Opinari.net

Why We Shouldn't Be So Hasty in Moving Jobs To Mexico

2010-05-04T09:56:00.001-05:00

My company, like many, has been trending towards moving much of its unskilled labor south of the border. In an American economic environment often hostile to the interests of business, this often makes sense. However, there are some concerns that corporations might want to consider:

"Now, drug-gang violence, until recently confined to Ciudad Juárez and other cities far to the west, is startlingly close by. Last month, some 30 gunmen stormed two hotels in Monterrey and kidnapped six people, in a shock for the city. The 130-mile highway from Monterrey to the border has seen a number of incidents, including a recent shoot-out between armed men and the Mexican military."

The hotel that was stormed is frequented by our staff when we are sent to Monterey. Monterey is where most of the work from here is being sent. Furthermore, that work cannot go there without our technical resources travelling there to educate the staff and mangement. If Monterey and Mexico cannot guarantee the safety of our people there, and if the drug violence continues to escalate, I would hope the decision makers would see fit to rethink these changes. Otherwise, the price that will be paid could be greater than a few hundred lost jobs.

iTunes "True" Syncing

2010-05-01T11:11:00.001-05:00

If you've ever used iTunes, and an iPhone, undoubtedly, you've installed apps or downloaded music on your device without syncing it to your computer. Also, you've probably moved to a new computer along the way. That's what I've been doing all week, trying to get my data moved to a new MacBook Pro, and getting it synced with my iPhone.

The process is trivial, but with one rather large caveat if you're not paying attention. When you check the box in iTunes to sync your apps, a dialog box opens that asks you if you want to overwrite the apps on your iPhone. Obviously, you don't want to do that, but I know lots of users who, in an attempt to sync their device, click Yes, only to find that their apps are long gone from their iPhone. Not a good feeling.

So what's the fix? It's rather simple, and requires you to know to look for it, I think. Right click in iTunes on your iPhone, and select Transfer Purchases. This selection is prominent in iTunes documentation, but to many users, it's very much non-intuitive, as it isn't part of the syncing process.

So if you're moving to a new machine, when you tether your iPhone or iPod Touch to your computer, trust me when I suggest that you follow this procedure (as well as backing up your device to iTunes) before doing anything else.

F8 or not F8?

2010-04-27T21:44:00.001-05:00

In the last week or so, I've been acquainting myself with a brand new MacBook Pro. I decided that I needed one machine to run all of the various OSes that I use, so this was my choice. So far, I'm impressed.

But there are, as expected, some quirks that I have to overcome along the way. On OS X, I've grown to like the Spaces feature, which effectively segregates my workflow in four distinctly hidden screens. However, I am a keyboard junkie, and I prefer to access it using the F8 key. This is well and good, until I realized that iTunes was popping up every time I tried to access Spaces.

Well, it turns out that F8 has dual uses on the MBP. In this case, it also... yes, activates iTunes. Using the 'fn' key on the lower left corner of the keyboard activates the function key. Yes, I know, this is commonplace on today's consolidated keyboards, but for whatever reason, it didn't occur to me until I perused the Apple website.

Alternatively, if you don't want to use the special functions, go to System Preferences | Keyboard and check the box in the picture below.

I prefer to have my full keyboard functionality, but this was very frustrating. Fortunately, if you're reading this, and you use a MBP, you won't share my frustration.

Not Enough Time in the Day

2010-04-24T22:32:00.001-05:00

Is this blog still here? Apparently so. There's so little time in the day, and I've been working on other projects, such as learning Objective-C, the iPhone APIs, XCode, and blogging at my other site, http://www.theiphoneand.us. Maybe I'll get back to this blog soon, too... assuming I can find more time in the day. Heh.

GPush Finally Hits the AppStore

2009-08-17T09:52:00.001-05:00

Any power user of email on the iPhone knows that one feature sorely lacking is true push email notification , at least where Gmail is being used as the mail provider. GPush is an app that looks to bridge that gap.

The UI is simple. Basically the end user enters his or her Gmail login ID and password, and awaits a confirmation from the GPush servers that the configuration is accepted. GPush encrypts login credentials for those who may be concerned with secure transmission of user ID and password.

GPush does exactly what it claims to do. When an email reaches the GMail account, a push notification is sent to the user's iPhone. This is a feature we in the enterprise space have come to expect from email clients on mobile phones since the advent of Blackberry and ActiveSync technologies. Why Apple didn't integrate IMAP push is anyone's guess, although I suspect battery life was a concern.

