Networking Cabling gone Wrong

Spaghetti Cabling that would make a fully-grown sys admin cry, or… Cable management is for wimps.

Most network and system administrators like a nice tidy cabled cabinet of servers and network equipment.
Sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way.
The following are some of my favorite images of nasty cable messes.

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A Cable Mess of Beauty
photo by: Cormac Phelan
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Racks and Racks of Spaghetti
photo by: Andrew McKaskill
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Cable-Bound Racks
photo by: dM.nyc
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Good Old-Fashioned Telephone Wire Mess in Bangkok
photo by: Nurmi
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Cable Mess (un)Managed
photo by: gruzuk
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The Spaghetti Man on Sixth Avenue, NYC
photo by: Ken
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Spaghetti Cables on the CMS Tracker at CERN
photo by: Richard Brauer
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Colorful Cable Salad
photo by: Zenji
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A Fine Mess
photo by: BRphoto
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Cable Mess Frustration
photo by: Jonathan Arehart
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Rat’s Nest Cable Mess
photo by: n8foo
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Stage Cables get messed up too
photo by: Laura A Watt
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Cable Chaos
photo by: VespaGT
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LOPSA’s Sys Admin Horrors

LOPSA (League of Professional System Administrators) is a terrific organization that Vibrant
wholeheartedly supports. Afterall, they sponsor National SysAdmin Appreciation Day. On their website,
they came up with a terrific photo set of Sys Admin horrors including the cable messes below:

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DO NOT TOUCH ANY OF THESE WIRES!
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Burnt Spaghetti
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Spaghetti Cable Hurl
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Network Cables or Silly String?
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Patriotic Cable Mess
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Network Floss and Modems
(rumored to have run the dialup access at an old ISP)
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Install OS X on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required

Two months ago I walked through how to build a Hackintosh Mac on the cheap using PC parts. Since that post, the OSx86 scene has changed rapidly, and now you can install Leopard on your computer about as easily as installing Leopard on a Mac—no command line hacking required. In addition, the resulting installation is—theoretically, at least—can be upgraded without fear of breaking. As if the simplicity of the installation weren't already enough, the new installation tools fix any problems I've had in the past (for example, I no longer need to keep my install DVD in the drive to boot into OS X), and support the Wi-Fi card on my motherboard out-of-the-box. In short, it's a winner.

NOTE: I can only vouch for this method on the build I detailed in the original post, but others have had a lot of luck with other boards, as well. If you're thinking of starting from scratch and want to follow exactly how I did it, check out the Build section of my original guide. If you've got your system together, here's how it works.

Set Your BIOS

The most difficult part of getting this installation to work with my board was getting the right BIOS settings in place. In the course of figuring it out, I made a lot of different small tweaks, so to ensure I didn't miss any, I've taken pictures of every relevant BIOS screen. If you're using the same board as me (an Asus P5W DH Deluxe), just go through screen by screen and make sure that your BIOS settings match mine. If you're using a different board, these settings could still serve as a good guide, but they may not perfectly match up to yours. (I'm having a tough time remembering every BIOS setting I tweaked, so if you're using a P5W DH Deluxe, your BIOS settings match mine, but you're having trouble, let me know and I'll try updating the gallery with more BIOS screens.)

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Now that you're BIOS are set, it's time to install.

Install OS X with the Kalyway Install Disc

Floating around the BitTorrents, you'll find a disc image called something like Kalyway Leopard 10.5.1 SSE2 SSE3. Download it and burn it to a DVD—it's what you'll use to install Leopard. If you're going to pursue this I'd still recommend purchasing an actual copy of Leopard, but you won't need it here.

Basically this DVD contains the Leopard install disc along with the EFI software that lets your hardware work with OS X using the vanilla kernels—which is a big part of why you don't have to do any of the command line hacking this time around. You just install the disc and voilà—everything boots up and upgrades normally (or at least that's been my experience so far). So assuming you've built your computer using the original instructions, you've got the Kalyway disc, and you've already prepared your BIOS, you're ready to install.

