Yearly Archives: 2022

En smule bekymret

Jeg har altid sagt, at jeg ikke kan rammes af stress, fordi min migræne nedlægger mig inden. På det seneste er jeg dog begyndt at blive i tvivl. Jeg har igen haft den mærkelige hovedpine, som jeg eller piller ikke kan gøre noget ved.

I midten af januar fik jeg også denne type hovedpine, efter at noget weekendarbejde ændrede sig fra at være en standard opgradering til en panik weekend, fordi flere ting gik galt, og jeg havde en server, der ikke ville starte. Dengang troede jeg, at jeg fik hovedpinen, fordi jeg havde arbejdet 9 dage i træk og bare ikke kunne mere. Nu tror jeg mere, at den var en reaktion på min stress den weekend, og efterfølgende totale mangel på anerkendelse fra min chef. Jeg knoklede røven ud af bukserne, men jeg følte ikke, at det på nogen måde blev værdsat.

Denne gang kom hovedpinen en mandag morgen, hvor en server bluescreenede, 5 min før jeg skulle af toget. Så der var en smule panik på vej til arbejdet, hvor jeg forsøgte at arbejde på pc’en, mens jeg gik fra stationen til mit arbejde. Da alt var oppe og køre igen, fik jeg ikke lov til at slappe af, fordi mine kolleger skulle have hjælpe til dit og dat. Og det er også svært at forsvare, at jeg egentlig havde behov for en halv time for mig selv, hvor jeg stille og roligt kunne falde ned på jorden igen.

Om onsdagen havde jeg en periode med spændinger hen over brystet, fordi jeg var frustreret over ikke at få lov til at lave mit arbejde. Jeg ved, at det lyder mærkeligt, men det betyder meget for mig, at jeg kan få lov til at lave mit arbejde. Og nej, det er ikke at være lokal google opslagsværk for mine kolleger. Mit arbejde består at sikre stabil serverdrift, og det kan jeg ikke, når jeg skal hjælpe alle andre med deres problemer. Det er enormt frustrerende for mig.

Jeg er nødt til at passe på mig selv – jeg er bare ikke sikker på, hvordan jeg skal gøre det.

Evening sky

New birdseed feeders

I have a brilliant example of why concepts like 'small' and 'large' are relative. I have a couple of small birdseed feeders, and I sometimes struggle with common magpies and rooks stealing the food from the feeders. I saw that Vivara was selling birdseed feeders that would close off the access to the food if the bird was too big. The feeders were a new addition to their product range, and I wanted to try them, so I bought two - one of each model.

I'm surprised when I open the box with the feeders - those feeders are huge. The biggest of the 'small' feeders contains approx five times as much food as the feeder that I already own. If I look at it from the bright side, I don't need to fill the feeder as often as I used to.

I can't stop laughing at myself. I must have had a funny expression on my face when I saw the size of the feeders. At the moment, I'm unsure of what to put in the feeders. I had planned on putting sunflower seeds in the feeders, but that's not what my birds want at the moment. On the other hand, sunflower seeds are the logical choice. Yellow millet is too small for the feeders, and I don't want to use a mix of bird seeds. Birds are very picky about the food, and a birdseed mix will only result in a lot of food on the ground. In the past, I have had other birds that loved sunflower seeds and emptied the feeder within a day. Maybe I can tempt those birds to come back with the new feeders.

I'm looking forward to watching the birds using the new feeders.

Birdseed feeders
The feeder in the middle is my old feeder

The car is as good as new

When the workshop called and told me that my car was ready to be picked up, I didn't know what to expect. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a couple of scratches and a dent in the hood of m car. I've heard that it isn't always successful when dents are repaired. The foreman told me that the car was as good as new, but I wasn't sure what to expect.

On my way to the workshop, I pass by my car in the parking lot. I look at my car, and the scratches and the dent are completely gone. Wow, they've done a great job at fixing my car. It has probably been an easy job for them - but it means the world to me.

When I pick up the keys for my car, the foreman tells me that the insurance company is picking up the bill. That means that I'm only going to pay a small amount for the repair. That's great. My car had a complete Ditech lacquer seal when it was brand new. I ask the foreman if I should get the hood of the car lacquer sealed now or later. He would call back with an answer to that question the next day.

The next day, the foreman calls and tells me that I can get the hood of my car lacquer sealed immediately. It is also an option to wait for the retreatment of the entire car this summer. I don't want to wait till summer, because the hood is very exposed.

To my surprise, they treat the hood of my car free of charge. I hadn't expected that. The result is that my car is in my carport and it looks brand new :-)

My car without scratches and dent

Lots of pizza

I had taken two days off - Monday and Tuesday - because I needed an extra long weekend following all my hard work. So I had a great opportunity to cook for my freezer. I haven't had pizza for a long time, and I think it's a must-have in my freezer. It's easy to prepare - even when it's frozen - when I've forgotten about food for dinner.

