This job search process is an exercise in futility at this point. If I wasn't depressed most of the time anyway, I'd be looking for high ledges with no guardrails about now. The cool thing about depression is, the longer you live with it (and I'm going on 21 years, so I know what I'm talking about), the better you learn to not only tolerate it, but actually make it work for you. Of course, that's on the good days, when things are going well. Not days like these.
When you're an atheist dealing with depression, every day can either be another pain in the butt to be dealt with as quickly and easily as possible, or a day when maybe, just maybe, the pieces will finally fall into place and the anxiety will disappear. No big-guy-in-the-sky is going to come down and make it all better. No motivation out of fear of eternal damnation...I'm getting a pretty good dose of that here. No reason to comb the yard for a four-leaf clover. Just me and the abilities that life has given me to face the big ugly monster of reality.
And the reality is, I need to find a job or in a very few months I'll be out there in your town with my laptop under my arm, Bob the cat trailing along behind...looking for an unoccupied freeway overpass.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Evil software
I've just spent nearly twelve hours spread over two days trying to get an AOL-DSL system back on its feet and Norton Internet Security 2004 loaded on the same system. I don't really know which is worse, AOL or Norton, but they both have top slots on my to-be-avoided-at-all-costs list.
At the beginning, the computer, running 98SE, had 126 viruses and 3 trojans to be dealt with. Protection amounted to a copy of Norton AV 2001whose latest virus definition was from February of this year. OK, only about two hours to get the AV updated and the viruses wiped out. The trojans took another hour or so. Meanwhile, the owner of this electronic waste dump had wandered off to attend to other matters, as unconcerned about what it was taking to repair all this damage as he was when doing the damage in the first place. Alone now, I decided to delete a few programs and see if I could somehow reclaim a bit more than the current 20% free disk space. I also deleted the outdated Norton. Cool, I'm up to 30% free space, run a quick defrag and I'm ready to install the new Norton. 45 minutes later and I'm still looking at only 40% defragmented. The sun is setting, the day is disappearing, my life is wasting away.
To hell with it. Cancel the defrag and start the Norton install. After the first install, I couldn't get online, all the desktop icons were dead and the system froze. All right, delete and reinstall. I have a rule of threes...installs and rebuilds will only work right after the 3rd attempt. Sure enough, the second install doesn't "take" either. Third install, nothing. Fourth, fifth and sixth the same. Screw this, it's staying uninstalled and I warn him not to go online until I figure this out.
Today I actually got Norton to install on the first attempt (of the day, anyway). Finally, AV is all in place and AOL actually goes online. I hate Norton. I hate AOL.
For all this I didn't get thanked or paid, but I did get to listen to the owner bitch about how frustrating all this was for him. (?)
Oh, did I mention this guy is family?
At the beginning, the computer, running 98SE, had 126 viruses and 3 trojans to be dealt with. Protection amounted to a copy of Norton AV 2001whose latest virus definition was from February of this year. OK, only about two hours to get the AV updated and the viruses wiped out. The trojans took another hour or so. Meanwhile, the owner of this electronic waste dump had wandered off to attend to other matters, as unconcerned about what it was taking to repair all this damage as he was when doing the damage in the first place. Alone now, I decided to delete a few programs and see if I could somehow reclaim a bit more than the current 20% free disk space. I also deleted the outdated Norton. Cool, I'm up to 30% free space, run a quick defrag and I'm ready to install the new Norton. 45 minutes later and I'm still looking at only 40% defragmented. The sun is setting, the day is disappearing, my life is wasting away.
To hell with it. Cancel the defrag and start the Norton install. After the first install, I couldn't get online, all the desktop icons were dead and the system froze. All right, delete and reinstall. I have a rule of threes...installs and rebuilds will only work right after the 3rd attempt. Sure enough, the second install doesn't "take" either. Third install, nothing. Fourth, fifth and sixth the same. Screw this, it's staying uninstalled and I warn him not to go online until I figure this out.
Today I actually got Norton to install on the first attempt (of the day, anyway). Finally, AV is all in place and AOL actually goes online. I hate Norton. I hate AOL.
For all this I didn't get thanked or paid, but I did get to listen to the owner bitch about how frustrating all this was for him. (?)
Oh, did I mention this guy is family?