However, the GPush app should if anything improve battery life by allowing users to disable email polling on the iPhone client side. Whether or not this is the case remains to be seen, as I have just implemented GPush on my own device today.

I like what I see so far, but I do have some requested enhancements. First of all, I'd like to be able to configure GPush for multiple accounts. It does not appear to allow me to do that. Secondly, I'd like to have a button on the push notification that automatically opens the mail client instead of simply showing me an OK button which really does nothing but close the dialog box. As it is now, I have to close the box, open GMail and refresh the client. And lastly, I'd like a way to clear the badges off of the GPush icon other than turning them off entirely.

All in all, GPush is a great app for GMail users. I think $0.99 is a stellar price. I'd like to see Apple eventually build this into the mail client, but until they do, I expect GPush will stay prominently on my iPhone.

UPDATE: it seems that I am having to reauthenticate into the GPush servers every 30 minutes or so. Tweets from the GPush team indicate that they're working on some issues, so I will assume they know about this one. Hopefully they've rectified it soon.

2009-08-08T16:44:00.001-05:00

It's funny how one program's screw up can have unintended consequences, leading to a chain of frustrating events. That happened to me recently as I encountered an issue with Firefox 3.0.10 on my Hackint0sh netbook.

It appears that Firefox 3.0.10 has something of a Flash stability issue. The only way I was able to fix it was to disable Flash. which didn't work when I actually wanted to view Flash content. So, I resolved to try something I had not done before - restore from Time Machine, Apple's robust built-in backup solution.

My first attempt was to simply call up Time Machine, find the last backup before the Firefox issue, and roll back to that point. Sounds easy, right? Well, it turned out that I had permissions issues in restoring my Library folder. Library contains all of your user settings for every program you have installed. Without that folder's contents, you essentially have to reconfigure and re-register every program you have installed.

I proceeded to repair the Mac OS permissions database, which ostensibly should have given me rights to restore my previous Library folder to the OS. However, this didn't work as I had intended. It restored only a subset of settings. I was flummoxed.

So, I decided to try a full restore using the Leopard install disk. Using the USB keys I had created for the original Hackint0sh install, I booted to the install disk and selected the option to restore from Time Machine.

I selected the proper Time Machine image, waited about 35 minutes, rebooted, and...

Doh!

For whatever reason, the Mac wasn't able to find the boot partition. I hadn't counted on this issue coming up. I was able to use the USB bootloader to direct me to the right partition, but not without it.

After days of frustration, I came across a suggestion in a forum online that I reload the DellEFI bootloader from the GUI. I did so, rebooted, and that fixed the problem.

So, it turns out that Time Machine does play well with the DellEFI for the Mini 9 Hackint0sh. It just required a little research, and some patience. And now, I have a pretty straighforward way of restoring from Time Machine backups in case my Mini has a HD failure, or if I decide to upgrade.

Macweed Bundle

2009-07-28T10:32:00.001-05:00

If you are in need of some new software for your Mac, or if you're a bargain hunter like me, you'll be interested in the Macweed Creative Bundle, available at macweed.net until August 10 for only $49.99.

Incase and the iPhone's Poor Excuse for a Battery

2009-07-27T13:34:00.001-05:00

If you're an iPhone power user, you've no doubt ran into this problem:

OMG, my battery is almost dead!

With my old Treo 680, all I needed was an aftermarket battery that doubled the device's capacity and all was well in the world. But Apple, being the proprietary junkies they are, have stuck the end user with a non-replacable battery. Of course, there are always enterprising individuals out there who are willing to provide an alternative solution, so if you look hard enough, you can find an aftermarket battery replacement, but until I've had my iPhone a bit longer, I'm not willing to do something that will void the warranty. So, enter the external battery solution. To that end, I chose the Incase Power Slider (retail $89, on sale at Target for $62).

At first I was very pleased with the Power Slider. It added a lot of bulk to the iPhone which will turn off some users, but that's fine with me as I use mine in a manufacturing environment. The case fits snugly and definitely offers a high degree of protection for the device.

The external battery has to be charged for several hours before initial use. This isn't such a big deal unless you're absolutely dying for some juice to your iPhone on the spot. Once charged, just slide the phone into place, and you're good to go.

