Yaffle's Corner - General

The first week is done

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:15:42 +0200

So, I've done my first week on a strange new planet, fortunately I didn't run into any naughty bug eyed monsters.

Having worked from home for the last six or so years, re-joining the commuting rat race has taken some getting used to. Because of the timings of busses and trains, in order to get into work (in Bath) on time, I have to leave the flat no later than 07:25 and that gives me the choice of the 07:26 or the 07:32, both of which call at Lawrence Hill Railway. Depending upon which bus you catch, you then get to spend 10 or 15 minutes lurking around before the 3 minute hop to Temple Meads. However, this morning, the bus ran a blinder and got me there in time to catch the 07:35. This is a through train and there is no need to change.

My view is that today being Friday, lots of people were not travelling, so there were less people fishing around in their pockets and handbags (which they always wait until they're on the bus for, rather than sort it out before the bus arrives) so there was considerably less delay. Of course, this did mean that I didn't have the chance to do the couple of things at Temple Meads I'd intended to do before the connecting train, but there you are, one can't have things both ways like the political parties do.

But enough of the travel already, save to say its about a 12 minute walk from the station to the offices so I'm actually getting some daily exercise too.

This week I've been riding shot gun with members of First Line Tech Support and, as I'm eventually going to be Second Line - the person they all turn to - I've been offering advice on matters I already have some idea about. I know, from having received my personnel papers, that computers, phones and desk space have been ordered for me, but without a login of my own yet, I still have a bit to learn navigating my way around the support systems. Still, its all been written in-house and to work with the NetSuite system which they use as their main ticketing system. Fortunately I have past history with NetSuite, so finding my way around that is relatively easy - and I finally managed to persuade a couple of colleagues to slow down enough to show me where they were clicking through on the internal systems in order to find the information they needed.

By the end of the week, I know where a good deal of it is and the only real problem is that the system known as the portal will insist on logging you in as the last customer you pretended to be in order to test something. Of course, all the long time staff know to log in again, but as I don't yet have a password, there are a few things I havn't been able to stress test yet.

As always in networking, there are times when you need access to systems outside of your own support infrastructure. At CensorNet I used to log into a friendly customer's server and type suitable commands in order to see how the "rest of the world" outside our systems were viewing things. Lacking that ability at the new location I made use of my mobile phone and for the first time, my unlimited data plan has come into its own.

A while ago, you may remember I wrote this review of PuTTY on the N97. Well, the review hardly does it justice as, working from home, I never really had to use the software, using PuTTY on the computers on my network instead. Well, I can say I am even more enamoured of this piece of software now. Remember those 8 touch buttons that give you access to "difficult" keys such as the pipe symbol or the control or alt keys? Well, sometimes they get in the way. You can remove (hide) them with a swipe, and bring them back with another swipe once you've read the output that was obscured. If a key you need (such as Esc) is not one of the 8 soft-keys, no matter, you can re-configure the session so that one of the 8 key positions suddenly becomes Esc.

So what was I using PuTTY for? Well mostly to run commands such as dig and whois on servers without my new employer's network in order to see what the rest of the world was seeing. Came in very handy when I diagnosed a mis-configuration of a registry record for a domain meaning the name servers for .com were giving out the wrong name server details for a customer domain and thus, no one could find it.

So at the end of this first week, I still have a lot to learn, but I'm looking forward to getting my own log in credentials so I can find my way around the portal fully. With luck I'll get to use PuTTY on the new computer too. Whilst the phone is fine - it is a little hunt and peck.

I'll never make a wildlife camera man

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:29:48 +0200

Well peeps, it has become apparant that I'll never make a wildlife camera man. Way too impatient by half.

I had just made another cup of tea and glanced out the window to discover not one, but two herons. Sadly, they were far enough apart that I had to take this short video, rather than a single caption, to show them both.

Fiddling with the camera immediately afterwards and I discovered one of them had flown away whilst I was prodding, so I sat and watched the other one for ages. I've taken a couple more shots, but what I wanted was a shot, or video, of this second one as it flew away.

I made the mistake of looking away for a second - I swear the damn thing waited.

I have even more respect than I already had for these wildlife photographers who take hours, nay, days in order to bring us those shots that thrill us so much on TV.

Heron Haunts

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:22:36 +0200

If things go on as they are, I may have to change my domain name to Heron Haunts.

When someone purchased the last domain I was using, I purchased this one on the basis that only shortly before I'd heard a Green Woodpecker calling somewhere near abouts. Never did see him.

Still, of recent weeks we've had regular visits from a Grey Heron. The gulls hate him.

They'd been mobbing him for several minutes before I took this snippet and for some time after I stopped filming. The Heron stood his ground throughout and only slowly walked off down the sloped roof when the gulls finally decided they were on a hiding to nothing.

Anyway, you can catch the video by clicking on the link below.

