Greetings readers, as if anyone actually reads this…
I made a C in Geology. Made an A on both my Final and my Capstone. I’m so glad that class is over. Just thought I would share that with you. YAY!!
Author: James
Another Day down, and that much closer to the baby’s surgery. Audrey is scheduled for surgery on the 9th of July. Audrey and I fly into Hawaii on the 6th, and our appointments start the next day. Not only do I have the surgery to worry about, but I’m also concerned with the financial aspects as well. I can’t really afford to send Cathy, John, Matthew & Jaymie there to be with Audrey. If the duration of stay was 1 week or less I would consider letting the kids stay here in Misawa with friends, but that is out of the question, due to the fact that we will probably be there for atleast one month. Additionally, I’m trying to buy my Dad tickets to fly from Atlanta to Hawaii so he can spend some time with the kids. He hasn’t seen them in 2 years. Even though I have not promised the kids that he will be there, some reason they seem to be expecting him to be there. I keep telling them I will try, and attempted to explain to them that this is going to cost a lot of money and we have to be carefull not to spend too much.
This weekend we are planning another offroad trip to the mountains. This time there will be some new people attending. We are meeting up at the BX parking lot at 6:50 am and departing for the mountains at 7:am and meeting up with our Japanese Counterparts at 8:am at redbridge camping area. Can’t wait for this, looks like it’s going to be a good turnout, so we should have lots of fun.
Another thing to add… It is awesome that I don’t have any school work to deal with after work! I’m taking a summer break. Depending on work, probably a fall break. I’m thinking of starting back to shool in late October.
Finals are finally done!!! I will not be taking classes this summer. Things are just too hectic around the house, with Audrey having surgery and all. Now that this class is over, I’ll have time to do some things I have been putting off. Not that I can list anything now. But, I’ll have time to do stuff anyway. Like wax my vehicle… uhh… work on my website… well… after I get back from Hawaii that is.
My friend David is deploying soon, so this weekend we will be going back out to the mountains for some trail riding. A couple of our Japanese friends from the Jimny Club will be there. I wish all the guys from the last trip could show up, that would be awesome! But, it will be lots of fun anyway.
As for other updates, this is the last week of school for the kids. Jaymie’s last day was earlier for SureStart (pre-K). She has done Awesome and I forsee no problems in Kindergarten. Work is the same… working long hours with no evidence of accomplishment. Morale is… wait… what is that? But, that’s ok. There is light at the end of the Tunnel in August.
This was the long awaited, camp and trail ride. I was really looking forward to this. I got a chance to hang out with some great people and do some offroading. Although I was not driving a Jimny, I think my Toyota Hilux Surf (4Runner), held up rather nicely.
Everyone lining up to “Head for the Mountains… ”
Jaymie & Omee (Spelling?)
Another Mountain Trail
“Mountain Man…” going down GOOD HIGHWAY!
Jaymie… ドキューン！ 撃たれたー！ でもかわゆいから許してあげる！
For more pictures, check out my gallery @ http://www.strickstuff.com/photo/v/may08_camp and check out the videos of this trip @ http://www.strickstuff.com/jimnyclub.php
Also check out Taguchi-san’s blog @ http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/366083/blog/
More later…
JAMES!!!
Greetings all…
Once again, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. I’ve been staying extremely busy. I’m taking 2 more classes, as I’ve mentioned before and the Algebra class is whoopin’ my buttocks. I thought I was good in math but guess not that good. Alot has happened since my last post. I’m also working on another website for the LRS Spouse Group. http://www.35lrsspouse.com I’ve almost got template done, just need to finish it up and add content, then troubleshoot any errors.
First of all, I recently got rid of my Pajero. Guy payed me 10,000 yen ($100) and drove it away to a junk yard. Same week, I found a 1992 Toyota Surf (4Runner) and paid $1500 for it. It’s an awesome vehicle, but the v6 uses more fuel than my previous 4 cylinder diesel.
Our new Baby Audrey is growing like a weed. She’s over 1 month now and is eating more, pooping more, and sometimes crying more. She was recently diagnosed with craniosynostosis, which is where (basically) the skull grows back too fast and causes deformity. Now, luckily Audrey’s condition isn’t too bad, where it affects her brain, but still requires surgery. I have an appointment in Trippler Army Medical Center in Hawaii in July. The Government only pays for one person to fly over, which is going to be me, so if my wife goes, we’re going to have to pay for it out of our pocket. I can’t really afford it, but I’m going to try my best to get this done. Enough abou that.
Planning an offroad adventure / camping trip this weekend… Just an over nighter in the mountains. Can’t wait to get out there. The kids are really looking forward to going, and to be honest, so am I.
