Terabytes
I'm up to 26 drives and running out of space. My poor Norco 4020 Chassis only holds 20, so I've been running 2 external USB drives and an ESATA Venus box that holds 4. The cabling inside of the Norco is a nightmare: a knot of 4 port-expanders plus 24 SATA cables are restricting airflow, reducing system and drive longevity. Plus, I ran out of drive letters two drives ago, and managing where to put what data time-consuming and annoying. I miss having "one big drive".

I avoided hardware RAID this time around, because it wants drives of all of the same size and doesn't support drive-spindown, which saves power, and reduces heat and noise. disParity has worked great as a simple software RAID solution, but is very slow when run across 26 drives on expanders, as one might expect.

So, how to move forward? Finding the answer turned-out to be more time-consuming, and mind-confusing, than expected.

After much research, internal dialog, annoying of friends, and weighing of pros/cons, I've come up with what I think is a workable and cost-effective solution.

I'm switching to Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS), now that I understand it better, and reducing those 24 cables to 1. I'll have to live with the risk of bitrot, thanks to Microsoft's inability to develop a new filesystem, and keep everything spinning at all times.

This involves the purchase of a new chassis that includes a backplane to minimize cabling. I've chosen the SuperMicro 846E16-R1200B, which has 24 drive bays runnable through a single SFF-8087 cable. My SATA 2 drive interfaces will only produce a 1.2GB/s maximum in this configuration, but that's perfectly livable for now.

The SAS controller I've chosen also has an external SFF-8088 connection, so adding a second 24-bay chassis (sans motherboard & CPU) will be trivial.

I will likely run two RAID-6 arrays consisting of 24-drives each. Since I don't write data often, that should prove reliable enough. *knocks wood* Plus, it makes it easier to downsize and migrate as 4TB drives become available.

So, my new system will consist of:
Chassis: SuperMicro 846E16-R1200B
CPU: Intel Core i7-980
Mobo: Asus Rampage III Extreme
RAM: 12GB Crucial DDR3
Controller: LSI MegaRAID SAS 9280-4i4e
Video: GeForce 470 (aging, but waiting for a new generation)
Drives: 26+ WD 2TB EURS (may not play nice in a RAID?)


All of which is sitting inside my new Silence Case Attenuation Enclosure


PS: After planning-out how to migrate my data to the new system, I've ordered 6 new drives, for a total of 32, resulting in a total of 5 "capacity expansions" (RAID rebuilds). I'll keep my old Norco running with 8 drives in a RAID-5 (using my old 3Ware controller) until those run out of space.

PPS: ZFS is still neat, but requires gobs of RAM to work efficiently with a 50+ TB array.

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Seattle Center

Saturday was a spectacular Spring day!  We haven’t had many of those lately, so Lisa and I took the opportunity to enjoy some sunshine and take our friend Finn to see the Star Wars exhibit at Pacific Science Center!

The World Rhythm Festival was going on, so we ate hot dogs on the lawn while listening to them perform.  We then spent time marveling at the International Fountain, which is always a treat, especially on a warm day.

Before long we headed into the Science Center where we enjoyed ourselves playing with bugs and butterflies on display there before watching the IMAX film Born to be Wild in 3D, followed by even more fascinating science displays.

It was then time to see the Star Wars exhibits!  I really enjoyed seeing these artifacts of my childhood up close and took a lot of photos.  Below are some of them.  Enjoy!

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Rusty Scupper Pirate Daze

On Saturday, Bill, Pam, and I drove to the small town of Westport for Rusty Scupper Pirate Daze, a celebration of Pirate culture.  What a strange experience it was!

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Check Out
Check out my National Park photo-blog at: DriveToPark.com!

