TacGeekDaddy

Hello again!

Aaron Mangoroban — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:42:52 +0000

I am finally able to breathe, both literally and figuratively. Things has been been going crazy the past few weeks, both with work, school and family life. Everything was just going crazy and it seems at some point I was about to snapped. Whew, glad that things are going back to normal. During that time, I have grown a year older, have started a new hobby and collection, bought a new phone, and stopped smoking the cancer sticks to hopefully make me healthier.

I celebrated my birthday on the first day of this month. Nothing much to say about it, there was no big parties or anything. I guess at this age, you stop thinking of those things and just focus on what really matters, spending time with your love ones. The kids were more excited than me when I brought out the ice cream cake. Honestly, I don’t really celebrate my birthday with birthday cakes but wifey said I should get one for the kids to blow out the candle. They eagerly waited and sang the birthday song and then blew out the candles. Watching them celebrate my birthday made my day a special one.

As I have mentioned, I am trying to quit smoking. I am not really chain smoker or anything. In fact I only smoke at work, consumes about two to three sticks a day and I think wifey doesn’t even know I smoke. I really don’t have reasons why I do it except it passes and releases tensions at work. Seriously, does anyone really have a reason to smoke? I have tried to totally end this bad habit a lot of times before but I have always gone back to it. I guess I lack the motivation to do it. This time around, I have put up a plan to make this work. I have decided to start collecting Star Wars action figures. Instead of buying a pack of cigarettes a week, I will instead buy one action figure for my collection. Hey, I am wasting money to kill myself, why not just reallocate it to something I could actually play around with, and maybe pass on to my kids.

Lastly, I have finally ditched my iPhone for the new Samsung Galaxy S. It’s called Captivate since its from AT&T but its basically the same as the Vibrant for TMobile. I love it and I am still discovering a lot of stuff with the Android. There’s just a lot of configuration that I could do to make my phone better and it does not limit me at all, unlike the iPhone. I have installed Android version of apps that I used to have in my iPhone so there’s really not much of changes, except for the new mobile OS. Also, the video on this phone is awesome. I might be doing full on review of this phone soon.

And so it goes that I have finally come back online again. I have yet to achieved my goal of making this website a more vibrant one, for now it would still have to remain a dream until I finally get my ass moving for a lot more stuff I need to do. I do hope that one of these days I could finally face up my procrastination problem just like my other hurdles that I am working on with my so-called life. So for now, I bid you peace!

Sleepless in Georgia

mangz — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:06:24 +0000

After driving more than 12 hours, we are finally here in Warner Robins, GA for quick visit to my wife’s sister. The drive was long and boring, and somewhere along the southern part of North Carolina, I experienced the first ever “driving in the storm under zero visibility” . After passing that weather disturbance, the rest of the drive was beautiful and fast.

So here I am, trying to rest my achy body while watching over my baby son sleep in the couch. I terribly want to sleep but me and my son have no place to go where it’s comfortable. I think I will rather wait for morning and then we could finally check in to our hotel. In the mean time, I have decided to update my iPhone to the latest iOS 4.0. I know it would not really matter at all anymore because my mind is already set on getting the latest Samsung Android phone a couple of more days from now, but I just want to see the hoopla with the new update. A long the way, I realized that during my two year adventure with having an iPhone, I have either bought or downloaded around 80 apps. Wow! And that is not including the apps downloaded from Cydia. Although I didn’t really used the apps at the same time, I still wished that all these iPhone apps would have Android alternatives. I also have to research how I could transfer these apps to my wife’s phone in case she upgrades to an iPhone 4.0.

Finding alternatives to my iPhone apps would probably be a good topic for future conversations. For now, let me continue updating my iPhone and apps and more after the break.

A Long Ackward Pause

mangz — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:10:39 +0000

And so it was an awkward long pause…so be it…

You Said What?

