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Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy
by Alan Gerow on Nov.10, 2009, under Amazon, Insights
I like to have fun here at my Blog of Monkey Bloginess, but I want to put the cardigan sweater on and have a serious chat with you for a moment. It’s that important time in every young person’s life when the uncomfortable topic of protection needs to be discussed. I know, I know, nothing bad is going to happen to you. We all say that until one day it does happen to us, and some things can’t be undone. That’s why we need to have this talk now about how well your data is protected.
Recently I had the unfortunate circumstance of having a hard drive physically fail on me. And by hard drive, I mean, well, a hard drive. It’d be 10 years since last that happened, and I was feeling pretty confident in my ability to retrieve lost data from pooched hard drives. I had too much data to back-up on CD or DVD and banked on a delicate balance of luck and geek knowledge to see me through data mishaps and issues. But there’s only so much one can do when a hard drive physically starts to shit the bed and here’s my solution that has me resting easy once again.
Redundant Storage
The key to data protection is simple, it’s not an easy easy answer, but it’s a simple one: Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy. If the data is in three places, then you would need three simultaneous catastrophes (or one really big one) to cause you total loss. The first step is in storage, where if your storage solution uses redundancy inherently, then a single hard drive failure can be easily recovered from.
I’ve chosen to purchase a Drobo 800, which uses EnhancedRAID technology to combine the powers of multiple hard drives into one super drive that can recover if one of the drives should happen to fall. The Drobo also pools all the hard drive space together so multiple 1.5TB drives act as one 4TB drive. The Drobo isn’t the end solution, there are scenarios where it wouldn’t be enough: two simultaneous hard drive failures or destruction of the Drobo unit would spell disaster for the data on it. But at 4TB worth of data, there aren’t many other back-up options available; I know what’s first on my list to grab in case of fire. I can build a new computer, but that Drobo is coming with me.
Beyond the Drobo, or if you can’t afford $350 for peace-of-mind, I also have two 1TB drives (one installed inside of my PC and one in an external USB HD enclosure) where I use Microsoft SyncToy to back-up the contents of the internal drive to the external drive on a nightly basis. This puts all of my music, pictures, and personal files onto an easy to remove & run device. Unlike the Drobo where between four hard drives the space of one is lost, the direct back-up method results in a 1:1 usage of space, so two hard drives only give the space of one.
Off-Site
As previously touched upon, a fire is still my worst nightmare. If I’m not home and my PC, Drobo, and external HD all melt and cinder, then having multiple levels of redundancy doesn’t amount to much when everything is in the same physical location. To protect against this problem, my most important files, my pictures, get uploaded to an on-line back-up service: Mozy. At $5/month for unlimited back-up storage, I put all of my photos on Mozy so in case all hell breaks loose, my most irreplaceable files are protected somewhere else entirely that I can then download onto a new computer.
Don’t Interrupt
Lastly, I added one more piece to my data protection puzzle: an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS). We had a couple of 30 second black outs recently that were enough to shut my PC down. Shortly thereafter I started getting hard drive issues. I had my hardware on a surge protector, but when the lights go out, there’s nothing to protect against. I believe improperly shutting down may have contributed to my problems, so I picked up an APC UPS system that hooks up to my PC via USB to provide one more level of protected for my hard drives and data: in the event of a power outage, the UPS system will send a shutdown command to my PC so it will properly power down instead of instantly die.
That’s my three pronged attack to prevent any more painful data loss at home. Redundant file storage, online back-up, and a UPS device. Depending on your storage needs, you can bypass the local redundant storage entirely (such as you don’t need 4TB of storage space for video files and have less than 160GB of music) or use burnable optical media, and then only pay $5/month for unlimited on-line back-up space. More important than copying my set-up which fits my needs is that you follow the first point: Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy. Just get your important files into multiple places, ideally in multiple physical locations.
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Katamari Forever PS3 Review
by Alan Gerow on Oct.08, 2009, under Amazon, Reviews, Videos
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First, let me start off by saying I have never played the Katamari games before. It’s not from a lack of interest, but just that I never owned a PS2 and the PS3 I got is backwards incompatible. So, before the latest Katamari offering for the PS3, the world of creating Soylent Stars from people has been off-limits to me.