Saturday, July 24, 2004
New friends
The other night the WebSanDiego bloggers had a meetup, and for the first time since becoming aware of the group, I was able to attend. Only 6 people showed up and we had a good time sharing our URLs with one another and discussing blogging in general. Perhaps the best part of the evening was making a new friend. Ali just moved here from Toronto, and originally hails from Persia. Ali is a very interesting man, with a great many interests and a profound knowledge of his home country's political and social issues. Talking to him for an hour or two was very enjoyable. I hope he can come to future meetings and I can learn more from him. If you read Persian, be sure to go by his blog and check it out. Even if you can't, you may enjoy the beauty of the Persian language as it's presented on his site.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Back in that sad hole, again
My apologies to Gene Autry and Ray Whitley.
So tomorrow is the last day of class. Set up Windows Server 2000 and a local network, a final exam...then it's all over, fini, done. Friday becomes another weekend day, then Monday I return to my latest occupation, professional resume submitter. At some point this weekend I'd like to get my resume posted to my website (www.jeber.net) so all you kind folk who are good enough to come by for a laugh or two can tell all your friends about my numerous talents and abilities and help me find gainful employment in this new arena I'm trying to enter, PC help desk or an entry level IT department. After years of management in the music, and before that, grocery industry...I'm eager to turn my passion for computers and the internet into a career. It's not an easy transition for me to make. I don't make a habit of jumping from job to job. My last two jobs lasted 8 and 13 years. so this is the first time in 9 years I've gone searching, and only the second time in 21 years. Obviously, I want to find the right job right away. Yet I know that in reality that's not likely to happen. As a former manager, I have a bit better idea of how companies function, and what elements of a job are the most important than many applicants. That might come in handy during future interviews. Humility aside, I really am a hard working, dedicated employee. And my time with both the forums I moderate and administer will give me an advantage when it comes to knowing what to expect from a customer service environment.
One way or the other, come Monday, I'll begin to get an idea of how well my hopes will be met. Wish me and all my fellow graduates good luck, won't you? 8-)
So tomorrow is the last day of class. Set up Windows Server 2000 and a local network, a final exam...then it's all over, fini, done. Friday becomes another weekend day, then Monday I return to my latest occupation, professional resume submitter. At some point this weekend I'd like to get my resume posted to my website (www.jeber.net) so all you kind folk who are good enough to come by for a laugh or two can tell all your friends about my numerous talents and abilities and help me find gainful employment in this new arena I'm trying to enter, PC help desk or an entry level IT department. After years of management in the music, and before that, grocery industry...I'm eager to turn my passion for computers and the internet into a career. It's not an easy transition for me to make. I don't make a habit of jumping from job to job. My last two jobs lasted 8 and 13 years. so this is the first time in 9 years I've gone searching, and only the second time in 21 years. Obviously, I want to find the right job right away. Yet I know that in reality that's not likely to happen. As a former manager, I have a bit better idea of how companies function, and what elements of a job are the most important than many applicants. That might come in handy during future interviews. Humility aside, I really am a hard working, dedicated employee. And my time with both the forums I moderate and administer will give me an advantage when it comes to knowing what to expect from a customer service environment.
One way or the other, come Monday, I'll begin to get an idea of how well my hopes will be met. Wish me and all my fellow graduates good luck, won't you? 8-)
Sunday, July 18, 2004
New Blogging tools and IM
Blogger is getting pretty fancy for a free publishing site. I have to give them a lot of credit for not restricting the new features to premium members only. Now you can write in bold letters, italics, color, add links within the body of your blog, adjust the layout, add bullets and blockquotes...just like a real word processor. They even offer a "remove formatting" tool. I'm truly impressed. Let's see if MT follows their lead.
It's too bad I don't have a lot to say tonight that would give me the chance to use all those goodies. But it's late and I'm pooped. We've been enjoying (?) a mini-heatwave here in Southern California, and there's nothing like moist heat to sap the energy right out of you.
