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December 30, 2006
Rolling Up on the End of The Year
Well, we're all back home from Christmas visiting.
Christmas is the most turbulent time of the year at our house - much running around doing the last-minute shopping. This year, after all the turmoil, on the 24th we went down to the in-laws for Christmas Day.
Chickie and Meelie-No had a fine time with their five cousins, Grammy and Poppa, and aunts and uncles.
OWW had to come back up for work on the 26th, leaving Moogie and Da Gurlz to hang with the rest of the crew.
At work, we've been prepping for End-Of-Year, which for IT people in a SFI (Small Financial Institution) is a Very Big Deal. On Sunday (the 31st), we'll do all the necessary stuff starting at 9AM. Presuming no glitches (a LARGE assumption) we'll be done by 1PM.
LATE ENTRY: Just saw on Yahoo News that the Iraqis made Saddam Hussein dance on air.
Good. One less murderous dictator in the world. Just desserts and all that.
Posted by ward at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2006
A Long Week
It's been a long week, and it's only Tuesday!
Servers need to be defragged, OWW's own personal PC needs a tuneup, one of the Idiot Doggies is gonna get kicked right into next week, and my cursed automobile is puking coolant, but only when the weather gets below 64F.
And... my #2 daughter (Chickie, that'd be) has been dodging her homework, AND the #3 daughter (Meelie No) decided that her Science Fair Project is "boring".
Sigh.
I need mass quantities of liquid mind-altering substances.
Posted by ward at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2006
On Civilization
I'm not a great philosopher - but I don't need to be.
There are other people out there to do the heavy lifting for me.
I've seen, at various times, third-world pest-holes, and been mightily glad that I don't live in such a place.
Kim du Toit, HERE, put in two quotes that summarizes why true civilization is a much better deal than barbarism. If you're not completely lazy, you'll follow the links to read the entire essays, HERE and HERE.
The Distillation of Civilization is this snippet from Mrs. du Toit:
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There is something to be said about a life of happiness, the simple joys of sharing your daily bread. But there is also something equally interesting and important about a life with a safety net. The simple things are handled. We get to focus on greatness. |
For all of us in the First World - the "simple things", like garbage collection and disposal, putting food on the table, turning on the lights at the flick of a switch, these "simple things" that we take for granted are actually hard-won necessities that really do allow us to "focus on greatness".
The "simple things" came to us through the sweat and tears, and all to often, the blood of our predecessors. I mention the "blood" on purpose. Think of all the wars and famines that raged through Europe in the past. And our own Civil War, and the struggles and friction that we've had since then.
And from those wars, and that friction, our predecessors managed to build a country in which Catholic and Jew and Muslim and Protestant, White and Brown and Black, Asian and European, all manage to live together WITHOUT trying to kill each other.
Instead, we live together, work together, and worship as we choose. We cooperate.
It's been a long hard road, as our predecessors will tell us at every opportunity. And, so far, we've listened and tried to build on their works.
The results are there for all to see. The results are obvious.
These ideas and ideals are not bounded by borders or geography. They are not limited by the edicts of man. For the edicts of man are small beer indeed compared to the power of ideas.
Here in America we build things. We build ideas, and put 'em up for all to see. Those ideas are tested. They are battered and knocked around. If they stand the test of time, they survive and grow. This Test is not static - it is dynamic, with many shifts and viewpoints brought to bear.
And I sure as Hell do NOT want to live in a Third-world shithole. I like it here in America just fine, Thank You!
Instead of focussing on survival, I get to focus on greatness.
Even if I'm not real good at "great".
Posted by ward at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2006
SysInternals Has Been Assimilated!
As an IT geek and system admin, one of the places I used to visit fairly often was SysInternals. Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell started SysInternals ages ago, distributing nifty utilities to do things in WinNT/Win2K/WinXP/WinSrv200x that Microsoft either couldn't be bothered with, or simply couldn't do.
I went there today, to check out what was new, and found THIS!
Yikes!
The free tools are still available, but read the licensing terms very, very carefully, Cheena! For things have changed....
You don't need the SysInternals stuff often, but when you need 'em.... you really need 'em!
Download 'em now, before the Borg decide to assimilate YOU!
NOTE: These utilities will allow you to do things that may send your system(s) out to the Land of Oz! Be careful, and READ the descriptions carefully. Some of this stuff, when used improperly, can and will send your system right out to lunch...
Just Damn....
Posted by ward at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2006
USS Makin Island and the City of San Francisco
Politicians of the City and County of San Francisco have been bashing the US Navy, and any organization that even appears to be friendly to the US military for years.
Now, SecNav has decided that enough is enough - read it all HERE.
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Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter vetoed plans to commission the Makin Island, the Navy's newest and most powerful warship, in San Francisco in 2008 because of a perception that the city is anti-military. - - - - - - - - - - One of the factors that turned the Pentagon against San Francisco, he [Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. J. Michael Myatt] said, was widely quoted anti-military remarks made by various city politicians. Some of the remarks got considerable attention, especially ones made by Gerardo Sandoval, a member of the Board of Supervisors, who was quoted on national television as saying national defense should be left to "the cops and the Coast Guard.'' |
Some of those "widely quoted" remarks can be found:
Molotov Cocktail Thrown at Police Officer
Now, isn't it amazing that the Secretary of the Navy doesn't want to formally commission the USS Makin Island in San Francisco?
History Note: On 16 through 18 August 1942, 220 Marine Raiders commanded by Lt. Col. Evans Carlson assaulted the Japanese outpost at the Makin Island atoll. Landing from the US Submarines USS Nautilus and USS Argonaut, the Marines fought for two days, completely defeating the Japanese forces, before being re-embarked on the submarines and returning to Pearl Harbor.
Posted by ward at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)