Hold Tight!

Not too tight.

So what did we do for Valentines, you ask? We went to the Beale St Smokehouse and saw ass-kickin blues courtesy of the Witchdoctors. They were murdering all my favorites, and I mean that in a good way.

This week, there's the usual networking (Morning Edition, A2B3, WRN, HBA), and many evening meetings. Mon - FNRA Banquet, Tues - York Twp Environmental, Wed - Air Rifle and Saline Environmental, Thur - Tri County general membership meeting, Fri - Artini Martini Crawl. Alright, the last one isn't technically a meeting. But there is booze, so theres that.

I even have a couple of virusy PCs to fumigate.

Larger news, we're one of the featured businesses in the upcoming Business Outlook section of the AA News, due out in March. How cool is that?

Peek into the chaos

Lessons from this week:
* If your PC tells you to download some very-convenient solution to a problem you didn't know you had, you're in too deep already.
* If your PC runs any operating system, the age of which can be measured in decades, you need to just let it go.
* Laptop DC Jacks are fragile as hell. I've replaced many of them now and I'm just appalled at how easily they break. Makes for good cash flow over here, but still.
* If you have a server at your business, and I mean a business you own in this case, so the server is your property, but you don't know the server's password... well, where to start? Its like not having keys to your own car.

And so on and so on. Its all common sense stuff, but I think people panic when their computers stop cooperating. We rely so much on the wee beasties that we can't cope when they die. The answer, of course, is to accept their mortality and back up all important data.

This coming week, I've got no scheduled PC work (scary!), and a few networking opportunities. I'm not looking forward to a break in the pace, but we can't always choose, can we?

Heads, Ugly, Ready to rear

A complaint that seems to be re-inventing itself is the dread AntiVirus2009 infection. While relatively minor as infections go, it has started infecting machines from which I had removed its predecessor(s) last year. I'm glad the providers of the anti-virus/anti-spyware apps are up to speed on the latest problems.

Unless they're in on it... very convenient if you ask me.

We've been bloody busy down here. The new name rollout is going smoothly as well. More on that by the end of Feb.

And now for something completely the same

As for amusement, that may have been it right there.

Recent activities include a few dead laptops, several misbehaving desktops, an errant wireless network, and a sloppy wired network. Several appointments for this week already, and not a complaint to be had from me.

Saline Leadership ended last week. It was on a high note (arts n crafts day!) (it was actually better than I made it sound right there). It was an interesting course. I'm glad I did it, and I would actually encourage you to get a second opinion should you consider joining. Not that there's anything wrong, mind you, but the commitment level is not trivial, and you must put some thought into it before hand. More than one person dropped out during the process due (I assume) to time constraints.

What set SLI apart from other Leadership initiatives was that it focused on what skills it takes to be a leader. As a guide, it used the idea of Learning Organizations put forth by Peter Senge. The disciplines he identifies in such an organization are Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Shared Vision, and Team Learning. Each has its role in creating a leader. Fascinating stuff, really, but not your typical Leadership Institute kind of curriculum.

Many things on tap for this week. I won't promise to keep up with them, but its a goal.

Ides of Snow

Weren't they a band? 1972?

Sorry, been busy.

Lots of cartridges, and lots of PC support.
Just busy, man, busy. Some hardware replacement, a lot of securing of PCs, keeping the bogeymen at bay. Lots of little stuff, ya know? But it keeps a body moving.

I'll try to think of something amusing soon.

Nary a dull moment

And so freshly back from our brief holiday in the warmer climes, we hit the ground running. We spent the day with much printer supply business, and several computer appointments as well.

I did some maintenance work on a local business' network. Its the one that needs a lot of work; I just can't get it all done in one fell swoop, lest heads explode.

I did a bit of data retrieval on a supposedly dead PC. Funny, it worked fine for me. On the other hand, being dead wasn't its worst feature - it also had zero security apps installed. And even worse, the other two PCs on the home office network were insecure as well. I have an appointment tomorrow (I think) to finish up the other two.

Tuesday, I also have a bit of user training to get done after the breakfast at the Morris Lawrence bldg, with the Ypsi Chamber. Tuesday is almost completely filled.
Thats very good news, indeed.

I'm thinking of re-branding HTTP into something with a bit more cachet, something a bit catchier. The domain is available, too. I won't say anymore or Gary will steal it to hold it ransom. I know his type...

Breathe Easy now

You will be no doubt relieved to read that the rain held off, and the fireworks were indeed spectacular. The sustained shelling went on for over ten minutes, with a backdrop of all the air horns from the boats in the marina. Absolutely fabulous.

And now this morning, shall I make resolutions? Isn't it a waste of time?
Will you make resolutions?

We sat out on the balcony, listening to the ruckus. The wind began to blow just after midnight. It was a cool, sustained blow, and there was something on it. I couldn't tell quite what.