Name's Cisco,

That's me down there. :-)

Credit: Cisco

I'm a 32 year old kid at heart and love everything that expands my mind. I've spent many years staring at computer screens and I simply can't get enough of them. I was 10 years old when I got my first computer. I pulled it apart that same night! As you can imagine, my mother wasn't very thrilled about it. However, I put it all back together that same night and I logged into AOL to learn more about the subject.

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That was the first time I used the internet outside of school. Up until that point, although I knew I was interested in computers, I didn't know how my interests would fuel my desire to learn. I was never truly devoted to school. I learned at my own pace. So there I was, 10 years old, and I decided that I needed to learn about everything that was housed within a computer; and how it all functioned. Many sleepless nights were spent reading and learning.

To this day, I love learning new things and discussing them with anyone that wants to hear me out. Inherently, I also love teaching ... and I don't mean just about computers either, however, computers are still a big part of my daily routine. I love spreading knowledge, even if it sparks a debate. I love to talk and communication in general. Most technical people I know, tend to be on the quiet side. I too have my moments, where I feel that I just want silence and space. But I'm mostly outspoken, especially about topics I enjoy.

Saying that I love computers is a bit of a broad statement though, I realize that. So I'll break it down a bit more, since I'll be using this site to write about some of the topics that I'll list below. Having said that, however, let me also state that my blogs will not be purely technical. There will likely be a mixture of all things of interest to me, such as family, cars, astronomy, among other things. However, tech is something I feel that I'm an expert in. As such, I will try to share my knowledge with the world, in the best way I know. So let me start out by laying out a few things.

Systems

Despite the name, I'll define systems as the OS in this particular case. I mostly spend my time within a Windows environment, however that's not by choice. As an adult, I've learned to accept that certain jobs have a requirement to work within Windows. I don't dislike it as much as I used to ... I've learned to adapt as time went on. After all, if you're not comfortable adjusting your skills very quickly, then I'm sorry to break it to you my friend ... Technology is not for you. I've come to realize that I'm very flexible in changing the way I do things because something new, or better, came out.

Sometimes I've gone backwards, because the old-fashioned way may be best suited for a particular task. But really this all equates to learning and growing, so it doesn't matter. It also doesn't matter that one thinks their way is the best way. Luckily, it doesn't have to be. There are plenty of solutions to a problem that can be accomplished by taking different approaches. Namely, since we're talking about operating systems, you can tell that Linux, Windows and Mac OS all have their own way to do things. None of them are right and none of them are wrong. Some may be more intuitive and more polished than others, but the same is also true, when sometimes less is more.

My first real exposure was the Mac OS. It's the system that I preferred for most of my life.

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Although I still love it, I've grown very fond of Linux in the last 7 years. To be more specific, Ubuntu.

I've administered Red Hat, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Windows and Mac OS systems. There have been a few others that I've meddled with, but not to the extent of the aforementioned. I don't really have a favorite, however Ubuntu nowadays, is what I enjoy logging into the most. My Mac is basically a portal into my Linux world. I do still keep it around, because there are situations where I still enjoy the occasional Garageband or iMovie endeavor. Surely there are applications available for Windows and Linux, trust me, I do know. Or perhaps it's just the fluidity of how it navigates. I believe that I simply find the experience on the Mac more pleasurable for certain things.

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Hardware

What do I mean by hardware? Well, although computing is pretty much a part of my genetic makeup at this point :-) ... I define hardware, as all things physical that I enjoy. Yes, the Mac is a beautiful thing, in my own humble opinion. We can argue all day about how there are better boxes out there. I will even agree with you, in part because I love performance. But just because I can build a race car from a Camaro for relatively cheap, that doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy the effort and attention to detail that goes into manufacturing a production Cadillac or Mercedes. Fact remains, for a stable workhorse, I've opted for Macs most of my life.

Thus, I own a 2008 Mac Pro, dual quad core Xeon 2.8GHz processors, with 20GB ECC DDR2 RAM ... I know, don't judge! :-P ... and 4 x 1.5TB HDDs in a RAID 10 configuration. You may be saying to yourself "jeez, that's old". But that's one of the reasons I love Macs ... They may be expensive, but they're built for the long haul. Plus ... LOOK at it, it's just a beautiful piece of hardware.

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Then I also have 2 x SunFire x2270 boxes. The "main one" out of the two and the one I use the most, is a dual quad core Xeon 2.93GHz, with 48GB ECC DDR2 RAM and 4 x 1TB RAIDz2 (not to be confused with RAID 2 ... the "z" stands for ZFS).

Credit: Cisco

Credit: Cisco

Credit: IMN.de

The second one is also a dual socket system, but I only have one hexa core 2.93GHz with 24GB of RAM. This one is just used when I need the extra power, so it's mostly off. It's got a 250GB desktop grade Seagate Barracuda, nothing fancy.

I realize that the specs on the aforementioned hosts aren't anything thrilling by today's standards, as there are far better systems out there. However, they do the job for me at the moment. So I don't need to upgrade too much. Aside from those, I've got an older Intel board that I had laying around, that I built into a NAS using ZFS. More on that in a future post. But here's a sneak peek from when I built it:

Credit: Cisco

This is not highly spec'd out by any means. It's got an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz with 4GB DDR2 RAM and 10 x 3TB WD Green drives in a RAIDz2 config. Why Greens? Because they're cheap and I don't need speed, just space for my fiddling around.

