latest distraction

[15_the_circle]

[OT from cottage renovations]

whatever else I am supposed to be getting done mostly isn't.  here's why ...

model board - CSX Baltimore Terminal

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also, things are rather piling up at work.  we've an office move coming up in less than a month and all the necessary preparations are well behind the curve, oscillating somewhere between "late" and "later".  fifteen people, 260 computers and 280 pieces of furniture, half of the latter of which cannot physically be accommodated in the smaller quarters into which we're moving (solution will be to have the excess trucked to corporate HQ in NJ).  electrical and HVAC work are not yet started in the suite (corporate and landlord have not yet come to terms on the work) and with the holidays upon us the operating efficiency of bulding management and contractors can hardly be expected to improve.  oh, and they want to get painters in there to slap a coat on the dingy walls.  but that's all way OT from here ...

Comments

Here's why?

[(Anonymous)]

Help! Please explain connection between your not getting things done and the photo of the model board - CSX Baltimore Terminal.

re: Here's why?

[15-the-circle.livejournal.com]

the problem is my obsession with the railroad's control system data. 
they have been removing the pole lines from along the tracks and now use a wireless network with standard protocols to move the information for signals etc.  in much the same fashion as it is possible to use a scanner radio to pick up voice communications, with the right kind of radio hooked up to a PC running the right software (http://www.atcsmon.com) one can digitally "listen in" on this data traffic.  it is also possible for PCs receiving this traffic to relay it across the internet to others, enabling enthusiasts to extend their effecting listening range by sharing the data stream. 

recently an online friend has been working to set up a data radio receiver in his home in Baltimore. 

a translation step is required to turn the raw data into useful information -- the status codes can be used to drive a visual display in real time but somebody has to design the display and correlate the code values to the corresponding elements of the screen.  that's what I've been doing with the data stream from Charm City, and the screen capture shows the present status of the effort.  it's one of those fussy, detail-oriented tasks that can eat away at one's mind until one has Gotten It Right. 

not surprisingly, it has the potential -- often realized in my case -- of consuming vast quantities of discretionary time, the opportunity cost of which is manifested in whatever else I could (or should) have been doing.  but wasn't.