I've been busy for most of the week, having two emergency tasks hounding me for the last two days. Both are network down issues which rendered one classroom (yeah, some classrooms require networked PCs) and one notebook (NB) support center useless.
The classroom issue, after checking the Cat6500 switch module, was determined to be a hardware issue. It's actually easy, since I can't do much of anything here unless the replacement arrived - bad thing is, my team lead kept the pressure on, which is understandable, since all classes in that room for that day -- there were about 8 in all -- had to be rescheduled or lined up on the other working classrooms.
The NB support center issue was more troublesome for several reasons; perhaps the most significant being that these devices can only be accessed via console. No remote access, so I had to go down one floor, move around the tables to open the backside (lol!) of the wiring cabinet, attach the console cable. Someone apparently has messed up the configs since none of the supposed username/passwords worked.
By the afternoon, things started to swing in my favor again; I managed to recover the password and fix the config (by copying over the config of the twin device, which I had to recover the password manually as well). Shortly after that, the replacement module for the classroom issue arrived as well. After about 30 minutes waiting for the vendor technician to remove and replace the module and all the attached ports, problem solved!
Although I still have two outstanding tasks, it's a good feeling, having accomplished something after a stessful week. It's been a while since I last had this great sense of achievement since my last job. I just hope I fare much much better once I'm the duty Network Engineer this Monday. Ach!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Nostalgic about Manila
Just combing through net (and the links from my wife's blog) when I came across this blog about the way Manila used to be in the 80s and 70s.
Nice posts! Makes me miss the good ol' days in Manila! :) Can't wait to get back home hopefully this February... (Still a long way to go, but, well, not much choice in the matter...)
Nice posts! Makes me miss the good ol' days in Manila! :) Can't wait to get back home hopefully this February... (Still a long way to go, but, well, not much choice in the matter...)
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Ready for the EXPO!
Citibank has approved my very first credit card! Well, actually, my first credit cardSSSS. :) Citibank -- at least here in Singapore -- offers a bundle of any three Citibank credit cards. You need to stick to just one or two, you have to manually cancel the others that you don't want to retain.
I just applied for it yesterday around 6:00 PM. Today at around 4:15PM, I got a call that my application has been approved. I'm really new to this so I'm not sure if this quick approval is the norm or they are just really that fast. I'm not really keen on having credit cards as I may be tempted to swipe and shop away! :) Aside from the obvious convenience, I'm looking forward to..... (drum roll please...)
SITEX 2007!!!
29 Nov - 2 Dec 2007
11AM to 9PM
FREE ADMISSION
I'm looking forward to get the best deals on laptops, gadgets, cameras, or whatever else I can find there! :)
Check out their official site here.
In case you're here in Singapore during that time, see you there! :)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Changing UNIX host IP address
Recently, our DHCP server had an issue which prevented several computers on 3 computer laboratories from getting any ip address. The lab head, deeming that it is more important to have the hosts access the network now (it was for an exam) instead of troubleshooting further, decided to configure static IP addresses to each of the 40+ PCs across 3 computer labs.
Bad thing is that these are Linux boxes, which I'm not familiar with (hey, I'm used to ipconfig not ifconfig lol). Just for better retention on my part, here are the commands for manipulating network configuration of Linux boxes:
ifconfig eth0 10.10.10.75
route add default gw 10.10.10.1 dev eth0
route del -net 10.10.0.0 gw 0.0.0.0 netmask 255.255.0.0 dev eth0
I just hope I remember these commands by heart by now :))
Bad thing is that these are Linux boxes, which I'm not familiar with (hey, I'm used to ipconfig not ifconfig lol). Just for better retention on my part, here are the commands for manipulating network configuration of Linux boxes:
ifconfig eth0 10.10.10.75
route add default gw 10.10.10.1 dev eth0
route del -net 10.10.0.0 gw 0.0.0.0 netmask 255.255.0.0 dev eth0
I just hope I remember these commands by heart by now :))
About SecureCRT...
I've been working as tech support engineer for almost five years and I've used many Telnet/SSH client applications. So far, the best that I've used is the SecureCRT by VanDyke Software.
