Jason Burns - IT Superhero

Rabbit, Run - Saying the wrong thing

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:45:06 -0500

I'm reading John Updike's Rabbit Run.

It makes me think of a subject I've wanted to write about for a while now:

Saying the wrong thing.

Have you ever had a moment in a conversation where you knew exactly what the wrong thing to say was? The thing that would bring complete silence to the conversation, cause someone to cry, stop being friends with you, or even break up with you?

It's like walking by the fire alarm in a hallway. You know exactly what would happen if you pulled it, but you keep walking anyway - with the alarm unpulled.

Not sure if other people have these same moments during the day. I have them constantly.

Updike's character Rabbit makes me thing of my impulses surrounding this.

Whenever he's in any sort of situation with girls he'll ALWAYS say exactly the wrong thing. I'm interested to see how it turns out for him. I'm about 100 pages in now. Wish me luck.

Time - Growing Up

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:15:00 -0400

Lately people from my high school have been finding me and adding me via myspace or facebook. If I remember having a conversation with the person I'll usually accept their friend request.

I get some requests though that are from people I can't remember ever even meeting.

This makes me wonder, do they remember me? Did I make some impression on their memory that they failed to make on mine?

What's more likely is that they're just adding everyone from their graduating class. Nevertheless, it makes me wonder.

I got started on thinking about time a lot. Time is a very funny thing. You don't realize it has passed until a large chunk has gone by. It's like watching the sun rise in the sky. Once the sun breaks free of the horizon you lose your reference point and the sun seems to stand still. You can look back at noon, then again closer to sunset and see that the time has passed, but there is no particular point when you recall it happening.

Growing up has been like that. You just wake up one morning and realize you've done it. There was no point when someone rang a bell or handed you a degree that marked your "growing up," but slowly it happened. After so much time passes you realize that school is a distant memory. Something that happened to another person in another life.

The person it happened to isn't even you anymore.

Certainly you have shared experiences with that person, but because of those experiences you're different. You can never go back to what was, and what you were. There was a fork in the road and you diverged. But there was no fork, no immediately recollected divergence. Just a slow drift as that person in the past fades away.

What's even more interesting is the people you knew back in that past.... they remember the person you were. Your past self has a life of its own in the memories of those who knew you then.

This must be what makes it so interesting to see people at a highschool reunion. There is so much reconciliation to be done between the memories of people, and the actual person.

Just by walking into the room you are causing massive energy expenditure in the brains of everyone who is quickly trying to integrate this new you with the old you.

I know I've had to do that before. When people change it just blows my mind.

I will never forget a kid from my kindergarten class. He was scrawny, allergic to everything, and had thick glasses. I remember him in that way from kindergarten until maybe 5th grade. I went back to visit that town in college. It nearly destroyed my brain to meet the guy he turned into. Beer drinking, big dude. Seemed like a pretty rough guy. There was absolutely no way I could have connected these two people together. No series of events plays out in my mind to connect my past image of him with his current image. I cannot see how it would have happened.

I wonder how many minds I inhabit right now. I wonder if I could find a way to tease out each one of those snapshot and then compare them somehow. It would be fascinating.

I also started thinking about home as an abstract concept. That old quote "You can never go home again" is so true. I could go back to New York, but it wouldn't be home. It hasn't been home for a long time.

It makes me wonder what the time limit is on that. How long can you be in a new place with new people before you lose your old home and assume the new one? Do people assimilate homes at a different rate? I'm sure it's a slow process. It's just like growing up. You wake up one day and realize you've done it. But you did it long ago. It just took the time to realize.

What will my future self think of this present self? What things could I do to make those two people drastically diverge for the better? For the worse?

I guess I got started on all of this by reading about quantum physics in "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson. Thinking about his quantum brain theory was really interesting.

But - that's enough for me tonight. My future self is likely to be tired in the morning.

Jeep WK 05 Front Tow Hooks

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:04:55 -0400

I think I'm going to start taking pictures of projects and posting instructions.

I always find the instructions to all sorts of things lacking. The only way I figure stuff out is to sit down and actually look at it. Hopefully this will help some random internet user, or will at least be interesting to someone.

My fist project is installing front tow hooks on a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee WK.

I bought the Mopar parts off of justforjeeps.com.

Included was two tow hooks, two nut strips, two nut studs, and six nuts.

The tow hooks mount to the frame, but there are no bolts in the frame, so that's where the nut strips come into play.

Here you can see the nut strip with two bolts on it inserted in the frame rail.

There is also a nut stud for the third bolt that goes through the frame cross member.

Getting this nut stud through the cross member is simple. There is an open hole that you can get to without any effort at all to put it through the top.

Getting into the frame rail however is a completely different matter.

To do that you need to remove the front fascia, and to remove that you need to take off the grill.

The grill is just held on by a handful of plastic rivets right on the top black plastic section. The plastic lip right under where the hood closes is part of the grill, and all that holds it on.

Here is an example of one of the rivets for that piece

These rivets are reusable. The pin will pop right out. First use a flat head screwdriver or something flat to pry out the pin from the body of the rivet. After that the pressure on the rivet will be removed and you can just pull that out with your fingers, or pry out with a screwdriver.

Once all the rivets are out the top of the grill will come forward, releasing the tabs on the bottom of the grill and then you can just lift up and off.

The front fascia needs to come off next.

This has 2 single use plastic rivets on each side holding the wheel well backing to the fascia. These are usually broken before you even start the project anyway. Just snap them off with whatever you can get a grip on them with.

Next there are two 7mm head screws holding each side of the front fascia to the quarter panel / fender (one on each wheel well). Look right above the rivets you just removed.

