How old am I?

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Hmm, let me think.

I was largely trained by [SAS]_Trp_Rand, [SAS]_Cpl_Relish, [SAS]_Trp-Cpl_Wiz, [SAS]_Sgt_James, [SAS]_Cpl_JB, and [SAS]_En4cer, I think he was SSM at the time.

My fellow recruits we’re Rasa and Leon.

Recruits I’ve seen go through the selection course,

// Note that this is from memory and is not in complete chronological order
[SAS]_Rct_Fritz -> Left to care for his mom, was Rct around my time
[SAS]_Rct_Rouge -> Long time server reg, Now a Captain; joined when I was a young Trp.
[SAS]_Rct_Mando -> Made trp but is now vet, one of the youngest, a short but fast rising star. I normally consider Mando the last Recruit of my generation.
[SAS]_Rct_Boone -> Dropped out do to real life issues
[SAS]_Rct_Ghost -> On and off Trp/Vet, very mature & a good member
[SAS]_Rct_Noer -> I think he was our first SWAT4 Trooper, now one of our SSM's.
[SAS]_Rct_Fox -> At first I thought he might be another Random in the making. Rasa and I couldn't even tell him from a Trp he fit in so well as a Rct. Currently [SAS]_LCpl_Fox is on vet, our loss but the militaries gain.
[SAS]_Rct_Miles -> A good friend and now a good Sgt xD made me remember what a lazy good for nothing LCpl I was.
[SAS]_Rct_Hexen -> Maybe the only one to train to the same level as I did as a  Trp, made NCO but left for personal reasons. A very great loss for [SAS]
[SAS]_Rct_Midgit -> A fine player but got to bored
[SAS]_Rct_Lazko -> A young rct but now a great Cpl :-)
[SAS]_Rct_Jso -> Long time server reg turned grade A trooper. Now a vet due to time issues
[SAS]_Rct_Merge -> I've never been so impressed as the first day I played with him. Good chap with real world expierence but his work is to busy to keep him in the SC. When I first played with him I almost thought he might've been an ex [SAS] Member lol
[SAS]_Rct_Langley -> Long time on/off server reg but not active enough for Rct. Might've made LCpl some day !
[SAS]_Rct_Canuck -> About to fail the SC....
[SAS]_Rct_Lukas -> Ex PARA, basically our brother as far as clan history goes. A good trooper but prone to computer problems
[SAS]_Rct_Ranger -> Ex PARA, good trooper but a busy life
[SAS]_Rct_Yuke -> Another fine trooper but lots of school work
[SAS]_Rct_Snipe -> Grade A+ bad to the bone trooper, young but sharp as a razor
[SAS]_Rct_Sniper -> Sneakest S.O.B. I've met in the [SAS] next to myself. I think/wonder if he could do my job in [SAS] in a real life regiment hehe ;-)
[SAS]_Rct_DUKE -> A remarkable member, made a razor sharp trooper and trained to high standards, and now a great LCpl and only the future may tell what lays ahead
[SAS]_Rct_Medic -> A very great player, I expect him to be earning his Troopers tags soon xD
[SAS]_Rct_Mantis -> A very impressive player, every thing I know about him screams that he is probably 'our kinda guy'. But sadly seems to be in-active as a Rct.
[SAS]_Rct_Scout -> A very promising recruit and one of the few I think stand a decent chance of passing his T.T. on the first try.

Why do I feel old as dirt ? Most of the people that have trained me are no longer here. Most of the people that we’re here when I first came to [SAS] are no longer here… Those that remain I am very glad to stand along side. For those that have come since; I have/am been proud to know them.

In a way, I envy the new generation of NCO’s. The Selection Course has changed so much since I went through it. The SWAT4 end of things has gone from the teething toddler to a running young lad with Six-gun hehe. I’m still very glade to have had the trainers I have had though. Rand thought me the most important stuff, Relish my dynamic instructor. And the rest to guide and refine me. But throughout it all, Wiz I think was the one that really gave me my shot at Recruit. He’s been a Friend, mentor, co-worker, and a senior during my tenor.

It’s been my very great honour to be around the [SAS], as probably annoying pub, hanger-around, server regular, recruit, trooper, NCO and more. Becoming a [SAS]_Trp was one of the proudest days of my life. And needless to say the only plans I have for ever leaving, is feet first.

Live ready

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Trying to set up a live op is crazy for me…

I plan the mission, I get things ready and give people 1-2 weeks notice, usually a clue of when it will be; e.g. probably saturday/sunday yyyy-mm-dd/dd around hhmm-hhmm GMT.