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mazatlan

in january, we went to mazatlan:





 

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chocolate covered ginger
there's so much going on,
and yet not much going on.

mostly i've just been planning a massive trip w/lisa:
gonna try to hit every u.s. national park this year,
and visit every country in europe.
(maybe even morocco and egypt?)
current time estimate: ~9 months on the road.

naturally, the planning also involves
the research & purchase of complex things like:
gps, laptop, digital slr, car audio components, etc.
it's complicated work,
but will result in the time of our lives.

lisa made me a delightful dinner for valentine's day,
and gifted me with foodie books.
they will come in handy in planning our tour!

in between i've been raiding barad guldur w/firefighters,
and running a few moors "freep" raids.

still watching lots of 1080p films.
current tv: house, cleveland show, big love,
and somehow despite the boredom: heroes and lost.

what's really good is "the adventures of sherlock holmes"
as performed in the 90s by jeremy brett.
wonderful, true-to-material stuff!

"bioshock 2" was as good as i'd hoped.
more of the same tried-and-true formula,
with a little more polish.
what more could you want?

rush was going to play at the olympic opening ceremonies,
but i guess the luger's death made rock-and-roll seem tacky.
so, maybe they'll play the closing?

finally got my car's exhaust done,
along with reprogrammed ecu:
~340hp now, baby!
taking it in for brakes & battery thursday.
(special anti-dust brakepads to keep wheels shiny.)

oh, and the trailer park boys are performing in seattle friday!
i scored some tickets late; they're up in the balcony.
but i'm stoked they've sold so many!

trader joe's chocolate covered ginger is crack!

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late night babble
so, "avatar" was the best thing ever!
but you already knew that,
didn't you,
you clever cat.

guy ritchie's "sherlock holmes" was great fun!
i'm a big fan of guy and sherlock,
and was not in the least disappointed!

re-watched guy's "rocknrolla";
even better the second time thru.

been down with another cold the past few days.
yesterday's fever was a doozy!
trying to sleep as much as possible,
but it's hard to when you feel like crap,
and are out of nyquil.
hope i don't have to skip today's
new year's eve party. :(

chose to remain another year in my apartment.
with many things up in the air,
new appliances/flooring,
and $200 cheaper,
it just seemed like the right thing to do.
oh, that, and i disabled beeps on the new microwave,
and fixed the dryer door to not whack me in the face. :)

every home has its pros & cons.
this one's few remaining issues:
- slow elevator
- poor parking for visitors
- lack of air circulation
- leaf-blowers twice a day

enjoyed a splendid xmas with lisa and her family!
i'm so lucky.
and guess what?
she's taking me to mazatlan! :)

wamu is taking forever,
but things look to be quickening in coming weeks,
with the formation of an equity committee,
impending massive NOL tax refunds ($5.5B? more?),
judge mary's decision on the $4B,
greatly increased scope of Discovery,
and the threat of impending witness depositions.

it's clear from the already filed documents
that jpmorgan clearly committed fraud on a tremendous scale
in stealing wamu.
interesting that we're just now starting to see news about it.

well, i should hit the hay i guess.

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vegas, baby!
just got back from vegas w/lisa!
we had a grand old time!
thanksgiving at her father's,
walking the strip,
eating at bouchon,
gambling plenty,
and spending a night at bally's!

thomas keller's bouchon was amazing;
another awesome food recommendation from roger!
it's a more relaxed french bistro-style setting
than his other famous restaurant "the french laundry".
(keller was voted "best chef in america" by time magazine.)
we enjoyed french onion soup, roast chicken, and braised short rib.
yum!

this year i celebrated my birthday with lisa,
who baked me an excellent chocolate pudding cake,
made chicken curry for dinner,
and gifted me a spectacular photo-journal of our adventures together!

earlier this month,
lisa was a bridesmaid in her friend kimberlee's wedding!
it was a beautiful cermeony;
autumn-themed in a log cabin by a lake.
even i somehow ended-up on the dance floor.

earlier still,
i hit the seattle auto show w/bill.
some takeaways:
not nearly enough electric cars.
porsches still seem like overpriced volkswagens,
but volkswagens are nicer than ever.
still liking subaru's.
somewhat interested in mercedes.

