Author: Tommy

Last week I was given the opportunity to interview with the Advanced Micro Devices SysAdmin team in Austin. (where Señor Skaven works)
On Thursday night, I drove to Austin to stay at Skaven's. Friday afternoon, I turned in my official application to the HR department, got to tour the AMD design facility. Saw what is probably the most powerful x86 system. So new, I don't think it's been released to the public yet. Also got to stand before a 27Tb storage cabinet; an entire cabinet full of hard-drives.
Later, I met with a couple of members of the SysAdmin management staff for my interview. It went really well...

Today, I received word from the HR department that they are extending the job offer to me!
So, if all goes well with the paperwork with SFA, I will be moving to Austin for the Fall semester to work as an intern at AMD.

update: All has gone well, and I am awaiting the official offer letter from AMD. I called my contact at AMD today, she informed me that everything was in line, and that the package was FedEx'd to me this afternoon.
*pwned.

Word of the Day, shown below the calendar on the left, will display the current word of the day when completed. Website admins will have the ability to add new words for the WotD box. Eventually, this will include definitions of some words, as many of you may not understand the word or its meaning and usage. Check back over the next few days while I keep working on this.

note: right now, the WotD is just a random word from a small set of words that I have setup. This will soon be changed.

James, N5VOO, hooked me up with a D-Link 802.11 card for my linux laptop, trying to get me up to speed on the whole wireless thing. I'm really diggin' it. I know there are quite a number of wifi access points around town since it is a college town.

Mackieman has had an 802.11 network in his apartment on campus, but I haven't had a card or access point of my own. But, thanks to James, I was surprised with a free D-Link card and an access point to borrow so I can use it at home. I'm quite excited. Expect to see more 802.11 goodness posted on Neodux now. Wireless access will be much more fun now that I'm licensed radio operator and can use this to bump up the power output and get a long range 802.11 network.

Mackieman editz^2: I pitty da fool who edits my edits. Grendel editz: Mackieman sez: My groin tingles with anticipation. ^_^ ew, TMI.

Havoc sez: Good Place for WEP encryption key generation.

Friday night I downloaded my first mod for Call of Duty called Merciless Blood Mod. It's a great change in gameplay from the original game. No weapons have changed or map changes, but it does change how the player reacts from incoming fire, gunshot wounds, and the mod adds gore and death sequences. When shot, the player becomes disoriented and things seem to move in slow motion. The gun may be shot from someone's grip, leaving them helpless in a gunfight. Puddles of blood also stay where a player is killed. Pain sounds are now added, so you can hear when a player is shot.
Good times!

To download the mod, you must login to their site in the bottom right, here is an account I setup for distribution.
Username: download
Password: download

I went to Fry's on Friday afternoon with my girlfriend, I picked up a copy of Gordon West's book for studying for the Technician License for Amateur (Ham) Radio from the FCC.

Those of you wondering what Ham Radio is or looking for more information should consult Google. In short, it is "short wave radio communications" or just a more powerful form of CB radio.
The 2m band (144-148MHz) looks to be the first range that I will delve into. I urge you to check out Ham radio, especially the Technician license. 2-meter handhelds can be found on ebay for under $50.

update: I picked up my radio today (April 11). It's a Yaesu FT-10R, 5W output. I bought it from a guy on ebay that lives about 15min from my parent's house. He also threw in a free external antenna. The radio is also modified to reach up to ~175MHz. I test next week. So far, so well.

update #2:...just installed my DTMF keypad for the radio. Makes frequency navigation much easier. I'm quite pleased, and the install was super-simple. Took me maybe 3 minutes to install. Awesome little radio.