his birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!
You also forget to blog.

So what did I do on the 15th? I worked and worked and studied and fixed a router connection. Didn’t go outside at all. :-(

For the knowledge of those on the internet: if you have a broadband connection that doesn’t stay connected all the time, the problem is probably with one of the settings on your router. Check your “MTU” setting. If it is at 1500, change it down to 1400 and restart the router.

In this specific situation, I needed to modify the MTU setting on a Airport Express remotely. To do this:

On a Mac, open up the Terminal application. (If you can’t find this, open Finder and use the search box to search for “Terminal”.)
In the new Terminal window that popped up, type: sudo ifconfig en1 mtu 1400
Enter your password when prompted.
That’s it! You’re done! If performance is still bad, repeat the above commands with the number 1300 instead of 1400.

Tags: computers, travel, work

353. The Best Job In The World

Marteki — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:47:24 +0000

Courtesy of MetaFilter: The Best Job In The World.

Perks of the job:

Get paid AUD$150,000 (approx. USD $102,000)
Live without any housing costs for six months in a three-bedroom two-bathroom villa on the most developed island in the Great Barrier Reef

Requirements:

“Explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef
“Discover what the area has to offer”
“Report back on your adventures to Tourism Queensland headquarters in Brisbane (and the rest of the world) via weekly blogs, photo diary, video updates and ongoing media interviews”
Feed the fish that live in and around the Reef (if you like)
Clean the automatically filtered pool
Collect the mail (or help deliver it by plane for a day)

Submit video applications before February 22nd.

A funny comment from the MetaFilter post:

It’s all fun and games until the snapping turtles attack.

Also, is it just me or does this whole thing sound like the set-up for an old Scooby Doo episode?

“Gee, Daphne, we sure are lucky your dear Uncle Walter invited us to stay on his island resort for six months. If it weren’t for all the rumors about that spooky Witch Doctor, this would be just perfect!”

“Rooky ritch roctor?” *whimper*

“Like, don’t worry, Scoob, there’s nothing to those silly old stories.”

“Right! They’re just a load of superstitious island mumbo-jumbo. Now let’s to take a look at that abandoned fishing village!”

Little do they know that someone is watching them through the eyeholes of a nearby portrait! *SCARY STOCK MUSIC*

Tags: travel, work