While this game is pretty much a “Best Of” compilation of previous Katamari games, it’s all new to me! I find the levels quite challenging the first time through and would like there to be some sort of GPS system … or giant ominous hand to point out important places to go.
The controls of the game are easy to get the hang of, though different from many other games. The game is played with the dual analog sticks where the katamari is pushed in a tank-style method with little necessity of use of other buttons. There are additional controls for jumping to the opposite side of the katamari for a quick turn about or revving up the katamari for a dash, both using the analog sticks. A flip up on the Sixaxis controller and the katamari jumps, though I find pressing the jump button to be far easier to execute.
The best part of the game is the totally wacked out story and themes. The game consistently challenges the brain to wrap itself around the logic behind what it’s seeing, and generally it ends up a mangled mess. It is brilliant.
The replay value on the levels is very high. Besides getting cousins and presents to change playable characters and appearances, there is also just the challenge of the puzzles themselves. Katamari is primarily a puzzle game where you solve goals and find the best path through a course to get to the largest size as quickly as possible. As you roll your katamari over items and gain in size, you are able to then pick up larger and larger items. Objects that were initially obstacles later become fodder. Eventually you’ll start hearing screaming and notice you’re picking up people.
The most convincing reason I can give why you should give this game a try is that my fiance, Mercedes, enjoys not only watching me play but enjoys playing herself. Even when I’m not around; she’ll tell me of her exploits attempting some of the more challenging levels and her triumphs on some of the earlier stages. She’s shown moderate interest in some Wii games but never picked up a PS3 controller previously. Katamari has gotten her using the PS3 for more than streaming media to the television.
Kandarian Book of the Dead: Translated
by Alan Gerow on Oct.05, 2009, under Amazon, Analysis, Documents, Flashback
Did you ever want to control the forces of life & death? The Kandarian Book of the Dead is a good place to start. As shown in The Evil Dead trilogy, the Necronomicon has the ability to open the gates between Earth and Hell. What better for a little light weekend reading? But do you know Kandarian?
Have no fear, for I have translated this ancient text from the original Kandarian to modern day English without all the mucking about in the woods and falling victim to demonic possession. The alphabet is different, but remarkably Kandarian uses similar words and sentence structures as English. Below you’ll find an iPaper with the original Kandarian and modern day English translations from the Necronomicon.
Just, please, read with your eyes, not with your lips. Whatever you do: Do not read aloud.
I had originally translated these texts back in January of ‘03, but in the past 6 and a half years the original translation has been lost. I’ve dug up the original archeological photographs and retranslated the ancient texts.
Here’s what I said regarding my first go-round with translating the Necronomicon back on Feb. 2nd, 2003:
I got the Book of the Dead edition of the Evil Dead DVD from my cousin for $12.50 … and I was looking through the book it came in (that is a replica of the actual Book of the Dead made for the movie), and there’s weird writing through it. I figured out it is normal English with a different character set. So, I figured out the alphabet, and translated what the Book of the Dead said.
Some of it is really funny.
Get your own copy of the Book of the Dead!
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Totally Baked: Genre-Crossing Edutainment
by Alan Gerow on Oct.04, 2009, under Amazon, Cross-Post, Reviews, Videos
There’s a really interesting mocumentary available on Hulu concerning the re-legalization of marijuana that is both highly informative and side-splitting funny: Totally Baked. I hadn’t previously left a review on Hulu, but with the amount of people not understanding the style of film, I felt the need to give my take. It’s not your classic documentary or mocumentary or comedy, but takes elements from several styles of film and threads them together. It’s a very entertaining and humorous film, and I felt it needed an adequate explanation for those who don’t understand film.
This is a genre crossing film that starts with a central story thread and then uses stand-up routines from the 4:20 Hour Stand-Up (on Hulu) and combines it with documentary elements, mocumentary elements, skits, and parodies to present information for the re-legalization of marijuana. It’s a bit scattered in presentation and highly satirical in the lineage of Kentucky Fried Movie and Amazon Women on the Moon, but does so with the intention of teaching facts about marijuana and attempting to dispel government propaganda myths. Every bit of information presented in this film I have heard previously from more reputable sources than I have heard information presented by the government and other interest groups, and it’s all presented in a highly entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny way. I was in tears at the end with some of the skits, particularly the Martha Stewart/How Much Does It Take To Overdose skit. I’m going to immediately purchase this on DVD after I hit submit for this review.
