The most obvious route was to install the CD as-is. Unfortunately, this machine has no optical drive attached, and I did not feel like opening the system and adjusting the cabling to support that. I also don’t have a USB/IDE adapter. So, I first thought to use Unetbootin to install from a USB flash drive. After using Unetbootin to place the files on the flash drive, I attempted to boot to it. The motherboard supports USB floppy drives and CD-ROM, but not flash drives.

My next trick was to attempt to boot the ISO over the network, which I have successfully done with pfSense and the Debian install CD. A quick copy of the ISO into my TFTP boot directory and a modification to the PXE boot config were all that were necessary before rebooting my phone system. The PXE boot system comes up, and I attempt to boot the ISO. I was hopeful, but this worked like the rest of this install, an epic fail. Looking at the logs, I discovered that the TFTP server can’t handle serving a 650MB ISO, while it has easily handled a 60 and a 130 MB one. Another dead end, or is it?

I stepped back to think about the situation… If I can’t boot the ISO, what can I do? I remembered that when I copied the ISO to the TFTP root directory, I also copied the extracted files that Unetbootin has placed on the flash drive. I knew that PXE and USB booting, as implemented on Linux, are very similar. I configured the PXE environment to boot the extracted kernel. I was delighted to see that the installer loaded at all, after everything that had not worked as expected so far.

Once the installer started, it could not find the packages to install and asked which method to use to locate the packages. One of the HTTP. I created a new symbolic link in Apache’s DocumentRoot pointing to the TFTP root directory, making it accessible via HTTP. The installer immediately found the files and was able to install almost all of the packages. One package couldn’t be found, due to Unetbootin truncating the name. I renamed the file and clicked retry in the installer. The installer finished successfully. I rebooted and was able to log into the system.

After all of this craziness, I was ecstatic at being able to finally have a usable web interface on my phone system. Now, it’s on to configuring the system… Enjoy part 3…

At the time, the dialplans and routing all needed to be crafted by hand, in the early 1.2 days. A healthy portion of my time was involved in learning about extensions, contexts, and priorities. As I looked forward to implementing Asterisk at home, I found a fun device called the Linksys NSLU2, affectionately nicknamed the “Slug.” After attaching a 4GB flash drive, I installed Debian and Asterisk, again with a handcrafted dialplan. Fast forward another year, I had upgraded the hardware to a Mini-ITX system with a hard drive and no CD drive. Through all this time, I was hand-crafting a dialplan.

While my knowledge of Asterisk dialplans grew, several web interfaces became usable. I and some close friends tried to use the AsteriskGUI created by Digium from the original AsteriskNOW distribution. At the time, the AsteriskGUI was somewhat usable but had some significant bugs; I continued to use Asterisk with a hand-written dialplan. Since then, Trixbox was the biggest proponent of the FreePBX. Once AsteriskNOW added FreePBX as an option, I figured it was worth a try. After setting up a demo system and dabbling with it, I was pleased. My only hestiation was that the base distribution was and is CentOS, which is a fine base, but I tend to prefer Debian-based distros…

With that in mind, I have tried at least 3 or 4 times over the last few years to install FreePBX on my existing Debian-based system with its custom dialplan. Each time, I have fallen short of getting it setup. Mostly, I just haven’t invested the time to really solving that problem. In stead, I had the chance to spend the evening helping my buddy Mike learn all about Asterisk. We spent the time with the newest 1.7 version of AsteriskNOW. It was fairly clear, after some experimentation, that I needed to leverage this much more flexible tool to maintain my phone system. I tried one final time to install FreePBX on my phone system, with the same results as before, incomplete with too many holes and issues for me to spend my time with.

That night, after Mike had gone, I resigned myself to replacing that Debian base with the CentOS base of the AsteriskNOW distribution, figuring this was easier. Of course, nothing about this install was easy. I’ll share more in part 2…

Those that know me know that I frequent the message board of Leo Laporte, who used to host a couple of shows on TechTV and is now working on a number of media projects. On this board, members noticed that Leo was going to be speaking at a technical conference at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. The event focused on the use of Macromedia projects in web development and gaming, among other topics; the conference was presented by the South Eastern Ohio Macromedia User’s Group. I had thought about maybe going for quite a while, since the first mention of the conference. I knew, however, that I would likely have to work that day. On the Tuesday night before, I was at my buddy Mike’s house and asked if he wanted to go on a road trip. He asked where we would be going; I described the event. He quickly agreed, and we began to make arrangements. Fortunately, there were rooms at the local Super 8. Our room was only $60 after tax and included free Wi-Fi internet access.

We got out of bed at 6AM and were checked out of the hotel by 7. Once at the Ohio University Inn, we were treated to a series of clips from the archives of TechTV, ZDTV, and MSNBC. Leo showed up at 8. The breakfast was very informal and humorous. We ordered and ate later than we expected; we didn’t leave the breakfast until about 11. Of course, the conference sessions were scheduled to start at 9. Obviously, we missed those, especially since we needed to travel to the Baker Center about 3 miles away and find parking. Noon rolled around and Mike and I, along with the rest of the group from breakfast, grabbed our lunches and our seats for the speech with Leo. He talked about the relatively new phenomenon of podcasting and the power of the individual to create and consume content on their own schedule. The session was due to last about 50 minutes so that the next session could convene right at 1. As usual for Leo, he ran over his time; no one seemed to notice or care.

