How funny is this, I did not know but today is System AdministratorDay. Check it out at SysAdmDay.com.

I am currently sitting in NWC 1313 listening to the MathWorks speaker talk about Matlab. I can see why many folks like the software. I am still a bit skeptical about the black box functionality of the program. I know of the small group of students who program in Python and see why they prefer to program their own applications. I think it is the ability to control both the functionality and the output that is satisfying to the user that one does not have with a commercial product.

It is also fun to watch as folks bail from the seminar when the topic moved into developing the GUI. Matlab will allow for users to create a GUI for others to use based on the purpose and function of the code. But one can do the same with Python. So which is better? It comes down to the user and where they are most comfortable working. Myself, being an “old dog”, I like the command line and simple programing workflow of Python and the modules one can import to Python which has most of the tools that are an extra cost under Matlab.

mjl

Well, so begins another semester. While on one hand, things are moving smoothly (only the second day of classes), I am finding that my days are very busy. I am behind on my “to do” lists. It seems that my biggest problem is that the tasks on the list are taking longer to complete than I anticipated. I am also running out of time trying to stay ahead with my scouting duties. What I really need is a 30 hour day but I know that is not going to happen.

So I will being working on staying on task and not getting distracted on other items. I still am trying to figure out why the data ingest machine is not seeing the external raid device. Both the computer and the raid appear to be working, just not talking to one another. (Funny, that last line sounds like a bad marriage.) Getting the data ingest machine is just one of the priority tasks that are on the list of “to dos”

And so it begins.

mjl

Not sure what it is, but keeping up with a blog right now seems like a daunting task. I am keeping up fairly well with the departmental computing blog. So in some respects, that blog has replaced some of the blogging that I would be doing here. So I am shifting a bit the focus of this blog to be a bit more personal about what I am doing at work. So more opinions of softwares, computers and stuff meteorological. We will see if I can keep this up instead.

Maybe if I spend less time on ...... Nah.

mjl

I have just returned from a week of camping near Colorado Springs and am now getting back into the swing of things as we begin the push to the start of a new term. It will be different this time, as I will not have the help of Brian who was always a big help with the computing here in the department.

I am working on rolling out the new computing website. It will have a lot more information that the previous site. It will also include a sign up proceedure for requesting Bastion Host accounts here at the NWC. I have a couple of machines in the Linux lab that are not working as they should and they will be in the queue for repairs next week. I also have a couple of new servers for both faculty and the department that I need to get installed and running. I have having serious issues with one and the update of the software. Seems that the RAID controler drivers are not part of the usual ones and the new kernel will not boot. So now I will be needing to track down that problem.

I now have a bit more control over the intro labs and will assist with the upper division synoptic lab this coming academic year. So I will be spending some time with the labs of previous years/sections and compiling a hopefullly more orginized set of labs. I am wanting to create a good set of labs that will introduce many of the the meteorological concepts as well as computing skills to make it easier on students as they move through the program.

Well, it has been too long since I have posted to this blog. I really need to try and post more often. I do use Rapid Weaver as my html sofware of choice and so the upgrade toe 4.0 give me a reason to at least post one upate. So here it is.

So far I have liked the changes RW4 has made. The interface is more in tune with Leopard and it looks like it has come a fair number of new themes. Who knows, I may update the theme of this site yet again.

Well, I am currently off for the next week and will not be back to work until after the new year. Well, not quite. I need to head over to the NWC Sunday afternoon and set up printers for the director's backup machine. His laptop failed why he was away and it is off for repairs. In the meantime, his old desktop has been put back into service. I forgot that it had not been set up for the new building. So no printers are set for the new networking and in I go.

I can at least say that all my holiday shopping is now complete. Nothing left as far as I can think. But my guess is that like the printers, I am forgetting something. I am sure it will come to me late in the day. For at least the past couple of years, I have been out for a quick run to the store to get one item or another that I have forgot.

So, a break for now. I will try and post a bit of what is on the docket for spring term. Some very interesting projects for sure. So keep tuned.

mjl

Sorry that it has been so long since I have last updated. Been busy with both general semester chores as well as working out the kinks in the NWC. Now that I have had a couple of days off owing to the "bad weather" I figured I would work on an update.

As to the weather, the University has been closed the Thursday and today. So I have been enjoying the days off (sorta). I have still been monitoring systems at work (kinda) and checking e-mail. The ability to monitor systems at work is hampered by the fact that I cannot get onto the internal network of the NWC. None of the paths into the building have been established. Frustrating to say the least. This means that if any system has troubles, I am forced to drive to the NWC to take care of the problem. Not the most desirable option with driving conditions as poor as they are.

It appears that the problems with some machines not connecting to the network in the NWC 5720 (the Linux lab) have been resolved. It WAS a hardware issue with the wires (hmmmmm) and so the kludge fix that we were using has been removed. I will keep an eye on those machines over the course of next week and see where we stand.

Also, we are looking into options for setting up a new electronic map wall. We are looking at a few solutions, one of which will require that we build GEMPAK on an Intel Apple. That should be interesting. Unidata has done it for the Power PC but has not compiled a binary for the newer Intel's. I will post our status later.

mjl