Now, as I said, I was pleased "at first". What turned me off of the Power Slider? For whatever reason, the case severely inhibits the signal strength of the iPhone by about 3 bars on average. In fact, in the factory and offices in which I work, I have zero coverage in about 3/4 of the area. For someone who relies on push notifications and network connectivity no matter where I am, this is unacceptable.

I don't quite see in the case's design where and why it is causing such a reduction in reception. As far as I can tell, the antenna is only covered by the plastic case.

To Incase's credit, they have offered a full refund based on a one year warranty on the case. I don't want to return it, as it offers solid protection, but I don't have a lot of choices here.

So, my question is this: what battery/power solutions do others use for their iPhone? Does anyone recommend an alternative case/battery combo that does not inhibit the mobile signal?

The iPhone's Limited App Launcher

2009-07-26T12:38:00.001-05:00

Truth be known, there are some things I miss about the Treo series of smartphones. One of the most obvious things is ZLauncher, a customizable app launcher. The default offering for the iPhone is just too limited.

What a power user needs is a tabbed launcher that contains only the apps for that particular tab. For example, I would like to have a tab for Utilities, another for Games, another for Productivity apps and so on. What the iPhone offers me is space for 176 apps plus 4 in the Dock, with no way of titling the individual panes that contain the apps. This just isn't very efficient.

What I and many other users would like to see is a dropdown or tab where i could assign apps to those panes. Given this functionality, I would be better able to find the app I need and the desktop would be more aesthetically pleasing and better organized.

For now, I find that I am forced to manually drag apps to different panes to organize them, and even then there is no way to title those panes, and I am limited to the screen real estate of 16 apps per pane.

Why doesn't Apple offer this out of the box? I have no idea. Why hasn't another developer provided such a solution? Likely because of Apple's imposed limitations on background processes that can or cannot run on the device.

Regardless, I'm hopeful that Apple finds a way to incorporate a more robust launcher into the next version of the iPhone software, or at least I'm hopeful that a third party can find a solution that will please Apple and iPhone users alike.

iPhone Mysteries

2009-07-26T10:24:00.001-05:00

Yes, I'm new to the iPhone. Yes, I'm pretty pleased with it so far. And yes, I often find some things that are a bit perplexing.

This morning I was looking at the iPhone Settings and i inadvertently clicked an unknown slider. Later, I noticed a mysterious phone icon in my system tray. Anyone know what this is and how to turn it back off?

Nonsense in Retail

2009-06-02T22:34:00.001-05:00

Apparently, retailers aren't going out of their way to accommodate potential customers these days, especially loyal ones who have charge accounts there. You see, I went to Target tonight (which is much preferred to the alternative, Walmart)

Now I've been a long time patron of Target, even to the point of once holding two charge accounts there simultaneously. Currently, I have only one, which has not been used in many months. As such, I could not locate my card, and I was wanting to make a reasonably sized purchase. However, I was told that I needed to report the card lost, and wait 7-10 days for its arrival. When I asked why I couldn't just use the existing account, they said there was too much potential for fraud. "How do we know it isn't stolen? How can we verify the identity?", they asked. When I produced the account number along with 2 photo IDs, they were unfazed.

So, just so we're all straight here... Target and their financial subsidiary have the belief that a customer who can recite their account number, and produce two photo IDs is quite possibly a fraudulent patron, while a person who has nothing more than a Target card in hand, with no semblance of an ID, cannot possibly be a thief.

Sigh. It is no wonder so much waste exists in the credit card industry.

Netflix and the Hackint0sh

2009-05-28T23:14:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you do a lot of your personal computing on a Dell Mini tricked out as a Mac. While this setup is terrific for the most part, there are sometimes some challenges. One such issue is with streaming Netflix movies.

It seems that Netflix hearts Silverlight, and Silverlight does not heart Power PCs. Or, more correctly, Silverlight only hearts particular Intel devices. Whenlight plugin the Silverlight plugin is installed, if you're running a Dell Mini, you see the error to the left.

Now, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why this would matter, so I checked the package contents for clues. I found this:

Installation check? How quaint. I removed that file, and voila... we have Netflix on the Dell Mini running Mac OS X.

Perspective

2009-05-27T22:46:00.001-05:00

Today was a pretty rotten day as days go.