You can get more information on this software from the VanDyke Software page.
One of its features that I really like, in particular, is the option to log your session to a text file (similar to the Capture Text option in Hyperterminal, bundled in most Microsoft Windows applications). As tech support/network engineer, it is imperative that you log all sessions for future reference and proper documentation. This seems to be a basic requirement but unfortunately not all client applications are able to do this. Or at least not with the same ease that SecureCRT provides.
Plus, with all the rage about tabbed browsing ("rage", yeah right! lol), SecureCRT provides tabbed sessions. For network engineers in particular, if the issue is involves two devices (such asconfiguring a Site-to-Site VPN tunnel), it is almost always necessary to access both devices.
Just a note: the above features are not necessary; you don't need them to do your work, but it just makes your job a lot easier and simpler. No further need to click and drag to capture the text. No more need to Alt-TAB between multiple applications already running on your desktop.
Those are the good sides. Now the bad side: it's not free. :( You have to pay for it. In my previous company, we have this installed. In my new company, however, we're stuck with the basic Putty. It's not an easy job and not having SecureCRT just made it worse. I just hope my new company gets this software soon.
You can get more information on this software from the VanDyke Software page.
One of its features that I really like, in particular, is the option to log your session to a text file (similar to the Capture Text option in Hyperterminal, bundled in most Microsoft Windows applications). As tech support/network engineer, it is imperative that you log all sessions for future reference and proper documentation. This seems to be a basic requirement but unfortunately not all client applications are able to do this. Or at least not with the same ease that SecureCRT provides.
Plus, with all the rage about tabbed browsing ("rage", yeah right! lol), SecureCRT provides tabbed sessions. For network engineers in particular, if the issue is involves two devices (such asconfiguring a Site-to-Site VPN tunnel), it is almost always necessary to access both devices.
Just a note: the above features are not necessary; you don't need them to do your work, but it just makes your job a lot easier and simpler. No further need to click and drag to capture the text. No more need to Alt-TAB between multiple applications already running on your desktop.
Those are the good sides. Now the bad side: it's not free. :( You have to pay for it. In my previous company, we have this installed. In my new company, however, we're stuck with the basic Putty. It's not an easy job and not having SecureCRT just made it worse. I just hope my new company gets this software soon.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Che's got work!
Before I forget, congratulations to my wife, Che, for landing a great job! Great pay, near our place (one station away + one bus ride), travel opportunities! Here's to hoping for more opportunities and good fortune!
Cheers!
Cheers!
Anniversary Dinner at Marché
Yesterday, November 19th, is our First Wedding Anniversary! We still couldn't believe that it was already a year since then. Oh well, time flies. Anyway, since I could not take my leave yet since I'm barely a month in my work, we had to settle for "after-office-hours" activities. So that, of course, includes dinner!
We went to VivoCity (via the HarbourFront MRT station) and had dinner at Marché. (Just go to the link for more details.) Their 200lb sirloin steak was great! I haven't tasted one for... hmm.. come to think of it, it has been years since I tasted one. Hehe!.. Anyway, moving on...
In Marché, they use the so-called "front cooking" concept - your given a "market-credit card", you go around the "marketplace", look around the different "stalls" (i.e., Salad, Bakery, Pasta, Grill, Steak, Vegetables, etc.), then get whatever food you like. Every time you do so, you will be charged on your "market-credit card" -- this card records all your purchases in the "marketplace", which you will pay up at the counter in the exit.
Like I said, the steak was great! And so was the price! :) 200lbs of pure sirloin meat.. yum! One of the best sellers also are the (pork or chicken) franks, since almost every other table has one. We didn't order one, though, so we don't know exactly how it tastes. We also like the calamari! One of the best calamari I've tasted, you can even eat it without the mayo (or at least I thought it was mayo). The paella looks tasty too, but we already had our fill, so we haven't actually tasted it yet. We also tried the herbed chicken pasta with cream sauce - a little bit sweet and spicy. Yum!
The cream of mushroom was a bit different from the cream of mushrooms that we're used to. Not sure if it's the mushroom itself or whatever. It's not really that bad, it just tasted different.