I had bought some chicken, pork, minced beef, and mushrooms. Everything was individually roasted on a pan, and then I created a lot of pizzas. In total, I made eight pizzas, of which three are going to be delivered to my mom. She also loves it when she has homemade pizza in the freezer.

Pizza dough
Now I can make more pizzas

Eight workdays in a row

I'm not saying this to complain about my work hours, because I know there are a lot of people that work more hours than I do. But I am tired. I need to relax after having worked eight days in a row. The worst part is not the amount of work but the total lack of planning from my boss. I'm frustrated because my boss doesn't plan anything.

One and a half weeks ago, my boss told me to complete the process of reimaging our computers with Windows 10 21H2. One of my colleagues was working on it, but my boss didn't believe he would finish before the deadline, which was on Monday. So the assignment was mine, even though I had Thursday off, and I had a consultant showing up on Friday. Fair enough, I don't mind working hard to make a deadline when my boss needs it.

My first surprise was that the process of reimaging our computers wasn't as far along as I thought. My colleague had taken the easy way every time something was a bit difficult. That meant more work for me. The result was that I worked Saturday and Sunday to have everything done by Monday. One small thing had to be corrected Monday, and then the assignment was finished.

My boss had Monday through Wednesday off, but he told me that the helpdesk would begin reimaging computers Monday and hand them out to our users. But the helpdesk was busy handing out new iPads and didn't have time for reimaging the computers. When my boss came to work on Thursday, the helpdesk still hadn't handed out a single computer. And my boss had told me that I shouldn't do it. So, I felt as if I had been working hard for no good reason.

This weekend, I did a lot of practical things that I didn't have time for last weekend. I have, of course, also been relaxed, which I needed very much.

My hue lights outside
My outdoor lighting with Hue LED lights

My cars first damage

I was on my way to my saxophone lesson when I saw some strange dirt on the hood of my car. I expected it to be dirt, but when I studied it up close and put my finger to it, I saw that there was a dent and two scratches on the hood of my car.

I drove around in my old car for nine years without getting one dent. I have only had this car for six months, and I already have a dent in it. I have difficulty understanding how the dent was made. Has something fallen on the hood of my car? If yes, shouldn't there be at least two dents?

While I'm driving to my lesson I'm thinking about what to do. I can't ask my dad for advice, and I'm not sure whether or not the scratches should be repaired now or later when the weather is warmer.

I decide to drive by the workshop after my lesson and let them give me some advice. As always, they are very service minded and take a look at the hood of my car. In their opinion, it is a stone from another car that has created the damage. I have two options. One is to have the two scratches repaired. The price is around 70€. The other option is two get the entire hood repainted. That is going to cost around 1000€. Damn, it is a pity when the car is almost new. If the damage had been on my old car I would have chosen the cheap option, but it is a shame on such a new car. The workshop mentions that my insurance company might pay for the repair, and I decide to call them and ask.

The next day I call my insurance company and if the damage is, as I describe it, they will cover most of the cost for the repair. Of course, they need to see the car before they can make a final decision. The workshop contacts me the next day and we make an appointment for my car. I have decided to get the hood of my car repainted regardless of what the insurance company says. I'm curious about how big the bill will be.

Scratches on the hood of my car
The two scratches - the dent cannot be seen

New showerhead

Yeah, I know, it's a trivial thing, but it is something that I should have done a long time ago. It started three to four years ago. Every time I was away from home for a week or more, I came home to a showerhead that had water leaking from everywhere. In the beginning, the showerhead went back to normal after one shower. After two years, it took more and more showers before the showerhead went back to normal.

In the last couple of months, the problem with the showerhead has become permanent. The problem got worse, so I took action and ordered a new showerhead. To be honest, I really don't care about which showerhead I have, so I ordered one that looked similar to the one I had.

I anticipated that the shower hose would be difficult to unscrew because it has been sitting there for 14 years. So I also ordered a new shower hose. I took a couple of pliers and went to work. Before using the pliers, I tried to unscrew the hose by hand. To my surprise, the hose came off without a hitch.

I soaked the sealing ring and the end of the shower hose in water and vinegar and went for a walk. When I returned, everything was clean and lime-free. I installed the new showerhead, and now I only have water coming out of the holes that are designed for it :-)

Old showerhead
The old showerhead
New showerhead
My new showerhead

All Hue lamps are bought

Almost a year has passed since I started the hunt for the Hue lamps that I wanted to buy. But now is the day when I have received all my Hue lamps. It has taken quite a bit of time to accomplish. The last two hue lamps were ordered in September, but I have just received them. They were worth the wait because I got them on sale - 33% off. Only one small detail is missing... I have to install them.

