eric's random thoughts

Linux trials and successes

2009-07-27T23:59:53Z

I like Ubuntu. A lot. I have been running Ubuntu on my laptop for some time now (almost a year by my calculations). It is not without significant flaws (especially for those uncomfortable using command lines), but those flaws can often be overcome by spending a little time on the Ubuntu Forums. My current system is a Dell Inspiron 1526, running Ubuntu 9.04 64-bit, with 4 gigs of RAM.

Recently, I was having a significant problem. My laptop was overheating while running Windows XP in a VMWare VM (using VMWare Server 2). When the computer's processor temperatures hit 94 Degrees Celsius, it automatically shuts down. This often causes hard disk problems, which can then lead to kernel panics. In short, my laptop was behaving like a bad MS Windows machine.

So I set about trying to find a fix for my situation. First, the investigation. I kept a terminal window open running "top" (just type "top" at the command prompt). This shows all running processes and a variety of data for each. Since processor overheating was my main issue, I watched how each process affected %CPU. vmware-vmx was an eye-opener. It was often pegging my processor at 99%.

The second step was installing sensors to determine my processor's temperature. You can either do this by searching Synaptic for lm-sensors or by typing the following at a command prompt:

sudo apt-get install lm-sensors

One accesses the temperature info by simply typing "sensors" at the command prompt. This gives a static reading, so I wrote a little shell script:

#! /bin/bash
while true ; do

# execute sensors program
sensors

# print some text to the console
echo "*** Press Ctrl+C to quit."

# pause for 2 seconds
sleep 2
# clear screen
clear
# endlessly repeat

done

Well, this is all great so far... I can watch as the vmware-vmx process spikes my CPU and then watch the computer shutdown and slowly corrupt my hdd. I needed a way to force my XP VM to behave more reasonably. Enter cpulimit.

Next step: I installed cpulimit using the following command:

sudo apt-get install cpulimit

.
Now all the tools are in place. I keep 3 terminal windows open on while using my laptop:
1. top
2. sen.sh (the shell script described above)
3. "sudo cpulimit -e vmware-vmx -l 75"

cpulimit is not an exact science; sometimes the vmware-vmx process does get as high as 80%, but this is a far cry from when it used to max out my system for minutes at a time. Due to files corrupted from crashes and kernel panics, i did have to fix my hard disk by booting from a live cd and running, "fsck /dev/sda5", and also needed to have my XP VM chec disks for errors and defrag.

Now that I have done the above steps, my machine runs smoothly, and the temperature has yet to exceed 80 degrees C - even when I do quite CPU-intensive work in the Windows XP VM. Also, I have not had any unexpected shutdowns or kernel panics.

Diet / Fitness update

2009-06-25T19:19:29Z

I continue my quest to lose 100 pounds in 2009. My starting stats were:
Date: 1 January 2009
height 6'1 (this does not change)
weight 314.5 pounds
BMI: 41.5 (morbidly obese)

Date: 25 June 2009
height 6'1
weight 239 pounds
BMI: 31.5 (still obese, but moving in the right direction)

75 pounds down; 25 to go! Due to a recent plateau in the 240s, I am clamping down on food intake, and being much more strict about documenting what I eat on my Diet & Fitness twitter account. If food goes in my body (or out, from exercise), it gets tweeted. Understandably, the hardest part is tweeting "cheats". But it is important to track everything!

Also, I have a stretch goal to get to 189 pounds. This would be my lowest weight since high school, and would be just under the "overweight" BMI.

Diet and Exercise update...

2009-03-14T19:56:19Z

I do not do New Years resolutions.

That said, I did check on my morbidly obese weight on New Years Day. 314.5. Very very bad, and no doubt headed to an early grave. That called for drastic steps. I even looked into surgical options. Surgical options cost roughly $10k++. Insurance does not cover any of those options, hence they are not really options when one is unemployed.

So I decided to attempt to emulate the dietary changes which one makes after having any of the variety of weight-loss surgeries. Also, given my abundance of free-time, I have become a bit of a gym-rat. I work hard to limit my food intake to => 1200 calories per day (just a tick above starvation level), and I try to save 200+ of those calories for the nighttime so I can have a high-protein snack (Costco chicken dinosaur nuggets = inexpensive, well-liked by Veronica and only 180 calories per 5-nugget serving). My eating focus is, "protein first". I also avoid sugars, heavy fats and trans-fats as much as possible. Plus before bedtime, I take the following vitamins: one-a-day mens formula, chewable 500 mg Vitamin C, and a Vitamin D supplement.