Aaron Mangoroban — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:46:46 +0000

I am trying to figure out what is wrong with this printer that I support in my department. I run out of choices and decided to contact Dell support by chat. After waiting for almost 30mins for someone to talk to me, I explained my problem and relayed the error message I was getting on the printer. Instead of getting a response from the agent, I was asked what the meaning of the error message. I thought this was just miscommunication but he did ask me for the meaning of the error message. The same reason why I was chatting and wasting my time with him online. Grrr!!!

Friday

Aaron Mangoroban — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:56:58 +0000

Ah! Weekend’s finally here. Lots of things to do, too little time. Hope I get to do even half of all the things that I aim to get done. The life of a procrastinator, always open ended.

Project Olympia

Aaron Mangoroban — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:01:05 +0000

I finally got around on drawing and planning how I am going to use my own router in our Verizon FIOS Internet and TV service. In case you are wondering why this would be a big deal for me, FIOS does not really allow you to use your own router. Verizon provides you with their own router or MOCA device that is connected to the FIOS ONT (Optical Network Terminal) by coax cable. I have been researching about this ever since we got the FIOS service and I also have been buying the hardware that I want to put to my network. One of the first things that I have to do was request Verizon to change the connection from my ONT to router from coax to Cat 5 cable. With that done, everything is ready to be put in its proper place and the only thing missing is the power strip that is compatible with the power adaptors I have bought for the Linksys devices.

This is just the beginning for a major overhaul of my home network. Everyday that I let this pass makes it a bit more harder every time. Before, I just have to worry about the computers. Now, with new Internet enabled devices that we have recently bought, I will also need to take consideration the network requirements of said devices.

I will post further details after I have completed this phase of the project. So hold on.

Back In School

Aaron Mangoroban — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:58:04 +0000

After almost two of rest, I have decided to go back to school to finally finish my second degree. Hopefully, I will get my BS (yeah, BS it is ) in Computer and Information Technology in the next couple of years or so. And then, get my Masters. Yeah! I initially planned to go back to school by Fall but when I talked to the academic advisor, I was informed that I will have to re-enroll again if I wait out for fall. Who wants to do that hassle all over again? Definitely not me. And so, I got myself registered for a class today, worked on my previous transcripts from the previous college I attended to make sure the University have a record of my associates degree, and finished a week’s worth of school work before the day finally ended. My class for this summer is Network Essentials, which is basically a prep class for the Network+ certifications. It is a little ironic because I am already a certified CompTIA Network+ professional. I guess a requirement is a requirement and all other major subjects has this class as a requisite. No easy way out for me here. So for the next 2-3 months, I will be a bit more busier than usual. I just hope I could tackle this new “change” again. Aside from taking in a new responsibility, I still have other commitments that I really need to work on such as working on my high school batch’s website, home projects and personal projects. It really is time to work on my procrastination…seriously. I’ll start on it tomorrow

True Brotherhood

mangz — Mon, 31 May 2010 08:45:35 +0000

Almost 22 years ago, me and a couple of other classmates started hanging out back in our old high school. I can’t really recall much what bonded us together. We all came from pretty much diverse backgrounds and nothing really much in common between us. All I recall is that we were all enthralled in starting an organization that we would consider as our own. Back in those days, high school fraternities was all the rage and peer pressure to join such groups was such a pull to almost everyone in school. I almost joined one such organization but quit after the “baptismal” ceremony. I think nobody even remembers me even joining that organization, if it’s still existing, or what effects it could have been to my life and to everyone else around me. I honestly think that I have made the right decision after all and I am proud to admit that I did quit. I don’t have the stigma of being a quitter at all. Let’s just say I am here, and if someone do say that I am quitter, my question would be “where are you now?”. And so we did plant the seed of an organization that have lasted through this years, has gone beyond what we have dreamed it to be and exceeded our expectations. Everyone else that I have told about my dream of starting the roots of an organization have always discouraged me. I was told that only a privilege few can do what I was dreaming. I have proven all the naysayers wrong. Me and the other pioneers of these organizations have proven everyone that it does not matter who we are, it’s what we stand for that matters and that individually we are nothing, but as a group we are a force to be reckoned with.

