Some Catchy Title

Blog Moving...

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:21:17 -0500

The old stuff will all stay here as I move to the new hosting. Visit http://blog.joshualowry.com

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Starting New

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:19:15 -0500

So with graduation comes many new things and changes/improvements to be had. I obtain my new apartment tomorrow morning, and from that point on every decision will begin to shape what is to come. Thursday I will begin finding new furniture, this weekend I will go to my graduation, and upon my return to Houston I will then search for a new car. (btw this is down to the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Honda Insight). On May 27 I will start my new job. Nothing will ever be as it was before today.

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Excel Help for Scheduling Employees

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:56:17 -0500

My supervisor wanted me to create a timesheet tracker for employees so we can keep track of how many hours each employee is scheduled for. This is the solution right here. Type your employee's names into the colored boxes. When you want to schedule that employee copy their name with the color out to the timesheet. The counters will automatically do their job.

Click here to download the spreadsheet.
Time Sheet Calculator Template

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Xbox 360 Controller Sync, Video "Glitch", and No Memory Cards

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:35:06 -0500

Last night there was a small power outage for less than 1 second. What was the result? Glitchy video results, no wireless controller synchronization, and no memory card usage for my Xbox360. I searched around and found the solution to the problems at hand, and it appears to be a solve all solution.

This assumes you have already tried to do the synchronization using the spinning lights :)

Push and Hold the small button next to the memory card slots until the lights stop spinning (30 seconds or so).
Push the power button on your console.
Unplug the power supply from the Xbox360.
Unplug the power cord from the power supply (or the power cord from the wall socket).
Detach the hard drive from the top of the console.
Wait one minute.
Undo everything you did in steps (5, 4, and 3).
Turn the console on.
Try re-syncing your controller. Check the video quality. Check your memory card(s).

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long long long wtf!?!?

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:56:15 -0600

Speaking in the realm of c++...

Why is a long equal to the size of an int, and why is a long int also the same size (4 bytes)? Why then do we also have a long long that is 8 bytes. Now, the real kicker, why is a double 8 bytes and then a long double 12 bytes?

Who in the world designed this retarded system? It is inconsistent! If a float is 4 bytes and a double is 8 bytes and a float is like an int which is 4 bytes and a double is like a long but a long is only 4 bytes and a long int is still 4 bytes but long double is 12 bytes then the developers can not count! Is there something other than an int and a long in the non-decimal space that is 8 bytes or 12 bytes?

Source Code:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
   cout <<"int " <<sizeof(int) <<endl
   <<"long " <<sizeof(long) <<endl
   <<"float " <<sizeof(float) <<endl
   <<"double " <<sizeof(double) <<endl
   <<"long long " <<sizeof(long long) <<endl
   <<"long int " <<sizeof(long int) <<endl
   <<"long double "<<sizeof(long double) <<endl
   <<"long long int " <<sizeof(long long int) <<endl;
   return 0;
}

Program Output:

int 4
long 4
float 4
double 8
long long 8
long int 4
long double 12
long long int 8

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Just don't do it!

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:39:08 -0600

I have found that I have problems connecting with certain people on a very basic level. I don't understand why you would stick gum on the bottom of a desk once you reach the university level. I don't understand why you would do damage to someone elses property (intentionally) for ANY reason! One major thing that I can not wrap my head around is why anyone would throw ANYTHING out of a moving vehicle at a cyclist!!! Tonight I took my bike out for a spin to test out a patched tube to make sure it was rideable for the morning ride, and while I was out a White Toyota Carolla (or rather the people in it) threw a bottle out of the window to hit me... and it succeeded... luckily I wasn't injured and it was an empty plastic bottle... but WHY!!!! PLEASE TELL ME WHY!!!!

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Arch Linux ext3 errors

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:25:05 -0600

Every once in a while we encounter a problem that can only be fixed from commands. Today I came across this error and wasn't sure what to do. After a while of checking I was sure that I needed a live cd with some special tools on it and I was going to have to get dirty, but in reality this wasn't the case. Please let me know if this solution also works for you.

Inodes that were part of a corrupted linked list found.

Steps to the solution that worked for me:

Enter in root password.
Run command: fsck -t ext3 /dev/sda4 *where /dev/sda4 is the partition/drive in question
Choose yes for all of the following prompts
When you are given the # prompt again type exit, and the system will reboot.

Sources:
[0] http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/mandriva-30/ext3-integrity-issues-180304/

Systems Affected:
Mars
Intel Core2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz
Linux version 2.6.27-ARCH
MemTotal: 2049340 kB

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Technology QotW: Rising Gas Prices

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:37:09 -0500

Which small businesses are hurt most by rising gas prices? What can they do to save money?
Mostly I would say any business that has a delivery service or orders goods to be shipped to their stores.
One thing that can be done to save money in this case I would assume is to use smaller vehicles to make deliveries rather than a truck. If the items can fit in the back of a small, fuel efficient, car then use the car... if the items are too big for the car I suppose there is no solution for that.
Maintaining vehicles that are used for delivery are as important as how they are driven as well. Drivers should accelerate slow and be conservative on their rpms at higher speeds. This causes very little time delays, but this can be counteracted by leaving early. Also, keep those filters clean and your oil changed.
Make sure your delivery drivers aren't going on any non-company related detours. This is irresponsible and can cost you a lot of extra dough. Install gps units to track where the trucks are going as well as their speeds.

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Bassackwards Oreos Update

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:47:47 -0600

They had a form, I filled it out... I explained the backward Oreo thing, and suddenly now I will be able to get more Oreos. WoW! Talk about wanting to make sure I'm happy.

So, I received this update from Nabisco about the Oreos.

Thank you for visiting http://www.nabiscoworld.com.

I'm sorry for your experience with OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. The problem you described sounds like there was a possible mechanical failure at our facility. I am sending you reimbursement via first class mail, which you should receive within 7-10 business days.

We value the quality of the products that leave our facility. We give careful attention to each step of our manufacturing process. Samples from each production run are evaluated before we ship them, in an effort to prevent any unsatisfactory products from entering distribution.

Mistakes can sometimes occur on our production lines. We try to prevent this by stationing inspectors at various points along the production lines, and their duties include watching for malfunctions. Also, our quality control staff makes regular rounds throughout the production area during the day in order to ensure that production equipment is functioning properly.

I hope this information is helpful, and again, I apologize for this experience. Thank you for your loyalty and we hope that your next experience is a good one.
Associates name has been removed.
Associate Director, Consumer Relations
Associates ID has been removed

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Cloth Bandages

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Lowry) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:16:10 -0600

Cloth bandages are amazing. Good for even those cuts on the palm of your hand. It is like a second layer of skin. Amazing!

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