MySQL gets a 70x optimization from Oracle devs.

The performance jump from MySQL Cluster 7.1 to 7.2 is phenomenal. No joke. http://www.mysql.com/why-mysql/white-papers/mysql-cluster-7.2-ga.html

A first for me. Hard boiled egg molds?

These hard boiled egg molds are right up there with the rubber ducky tea infuser.

Measure twice, cut once.

I'm working with an on-site IT guy in another state. We did some troubleshooting and determined that the optics on the switch were bad. I took him at his word that the fibers were tested. The new optics arrived yesterday. This morning, we're back at square one. When he ordered the new SFP, I told him to also get an optical power meter so we can ensure that the loss budget of the optics match the characteristics the fiber. A light meter isn't the kind of item you buy from CDW for quadruple the price you can find elsewhere. Here's a good one for less than $150 shipped. http://www.computercablestore.com/Silicon_ZOOM_2_Optical_Po_PID48433.aspx I know the value of the time I've wasted on this effort is worth way more than this thing. He needs to measure the optical loss (dBmv) before I can help him further. Instead of taking a measurement, he is ordering new fiber which might match the optical characteristics of the optics he ordered before without knowing the loss levels on the fibers he already has. My sympathy levels are waning.

Blogging, cardio fun, and Phylo

There was a recent spike in traffic to my blog, so I decided to start paying more attention to it. The items getting the most clicks are technical. I generally forget that it's useful to others when I post odd technical tricks I learn, so others may stumble upon them. I did absolutely nothing technical today. I played drop-in hockey for the most fun possible morning cardio. I had a cheese omelet with chili on it for brunch. I relaxed and read email. Ooh, and I played some Phylo. Phylo is a pattern matching game, but the patterns are actually genome fragments of different mammal species. I'll tell ya, you have more in common with a bat than you do a horse or a dog. I would rather look for similarities among humans and mice than horses and dogs. http://phylo.cs.mcgill.ca/

Striking timelapse of Earth from orbit.

There are absolutely amazing views of our planet in this video. I am awestruck. http://vimeo.com/michaelkoenig/earth-timelapse-iss

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space | Fly Over | Nasa, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Share button fail!

I guess I should take a lesson from this and never use a share button to post directly to my blog.

Update . . and a favor to ask.

It’s always a wake-up call when Christmas decorations start showing up in department stores, but it happening. . . already. It makes me start thinking about the end of the year.

So, 2011 is wrapping up and it’s time to gear up for 2012. As you know I’ve been a network engineer for 17 years, and have been happily working at Tetra Pak for the past two years doing global network operations. Also, for about 10 years, I have been getting experience as a real estate investor, renting homes in Kansas City. I invested near the top of the market, had some good years, and then rode it all the way down. Now the banks are holding the bag and now that the time is right to invest at the bottom, I can lend some valuable knowledge. I’ve made some career moves, eliminated all of my debt, and now I live in the Dallas market and I’m shifting my real estate strategy to something more lucrative that anyone with investment money languishing in stocks, or a 401k that’s barely treading water can participate in.

A lot of people find that interesting with all the doom and gloom that the media and talking heads portray in the real estate, mortgage, and stock markets. Surprisingly, there is no better time than RIGHT NOW to be buying real estate and taking advantage of the huge discounts and sales that you can find, especially here in the major markets, including Dallas/Fort Worth.
I just wanted to drop you a quick line to inform you that I am looking to buy somewhere in between 1-4 homes per month here locally. I am coming across so many deals direct from banks that are so discounted, allowing me to buy them with steep discounts of 40-50% off of CURRENT MARKET VALUES! I've got the deals, but I could use your help! Do you know of anyone who is unhappy with how poorly their CD, Savings, or 401k (or now a 101k?  ) is non-performing. I'm looking to add on a select few private lenders who would be interested in making an above average rate of return on their money for a short period of time (12-36 months) or working with me to cash in on the next 24-36 months or while we are still in this phenomenal buyers market.
All of my deals (like the house below) are secured with:

Title Insurance
Home Owners Insurance
1st Lien
Deed of Trust
Low LTV (70% or less)

I close all of my transactions with my title company or attorney's office so that everything is recorded properly. I have found several deals on homes that I am currently looking for funding on (like the house below). IF you know of ANYONE who MIGHT be interested, I would appreciate the referral! Please have them either email me with questions or call me directly at 972-827-7693.

Check out the rate of return of the current deal I’m working on here: http://bit.ly/gptxnote

Like I said, now is a phenomenal time to be buying real estate! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP OR REFERRAL!