One app I've been having fun with again the last couple of nights is instant messenging. I deleted every IM app from my computer over a year ago because that obnoxious little window would pop, up with a pointless conversation from someone I didn't really want to talk to anyway, at the most inconvenient times. It became such a distraction, I just eliminated the thing. Then recently, I began meeting people I really wanted to keep in touch with, and the easiest way turned out to be IM. But this time around I'm being more selective as to who can reach me. And another difference is that now I have Gaim, a great open source, cross-platform app. Last night I was chatting in real time with England on one tab, Illinois on another, and a friend about 8 blocks from here on a third. Tonight it was California, Illinois and Virginia. Ten years ago this either wouldn't have been possible, or would have racked up huge long distance bills. I've been rereading "Small Pieces Loosely Joined" by David Weinberger (highly recommended), and agree with him that at the core of the web is the hyperlink. But another worthy use is IM, if done politely and with content. This truly is a wired world, and communication has taken on a whole new meaning and dynamic. And I embrace it all.
It's too bad I don't have a lot to say tonight that would give me the chance to use all those goodies. But it's late and I'm pooped. We've been enjoying (?) a mini-heatwave here in Southern California, and there's nothing like moist heat to sap the energy right out of you.
One app I've been having fun with again the last couple of nights is instant messenging. I deleted every IM app from my computer over a year ago because that obnoxious little window would pop, up with a pointless conversation from someone I didn't really want to talk to anyway, at the most inconvenient times. It became such a distraction, I just eliminated the thing. Then recently, I began meeting people I really wanted to keep in touch with, and the easiest way turned out to be IM. But this time around I'm being more selective as to who can reach me. And another difference is that now I have Gaim, a great open source, cross-platform app. Last night I was chatting in real time with England on one tab, Illinois on another, and a friend about 8 blocks from here on a third. Tonight it was California, Illinois and Virginia. Ten years ago this either wouldn't have been possible, or would have racked up huge long distance bills. I've been rereading "Small Pieces Loosely Joined" by David Weinberger (highly recommended), and agree with him that at the core of the web is the hyperlink. But another worthy use is IM, if done politely and with content. This truly is a wired world, and communication has taken on a whole new meaning and dynamic. And I embrace it all.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Back to blogging
In my other blog today I quoted Kevin Marks' comments on what makes for an interesting blog, and as an editor at Technorati he should know. I also confessed that this blog doesn't meet the criteria of what even I would consider a worthwhile blog. Yet I persist in adding content to it, while refraining from recommending it as reading to anyone but my friends and family...and not even all of them.
At heart I am a writer. In high school I managed, until caught, to publish the first, and as far as I know only, underground newspaper ever distributed on that campus. I mimeographed copies of it in the teacher's lounge during lunch, passing them out freely the next day. In college I wrote both poetry and television screenplays. I'm the kind of guy who writes letters to the editors of local papers and gets them published. It's in my blood. The only thing I haven't tried is writing my elected representatives or the president. I like to know my writing, however poorly executed, will at least be seen. Writing to "The Hill" is an exercise in futility. I really don't need a machine-signed form-letter reply from the pres to hang on my wall, knowing damn well he never came within a mile of the computer screen my missive appeared on for its 5 seconds of life.
So I'll keep adding the occasional entry here, detailing my feelings about the oddities of life as I encounter them.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Obliged to blog?
Today at school we had one of those days that left me not even really wanting to get online once I got home. We were installing Windows NT then finding and downloading service packs and drivers then fdisking the rest of the drive in order to dual boot it with XP. NT was never the easiest OS to install, and today, with 12 other people all trying to accomplish the task with various degrees of success and frustration...just burned me out on anything to do with computers, at least for the day.
Yet, like a junkie, as soon as I had something to eat and a cup of coffee beside me, I couldn't resist the urge to log in and see what was happening. I found out...not much. So now I don't feel as bad as I type this out and prepare to power down and go read a book.
Ireally enjoy computing. I really enjoy Linux. But not every day. Not today.
Yet, like a junkie, as soon as I had something to eat and a cup of coffee beside me, I couldn't resist the urge to log in and see what was happening. I found out...not much. So now I don't feel as bad as I type this out and prepare to power down and go read a book.
Ireally enjoy computing. I really enjoy Linux. But not every day. Not today.
Saturday, July 03, 2004
My aim for this blog
My intention from this point on is to make this blog my more personal blog, while my other blog (http://jeberjabber.typepad.com) will be more geared toward comments on the news, ravings, and general jabberings. If by some chance I end up suffering from multiple personality disorder, I'll add more blogs as necessary.
