Archive for 2005 - Page 13

    Grades and Ebay

    well I got an A in my CCNA class last quarter... we'll have to see how I do this summer....


    I got outbid on the 1601 router... that's ok... I'll look for a 1605 at some point... or I'll buy a soho 91 or and 851... we'll see

    Posted: June 9, 2005 at 3:09 PM
    Tags:

    unkown title

    well... I bid on another cisco 1601 router for $5.51, I don't know if I'll get it... but if I do, then I'll need a power supply for it.... and a cable... I've been looking for the power supply... but the cheapest I've found is 23.00 on ebay... that'll have to wait then....


    there's this one woman in my CCNA class that does not seem to get it... she does not seem to understand the things that we learned last term... like how to properly use subnets and the like... and what class of address certain addresses belong to...


    anyway, I just took my quiz and got a 92.9% on it... so far so good... this term the quizzes don't count for so much of my grade... which is ok I guess, but they definately kept my grade up last term...

    Posted: June 9, 2005 at 3:21 AM
    Tags:

    updates and what not

    Well I've moved my blog to my computer instead of the other one.... because I'm going to use that for testing of linux.... if all goes well I might move the website back to that computer eventually... but I dont' know... we'll see.. I plan on using that computer as a router and firewall... I know this doesn't mean much to many... but oh well....


    I think I'll buy a case at some point and piece together a computer from the parts I have lying around and use that for something as well... maybe that will be the new webserver... we'll see... that will be linux as well...


    my dad brought home an old computer from my grandparents house that he wants setup in my parents room, so I'm unsure as to how I will connect that computer to the rest of the network... I may have to run another cable to have that work... but we'll see... it's an old P2 400 with 128 MB of Ram running Windows 98....


    any comments would be well appreciated....

    Posted: June 5, 2005 at 10:49 PM
    Tags:

    Work, school and what not

    Well I was almost late for work today... I know... it never happens... but of course I was on time....


    didn't do much today at work because of our 3 hour long meeting... talk about long.... I've had seminars shorter than that meeting....
    I did manage to get a free router out of the deal though... the director didn't see why we would keep it around if it hasn't been used in years :))


    anyway... school... I took my final... only got an 87.1%... that's means I should have an average of 90.95%... you would think that would become a 91%... which is an A... I hope.... anyway... that's all I have for now....

    Posted: June 1, 2005 at 11:33 PM
    Tags:

    Miscellaneous things

    I took the final quiz tonight for class, I got a 94.8%.. so I can't argue. I also took a practice final, and I got a 96.4% on that, can't argue with that either.


    Here are some lyrics I thought some of you would enjoy, it's from Brad Paisley, it's a song called Alcohol.



    Alcohol - Brad Paisley


    Genre/Lang. : Country

    I can make anybody pretty.
    I can make you believe any lie.
    I can make you pick a fight with somebody twice your size.
    Well, I’ve been known to cause a few break-ups,
    An' I’ve been known to cause a few births.
    Well, I can make you new friends, or get you fired from work.

    And since the day I left Milwaukee,
    Lynchburg an' Bordeaux, France,
    Been making the bars lots of big money,
    An' helpin' white people dance.
    I got you in trouble in High School,
    But College, now that was a ball.
    You had some of the best times you’ll never remember with me:
    Alcohol; Alcohol.

    I got blamed at your wedding reception,
    For your best man’s embarrassing speech.
    And also for those naked pictures of you at the beach.
    I’ve influenced Kings and world leaders,
    I helped Hemingway write like he did.
    And I’ll bet you a drink or two, that I can make you put that lampshade on your head.

    ‘Cause since the day I left Milwaukee,
    Lynchburg and Bordeaux, France,
    I been making a fool out of folks just like you,
    An' helping white people dance.
    I am medicine and I am poison,
    I can help you up or make you fall.
    You had some of the best times you’ll never remember with me:
    Alcohol.