The morning at work presented some issues caused by typical ineptitude. When I arrived at my office, I discovered that I had forgotten my breakfast. An email from our credit union loan officer disclosed to me that mortgage rates are .6 % higher than when I started my refi application only days prior. A billing snafu led to us having our water turned off until tomorrow... sometime. My Speedpass wouldn't work at the local Exxon. And my dog barfed on the carpet for the second time in 24 hours.

Indeed, days have been better. However, days have been much worse, and could be. Cases in point: one of our beloved church members died this weekend at the age of 50 of a sudden heart attack. Another had a leg amputated and is still sick in the hospital. Another friend has a child not much older than my oldest who has been diagnosed with three types of leukemia, and his survival odds are limited.

It was not that long ago that my own grandmother lay dying in a hospital, while my newborn son struggled in the NICU to take a single breath on his own.

Somehow, I don't feel like I have the right to complain. By the standards set above, I had a pretty fabulous day, I think.

Perspective. It's all in one's perspective. Don't forget that however bad your day is, someone else's is likely worse. Keep that in mind the next time your dog pukes, or your water gets cut off, or you get cut off in traffic.

Archiving PST Files in GMail

2009-05-27T21:08:00.001-05:00

Some friends of mine in the MIS world were discussing home computing issues this past week, and one that we all encountered was how best to access old emails from previous accounts. The traditional thing is to archive old email within the confines of a desktop client, whether that is Outlook, Express, Eudora, or something else.

Several years ago, on April Fool's Day if I recall correctly, Google changed all of that by introducing GMail. GMail gave the user gigabytes of storage, and coupled that with their well-developed search feature. At the time, GMail was web only, and had no real facility for interfacing with the desktop. Since then, Google has given the end user both POP3 and more recently an IMAP implementation (albeit somewhat quirky).

Of course, many users have stuck with their old ISP email, which ties them to a single provider unless they archive it. Once archived, email is often handled within the email client, which is most likely a proprietary format.

So the discussion topic that evolved from all of this was - how can the end user move old email from PSTs, Eudora archives, etc. into GMail? Gmail already has the feature of importing existing POP3 mail from active accounts, but we're talking about archive files here.

Lots of tools exist to accomplish just such a thing, but require a new app to be installed (which is platform dependent, naturally), or require translation of the archive file into another format.

But the solution we liked best was simply to use the tools we already have. If you combine your existing email client, its archive files, and a separate mapping to GMail as IMAP, the process is pretty straightforward.

Open up the archive file.
Copy the emails that you want to move to GMail.
Paste into the appropriate folder in GMail.

Sounds easy enough, and I wonder why I never gave this much thought in the past. Now, I have an archive of about 6 GB of mail dating back to 2004, all searchable, all labeled, and all accessible from any browser on any major operating system, not to mention the space freed up on the network.

My only hope is that Google keeps expanding the size of their mailboxes. Otherwise, I will have to create alternate usernames for storage.

UPDATE: Someone asked me about offline access. In this case, I would either use GeeMail, an Adobe AIR client that runs on Linux, Mac and Windows, or enable Google Gears for offline Gmail access.

Blogging Burnout

2009-05-26T20:32:00.001-05:00

It has been... oh, about ten months since I last posted to my blog. This after being a prolific poster for most of the last seven years.

I know some people blog for money, others for fun, still others for vanity. Me? I did it because I had something to say and wanted to say it. But...

I have to say that a lot of what I opined about was political in nature, as the lion's share of blogs seem to be. But standing on the political fence and yelling, and being yelled at, is so arduous these days. Society has become so polarized due to politics. There's a lot of what masks as debate, but it really is nothing more than oneupsmanship, name calling, and epithet hurling. It's like reading Crossfire, or the McLaughlin Group.

So, I stopped. Cold turkey. The opinions stayed, but not the constant attention to the news cycle. Issues matter. Politicians and their antics, I can do without them. And the Kossacks and the Freepers... it just doesn't appeal to me.

Anyway, I'm considering coming back to blogging, just not predominantly about politics. It doesn't do me any good to vent, really. There is no catharsis, no purge of the soul.

So, in the coming weeks, I think I'm going to start hitting the little keyboard, talking about tech, and other stuff. And maybe someday soon, this blog will grow up, and move onto something else.

In the meantime, go look around the web, find something that interests you, and talk about it. And if it starts to feel like work, stop doing it, and move onto something else. Blogging should be fun, not a task.