Totally Baked
If you liked my review, go to the reviews page for Totally Baked on Hulu and let people know it was helpful. I’m thinking of getting more into reviews on Hulu, and may post those here as well with links to the video like I did here. Are people interested?
Also, I tried to go get the DVD immediately after writing that review … but failed in finding an in-store copy. 
MTV’s The State: The Complete Series
by Alan Gerow on Sep.27, 2009, under Amazon, Reviews, Videos
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If you jump in the Way Back Machine and come with me to the ’90s, when flannel roamed free and teenage angst was a multi-billion dollar industry, there was a cable channel that helped define a generation. With a host of off-beat programming designed for Generation X, MTV produced one of the greatest skit comedy shows with a troupe of young comedians known as The State.
The show was irreverent, hip, and most of all: hilarious. The stable of return characters included such greats like Doug -- the rebel in desperate need of a cause, Barry & Lavon -- the disco swingers with an unhealthy lust for puddin’, and Louie -- who proves that dipping your balls into people’s food really isn’t that funny until it pisses Jesus off. And the one-off skits were frequently completely original and contained both heavy satire and lots of meta humor. Self-referential & self-deprecating, the show quite literally put up the 4th wall for a sketch; it was brilliance. If you never saw this show, you may still recognize cast members in some more recent Comedy Central shows like Reno 911!
MTV’s The State -- Bacon
It was the DVD set that almost never was. The State completed their end of the DVD a while ago, but then MTV sat on the project. It looked as if at the 11th hour, the project was killed. So close, yet so far. And in the end, due to over-restrictive draconian copyright laws, much of the music that defined the time period that the show was made had to be removed, else millions of dollars in licensing fees would have had to been paid. Replacement music was created which does adequate an adequate job, and the skits are still just as funny; but the show has lost some of its connection to the time period it was satirizing and the window into the 90s culture it could have offered through music is closed.
But the whole series is released on DVD finally! So whatever concessions had to be made … fine, because now MTV’s The State is finally legally available in a high quality format for home viewing for the first time. And with some great bonus features. For one: commentaries!, I love commentaries! There are also unaired sketches from the first three seasons, outtakes, as well as special appearances and promos.
So all-in-all, I rate this is a Must Own. I was in a Best Buy and happened to randomly see it, because I hadn’t heard it that it had actually received a release date. Needless to say, I purchased it on the spot without reservation or hesitation. A no-brainer. I recommend the same for everyone else.
DVD Promo
The State are: Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Robert Ben Garant, Todd Holoubek, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. All Grade-A Good Beans!
Stargate SG-1 & the Power of Sci-Fi
by Alan Gerow on Sep.21, 2009, under Amazon, Analysis
Starting with a movie staring Kurt Russell and James Spader, Stargate has spawned two television series, two additional made-for-cable movies, and now a third television series. Stargate SG-1, the first television series spin-off from the theatrical movie, has been the longest running Sci-Fi single series in television history. For many fans, Stargate is as Star Trek and Star Wars is to previous generations.
Whereas previous space adventure series have taken place in either the future or distance galaxies, Stargate takes place here and now. And through the use of wry wit, cultural references, and allegorical alien cultures, it is able to hold a mirror to ourselves and our world and force us to examine our perceptions and assumptions about who we are and where we are headed. It is the greatest role of sci-fi stories that in showing us a world of possibilities and wonder, force us to terms with where we are at now.
Star Trek showed us American bravado in a quickly changing world where perceptions of women and minorities were in dramatic transition. People on all sides were having difficulties in how traditional roles and stereotypes fit or didn’t fit, and how they would be redefined. Star Trek was able to propose a world far enough in the future that it could address many of these issues with a disconnect of centuries of culture evolution in between what it was presenting and what people were going through in their daily lives. Of course, watching the original series now, you can see just how not far enough it went, when in the course of a couple decades, we’ve outpaced the futuristic visions from the ’60s by leaps and bounds. Later series have updated the topics of social and political progression.
Star Wars has long been the cautionary tale of totalitarian government oppression on a galactic scale. Taking place in contemporary times, it happens in a galaxy far, far away, and is able to distance itself from current realities by not actually happening to Earth-based humans. Though through use of “The Force” and Lucas’ disregard to being limited to physics, Star Wars is mainly considered fantasy rather than science fiction.
