Gay, but not too gay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUrzcaIaixQ

Yeah, so what? It's a great song and has been flitting around my head all weekend, that doesn't mean anything either. It's a great CD, that is getting no play in the US (that I have heard). Let me know if I am wrong. I want my own radio station, damn-it!

Miss Moneypenny, dead

She was a trooper! Played the part in 14 Bond films and spanned two different lead characters, Connery and Moore.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7020553.stm

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0561755/

Se lived to 80, a "bit" longer than I would want for myself, but I hope she had a good life. Having the same actress in the role in all those movies, gave a stark continuity to the franchise that is drastically missing today. Did I mention I hated the Casino Royale remake?

Burma is gunna get it…

I am sure you have heard about this, and bad-on-you if you haven’t. Things in Burma are really bad. The Military government doubled the price of gas a few weeks back, which triggered a lot of anger. The only people with the luxury of being able to protest about it were the Buddhist Monks, because the Military would just shoot down regular civilians.

Nice guys these Generals in charge of Burma. Go search the net if you aren’t familiar with this. I think it’s time we stop waiting for the UN (Useless Ninnies) to do nothing and make a few air strikes. It would anger China though, and that could be a bad thing. We need to engage with China and threaten to cut imports or something, maybe then they would take some action to stop this.

The latest from BBC; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7018920.stm

All I can say is YES!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7015916.stm

Bust them back to Beijing!! They are trying to steal everything that America is. Hmm, it might be easier if they joined us?? Just a thought...

NASA's Dawn mission gets off to a great start

It launched this morning and excepting delay because of a boat in the area where the spare parts fall into the Ocean, it went perfectly.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/main/

It's a record breaking mission because it's the first time a spacecraft will orbit two different (lesser in this case) planets.

The Press Kit has details on the mission;
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/189670main_dawn-launch.pdf

How’s your “economy”?

Yeah, GO AMERICA!! What a great economy we have here! As Wally said, “It’s going great Beave.”
So why has the value or the US Dollar been falling steadily for about 7 years? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7013608.stm

The Euro, Pound and most other currency is going up, while the “dollar” is sliding in decline. Is this a tactic to match China’s under inflated currency, maybe? I don’t know...I don’t understand how all this “global economy” works. But I do know that when I was a kid living temporarily in Canada, my one US Dollar would buy about one and a half worth of Canadian candy. Now we are even.

So let’s see:

If I had a dollar in 1973, I could buy 3 popsicles from the Canadian drugstore. Today, I can get only two for the same dollar (less if we adjust for inflation). So my US dollar is worth-less outside the USA? Ok, I can cope, I will stay in the country and only buy US products (laughing and typing here). But the imports are all worth more here now and I have to pay more for all of them? It doesn’t seem so and that is the thing I don’t get.

I suppose the main thing here is the dollar is still slipping and no good can come of it, I think.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks..

I have to say Columbia University President Lee Bollinger ripped Ahmadinejad a new one today, when he visited the school. I was impressed and a little saddened. Bollinger brought up human rights violations and nuclear ambitions right up front. Even called him “fanatical” and “uneducated”. The talk he did with the Press Club before was also combative, but he blew off all criticism there as coming from uneducated Americans who don’t know and understand Iran.

Ahmadinejad was insulted and rightly so. It was an unprofessional thing to do, blindsiding/disrespecting someone you invited to speak at your school is rude. He spoke at length about God and related almost everything to religion.

I will say he did a good job of pointing out hypocrisies in our views of Iran, when we have and do many of the same terrible things here in America. The audience laughed at the stated notion that Iran doesn’t have homosexuals, like in America and treats women with respect. I guess when rape is the norm, there may be fewer homosexuals? I should probably think about that more.

A gal I work with is Iranian and goes to the Iran often. She calls the regime “crazy” and I have to wonder, if the regime is truly run by the “Supreme Leader” (not Ahmadinejad), then what’s his deal? Is he really so far out of touch that he doesn’t see the brutal truth about what’s going on inside the Iranian borders?

It is bizarre to me that they deny everything, say one thing and actually do another, all the time and their people don’t fight the regime about it. In the US is it really much better though?