Lack of Affection
One of those realizations that came to me only after getting a bit older is that I had a lot of misconceptions as a younger man. Among them was the notion that I just couldn't survive without sex. (Don't panic, I'm not going into details here.) When I was in my 20's, I couldn't imagine going for more than a week without having sex. I was sure I would never be able to live without it. Boy, was I wrong. And in being wrong, I learned a valuable lesson. It's not the sex you miss, it's the affection. Affection is an often ignored but vital part of our lives. While having a partner is perhaps the best source of affection, you can give and receive affection from almost everything around you. It's a state of mind that produces an emotion. An affectionate state of mind is one that appreciates the love and joy in life. It produces gentleness, kindness, peace of mind and caring. Not being affectionate makes a person mean, unhappy and unpleasant to be around. You can give affection to and receive affection from other people, animals, books, music, your job (believe it or not), a multitude of situations in your daily life.
So while I might be missing the sex I enjoyed as a youngster, I make sure that affection is present in every moment of my life. I was wrong about not being able to survive without sex, but I'm sure I wouldn't enjoy life half as much as I do without affection. It's something I don't want to do without.
So while I might be missing the sex I enjoyed as a youngster, I make sure that affection is present in every moment of my life. I was wrong about not being able to survive without sex, but I'm sure I wouldn't enjoy life half as much as I do without affection. It's something I don't want to do without.
Friday, July 02, 2004
Crises? What crises?
Even though I present this blog as thoughts on a cyber and real world mid-life crises, having reached the unplanned for age of 50 on my last birthday...it's even more the results of a life in turmoil. For the last 21 years, I've had two jobs (13 then 8 years) and lived in two places (Burley, ID and San Diego, CA). Now, for the first time in 21 years, I'm unemployed with no immediate prospects of another job in a city that's far too expensive to consider staying in unless something stable and well-paying comes along soon. A lot of the decisions I face these days are those I wouldn't be worrying about were I still employed. So it's less my age and more my economic situation that's causing me so much grief these days.
Add to that the fact I haven't been on a date, let alone enjoyed a solid relationship, in over 20 years, and you can understand why I keep my hair so short. I'd have pulled it all out by now otherwise. I used to say I was alone but not lonely. Well, screw that...now I'm lonely. Unfortunately, at the present time, I have little beyond my charming personality and my talent for imitating cartoon voices to recommend me. Oh well...life's been worse, and I'm sure it will be better. I just have to muddle through the present with high hopes for the future.
Add to that the fact I haven't been on a date, let alone enjoyed a solid relationship, in over 20 years, and you can understand why I keep my hair so short. I'd have pulled it all out by now otherwise. I used to say I was alone but not lonely. Well, screw that...now I'm lonely. Unfortunately, at the present time, I have little beyond my charming personality and my talent for imitating cartoon voices to recommend me. Oh well...life's been worse, and I'm sure it will be better. I just have to muddle through the present with high hopes for the future.
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Chaos theory
A friend has informed me that by moving the entries from my website blog over to this one and leaving the original posting dates intact, I've created chaos. I realize that the orinial post explaining the move has been pushed way down the page, so I thought perhaps I should explain again so I wouldn't create even more chaos, because I suspect I'm at my limit for chaos creation this week.
I had 3 blogs going, which was at least one too many. So I moved all the content from the blog I had associated with my webpage over here, but left the original dates on each entry so the relation of content to outside events would remain consistant. The date at the top of each entry is the original one, the date at the foot of the entry is the date/time I moved it over. There...clear as mud.
Now the only other blog I'm using is a 30 day trial of Blogware, which is associated with Lockergnome. I like the layout just fine, but I'm not sure with my current financial situation I can justify paying even $10 a month for a blog.
For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend tacking a blog onto a website, unless you can afford Movable Type or something similar. Otherwise, like me, you'll have to wait until you're home, on your own computer, with access to your web authoring software (Dreamweaver, Front Page, Nvu, whatever) before you can make a blog entry. Not good. A real pain in the patoot. Stick with something that allows you to blog from anywhere, on any computer. Keep it all web based, and you'll never be locked out of your blog.
I had 3 blogs going, which was at least one too many. So I moved all the content from the blog I had associated with my webpage over here, but left the original dates on each entry so the relation of content to outside events would remain consistant. The date at the top of each entry is the original one, the date at the foot of the entry is the date/time I moved it over. There...clear as mud.