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silence shrouds the forest
today's a big day for wamu;
delaware court hearing about the $4B they had on deposit
when their bank was seized.
for some reason jpm thinks it has a right to its customers deposits.

am testing lotro's "siege of mirkwood" add-on.
(mirkwoot!)
can't seem to get rush's "necromancer" out of my head.

converted my lossless wma's to flac,
which is compatible with xbmc.
(xbmc's new "rapier" skin is amazing!)

toying with selling off 1TB drives to buy 2TB's;
out of room in the case!

was down with a cold this week.

ashamedly enjoying dan brown's "the lost symbol".
he did more homework for this one,
and had better editors!
probably a movie soon, like his other two.

weekend-last lisa and i hit vancouver for trailer park boys!
we also drove up to whistler
confirming "the second nicest drive in canada",
and basked in the glory of the best dinner of our lives at "lumiere".
photos forthcoming.

canadian border-guards were a heck of a lot nicer than the americans.
i mean, that's to be expected, right?
but i still expected some common decency from the U.S. guy,
but instead encountered a total jerk.
i expect more from our country!

the "oil method" for strut-clunk removal is a no-go.
3 attempts and it's thunkin' within 30 miles.
hopefully the lithium grease i picked-up will do the trick.

i'm happy to report that "bits" is a much friendlier cat these days!

well, it's time to listen in to the live court hearing.
go wamu!

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widescreen
picked up a new monitor:
23" 1080p;
i can now clone w/tv,
but it's almost too big.

"batman: arkham asylum" was just about all that i'd hoped for: 9/10.
(arkham and i go back...)
only complaints: boss fights and somewhat goofy controls
(obviously, it's a console port.)

had a nice 60% "up" day w/wamu,
which retraced 30% the next day.
but it's good to see WAMPQ's back over 30.
party at disneyworld?
friday brings another omnibus hearing.
($4B summary judgement the following week?)

new season of "house" started nicely indeed!
i've been zipping thru "big love" too.
(nearly all hbo shows are worth watching.)

today was likely the last 80+ degree day of the year.

looking forward to
"trailer park boys: countdown to liquor day" this friday (perhaps),
"zombieland" next,
new lotro expansion "siege of mirkwood" soonish,
"bioshock 2" february 9th,
etc.

last weekend lisa and i visited chittenden locks,
one of the nicest places in seattle,
followed by "archie mcphee's" new location.

neil peart has a new daughter!

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many adventures
haven't updated in a while;
i must have been busy!

a picture's worth 1000 words,
so here's making up for lost time:

my apartment was recently remodeled
w/new flooring and appliances!
most joyously:
new microwave includes "silent mode"!


renfaire weekend past:


a couple weekends ago
lisa and i visited "point defiance" in tacoma
to have lunch with her mother,
visit the zoo,
and enjoy the lush rose gardens there:





the following weekend
we drove to leavenworth for rouladen!




last friday we visited paradise,
which lies near the summit of mt. rainier.
we had an awesome picnic,
saw the new visitor's center,
hiked around a bit,
and dreamed of a home on reflection lake.

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another perfect weekend!
saturday, lisa and i dressed-up and went to a "commitment ceremony"!
(aka "gay wedding", but those aren't legal in WA yet.)


it was a lot of fun
and i applaud the courage of chris & brandon
in making their commitment public!

sunday we joined bill & pam at camlann village for its "summer faire"!
there we experienced many wonders including:
blacksmithing, sheep bleating, candle-making,
court music, sword-fighting, and ye olde english language
in a medieval play called "sir ywayn, knight of the lion".

bill took lots of photos for us:

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hope is a candle in the dark

"district 9" was interesting;
solid alien sci-fi movie!

have been re-watching House with lisa;
still one of the best shows ever made!

hit ren-faire weekend-past
with lisa, pam, bill, sally, and alexandra.
a nice cool day for a change!
(faire is normally hot, dusty, and crowded.)
a blue faerie gave me a magic stone.

plenty of lotro moors lately.
i'm <20k from rank 10!
(this means i'm awesome & pathetic.)

been looking at workarounds for strut-clunk.
workable plan in mind.

wamu could settle by the 27th.
it really could!

should plan another day trip
while i still can.

yesterday todd and i talked investments.

things are so good right now!

