Sad day… *Updated*

Michael J. Jackson, the “King of Pop” (as you may or may not know) has passed due to unknown causes.

As per wiki:

The cause of death has not yet been determined. The case was transferred to the Los Angeles County Coroner for investigation. Jackson’s body was transported by helicopter from UCLA to the LA Coroner’s offices in Boyle Heights. The autopsy was scheduled for Friday, June 26, 2009. A final verdict on Michael Jackson’s autopsy will only be possible after the toxicology test results are confirmed, which could take six to eight weeks. It has been reported that police are searching for Michael Jackson’s personal doctor, currently missing, after the star’s family suggested he died because of a drug overdose of Demerol, an opioid similar to morphine.

Regardless of what happened, what has transpired in the past, or what evidence is presented in the future, it is still a sad day for the fans and family.

Lets have a moment of silence for his death and his family. May he rest in peace.

Update:

Jackson collapsed at a rented home on 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles during the late morning or early afternoon of June 25 PDT. His personal physician, cardiologist Conrad Murray, was present and tried to resuscitate him. Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) paramedics received a 911 call at 12:21 pm (19:21 UTC), and arrived three minutes and seventeen seconds later, at which point Jackson was reportedly not breathing. The LAFD released the recording of the 911 call.

Paramedics are reported to have wanted to pronounce him dead at the scene, but Murray insisted he be taken to a hospital.CPR was performed on the way to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where they arrived at 1:14 pm (20:14 UTC), and continued for an hour. Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm (21:26 UTC).

He reportedly recieved an injection of pethidine, a painkiller also known as Demerol, one hour prior to his collapse. Jackson was alledgedly addicted to Demerol for twenty years.

IPhone 3G S *Updated*

Well, I took the plunge into the world of IPhones. The “smart phone” is not new to me, nor is Apple’s App Store, since I used to have a IPod Touch before. However I decided to go “mobile”, and maybe have some fun in the process 🙂

I saw online on how to get the phone without a contract and etc, but since I don’t have AT&T (nor any provider) I would have to get a new contract (2 years) anyway. I know usually if you buy the phone, you don’t have a contract, but after talking to a bunch of AT&T stores and even corporate I would have no choice since they can’t select “zero month contract” in the system for the IPhone. With any other phone they can, but that one. Oh well…

So I ordered the phone Friday (the day it was released) with the understanding that I possibly wouldn’t have it for a bit and well… the wait was minimal for the most part. From the time I ordered online, to the time it shipped was about 3 days. Currently right now it is in Anchorage, AK waiting to be put through customs. The expected date of arrival is tomorrow – but I am not so sure since its 11 AM right now and its still held in AK 🙁 I did call FedEx and they called me back to say it would be put through customs tonight and be here tomorrow. I guess we will find out tomorrow 🙂

Scan History:

06/23/2009 15:09 Held at Sort Facility ANCHORAGE, AK US
06/23/2009 13:16 Arrived at Sort Facility ANCHORAGE, AK US
06/23/2009 20:28 Left FedEx Ramp SHENZHEN CN
06/23/2009 13:00 Left FedEx Origin Location SHENZHEN CN
06/23/2009 11:46 Left FedEx Origin Location SHENZHEN CN
06/23/2009 06:26 Picked up by FedEx SHENZHEN CN

UPDATE:

Well, FedEx kept there promise and the IPhone arrived safely without any issues. Also my 360 degree privacy shield arrived so I can stop those peeping eyes from looking over my shoulder when traveling 😛 I had some issues since I was going from a pre-paid (pay as you go) to post paid (contract), but everything sorted out with customer care and a trip to the AT&T store.

Compared to the Dell, this box was tiny from Apple, no wonder why it took so long, you could of lost the thing if you were not careful…lol 😛

I added some apps already and I am ready to go. Battery life appears to bit better than the 3G, but not a whole lot (IMHO).  The extra features and hardware upgrades are pretty cool. I especially like the compass and updated maps (I usually go hiking at times). Also I like the copy and paste 🙂 Its one of those features that should of been there since day one.