And it takes a month or 3 to get them in the server 8=)

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Some how it figures rofl. I tried to download the .NET 3.0 framework from Microsoft using Opera and they told me the file can’t not be found on their server.

I fire up Internet Explorer 7 and vola ! It works like a charm ^_^

Microsoft.com is very crippled for Opera Users I think, going by the times I’ve dropped in of my own free will. I wonder if they are that pissy to Mozilla or Netscape :/

Managed to get every thing up to date and even cleaned up my start menu. On my laptop I usually just open a konsole or xterm & tell it to run the programs I want (I’ve always got a terminal emulator handy). It’s more bugger then its worth imho to do that with cmd.exe and my %PATH% is fat enough now. So I think this is a nice solution, especially since I do not like the Programs->Vendor->Product->Many files arangement used on Microsoft Windows for the start menu and file system.

Click to view image -> Warning it is a 1600×1200 JPEG !

Techno Nightmares

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Screamers…. now that is a nightmare of a movie.

In the not so far future (2078) a new source of energy was found, berynium on some rock probably in the middle of no where. It looked to be the best thing since coal or sliced bread judging by the intro. But after awhile of mining for it, the process started throwing up huge amounts of radiation. To stop it the workers and scientists banded together to put pressure on the company. Who in turn launched an all out war with the Alliance.

After being Nuked half of the planet… can’t blame them for needing every last trick in their book to hold on. They invented a monster, the ‘Screamer’ an Autonomous Mobile Sword. That tracks targets by their plus and use the cutting buzz saw like blade that makes up most of their body to cut the enemy to death. In the opening a N.E.B. (the company) grunt trying to deliver a message got a leg and an arm chopped off before the screamers finally lopped off his head. Built by an automated factory under the Alliance bunker, they proved valuable at protecting the base and stopping the enemy. The only way they could tell friend from foe required you to wear a ‘tab’ on your wrist to block their sensors. When the poor sap with the message came in it was their first N.E.B. contact in like 6 months.

After the journey to respond ensures (hey I’m not spoiling the entire picture:-P) two Alliance soldiers, a green kid and a seasoned local. Meet up with a new and improved version. A little kid claiming to be a survivor in the waste land, begging to come with them. The trick? It’s really a droid, so real you’d think it was human – once it get’s inside the enemies bunker. It releases it’s payload, a deadly ‘Screamer’. A N.E.B. squad they link up with tells how effective it was. The droids murdered most of the N.E.B. forces inside their command bunker during dinner time. Also another model…

A wounded soldier begging for help, go to help him and vola ! You’re ripped apart by the screamer. The things we’re self manufacturing as far as the viewer is able to gather. And some how self improving, more advanced models developed by machines, as it was stated that none we’re sent to the planet from command since the prototype years ago. When the scientists effectively built the factory, pushed the on button and ran like heck. In the N.E.B. base they found another model, simple lizard/reptilian like screamers. Slow walking but flast leaping buggers with a Dinosaur like look & feel, right out of a museum.

When the merry band returns to the Alliance bunker… they find out the same thing that happened to the N.E.B’s destroyed the soldiers there. The voice of the bunkers 2nd in command beckons them in over the radio. A repetitive conversation and multiple personality show its a trap. Faced with an Army of droid children clutching teddy bears and having a screamer inside marching out of the base. Trust me it’s not as corny as it sounds lol. Using their high powered by todays standards weapons til the ammo ran out. Then dropping down to the built in flame throwers… They couldn’t hold off the onslaught. So using a recovered micro-nuke they blow the place to crap.

Only to discover one of the N.E.B’s with them injured, when the green Alliance kid goes to help. He’s ripped apart by the advanced screamer… horrible, not even the ‘tabs’ worked any more. The Screamers now could kill any one and every one. After being put down the last two people left, The Alliance commander and a N.E.B. woman set out for the one way off the planet. The ‘oh crap the place is about to explode’ escape system for the bases commander.

To prove that she is human the commander nearly cuts the womans arm off. To do like wise he almost does the same to his own hand before she stops him. The two apparently falling in love head out, only to be greeted by the commanders friend and the next in the Chain of Command. Another screamer !! The screamer was said to have cut off the mans face and took it, hence the appearance. After disposing of him they find another horror, the escape shuttle only has room for one.