Now the only other blog I'm using is a 30 day trial of Blogware, which is associated with Lockergnome. I like the layout just fine, but I'm not sure with my current financial situation I can justify paying even $10 a month for a blog.
For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend tacking a blog onto a website, unless you can afford Movable Type or something similar. Otherwise, like me, you'll have to wait until you're home, on your own computer, with access to your web authoring software (Dreamweaver, Front Page, Nvu, whatever) before you can make a blog entry. Not good. A real pain in the patoot. Stick with something that allows you to blog from anywhere, on any computer. Keep it all web based, and you'll never be locked out of your blog.
But is it worth it?
A lovely day...a truly beautiful day. A light breeze, 73°F and 65% humidity with light cloud cover. On days like this I know why so many people want to live here. But I still don't understand how most of us can continue to afford to live in San Diego. To rent a one bedroom apartment will usually set you back around $1000 a month. How does someone working in the service industry, like 7-11 or Burger King, manage to pay their rent, cover their ridiculously high utility bill, buy $2.50 a gallon gas to allow them to get to their lousy paying job and still have any money left to buy food? If all the service people were to move to Iowa tomorrow, would the rich and well-off in Rancho Bernardo and La Jolla starve to death from having to fix their own meals or walk themselves to death first because there wasn't anyone left to fix their $75000 cars? I suspect the rich around here don't realize that money can only provide a wonderful life if you can use some of it to pay the poorer folk to do the work you aren't capable of.
OK, I admit that I'm an idiot for allowing a train of thought like that to ruin a great day like today. But that's just the way my addled mind works.
OK, I admit that I'm an idiot for allowing a train of thought like that to ruin a great day like today. But that's just the way my addled mind works.
Friday, June 25, 2004
So much for that
That wasn't so difficult. Thank you for bearing with me while I organize my life.
We now return you to your regular programming...
We now return you to your regular programming...
The last of the blast from the past
June 17th, 2004
I'm sure you realize that not only am I new to blogging, but that I'm learning as I go. Well, one thing I've learned as I've gone along is how much it sucks to have a blog attached to your website, one that isn't being updated through Movable Type or some such software. I have to use web authoring software, like DreamWeaver or Nvu (the same apps I use to update my web page, which you may have noticed has become a frequent activity of late), and those apps are only available from my own computer. So when I'm at school, and there's a computer sitting there in front of me on a DSL network, all I can blog to is my Blogger site. Even though I often have Gromet with me, it's not always convenient to set it up in class. Nor does my wireless modem work very well inside a building like the Xerox building, with who knows how many wireless networks being broadcast above me. So if you're thinking of getting involved in this interesting world of blogging, go with Blogger, or pay the cash and get set up with a service that will allow you to blog from any computer you may have access to. With the Linux Fanatics site to keep fed, and my Blogger account available to me from anywhere, this blog is going to suffer I fear. I mean, come on, there's only 37 hours in a day, and I need at least 4 of those for sleep. Let's hear a cheer for caffeine!
I'm sure you realize that not only am I new to blogging, but that I'm learning as I go. Well, one thing I've learned as I've gone along is how much it sucks to have a blog attached to your website, one that isn't being updated through Movable Type or some such software. I have to use web authoring software, like DreamWeaver or Nvu (the same apps I use to update my web page, which you may have noticed has become a frequent activity of late), and those apps are only available from my own computer. So when I'm at school, and there's a computer sitting there in front of me on a DSL network, all I can blog to is my Blogger site. Even though I often have Gromet with me, it's not always convenient to set it up in class. Nor does my wireless modem work very well inside a building like the Xerox building, with who knows how many wireless networks being broadcast above me. So if you're thinking of getting involved in this interesting world of blogging, go with Blogger, or pay the cash and get set up with a service that will allow you to blog from any computer you may have access to. With the Linux Fanatics site to keep fed, and my Blogger account available to me from anywhere, this blog is going to suffer I fear. I mean, come on, there's only 37 hours in a day, and I need at least 4 of those for sleep. Let's hear a cheer for caffeine!
