unsigned long geek = random();

After putting up with it for a few weeks, I decided to replace the rather noisy boot drive in my AlphaServer 800, a DEC firmware 9GiB Seagate Cheetah (DEC RZ2DD-LS). The noisy drive, a 10,000rpm third generation ST39102LC, sounded like somebody burping next to me (yes, it was that loud). Of course, in my infinite wisdom, I replaced it with another drive of the same model (albeit with IBM firmware). My thinking was that the DEC firmware drive was “just noisy” and that the IBM firmware drive, being manufactured more recently, would be quieter. In retrospect, I have no idea what I was thinking, and the replacement drive is just as noisy. Unfortunately I don’t have any spare 10,000rpm SCA drives lying around, so I’ll just have to live with the burping Cheetah…