Gigabit

So a few weeks back, Fry’s had gigabit hardware on sale, and I decided it was time to switch from 100Mbps to Gigabit (1000Mbps). That way transferring files from my desktop to my file server would be a *snap*. The items on sale included:

• Airlink+ AGIGA32PCI Realtek 10/100/1000Mbps PCI Adapter – $5.99
• Airlink+ AGIGA5SW 5-port 10/100/1000Mbps Desktop Switch – $24.99

For only $37, it seemed like a cheap upgrade. Unfortunately, Fry’s was out of the switch and I got a raincheck instead. For the next few weeks, I ended up calling up every other day to see if there was more in stock. Always was told to call back next week. Finally, on this past Friday, they told me it was finally in stock, so I headed over after work and picked up my switch. I ended up setting it up when redoing my office layout.

A preliminary test transferring large files through FTP netted in ~18MB/s, a somewhat disappointing figure, but I believe it may have to do with a RAID5 hard drive limitation rather than the network limitation.

Random Crap:

Since most of my photos of my office was taken at night, I thought it’d be nice to show you what’s actually outside my windows. Here’s one in the late afternoon:

1. (img) リアル – Real – real Donkey Kong platform
2. (img) アメリカのファッションマガジン. フレア　マガジン(FLAIR　Magazine) 広告 – American Fashion Magazine (FLAIR Magazine) Ad – * NOT WORK SAFE!!! * Because woman have their own logic. a list of “positions” and how many calories you burn per minute.

Kitten and his box (from Cari) – an awfully cute video of kittens trying to squeeze into a box.

Cambodia passes adultery law, opposition walks out – In the last 7 years, at least 108 cases were reported of women being attacked by acid, some left horrendously scarred, usually by an outraged wife, the Licadho human rights group says. At first I didn’t understand why the women were being attacked by acid from their wives, but Tera pointed out, it wasn’t the women’s wives, but the mistress.

An Animation Company takes Harvard University Students on a 3D Journey (from /.) – I didn’t really bother reading the article, but it’s an awesome animation from SIGGRAPH 2006. Titled The Inner Life of a Cell, it features a 3D animation showing the inner workings of a cell, with an awesome background music. I’m no bio major and don’t think I can even point out more what 2 or 3 things are, but a couple of my bio friends are like, “Ooooh! That’s a _____. Ahhh! That’s a _____.” You can watch the animation (higher quality) in your browser or directly download the flv file and watch it in VLC or FLVPlayer.

Do you know what’s the worse thing about soundtrack music? No lyrics! Not that it makes the soundtrack bad, but it means there isn’t a easy way for me to search for what the song is called. If anyone knows what music/audio/soundtrack the above animation video clip is using, I would sure love to know. Please drop a comment if you do. Thanks! You know me, I love soundtrack music.

Stolen lunches? Substitute cat food for tuna on wheat (from /.) –

The nonteam players

It’s the other two who are not part of the team who can be a problem and are the likely culprits when confronted with the vast richness of the “office Serengeti,”as Buffini describes it.

Sometimes they’re angry in a passive-aggressive way and act out by sabotaging the personal property of others, Buffini said. Others take lunches as a way to be funny or provocative.

And then there’s a group that lacks integrity, rationalizing that there’s no name on the bag or that the owner is overweight and could stand to skip a meal anyway.

So which department is most likely to steal a lunch?

Accounting, Buffini said, drawing on his experience with personality traits at work. They have to do things by the book, but they’re often mad in a passive-aggressive way.

Another likely candidate is the customer-service department, because personnel there are under constant pressure and have to handle angry people, he said.

As for the least likely lunch bandits, Buffini said, it’s managers because of the scrutiny they’re under from all sides, as well as “hero” departments like information technology, which come to your aid when you’re down.

And the mellow marketing folks get so many gift baskets that they’re not interested in someone else’s tuna sandwich, he added.

Woman crashes when teaching dog to drive – A woman in Hohhot, the capital of north China’s Inner Mongolia region, crashed her car while giving her dog a driving lesson, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.

Overweight? Asthmatic? Australia’s army wants you – Australia will likely lower recruitment standards to let overweight people and mild asthmatics join up as it tries to boost troop numbers to combat regional instability, the nation’s top soldier said Sunday.

Switch off TV and switch on your memory – Turning off the television, picking up a crossword and eating more fish could be the key to a better memory, an Australian survey has found.

xkcd – A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language – COMPLY (from Tolik) – a funny webcomic for nerds. A couple funny ones:

• Pointers
• Fans
• Hamster Ball
• Sandwich
• Substitute
• Marketing Interview
• Balloon
• Pong
• Riemann-Zeta
• Paths
• Bored with the Internet
• Snapple
• Hobby
• Classhole

Only women need apply for traffic police – The male-dominated traffic police routinely forgive traffic violations in exchange for bribes. Many believe this culture helps make Russia’s roads among the world’s most dangerous: about 35,000 people are killed in accidents each year. We need more of those male traffic police here in Washington!

Brothels take the sting out of pump prices – Brothel owners claim the system works much the same way as supermarkets which offer shoppers discounted gas prices by presenting their grocery bills when they fill up their tanks. “If you come in and spend time with one of our lovely ladies, we’ll give you a discount of 20 cents a liter,” Kerry, manager of Sydney brothel The Site, told Reuters Wednesday.

Bartender gets $10,000 tip on $26 tab – Kienow, a bartender at Applebee’s, got a $10,000 tip from the man — for a $26 meal — on Sunday.

Nepal boy claims to be shortest in world – Khagendra Thapa Magar, 14, is only 20 inches tall and weighs 10 pounds.

Money more important than looks in a man – Women regard healthy finances as more important than good looks in a man, according to a survey on Friday. Almost half (45 percent) said a healthy bank balance is more significant than physical attractiveness in a potential partner, according to National Savings & Investments’ (NS&I) latest quarterly savings survey.