San Diego bloggers and RAW
June 16th, 2004
I just found out there's a web blog of fellow San Diego bloggers (http://sandiegoblog.com). How very cool. I'm starting to travel around more often with my laptop and wireless Ricochet modem, yet I often fail to stop and blog a thought or observation when I really should. By the time I get somewhere I do set up Gromet (the laptop), I've forgotten what I wanted to mention. Frustrating to the max. To capture the moment, I've got to be ready. It's good to know other's are catching the weirdness that is San Diego. Now I need to do my share. After all, I'm a native. I've seen this city grow from a collection of small neighborhoods into this large, overgrown metropolis that it is today. S.D., I hardly recognize ya.
Over on Boing Boing (http://boingboing.net/), David Pescovitz has a post regarding Robert Anton Wilson, who was evidently as much an inspiration to David as he was to me. If you've never read anything by RAW, and you love a good conspiracy theory, run out to your local bookstore right now and grab a copy of just about any book he's ever written. If you have read him, you'll understand why my own thinking is so twisted. RAW has the rare ability to take a subject already beyond rediculous and making it fantastically believable.
I just found out there's a web blog of fellow San Diego bloggers (http://sandiegoblog.com). How very cool. I'm starting to travel around more often with my laptop and wireless Ricochet modem, yet I often fail to stop and blog a thought or observation when I really should. By the time I get somewhere I do set up Gromet (the laptop), I've forgotten what I wanted to mention. Frustrating to the max. To capture the moment, I've got to be ready. It's good to know other's are catching the weirdness that is San Diego. Now I need to do my share. After all, I'm a native. I've seen this city grow from a collection of small neighborhoods into this large, overgrown metropolis that it is today. S.D., I hardly recognize ya.
Over on Boing Boing (http://boingboing.net/), David Pescovitz has a post regarding Robert Anton Wilson, who was evidently as much an inspiration to David as he was to me. If you've never read anything by RAW, and you love a good conspiracy theory, run out to your local bookstore right now and grab a copy of just about any book he's ever written. If you have read him, you'll understand why my own thinking is so twisted. RAW has the rare ability to take a subject already beyond rediculous and making it fantastically believable.
My berry-berry good month
June 5th, 2004
This last half of May and beginning of June have been "berry berry good to me". Ironically, while my opportunities to be involved with the internet and the web have increased, the additional responsibilities have left me less time to actually make use of my added accesses. In late May I was moved up to an administrator role in both the Lockergnome and Scot Finnie's Newsletter forums, and am now writing entries for the Lockergnome Linux Fanatics blog. I also changed the look and layout of most of the pages of jeber.net. Getting used to the admin control panels, setting up the Linux blog and finding additional writers for it and changing my site's layout has taken so much time that my own blog and really bad advice page have been totally ignored for too long. But I promise you, my loyal reader (you are still there, aren't you?), that will be corrected presently. I can't say the content will be any better, but there will be more of it.
I've also been suffering from philosophical depression. Thirty-five years ago I was a campus radical, protesting everything from the war to oppression of minorities. I had such high hopes for our country. It's so sad to see those same issues being debated still. The bigots, isolationists and racists are still with us, and thanks in part to the internet I love, have found a new soapbox from which to spout their hate and intolerance. In the meantime we have made strides toward moderation, inclusion and tolerance, but certainly not the great strides we should have been able to accomplish in over three decades. And war, as history teaches us, is always with us.
This last half of May and beginning of June have been "berry berry good to me". Ironically, while my opportunities to be involved with the internet and the web have increased, the additional responsibilities have left me less time to actually make use of my added accesses. In late May I was moved up to an administrator role in both the Lockergnome and Scot Finnie's Newsletter forums, and am now writing entries for the Lockergnome Linux Fanatics blog. I also changed the look and layout of most of the pages of jeber.net. Getting used to the admin control panels, setting up the Linux blog and finding additional writers for it and changing my site's layout has taken so much time that my own blog and really bad advice page have been totally ignored for too long. But I promise you, my loyal reader (you are still there, aren't you?), that will be corrected presently. I can't say the content will be any better, but there will be more of it.
I've also been suffering from philosophical depression. Thirty-five years ago I was a campus radical, protesting everything from the war to oppression of minorities. I had such high hopes for our country. It's so sad to see those same issues being debated still. The bigots, isolationists and racists are still with us, and thanks in part to the internet I love, have found a new soapbox from which to spout their hate and intolerance. In the meantime we have made strides toward moderation, inclusion and tolerance, but certainly not the great strides we should have been able to accomplish in over three decades. And war, as history teaches us, is always with us.
