Status update:
Well, my day was canceled and my phone needs a rebuild, so it’s maintenance day! finally getting to some much needed upgrades That i have been putting off. please excuse the dust and potential outages.
All things technical or technology related

For the first time in i don’t know how long, i have enough backup storage to backup ALL my critical data and even some less critical data. This also marks the end of my OS X Server. From a graphite G4 through so many minis, I have always had an OS X Server on my network. . . until now. I left the label from its previous installation while it was in operation. This mini i inherited the way i acquire so much equipment, it’s previous owner thought it was broken. I tried to explain, but i wasn’t going to say no to this lovely unit.

After almost 10 days of non-stop transferring, we have finally (almost) reached the bottom. This makes it almost 16TB transferred. It is almost time to plug the Drobo into the Synology and start using that 16TB volume as a backup!

My ancient Drobo array is only maintaining 25MB/sec transfer while still operating in its usual capacity. I had estimated that i’d see rates as low as 35MB/sec. This is only one folder and it alone will take 2 days to transfer. See you on the other side.
I have an aged storage array in a critical roll on my network. I have wanted to replace it for years, but the expense and the effort always kept it in the future. Apart from the speed being underwhelming, it has always been reliable and problem free. My recent backup problems have necessitated a new and much larger backup destination. This created the perfect storm allowing me to buy a huge new NAS to take over the rolls of my current slowpoke. Thus freeing my old, slow, but reliable array to act as solely a backup. This will breath new life and impressive capacity to my infrastructure and finally for the foreseeable future put an end to my local backup capacity issues.
Some of the preparations involve typology changes. Changing the very roadways and turnpikes of my network. If you are doing a performance upgrade, might as well squeeze out all the juice (link aggregation, etc). This upgrade is so big it will probably take the entire weekend just to prepare and rest of the month to complete! what could possibly go wrong? I prefer to think of all the things that will go right when it’s done.
So I did not “complete” my hat until very late Friday when i finally got it to announce its link status on its new set of 14 segment displays. It performed admirably all weekend. Thanks to Paul for safely transporting it to and from Vegas. I must also thank Stephen for his late night help on Wednesday. (tacos are not enough) Without his amazing soldering, i’d still be trying to figure out what i had done wrong. Here are some pictures from that night and the con to follow. . .











I’m back in Vegas for Defcon and it’s going swimmingly. so much so that i might get some actual swimming in.
Thanks to the late night help of Professor Franklin i have improved and redeployed the Defcam!
With this last message Rex clearly considers the matter closed. I am offered no explanation or path to resolution. The only explanation is that they need to explain nothing. I am often referred to their terms of service.
The most baffling part is that i am left wondering how this is “for the security of all our users”? i mean, They allow for strangers to create new accounts all the time. i have already created an alternate Google Play account to buy the very software that started this mess. (This time, i have severed these devices ability to communicate with google. Good luck killing the apps now. mahahahaha!)
It seems Google has been tripping all over themselves lately. This latest demonstration of their own massive incompetence is just one more nail in their coffin. They provided zero protection, only huge annoyance to someone who was once a vocal advocate of their products and services. Goodbye Google.
I have been struggling with a Google Play suspension. For some reason, google policy is not to discuss suspensions. period. Not even to resolve them. I have been battling with email and phone support for days, but this last communique was just too good not to share. In this recording, the Google Play support agent admits nothing can be done and suggests i wait a year for the problem to resolve itself. (edited to remove personal details and to shorten length)