diego iaconelli » Personal

Thanksgiving 2009

Diego Iaconelli — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:09:34 +0000

It’s the little things that make it all worth it. My only wish is Kayte were there to share it with me, instead of half-way around the world.

An Urge To Move

Diego Iaconelli — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:07:59 +0000

Life in London. There are only so many times you can ride the train past the power station at Battersea, and still be awed. It may very well soon be time…

So, Chicago. How does that sound?

Snow, DDoS, and a Year In Review

Diego Iaconelli — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:22:06 +0000

I’m afraid I’ve been a little lax in my writing these past few months. In fact, I’ve been downright horrid at it. Despite producing content, I’ve not found anything I’ve penned quite up to snuff, which needless to say, is manifested in the lack of updates here. It seems poor that the first update I’ve posted is a snotty comment on yet-another-iPod from Apple.

In any case, this is a short, sweet update to let you know that I’m alive, and the rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated. As such, I’m still liable to the Student Loans Company, and no, you can’t have my things yet.

Since November, I’ve been working… and working some more. I finally pulled off a very painful migration for the team to a new ODM on a Xeon XServe (the documentation for which is still being written… I know, I know…) and since the last bugs were worked out in early/mid January, I’ve actually found time to sleep and even leave work on time. Needless to say, this has left me a little bored at times, but my health and Cardiologist both thank me.

December saw hours and hours and hours spent at work, past my salaried time, bashing my head against the server cabinet in some vain hope that my blood, offered as sacrifice, would resolve the AFP issues that had seemingly plagued my new install, but not the older 10.4.x G5 install. In reality, the issue had been there all along, but under the G5, performance was already so appallingly bad, that no one had a chance to notice the odd kernel panic causing everything to restart. The AFP lockups were so frequent under the old administration (a setup that I inherited, essentially overnight) that everyone was used to it by the time my new Intel went in. It wasn’t until after taking a break at the end of the year, was I able to come back with a fresh mind and look at everything with the analytical bent I had so far been lacking… as an aside, I still twitch at the mention of “beachballing…”

January saw the marriage of my best friend to his charming fianceé, where I stood as Best Man, and did my upmost to ensure the smooth running of the day. This culminated in my throwing myself out of an SUV and puling his then brand new Mother in Law from the path of a speeding car. Being European, she had neglected to remember that cars in the UK move in the other direction. As such, she’d not seen thought to check to her left as she stepped out into oncoming traffic… Needless to say, he still has said Mother in Law, and I learned that I can move rather quickly when needs must. I supposed it’s an indication that I should return to doing some sort of sensible sport and get myself back into shape (or at least, one other than “round”.)

In very early Feb, my little City was (metaphorically) shot in the knees when almost ten inches of snow fell, mostly overnight, causing London’s transport network to simply shut down. I was personally house-bound for three days as the snow that melted formed two inches of ice over everything capable of aiding movement (rails, tarmac, etc) and so venturing outside was an adventure in just how far you could get before falling on your backside because you’d forgotten to strap crampons to your boots.

My birthday was a quiet event (all things told) though the cake I brought to work was a resounding success. The post-cake-drinks were also a welcome change from the usual routine of going to the local Slug and Lettuce to listen to co-workers moan about being underpaid and overworked (which is in this climate, a rather snotty thing to say, I feel…) – the setting of a vodka bar, while not my usual choice, certainly made for a charming evening.

Which brings me neatly to March. Right now, this month has been rather spiffy. We’ve been granted new training resources at work, and projects that we’ve been working on have finally come to fruition. There’s new functionality to build into systems, new apps to test (note: always submit bug feedback; hell, all feedback. Feedback is good…) and stuff to learn. Challenges keep me on my toes. Love ‘em.

Other than that, I saw a very excellent opera based on The Office, written by my friend Anne for Comic Relief. You should all visit the site and sponsor her. And, last but not least, at the end of March, I’ll be setting off once more to the US, to visit friends in Chicago, Madison, and the surrounding areas. I’ll be staying through the Easter weekend, and should be back in London around the 14th. Hopefully, the trip will give me a little time to catch up on my written output. And perhaps a new story from the man in 41C.

Don’t let the bugs bite

Diego Iaconelli — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:58:50 +0000

Bug Bites:

As part of my time away recently, I’ve been in West Sussex, and taking the odd walk. The other day, after helping an woman hunt for her lost dog in the 35 acres of woodland, I came back to the house and pulled off my boots, and noticed that my ankles were almost on fire. Removal of socks reviled a multitude of little bite marks from some unknown beastie.

Spa Francorchamps

Diego Iaconelli — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:55:04 +0000

Sunday is possibly my favorite day of the week. A day where I never work, and get to put my life in order; a great portion of that order stems from reflection on the week passed. And there is no better reflection than honey and banana on toast, with the Formula One to watch.