Downtime :Updated:

The website will be down for a bit since I need to migrate a couple of things over. If everything goes well it should be only down for a few minutes. Just letting everyone know.

UPDATE:

Well, it looks like migration is complete (for now). I will post again if any other maintance has to be done.

Keep dust out of your computer

Dust is an issue with PCs and Servers. Why you may ask? It causes issues with cooling and could clog up and may even stop a fan from moving. Which in turn can harm your system.

I was thinking to myself how can I prevent this? You really can’t prevent this (since dust can come in from anywhere), however some case manufacturers include a “filter” already in the case. Its not a hepa filter per say, but it will help keep the dust out the PC case (for the most part). However I needed one for my existing cases.

I looked online, and I couldn’t find any computer filters. So I was looking around in the hardware store and found just a AC filter works great. Just put in the in the front of the case (under the plastic) and it should help out quite a bit. Its cut to fit, and it looks like it can fit in a number of different cases (based on the size of the filter). A single layer should be fine or you could also do a double layer, but I still wanted air to come in the case freely. Thats why I picked a single layer.

Now if you have dust in your case already, blow it out with compressed air. This is the most efficient way to do it. You can try to vacuum, but it doesn’t pick up everything and its too bulky. If you have a floppy, don’t blow the dust (since it builds up on the outside) into it since it can cause issues with the drive internally. Just wipe it down and remove it.

PowerEdge T410 – Part 2

Well, its not a full week yet, but its close enough 🙂

Now what do I have to say about the server you might ask? Well, in short – its great. I load tested it with Prime95 and did quite a few other things as well and its holding up just fine. The avg temp of the case is around 26 C (~78 F) and for the processor max 54 C (~129 F), low 38 C (~100 F). Another thing to note about these temps though, this is in a uncooled room, not in a datacenter. So overall I think its doing a pretty decent job.

The sound isn’t bad except when it starts up (sound like a jet), or when you hit 100% CPU for any length of time (which is expected since everything is passively cooled). The sound doesn’t interfere with any normal computing per say, but you can tell its there (in a corner of the room). The avg RPM is around 2400 or so, the max I believe is around 4000. The max noise level I believe (don’t quote me) is 63 dba, but it can push around 190 CFM at that time. These fan specs can be different depending on that fan model you have. Overall, I am used to it and it doesn’t bother me 🙂

One thing I do miss is the ability to see all the system temps. In Everest and in CPUID HW monitor, all you see is the CPU temps. Normally this would be fine, but I would love to see the HD, system case, and etc. The only way I am able to see the system case temp is through Dells System Administrator which I believe is connected to the DRAC. So without some form of DRAC installed (express or enterprise) you will not see this data (I believe).

The reason I don’t see the HD temps is cause its connected to the PERC raid. If I take a HD and connect it to one of the internal SATA connectors – it reports it. Now this hard drive is in the second bay of the 5 1/4 in compartment. I just had some mounts and used them. Its not a “secure” connection for a HD since the case is the tool-less design and it can slide in and out easily, but it didn’t vibrate from what I can hear. The screws came with the case so you don’t have to worry about getting those. All that I needed was the SATA cable, but I had a few of those laying around. Another thing I noticed, which is cool by the way, is that it supports the locking cables. That I didn’t expect, but I was pleased with that. The existing cables that come with the computer (5 HDs and 1 DVD drive) didn’t have that connector.

So all the cables came with the case, and you really need nothing expect a SATA cable if you didn’t order a another media drive.

The administration is really easy to use with the System Administrator especially with the RAID. You can possibly do more if you have the enterprise version, but it wasn’t needed in my case.

Overall I am very pleased with this purchase and would get another one for a ESXi server. Thats way in future though when I have some money…lol 🙂