2008-08-04T13:29:00.000-05:00

Skip Caray: One of a Kind

Braves' broadcaster Skip Caray has died. I read the news about his passing on the AJC website this morning and was struck by memories of my childhood, listening to the Braves.

I became a Braves' fan in the 70s, when players like Phil Niekro and Dale Murphy dominated the Atlanta headlines. The south thirsted for a professional team back then for which to cheer. Most of my friends adopted the Big Red Machine, but I long preferred the Braves' broadcasts.

I will always remember listening to Pete Van Wieren, Ernie Johnson and Skip Caray calling the games. Lots of folks I knew didn't much like Skip's broadcasts, but I will long remember his dry wit, especially his call-in show where he often struggled to find patience with his callers. Known for his struggles with alcohol, I always found the line amusing when he commented "the bases are loaded, and I wish I was too."

When he and Van Wieren were no longer the Braves' national broadcasters a few years ago, I was a bit sad. Today, I'm a bit sadder, as another part of my childhood, the voice of Skip Caray, is silent.

2008-08-01T09:45:00.005-05:00

He's One Year Old Today...

This time last year, I was sitting in a hospital with my wife, who had just given birth to our third boy, Dylan. Readers of this blog will remember the journey we took from sheer excitement, to fear and anxiety to amazing relief over the course of several days. Dylan went from birth, to struggling for breath, to sedation in a NICU 120 miles away, to his final healthy journey back home.

My wife has eloquently written today about those uncertain days. The memories of those days are somewhat clouded for me, not just because of Dylan, but because my grandmother succumbed to illness the very next week. My memories of August 2007 are both joyous and sad. But today, as we prepare to go visit our respective families, as I watch my baby boy play on the hearth with his See-N-Say, as he pulls himself up and smiles, I am thankful beyond expression for this child, and how special he is to his mother and me.

Happy First Birthday, little Dylan. Daddy loves you.

2008-07-13T22:10:00.003-05:00

More on Tony Snow:

It's been a busy day here at home, so I'm just now catching the Fox News Sunday tribute to Tony Snow. It continues to amaze me how much love and respect there is for Snow by people from both sides of the ideological divide.

I've been searching left and right for the most memorable Tony Snow moment for me, his closing remarks to the Fox News Sunday telecast after September 11th, 2001. I haven't been able to locate the video, but there is a partial transcript on Fox News' website that goes as follows:

Good and evil almost never express themselves as harshly and clearly as they did Tuesday morning. People we don't know slaughtered people we do, and they did it with contemptuous glee.

Yet, even as clouds of dust and smoke rose from the rubble, even as family members tortured by hope and doubt took to the streets with pictures and pleas; even as mobs celebrated in Gaza, Cairo and Bagdad something shook itself to slow life.

That something was a sense of ourselves. Kindness flourished amid the flames. A couple carried a disabled man down 68 flights of stairs. A priest crouched to give last rites as a mighty tower collapsed and the hand of God closed about him. A man and woman, their hope gone, held each other and leaped. A solitary candle, a flag, a tear. These are the tokens of our renewal.

The United States had a spirit even before it had a name -- one of faith and freedom; of ambition tempered by public piety. We once were a nation of neighbors and friends. We are again today. We once were a nation of hardship-tested dreamers. We are again today. We once were a nation under God. We are again today. Our enemies attacked one nation. They will encounter another for they underestimated us.

Today, in our grief and rage; our determination and hope, we have summoned what is best and noblest in us; the kinship that awes our enemies and friends alike. We are again -- Americans.

Snow had trouble keeping his composure that day, and I have long admired his words. They were profound then, and they remain so today.

2008-07-12T23:15:00.004-05:00

Tony Snow:

This morning as I was preparing myself and the boys for church, my wife came out of the office and whispered to me that Tony Snow had died. I recalled that he had a speaking engagement of some sort weeks ago and had to cancel. I recall thinking at that time that Snow's time was probably short, especially knowing about his bout with colon cancer.

Like most observers, I've had hours to absorb the showering of affection and the displays of grief from pundits, journalists, and the like. I watched a bit of Fox this morning, and have read countless eulogies online. I thought I would reflect on Tony Snow by remembering the things as a viewer of news and political punditry that stood out about him.