The whole event should be up on their web site later; http://www.columbia.edu/

Unrelated, those wacky Swiss…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7010000/newsid_7010800?redirect=7010874.stm&news=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1&asb=1

New obsession

This tune from Andrew Bird has been “haunting” me for weeks. I know he has newer stuff that I haven’t heard yet, but I doubt they will parallel this one song.
Ignore the NPR Promo….
http://www.npr.org/templates/dmg/popup.php?id=4469933&type=7&date=&au=1&pid=51216165&random=5425340324&guid=00066648074206E74F8B5A0661626364&uaType=WM&aaType=RM,WM&upf=Win32&topicName=Music&subtopicName=Pop_Music&prgCode=WESUN&hubId=-1&thingId=4469859&tableModifier=&mtype=WM

By haunting, I mean I can’t get it out of my head. To further frustrate me, I only have the song on my home PC, so at work all week, I was trying to recall the artist..it drove me mad! Enjoy and support the musicians you like!!! Free downloads are just previews…Do the right thing and buy their CDs.

The Arctic Icecap is TOAST.

Oh my GOD!! What are we going to do!!?? The Polar Icecap is melting!! We are all going to die!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7006640.stm

So this ice study from 1979 till today is stunning! I am completely on board with this being directly related to my car and George Bush. Maybe Carl Rove and Dick Cheney too. I feel terrible and have thrown my car keys into the lake. Oh, wait…is that polluting? Will that battery in the unlock thing do more damage in the water? Crap, I will take a swim after I finish this.

The 28 year analysis is pretty stunning, isn’t it? Hmm, 28 years. Hmm, that’s more than 1/3 of my life expectancy, so that is a long time to study it, right? So this must be a big deal, right?

NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO!

The Earth has been around for 4.7 Billion years! http://www.historyoftheuniverse.com/earthori.html This dinky study of .0000000006% of the years of the world’s history is utterly useless in the “War Against – Carbon Kills You” (WACKY). It’s factual, yes, but simply means the earth is again changing. I mentioned before that most of Greenland used to be forested ages ago and is now under hundreds of meters of ice. So it was warmer in the north way before man ever showed his face on earth, what if it’s just going back to that?

What if it's natural? Please think...and don't panic!!! We can clean up the air in time, don't throw your car keys in the lake too.

A Cheesy Sci-Fi Story Opening??

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7001897.stm

Nope, it's real news. Keep your eyes peeled! More are coming, I am sure.

It could be the start of a Zombie infection that will spread across the entire world!

Maybe the start of Giant Crytal growths that destroy huge swaths of humanity in their path?
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2001/20010326/forgotten_classics.shtml A great movie that scared the crap out of me as a kid.

1/3rd Page Story

A friend at work was talking to me about something called a 1 page story, where you basically try to condense a lot of a story into a short read, through implication. I liked the story he wrote last week. I came up with this, which is about a 1/3rd page long, on the computer anyway.

The Mourning.

I stood in the kitchen, my hair was still wet, and I heard the front door slam shut. I walked upstairs to get ready for work and tried to recall the night before. We fought over the same thing again and foggily I recall what was said by us both. She had eventually asked if she should leave and I had again said no and passed out, moments later.

She did stay and we once again went over things in the morning, when I was more lucid. I still had the same point and she the same argument. It escalated as usual, until she left for work mad.

The sad thing is, she will be back, again. I don’t think she will do this much longer and leave for good. I don’t think that bothered me, as I finished and left for work as well.

I am not alone after all.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=481613&in_page_id=1811&ito=1490

Microsoft busted?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6995556.stm

I don't get the argument here. Every OS comes with core applications like a media player and browser that the user can uninstall if they wish to (though I haven't figured out how to do this on Vista (Fistya) yet).

Does $690 Million seem a bit steep to anyone else? These customers could have used Linux or Mac if they wanted to, for christ sake and had the same experience. I think it says on the box what all is included with the operating system. I just don't see what the problem is?

If I were Microsoft I would rescind every software license I had in Europe. Just screw em!

Torchwood

If you are in the UK, you already know about the hugely popular show Torchwood. If you are in the US check to see if you get BBC America (probably the same thing in the EU?) and check out the show, I loved it!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/torchwood/index_nonflash.shtml

Eastern Promises

This looks like one of the best David Cronenberg movies ever!
http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/easternpromises/

Not to much blood, but a lot of content to make you wonder and realize there is a whole other culture out there. And there is.

The interview on NPR is available here; http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14384937

No-Duh (NOAA) again...

Yes, my fav part or the US government yet again, lets down it’s customers.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2007/al09/al092007.public.001.shtml?

