Is Perfection Slowing You Down?

Recently I came across a postcard that said, “Perfect is the enemy of good.” At first, I thought: now wait a moment – isn’t perfect good? I was brought up believing that doing something perfectly was… well, good. It was, after all – perfect! Now before I get carried away here splitting hairs between perfect and good, I must admit I’ve been a victim of holding back, waiting till everything is absolutely right before I begin or complete a task.

http://cultivategreatness.com/2007/09/01/is-perfection-slowing-you-down

Power Saving Remote Computing

intro Power Saving Remote Computing

Windows power saving features make it easy for a person to save power when the computer is not in use. Nevertheless I always left these features disabled because I frequently need to access my computer remotely. I also like having my computer perform automated tasks such as backing up files, defragmenting, and running virus scans when I am not using it. This meant I left my computer on 24/7 so it would always be available. Obviously that was not a very efficient solution.

I was able to reduce my power consumption and still maintain availability with a little help from technology! By making use of DD-WRT and my computer’s BIOS settings I am now able to access my computer remotely when needed and allow scheduled tasks to run without having to leave my computer on all the time.

I used the open source DD-WRT firmware to set up a wireless bridge between my access point and my PC which is in another room. That allowed me to use Wake On LAN (WOL) to power up my computer remotely. I then changed the settings in my computer’s BIOS and in Windows to allow WOL to start my computer from whatever state it was in. Lastly I used a BIOS setting to power my computer on every night at 3AM for scheduled maintenance tasks.

To complete this project you will need:

2 Linksys WRT54GL routers or any other supported router

1 Energy Saving Smart Strip

A couple of short ethernet cables

A few hours

A bit of patience!

Follow along to see how it was done!

 

Read More…