Unfortunately, there were downsides as well... Be careful with the garlic breads there... they're a bit tough to bite through - we hurt our jaws trying to eat one. The banana crêpe was also a downer -- perhaps the pan had too much heat or maybe just a lousy rotten luck, the crêpe itself was too thick, almost like a pancake, and had that "chewable" quality of a bubble gum. We ended up eating just the banana and the almonds and choco bits on the side.
Well, aside from those, it is a great dining experience. We probably won't try their garlic bread or crêpes anytime soon but the dishes we tried are great and the others look promising as well. Maybe next time, we'll try the seafood paella. :)
In case you're interested:
We went to VivoCity (via the HarbourFront MRT station) and had dinner at Marché. (Just go to the link for more details.) Their 200lb sirloin steak was great! I haven't tasted one for... hmm.. come to think of it, it has been years since I tasted one. Hehe!.. Anyway, moving on...
In Marché, they use the so-called "front cooking" concept - your given a "market-credit card", you go around the "marketplace", look around the different "stalls" (i.e., Salad, Bakery, Pasta, Grill, Steak, Vegetables, etc.), then get whatever food you like. Every time you do so, you will be charged on your "market-credit card" -- this card records all your purchases in the "marketplace", which you will pay up at the counter in the exit.
Like I said, the steak was great! And so was the price! :) 200lbs of pure sirloin meat.. yum! One of the best sellers also are the (pork or chicken) franks, since almost every other table has one. We didn't order one, though, so we don't know exactly how it tastes. We also like the calamari! One of the best calamari I've tasted, you can even eat it without the mayo (or at least I thought it was mayo). The paella looks tasty too, but we already had our fill, so we haven't actually tasted it yet. We also tried the herbed chicken pasta with cream sauce - a little bit sweet and spicy. Yum!
The cream of mushroom was a bit different from the cream of mushrooms that we're used to. Not sure if it's the mushroom itself or whatever. It's not really that bad, it just tasted different.
Unfortunately, there were downsides as well... Be careful with the garlic breads there... they're a bit tough to bite through - we hurt our jaws trying to eat one. The banana crêpe was also a downer -- perhaps the pan had too much heat or maybe just a lousy rotten luck, the crêpe itself was too thick, almost like a pancake, and had that "chewable" quality of a bubble gum. We ended up eating just the banana and the almonds and choco bits on the side.
Well, aside from those, it is a great dining experience. We probably won't try their garlic bread or crêpes anytime soon but the dishes we tried are great and the others look promising as well. Maybe next time, we'll try the seafood paella. :)
In case you're interested:
Marché VivoCity
#03-14 VivoCity
1 HarbourFront Walk
Singapore 098585
Tel: (+65) 6376 8226
More of our mis-adventures during our first anniversary here.
#03-14 VivoCity
1 HarbourFront Walk
Singapore 098585
Tel: (+65) 6376 8226
More of our mis-adventures during our first anniversary here.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Astonishing X-Men 23: Bravo!
Before we continue, SPOILER WARNING! (I won't actually tell you how it went down, but just as well, since I've included the last scene of the issue, if you don't wanna see it yet, stop reading now.)
Just read the latest Astonishing X-Men issue, #23! And it's a "wow" issue, although I was left hanging and I can't wait for the next issue!
Finally, Cyclops is given the spotlight that he deserves. Move over Logan, it's Cyke's time to shine! Hehehe... Having apparentlylost his mutant power, this issue highlights the tactics and foresight of Cyclops -- which, in the words of Wolverine himself, reminds us why he's "been leader of the X-Men for so long" (Astonishing X-Men vol 3 #8).
Basically, he plays the "gambit" (no pun intended), setting the stage to sacrifice himself and to be captured by his enemies. Then just as he appears to be helpless, he blasts the living daylights out of them. Looks like Cyclops no longer needs those visors to control his optic blasts.
Here's the last scene from this issue:
Nuff said!
Sandigan Bayan: Bombs Away... Again
This time, we know that this is not caused by a lame-ass gas leak!