    Yeah, since the day I left Milwaukee,
    Lynchburg an' Bordeaux, France,
    Been making the bars lots of big money,
    (Helpin' white people dance.)
    Yeah, I got you in trouble in High School,
    But College, now that was a ball.
    You had some of the best times you’ll never remember with me:
    Alcohol; Alcohol.

    (Alcohol.)
    (Alcohol.)
    Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
    Na, na, na, na, na, na, na.

    To Fade.

    Posted: May 28, 2005 at 3:10 AM
    Tags:

    Work and the like

    Work today was hectic, I was downtown for less than an hour, headed out to our West Branch to update the anti-virus clients, that took a while, because of a few problems. Then I headed back to Eola to update some of those computers, and look at a computer that won't eject a cd, but I couldn't get to it, it was in use.


    School was ok, I had trouble paying attention because of all of the talking, but oh well. I did alright on the Quiz tonight, I got a 94.6%, so that brings my average to 94.57%, so I can't really argue too much at all.

    Posted: May 26, 2005 at 12:02 AM
    Tags:

    work, school, and the like

    Today at work was just another day at work, except there was no air conditioning in the computer room today, like 90º, not very good for any computer equipment....


    school was school, per usual, I got a 95.7% on my quiz tonight, I can't argue. a lot of information... only two classes left for this term... then starts summer... how fun...


    The Naper-Po are out in force tonight, I saw 5 on my way home, 2 had one guy pulled over, 2 had another pulled over, and a single lonely po was sitting in the middle of the road, probably trying to catch speeders.... oh well....

    Posted: May 24, 2005 at 12:46 AM
    Tags:

    My day plus an interesting story...

    Well today was just another day here in A-Town.... I went to get my haircut, went to Dominick's Grocery store, went to COD to pay my tuition, and mowed the lawn... not a whole lot got done today..... But I did manage to read this article in the Chicago Tribune Today...


    Library card? Check. Fingerprint? Really?
    Citing security, Naperville libraries will make patrons prove their identities
    before using computers. Privacy advocates fear misuse of the data.

    By James Kimberly
    Tribune staff reporter
    Published May 20, 2005


    Before long, patrons wanting to use Naperville Public Library System computers
    without a hassle will have to prove their identity with a fingerprint.

    The three-library system this week signed a $40,646 contract with a local
    company, U.S. Biometrics Corp., to install fingerprint scanners on 130 computers
    with Internet access or a time limit on usage.

    The decision, according to the American Library Association, makes Naperville
    only the second library system in the country to install fingerprint scanners.

    Library officials say the added security is necessary to ensure people who are
    using the computers are who they say they are.

    Officials promise to protect the confidentiality of the fingerprint records.

    But with Congress contemplating an expansion of the USA Patriot Act, which gives
    federal authorities access to confidential library records, and cameras watching
    the streets some Chicagoans drive or the sidewalks they stroll, privacy
    advocates are concerned about yet another erosion of personal liberty.

    We take people's fingerprints because we think they might be guilty of
    something, not because they want to use the library, said Ed Yohnka, spokesman
    for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

    Yohnka said Naperville may mean well, but that does not mean the technology
    won't be used for something else at a later date.

    You're creating just another database of information about people, Yohnka
    said. I'm sure they started out with the best of intentions of not sharing this
    information, but the reality is sometimes intentions go awry.

    Currently patrons use their library cards and personal identification numbers to
    access the computers.

    That will change once the scanners are installed. The glass-topped, silver metal
    boxes about the size of a package of Tic-Tacs read the print on a patron's index
    finger and use an algorithm to convert at least 15 specific points into a unique
    numeric sequence.

    Once a patron's fingerprint has been recorded, accessing a computer will require
    only the touch of a finger.

    Library Deputy Director Mark West said the system will be implemented over the
    summer beginning with a public education campaign in June. West said he is
    confident the public will embrace the technology once it learns its limitations.

    The stored numeric data cannot be used to reconstruct a fingerprint, West said,
    nor can it be cross-referenced with other fingerprint databases such as those
    kept by the FBI or the Illinois State Police.