I am starting to see results, but have a loooong way to go. For reference purposes, I am 6 foot, 1 inch tall. My target weight is 214.5. The stats so far are as follows:

1 January 2009
314.5 pounds
BMI = 41.6

14 March, 2009
279 pounds
BMI = 36.8

And my clothes already fit much better than they did last year. But I am certainly not resting on any laurels yet. The hill in front of me is still much steeper than the one behind me. Also, I am keeping a semi-regular running commentary on my twitter account.

Congratulations to President Obama and those who voted for him

2008-11-05T13:43:08Z

Congratulations to our new president, Barack Obama. Both he and the office of the presidency deserve our respect. I am disappointed in the result, but I accept it with dignity and sincerely hope that President Obama will do an outstanding job as president.

Congratulations to all who voted for President Obama. This is a historic occasion, as nearly 150 years after the end of slavery, the US has elected its first half-black president. His race was not a factor in my decision to vote for John McCain. Their voting records were.

In the upcoming years, there will be significant changes in the executive branch of the US. As an American, I will support and stand behind our new president. We are still one nation, under God. I will also make my opinion known when I disagree with our president. But here is more "change you can believe in". When I disagree with President Obama (and I suspect it will be often), I will do so in a respectful manner. I will not resort to ad-hominem attacks, name-calling, or hyperbole when voicing my dissent. I will express my opinions, but I will not whine nor be a sore loser. I will not disseminate crack-pot conspiracy theories of how the election was "stolen". President Obama won, fair and square.

I wish you all the best in this new era of American government, and I wish the best for our great country. God Bless you, and God Bless America.

*Disclaimer: When I say "half black", I do not say this as any sort of attack, but rather a statement of fact. In much the same way that my wife and I do not refer to our daughter as being "Asian", "Chinese" or "White", but rather what she is - mixed race, I do not understand why many people seem to ignore the mixed status of President Obama's heritage.

nb: I cross-posted this with my facebook.

Happy Birthday Chris!

2008-10-27T15:21:06Z

Happy Birthday, skajedi63. Hope you enjoy the remainder of your 20s.

R.I.P., Chef...

2008-08-11T00:25:43Z

Isaac Hayes (who formerly played Chef on South Park) passed away today. Whenever I hear of a person associated with a non-Christian religion passing away, I always hope that the person accepted Jesus before dying. Jesus made it quite clear how important it is to do so.

fun at bedtime

2008-08-09T02:26:37Z

(Around Veronica, Fonny and I refer to each other as "Momma" and "Daddy")...

At Veronica's bedtime...
Me: "Momma, would you like to come out of Veronica's room and sit in the game room with Daddy?"
Veronica: "No thank you; we're sleeping, Daddy"

well, at least she tries to be polite!

Guess that settles it...

2008-08-08T21:13:01Z

Hopefully John Edwards is now out of the running to be BHO's vp candidate. I have long found his policy positions to be repugnant, but must admit that I wish his coup de grâce could have come in a manner less painful to his already-dying wife.

On another note, I wonder how many news organizations had been developing stories about the sordid affair - only to be scooped by ABC News.

Shoulda posted this 4 hrs ago...

2008-08-08T16:13:08Z

Live Olympic coverage from our neighbors up north is to be found here. The torch-lighting and fireworks were AMAZING. I am looking forward to re-watching them tonight in HD (via dvr, of course).

Team America has ruined montages for me...

2008-07-23T14:32:19Z

Occasionally, when on the road for work, I like to go to cinema. Yesterday, I saw the movie Wanted. It was alright; quite violent. But I noticed something while watching. At a point in the movie in which the main character needed to do some serious physical training, I was thinking, "now we need a montage... MONTAGE!" Thanks Team America; you have ruined montages for me.

Kiva revisited... 1 year later

2008-06-19T23:12:33Z

A little over a year ago, I made a small Kiva loan to an entrepreneur in Indonesia. I am happy to say that she has repaid the loan in full, and now that money is freed up to re-loan to another deserving business person. Even better, the loan was paid at the nearer end of the 12-18 months estimated payback time. Hopefully the Kerosene business was successful during the past year, and continues to succeed. Now, the fun part - getting to research and find another business to which to micro-lend!

Australia trip recap

2008-06-19T02:33:21Z

As previously mentioned, I recently returned from visiting Australia for Fonny's sister, Sanny's wedding. We had a good time in Oz. We spent several days exploring Melbourne and southern Victoria. Driving on the left side of the road took a good bit of getting-used-to, but I eventually got the hang of it. Highlights included: visiting the little Saigon area for some good Vietnamese food; meeting Sanny's new inlaws and hanging out with them (I get along very well with her new husband, Henry); visiting the Sorrento area with its beaches; and visiting Phillip Island.