Barely a month after the Glorietta 2 incident, this second blast kills at least four people, including the Basilan rep, Wahab Akbar, who as it turns out, was a former Abu Sayyaf member and was getting lots of death threats -- looks like they finally got him this time.
Here's PNP sketch of the scene. This was sent to me earlier:
So far, there are speculations that this is either a terrorist attack (intended to maximize the fatalities) or an assassination (with Akbar as a likely target). Whatever the case, it just shows how lax the security was in Sandigan Bayan.
Geez, I wish all the explosions would stop. I don't think anybody's in the mood for any Christmas shopping in light of the recent incidents the last two months. Oh well...
Careful guys...
Saturday, November 10, 2007
This Week's tidbits...
It's been a while since my last post.. It's 5:46 AM Saturday in Singapore and I haven't slept yet. I know I'm tired but somehow I can't sleep.
Since I'm still awake, I might as blog away about the past week...
Monday: First day of the second week of my job. Still haven't accomplished anything yet, nor was I trying! I'm still immersing myself in the environment and the people. I still get amazed with the technology here. [Example: Coke vending machines have site-to-site VPN!]
Tuesday: Borrowed some cash from Weng to open a new account for my salary. Thanks Weng! :) Since she's night shift and gets off at 7:00 AM, I had to drag myself up very early in the morning then go straight to the office. I opened the account early evening; thank goodness for the banks which are open until 7:00 PM! :) Opening the bank account took a while; the queue was long and the clerk had to fill up tons of forms to activate my account. It was worth the wait, though, since I immediately got my passbook and ATM card, which I can use right away. After that, Che and I had dinner at MOS Burger! Try the Terriyaki Chicken Burger!!! :)
Thursday: Deepavali is a legal/public holiday in Singapore, so no office!!! I have very little idea how the festivities look like; I woke up 1:00 PM! Hehehe :)) We also watched House Season 4 Episode 6 [Whatever it Takes] from sidereel.
...
...
...
Done.
Finished with the pictures. And it's now 6:43 AM. I better publish this now. :)
Since I'm still awake, I might as blog away about the past week...
Monday: First day of the second week of my job. Still haven't accomplished anything yet, nor was I trying! I'm still immersing myself in the environment and the people. I still get amazed with the technology here. [Example: Coke vending machines have site-to-site VPN!]
Tuesday: Borrowed some cash from Weng to open a new account for my salary. Thanks Weng! :) Since she's night shift and gets off at 7:00 AM, I had to drag myself up very early in the morning then go straight to the office. I opened the account early evening; thank goodness for the banks which are open until 7:00 PM! :) Opening the bank account took a while; the queue was long and the clerk had to fill up tons of forms to activate my account. It was worth the wait, though, since I immediately got my passbook and ATM card, which I can use right away. After that, Che and I had dinner at MOS Burger! Try the Terriyaki Chicken Burger!!! :)
Wednesday: Pretty much the same stuff. Get up, go to office, login before 8:00 AM, work (finally finished 1/6 of my first of 2 tasks), logoff at 5:31 PM; (yep, well I have, and always been, a 5:31r, 5:01r, or 4:31r, whatever is applicable). Oh yeah, I had to cover for the second half of our colleague as the Duty Network Engineer. He's Indian and he had taken a halfday leave for the Deepavali festival the following day. I also got to read the transcripts of House fom here.
Thursday: Deepavali is a legal/public holiday in Singapore, so no office!!! I have very little idea how the festivities look like; I woke up 1:00 PM! Hehehe :)) We also watched House Season 4 Episode 6 [Whatever it Takes] from sidereel.
Friday: Back to work. The only thing that sucks here is that this work day is sandwiched between two non-working days. Other than that, pretty much ok. I also got my first salary! It's just for three days but that should be enough to get us by for the next week at least. :) The soft token device for my bank account arrived today and I've just activated it. Niiiice... :) And I'm still awake. Just read about Spider-Man and New Avengers: Illuminati spoilers, verified that demonoid is down (perhaps for good), and I had found out that I have no entry for this blog for over a week. So here we are.
It's now 6:17 AM. Let me just upload the pictures...
...
...
...
Done.