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from out of this freedom
such a warm week!
record high: 107 wednesday.
remember: this is the seattle area.
my poor air conditioner is resting;
a well-deserved sigh of relief!

"garth marenghi's dark place" is hysterical;
you should watch it!

i'm in the habit of napping these days;
hibernating before the flurry of activity
soon to come.

speaking of:
tomorrow jp morgan is required to present documents
from wmi's 2004 discovery probe.
bopfan thinks this is it:
settlement any moment now!
preferreds could hit ~$200 next week,
and in a couple months
as wmi exits ch. 11
and relists on nyse:
full face value ($1000).

i've been anticipating for so long
when/if it happens
not sure i'll feel much of anything
besides relief!

and then the chase begins:
slowly at first,
with simple things:
car and computer performance upgrades
replacement parts: brakes, muffler, struts/shocks, windshield, array, etc.

then, perhaps a cruise on the mary 2,
and resort-hopping for ideas.

adjusting to a bigger pond.

it's midnight
and the air is fresh and cool;
a well-earned sigh of relief!

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WaMu Gets OK To Proceed With JPMorgan Probe
Law360, New York (July 28, 2009) -- A bankruptcy judge has refused to reverse an earlier decision allowing Washington Mutual Inc. to go ahead with its investigation of JPMorgan Chase & Co. for evidence that JPMorgan sabotaged WaMu in order to acquire it at a depressed value.

Judge Mary F. Walrath of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Monday denied JPMorgan's motion to reconsider an earlier order greenlighting the investigation.

The judge ordered the parties to produce witness lists by Saturday, according to Kevin Spittle, principal of Capital Search Group, a WaMu investor familiar with the case. WaMu's witness list will likely include JPMorgan CEO Jaime Dimon, he said.

Attorneys for WaMu and JPMorgan could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Judge Walrath originally signed off on WaMu's motion to examine JPMorgan's books on June 24, and JPMorgan filed its reconsideration motion two days later.

WaMu had asked the court on May 1 for access to JPMorgan's books so that it could look for evidence supporting allegations that JPMorgan crafted a plot to undermine the one-time savings and loan giant prior to its 2008 collapse in order to buy up its banking assets cheaply.

JPMorgan objected to the request, stating that WaMu must seek the information it wanted in two separate pending lawsuits.

In one of those suits, WaMu sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which seized WaMu's assets and sold them to JPMorgan, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the purchase price was too low and that the agency sold assets it had no right to seize. JPMorgan asked to intervene in that suit as a defendant.

JPMorgan also filed its own adversary proceeding against WaMu, seeking declaratory judgments asserting that it acquired the debtor in good faith and that it was the owner of $7.9 billion in disputed assets.

However, Judge Walrath found that the issues in those suits were separate from those involved in WaMu's proposed investigation.

WaMu's request for an investigation was prompted by a lawsuit filed by a group of WaMu investors against JPMorgan in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The investors allege that JPMorgan deliberately drove down the value of Washington Mutual Bank by abusing confidential information and that JPMorgan engaged in sham negotiations with WaMu throughout 2008 about buying the banking arm in order to obtain confidential information.

JPMorgan then shared that information with WaMu bank customers to persuade them to withdraw their deposits, leaked information to the media to depress the bank's stock value and ultimately used it in its negotiations with the FDIC, allowing JPMorgan to acquire WaMu's bank assets for a "fire sale" price, the investors claim.

WaMu has said it wants to investigate JPMorgan to find out of those allegations are true.

WaMu filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sept. 26, citing approximately $33 billion in total assets and $8.2 billion in debts.

WaMu is represented by Elliott Greenleaf and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP.