Enough for now. I’m tired of typing…
Recently got tired of having bookmarks on my my laptop and not on my desktop, podcasts on my desktop but not on my laptop and so on and so forth. So, I decided to use rsync to sync the two. I use my laptop most, so I started with that. I didn’t want to rsync my entire /home/user/ directory, so I just chose to sync the apps that I wanted to be the same on both computers. So, I just wrote a simple bash script to sync the two. First, I got rid of the passwords when I rsync or ssh to the desktop. I used the command below.
ssh-keygen -t rsa
Do not enter password when prompted. from there,
cd ~/.ssh/ && cp id_rsa.pub laptop.key
Then put that key into authorized_key file on the remote computer. I had an nfs share of my home computer, so I just did it that way. You could use FTP, Thumbdrive, etc.
cat laptop.key >> authorized_keys
Once that is complete, repeat for both machines. You should then have 2 way passwordless communication via rsync & ssh.
here’s the script I wrote.
#-------------------------------
# Laptop / Desktop sync script
#
# gi_james@strickstuff.com
#-------------------------------
# Declare Variables
amark="/home/james/.kde3.5/share/apps/amarok/"
kopet="/home/james/.kde3.5/share/apps/kopete/"
firefx="/home/james/.mozilla/"
thunder="/home/james/.thunderbird/"
school="/home/james/school/"
# Begin sync ops
echo "Syncing Amarok"
rsync -arvuz $amark compaq:$amark
echo "Syncing Firefox"
rsync -arvuz $firefx compaq:$firefx
echo "Syncing Thunderbird"
rsync -arvuz $thunder compaq:$thunder
echo "Syncing Kopete"
rsync -arvuz $kopet compaq:$kopet
echo "Syncing School Folder"
rsync -arvuz $school compaq:$school
echo " "
echo " "
echo " "
echo "DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
This script will sync the directories in the #delare variables section. Change those around accordingly. I know there are other methods, but this method is good enough for what I want to do. Please feel free to email me with a better method. I’m certainly not the most proficient bash scripter.
Oh, one more thing, before I started, I edited /etc/hosts and added the hostname of all computers on my network. That way, all I have to do is type ssh computername instead of ssh ipaddy and no password is needed.
I think the majority of the world uses Microsoft Products. Whether it’s Windows XP/Vista or Microsoft Office. Like a Southern Baptist Preacher, I feel it my responsibility to let the world know that there are free alternatives out there that not only does the same thing that Microsoft Products do, they do even more. The type of software I’m talking about is called Open Source Software. Open Source Software is software that is available for all to change, copy, distribute, etc.
Windows XP/Vista
Most households are familiar with Windows. Whether it’s XP or Vista, “Windows” is in nearly every home in America and probably across the world. Most businesses use Windows. Most schools use Windows. Most people don’t know that there are other Operating Systems (OS’s) out there. In the past few years, since Malware, Virii, and Spam is up, I’ve noticed that Apple have increased their sales of Macintosh computers. Apple/Mac computers do not use “Windows,” they use a Linux based OS called “OS X.” Since MAC OS X isn’t a Windows based OS, Viruses, Spyware and Malware are all incompatible. Now, don’t get confused, OS X isn’t Open Source Software. I just mentioned it because it’s an alternative to Windows. OS X, still costs you money. Now, what I use is called Linux. Linux is a Unix based OS that is yet another of the many Alternatives to Windows. Check this page out: DISTRO WATCH to learn more about the different Distro’s or Versions of Linux that’s available. Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS is probably the best to start off with. By getting rid of Windows and getting Linux, you’re saying goodbye to Spyware, Malware, and Viruses. You’re also saying goodbye to the famous “Blue Screen of Death” (BSoD).
OFFICE SOFTWARE
Another Microsoft product that people think they can’t live without is MS Office. You know Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. There are several alternatives to Microsoft Office products as well. The most known (I think) and the one I use is an Office Suite by Sun Microsystems called Open Office. You can check it out at OpenOffice.org. Open Office does everything that MS Office does and looks just as good. MS Office was required for my classes, but Open Office works just fine. And most importantly, it’s 100% Microsoft Office Compatible. So there’s no excuse for not switching NOW. Also, it’s available for Windows, Mac, & Linux.
Open Source Software is a great FREE alternative to Commercial software. For everything you do in Windows or Mac, there’s an alternative in Linux that’s just as good or better. If you have any questions on Free Alternative Software, feel free to contact me and I’ll see what I can do to help!
In a relentless attempt to make a better life for my Family, I continue my pursuit toward a degree. My next two classes start Monday. I decided to go ahead and get math and science out of the way, so Algebra and Geology are my choices this semester. Last semester I took Business Communication and a rediculous general studies class. I must admit, I’m a bit nervous about this Algebra class. It’s been a while since I’ve taken a math class. I’m sure I’ll do ok… I’ll have the power of the internet at my hands… so help is just a click away.
Audrey Elaine Strickland
Wife had some complications, and had to have a “C” section, but the baby (who is 3.5 weeks early) is doing well. She was 7 pounds and 1 ounce. And both Mommy and Baby are doing well!
more pictures here.
Finally got off my “toosh” and posted the videos of our last offroad adventure.
Look here for pics and heree for videos.
Now, the video page has a long list of videos, and I’m working on making it more user friendly. Just takes time and I don’t want to devote that much time to it right now. There’s still about 5 videos that I have not posted yet. They will be up soon enough…