Henry and Sanny live very close to one of the largest malls in Australia, Chadstone Centre, so that was convenient for eating at the foodcourt and doing a bit of shopping. With the US peso in the tank, most things in Australia were quite expensive; even McDonalds was significantly more expensive than in the US. We still were able to keep a decent lid on expenses. One thing which was particularly helpful was being able to make fee-free ATM withdrawals at Bank of America's Australian partner, Westpac bank.

Our excursion trips were pretty fun. Sorrento was a quaint town, and we had some good fish & chips at a restaurant there. At the ocean beach, I walked down to dip my feet in the Southern Ocean. Veronica decided she wanted to do the same; guess she is getting to an age where she likes to emulate everything her parents do.

Another day, we went to Phillip Island to the far south of Melbourne. Along the way, we stopped at the Maru Koala and Fauna Park, which is basically a large petting zoo for Australian animals. We were able to feed and pet wallabies and kangaroos. We also saw (but were not allowed to pet) koala bears, dingos, and tasmanian devils. The kangaroos were my favorite part. On Phillip Island itself, we saw quite a bit of rocky coastal scenery, and also went to see the Parade of Penguins. It was a lot of fun to see the penguins march up to their burrows from the sea, and we were able to walk alongside them for much of the way. The only disappointment was that we were not allowed to take pictures of the penguins. That evening, we ate kangaroo steaks for dinner. The steaks were tender and tasty, with a unique flavor.

Henry and Sanny's wedding was a very pleasant experience. They were married in a Catholic Church, with a conservative priest officiating over the ceremony. Fonny was the matron of honor, and looked beautiful in her lavender dress. Veronica wore a pretty dress which my parents had given her. The reception was fun, and the food quite good. I enjoyed dancing with Veronica.

A few days after the wedding, we departed for Jakarta. Although we had delayed flights, we were able to spend our airport time at the Qantas Lounges due to my status with American Airlines. I must admit, I am an airline status junky. The perks just make vacation travel a little more pleasant. We arrived at Jakarta around midnight, and went back to Fonny's parents' house. The next day, 30 May, we stayed in the house during the morning; I packed, and we went to a mall (Taman Anggrek - "Orchid Garden") in the afternoon. Fonny and her parents dropped me off at the airport, and I headed back to the US. Fonny and Veronica are staying in Jakarta until 27 June; I came back earlier in order to work.

For the flights from the US to Jakarta and Jakarta back to the US, we used Delta miles to fly on Korean Airlines (KE). KE was a dream experience compared with any US-based airline. The flights and service were outstanding (even in Economy class - where we sat). The Korean Prestige Lounge in Seoul - access to that one due to Delta status - is one of the best airline lounges around, and I really appreciated getting to take a shower after my overnight flight from Jakarta to Seoul. I then took the 13 hour flight from Seoul to DFW. I really like having DFW be my point-of-entry into the US rather than having to take another flight after passing through immigration and customs.

Happy Mothers Day!

2008-05-12T03:08:18Z

Happy Mothers Day to my wonderful wife Fonny, and to all the other mothers here on LJ. I hope each of you had a blessed day.

Knocked update

2008-05-06T17:10:00Z

Fonny had an appointment for the first ultrasound (couple days over 9 weeks), and we saw the image of a tiny, healthy baby. Highlights of this visit are:

Healthy baby, of the right size for this point in gestation.

Heartbeat of 181 per minute - good.

Right location of the uterus - not ectopic (very good).

We even saw the arms and legs move!

Veronica got to see the little monitor of her little sister / brother.

Bill Gates should be embarrassed (well, more embarrassed...)

2008-04-28T05:10:10Z

Ubuntu's Terminal Server client is lightning fast compared with MS Windows's when logging into a Vista Ultimate box. This completely and utterly rocks.

LJ via Ubuntu

2008-04-28T03:15:07Z

This is my first post using the Drivel program from Ubuntu. I am finding more and more ways to shift a significant portion of my computer usage to the Ubuntu laptop rather than using the Vista laptop. If only I could run MS Outlook from Ubuntu...

"Opting out" can have serious health consequences...

2008-04-25T16:48:20Z

Saw a video the other day on the rare but growing number of kids whose parents "opt-out" from standard childhood immunizations. Seems that there was a measles outbreak in San Diego this year(!) which was scarcely reported at all. It only impacted unvaccinated kids.

