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title, date
| title | date |
|---|---|
| Week 12, Tuesday: IP-Max 20 years | 2024-10-15T21:55:00+02:00 |
{{< image frame="true" width="17em" float="right" src="/img/headline/missmonique-04.png" alt="Credit: Miss Monique, YouTube" >}}
Ahh, this. This is what I came here to do! I met Fred, many moons ago, at a SwiNOG conference in Berne. We fed the bears in the pit, as yes, there were actually [bears] in a little bear-pit park in Bern, until not too recently ago. At this place, I got to know the IP-Max crew. This was in 2007 or there-abouts. Fast forward a few years, and these guys are moving into the Deltalis bunker in Attinghausen, Uri. I helped them move in and for a few years, operated my own association called IPng, there. We've been super close ever since!
This Monday, AS25091 turns twenty years. This AS number the digital signature of the ISP network that Fred and his company have built out to a presence spanning all of Europe, and beyond. I'm so proud to have been a part of this journey with the company, through thick and thin, good times and bad. But today is definitely a good time: The IP-Max network turns twenty! Yesterday we had a little bit of a pre-party, with the Christian's.
In the morning, I do only one thing, but it takes me for-ever due to a string of bad luck. I wanted to install an APU for Brainserve, as neither IP-Max nor IPng currently have an out-of-band connection there. First, the disk is busted. Then, the USB flash is corrupt. Then, after installing, the machine mysteriously doesn't boot. Then, I reinstall it and make sure for it to boot on serial, and it comes up but the WiFi doesn't work. I spend a comically long amount of time only to figure out that it's not a WiFi module, but a 4G module instead :) We rummage around the stock and find an appropriate WiFi card, and then the install is completed.
But hey look, it's now noon! Today, we have a luscious lunch in a small place just outside of Geneva. Here, they have an indoor wood fired barbecue, which they fire with olive tree wood. It is the first thing I smell when I entered the place, so divine! We are six today: Anastasia, Florian, Ludovic, Frederic, Fabrice and your's truly. The trick here is that for a certain price you can eat Bouef a gogo, which essentially means all-you-can-eat. They first grill it on the barbecue for you, and then you get a hot plate to build the cuisson you like. It also means I eat a lot, because for me the perfect cuisson is between mooing and blue.
We have the most fabulous time. I catch up and quiz Ludo about his commercial pilot license and which aircraft he is certified on; he is not bored by this, and in return quizzes me on the flight simulator. It turns out, Ludo has a great hobby in the weekends, flying all sorts planes around. The next time he'll be in Zurich for maintenance, I may lure him into the basement to show me how to pilot dual-engine aircraft like the King Air. That sounds pretty amazing to me.
Of course, as carnivores of Team Viandard, we think fondly of Clément who couldn't make it today, as we frantically chomp away at the meat. I decide to keep dry for the day, and I'm also one of two designated drivers. I think I will take it easy today, but food-wise, I loosen the belt buckle as I enjoy a slice of the celebratory cheese cake that Anastasia has prepared. We have a jolly old time.
Back at the office, we each complete our chores for the day; IP-Max decides their new colocation and carrier landing spot in Frankfurt (it's Japanese!), and we together put things in motion for this complicated move. I think we're going to be very happy in our new spot, and we will stay at the Kleyerstrasse as well for the foreseeable future, which makes moving a tiny bit easier.
I write a few journal entries, as I'm once again traveling more and writing less! But, I manage to finish the lazy [[Sunday]({{< ref wk11day7.md >}})] and the somewhat more debaucherous [[Monday]({{< ref wk12day1.md >}})], and will take care of today, tomorrow :)
At around 18:00, Fred beckons me. There is a cat just down the road who will need some attention. It does not take much more than this comment to unwedge me from my laptop; the APU is done for tomorrow, and I have a patch cable to replace one that was a bit too short at Brainserve. We walk over to Fred's place (having a two hundred meter commute is pretty great) and hang back on the couch in the living room. Dazzling joins us and does not leave.
Instead of going out to dinner, I suggest that we maybe eat some soup and salad. I order myself a pumpkin soup and a niçoise salad, Fred also orders a leafy green meal. As it gets delivered, we're watching TV, winding down from our party, and - honestly - still trying to digest the half cow we ate in the afternoon. The salad is a perfect end to this short trip to Laus-s-ane and Geneva.
It must be around 22:30 when we both turn in for the night. Tomorrow, I drive back via Brainserve to deploy this APU, and then onwards to my fam-damily in Brüttisellen.
Pictures of the Day
{{< gallery-category >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2109.JPG" caption="This is a olive-wood fired barbecue at the steak-house we are having lunch today." >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2110.JPG" caption="The beef comes pre-bbq'd and sliced, ready to finish cooking on the hot plate at the table." >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2112.JPG" caption="We are having a jolly time celebrating the 20th anniversary of AS25091 - IP-Max!" >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2116.JPG" caption="Anastasia arranged a birthday cake, it's a raspberry cheesecake. One of my favorites!" >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2117.JPG" caption="Ludo and I take a selfie outside, as we are about one kilogram heavier than before lunch" >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2118.JPG" caption="I am writing my journal entries at the IP-Max office in Geneva." >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2120.JPG" caption="The frontdoor of my favorite company around - with not one but two dark fiber trunks, too!" >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2122.JPG" caption="Dazzling Saphire says hello. He is very photogenic and I love him." >}} {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-15/IMG_2123.JPG" caption="Dinner for tonight - slowing down with food intake: soup and salad." >}}
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