First, boot with the disc. The disc boot up can take a few minutes, so you'll need to be patient.

Before you go ahead with the installation you need to format your hard drive, so once the disc boots, go to Utilities -> Disk Utility in the menu bar. Find the hard drive in the sidebar you want to install Leopard to, select it, then go to the Partition tab, and select a 1 partition volume scheme, name it whatever you want (I called mine Leopard), and choose the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Now click the Options button to set the partition scheme. You can choose the partition scheme as either Master Boot Record or GUID (in my previous instructions you needed to set it as MBR). I used GUID.

Click Apply, let it complete the partitioning, and then quit Disk Utility and head back to the Installer. Hit Continue at the Welcome screen, agree to the terms, and then be sure to hit the Customize button before proceeding with your installation. Here's where the point-and-click magic of this installer comes in.

This install package comes with individual settings that match specific motherboards, and one very well supported board is the P5W DH Deluxe I used in the original build. Rather than telling you which checkboxes to tick, just click the screenshot above for a look at all the settings you'll want to use if you're installing OS X on that board.

When you're all set, click Done and then go ahead and Install. When the installation is complete (it'll take a little while), let your computer restart, pop out the install disc, and sit back in wonder as Leopard runs on your PC in full 10.5.1 glory.

If you've been living the Hackintosh life since our first guide, let's hear how it's worked out for you so far in the comments.

Think reporters have it easy?

8 Things To Do At The Ballpark (Besides Watch The Game)

by Ethan - January 24, 2008 - 1:00 PM

If you’re a sports fan, nothing beats the thrill of going to a game. If you’re not a sports fan, nothing is quite as interminable as being dragged to a game. Simply eating a $12 plastic container of bland nachos isn’t going to kill three hours, so you’ll have to go out scouting for adventure. You might want to consider one of these fantastic diversions.

1. Pony Riding, Cheney Stadium

Few fans remember the 2004 Tacoma Rainiers’ season win-loss record, but scores can probably tell you that it was the year the ponies invaded Cheney Stadium. The Seattle Mariners’ AAA minor-league affiliate turned home games into every ten-year-old girl’s dream. Not only could young fans ride ponies on the field, but a pony also delivered the game ball to the mound before the first pitch. Sadly, the Rainiers’ media office told me this stellar attraction ended with the 2004 season, which means the 2005 season probably broke some sort of record for highest number of crying, disappointed fans under the age of ten. [Note: This photo was not taken at Historic Cheney Park during that magical 2004 season.]

2. Ferris Wheeling, Comerica Park

Detroit’s old Tiger Stadium may have been flush with history, but nobody was going to mistake it for a carnival midway. The Tigers’ current home at Comerica Park fixes that problem with both a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round. The Ferris wheel’s cars are actually shaped like baseballs, an aesthetic choice that underscores the strong historical link between Ferris wheels and baseball. No one’s so sure what that link is, but it’s underscored quite thoroughly. [Photo courtesy of Colossus of Rhode.]

3. Swimming, Chase Field

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ beautiful home stadium houses perhaps the most famous ballpark diversion, a swimming pool just beyond the outfield fence. Don’t show up in your swimsuit for just any old Snakes home game, though; according to the team’s site, the Riviera Pools Pavilion can be rented to you and 34 friends for a meager $6,500 per game. Of course, that comes with a $750 voucher for food and beverage, so really, it’s only $5,750 per game. At that price, you can’t afford not to rent it out. [Image courtesy of Dilettanteville.]

4. Pet Checking, U.S. Cellular Field

Nothing’s worse than walking through a stadium security check only to find that you’ve left your pet cat in your purse or backpack. At most ballparks, your day would be ruined since you’d either have to take Mr. Whiskers home or turn him free to fend for himself in the wild. Luckily, the management of the Chicago White Sox has a solution: fans can check their pets for a “minimal fee” which supports non-profit organizations that train service animals. No word on whether or not the team might start a particularly frisky dog at second base this season, although this pet-check is certainly a promising first step towards making the Air Bud series a reality. [Image courtesy of Can’t Stop The Bleeding.]

