Network problem solved!

I'm currently typing this post from FC10 live CD (x86_64). It took a lot of hunting, but I plowed ahead with my usual brute force methodology. That means I tried every permutation and combination of configuration changes until I stumbled upon the right one. I had already disabled the firewall, and set SeLinux to Permissive, but I still couldn't get out. I finally found another configuration tool that allowed me to start/stop and enable/disable different processes, called the Service Configuration tool. Turns out the iptables firewall was the problem. Now I'm not sure how to fix it properly yet. I'm sure I'll have to enter a record to allow my computer to talk to the modem or something, but for now, it's disabled, and I'm up and running again. Once I figure out how to make that work, I can move ahead.

Next step is to install FC10 to the hard drive. That'll require a bit of thought first, because I want to set up the /home directory on a separate hard drive, so that next time I upgrade, I can wipe hda to install FC11, but keep hdb intact, preserving all my data (pictures, music, movie clips).

I may not be as smart as I once was, but I'm twice as stubborn!

Oh yeah, I'm taking copious notes.

I must be getting dumber as I get older

I used to know computers inside and out. I could program in assembler language in high school. I would order individual pieces, like the motherboard, drives, video card, networking card, etc and put them together to build the ultimate gaming machine. Now, I'm a computer idiot.

This weekend, I decided to upgrade from Fedora Core 4 to Fedora 9. I did all the important backup work, then started with my Fedora 9 LIVE CD. That seemed to work, so I installed it. Unfortunately, for some reason I can't access the internet. After hours of trying, I finally pulled out this old PCLinuxOS CD I had that I've used before as a Live CD. It does enable me to log on, but I can't download the files I need to reinstall Fedora 9, or 10, for that matter. Even this program unexpectedly crashes often. Gah, I'd hate to have to install WinXP on this computer, just so I could download Fedora 10 for a new install....

OTOH, it was an awesome day today, and I got most of the outside yard work done.

Last week I did my sixth, and final lead wipe. Junior is handing me the molten lead, which I'll apply to the termination joint. We have to wear respirators that filter the fine lead particles that may be airborne. We also have to wear monitors that sample the air for lead contaminants.


It's a nice looking shape, now to smooth it out and put the final touches on it. This one was my best, by far. I was able to do it quickly, and confidently, finishing in 35 minutes. I was fast enough that Junior didn't have to work on this one.

W² was our Temperature Control Specialist (aka Ragboy). He kept the termination cool.



Junior did the last termination, which gave me a chance to use my BRAND NEW ladles! You can see the air sampling tube for the air monitor clearly here.


Ladle, ladle, ladle....making lead for Junior.

There's my last (I mean most recent) lead wipe! I look forward to doing those again, though it may be a year or more from now.

Here's the crew that worked on this job: Junior, me, Dennis (no nick-name yet) Bruiser, W Squared, and The Boss. Junior and I were the splicers. Dennis and W Squared were ragboys. Bruiser was our instructor, technical specialist, and main critic, and The Boss was the boss.

Tess is in the hospital

Tess is 92. She lives at the end of my street. I've been taking her up to Mitchell's for dinner every weekend for the last 6 months or so, to get her out of the house. We would start dinner with a bowl of popcorn, because she really enjoyed it. She would even bring a baggie with her, to take any left-over popcorn with her, "to feed the birds" she'd say with a wink. We have a lot of fun, and she always quizzes me about the women in (or not in) my life. "So how is Tina? You know she wants to get her hooks into you, don't you?", She warned. "You can't be so demanding with So-and-so. Give her room to breath, and let her come to you. Otherwise, you'll chase her away.", she prophesied. Sadly, I did, indeed, chase So-and-so away. "Shawn, you waited too long to find a woman! All the good ones are taken already." she told me once with stinging intuition. "If I was 50 years younger, I'd teach you to dance" She cracks me up more when she tries to hook me up with the barmaids. "What about that one? She's curvy, don't you think?, she said regarding one voluptuous server. She's a pisser.

We didn't go out last weekend because she's in the hospital. I found out from her neighbor, Lucy, that Tess had fallen into her bathtub Friday night, and couldn't get out. She spent the night in her tub! Luckily, Tess and Lucy have a code such that each morning, Tess would turn on the living-room light, just to let Lucy know that she's OK. Saturday morning, the light didn't go on, so Lucy called Tess' brother and he found her. They had to convince her to go to the hospital, but she finally did go. Lucy told me that they suspected a stroke, but weren't sure yet.

I visited her Sunday night. I brought some Mitchell's popcorn for her, which lit her face right up! She seemed fine, and alert, but it seemed that her brain skipped a beat every now and then. Like a needle on a record skipping over a few grooves in the song. The nurses couldn't tell me anything about her condition, since I wasn't family. Tina came with me, and Tess didn't recognize her. I asked her if she was taking any drugs, but she said that she wasn't aware of any. I had thought, from talking with her, that she was on morphine or something.

I hope she's able to get better. The funny thing is, she's told me that she's ready to go. Most of her family are gone, and most of her friends. She just feels that she's lived long enough, and wouldn't mind moving on. In any case, for now, I enjoy her company, and hope she gets well.

Wiping Lead!

I've been getting some practice wiping lead. Here I'm working on my fourth termination. I was still going too slow, though, and Junior would have to take over for the final stages. It was fun, and by this one I had lost my initial nervousness.


With each one I got better, and more confident. The fifth wipe has excellent shape. We were able to get two done in a day, but I still needed Junior to finish each one.