Belated update

Goodness. Things have been so busy I've hardly had time to think.

Sunday

The original plan was that we'd arrive, the servers would be in the rack, with the operating system installed, ready for us to go ahead and install our software. We were told when we arrived on site that the servers were racked up, but they'd not had time to install the OS yet. After some tours and introductions, we offered to help out by installing the operating systems. It was at this point that we were told by someone else that the machines we'd been shown earlier weren't ours. Our machines were still in boxes, the rack cabinet still hadn't been built, and in fact a couple of machines hadn't yet arrived. So, while we waited for that to be completed, we had some meetings to discuss naming conventions, a complete redesign of the hardware/network configuration ,and ip address allocation. Oh, and to top it all, 2 undersea fiber cuts (now reportedly up to five) has meant that network connectivity back to St Louis has been spotty at best.

Monday

Monday was spent installing Redhat Enterprise Linux on the 10 machines we had. At least, it was after we'd downloaded it and burned the CDs, because we didn't have those either because we thought that would be done. And for downloading, see the earlier comment about fiber cuts. On the social side, we started to get to know some of the other employees better, and enjoyed Mansaf, a huge hunk of lamb, server over rice with a thin yogurt sauce, for lunch. Two servers were "appropriated" from another project that could manage without them for a little while, and installed in the rack as well, so that helped. Network access from the hotel was actually a little better, and I downloaded some other software that we needed.

More updates later, I'm extraodinarily tired, and I actually plan on getting to bed before midnight tonight...

I'm here!

composed Fri Feb 1 21:00 CST

So, my boss and I made it to Chicago, about an hour late. We had to check in with Royal Jordanian, to get replacement boarding passes for the international flight. Not sure why, and we also won't be sitting next to each other. But that's not too big a deal.

There's no WiFi access here. OK, that's not strictly true. There's WiFi access, but you have to pay for it. Ah well. Right now, we're sitting in the Al Italia lounge for first/business class passengers. It seems that later in the evening, some of the smaller airlines consolidate to save of staff expenditure. So we have nice comfy seats, much better than the ones out by the gate, and we have a supply of liquid refreshments and pretzels. With that in mind, we went and got some food from the food court. Let's just say, captive audience prices. Oh well.

Our flight to Amman has been delayed, leaving at 10:50pm central, instead of the originally scheduled 9:10, so we wait, in the nice comfortable lounge, until we're called to board the plane.

Oh, and for perspective... Jordan is about half the area of Missouri.

composed Sat Feb 2 23:20 JST (15:20 CST)

The flight was pretty uneventful, but I'm now officially spoiled. I want to travel first/business class again. The seats has plenty of leg room, and in fact would recline to almost horizontal. It's been the only international flight I've ever been able to sleep on.

The Food. Well, yum. We were given a menu:

• Appetizers & salads
• Smoked Duck
• Mediterranean Vegetables Pate
• Baby Shrimps
• Main Course
• Beef with Green Peppercorn Sauce
• Chicken stripes with Black Pepper Sauce
• Grilled Fillet of Sole in Duglere Sauce
• Penne Pasta with Sundried Tomato Sauce


• Buttered Garden Vegetables
• Steamed Red Bliss Potatoes
• Saffron Rice
• Cheese & Fruit
• A Selection of International Cheeses
• Fresh Fruit Basket
• Desserts
• Assorted Fancy Cakes

At first I thought I'd have the smoked duck and the chicken, but, in fact, when they came around with the appetizers, the plate had all four items on it! The main course was in fact a choice between the Beef, Chicken, Fish and Pasta.  The chicken was wonderful, as was the cheese and fruit, and I'd forgotten by then that there was more to come. Mango and Guava juices I enjoyed with the meal, and followed up with a coffee. Mmm.

For entertainment, we had individual fold out screens, showing five or six different films with the in-flight broadcast system, or we could ask for one of the portable Audio/Video On Demand devices, with yet more choices.

I got some reading done, some knitting (socks!) done, and watched one movie. I'll probably use the AVOD on the way home.

We got to airport in Amman, found where to change money (1 Jordanian Dinar = $US 1.40), and then purchase an entry visa. Then off to the baggage claim, customs, and to meet our driver.

He drove us to the hotel, and I learnt some things about driving in Jordan: Whoever is most assertive has right of way, and lane markings are suggestions.

We check in, and discover that the rooms don't have wireless, and internet access costs. So, with that in mind, I'll most likely be composing emails or blog posts offline, and then uploading them, to avoid spending too much time on the hotel network. I'll also see what I can do from the office, too.

We decide to get a little bite to eat, before heading to bed, and use the rooftop restaurant. I had a beetroot salad, some spiced lamb sausage-like things, and a chocolate mousse. Along with that there was complementary bread, garden salad, then fruit to finish off. It really was wonderful food.

Now it's time to get to bed, and get to the real work in the morning.

Get ready...

So I'm getting ready to go to Jordan, finishing off a bunch of stuff before I leave, regretfully having to admit that some things simply Won't Get Done.

Last night, roads are treacherous as the first wave of snow came through, and overnight more came, for a total of about 8 inches.

No matter, in a day or so I'll be in Amman. Nice middle east weather. Which includes snow, enough to close public institutions.