Jan's Adventures
Pico-Terabox - Maybe the smallest 1TB server?
Sunday 30th December 2007
For a while now I have been meaning to get on of these tiny Pico-ITX boards and build a little server with it.
I wanted at least 1TB of diskspace and I wanted it to be small.
I ordered the Pico-ITX a while ago but never managed to find enough time to build a case for it.
The Pico-ITX I got from mini-itx.com, along with a tiny DC-DC converter and external power supply, 1GB RAM, a 8GB flash card and IDE to CF converter.
The only 1TB harddrive I could find was a Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000, so I got that one.
I first wanted to go for an old radio as a case, but could not find one that I really liked, so I decided to just build a simple small case out of aluminium.
I bought some 500x500 mm alu-sheets from the hardware store some wood for decorating and got started.
The box measures 180x100x70 mm. The hardrive just fits into it with some space on one side for cables and the 8GB CF card. Above the hardrive sits the Pico-ITX board and next to it there is just enough room for cables and the DC-DC converter.
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Christmas 2007
Thursday 27th December 2007
Kate and I decided to spend Christmas in London this year.
On the 22nd we had a little Christmas dinner with our house mate, Gareth, and some colleagues from work, Jarkko, his girlfriend Tina and a friend of theirs. Jarkko and Tina cooked a ham, which is the traditional dish for Christmas in Finland. They also brought a salmon which we smoked in the oven in a special smoking bag. We had special Finish mulled wine with the diner and for desert Jarkko and Tina's friend had made some traditional Finish fruit salad. All very tasty and way too much to eat.
Though the feasting did not stop with the desert. After we relocated to the living room we all enjoyed Tina's homemade cookies and more mulled wine: I made some Feuerzangenbowle, a traditional German winter drink. It is basically mulled wine with a big cone of suggar being flambed with rum which then caramelizes and drips into the wine ... tasty! It was a lovely evening, very christmasy!
On the 24th Kate's parents arrived and we all went to the Albert Hall for the "Christmas Carols by Candle Light". I realy like the Albert Hall and the Chrismat concerts are always great fun, lovely music and the audience gets to join in for some of the songs.
We had more Feuerzangenbowle after we got back.
Snowboarding in Obergurgl
Friday 21st December 2007
My sister, Urte, invited me and Kate to go snowboarding with her and her boyfriend, Marvin.
I had a few holidays left that I could not carry over into the new year and how could I refuse anyways. Unfortunately Kate could not join us, because she had to work.
I left London on the 12th for Hamburg. Marvin and Urte picked me up from the airport and we went to mys sister's place to pack and have some dinner.
We left around 10pm for Austria. My sister took the first 3h of driving, I had the awful middle part and Marvin did the last bit.