I've put up more Hue lamps since I last wrote about it. The lamp in the utility room has been installed together with a motion sensor. It's nice that the lights turn on automatically when it's dark, and I walk in the door. I have also bought a big lamp for the living room, and now it's possible to lighten up the living room. I have used it during the wintertime when I've played. So it's a success.

I still need to put up a Hue Sana lamp near my armchair. I want it to give pleasant indirect lighting when I watch TV. And, of course, I also need to put up the two lamps that I just received. One lamp is going up in the kitchen, and the other lamp is going up in my shed. I'm also looking forward to putting up a motion sensor in the shed.

My mom also has three hue lamps that I have to install. So I'm not bored. Each time I have to put up a lamp, I appreciate that my dad pushed me to buy a wire stripper last year. It has been worth it.

Two Philips Hue Aurelle lamps

Saxophone lessons

I have for some time now wanted to find a saxophone teacher. I haven't been successful in finding someone online. Last year, I noticed an ad from a music school, but I didn't have the energy to assess whether or not the concept would suit me. I'm not sure that attending a lesson each week would fit me. First of all, I don't always have the time to practice from week to week, and secondly, I get tired of too many fixed appointments during the week. This Christmas, I noticed a new ad from the same music school, and this time I grabbed the opportunity. Most of all, because I only had to commit for half a year.

I haven't met physically with my teacher because of COVID-19. As a substitution, he arranged for us to meet online. At this point, I have attended two online lessons and one physical lesson, and I'm very happy with the choice I made to sign up for the lessons.

I'm aware that I have to keep a low profile on some of my opinions. I'm a big fan of play-along sheet music, and I know that a lot of people don't share my opinion on that subject. So I'm curious about my teacher's opinion. Up until now, I sense that play-along sheet music isn't his favorite kind of music, but I also sense that he doesn't know diversity. Despite his opinion about play-along sheet music, he uses it in the lessons because he knows that I like it - kudos to him for meeting me halfway.

Before my first lesson, my teacher sent me an email asking me to tell him a little about what I wanted to work on. I talked a lot about tone quality and sound, and as a side note, I mentioned that I don't know how to improvise. He has given me advice on how I produce good-sounding altissimo notes. He also says that my sound on the saxophone is good, but he has focused on teaching me to play by ear and improvise. He has made me try different methods of improvising. I think he is figuring out how he best can teach me to improvise. So far, I'm progressing, but it is very difficult for me.

Well, I'm looking forward to evaluating my decision to get saxophone lessons. But first, I need to listen to my teacher and learn from him.

And now it's time to disassemble my Christmas tree.

Assembled artificial christmas tree
Halfway assembled christmas tree
Disassembled christmas tree

Work weekend no 1 in 2022

From a work-related viewpoint, it has been an intense beginning of 2022. The last two weeks have been exhausting and frustrating. We are working on an It-strategy for the next three to five years, and because of missing communication from management, it has created a lot of confusion and misunderstandings.

This weekend it was time to upgrade our two SAN systems. Our regular consultant comes and does all the upgrading, and it usually goes without a hitch. All servers attached to the two SANs need to be shut down, which is my job. Then our consultant upgrades out two SAN systems. The process took a lot longer than usual because we hadn't upgraded the SANs for some time because of COVID-19.

When the consultant had upgraded the two SANs, I began to start all the servers. Everything seemed to be working. I checked our mail system, SQL, our intranet, and so on, and everything was working as expected. Suddenly I noticed that all virtual systems on a Hyper-V host weren't starting, and then the problems started to appear.

The first problem I discovered was that the server had lost its Windows license. I never found out why. It took a couple of hours before I found a solution for activating the server license by telephone. Normally, I would activate the server online, but it was not possible to give the server internet access. To do that, I needed access to the firewall management server, which was inoperable because it was hosted on the problematic server.

After activating the server license, I was still unable to start the virtual systems. It was getting late, and I wanted to go home. But before I went home, I wanted to be sure that I was able to reinstall the server from home if necessary. That required a couple of trips between my office and the server room with a cable before I was sure that I could reinstall the server from home.

I got home and had something to eat before I started to debug the problem. When I went to bed, I thought the problem was with the server hardware. The next day I debugged some more, and now it looked like the problem was with the SAN. I contacted the consultant, hoping that he could help. Together we concluded that the SAN wasn't the problem either. Back to the debugging board. Finally, I found that the problem was with the SAN drive attached to the server. Or more precisely, the problem was the replication of the SAN drive between the two SAN systems. As soon as I deleted the replication everything started to work as expected.

Phew, it was a long weekend, and it was exhausting because I had to work seven days in a row. Unfortunately, my next day off isn't until Friday, so it'll be an extra looooong week.