SCSI Pain
Have the new SCSI card, new cable, new drive. Put them all into the machine, and end up with an extremely painful set of errors from the aic7xxx module about how much it isn't enjoying the experience.

Oh well, fall back to the old tape drive. Nope, it doesn't want to talk either, the advansys module wants to tell me how much pain it's in as well.

Scanner? Yes, sometimes. But sometimes not. Seems to be depending upon how the whole chain is feeling that day.

Eventually tracked the damn thing down to the SCSI cards hating each other. Depending upon the PCI slots they were in, and the phase of the moon, they may either work badly, or not at all.

So, the lesser of the cards is now pulled from the machine. This sucks, because I have both narrow and wide devices that I would like to connect, but only a wide controller in the machine. Mixing narrow and wide on the same bus? Uh uh, I've been there before. Not doing that again.

I'm so sick of hardware. I can't believe how painful it can be sometimes.

OpenRPG
Recently started toying with a virtual table-top environment called OpenRPG. It has the advantages of being cross-platform (Mac, Linux, Windows), open source (GPL), written in Python (okay, I'm a Python weenie, but it could be a good reason to learn), around for a while, and under active development.

We tested OpenRPG in our face-to-face game for miniature and map management. There were a few hiccups, and I'm hoping to iron them out using a newer (and apparently beta) release of the client. Through use of wireless networking and existing loungeroom infrastructure (ie, a TV), I'm also hoping to make the experience more comfortable for the players as well.

One of the big advantages of OpenRPG is that if we can get it working, we'll have an excellent way to patch in one of our players who is currently stationed in northern Queensland, rather than trying to use a dinky webcam to give him an overview of any maps/miniatures. Instead the dinky webcam can be used to give him an overview of all the players.

The only problem I've found with OpenRPG so far is that the servers are not sufficiently robust. Twice today during suitability testing the server we were using died upon us.

Holidays
My holidays are over. This is incredibly sad, as I love holidays and rarely seem to be able to take them. I spent most of my time playing games rather than doing anything remotely productive, and this was extremely relaxing and good.

I've got a quarter of a mind to scale back my workload at the end of this financial year, so that I can have more time. The other three-quarters of my mind urge me to continue to generate as much revenue as possible, since retirement in 4-5 years will prove to be a wonderful experience, and the sooner I get there, the better.

I may end up taking something between the two, by trying to keep income constant rather than always increasing.

Hardware
Found the problem with the scanner. It had changed from /dev/sg1 to /dev/sg0, and apparently the snapscan driver wants the device mentioned explicitly in it's own special config file in order to work. *shrug*

Trademarks
Found on the back of a candy wrapper (capitalisation adjusted):

Cadbury, dairy milk, the glass and a half device, magical elves and the colour purple are Cadbury Ltd trademarks and used under license in Australia by Cadbury Schweppes Pty Ltd.

A trademark on the colour purple? I wonder what the magical elves(TM) have been handing out to the trademark office?

Hardware
I am truly sick of hardware. Installed a new SCSI card today, but it doesn't want to talk to the tape-drive attached to it. I suspect a termination problem, although it could be a BIOS problem on the card.

That in itself is okay. It's that for some reason xsane now completely refuses to talk to the scanner on a completely different SCSI card that's incredibly frustrating. Especially when sane-detect-scanner is convinced (and so am I) that the scanner is there and working perfectly.

Eulogy
My mother, Frances was a very passionate person. She was passionate about her work, her research, her friends and family. Frances never entered into anything half-way.

Frances was also a very unique and memorable person. She has a special place in our hearts, and will not be easily forgotten.

Frances was extremely kind and generous, often with George's money. She would go to great lengths to find the perfect gift, or even make the lives of others just a little more comfortable. She did this with no expectation of reward for herself.

It was not unknown for Frances to become friends with people she had only just met, and to provide them with support, advice, and anything she thought was required to give them happiness.

As a mother, Frances was passionate about ensuring that I had the best education and resources available to me. While this was sometimes frustrating when I would rather be playing games, dating girls, or drinking beer; Frances' encouragement and involvement is in many ways responsible for my continuing success as an adult.

However, my mother's passion for ensuring I had a good education didn't stop with me, but also extended to my friends. There have been many times when my friends had called and Frances had answered the phone. She would go to great lengths asking them about their assignments, their grades, exam timetables, lecturers, and other points of academic interest.

In fact, Frances would spend so long talking to my friends that she would then ask them to hang-up and then call back, so she could plausibly deny she had spent the last half-hour questioning them; instead she would pretend she allowed the call to go straight through to me.

My mother had another passion, and that was for humour. For as long as I can remember, Frances had a knack of creating mischief, sometimes for the amusement of others, but also for her own enjoyment.

One such time was when I was a boy. Along with my cousin, Blake, we had constructed a cubby-house from bricks, mud, and a large sheet of clear plastic. Being a mild evening, Blake and I insisted on sleeping in the cramped confines of our newly constructed abode.

We stayed up late scaring each other with horror stories, particularly ones of axe murderers climbing the fence to find us as we slept. Little did we know that Frances also had her own plans on how to scare us.

Late that night, my mother took a handful of dry macaroni, leaned out of a window, and tossed the pasta onto the roof of our cubby house. Being terrified that it was the axe-murderer, I spent the rest of the night awake, but too frightened to talk, or even move.

Later, in my teenage years, I demanded my independence, as youths of that age are apt to do. I was granted the use of the detached bungalow, giving me not only a room away from the house, but also my own front door and kitchen.

Of course, being independent had its own responsibilities. Whenever I forgot to do the washing, Frances would do it for me. Whenever she cooked dinner, she'd bring some down for me. And of course, whenever she even suspected I may have friends over, she would come down with large plates of food and hot drinks. Often this was so she could ask them how they were going with their exams, or ensure they weren't stopping me from finishing my assignments.

Everyone here has had Frances touch their lives in some way. On this day of reflection, I ask you this: Do not feel regret that Frances has gone, but instead feel joy that she has been part of your life. Do not feel sadness, but think instead of the happy memories she has left us. Do not feel remorse, but instead rejoice that Frances had a fulfilling life, and in the time before she passed away she was filled with hope, happiness and love.

Thank-you
I've had a great many kind people come out of the woodwork to offer their condolences and assistance after my mother passed away last Sunday. While I have not had the opportunity to respond to most of the kind words that have been sent to me, they are all very much appreciated. I am touched by the compassion of my friends and the community around me, and I am certain that my mother would be honoured by the incredible number of people who have expressed regret at her passing.

I was also sent a letter of condolence from a Nigerian scammer, who obviously got a copy of my 'out of office' message. That provided me with some amusement for the morning.