Its time for a new phone

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:05:45 +0200

Good old Vodafone. Last week they sent me an email telling me I could pre-register for the Nokia N97 and if I liked I could go and see a demo of one at my local Vodafone store. They provided links to a store finder within the email.

Recently, they'd opened a new store in Clifton, Bristol and as I had a business appointment there on Saturday, I decided I'd go take a look at that store after the meeting.

Sadly, the shop didn't have any demo kit in, and I daresay the other store in Broadmead would not have had such either. I did take a note of the specific store's telephone number though, for future reference.

Then, when I got back from there I went to check the upcoming month's bill. The idea was to check what I'm currently paying a month against the contract cost for the N97 if I was to have that included in the deal. Was I in for a shock. This month I'd been charged £10.97 for phone calls.

As usual, I hadn't burst my limit until the 27th of the month, but what a load of calls I'd made between the 27th and 31st of May. Once they start charging you it really stings.

In short, paying the standard monthly charge for the new voice contract, plus the contract for the Netbook (which I've never breached) will come in less per month than I've been paying for the last 3 months. Yer see, we've become so busy that now I'm regularly bursting my 150 minutes allowance - this never used to happen. So we'll go for 600 minutes per over 2 years. Yes, I know, it means I'm paying over the odds, but the per month charge will work out less and at the moment, this is what counts.

So without a demo I've decided to go for the phone. Its due for release on 26th June, which if its available then will fit in nicely with my play time - I'm taking the following week off. A hardware review will be forthcoming once I have my mits on the beast.

What makes me laugh?

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:37:10 +0200

I was asked this question today by BBC Radio 7 after I'd responded to their current request for emails on what I liked or disliked.

Having laughed out loud throughout one Wednesday lunch time a couple of weeks ago I wrote to tell them so and received a response from one of their producers asking me specifically what I thought about Hancock.

So I've just told them. The interview was held over the phone and done in the form of of a conversation between myself and someone who disliked Hancock with a passion.

Its likely to get broadcast on BBC Radio 7 at some point over the coming weeks - but you'll need to keep listening to the channel to catch it as it'll be one of their fillers in between programs.

A visit to Wonderland

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:01:38 +0200

Today, I was lucky enough to pay a visit to the McClaren Technology Centre. Tim had been invited but been unable to attend, and so offered me the chance since he knows I'm a dyed in the wool F1 fan.

To get there I had to get to Woking. Now this can be a difficult trip by train but I discovered there was a direct service from Bristol Temple Meads departing at 08:50 which, since this was a lunch time appointment, was about the right time, so on the way out I only had to change at Bristol after travelling from my local station.

The building is wonderful and looks even better than the picture you can get from the web site. Unfortunately, taking pictures, unless you're the press, is frowned upon so I was unable to take any snaps with the phone. I did, however, get to see the wind tunnel and the marvellous display of F1 cars through the ages.

If you follow F1 at all you will know that the commentators sometimes mention that some of the taller drivers, such as Mark Webber from RBR, have difficulty squeezing into the cockpit. The television pictures really don't do them justice, they are tiny and the drivers really are strapped into a very small space indeed - decidedly claustrophobic.

Whilst it is not possible to visit other areas directly, the whole building is open and spaceous and you can see the technicians working on the cars (obviously the ones in service are already out in Sepang) and the McClaren Automotive production line. With all the technology McClaren use its nice to see a production line where the cars are all being hand built and moved along to the next station - not a robot in site.

One of the things the MTC web site doesn't tell you about the Wind Tunnel is that the cooling for it comes from what otherwise appears to be an ornamental lake in the grounds. Apparently when its being used to do this, you frequently get steam over the pond.

So what is lunch like at the MTC? Well, they're all looked after very well indeed - with numerous hot and cold meals available. As I'm used to eating a main meal in the evening, I elected to go for a rather nice bread roll (sorry, not sure what the proper name for this would be) in which I asked to have ham, cheese and salad filling. They certainly don't stint - they kept stuffing until the thing was full to overflowing. Not quite New York size, but certainly plenty for me, and very nice it was too.

Today it transpires that a new front wing and a diffuser on Lewis Hamilton's car meant he came first in first practice, but Jenson isn't taking it lying down, besting him in second practice. Third practice (which I shall try and make) and qualifying (which I definitely will make) should be great fun - and then there's the race.

As you will have heard, Ron Dennis has servered his links with McClaren F1 in order to concentrate on other projects so the glass cases on either side of the corridor leading to the restaurant are an excellent testimony to the team he built up over the last 40+ years. Even with all the trophies on display, there are more that they just cannot fit in, and so the displays are updated on a regular basis, so what I saw today may not be what you see if you are lucky enough to obtain an invitation.

Fortunately this week the TV schedule fits in nicely with a round of server upgrades I have to do this Sunday - but if TV coverage overruns, the servers will just have to wait - the DC staff have been informed.

