AtomicInternet Archived News

Archived News starting from 06-21-2003 and earlier

Lastnight my UPS battery died, and today for some as yet unnown reason my webcam is again offline. Something happened at 12:05 that either power cycled or altered the operation of my server. Since my webcam has operated flawlessly for the last year and a half I can only conclude these recent abnormalities are the result of a ghost. I've decided to perform a seance and rid the server of it's infestation before it gets worse.

6/19/2003: 02:03 am - UPS Battery fails, momentary power loss to server.
6/19/2003: 02:06 am - Server recovers from power loss, back online.
Unfortunately, I was not immediately aware of the failure and did not restore the webcam or blacknova services until 6:04pm when I returned from work. No apparent loss of data occured during the unexpected server shutdown. A replacement battery is on order but until it arrives the server is at the whim of the power company.

I was recently passed this link to the Celica forums. The guy was driving his Acura RSX at 7,000 RPM in 5th gear and accidently downshifted into 2nd gear. The result was an engine on fire and parts of the piston in the oil pan. Apparently his short-throw shifter and the close gearing made him think 2nd was fourth. I'm also sure at least a few people have accidently downshifted without their engine blowing up. At any rate I plan to stay away from short-throw shifters and Acura RSX's.

After my 2 week vacation in Florida I've realized how much television has become my default time killer. I've also realized I watch a heck of a lot of it. I'm not just talking the occasional episode of "Pokemon" but movies and Discovery/TLC as well. Since I'm heavily addicted to this drug along with the rest of the industrialized world, I've decided to make a small personal stand. I refuse to watch anything emitting from a cathode-ray tube with a tuner attached. This of course means I'll most likely default to more computer time so I'm also limiting my computer time to basic email and updates. Of course work is exempt or I'd quickly have no job. I'm not really trying to make any statement, just prove to myself that I can do if if I want to. I'm guessing my "to-do" list around the house will get checked off faster than normal as well. Wish me luck, and unless your name is Tim, feel free to join me on my quest.

I was on Vacation from 06/01/03 until today. During my adventure I visited my grandparents in Illinois and my friend InternetMenace in Florida. I came back with a bad sunburn but feeling relaxed. A good two week recharge.

6/4/2003: 10:08 pm - Server experienced a power outage.
6/4/2003: 10:43 pm - UPS reports only 5 minutes of remaining power and performs a server shutdown.
6/4/2003: 03:19 am - Power was restored to the UPS and the server was brought back online.
Unfortunately I was away from my house for over two weeks during this event, so blacknova updates and webcam captures did not occur until after my friend was able to login and restart these processes on 6/10/2003.

The Compuware Arena SCCA Event went quite well. I ran a 41.491 second time, which was better than the average for the day. There was a turbocharged Contour SVT (same platform as the Cougar) all decked out so naturally I talked with him for quite some time. I can't wait till the next event!

On May 8th, 2003, the Mars Global Surveyor took this shot of the Earth and Moon from the orbit of Mars. Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" comes to mind. Even from our close neighboring planet we look small and insignificant. What we take for granted every day is just a tiny speck of a lifeboat in the vast reaches of space.

More Information on this Photo

After ignoring my server for quite awhile, I went downstairs to apply the latest patches/updates. Before I restarted though, I checked the total uptime. I was surprised just how long it's been:

Enter a word or words to search for:

---

Find articles posted by month: Jan (1) Feb (2) Mar (3) Apr (4) May (5) Jun (6) Jul (7) Aug (8) Sep (9) Oct (10) Nov (11) Dec (12) 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

1549 Total Articles
4361 Total Comments
Top 10 Commented Articles
Your Xbox 360 Wants 802.11N	45
Jan LAN Dual Core Part 1	37
Comment Party Great Success	31
Gravatars	28
Deflowering of a Morlock	24
Cougarfest 2008	23
Plasma Lives!	22
Sonic Update	21
Verizon WinPhone7?	20
Gutting My Cougar	19
Top 10 Commenters
Stavos	1346
MorlockPrime	552
Excelcier	487
tim	235
R1OT	195
AtomicInternet	166
enorym	164
Senator Kelley	131
E1	114
Duane	94