I remember my first exposure to him when he guest hosted for Rush Limbaugh. I remember his unique voice, and how he brought a much more personal touch to the E.I.B. microphone than Rush ever did, or could. I fondly remember his years of hosting Fox News Sunday in its infancy. With all due respect to Chris Wallace, he doesn't hold a candle to Tony Snow. I remember his sparring with Helen Thomas and David Gregory in the White House press room. I also remember his infectious optimism from his interviews with the same David Gregory and with David Letterman last year.

But the one thing I will always remember most was his closing of Fox News Sunday on the air a short time after the 9/11 attacks. I don't remember much about what he said, but I remember how difficult it was for him to conclude his remarks. He was tearful, sincere, and he reflected the thoughts of all of us in America during that time.

His attitude about life, his love for wife and children, and his moral fortitude are something we should all aspire to have. If I speak as if I knew Tony Snow, which I obviously didn't, it is because he conveyed that sense of connection when he was on the radio, writing, being a press secretary, or just sitting down for an interview. This is the Tony Snow I will remember, as will millions of Americans who knew him from afar.

And today, the world has lost another great and upstanding man. It seems as if they are all falling by the wayside these days. I'll try to catch the Fox News Sunday tribute tomorrow, and then I will go about my business, hopefully with a little more sense of mortality, and a little more love for those around me.

2008-06-12T22:16:00.004-05:00

The Video Montage:

My wife, ever the photographer, has put together a fantastic montage of our boys, set to music. I'm not even sure of the song, except that it's "Beautiful Boy", and I really like watching this video. I also thought I would give Flash video hosting a try on my own server to see how it works out. Watch and enjoy.

2008-05-15T12:23:00.002-05:00

The Wall Street Journal asks "Where Would You Spend $600?" I thought I would answer that question on my own blog. For the typical middle-class family, finances have become much more strained lately. Fuel is high. Food is high. Debt is mounting. My own family received $2100 (family of 5, less than $150k in AGI).

We first gave 20% to our church, as we have embarked on a sanctuary remodeling and roofing project. Then I allocated $400 for clothing for the wife and boys. Assuming you don't buy Hilfiger and A&F, $400 actually goes a long way these days for clothing. Then I paid down one of our gas card accounts by about $500. I also bought new brakes for the van, and an engine diagnostic tool which I have needed for a while. And to help out the wife with cooking, I took the family to On the Border for dinner, and Johnny Carino's for lunch.

The rest is sitting in savings, but is going to likely be used to spend on comsumer items. I've had my eye on a Boston Acoustics speaker system to replace the one that is built into our LCD TV. I'd like a tow hitch for our minivan, and a cargo hauler for our upcoming trip to see our families. I've looked at some other things too, like a recliner, some bookshelves, an Adirondack swing, a new pot rack for my wife's kitchen, and maybe some new dress shoes.

In other words, the stimulus fund has actually helped us accelerate purchases we were going to make anyway, and moderately helped with some debt, while also giving us a little bit of luxury. While the economics of throwing money to the masses is questionable, I am not going to complain about receiving part of my own tax money back for my personal use.

2008-05-11T13:55:00.002-05:00

I keep hearing how poor the economy is. I'm sure outside of my little box in Texas, things are troublesome. But here, that's just not the case.

Despite the high cost of gas, the roads are just full of commuters, and shoppers. It took me 30 minutes to get from my office to the automobile service center on Friday. It felt like I was back in Connecticut on the Bulkley Bridge at 5 pm.

The big box stores are always packed. Target, Best Buy, Kohls, etc. have an abundance of shoppers. If people are cutting back, they aren't cutting out retailers.

As far as housing goes, I read about people losing house value and equity. Not here. Housing starts are still in full bloom. Our subdivision, a new addition to the area, is still seeing growth. Houses seem to sell after 30-60 days, which doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Personally, my property assessment went up 5% this year. So while America loses equity, Texas doesn't seem to be.

And then I read this today:

Recent reports reveal that more Fortune 500 companies are now based in Texas than in any other state. Job growth in our state remains high while unemployment rates are still low in spite of negative national trends in this recessionary environment. Texas added more than 213,000 new jobs last year, and job growth has exceeded one million over the past four years.

Maybe all of this is indicative of just how bad things are in the rest of the country. Or maybe it shows how productive the economy can be when companies can locate in a low-tax area, where residents can live without a punitive state income tax, and where the cost of living is generally low. Maybe if other states got out their own Petri dishes, and experimented with ways to promote growth in their own backyards, they would see similar results. Just maybe.