Click here for the video of Dr. Sydney Spiesel discussing herd immunity and why vaccinations are so essential in today's world. My favorite part is when he says that he will not allow kids whose parents opt-out of whooping cough vaccine into his practice. We need more doctors to take a hard-line approach like he does.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T06:08:11Z

Just wanted to wish everybody a Blessed, happy and prosperous 2008.

Wii bought one...

2007-09-21T23:53:24Z

Today, we finally purchased a Wii. I was happy to be able to purchase the console without having to get a bundle. In addition, we bought Wii Play (more for the extra wii remote than for the games), an extra nunchuk, and a Game Cube controller (used). I bought Madden '08 but have yet to play it due to obligations from the "honey-do" list. Also, pre-ordered the DDR Hottest Party Bundle - I've been wanting a DDR game for a while; it should be ready for pick-up next Wednesday. For now, boxing is my fav. I need to figure out how to connect the Wii to our wi-fi network (hopefully the security is compatible).

Arrrrr! Today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

2007-09-19T14:42:33Z

From Me matey Captain Hook, comes this:

Avast belay, yo ho, heave to,
A-pirating we go
And if we're parted by a shot
We're sure to meet below!

Yo ho, yo ho, the pirate life,
The flag o'skull and bones
A merry hour, a hempen rope,
And hey for Davy Jones.

Hope ye have a great day, perhaps even a parrrrrrrrrrty!

Remember when...

2007-09-17T03:00:14Z

Remember when Command and Conquer was all the rage; people loved to play it on their brand new Pentium machines. Well, that was 12 years ago. Apparently, the game is still quite popular, and Electronic Arts is now allowing people to download Command and Conquer for free. There are 2 ISO files which need to be burned to CD-Roms, and an instruction document for playing C&C on XP. This could be cool for a guy like me who never really got into the C&C craze in the first place.

The Gospel in 6 minutes

2007-09-16T23:51:08Z

Found this link / video from the Evangelical Outpost...

A few days ago Tim Challies wrote:

What if there was a ten minute video clip (with transcript) of John Piper sharing the gospel? Wouldn’t it be an amazing thing if [this] could be promoted to the front page [of social media sites] and be seen by thousands or tens of thousands?

In response, Desiring God ministries provided this resource, JohnPiper on The Gospel in 6 Minutes:

Yeah, football rather stunk today

2007-09-09T04:56:24Z

ND got blown out in Happy Valley. Wake Forrest lost a squeeker they shoulda been able to win (now has same record as ND). NCSU got blown out - also same record as ND. TCU apparently forgot that there are 2 halves in a football game; at the half, I had been hoping for the upset. At least the wolverines embarrassed themselves (again - yet another 0-2 team; but I am glad about their record). The U (Miami) got blown away by the Sooners. Good times. I like to pull for A&M due to their permanent second-fiddle status in the state of TX, so it was nice to see them pull off a victory - albeit in a bizzarre way. As much as I hate to say it after ND's BCS embarrassment last year, LSU is a freaking impressive team to watch this year.

Btw, despite my nearly lifelong ignoring of the sport, Nascar is actually pretty fun to watch on TV - especially in HD. I might even go to one of the races at the Texas Motor Speedway this year - probably a Busch series one so it will be less crowded than a Nascar one.

Garage Sale tales...

2007-09-09T04:43:02Z

Fonny and I had our first garage sale today. It was nice to relieve ourselves of some extra things around the house. Used DVDs ($1 each) and old clothes were big sellers. Generally, we were able to sell the majority of items we wanted to - and without overly discounting. The two big Garage Sale signs which we purchased from Lowes ($8 each) and strategically placed to generate traffic were a solid investment. Plus we wrote the info in such a way that they will be re-usable in the future. We donated most of the leftover stuff to the Keller Community Storehouse (gotta love those tax deductions!) We will probably donate more stuff in the near future; they are a good Christian charity, and its good to simplify and de-clutter one's home (and life).

I am thinking we ought to follow aviendha1979's lead, and do more of our shopping at garage sales. It would be particularly cool if we were able to find some decent furniture / accessories, for example. Gotta be up early though; we had folks at our sale at 7:15 this morning. It goes without saying that the best items sell early.

Fun in Anaheim and LA...

2007-09-06T18:59:08Z

Fonny, Veronica and I had a great time in Orange County and LA, California last weekend. I will put in 2 separate cuts for the activities and culinary portions of the trip (eating good Indonesian food was one of the primary goals accomplished on the trip). For starters, skajedi63 ought to recognize the Disneyland attraction pictured below:

Activities

Friday began with us flying from DFW to SJC to SNA. After picking up our rental car, we went to get some sushi for lunch, and then checked in to the hotel. After unpacking, we rested a bit, and then drove down to Newport Beach. The beach was a lot of fun, though the 70 Degree F water felt bone-chillingly cold compared with the 97 degree air temperature.