After lunch, Leo went downstairs to the lounge to sign autographs and snap some photos. The folks from breakfast simply hung around and chatted with each other until long after Leo left at 1:40. Several of us stayed until nearly 4PM. I led a couple of the folks back to the Inn, and Mike and I were ready to head home. Before we got on the road, however, I decided to try calling my brother, since he is a resident student of the college. He happened to be free for a little while, so we spent about a half an hour to an hour talking. He had to get back to work, so Mike and I spent the next three hours or so driving back to Mansfield, managing to avoid getting lost… too much. Actually, I just wanted to avoid some construction and got turned around on one of the state routes on the way back. Fortunately, it only detoured us by about five minutes.

While I try to avoid being a fanboy, I have to say that I admire what Leo and the rest of the TechTV crew were attempting to do and what they are trying to accomplish now. And it was great to see my brother for the first time in several weeks. Most of all, I was just very glad to take advantage of a confluence of events for a short but rewarding vacation.

Early this month, I spent a week in Michigan with the rest of the family. I was hoping to go kayaking, but it rained each of the mornings I wanted to go later in the week. Of course, I also wanted to ride my bike, but the tires were flat. The day after fixing that, the rain started… Oh, well. It was still a fun time.

This weekend, I went to GenCon Indy with two friends of mine. It is a gaming convention, one of the largest in the country. I’ll have to type up an entry dedicated to that, but the Con was a great time, depsite a number of odd circumstances.

On top of all of my travels this summer, I finally bought a real cell phone. The LG VX4400 with a color screen and a decent calling plan for just $40 per month. No, I won’t be posting the number here on the website anytime soon… So far, I’ve been very happy with it, although I’ve used a large number of minutes talking to one particular person…..

That person with whom I have spent most of this month’s minutes on is Jen. While I never spoke about her here before, she and I dated for about 2 months last year. She had one relationship and one potential relationship, neither of which went swimmingly. So, on July 1st, she and I began dating again. It wasn’t really a concious, predetermined decision. It just happened. But is has been worth it. Jen is amazing. There just aren’t words to describe how I feel. Every minute seems like an hour when we are apart… So, after nearly a month, we have hung out a lot, with the exceptions of my two trips this summer.

Overall, it’s been a good summer. There are a few not-so-great-details that I reserve the right to not share at the moment, but everything else has been “SO GOOD!”

And just so people know, I am taking a blue/green Madness deck, designed to get as many large creatures out as possible. Of course, I highly doubt anyone is reading this blog…. It’s a self-fulfilling cycle. I never post because no one ever read it, while no one ever reads it because I
never post….

Anyway, I digress. The tournament is a big one, up to 600 players or more. My personal goal is to break even, at the very least. We’ll see. This tournament will be different than others simply due to the fact that it’s my first Constructed tournament. All my previous outings have been Limited format, so I could not really tweak my deck appropriately ahead of time.

I’ll be sure to report my results here in a couple of days.

Anyway, we talked for a while about Jessalyn, an acquaintance of mine through Key Club in high school. About two years ago, (I can’t believe its been that long since we really talked.) we had a period of about a month where we talked nearly every day. It was amazing, especially after we discussed the fact that we each had a crush on the other at the same time, but we were both too shy at the time to tell the other.

As Jen and I talked tonight, I realized just how much I miss her. She looks amazing, and she is a pleasure to talk with. At one point, she sent me some of her poetry, which she indicated that she rarely shares (only with good friends). Some of it is dark and reflects the adversity she has encountered in her life, and I am honored that she decided to share it with me.

But at this point, her boyfriend Scott is keeping her away from all society, it seems. The last time I saw her was several months ago at the Wendy’s where she works. She told me then that she really couldn’t talk; she revealed that the cause was not her manager or anything, but that is was Scott keeping her from even her female friends. This goes far beyond jealousy into the realm of total control.

This situation really is not good. I’m sure Jessalyn is unhappy; I could read it in here eyes. Her two daughters (both fathered by Scott) are likely to be getting to the age when they can really understand what is going on, and it isn’t healthy for them. And, to be perfectly selfish, I wouldn’t mind being able to see her again, at least as a friend, maybe more. I only wish I had a picture of her…. I only have quiet, pleasant memories of my short time spending time with her.

I think lunch is going to be had at Wendy’s… Hopefully, I can at least say hello…. Of course, I live in the area and haven’t been there lately, so Scott will not jump the the conclusion that I would be stalking Jessalyn or anything.

After the tournament, Dan, Mike, and I ate at Spaghetti Warehouse, less than a block from the tournament and had a good time. After the drive home, longer because of the rain, we stopped at Mike’s house and spent the rest of the evening watching Star Trek: The Next Generation.

On the way, I stopped and bought some packs of Judgement and Torment cards, getting some interesting choices. Of the cards that were of any use, I pulled two Soulcatcher’s Aeries. These are very good enchantments that make for some really huge birds on the late game. For each Bird that goes into my graveyard from play, a counter goes on the Aerie and each of my birds in play get +1/+1 for each of those counters. Just a few dead birds, and I have a nearly unstoppable horde of flyers to stomp on my opponent.

I was also mildly inspired by Mike to try my hand at a mono-black deck. A couple of Laquatus’s Champions, a Devouring Stroussus, and a Nantuko Shade form the main kill conditions, with several black weenies (Ravenous Rats and Crypt CREEPERS) to be fodder to my Stroussus. Of course, I have included plenty of creature destruction, land destruction, and discarding effects. And, a supply of cards, like Gravedigger, that let me get back some creatures, such as the Nantuko Shade and the Champions. This deck is totally untested, but I might try it out this weekend.