Tag: new tales of the vampires

Articles and stuff…

Articles:

I think I’m finally getting myself back on track. It’s been an unusual few weeks though.

I spent quite some time complaining that I couldn’t think of anything to write about and hoping 11g would inspire me. Since the release of 11g and the inevitable installation articles, I’ve felt rather lethargic again. Getting into a new version of the database is always a bit odd. For me it’s a combination of excitement and denial… 🙂

Well, I’ve finally updated the VMware RAC article for 11g, which was dependent on a RAM upgrade. It works fine, but very slow. Unless you want the ASM experience, I think the NFS RAC method is a lot cleaner and easier.

I’ve also started to plug through the DB new features. The first thing I played around with was Partitioning. I’m hoping I can keep up the momentum for a while. I wanted to sit the 11g beta OCP exam, but I know so little about 11g at the moment it seems really unlikely I’ll get to grips with it before the beta exam closes. It’s a shame really because it’s nice to be involved in the process.

Stuff:

I finished reading Vittorio the Vampire. Of all the Anne Rice books I’ve read I think it’s the weakest. It’s all a bit flowery and “mills and boon”. Not my cup of tea.

On a more serious note, my 5 year old nephew was in A&E last night with pneumonia. I was with him all day yesterday and although he wasn’t well, we didn’t suspect something so serious. A bit of Calpol and he was up attacking a balloon octopus with a plastic sword… Things got worse through the night which resulted in the A&E visit and the diagnosis. The doctor was surprised he was so active and chirpy considering. Tough as old boots! 🙂 He’s back at home now and all looks good, but it’s very unnerving. I suspect within a couple of days he will be back in full effect.

Cheers

Tim…

Pandora…

Pandora is one of two books by Anne Rice known as the “New Tales of the Vampires”. Pandora is a character mentioned repeatedly in the “Vampire Chronicles”, but very little of substance is said about her in that series. Since this book relates to the other series, I thought it only fitting to read it before I moved on. I know I said I was all vampired out, but it’s a really short book. It’s 400 pages, but the writing is really big, so it only took a few hours to read.

If I have one criticism of the Vampire Chronicles it is this. Most of the Vampire Chronicles are centred around male characters, or male interpretations of female characters. I don’t think Anne Rice has any real sence of what it’s like to be a man, hence all the male characters are overly emotional and typically gay. It would have made a change if one of the vampires was an ugly, hairy-assed geezer who likes nothing better than sinking a few jars with his mates down the pub.

In Pandora, Rice writes about a strong female character, from the the perspective of a female. I find this easier to connect with, maybe because it sounds more “real” to me.

All in all, a good yarn that spans the last 2000+ years, and mercifully short. 🙂

The last of the vampire books by Anne Rice, Vittorio the Vampire, is totally unrelated to any of the other books, so I’m going to rest this until I’ve read “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches”.

Cheers

Tim…