Saturday morning, I went to the hotel gym to burn some calories, we ate some of the hotel's free breakfast, and then we went with 2 of Fonny's cousins and their cousin (other side of the family) to Disneyland. We just bought single-day single-park tickets for the Magic Kingdom, as our time was limited, and California Adventure did not have as many age-appropriate attractions for Veronica. Of course, we had to stop at the Jungle Cruise. Veronica's favorite parts were Its a Small World and the fireworks display.

Sunday morning, we went to the Crystal Cathedral's 9:00 am Contemporary Service (side note: even though it has the word "Cathedral" in its name, Crystal Cathedral is a non-denominational church). The service was good, and I enjoyed the teaching. I learned that most people in Orange County do not get up early enough on Sunday mornings to go to a 9:00 am church service.

After church, we went to eat Indonesian food for lunch (see below) with the cousins with whom we had gone to Disneyland the day before. We then went to Griffith Park. I must admit that I got very lost going to the park, resulting in about a 90-minute delay. Should have just followed the Google Maps directions (albeit from a different direction) instead of following the exit sign from the 134. Anyhoo, we had a good hike at the park and saw some nice views of LA, Hollywood and the surrounding mountains. After the park, Fonny, Veronica and I went to the Indonesian Foodcourt in West Covina for some dinner.

Monday morning, we woke up relatively early and went back to Newport beach for some more fun in the waves. Veronica really enjoyed swimming in the ocean (actually, she enjoyed being held while the waves crashed around us; she does not really know how to swim yet), and since the air temperature was significantly closer to the water temperature, the water did not feel nearly as cold as before. We went back to the hotel, got ready and checked out, and then went to the Downtown Disney District (again, see below). From there, we drove back to SNA to return the rental car and check in for our flight. As is their habit, American Airlines delayed our flight by about 2 hours for mechanical reasons. This resulted in our landing at DFW at almost half-past midnight. Long day. Onboard the airplane, the woman sitting behind Fonny went ape-s*** because a guy in her row would not turn off his handphone. *rolleyes*. Several other passengers spoke up *more rolleyes* when he objected to her overtures (specifically, he told her not to touch him since she had tapped his shoulder to get his attention). I pretty much wanted them to shut the ____ up so we could make like shepherds and get the flock outta there. Fortunately, I stayed out of their kerfluffel, as the complainer was nice to Veronica later in the flight.

Culinary Adventure!

For Friday lunch, we ate at I Love Sushi in Costa Mesa. Good sushi; very fresh fish.

Friday dinner, we got some excellent Indonesian Satay at Sate House in Walnut. The Pork Satay (sate babi) was delicious; fried noodles with mixed meats (mie goreng) was good, and the vegetable salad with peanut sauce (gado-gado) was so-so. We also bought some lamb satay (sate kambing) to go, and it was excellent.

Saturday's meals were pretty average Disneyland park foods; nothing exciting.

Sunday lunch, we tried to eat at Toko Rame (Indonesian for "crowded shop"), but all the tables were full (heh), and it was going to be a 45 minute wait to get a table - and when I asked about ordering take-out, they said that would be 45 minutes too!?!?!?! So instead we headed up to Westwood, Los Angeles for lunch at Ramayani. As we were eating with Fonny's cousins, there were 5 of us plus Veronica. We ordered family-style, and got some excellent food. The red curried beef (rendang sapi) was good, though quite mild. Fonny and the others liked the fried fish (ikan bakar), and the stir-fried bean-sprout leaves (cah kang-kung) were quite tasty. The yellow curried chicken was good too, and we liked the fried soybean chips (tempe goreng).

Sunday evening, we ate at the Indonesian food court at the Hong Kong Supermarket in West Covina. We bought food from 3 different vendors. We bought noodles with chicken (bakmi ayam) and fried dumpling thingies (pangsit goreng) from Janty Noodle, Indonesian Pancake thingy with Chocolate and crushed peanut (martabak manis kacang coklat) from Simpang Asia, and Pork Satay from Satay Fong. We ate most of the food items that evening, and all were excellent. We heated up the martabak for breakfast Monday morning, and it was quite good as well.

Monday morning, we ate leftovers. For a late lunch, we went to Downtown Disney and ate at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen (at the to-go section). The jambalaya was good, and the beignets were excellent. Monday evening, we just grabbed some food at the SNA airport.

Click here to view photos from our trip.