That wraps up the computer hardware for now. I've got a few more things up my sleeve, like managed switches and a Raspberry Pi ... but I'll just have to keep you hungry for more :-) until I write up some more blogs. Now onto something else I classify as hardware. Cars!

I'm a huge fan of cars. I haven't owned too many of them in my lifetime, but I've loved each one in a different way. I'll stick to what I currently rock. I've got a 2010 Camaro that my wife bought me. You've read that right, she bought it. Granted we share a bank account, so we could "technically" say that we bought it together. However, there's a long story and so for now, all you need to know is that she bought it ... In lieu of having a baby. :-D ... More on that in another blog post coming soon.

Lexie, our Camaro, was a custom order and fully stocked 2SS with the RS package.

Credit: Cisco

Credit: Cisco

Those are my favorite views of the car. The rear and the steering wheel. Although the nose of the car is high up there, it appears that I don't actually have a good picture, so I'll rectify it at some point.

Like my wife, she too, has got hips that don't lie. With a 6.2L push-rod engine (yep, push-rod, regardless of what you thought, they still make those), she sported 426HP and 426TQ at the crank when new. After break-in and a couple of upgrades, she's probably pushing out a bit over 440HP and 435TQ on 93 octane gas. I'll post about her upgrades at some point.

That's about it for now on hardware.

Software

There are many reasons I like computers and electronics in general, but software when done correctly, can make a crummy task much more enjoyable. I studied computer programming after high school. I always had a passion for services. I loved to try new software that did more for my own knowledge, than anything else really. I loved setting up all sorts of servers, FTP, HTTP, among other things. So naturally, learning Java was one step closer to me getting to know computers a bit more intimately.

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I worked on a few projects during my schooling, but unfortunately I was unable to find a job in the field at the time, so my skills got rusty. I am, however, picking it up slowly again.

Games are something that I wish I would be able to allocate more time to. But I always feel guilty that I could better spend my time doing something else. These are some of my go-to games.

X-Plane, by Laminar Research. It's a flight simulator for Mac, Linux and Windows that looks absolutely stunning on good hardware.

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Elite: Dangerous, by Frontier. An outer space combat simulation/game. You can play as a pirate, or as part of a space military group. You can also be a trader, but beware of pirates! What gives this game even more depth, is the fact that you don't need to be part of a faction if you don't want, or if you change your mind. You can be a ranked militant, but then decide to be a pirate. All decisions will cost you points in your rank, but that's the fun part. Or you could be a trader that likes to buy and sell illicit goods. Beware of the police and pirates! This one is available on the Mac and PC (Windows), as well as XBox One and PS4.

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Gran Turismo, by Polyphony Digital. A driving simulator/racing game. This one I always come back to and no matter how far I got the last time, I love starting over. I like modifying cars, so the low-end cars are the ones that really push your limits to drive the racing line.

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As you can tell, I like simulation. I like RPG and FPS games also, but these are my top 3. Like I said, I wish I could devote more time to them, but I feel terrible about myself if I do.

Then there's blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. I discovered Bitcoin back in 2010. I didn't start to invest in it until about 2012 and since then, I've expanded my portfolio into other alt-coins. I have been an avid follower for the last year and a half. Since then, there has been a lot of attention, especially the last 7 months. I don't think that this stuff is going anywhere, blockchain and cryptos are here to stay, no matter what the nay-sayers think.

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Family

The biggest part of my life, however, is my family. I'm a husband and a father. My wife and I have been together for 16, going on 17 years. We're high school sweethearts, as cliche as that may sound. But I love her to death and we keep each-other sane. Besides sanity, I'm thankful for her friendship and putting up with all my crap on a day to day basis. We've got an 11 month old daughter, whom is the sweetest baby you could possibly ever come across.

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They are truly the center of my universe. I strive, not for perfection, but to be better each and every day. Having them around makes me embrace the positive, but they also help me through the everyday potholes. Together, they make up my life and couldn't ever imagine them not being around. Some would say that I'm attached at the hip with them, but it doesn't phase me. They were my choice ... and they were my choice for a reason.

Oftentimes, I hear that people need time away from their family, to decompress and for a change of atmosphere. Yet I find myself wanting to be with them all the time. I don't like anything more, than going home and hanging around with them and making a fool out of myself. It's my opportunity to be my complete goofy self and to be unique. I rarely hold out, even in public, but I know that truly "anything goes" with them. Of course, my little one will probably be embarrassed to be around me when she gets older, but that's the best part. I'm going to enjoy making her blush in public, in a harmless way, of course.

On occasion, I may go out to hang out with a friend here or there, and although I enjoy my friends and coworkers, I constantly find myself with my girls on my mind. I realize that family life may not be for everyone, nor do I judge. Life has to enhance you in the best way possible for your own sake. It's the only one we've got, so it's best to enjoy it how we see fit. My family, however, is what upgrades me. They enhance and complement me in every way possible.

Credit: Sandra Malo Photo www.instagram.com/sandra_malo_photo/

Credit: Cisco

So in the proverbial nutshell, this is me and what makes me an individual. Just a handful of topics that you should expect to see and for me to cover in the coming future. I hope that you enjoy my writing and that you appreciate what I create. If nothing else, the joy of knowing that someone at some point in time will be able to look back at this and learn at least one thing, will make this entire endeavor worth the effort.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Cisco

P.S. If you actually made it this far, go ahead ... pat yourself on the back. You deserve it! Pick your poison and cheers to you!