    Right now we give you a library card with a bar code attached to it. This is
    just a bar code, but it's built in, West said.

    Last May, when Naperville police demanded the account information of a man who
    had fondled himself in front of teenagers while viewing pornography in the
    computer lab at Nichols Library, the library refused to release the information
    without a subpoena, citing the Illinois Library Records Confidentiality Act.

    Naperville police obtained the subpoena and later arrested Richard Blaszak, 35,
    of Naperville.

    In January, Blaszak pleaded guilty to public indecency and was sentenced to 2
    years of probation. He is prohibited by court order from using computers in
    DuPage County libraries during his probation.

    During the investigation of the incident, library officials discovered that many
    patrons logged onto library computers using library cards and passwords of
    friends or relatives. That realization, coupled with a new library policy that
    allows parents to install automatic Internet filters on their children's
    accounts, prompted the search for better computer security, West said.

    West said he had to be convinced that the technology would protect patron
    privacy before he would recommend it to the Library Board.


    Confidentiality and privacy [are] my middle name, West said.

    West said the library is requiring a fingerprint to set up computer access,
    although patrons who object could ask a staff member to log them on to a
    computer.

    I'm sure we won't turn anybody away who refuses to use the technology, but in
    all honesty, it will be more cumbersome, West said.

    The American Library Association said only one other system uses
    fingerprint-scanning technology: the Buffalo-Erie County Library System, a
    collection of 52 public libraries that serves 400,000 people in upstate New
    York.

    Ann Kling, support services manager, said the library launched a fingerprint
    recognition program at the main library in downtown Buffalo in 2001.

    The library offers fingerprint scans as an optional replacement for library
    cards. The system is limited to the library in downtown Buffalo and consequently
    only 1,787 patrons use it, Kling said.

    Because the use of the technology is so limited, American Library Association
    officials said the organization has not taken an official stand on it.

    Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the ALA's office of intellectual
    freedom, acknowledged that requiring a fingerprint scan might dissuade some
    people from using library computers.

    There are going to be folks who come from different political situations, folks
    who come out of Central Europe who have had a history of living under
    authoritative regimes who may not be comfortable with this, Caldwell-Stone
    said.

    But Caldwell-Stone said libraries already collect all kinds of personal
    information from patrons and at some point must be trusted to protect it.

    U.S. Biometrics President Dave Delgrosso said his company's technology is
    seeping into the mainstream, popping up in banks, hospitals and other
    institutions where exact identifications are important.

    Link To Tribune Site


    Now I'm wondering why they are installing this, have patrons really asked for this... there are definately less expensive and more profound ways to implement better security for patrons, and their privacy.... now, how is one to know that they on't track where you've been going while using one of their computers... does this affect their wireless usage at all? All valid questions.... although I don't need to use any of their internet computers, since I have my own..


    any thoughts....

    Posted: May 21, 2005 at 1:26 AM
    Tags:

    work school and the like

    Well today just sucked.... I didn't get enough sleep, of course nothing new....


    I get to work, nothing new, only one person showed up for training this morning... that was for like 5 minutes to ask two questions.... oh well.... I informed my boss about a particularly nagging problem with USB thumb drives on the second floor downtown... weird how it only affects those computers....


    I tried doing more work for our Summer Reading programs which is only 3 weeks until it starts, but I was basically informed, by my boss, that Summer Reading Program isn't top priority and that I had to go look at something that could have waited until the full-timer came in at 12:30, but no, of course not... like always, my opinion doesn't mean anything, nor does what I think is important mean anything to anybody at work, despite the director saying that summer reading program is supposed to be my top priority... oh well, I think I'll let the director know about this on Wednesday


    School was boring per usual, because the substitute instructor we have is not that interesting to listen to when he lectures... I did manage to get a 95.7% on my quiz, so I can't complain.


    the only good thing about today, is no work or school tomorrow... none, nada, nill, null....

    Posted: May 17, 2005 at 1:48 AM
    Tags:
    ← Page 12
    Page 13 →