Pulling every trick in the book the commander tries to make sure the N.E.B. woman is the one to go, yet theres some reason why she “just can’t go”. When a duplicate shows up, we know why ! Another screamer… the most advanced yet. The two fight to the last fembot standing, the victor gets a blast of rocket engine as the other dies. Leaving the poor guy to use the shuttle and hope he gets back to Earth… and meets HUMANS !!! It’s made clear that his and the fate of earth may be undesirable…

You’d have to see the movie to really appreciate it but it is really horrifying. Man kind is deadly enough without machines surpassing us. The screamers evolved to the point that they killed their own side. Then to the point that they killed each other. It’s pretty dang sad when your own governments weapons try to kill you !

I hope that People are never removed from war, unless war is removed it self. One can argue that there is no such thing as ‘honor’ in a war. If one see’s the goal as to live to see the end in victory. That’s one thing but there is some point. Where a line is crossed, it’s not a matter of honor or fairness but of right or wrong.

Killing the enemy is one thing but murder is another. In screamers you can’t tell if the person next to you is on your side or even human. The chap you’ve played cards with for the past year might try and rip your arms off the next. It’s a sick idea… when machines have evolved past their creator, all but destroyed their creators, and start killing themselves too.

The Terminator is a scary idea but this is worse, just watch the movie and you’ll find out why lol. I think it’s a good thing when you can have some one sit out of the line of fire. Control a robot and have it drop a bomb on the enemy, thats good. But when your toaster oven is modified to kill the enemy while you go on a smoke & coke break. You’re going to be pretty dang sorry if it tries to kill you after getting an upgrade !

Writer’s Block: In The Money

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If you won $100 this afternoon, what would you do with it?

Hmmmmm, probably bank it for next months bills. If I had $100 laying around and nothing to spend it on, I’d probably find some one that needed help with money or get setup on paypal and send it [SAS}’ward.

My incomes basically $0 until December… so I wouldn’t mind finding $100 on the side of the street :/

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Trying to work around here is ridicules unless every one else is asleep…

It’s like in the Man and the Iron Mask (98) when Aramis is trying to pray and Porthos comes roaring through with two wenches.

*shakes head*

Thinkpad

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*drool* I wish I could get one of these babies.

Looking at the custom options, 1.66Ghz Core 2 Duo. 15.4″ Display, 1024MB DDR2, 80GB HDD….. $895.00 man I wish I could get that baby.

This laptop costed $650 for a 2.0 Ghz Mobile Sempron, comparable widescreen displace, 512MB DDR, and 60GB HDD. Plus I had to put up with a $100 restocking fee, because I exchanged a $750 laptop for it -> Because it wouldn’t run any thing but Windows (slowly). Which I had picked because they we’re out of any other laptop in my price range… Best Buy Bastards !! lol.

But I’m lucky, my laptop works great on FreeBSD aside from shitty 3D performance

Partition plan

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I’d like a small partition in the lead, doesn’t need to be big, I’ll probably use OpenBSD or an old FreeBSD 6.0 disk for setup. I just want a pretty minimal install, kernel, manual pages, and required binaries. I’d like it to be a pretty small slice but with enough room to hold a few files in a ‘pinch. Its basically just there in case I need to do some recovery operations and can’t boot the primary OS.

As far as that goes, PC-BSD v1.4 when it is released.

# PC-BSD v1.4
ad0s2   66560MB (65GB)
/  10240MB (10GB)
/swap  1024MB (1GB)
/home/  20480MB (20GB)
/usr/  25600MB (25GB)
/var/   512MB (0.5GB)

All sizes are approximate but I’m figuring I should have 7-8gb free space in the slice. 512mb will be more then enough for /var, my current system has /tmp linked to /var/tmp and is only using 120-150mb on a 2.5gb partition. 10GB should be plenty for the root partition. My laptops not even 10GB with /:/usr:/home all being on the same partition. So I expect roughly 20gb for my home directory and ~25gb to be plenty for /usr. I could probably thin back /var and add a nice fat /tmp/ but I figure the spare space on / will do if I need the extra room in /tmp when un-packing a file. /usr/ports and /usr/src is only about 800-1200MB so it won’t make much dent into my /usr partition.