2008-05-11T13:53:00.002-05:00

I would be remiss if I didn't wish all of the mothers out there, including mine, and my wife, and my mother in law, and my grandmother in law (whew) a happy Mothers' Day. So... Happy Mothers' Day to you all!

2008-05-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

A Significant Date (Ode to Granny):

I haven't been blogging much lately, since, well... there are far more prolific bloggers than I, plus I haven't had a lot to say, plus we have a huge SAP implementation going on, plus... well, blame Websense, who has the audacity to ban all things "Blogspot" because they have been designated "Social Networking Sites". Whatever.

Yet, today, I feel more compelled to find a way to blog, so I'm going back to using my Treo (which I did many times in the past, but it's not as convenient as using a fancy laptop). Why today?

Today is May 9th. For me, that is a meaningful date. On this day in 1925, my dear grandmother was born. She was 45 years young when I was born, and I always talked to her whether by phone or in person on her birthday. Generally, I asked her if she felt a year older (she did), if she liked her gifts (she did), and what she was going to do the rest of the day (sit and relax, most likely).

Birthdays in my family are meaningful days. Being an only child, that meant a windfall for me. But as I got older, I simply enjoyed sharing other people's birthday's with them, especially Granny's.

The gifts aren't important. I seldom remember what I got for her, or my Mom, or even my kids or wife. It's the time spent together. The conversation. The love between family members, in this case, between grandmother and grandson.

This birthday is different, of course. Granny died in the summer of last year. Not a day passes that I don't see something that reminds me of her, especially my youngest child, Dylan, whom she never met, but for whom she endured quite a lot of pain in her last days, just so she could know that he was going to recover from his own medical issues. For me, he will be forever linked to her.

So today, when I get home, I will look at a few pictures, hug my kids and my beautiful wife, but especially when I embrace my littlest one, I will think of Granny, shed a tear, smile a smile, and long for the day that we all can see her again.

Happy birthday, Granny. We miss you.

2008-02-28T15:33:00.002-06:00

William F. Buckley passed away yesterday at the age of 82. He is widely known as the father of the modern conservative movement, as well as the founder of the conservative periodical, the National Review, and the host of Firing Line.

Firing Line was the first political commentary show I ever watched, and it is the only one I truly missed once it left the airwaves. Buckley's gift for rhetoric and descriptive language was uncanny. He treated his guests, both liberal and conservative, tactfully and respectfully. Sometimes, it was difficult to parse his language, but the challenge of doing so was a welcome change of pace to the blandness of, first, high school and then, college classes.

Buckley is last of the three great conservatives of the 20th century that influenced my world view - Reagan and Friedman were the other two. They leave behind a vacuum that will not soon be filled.

2008-02-25T16:11:00.003-06:00

This past weekend, Tennessee defeated the Memphis Tigers 66-62. Today, they're the number one ranked men's basketball team in the country. I'd intended to blog about the "big game" all weekend, but I've quite frankly been too interested in reading what other people had to say about it.

I know this much - I am jazzed about UT hoops, and have been since we pasted Texas in Austin in 2005 (Bruce Pearl's first season). There's just something about this guy and his team that is contagious. It used to be that we'd yawn through basketball season, asking when kickoff for football was going to be. Now, quite frankly, football is the last thing on my mind. I don't want this basketball season to end. It's been that much fun.

I'm trying not to drink the orange Kool-Aid, but I know that if Bruce Pearl is selling it, I'm probably going to be taking a swig. I can imagine this guy talking to his players about winning an unwinnable game, but never wavering in his confidence in them. I imagine that if he told them they could fly, they'd be leaping right off the roof of Gibbs Hall, flapping their wings all the way. Of course, the way things have gone for the Big Orange, I wouldn't be surprised if the team took to the air and looped around campus.

Seriously though, if we can somehow manage to take down the Commodores, Wildcats, Gators, and Gamecocks, even without an SEC Tournament win, we're getting a number one seed. Did anyone think seriously that we'd be a number one men's basketball seed, ever? Seriously? I didn't. I gotta believe that Bruce Pearl is the only one who believed that.

