greyduck.net

Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

  • New Server, New Email Service

    Post tagged:

    If you can read this, then the website migration worked.

    If I get email notification of any comments left for this post, then the email migration worked.

    Okay, the email migration worked and I know it, because I got my daily Ello “inspirational” email newsletter today. Oh, Ello, when are you going to become something people other than froofy artsy-fartsy types will actually want to use?

    Anyway. The email accounts are over on Google Apps now, and all but one of the hosted websites are migrated to the new Linode server. Hopefully I’ll have the last website and the NTP Pool configuration done in a couple of days and I will be able to turn off the old server. Huzzah!

  • Migratory Fowl

    Post tagged:

    It’s been a bit quiet here because this month I’ve started on a long-overdue project: Migrating the webserver to a… new webserver.

    I’ll try to sum up.

    The current webserver, aka Node1, is a legacy Linode system. It’s a 6GB virtual Linux server of a configuration they don’t even offer anymore, and it started life as an Ubuntu 10.04 LTS system. I upgraded it a while ago because 10.04 LTS went out of support… last year.

    I’d like to get to the current PHP and MySQL versions, but that means either doing a lot of crazy backporting or doing an in-place upgrade. Considering I upgraded from 10.04 to 12.04 and had… issues… I don’t like the idea of performing yet another in-place major OS upgrade. So, I’ve purchased a second Linode system, a 4GB rig this time, and if I can get everything moved in the next two weeks I won’t need to pay the full monthly price for the old box and new box combined.

    We’ll see how that goes.

    Since the 4GB box costs less, I’m using the cost difference to fund getting email into some kind of hosted environment, because damn me but I’m tired of wrangling mail server configurations. Pay someone else to handle that headache? Yes please.

    So that’s what I’m up to. Once this is complete, then I’ll be looking into a couple of creative projects. Honest!

  • Still Watching Anime: Snow White With The Red Hair

    Just because i deleted the unused anime blog and just because I spent most of the last three years barely using my CrunchyRoll account doesn’t mean that I’m not still an anime fan.

    For instance!

    Starting up this month is the second batch of episodes for a delightful fluffy gem of a fantasy-romance show called Snow White With The Red Hair.

    What’s it about, really? In short: A spunky redhead who wants to be an herbalist comes to the attention of a sleazy local prince who tries to force an indecent proposal on our heroine. She promptly cuts her hair and kites off through the forest toward a neighboring country. Along the way she runs into trouble and is saved by… the younger prince of that country. Sparks fly, adorableness commences, adventures are had, hearts and minds are won over, and so on.

    Let’s be clear: This is fluffy stuff. Sometimes it almost looks like it might get a smidgen dark, but that’s been averted every time so far. It’s just that kind of show. Bad things do happen but the show doesn’t make a grimdark deal about it.

    And you know what? I adore the show. It’s nice to get a relatively uncomplicated romance with two young, determined, smart, devoted people surrounded by similar smart and devoted mentors and minions. If Snow White can’t make you smile, you may need to consult your doctor about a heart replacement.

    You’ll find it on Funimation‘s streaming service, which runs you something like five bucks a month. Honestly I’d say it’s worth it to be able to watch Snow White and Arslan alone, never mind whatever else is in their streaming catalog.

  • It’s probably a bad idea

    I just had a terrible idea. I’m not even sure I can put together the elements I need in order to even attempt pulling it off. But the idea delights me so much that I’m going to damned well try to.

    And I think I won’t buy yet another domain name or build a whole separate website to do it, either. That’s right, I’m going to put this right where people may or may not be expecting to be seeing things already. Some of you may be amused by the result. Others will likely roll eyes skyward, possibly coupled with prayers for my immortal soul.

    Cue the maniacal, diabolical laughter.

  • Tin Machine, Tin Machine, Take Me Anywhere

    Monday morning, the news broke, Twitter was all “Starman” and “Space Oddity” and “Ziggy Stardust” quotes. Me? I went to work and immediately queued up both of the Tin Machine albums.

    In the late 1980s I was still figuring out what I really liked, musically. I’d immersed myself in pop radio and had started to branch out a bit. Right about then, David Bowie decided to be in a rock n roll band. By most accounts, it was a good idea. Whether or not people really liked the albums made by this band, the result was a revitalized Bowie who went on to do better, more interesting things than he’d been up to beforehand.

    But, you know what? Those two studio albums by Tin Machine are totally worth owning. I mean, it’s a rock band. Fronted by David effing Bowie. Both albums have some real gems, such as the first album’s “Prisoner of Love,” “Run,” and “I Can’t Read.” They made me like a Lennon song with their rendition of “Working Class Hero.” On the second album, “You Belong In Rock N Roll” and especially “Amlapura” are worth a listen.

    So, late 80s-early 90s Bowie is “my” Bowie. (Yes, I own Black Tie White Noise as well. I don’t love it, but I like a few songs on it pretty well.) I never grew into a super big fan of his, but he had a big part in shaping my tastes at a critical point, and he left behind some amazing music that I love still.

    Yeah, Mister Bowie, you belonged in rock n roll.

  • The Riveting Adventure Of The Grey Quaggan

    Kyla loves the Guild Wars 2 MMO game. I mean, I like it too, but she likes and plays the game far, far more than I do. Which is fine, it’s good to have something fun to do.

    In the game, one of the fantastical races are called Quaggans. They’re sort of little aquatic blobs with funny voices. Kyla bought herself a purple plush one to add to the stuffed-critter menagerie in the apartment.

    Guess who received a grey quaggan for Christmas?

    So, last weekend she took the Amtrak Cascades northward to visit folks for a post-Christmas kind of thing, leaving me alone. Well, alone if you don’t count the new grey quaggan, along with all the other stuffed what-have-yous.

    GreyQuagganBoardGameI took this as an opportunity to post a silly little photo series on Instagram, which I’ve replicated for posterity in this gallery. Enjoy, won’t you?

Calendar

December 2025
S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  

My Links