# My Laptop, PC-BSDv1.3.4 is on ad0s3, the other partitions are for storeage
Terry@Dixie$ df -h                                                         8:41
Filesystem     Size    Used   Avail Capacity  Mounted on
/dev/ad0s3a     36G    8.2G     25G    25%    /
devfs          1.0K    1.0K      0B   100%    /dev
/dev/ad0s3e    2.9G    135M    2.5G     5%    /var
/dev/ad0s1      10G    1.1G    8.9G    11%    /mnt/ad0s1
/dev/ad0s2      20G     48K     20G     0%    /mnt/ad0s2
linprocfs      4.0K    4.0K      0B   100%    /usr/compat/linux/proc
Terry@Dixie$                                                               8:41

I can finally clean up my laptops partitions… which I have wanted to do for a long while but havn’t had time or wish to do to a ‘stable’ system. If its not broke don’t fix it ! But since I’ll need to reformat, may as well. I like to have issues of partitioning set out BEFORE I do any install. That way I know roughly what I want before hand. So I can adopt it to what I need when the situation comes up. As I have it now, I’ve got a few Gigs worth of free slice planned, more then enough for a minimalist BSD install. Plus a few free gigs on the main PC-BSD slice. So I can add another partition if I need to, it does leave me room to use growfs on my future PC-BSD install if I need to later on.

I hope the Release will be soon, that way I won’t have to lose much time. My home directory is cut down to only what it needs to function with copies of the backups near by in case I need some thing. Once my little synchronizer is done I can complete my change of browsers and get Vectra (an OpenBSD box) setup running an FTP server on the LAN to felicitate it. Thus I should again be able to keep my bookmark/mail/settings the same between computers again. Since I remembered Lynx has good support for Vi and Emacs keybindings… I’m almost tempted to switch to using Lynx as my primary browser but I know sasclan.org is pretty crappy in Lynx !!! And Links doesn’t work natively on Win32 yet afaik.

5 minutes to local 0500…. time to go to sleep !!!!

Digital Boxes

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I started the day about 0915 today, went on the ‘country run’ to let the dogs out. Came home, had a fast breakfast and started my backups. Went to work till after 1600. The usual crap after RTB (Return To Base), set up SAL1600 to share a folder on the workgroup. Before my laptop could see the SMB Share I had to reboot the (windows) box hosting the share.

I’ve finished backing stuff up and got it all moved onto SAL1600. So my darling Dixie is ready to have her hard drives wiped clean for upgrade.

 Terry@Dixie$ du -ch ./*                                                   22:28
4.6M    ./Documents.tar.gz
1.8G    ./Music.tar.gz
308M    ./Pictures.tar.gz
 33M    ./Programming.tar.gz
422M    ./Videos.tar.gz
 36M    ./dotfiles.tar.gz
288K    ./lastminute.tar.gz
2.0K    ./loader.conf
928K    ./misc_files.tar.gz
8.9M    ./root-compat-linux-opt-navigator.tar.gz
304K    ./root-etc.tar.gz
1.7M    ./root-usr-Projects.tar.gz
1.3M    ./root-usr-local-etc.tar.gz
 42K    ./root-usr-local-share-uemacs.tar.gz
 10M    ./root-usr-local-share-vim.tar.gz
 14K    ./sh.tar.gz
2.6G    total
Terry@Dixie$                                                              22:28

Backed up my Documents, my Music collection, my Pictures, my Programming directory, my Videos, my shell script/binary directory, the .dot files I want to keep and a few files sitting around my home directory. Also /usr/Projects where I have files for PBI Making stored, my loader.conf and a few things from the file system. the two major etc directories and my files for Vim and MicroEMACS, even Netscape Navigator 9, so I won’t have to re download it.

When I started out my home directory was about 3.4GB according to du(1) and its -h switch. Now all the files I have archived are just over two and half GB. Its a strange feeling to see a major part of my life packed up into ‘digital boxes’…

Since I’ll be reformating for PC-BSD v1.4-Release I’m not going to keep most of the KDE or QT related files, just the ones I don’t care to replace (konsole schemas, Konversation settings) and things for Amarok and Kopete that I can have on record if I need to ‘restore’ them.

For backing stuff up I really do prefer to use dump & restore for major stuff, I can get the system live and mount the disks. Then start a dump and feed in through a Secure Shell login to the server where it’ll be compressed. Since a level 0 dump is pretty big for me, I tend to use bzip for compression. But for this job, since its just the files I’m interested in I’ve used a bunch of TAR Archives and gzip’d them. That way I can unpack them at my leazsure when the system is finally operational, Just waiting on PC-BSD to release v1.4, in the mean time I want to work on my partitioning scheme. I may also try to install a very minimal OpenBSD 4.1 into a partition. Reason? Get it set up so I can boot into OpenBSD, mount the PC-BSD slice and dump it over the network with less hassle ^_^

*sigh* time to leave for work again….1841 local, at least it’s a very short run.