5. Being Terrified, Ripken Stadium

For most of the year, Aberdeen, Maryland’s Aberdeen IronBirds play minor-league hardball in this stadium. In October, though, it turns into the 13th Inning, a haunted house so horrifying that the shaky play of Class-A baseball doesn’t seem so scary after all. Don’t take my word for it, though; here’s the official website’s description: “The 13th Inning haunt has you reliving baseball’s horrid past as you brave the bloody clubhouse of Manager Justin Bobby, Aberdeen’s notorious skipper who stumbled upon a demonic asylum of cannibalistic spirits, demons long buried, who’ve consumed his players’ souls.” Whether or not it chills your blood, it’s definitely a conceptual nightmare.

6. Sliding Out of a Beverage Bottle, AT&T Park

The home of baseball’s San Francisco Giants boasts many unique elements, from the brick wall in right field to long home runs splashing down in the water of McCovey Cove. It also has a gigantic Coca-Cola bottle behind the left-field bleachers that doubles as the housing for four playground slides. And next to the bottle is an enormous sculpture of a baseball glove that doubles as…an enormous sculpture of a baseball glove. The Giants claim it’s the world’s largest baseball glove, though, so if you’re into viewing record-setting sporting equipment, it should be good for at least 90 seconds of entertainment. [Image courtesy of the wildly entertaining Luke Cole’s Roadside Attractions.]

7. Getting Sand in Your Shoes, BB&T Coastal Field

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a Class-A Carolina league affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, have an interesting private-party seating gimmick: The Beach. According to the team’s website, the sand-filled Beach is stocked with folding lawn chairs and a great view down the third-base line, just like the beach. Except there’s no ocean, but it’s still perfect for fans whose favorite part of going to the beach is hosing the sand off of their feet. Even better, the section has a private bar and is next to the visitors’ bullpen. Life as a minor-league relief pitcher must be tough; it’s difficult to imagine that drunken opposing fans with handfuls of sand next to the bullpen would make things much easier.

8. Posing for Questionable Photo Ops, University of Phoenix Stadium

This year’s home for the Super Bowl gets to house the NFL Experience, a football theme park that pops up for entertainment before and during the big game. The attractions are mostly historical or involve running through simulated NFL drills, but in one case the activity involves posing as member of the very bad local football team. As the event’s site advertises/warns: “Arizona Cardinals Home Team Photo - Step into a life-sized photo of the Arizona Cardinals and have a friend snap your photograph.” Sure, the Cardinals may be perennial losers, but that just means you can show the picture to friends and say, “Oh, yeah, I totally played on their offensive line a year or two ago…” and have it sound remotely plausible.

Move Over Godzilla, The Loch Ness Monster Terrorizes Tokyo

The upcoming movie "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" has prompted one hell of a publicity stunt in Tokyo Bay. The extremely cool effect illustrated above is achieved using a large water screen and some very well timed water fountains. In order to get the full effect, check out the video after the break. Seriously, I can't understand a thing that is being said, but I want to see this movie. Marketing magic!

In Tribute to RAMBO a special Van Damme Friday

10 stunning ultra-geeky home cinemas

by deputydog ⋅ 23 / 01 / 2008 ⋅ post a comment

as time goes by there seems to be a growing trend amongst those people lucky enough to afford it / mental enough to spend all available cash on it: home cinemas. huge screens, incredible sound systems and luxurious seats are popping up in seemingly spare rooms and basements larger than my entire flat.

however this is also giving a few movie geeks a real chance to shine and it seems they’re not content with a simple in-home movie theatre decent enough to hold a premiere in - they clearly want to be fully immersed in the worlds created by their favourite films.

so, in no particular order, here are 10 of the best themed home cinemas on earth…

1. indiana jones cinema

this amazing indy-themed room was designed by home theatre expert doug charrois for larry and colleen halliday in canada. the room even features ‘replicas of the holy grail, a jacket, hat, whips, torches and more—including the idol from the opening of the original movie’.

more info here.