Next crawl under the car. In my case there were 3 - 10 mm screws holding the very bottom of the fascia to the metal rail under the radiator. The instructions showed 3 plastic rivets that were supposed to be there. My guess is they didn't cut it and whoever had the jeep before me replaced them, but I could be wrong.

Once these 3 screws are out you're almost home free.

The next step is removing the 4 reusable rivets holding the top lip of the fascia (right under the bottom lip of the grill you just removed)

Here's what that rivet looks like. The pin doesn't come out, all the way. Just pull it out until it stops, then the whole rivet should come out.

Now you are almost there. With those four rivets out the fascia will slide forward, and drop down off the little hanger at the bottom of each fender

If you have the fog lights though, don't forget to unplug them!

You should now have the front fascia in hand.

At this point there are only two small access caps in front of the frame rail stopping you from sliding in the nut strip, and that's why we took this whole damn thing off anyway.

Unscrew the single 10mm screw from the cover, it'll pop off - then install the nut strips.

The bolting on of the parts is pretty straight forward. The nut strips and everything only fit one way.

Instructions say torque to 50 ft lbs.

This is really important. They don't mean 100ft lbs. They don't mean 75. Use a calibrated torque wrench.

Here's what happens when your asshole friend hands you an uncalibrated torque wrench set for 50 lbs, but that is actually putting out closer to 100.

Popped that bolt right in half on the nuts strip. Pow!

I figure using some grade 8 bolts with big washers would most likely serve the same purpose as the nut strips, so here's what that looks like:

I'll let you know how it holds up when pulling another car.

So that's it. Torque all your bolts to 50 ft lbs and then reassemble.

1. Frame rail end caps back on
2. Front Fascia lined up
3. Plug on fog lights (optional)
4. Hook top of fascia through hangers
5. Make sure fascia goes outside, then behind (closer to rear of vehicle) the wheel well backing
6. Put the top screw in the fascia next to the hanger
7. Put the screws on under the car into the radiator rail
8. Put the 4 reusable plastic rivets back into the front fascia
9. Scrounge around for 4 more crappy disposable rivets to hold wheel well backing (or just leave them out like I did )
10. Set grill in place
11. Push in all the rivets for the grill

That should be everything!

Marco Melandri

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 07:55:59 -0400

We went out to Morton's for some serious steak last night. It was the first time I managed to spend over 100 dollars on a meal just for myself.

We are sitting there and who walks in? Marco Melandri and most of his team. We weren't sure it was him, but when the waitress confirmed the table was speaking Italian we were pretty sure.

We're two for two. I'm curious to see which MotoGP racer we'll spot today!

Dani Pedrosa

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:11:31 -0400

I wake up this morning at the Indianapolis Sheraton. I'm in the lobby hanging out waiting to leave for the race track.

Dani Pedrosa just strolls on by through the lobby and walks out the front door.

TFerg pointed and we looked. The guy is just as short as we expected. Awesome that he's staying at our hotel. Strange that he's just walking out the lobby by himself to the track.

Pics of Dani Pedrosa

Back from the beach.

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:15:50 -0400

I just got back from a week at the beach. It was pretty damn awesome and here are some pictures.

Right now I'm unpacking from the beach and packing to head out to Indianapolis for the weekend.

Woo MotoGP.

It looks like weather is going to get both of my vacation trips. The tail end of Hannah made the beach pretty rough at the beach house (although the week was great after that), and Ike is going to make for a wet MotoGP race. Oh well.

Time for me to get my stuff together and head to the airport. More about the beach and MotoGP when I'm back on Monday.

Organizing people and things

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:30:26 -0400

I've been thinking about a way to organize people and things.

One idea I've been thinking about is a mailing list.

I have two thoughts on this:

1. A mailing list like {group-list@bbbburns.com} that we make everyone in our group of friends a member of. If you have stuff to email everyone in the group.. then send it to this one email address.

2. A mailing list like {group-list-txt@bbbburns.com} that we make everyone's cell phone (like #@vtext.com for verizon numbers) a member of. That way when I want to tell everyone we're meeting at the bar in 45 minutes I can just send one email and make sure it gets to everyone's phone.

I've already configured my mailserver to do both of these things.

All I would need from you is an opt in by sending me your email address and your txt email address.

Does this sound like something useful to anyone?

Sick Again

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:56:25 -0400

Being sick can suck it. I'm beginning to think there is something wrong with me. I've been sick about 4 times so far this year. That's just not right.

What the hell am I doing wrong?

Also, I've been watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on http://hulu.com

There is some relief in that. It makes me feel a bit better.

I got an awesome birthday card from my Grandma in Florida, that helps too.

Otherwise, nothing good to report right now.

Feeling like I could use another vacation.

A Change?

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:38:14 -0400

I think I need a change of pace. I should do something different for a while.

I'm thinking more Linux maybe? More teaching maybe?

Maybe I should move somewhere else to see what that's like. Any suggestions?

Open Source Tinkering - Wireshark

nospam@example.com (Burns) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:25:57 -0400

I never thought I'd be able to say this, but I'm contributing to an open source project.

I'm pretty damn excited about it.

I use Wireshark almost every day to decode all sorts of voip messages. One thing that has always bothered me is not all the SCCP messages (the protocol used to control Cisco IP phones) are decoded properly. I would wind up referring back to the standard and decoding the hex. Ugh.

Thanks to the wonderful world of open source I can fix this.

Here's the dissector for sccp packets.

I've got my build environment all setup with SVN syncing the source from the wireshark repository.

I've compiled the code from SVN and it worked right off the bat!

Next step:

Make my modifications to packet-skinny.c and compile it again. I've got a slew of SCCP packet captures to test against.

I would love to have my name in the AUTHORS file of Wireshark. How bad ass would that be?

Wish me luck!