Finished with the pictures. And it's now 6:43 AM. I better publish this now. :)
Thursday, November 01, 2007
X-Men storylines update
I've been reading through the wikipedia and newsarama to see what's up with the Marvel Universe. The past few years have been centered more on the Avengers heroes -- the likes of Captain America (who died by the way), Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Wolverine -- well, Wolverine is a special case; he's soooo famous, he is part of Astonishing X-Men (Cyclops' team) and New Avengers, and appearing on numerous comics (New Avengers, Astonishing X-Men, Wolverine, and Wolverine Origins, plus tons of guest appearances in other comic series).
Minor spins to major plots
The point is, X-Men have been sidelined for a long time ever since M-Day -- the day most of the mutants on Earth lost their mutant powers. As stated earlier, major story arcs in the Marvel Universe involves mostly the non-mutant heroes - case in point, Civil War and World War Hulk. Except for a few characters -- Wolverine (member of New Avengers) and Storm (temporary member of Fantastic Four), they play very little, insignificant roles in the Marvel Universe.
Although the X-Men have their own series in the above story arcs, they are very limited and you can do without reading them. We have the four-part "X-Men: Civil War" and the three-part "X-Men: World War Hulk", both of which, in my opinion is poorly written and has very little impact on the main MU story arc.
"Endangered" Endangered Species
Serving as a prelude to the main arc is this minor storyline. I was really looking forward to this storyline due to the hype it got a few months ago.
Centered on Hank McCoy, the Beast, we get a glimpse of how one of the most intellectual beings in MU suffer as he hopelessly and desperately finds a "cure" and restore the mutant race. I've always liked the Beast, so I guess this is the good part.
The bad part is the way each chapter "or episode" becomes too... for lack of a better term, "template-ish". For the most part, each chapter features Beast and a "guest" character. The likes of High Evolutionary, Bishop, Dr. Kavita Rao, etc. I dunno, I guess it became predictable and simplistic. It could have been better.
Anyway, it was never intended to have a great significance in MU. It's just a springboard for the next storyline...
Return to the mainstream
With the conclusion of the Endangered Species storyline comes the highly anticipated Messiah Complex. The hype about this one is really building and I can't wait to read the entire saga.
Just read about it here.
The part I like is about the idea that "Cyclops will also unify the X-Men in a way they haven’t been for years." Well, this one I really want to see. Cyclops is regarded by many as a minor character, thanks to the three X-Men movies, where he is practically a supporting character for Wolverine. He is more than just a supporting character. He's not leading the X-Men for nothing. Hopefully, he gets the spotlight that he deserves one -- one that is long overdue.
Minor spins to major plots
The point is, X-Men have been sidelined for a long time ever since M-Day -- the day most of the mutants on Earth lost their mutant powers. As stated earlier, major story arcs in the Marvel Universe involves mostly the non-mutant heroes - case in point, Civil War and World War Hulk. Except for a few characters -- Wolverine (member of New Avengers) and Storm (temporary member of Fantastic Four), they play very little, insignificant roles in the Marvel Universe.
Although the X-Men have their own series in the above story arcs, they are very limited and you can do without reading them. We have the four-part "X-Men: Civil War" and the three-part "X-Men: World War Hulk", both of which, in my opinion is poorly written and has very little impact on the main MU story arc.
"Endangered" Endangered Species
Serving as a prelude to the main arc is this minor storyline. I was really looking forward to this storyline due to the hype it got a few months ago.
Centered on Hank McCoy, the Beast, we get a glimpse of how one of the most intellectual beings in MU suffer as he hopelessly and desperately finds a "cure" and restore the mutant race. I've always liked the Beast, so I guess this is the good part.
The bad part is the way each chapter "or episode" becomes too... for lack of a better term, "template-ish". For the most part, each chapter features Beast and a "guest" character. The likes of High Evolutionary, Bishop, Dr. Kavita Rao, etc. I dunno, I guess it became predictable and simplistic. It could have been better.
Anyway, it was never intended to have a great significance in MU. It's just a springboard for the next storyline...
Return to the mainstream
With the conclusion of the Endangered Species storyline comes the highly anticipated Messiah Complex. The hype about this one is really building and I can't wait to read the entire saga.
