A good, quick read about the area around Castletownroche.
MongoDB and Python in Data Visualization
This is an interesting web site discussing the use of Python and MongoDB in data visualization. I am getting very comfortable with Python and I have just started playing with MongoDB, so looking at examples of how I can start to generate data visualizations out of these tools is my next step. On a recent run of my Python script (compiling various csv files into a json format), I found that I am presently over 211 million cycles, and that is just merging the first two files! While playing with the MongoDB, I found that I need to change the values of a certain field from one long string into a list. This is only going to drive up the cycles. Then I have the third file to figure out. This, I think, will be a list of lists of dictionaries. This list will be added as a new key:value in a sub-dictionary within an overall dictionary. Hmmm? Why might I be interested in building a database?
{{ { [ [ { } ] ] } } }
I think that is right.
Genetic genealogy: it is more about numbers than census records.
Convert MAC Addresses in Excel
I have 140 MAC addresses that I need to find out not only what switch, and switch port they are on, but also which part of the floor. It is a time-consuming slog, especially since the MAC addresses are not in a standard format.
This site saved me.
TL;DR version:
If you have Excel handy:
Cell A1 your original MAC
Cell B1 =SUBSTITUTE(A1,”:”,””)
Cell C1 =MID(B1,1,4)&”:”&MID(B1,5,4)&”:”&MID(B1,9,4)Put original MACs into column A, 1 per cell
Fill down column B and C
In my case,
D35 is original
D36: =MID(D35,1,4)&”.”&MID(D35,5,4)&”.”&MID(D35,9,4)
001DA266FBE6 becomes useable 001D.A266.FBE6
SoftEther VPN, Part 2
So, SoftEther VPN has been cranking along nicely for me for months now. I really love it. It stays out of the way and does exactly what it is supposed to do.
I just bought a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. I did this for a couple of reasons. The first being that my PC is getting so old that spinning up a Linux VM in VirtualBox is a bone-crushing endeavor, especially if i just want to play around with a Python script (hint: pexpect does not work on a Windows client). Second, to move the VPN server to so that it is not dependent on my PC…which is getting to be really old.
I found this page, which was a great help in getting SoftEther installed on the RasPi. I was messing around with this while at work. I am trying to figure out the best way to migrate the settings from the PC (Windows) to the RasPi (ARM/Linux). There are a few methods available, and none of them are recommended while doing this from remote and actually using the VPN server at the same time. AHHAHAHAHAHA!
Probably the safest way is to configure the two boxes as a cluster, move the settings and user info to the RasPi and then shut down the instance running on the PC. This involves several interruptions of the VPN and, well, not something I want to mess around with right now. I’ll do it all from home.
I am really, really excited about the RasPi. While it is not as fast as my old PC, it is speedy enough for most everything I have thrown at it so far. When the VPN is running, I want to see how much it has left in the resources tank. If there is enough, I am looking to move the Plex Server (little used, but still handy) from the PC to the RasPi. Fun!
Reconnecting Lost Donohues
So, this is how I started my day today:
I have been working with Kieran for a couple of months now. I would like to say I played a larger role in his journey to discover his bio family, but he really did all the legwork. I only provided him with a decent tree and cheerleader services when he felt like giving up. While I am very happy that he has finally found his family, I am also very happy that my tree was accurate enough to be able to help him out. In fact, when he first told me the scant details he had about his mother, I was able to quickly locate two sisters that fit the parameters. With a bit more digging, he was able to figure out that his mother was not only one of these sisters, but which one it was and the story of how he came to be, in a very real sense.
I’ve never been involved in a situation of assisting an adoptee to locate and reconnect with his bio family. It was a very different way of looking at genealogy and why we do it. For me, it is a quest to find the Point of Origin in Ireland for the various branches of my mother’s family, and, also, to try and give my only-child-with-no-paternal-first-cousins father a sense of his extended family. In a way, I have often thought that doing the genealogy on my father’s family was not too far removed from that of an adoptee. The main difference seems to be that the adoptee case involves a lot more raw emotion. We know where my father came from, we just don’t know where his father’s father came from. Slowly, a picture is starting to emerge. But the adoptee has no idea where they came from or why they were put up for adoption. In my non-expert opinion, there is a very real sense of rejection and isolation that the adoptee must deal with. At least, that was the case with Kieran. In my father’s case, we are simply curious. With Kieran, there was a real yearning to know who he is and where he came from. I am sure that I made plenty of mistakes in working with Kieran, but I know that empathy and playing the part of the sounding board helped him to keep pushing on.
So, welcome to the family Kieran and your seven siblings! I’ll be raiding your tree for their names shortly. 😉