Hamster
7 April 2009 | Jason
So Vivian got herself a little hamster today. It’s a cute little furball and it’s much more willing to climb onto my hand than it is hers. Yes. It likes me more than it does her.
Get little pets that like you.
I’m still alive
5 April 2009 | Jason
I just haven’t had the time to post any blog posts the previous two months. I promise that I will be better about it.
Ski Bumming
1 February 2009 | Jason
5:00 Buzz, buzz, buzz.
5:10 Buzz, buzz, buzz.
5:30 Jason, we need to get up.
Bleh, it’s not even starting to get light outside. OH WAIT! I can sleep on the bus.
And so I get out of bed and get ready to go out for the day with my bag I packed the night before. Kevin and I walk to the bus in front of McCormick and take our seats. Mark sits with me, but I soon doze off.
8:30 I wake up in time to realize we’re there. I look out the window. That’s a nice hill, now where’s the mountains? WHAT?! Read More
Escape From Zyzzlvaria
29 January 2009 | Jason
We, the participants of Zyzzlcon 3009 were enjoying our time when suddenly we were transported to Zyzzlvaria. We need to get home, and we can do so with the Covertly Operational Inversion Node, aka COIN. It is accessable on Zyzzlvaria Alpha, but the problem is we don’t know how to get there. We have a board game based on previous adventures to the area, so we can figure it out that way! Problem! We don’t have all the pieces but expansions can be purchased. Problem! We don’t have the right money, but we can get some from solving puzzles. That way we can finally figure out where Zyzzlvaria Alpha is located.
And so began Mystery Hunt. Read More
6.091
29 January 2009 | Jason
Crossing Mass Ave, passing the Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel, entering building 34, and entering my class on the third level, I take a seat next to Yuzhi for the first class. I listen to the professor begin to talk about what we will be doing in the class and do a quick explanation of resistors and circuits. We finish the first class and some of us head to lab. We learn how to use multimeters, scopes, signal generators, and soldering irons. Each of us even was allowed to keep a multimeter for ourselves. Read More
VMware and Linux
29 January 2009 | Jason
I installed VMware Workstation 6.5 with my new Windows 7 install in the hopes that I would still have linux on my machine somehow. I gave up on OpenSUSE trying to work properly after a few weeks of trying to get everything working properly on my hardware and went back to Windows. I should have tried to install again with a new properly burned install disk, but was too lazy. VMware installed easily in Windows, and I started it up. I got an install disk for OpenSUSE and installed that. Read More
Long Time
29 January 2009 | Jason
I realize that I have posted in something like two weeks, so if I feel significantly motivated tonight or soon, there will be a good number of posts to come. These will hopefully include a variety of everything from my struggles with linux and VMware to 6.091 to mystery hunt to everything in general, to the best of my own recollection. By the way, Windows 7 is going very nicely. Everything works well. I’ve only had 3 BSoDs in two weeks. Two of them have been today because I was trying to play videos in WMP12.
Get everything done early, especially if they depend on your memory. Your memory will fail you.
Windows 7 Install
16 January 2009 | Jason
I watch as my files copy over to the second computer. 12 megs a second. Why won’t it go any faster? I’m on gigabit ethernet! Maybe I shouldn’t have used bittorrent to copy my files over. As my files finish, I quickly restart my computer with my freshly burned Windows 7 beta, build 7000 DVD in my drive. Crap! I forgot to change the bios settings to boot off the disk drive. Another restart later, I make it to the install screen. This looks oddly like the Vista install screen. Oh well, I guess they’ve been working on adding new features rather than another installer. I wipe my entire harddrive and install what I hope to be a good Windows. After about half an hour, I am able to play around. It’s quite a beautiful setup and a good deal of my hardware works out of the box. So far I think only my fingerprint reader doesn’t work. My sound did get broken later though, but it did work. A great deal snappier than the Vista I had just removed. I play around a bit and have fun with the new titleless taskbar. Visually, a lot of Windows 7 looks like Vista with many upgrades. This next link will show you the new features and much of the eye candy.
Deep inside the Windows 7 Public Beta: an in-depth tour
I cleared my entire hard drive for Windows 7. This means I removed my linux(es) and Vista partitions completely. I wondered if I would regret my decision of not having linux running natively on my machine, but so far, Windows 7 has not disappointed (much). The only problem so far has been getting internet working with VMware, but that has been partially solved. I have also only had 1 BSoD so far.
Windows 7 as “Linux killer”? How times have changed!
Windows has finally released another good operating system, but that actually is pretty and I might use. Everyone go get Windows 7 beta now, before the trial period closes.
Food in the North End and Mystery Hunt Practice
16 January 2009 | Jason
It was Meghan’s birthday on Friday so we went to a restaurant in the North end to celebrate. Earlier in the day Kevin and I had gone to the Galleria so I could pick up a card and gift for her. When it was time, I met Meghan in the Student Center with all her friends and we all walked to Kendall. On the subway, we realized she had no idea how to get there and we might become hopelessly lost. At least her other friends knew where we were going. We make it to Haymarket and walk down the street to the restaurant. Our group barely makes it there with a little time to spare before the reservation. The maitre d’ seats us upstairs on a long table. We had our pasta and paid. As we were walking back, we went to Mike’s Pastry for, well, pastries. I got myself a chocolate chip cannoli. We made it back to campus and split up.
The next day, I woke up fairly late and realized it was about time to go join ATS and do a practice Mystery Hunt. I went out to the Student Center and found Wei in the PDR. I pulled out my computer and began working on the first puzzle. I was invited to a Google Docs file where we were collaborating on answers. I invited Vivian in to help out as well. Even though she was still in Texas, it would be good to practice. After a while, not many were focused on puzzle solving anymore, and were doing other things. There were cards flying around everywhere and Nick finished folding his flower.
Free time is precious. Abuse it.
Reuse Strikes Again!
9 January 2009 | Jason
It was noon and I was bored and stalking my email. I look, and see a 20″ Sony monitor in front of 54-1412. I walked over to Andrew’s room and told him of the email. He immediately went and sprinted out of the dorm in an attempt to get the monitor that had been emailed to reuse 7 minutes earlier. I went back to my computer after that and then saw someone had claimed the monitor. They lived in EC, so they probably had taken it by then. I called Andrew to tell him, and he came back. After a while, I look again at the reuse list and see another 20″ monitor. This one’s an Apple Cinema Display 21″ 19.8″ viewable. I immediately email the person to claim, and get it. I also see Andrew has claimed the reposted 20″ Sony. I am about to leave and see Andrew. He got the monitor back to his room. I rush over to EC with Andrew. He needed the power cord to his monitor. I got my monitor, put it on the dolly cart, and we walk it back to BC. I clear off a place on my desk to put the monitor, and have a place set up. I then realize I need a power cable to go with mine! Sadly it didn’t come with one, but on the way to return the dolly to desk, I find Mark who has spare power cables. Yay. I hook it up and it works happily.
An update on reuse machine. It is working with Windows XP now, and works with the TV in the lounge. Slowly everything is coming together. I am happy.
Monitors are EXTREMELY heavy. Unless you want to be masochistic, don’t carry it alone. I guess there are those people here at MIT who truly are masochistic.