To me, Stargate SG-1 has stood above the rest in its drama, in its comedy, in its grit and ability to get to the core of the issues with a giant mirror and force the viewer to take a good luck at their own perceptions. By having the U.S. Air Force heading Stargate Command, the show was able to take hard looks at U.S. military actions while maintaining a respect for the servicemen. It was able to show the conflict of interest between a government military force and civilian science interests in ways that Star Trek sidesteps and Star Wars completely ignores.
Through use of the Goa’uld, and later the Ori, SG-1 was able to take on issues of religion. The former by use of the parasitic aliens that co-opt the Earth’s major religions of the ancient worlds to enslave pockets of transplanted humans; and the latter was able to put a harsh look at the rise of trends like the rise in Christianity that used proselytizing and missionaries to convert populations. It is able to examine themes of anthropology, science, belief systems, social structures, human rights, and a plethora of other social issues through the worlds the Stargate teams visited over the course of 10 seasons.
Stargate Atlantis took a more in-depth look at the science and management structures as the SG team took on the less approachable Wraith. The management of the Atlantis expedition started as a scientific research endeavor, then was led by military, then science again, and the show ended its 5 season run being run by a bureaucrat. And the upcoming Stargate Universe looks take the series more science fiction and move the humans even further from the reach of Earth.
In the pantheon of Stargate, SG-1 stands firm as the strongest of the pillars along with the movie that spawn it. It allowed the deepest looks at who we are and how we’ve come here. It showed us with unflinching honesty what it is that makes us human. It gave us the tools to shift our perceptions of why we are who we are. Later Stargate offerings have started to shift more towards the science fiction aspects, but without needing to take the same steps SG-1 did, they are offering new windows into our Universe and ourselves.
And that’s the power of sci-fi in general.
Everything Stargate SG-1 on Amazon!
Everything Stargate Atlantis on Amazon!
Everything Star Trek on Amazon!
Star Wars search on Amazon!
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TV Show Ad Libs
by Alan Gerow on Sep.20, 2009, under Amazon, Observations
Sometimes, TV shows can be accurately described by taking two other ideas and tossing a joining word, like “meets”, in between the titles or concept descriptions … other times you can simply fill in an ad lib-style plot description. Here is one ad lib plot that will be used to explain three different TV shows:
The main character is a ____ uproots his family and moves to a small town, ____, filled with ____ people to take ____ job. He reports to ____ and with the help of ____ must solve which ____ is responsible for the strange goings-on.
EERIE INDIANA
The main character is a (young boy whose father) uproots his family and moves to a small town, (Eerie, IN), filled with (strange) people to take (a new) job. He reports to (his parents) and with the help of (his best friend) must solve which (eerie person or phenomenon) is responsible for the strange goings-on.
MANHATTAN, AZ
The main character is a (LA vice officer who) uproots his family and moves to a small town, (Manhattan, AZ), filled with (eccentric) people to take (the town sheriff) job. He reports to (an ex-actor turned mayor) and with the help of (an Area 61 Air Force guard) must solve which (conspiracy theory surrounding Area 61) is responsible for the strange goings-on.
EUREKA
The main character is a (federal officer who) moves to a small town, (Eureka), filled with (brilliant) people to take (the town sheriff) job. He reports to (the head of Global Dynamics) and with the help of (his deputy) must solve which (science experiment at GD) is responsible for the strange goings-on.
They’re all good shows, but there is a strong sense of parallels between the shows. Particularly the connections between Manhattan AZ & Eureka are eerie.
“Eerie Indiana” is available on DVD.
“Manhattan, AZ” is available on Hulu
“Eureka” is available on Syfy, Hulu, and DVD
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So far Eureka has the longest legs, if only because it is the only one of these shows to last more than a single season. So, if you enjoy Eureka, be sure to catch the older shows that broke ground and created a formula for Eureka to stand on.
And here’s my pitch using the same plot outline:
Alan Gerow Presents…
SPOOKY, OH
The main character is a (software engineer who) uproots his family and moves to a small town, (Spooky, OH), filled with (elderly) people to take (a temporary mortuary) job. He reports to (the town sheriff) and with the help of (the ghost of his dead son) must solve which (recently deceased townsfolk) is responsible for the strange goings-on.
It’s “The Sixth Sense” meets “Night of the Living Dead”!