A military rant
May 10th, 2004
When I was in the Army Security Agency in the 1970's, we interacted with many of the agencies under fire now for failing to investigate the handling of POW's in Iraq in a timely manner. This seems to me to be the most difficult aspect of this whole affair for our government to explain. In this age of nearly instantaneous communication, why it would take three months for potentially explosive information to wind it's way through the government before it made it's way to the Commander in Chief is nearly impossible to imagine. In times of crises, the last thing you want is a breakdown in communications. Yet that seems to be exactly the situation here. I remember one time we were tracking a Soviet satellite that was re-entering the atmosphere. Because it had a radioactive power source aboard, we were very concerned about the possibilty it would come down in a populated area. For two days, our agency and several others were on around the clock high alert, with everyone from the President to the lowest ranking signal analyst fully informed and waiting for the next bit of tracking information. It can be done...and now it's the task of the current administration to give us a credible reason why it wasn't in this case.
When I was in the Army Security Agency in the 1970's, we interacted with many of the agencies under fire now for failing to investigate the handling of POW's in Iraq in a timely manner. This seems to me to be the most difficult aspect of this whole affair for our government to explain. In this age of nearly instantaneous communication, why it would take three months for potentially explosive information to wind it's way through the government before it made it's way to the Commander in Chief is nearly impossible to imagine. In times of crises, the last thing you want is a breakdown in communications. Yet that seems to be exactly the situation here. I remember one time we were tracking a Soviet satellite that was re-entering the atmosphere. Because it had a radioactive power source aboard, we were very concerned about the possibilty it would come down in a populated area. For two days, our agency and several others were on around the clock high alert, with everyone from the President to the lowest ranking signal analyst fully informed and waiting for the next bit of tracking information. It can be done...and now it's the task of the current administration to give us a credible reason why it wasn't in this case.
Happy Mom's Day, Mom
May 9th, 2004
Happy Mother's Day, Mom, and to all moms who may be reading this.
According to Computer Times, Microsoft is going to allow people with pirated versions of Windows XP tp install SP2. They feel the security gains outweigh the licensing issues. While I don't condone piracy, I have to agree with them in this case. The fewer unpatched computers out there, the better. Perhaps you can never totally eliminate piracy, but you can limit the damage they can do to the rest of the computing community. Thanks, MS, for putting your priorities in proper order.
5/27/2004 Update: It seems Microsoft has changed their position on this, and have determined a range of bogus activation codes that, if detected, will prevent SP2 from installing on pirated versions of XP. Sorry, pirates...you're out of luck. But then, I suspect security isn't a real big concern of yours anyway.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom, and to all moms who may be reading this.
According to Computer Times, Microsoft is going to allow people with pirated versions of Windows XP tp install SP2. They feel the security gains outweigh the licensing issues. While I don't condone piracy, I have to agree with them in this case. The fewer unpatched computers out there, the better. Perhaps you can never totally eliminate piracy, but you can limit the damage they can do to the rest of the computing community. Thanks, MS, for putting your priorities in proper order.
5/27/2004 Update: It seems Microsoft has changed their position on this, and have determined a range of bogus activation codes that, if detected, will prevent SP2 from installing on pirated versions of XP. Sorry, pirates...you're out of luck. But then, I suspect security isn't a real big concern of yours anyway.
Geek in paradise
May 6th, 2004
Yes, I live in paradise, but even paradise isn't free from Mother Nature's occasional bad moods. Earthquakes seem to have absent from the headlines for a couple of years, but we still have our wildfires. After three days of above 90° F temperatures, 72° feels like heaven. The fire crews are also thankful for the reduced temperatures. When we get Santa Ana winds, those that blow from East to West from the desert to the coast, our humidity drops to the single digits, and the threat of wildfires increases. The winds tend to be higher in velocity during these periods as well. So we have an area that is essentially desert brush-lined canyons, baked dry by high temperatures and low humidity, just waiting for the stray spark or carelessly discarded cigarette to turn into an inferno. Once a fire starts, the heat it generates further dries the brush, and the high winds help it spread at a very high rate of speed. This year could be especially bad, as drought conditions prevail all over the West. So if your vacation plans this summer include the Southern California area, be sure and pack the sunblock and bottled water...as well as marshmellows and hot dogs. Might as well get some use out of the wild fires.