Reading their assessment of things just hours before this became an actual Hurricane, it was “no big deal”. At 10 AM CST, everything seemed pretty mild.

On the 12th at 5PM, it was expected to “linger near the coast” and not really strengthen. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2007/al09/al092007.discus.002.shtml?

Later in the day (11PM), they realize they have screwed up and predict this will be bad. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2007/al09/al092007.discus.003.shtml? At 1AM on the 13th, they realize this is a Hurricane!
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2007/al09/al092007.discus.004.shtml?

You can read all of the rest here ; http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2007/HUMBERTO.shtml? Humberto (and where the hell did that name come from?? Amigo) slams into Louisiana with little warning, because last night they heard it would “linger near the coast”. They wake up to a full Hurricane! Screwed.

What are we paying these guys for? They continue to fail miserably, because of one simple factor, YOU CAN NOT PREDICT WEATHER. Anywhere or anytime. It is a waste of money. We need a Hurricane “monitor center”, which would suite us all much better than this joke of an organization.

Libya

This country has always left me bewildered. How did they ever have any power at all? They raised a lot of shit for the US in the late 70s and 80s. Now this pittance of a desert wasteland nation; http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=libia&ie=UTF8&ll=29.075375,18.259277&spn=8.194378,18.962402&t=k&z=6&om=1 is starting a "green" tourist industry; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6989977.stm I expect Al Gorey to show up any second.

Good luck I guess, but they have let themselves be isolated so long, I doubt it will flourish. Who will trust these people? I know I am not clamoring for a ticket. Outside of Tripoli, it’s all small shanty towns.

I also find it funny that the BBC calls it a “reformed Libya”, like they fell into line with the western thinking world, but don’t mention if they left their violent past tradition behind. Sign up at your own risk of peril. I think I would rather be a child in Portugal with British parents.

I have never been there, but I like hypocritically bashing other countries, so shoot me.

Ok, now it’s Global Warming…

NODUH (NOAA) can’t make up it’s mind, one day it is too cold, then all the ice is melting. Maybe the ice loss in the north is effecting temperatures in the south? http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2915.htm I don’t know, and neither does NOAA. Their “predictions”, as usual, will be crap. I will be here to call them on it. I feel so alone.

I love the poor lost Polar Bear, who swam (as usual) miles to pose for this picture. Boo Hoo! The Bears will outlive us all, on a planetary time scale.

And can someone explain "Regional Sea Ice" to me? Is that just a 5 square mile "region", or something more that will lose it's ice?

The Vitro years, Part 4.

I have to describe the building we were in. It had 4 or 5 floors and we were housed in the basement. There was a window that ran down one side of the ceiling, all the way across the building, so we could tell what the weather was doing outside and get some natural light. It was cavernous, about a 20 foot ceiling and every sound echoed through the place.

This was 1987, so we could actually smoke at our desks, and way more people smoked, than not. I brought in a nice glass ashtray from home for my desk and the cleaning people would empty and clean it every night. The different sections of the company housed in the basement were separated by 10 foot tall walls that could be moved if needed, which they were, often. It was the precursor to the cubicle, which other buildings in the company already had. Our desks were arranged in rows with a walkway between the sets that were bumped together. You had to get along, but it was tough sometimes and the lack of privacy would be tough to stand today.

The very first IBM PCs appeared at our company shortly after I arrived and it was well after the first Windows 3.0 computers were already on the market. We were lucky to have the company spend the money to upgrade the OS to DOS 3. We were working mostly with DBASE3, the first database application I ever worked with. My coworker Matt helped get me started with DBASE and after a few days, just told me to “RTFM”, which meant Read the F-ing Manual. Which I eventually did. Over time, I needed his help less and less and got very good at programming and database design. The basic principals back then are still applicable today when it comes to databases. After awhile people were coming to me for help.

Enough work, outside of work was the fun stuff. I started working there in March 1987, but once the weather started warming up, I saw a different side of people’s behavior. We started going out to lunch most days and beers were the norm (even for the boss). Usually on Fridays and sometimes on a mid week day, we wouldn’t make it back to work after lunch and I would be lucky to make it home.

We frequented a bar called the Super Bowl Pub, which lost its name because of NFL Copyright issues and is no longer there today. The place was dark, small and seedy, just what sailors crave. Dan was really big on pinball, but most all of us played. The 8Ball Deluxe game was our favorite. We would rack up so many free games, we couldn’t play them all and would leave them for people who came in after we left. Eventually, the owner raised the height of the back legs of the machine, which made play more difficult. We adjusted and eventually the machine was replaced. I would love to have one of those at home now!