Certainly, the broadcast could be better; it could be an HD transmission, and if still broadcast on the BBC, I’m sure it would be. It’d also be nice if we could see the race uninterrupted by the plethora of adverts that seem so pop up at the most inconvenient of times, such as right in the middle of pitting. But such is life.

At the end of it all, I still get to watch a race and take a chance to zone out just a little. These are the days I cherish, the days that I wish would last just that little touch longer, a sort of reversal of long dark teatime of the soul. Days like these, the cold, overcast ones, are the kind to share with people you love. And while it’s not always possible to spend it with those special people, when it happens, it’s worth it.

Long cold mornings, fresh coffee, pancakes, and those you care about around you. It’s the perfect start to the day. I hope to have that pleasure again soon.

Flight AA99

Diego Iaconelli — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:40:57 +0000

The man in 41C yawns, and leans back in his seat. The lights are down, the display from the laptop lights his face, and blinks off the rim of his glasses. A stack of papers sits on his desk, and a scribbled note on the back of an Apple Store Repair confirmation stands out in red ink against the grey Helvetica of the Terms and Conditions.

He calls his calendar up on the screen of the computer and fiddles with the date range, and titles the event. “AA99 To Chicago” stands out as the first entry of the day. Get there for going on ten am local, and a five hour lay over at O’Hare. Not ideal, but it’s preferable to the otherwise mad sprint to the other end of the airport, And that’s not forgetting the joy of Immigration Control.

41C checks his booking, and selects the seat for his flight out. The seat is free. And now, confirmed. Our hero adds the seating plan to his calendar and syncs. Flight booked. Tickets sorted. Passport found.

Six weeks to go…

Flight AA 3676

Diego Iaconelli — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:34:27 +0000

The man from 41C stood on the platform, and looked up at the dirty orange LED display. The wind and drizzle made a light haze of colour around the sign, and turned the reading of “18:02 to East Grinstead” resemble something more akin to “18:85 to Bast Grlnstead”. The sky grew darker, and people poured out of the Tube station after the crush on the Victoria Line an hour before. 41C tucked the end of his scarf into the top of his overcoat, and walked slowly up the platform, bundled up as though in the depths of a Midwestern winter, with the top of his head and nose peeking out of the roll top of the woolen sweater. He reaches into his pocket as he pushes the button to open the door, and pulls out his mp3 playing phone ((an iPhone, but it sounds silly in the context of the story)), and wiggles the ends of the headphones into his ears as he walks into the carriage. He finds a seat, and kicks up his walking boot covered feet onto the hot air vent under the little table by the window. Bag by his side, he pulls out the newspaper for the day, and a bottle of water.
The train, late as always, pulls out of Victoria, and rumbles through the City and a snail’s pace, heading southwest from Victoria to Croydon and Clapham, passing the towers of Battersea. The working lights shine up the chimney stacks, and makes the dirty white paintwork burn brightly in the early evening rain. The phone bleeps softly in his ears, and he reads a message about runways and sheriffs. The man from 41C sits back and thinks of the girl on Flight AA 3676. He wonders how it’ll go, and where she’ll end up. And where, in a few months, he’ll be. 41C leans back and listens to the clatter of the carriage over the rails, and the rain on the windows. The train rolls on into the evening, and the dirty orange of the station fades away. It’s time for another journey.

Photographic Intent

Diego Iaconelli — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:58:13 +0000

My birthday, having passed on Monday, I decided to treat myself to a new toy. After years out in the cold with film SLR cameras, I’ve finally moved on and bought myself a new SLR, a Digital SLR. Specifically, a Nikon D80 – the object of my desire for the last eighteen months. So, while I get to grips with the camera, I’ll also be managing my pictures for once and moving from iPhoto (where I have been for a scant few weeks, after a move from Finder windows and large icons) to Aperture 2 in order to better take advantage of RAW images and cataloguing. Thankfully, Aperture now also works far far better with iLife than the previous incarnation, syncing to AppleTV and my iPhone for displaying my new fancy pictures on both big and small screens without hassle.

Look out in the future for a few pictures to start making their way back into posts here, and trips to to actually have pictures with them.

Install and Initialization Pt. 2

Diego Iaconelli — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:56:05 +0000

The initial import of data from the previous database has now taken place. Over the next few weeks, the rest of the backlog I have (mostly paper notes, and items never entered) will be written up and edited into the correct year, month, and place.

Watch this space. You never know what’s going to make an appearance.

Year In Review

Diego Iaconelli — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 17:45:40 +0000

January to mid September stunk. October, I landed a new job, then quit the old one, and December should hopefully pick up. The lack of content here is in part due to the fact that I’d lost my way, and had little artistic inclination over the last year; something I hope to look at over the next twelve months, and tackle in whatever way I possibly can. Sure, I won’t force the process, but I certainly won’t repress it as I have done of late. There’s far too much bubbling around inside to do that for much longer. And as for the current content, I’m not even sure if this database will make out out the other end of the refit.

As always, we’ll see. As for the rest, there’s a story there somewhere. One day, it might make it out. The man from 41C is not yet dead.