JPMorgan is represented by Landis Rath & Cobb LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

The case is In re: Washington Mutual Inc., case number 08-12229, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

--Additional reporting by Jacqueline Bell and Christine Caulfield

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le chauffeur
another unbelievably wonderful weekend!

saturday morning began with the all british field meet,
a massive british car show.
i met bill & pam there,
early enough to beat the heat,
and we were soon plotting the purchase of bentleys,
to better sip cognac and nibble smoked salmon,
whilst being chauffeured through the countryside...







later, i chauffeured lisa
to "lunchbox laboratory"
wherein we ate the aptly named "burger of the gods";
my vote for best burger in the world,
which is saying a lot coming from this connoisseur!

we then sought shade in one of the prettiest places in the city:
the japanese garden of seattle!


we decided to skip the capitol hill block party;
it was too hot for crowds,
and the sun had made me tired.

sunday we chauffeured eric to the new seattle tesla showroom!
great cars; i'll take two please!
we then celebrated the day with kostritzer schwarzbier
at excellent nearby german pub "feierbrand".

we dropped eric off and enjoyed the evening
strolling through kubota garden,
a larger japanese garden here in seattle,
which needs a little love,
but still has so much to offer!

current mood: naptime!

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moon
wm gibson recommended duncan jones' "moon".
and so do i!
great film!

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michael hedges
been revisiting michael hedges lately
thanks to youtube.
(i still mourn his loss.)

here he is playing one of my favorite songs,
"all along the watchtower":

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spiral visit
such a happy weekend!
my son "spiral" sings in the all-american boys chorus,
which is touring washington and canada right now,
thus providing us a great opportunity to visit each other!

sunday, i drove to Raymond to watch him perform.
the show was outstanding
and celebrated with two standing ovations!



later that evening we piddled around town
and enjoyed raw oysters
in "the oyster capital of the world".

monday, after breakfast we drove down to Astoria
to see places from a couple of my favorite films:
The Goonies and Short Circuit.
recognize any of these buildings? :)



we then drove up the hill to Astoria Column,
a 125 foot tower with unprecedented views of the columbia river.
(these photos don't do it justice!)


back down the hill,
we visited the columbia river maritime museum,
which features some excellent displays
and a tour of a retired coast guard lightship:



we spoiled ourselves further
with a viewing of the new harry potter film,
before driving to fort stevens
to examine a shipwreck we'd read about in the museum
and walk about battery russell:



all too soon the sun was setting,
signalling the end of a spectacular visit!

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raw oysters

my boy ate all six!
i'm so proud!

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

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quiet night at home
car passed emissions testing!

learned today the wheels won't fly off;
it's just "strut clunk",
a problem many subarus experience.
here's to hoping it's still under warranty!

appointment for passport tomorrow.
scotland here i come?

made more salmon for dinner!
this time w/dill, lemon, and shallots.
turned out wonderfully;
i'm getting good at this!

saw "hurt locker";
another truly great film from kathryn bigelow!
lots of suspense;
keeps you on the edge of your seat!
ralph's short performance was fun.

all caught up on "weeds" and "burn notice".
haven't begun new "torchwood" yet,
but suppose i will soon.
oh, entourage season 6 started;
great first episode!

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tricky fresh
yesterday i fillet'd my first salmon!
my grocer had whole yukon keta for $3/lb,
so i opted for food adventure!

it was good fun to whack off the tail,
and learn how to slice while avoiding bones.
tricky work rewarded by good eats! :D

spent over an hour in the produce section,
learning my way around.
new attempt at eating only fresh food.

really want to see "the hurt locker";
love kathryn bigelow's prior work!
(strange days, k-19)
may go today?

must get car emissions tested,
and there's a new rattle in what may be my back-left shock.

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what a glorious day!
saturday was perfection!
lisa and i drove to anacortes
and ferried to friday harbor
where we boarded a boat
and spotted wild orcas!

words fail to capture;
our day was pure magic.

i can't remember ever being so happy!
we couldn't let it end!





sunday,
we recovered with lucky charms
and good film: the dark knight.

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