Just read about it here.
The part I like is about the idea that "Cyclops will also unify the X-Men in a way they haven’t been for years." Well, this one I really want to see. Cyclops is regarded by many as a minor character, thanks to the three X-Men movies, where he is practically a supporting character for Wolverine. He is more than just a supporting character. He's not leading the X-Men for nothing. Hopefully, he gets the spotlight that he deserves one -- one that is long overdue.
Broken Redline! (Singapore's NS Line)
For some reason, the red line MRT here in Singapore was delayed. I was in Raffles Place Interchange intending to go to Orchard to meet Che. However, the station was jam-packed -- the crowd taking the redline are all stuck there waiting for the train to come. The passengers had to wait on the stairs as there is very little space left to squeeze into.
Later, there was an announcement informing that because of track errors going to Marina Bay, the trains will be delayed for one hour. The hell! Too bad, I really wanted to meet up with Che in Orchard. But, as we discussed when she called me shortly, I just went home (thankfully, the problem has minimal effect on the Green line.)
Just in case you are still in the office and you are on the red line, better make some changes in your travel plans! Good luck!
Later, there was an announcement informing that because of track errors going to Marina Bay, the trains will be delayed for one hour. The hell! Too bad, I really wanted to meet up with Che in Orchard. But, as we discussed when she called me shortly, I just went home (thankfully, the problem has minimal effect on the Green line.)
Just in case you are still in the office and you are on the red line, better make some changes in your travel plans! Good luck!
First November first away from home
Well, there's a lot of firsts here for us this November. And this one tops the list.
This is our first All Saint's Day away from the Philippines. It's a bit strange not being able to visit my Mom. Sure, we visited here shortly before we left last month, but I still get that "longing" feeling. I guess my body "remembers" that I should be walking the stretch of Sucat Road from Goodwill II to Manila Memorial Park. My body "remembers" pushing and being pushed during the long procession to the cemeteries. My body remembers how painful my feet feels after that and how I love sitting down and chatting with our entire clan there -- by "clan" I mean, my Dad and the families of my two siblings. :) I remember how calm it feels when I'm there sitting at my mother's grave...
Strangely enough, I also remember and actually miss the thriving businesses that we normally see these days. Of course, the flower stalls are there (taking advantage of the season, tripling their normal prices) and of course the different food stalls. (Takaw talaga ng Pinoy!) Hehehe... Years ago, you only find the small food businesses. Nowadays, food business giants are taking advantage of that as well. Picture it: a Pizza Hut, Shakey's and Yellow Cab stalls standing side-by-side with makeshift sari-sari stores and hotdog/barbeque stands. Oh yeah... :))
Oh well, no choice but to deal with it. This is one of the consequences I know that we will be facing when we go abroad. Not that it bothers me alot. Just missing a little taste of home.
This is our first All Saint's Day away from the Philippines. It's a bit strange not being able to visit my Mom. Sure, we visited here shortly before we left last month, but I still get that "longing" feeling. I guess my body "remembers" that I should be walking the stretch of Sucat Road from Goodwill II to Manila Memorial Park. My body "remembers" pushing and being pushed during the long procession to the cemeteries. My body remembers how painful my feet feels after that and how I love sitting down and chatting with our entire clan there -- by "clan" I mean, my Dad and the families of my two siblings. :) I remember how calm it feels when I'm there sitting at my mother's grave...
Strangely enough, I also remember and actually miss the thriving businesses that we normally see these days. Of course, the flower stalls are there (taking advantage of the season, tripling their normal prices) and of course the different food stalls. (Takaw talaga ng Pinoy!) Hehehe... Years ago, you only find the small food businesses. Nowadays, food business giants are taking advantage of that as well. Picture it: a Pizza Hut, Shakey's and Yellow Cab stalls standing side-by-side with makeshift sari-sari stores and hotdog/barbeque stands. Oh yeah... :))
Oh well, no choice but to deal with it. This is one of the consequences I know that we will be facing when we go abroad. Not that it bothers me alot. Just missing a little taste of home.
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