bidding on ebay sucks

With all the reading of virtualization I've been doing lately, I want to do virtual windows xp on my laptop. Since I'm reading about Xen Virtualization, which we are going to use at work, I want to stick with that. That means I need an Intel VT chip. I did some looking at the processors and I thought I had one, however the option isn't in the bios, and the flags are not there in cpuinfo.

So I did more looking. Turns out I have an Intel Core Duo T2300E which doesn't do VT. So after looking around the net, and not wanting to pay $400.00+ for a chip that is no longer made, I decided to try Ebay.

In the last week I tried to bid on several different processors. I placed bids, and ended up getting out bid. One, I held the winning bid for 3 days. It was a T2300, the right kind. However I got an email today saying I was out bid, and the thing is now going for $60.00.

Talking to a co-worker, she said don't bid until the last 20 seconds. Put in the max amount you're willing to pay for it, and it'll usually prevent you from being out bid. Personally I don't like the snipe approach. I wonder how often that is someone just jacking up the price of their own product.

A great example. One of the processors I had bid on... I got an email from the seller last night. He hadn't heard from the buyer (after an hour of the sell closing), and wanted to know if I wanted to buy it. Of course at that time I was looking at another one and winning the bid on that. I said no.

Buying on ebay is a little easier... even if it does cost you more money. Still not the greatest system in the world, but I've seen much worse.

Senator Levin...

So I was surprised by one of my Senators today. Levin, actually voted in favor of the Dodd / Feingold amendment. However, I forgot all about Stabenow (IE STAB IN THE BACK / STAB ME NOW).

She was one of the traitors that cross the line to side with the republic party on giving her corporate masters (she's bought and paid for) immunity.

I sent a fairly nasty email to her. Telling her thank you for cementing the position in our current police state.

If you don't think we live in a police state, you haven't really be paying attention have you...

Oh and speaking of masters... Anyone else see that our media masters are calling states for Obama, before ANY votes are counted?

The strange things I think of...

So it's Tuesday, that means generator test day. As I was walking past the two large generators doing their test run (they're used for the Data Center), I though... Hey, why don't we feed some power back into the grid... Which led me to think about solar panels on the roof of the building (large factory style building).

It won't run the data center, but if we get enough of them, it should handle the overhead lighting and maybe the power outlets... Ok that'll take quite a few, but we've got the roof space.

I ran the idea past the director, I'll just wait to see where he takes it. He liked the idea.

My Senator is a Traitor living in Fear

This is a letter I sent to Senator Carl Levin of Michigan today.

Dear Mr. Levin,

I just watched you supporting the Specter / Whitehouse amendment to the FISA bill.

What you basically said, yes the telcos broke the law, but that's fine as long as no one can show they were hurt. If citizens can show they were damaged (by secret laws) then they can have a day in court. You statement was that because the telcos were acting in "good faith with the administration" it is ok to break the laws of the nation. This country is supposed to be above secret laws, and you're advocating them.

That is akin to you approaching me to murder someone for you, saying as long as I hide the body well enough, I won't be prosecuted. Even though we both know that I'd be breaking the law.

Everyone is damaged by the Telecommunication companies that broke the law, because U.S. Citizens can no longer trust that their conversations are private, and not being listened to illegally.

You sir disgust me. Stop living in fear.

Listening to Dodd on FISA

Man, I wish Dodd was still running. He's going a great job speaking against the immunity garbage in FISA bill. He's following up on what Feingold started before him (in the speeches).

Dodd is showing leadership, where are Clinton and Obama?

Should I stop doing errata?

I bought this book about a month ago, it's bad. See the early post from today. I have submitted at least 5 errata in the last two weeks. Not one has shown up on the website yet.

They include wrong commands, commands not matching the screen capture below it in the book, and commands with spaces in them, that really do not belong.

Xen Virtualization: The book - update

I decided to not build the last two xen boxes in chapter 3. So far the book has been a major disappointment. The author wasn't even trying in chapter 3. And I really wonder if the reviewers read the book.

Whole steps were left out while installing the NetBSD box, and instead of giving pointers to make things work during install, it was a case of oh just go read this web page on the NetBSD site.

Overall I'm very disappointed with the book.