2. the batcave

above is possibly the sleekest home theatre i’ve ever seen. it was created by canadian-based experts ‘elite home theater seating’, who, as the name suggests, specialize in hand-made, custom home theater furniture for ‘high-end’ clientele. and bruce wayne.
more info here.

3. the enterprise ncc-1701d cinema

based on starship enterprise ncc-1701d, this stunner consists of a cinema, bar area and apparently ‘one of the largest kaleidoscope hard-drive based storage systems (..) in a residential installation. at last count, there were eight servers with 3,816 dvds’. there’s even a red alert button which brings on red flashing lights and appropriately tense music.

more info here.

4. the bridge

trekkie gary reighn decided to cut out the middle man and design & build his home cinema himself on a relatively small budget of $15′000. his basement was cleared to make way for the creation and from start to finish took 2 years.

more info here.

5. evergreen ultimate theater

apparently ‘one of the most technically and structurally advanced private theaters in the united states’, this phenomenal star trek home cinema even contains motorised sliding doors, as requested by the unbelievably rich client who paid around $3′000′000 in total for the transformation.

more info here.

6. titanic

the ceiling dome in this titanic themed set-up contains 1′230 fiber optic light strands in order to provide the artificial night sky and entry to the luxurious bar next door can be found behind a motorised bookcase. the whole project was designed by donny hackett of ‘casa cinema design’.

more info here.

7. the death star

it doesn’t get much cooler than this. the 10-seat death star home cinema was designed for vic wertz and lisa stevens and includes, amongst other things: automatic doors, a twinkling fiber optic star field and a thx sound system. the best fact? the room was designed by doug chiang, lead designer on episodes I & II.

more info here:

8. the nautilus

this beauty was built as a result of film geek randy moran’s love of the nautilus submarine from the film 20′000 leagues under the sea. he hired ‘dillon works inc’ to build and fabricate all the trusses, wall panels, screen frames, and portholes and ‘acoustic innovations’ to supply the plush red seating.

more info here.

9. the pirate cove

the pirate cove was created as a result of avs forum user pkonold’s love of the pirates of the carribean disney ride and movies. to make the atmosphere as authentic as possible he and his wife ensured that when seated ‘you feel like you are floating down “the bayou” at night. to accomplish this we have built a star field in the ceiling, complete with real constellations and shooting stars!’.

more info here.

10. the sci-fi cinema

ok, so the screen isn’t the biggest and the seats are slightly lacking but inside dr. david winn’s home cinema can be found: a hydraulic alien bursting through the wall, a talking robbie the robot and both the predator and the creature from the black lagoon behind bars. the cinema, including all collectibles, cost approximately $100′000.

more info here.

Say NO to gravity

Damien Walters makes Jackie Chan look lousy

Rogue Trader costs Societe Generale 7 Billion!!

Massive fraud by a rogue trader at Societe Generale SA has led to a €4.9 billion ($7.16 billion) write-down and is roiling markets as far away as Asia and further shaking investor confidence in Europe's biggest banks.

The bank, France's second largest after BNP Paribas SA, revealed early Thursday that it had detected a case of "exceptional fraud" due to a single trader who had concealed enormous losses through a scheme of "elaborate fictitious transactions."

The bank identified the trader as Jerome Kerviel. Mr. Kerviel, 31, joined Societe Generale in August 2000 and was working as a trader on the futures desk at the bank's headquarter near Paris. He was in charge of futures hedging on European equity market indices, known as "plain vanilla" futures. The bank said he was able to dupe the bank's own security system because he had inside knowledge of the control procedures gained from previous jobs with the bank.

Though Societe Generale says it first learned of what it termed "massive fraudulent directional positions" on Jan. 19, it waited until it could close out those trades before going public with the problem. Winding down the trades, the bank said, resulted in a €4.9 billion write-down, making it potentially the largest loss ever from an alleged rogue trader.