Yes, I live in paradise, but even paradise isn't free from Mother Nature's occasional bad moods. Earthquakes seem to have absent from the headlines for a couple of years, but we still have our wildfires. After three days of above 90° F temperatures, 72° feels like heaven. The fire crews are also thankful for the reduced temperatures. When we get Santa Ana winds, those that blow from East to West from the desert to the coast, our humidity drops to the single digits, and the threat of wildfires increases. The winds tend to be higher in velocity during these periods as well. So we have an area that is essentially desert brush-lined canyons, baked dry by high temperatures and low humidity, just waiting for the stray spark or carelessly discarded cigarette to turn into an inferno. Once a fire starts, the heat it generates further dries the brush, and the high winds help it spread at a very high rate of speed. This year could be especially bad, as drought conditions prevail all over the West. So if your vacation plans this summer include the Southern California area, be sure and pack the sunblock and bottled water...as well as marshmellows and hot dogs. Might as well get some use out of the wild fires.
Wil Wheaton and communities
May 5th, 2004
In his blog yesterday, Wil Wheaton mentioned how impressed he was with the response to his story about the health problems his cat was having. I just had to reply with the following;
Quoteing Wil, "over the last few years, we've shared more than just information. We've shared kindness, and support, and love, and all sorts of that tree huggin' hippie crap that I wish there was more of in the world."
I replied, "I agree. Last year I couldn't have been more proud, or inspired. After a hurricane took the roof off the house of one of the admins on a forum I moderate, 5 of our members got together, drove to her house, and spent the weekend putting a new roof up. No one got paid, but everyone got fed, and a great time was had by all.
It's great every time we see a virtual community extend it's reach to become a positive force in the real world.
It really is an amazing thing. Usually you only hear about geeks getting out of the house to attend conferences or 'fests. Just goes to show we're not all glued to our computer chairs. Now if we could just get our local LUG's to get out in the real world and start showing those who don't show up at their monthly install-fest how functional a Linux computer can be. Yes, you can work on your tan while still supporting our virtual communities."
I got to thinking tonight about all the abandoned websites, blogs, forum posts and stray files out there on the web, in all the various domains...on all those servers...and couldn't help thinking of space junk. Nothing to be concerned with, it's only a small bolt, until you see it coming at you at several tens of thousands of miles per hour. We need a way to pick up this electronic trash, to dispose of all the cyber litter. I sure don't want to be surfing the web one day and encounter an unforseen "My First Website" tossed out into cyberspace like a half-smoked cigarette butt. I've got a mean machine here, and I'd hate to suck one of those "Last Updated in MS-DOS" sites into the intake at mach speed.
In his blog yesterday, Wil Wheaton mentioned how impressed he was with the response to his story about the health problems his cat was having. I just had to reply with the following;
Quoteing Wil, "over the last few years, we've shared more than just information. We've shared kindness, and support, and love, and all sorts of that tree huggin' hippie crap that I wish there was more of in the world."
I replied, "I agree. Last year I couldn't have been more proud, or inspired. After a hurricane took the roof off the house of one of the admins on a forum I moderate, 5 of our members got together, drove to her house, and spent the weekend putting a new roof up. No one got paid, but everyone got fed, and a great time was had by all.
It's great every time we see a virtual community extend it's reach to become a positive force in the real world.
It really is an amazing thing. Usually you only hear about geeks getting out of the house to attend conferences or 'fests. Just goes to show we're not all glued to our computer chairs. Now if we could just get our local LUG's to get out in the real world and start showing those who don't show up at their monthly install-fest how functional a Linux computer can be. Yes, you can work on your tan while still supporting our virtual communities."
I got to thinking tonight about all the abandoned websites, blogs, forum posts and stray files out there on the web, in all the various domains...on all those servers...and couldn't help thinking of space junk. Nothing to be concerned with, it's only a small bolt, until you see it coming at you at several tens of thousands of miles per hour. We need a way to pick up this electronic trash, to dispose of all the cyber litter. I sure don't want to be surfing the web one day and encounter an unforseen "My First Website" tossed out into cyberspace like a half-smoked cigarette butt. I've got a mean machine here, and I'd hate to suck one of those "Last Updated in MS-DOS" sites into the intake at mach speed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)