The return journey involved a brief break at Salisbury - had to change trains there - and then I got lucky. Whereas my train arrived at Bristol at the time one I could have caught would already been departing, the latter train was running a few minutes late - just enough for a brisk walk from one end of the underpass to the other. A bus turned up just at the right time too.

No articles for ages then two come along at once

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:06:26 +0100

Ever since my trusty old Sony Vaio (purchased in 2001 and finally died of old age this year) succumbed, I've been hunting about for something portable that I could use on the odd ocassions when I travel for business.

Since I don't travel that much, and have a perfectly good desk machine for the day to day work, I wasn't looking for anything too expensive. Mobile broadband for travelling, and WiFi for when I'm at home, or at the office, would suit just nicely.

I was having a read of The Register earlier and they're running the first of three competitions to win a Blackberry Storm on Vodafone. So I entered that and then reminded myself I needed to check my phone bill for the month.

Rather like the Chancellor, I found that I'd breached my own fiscal limits - but not by too much. Still, a little voice said "You've been using that havn't you?"¹

Unbowed, however, I went to the Vodafone home page to find they were offering a Dell Netbook with their broadband, and WiFi, free on a 2 year contract. The price? Either £25 or £30 per month dependant upon whether you want the 1G or 2G tariff. I've opted for the former.

Due to the length of time it took them to actually answer the phone (thank goodness I dialled 191 from the mobe) I missed the slot for Saturday delivery. Never mind, Monday will come soon enough.

1. This phrase comes from a little training film I once saw. The phrase was uttered by one John Cleese in the guise of a washing machine repair man. The aim of the film was to show how not to interact with customers. I think it should be extracted from the archive and shown to modern customer facing staff.

In Praise of the Royal Mail

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:07:28 +0200

I smiled as I listened to the story on "The World Tonight" of messages getting through the Royal Mail despite the fact that the sender had taken steps to make the target address really hard to read.

Apparently, she had tried mirror writing, mathematical formulae, recipes, maps, and other disguises, yet of the 130 envelopes she sent, 120 of them reached the target. Really rather outstanding for something often jeered at as snail mail. Apparently, the author of the book (naturally there had to be one) used to live in a house with an odd address.

I used to live in a house with an unusual address myself. No street numbers.

The house was called "The Skep".

If you go to google and type "define: skep" (sans quotes) you will find that it is a woven straw beehive.

The house was called such because my father (Bob) and my mother (Barbara) lived there, and of course, our surname ends with a B as well, so it was the bees. Well, such was my Dad's sense of humour, so you know where I get some of mine from.

We would frequently receive mail to The Skip, The Shop, The Ship and some others. All arrived, and this was even in the days before the post code made it easier for the RM to get it through.

So in this day and age, when sometimes even email doesn't get through due to the lengths we have to take to avoid spam, you have to say hats off to the Royal Mail and the troopers who go that extra mile to ensure it reaches its target.

Help, help, I'm being time shifted!

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:25:06 +0200

You should read the title assuming I have my tongue firmly stuffed in my cheek.

We had our first Tech Support Telephone Meeting on Friday. Why on the telephone? Well, we all work at different locations and whilst I could have travelled into the office, my colleague works at the other end of the country and it would have been pointlessly wasteful. So we made good use of web and telephone conferencing technology to hold a very good meeting.

My boss and I had discussed earlier in the week how we seemed to be getting more enquiries from people in the States and of course, with us all signing off at just past five, some of these were slipping past us.

I have never been much of a morning person, and so instantly volunteered to work differing hours if it would work. It turns out that my colleague preferred a slight change in hours as well, which means that we are running a two week trial to see if it suits us, and the company and we’ll make a final decision at the next meeting.

I think I shall still be getting up in the morning. I’ve got plenty of films on the PVR that I just don’t seem to get the time to watch at the moment. Having four or five hours of clear morning to do as I please will suit – I think. We shall see.

Today is SysAdmin Day

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:20:50 +0200

Yes, on the last Friday of July every year, the world celebrates SysAdmin Day. The one day of the year when everybody else can recognise the unsung (and frequently unloved) heroes that keep their data flowing.

You can find more about it by clicking on the logo above.

What's a Yaffle?

nospam@example.com (Neil S. Briscoe) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:36:57 +0200

If you type “define: Yaffle” (sans quotes) into Google it will return one response telling you it is the European Green Woodpecker Picus viridis. If you drop the define: directive from search clue you receive rather more links.

Yaffle is an old English country name for the Green Woodpecker and this site is thus named because one Thursday (I never could get the hang of Thursdays) I heard one repeatedly calling, presumably looking for a mate (it was the right time of year).

This site is thus called because I have a particularly loud laugh and in memory of that bird who, I presume, eventually found a mate elsewhere as he was never heard from again.