At a press conference, Chief Executive Daniel Bouton apologized to shareholders and said the bank wouldn't offer staff stock options or bonuses for 2007. Neither Mr. Bouton nor co-CEO Philippe Citerne will take a fixed salary through June, he said.

The size of the SocGen incident could far surpass one of the most notorious "rogue trader" incidents in global corporate history, the more than $1.3 billion attributed to Nick Leeson in 1995 which bankrupted British bank Barings. Barings collapsed after Mr. Leeson, the bank's Singapore general manager of futures trading, lost £860 million pounds -- then worth $1.38 billion -- on Asian futures markets, wiping out the bank's cash reserves. The company had been in business for more than 230 years.

US Maglev trains coming this decade- LA to Vegas

Video of Prototype

As a proof of concept, the General Atomics maglev is impressive, but to fully grasp the potential of high-speed trains in this country, you still have to use your imagination. Here’s how it could work: You board a train in downtown Anaheim, Calif., at 5:30 on a Friday evening, destined for Las Vegas. Instead of inching out of the traffic-choked Los Angeles metro area on what is typically a 4- to 6-hour drive, or gambling that the 1-hour, 15-minute flight will depart on time, you glide out of the city, accelerating toward Barstow. As the train fires through the Mojave Desert, it hits a top speed of more than 300 mph, and then pulls into Vegas just 90 minutes after departure—in time for dinner before an 8:00 show.

That scenario won’t come to pass for years, but commercial high-speed train travel is no mere fantasy. In other countries, “steel-wheel” bullet trains have been in operation since the 1960s. Japan’s Shinkansen sails along the 645-mile route between Tokyo and Fukuoka at up to 186 mph. In France, the high-speed TGV tops out at 199 mph on the 480-mile run between Paris and Marseille, which takes 3 hours. Within the U.S., Amtrak’s seven-year-old Acela Express can reach speeds of up to 150 mph, although the tight curves and dangerous roadway crossings of the Northeast Corridor route curtail its average speed to 86 mph. Magnetic levitation, the technology floating the test train at General Atomics, has a smaller commercial footprint, but it has the most impressive capabilities in the world of superspeedy trains. A maglev train that began service four years ago in Shanghai runs 20 miles between Pudong International Airport and the city’s business district in just 8 minutes at speeds of up to 267 mph. And this past September, the city of Munich, Germany, announced plans to build a new maglev line that will cover the 25-mile route between Franz Joseph Strauss International Airport and downtown in 10 minutes.

Apples Most notorious Flops

The Newton, Pippin, G4 Cube among others-

Personally I loved the G4 cube with its vertical loading optical drive and clear case. I will try to look around for one as a nice collectors item.

Engineered Mosquitoes Could Wipe Out Dengue Fever

Scientists at a British biotech company said they have evidence that their genetically modified mosquitoes, which are programmed for sudden, early death, can control the spread of dengue fever.

Dengue is carried by mosquitoes and is the scourge of urban areas in the developing world, much as malaria is in rural regions. The company, Oxitec, said it can decimate mosquito populations by breeding genetically modified male mosquitoes, then releasing them to mate with wild females. Their offspring contain lethal genes that kill them young, before they can reproduce. Company officials told Wired News that their latest test results show that the genetically modified bugs can breed just as well as wild ones.

"We will be able to control dengue through controlling the mosquitoes that transmit it, especially in large urban areas," said the company's chief scientist Luke Alphey. "Thereby protecting many, many millions of people from this disease."

Mosquitoes pass dengue fever to up to 100 million people each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Up to 5 million die. If the scientists can replicate their results in real field conditions, their technology could kill half of the next generation of dengue mosquitoes, which scientists say would significantly reduce the spread of the disease. If all goes well the company envisions releasing the insects in Malaysia on a large scale in three years.

The Downfall of the Cowboys