5:09pm

I feel jazzed about what I’ve accomplished so far today. I booted up my gaming machine for the first time in who knows how long, and while I did see Steam updating in the background, I didn’t care. Matter of fact, I think I even ignored a notification that the EA/Origin app needed to reboot for updates.

You see, I didn’t boot my gaming machine to be a gaming machine.

It just so happens that it’s running Windows 11 Pro, the most current rollout/version as far as I know. For years, Microsoft ran separate development tracks for their retail and commercial operating systems. Windows 9x versus Windows NT. Windows XP versus Server 2003… I think (it’s been a minute since I indexed this mental data, folks). And while it looks on the surface like this trend has continued into the modern day, Windows 11 shares far more capability with Server 2022 that people realize.

For example, Windows 11’s ability to utilize Hyper-V.

Hyper-V is Microsoft’s response to VMWare and all the other Type 1 Hypervisors out there, and it started out more than a little rough. Oh, sure… it did the base job, but its guest OS support in the early days wasn’t the greatest, and you sometimes had to ‘finesse’ some things to get VMs to work properly.

But for many, many years now, I’ve said Microsoft is a lot like the Borg. Give ’em enough time and iterations, and they will produce a superior product. Like the current iteration of their built-in antivirus. Sure… it’s not super-awesome, but Microsoft is such a huge target that they’ve had loads of experience in making it better, and the modern result isn’t horrible. I actually use it on my gaming box and my parents’ machine… well… I guess Dad’s machine now.

Hyper-V has been pretty awesome for the past several years, and I love that Microsoft has integrated it into the consumer Windows Pro line since the inception of Windows 10 Pro.

If you’ve read this far, you might be wondering why I’m pontificating about Microsoft and Windows and Hyper-V… and that’s a fair question.

You see, folks… right before I hopped over here (my MacBook) to write the words on my fiction for today, I set up (and updated) two Linux VMs on Hyper-V.

One will be my LPIC study machine, which I will use as a test bed for all work related to my pursuit of the LPI Certifications. I’m specifically going after LPIC-1, LPIC-2, & LPIC-3 Security. I’ve been eyeing them for a while, and with those two ventures I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I feel that having them as part of my semi-professional portfolio will be a good thing.

The other is my web development test bed. Like I wrote in the post last night, I have a couple projects that fit best as web apps, and all my programming experience is with discrete software (i.e. the stuff you install locally to your machine). My programming experience is also heavily slanting toward Windows software, too, so I feel like I’m kinda starting from scratch a little bit.

My final test before hopping on the site to begin my post for today was to run a quick test in terminal… and it succeeded. Here’s a screenshot:

Damn… it’s almost like I used to do this Systems & Network stuff for a living.  🤣

Alrighty. I’ve rambled enough about this for now. I need to hop over and put some words into Tempus. I’ll circle back here before I wind down for the night and post my progress on it.

3 March 2024, 2:13am

I only managed one writing ‘session’ on Tempus. It doesn’t feel very professional to say this, but I just was not feeling it. Those two software projects I’ve mentioned kept rattling around in my head, and quite frankly, one of them is the largest implementation I think I’ve ever attempted. On the one side, it’s an fun, intellectually stimulating project… but on the other hand… it’s intimidating as all hell.

And let’s not forget the learning curve attached to both of them, either…

However, I will persevere and deliver the best completed product it is within my power to create. I doubt this will be the first time Imposter Syndrome rears its ugly head for the second project, but I’ve defeated it before. I can do it again.

In other (and better) news…

An idea woke me up for the fourth title in Shepherd Security Services. Like I did with Archmagister, I will introduce the story of Book 4 at the end of Book 3. I have already jotted the notes and thoughts down to be sure I don’t lose them. Dean Wesley Smith says that he doesn’t bother writing story ideas down anymore; he says that, if the idea is good enough that he remembers it a few days later, he’ll write it. I have so many irons in the fire (maybe unfortunately?) that I do not feel I have that luxury.

And those irons are not exclusively fiction, either…

Regardless, I love the ideas that were in the forefront of my mind when I woke up, and I hope my notes rekindle this feeling when I’m finally in a position to write the stories.

Dammit… there’s a part of me that says I should write on Tempus now that I’m awake. I even want to write on Tempus. But I also want to jump into Colfyr and finish it, too, so I’m that much closer to starting Books 3 & 4.

Yes… I’m that excited about them.

Right this second, I’m all keyed up to write. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t care one whit about the two software projects. But I also know that particular feeling is also temporary. I’ll get the current writing rush out of my system, and the pendulum will either swing fully back to the software projects or it’ll stop somewhere in the middle.

Because I absolutely want to have my name on those projects. I believe in the projects that much. I care about the projects, and the two people I’m working with in the projects (one person per project) are phenomenal people who I value and respect and a whole, long list of related verbs. One of those people is one of my best friends, and the other is definitely on the Short List, on the fringe of my inner circle… pick your metaphor.

I didn’t want to resume Tempus when I did, but I felt two years was too long between titles in the series. I’d personally like to end it around Book 5, but other considerations have me leaning toward one book per year until 2028 or so. That thinking might change. We’ll see.

I’m not going to post a Log screenshot, because one line is–frankly–rather laughable. I’ll include it with my March 3rd writing.

I hope the days treat you and yours well.

Stay safe out there.