So for the past two decades, me, Ronhill and Omar have shared our dreams and aspirations for a brotherhood that we could truly call our own. We have shed tears, sweat, and in my case, even blood. There have been plenty of times that the brotherhood seem to die a slow, malingering death but there’s also one of us to revive and resuscitate it back to life. It have become an unwritten pact amongst us to never let this happen. This pact have extended even beyond us who planted the seeds, but to the other brothers and sisters that have shared their life and their youth with us. This organization have truly evolve from just a organization with a Greek letter name to a brotherhood that have meant so much to a lot of us. We are not concerned anymore of sheer numbers or exuberance of a well known name in campus. We have transcended these pettiness and have evolved to a true brotherhood of men.

I have not always been a person of brute force, or of great knowledge, but I believe I have contributed in developing the soul of the brotherhood. I have always strive to make this brotherhood better than what is expected and go beyond what society expect of organizations such as ours. I believe that for some people to grow, tough love needs to be meted out. We need to learn from our mistakes, and understand it, and strive to not do it again. I have tried multiple times to pass on the baton, but always have to come back to correct mistakes and to assist in whatever way I can for the brotherhood. I will never let this brotherhood die. There is too much at stake for me.

I will forever be rooted with this brotherhood. It will also be a part of me, always and forever. I hope, and I pray that this brotherhood will last beyond me and the other founding brothers. We didn’t expect it to grow this big and to go beyond this point, but hopefully it will outlast us, and that the essence of the motto that I have written on a simple white paper two decades ago be a guiding light to future brothers to come – “synergos fide et fortitudine”.

New Theme

Aaron Mangoroban — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:35:49 +0000

Was getting tired of my WordPress theme. I installed a new one. Much cleaner in looks but some of my widgets are not functioning anymore. I will have to work on this for a couple of days before I could say its back up to normal again. A lot of customization will still need to be done.

Work, Facebook and Everything In Between

Aaron Mangoroban — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:11:31 +0000

Ah Tuesdays! For some unknown reasons, at the end of each Tuesday, I would be drained up like an RC car battery. Tuesday’s have always been one of the busiest day of my work week. There’s a lot things going on and almost everybody is in our office to attend our weekly meeting. Speaking of meeting, ours is one of the most boring meetings that you’ll ever imagine. I am not sure why we are waste 30-45 mins of our work week listening to stuff that does not even concern us or might not even affect us. I am pretty sure most of my co-workers think the same way. I think nobody just have the guts to speak their minds out, and I wouldn’t be the stupid fool to speak my mind out either.

And so today I got the “honor” to assist two of our so called special and intellectual Mac users. I was still sitting on the john doing my daily routine when I got the email on my iPhone requesting me to assist a doc in setting up VPN on her Mac. The other request came during the course of the day. One of my team mates at our so-called Mac group asked for a favor to assist another doc to migrate her applications from one laptop to another. I call it the so-called mac group because there’s only about 4 people in that group who really does know about Macs, half of them don’t even have macs to work on. I became a member of this “group” because I had this notion that I’d learn something from this group. I do admit I learned something but I probably learned more researching solutions from Google, and not from being a part of the group but using my initiative to research stuff and learn things. Being a Linux user also helped a lot. The concept of troubleshooting macs is actually somewhat similar with Linux, it just so happens Macs have a flasher GUI. I do feel that if my workplace intends to continue seriously supporting mac users, they would have to provide us the necessary tools and training and not just throw us to the pits. Honestly though, I do not see this from ever happening so for now, Google will be my best friend in finding solutions to solve Mac problems.

On to another note, a question pop in to my mind today. With all the social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter popping up like mushrooms, I am wondering if there is a “code” somewhere as to the limits on how much work related stuff we could discuss out to the rest of the world. I know that the people who reads this “status updates” would be your “friends” but shouldn’t things be kept on some levels? I just feel if you have gripes or rants that you want to express, I think it is best to talk first with your superiors instead of posting it in your status updates. If anyone ever does read this, share me your thoughts. What do you think?

Peace!