I am finding this story a bit boring, though there will be "some" good parts. If anyone wants this to continue, please let me know.

Global Cooling.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2914.htm

Today, my favorite branch of the US Government, NODUH (NOAA) has predicted the Pacific Ocean is slipping into a La Niña. This is a situation where the largest Ocean in the world gets colder to usual. How can this happen now, in Al Gorey’s overheating world?!

Damn you Pacific Ocean, heat up and help spread the panic like everyone else is!! You know this will of course, get –NO-- press coverage in the US or the rest of the civilized world. Why would that be?? Because the media feeds off the panic and frenzy that the term “global warming” causes. It’s ratings magic. Global Cooling is a bust...

The story also says this will result in wetter conditions in the US North West and “drier-than-normal conditions in the already drought-stricken southwestern U. S.”. Um, do these guys read the headlines, or their own reports? I do believe much of the southwest US has been ridden with floods all summer??? Heard of Lake Texas?

I dunno, this is all making me sick to my stomach and the Global Warning freaks like to say it’s a wild variation caused by high Carbon levels in the air. I am thinking I might plop my head in the sand and sun tan my butt in all the abundant sunshine.

Labor Day cookout

My oldest son came to visit for Labor Day. I think he just wanted the Birthday card and a free meal. ;)



Click the pic for full resolution.

The Vitro years, Part 3.

I started work one day after we moved into the apartment and went to the main headquarters, which no longer exists (it’s a Home Depot hardware store now). I had a lot of paperwork to fill out and sign and had to make choices on insurance that I had no idea were right or wrong. I winged it, but it worked out ok. My mantra is, when in doubt pick answer “D”.

After lunch I was taken to my office and I got to meet the rest of the coworkers. They were:
Gabby (white, about 60 years old, thin wiry and feisty grump)
Tony (black, married, about my age, 24 years old, very smooth operator)
Matt (white, about 35 years old, computer nerd)
Darryl (white, married trash, 30-ish, loud hippy from Seattle)
Dan (white, shy like me, quirky, nerd too)
Bob (white, married, about 30, player, I never knew what his actual job was, something to do with cabling)
Marla (white, about 30, should have hooked up with Matt, but I don’t think they ever did)
Jerry R. (white, near retirement, always smiling schmoozing boss)

There were other people, but this was pretty much the “gang” that I spent most of my time with in and out of work.

I went to work learning the ropes, and it was interesting to see the process to produce the end product I used to have to work with when I was in the Navy. Mostly document changes that when I wa on the Sub, I would have to open up and swap out pages in the many volumes of technical manuals we maintained. There was a team of technicians (mostly ex-Navy) who would come on board to make the hardware updates and they would leave us the documentation updates.

Now I was actually researching and creating these hardware and software updates, which was pretty cool. In short, we were updating the one big switch between the weapons system and the actual weapons. It would get very complicated sometimes because many of the weapons shared some common signals through the switchboard back to the Fire Control System. So you had to be very careful that a change to one type of weapon, didn’t impact the function of another.

The last thing you wanted to do was have to incorporate a new switch or relay into the system, but it happened all the time. Once that happened, you would have a lot of new people involved, because of the cost of adding hardware, vice a simple wiring modification. Everyone had to agree that it was actually required.

The hardware modifications were initially manufactured in house and tested (what's called a Proof-In) on a test submarine. Usually a boat that was getting ready to go on a training run. This required a fair amount of travel to the places Submarines were kept. I will get into all that travel and it's impact on my marriage a bit later.

Watch out for Blogspot sites

Mine is clean, but the other Blogs are riddled with Trojans, especially the Obfuscated Html. If you are brave, click the Next Blog link at the top a few times, like I just did. The individual blog sites get infected because the person who is updating the blog has an infected computer.

Keep your Virus software up to date and turn on the tamper protection if it's included!

Those Kooky Aussies

Talk about attacking a problem!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6974687.stm

I'm not sure I would be up for it, but to each their own. Those cats can really cook though. If we could only get Bing Crosby to sing "Wild cats roasting on an open fire"!

Too Funny

The American Government hard at work http://youtube.com/watch?v=YBChWSpVCyQ He will just be replaced by another pubby.