One more thing. Today's poll reflected a unanimous choice of the Vols as #1 by the coaches, but, undeterred, three nincompoops chose UNC or UCLA as the new #1 in the AP poll. To those writers, I ask - did you even watch the game? What does it take for you guys to vote for the Vols for the top slot? I can figure out the 2 Illinois writers, since the whole state still carries a grudge against Bruce for ratting on the Illini for recruiting violations. But what's with this joker in Tacoma? Didn't he see the Vols smack around the Zags in Seattle? Probably not, based on the voting. But you know, voting isn't nearly as relevant anymore anyway. I'm just asking - what's the reasoning?

You might believe that UCLA or UNC would beat UT, but so what? Look at the body of work. Did UT lose to the ninth place team in their conference? Did they lose to unranked opponents on their home floor? Did UNC or UCLA beat a previously unbeaten foe on the road? When they do, give me a ballot, and I'll vote for them too. Until then, you're crazy not to give the Vols their due.

Oh, and if we somehow make it to San Antonio, I am there. (Please, honey... can I go? :-) )

2008-02-25T16:09:00.001-06:00

At long last, LinkedIn goes mobile. I am somewhat of a mobile "evangelist", using mobile sites much more than I do traditional ones. LinkedIn is a very handy social networking site that caters to the professional crowd. I'm pleased to see that it's come to the small screen.

2008-02-05T10:08:00.000-06:00

My obligatory Super Tuesday election post:

Since I am on a bridge call with technicians in four states, working to configure 2 servers, and 63 RF devices on 4 802.11g routers using 4 VLAN subnets, and myriad switches, and I am increasingly annoyed at finding ridiculous firewall issues that were supposed to be handled weeks ago, somehow, I doubt that I will even find the time today to immerse myself in any election day antics.

Whew.

Now back to our call.

2008-02-04T13:31:00.000-06:00

Oops!

2008-02-04T00:03:00.000-06:00

Giants 17, Patriots 14.

The greatest team to not finish the deal. The "other" Manning wins one for the Big Apple. Lots of stories will be written, lots of reflection. The ever anal Yankees will adore Eli, at least for one season. And the Beantowners, well, let's just say Bucky Dent takes a back seat right now to the sack that should've happened, but didn't... the catch by a reserve receiver that had barely left a mark on the stat sheet all season long. Pats' fans, that's Manning to Tyree for 32 yards, and a first down. Let it sink in for awhile longer.

And through it all, we got to see Super Belicheck show his true colors, racing off the field, not bothering to endure the actual close of the game. Typically, his postgame rhetorts were sanguine, and downright terse. I can imagine this man tipping his pizza guy 50 cents because he got there in just under 31 minutes. How people play for this guy is beyond me.

But I digress...

Through it all, let this be a lesson to NFL teams from coast to coast. Offense is glitzy, and gets headlines, but defense wins championships. A cliche, perhaps, but ever appropriate tonight. And maybe, just maybe, some humility will settle in the next time this team decides to run up the score on an inferior opponent just to settle a vendetta. Karma, and all that.

2008-02-02T22:25:00.000-06:00

Unintended Consequences

Mississippi legislators have proposed legislation that forbids restaurants and food establishments from serving food to anyone who is overweight, and they are proposing H.B. 282 to define obesity.

Let me first say that I oppose any legislation that bars people deemed overweight from any restaurant. Furthermore, I can't imagine that restauranteurs are very happy with being told who they can and cannot server.

However, I can see how such laws may soon become commonplace, especially if this country ever decided to institute government mandated universal health care. If the universal model evolves as the Canadian and European model has, then such bans and regulations are going to be the norm. Just witness the latest move in Scotland to simply deny medical services.

The fact is that there is an inherent scarcity in these services, and if the government is going to fund them, the government will eventually also look for ways to remediate the use (or abuse) of them. One such way is how Scotland has reacted. Another way is to limit self-abusive behavior that will lead to reliance on medical services.

That is to say, if obese people (as determined by the government) are banned from overeating, and consuming unhealthy foods (also determined by the government), then surely those same people will be forced to eat healthier, and that will save the national health care system millions of dollars. Or, so the logic will go.

This is what is called an unintended consequence. The government will eventually force people to live "healthier" in order to discourage them from consuming a scarce resource (public mandatory health care). Surely, this is not the model we want to pursue in America.

2008-01-26T16:07:00.000-06:00

More on the 2008 Stimulus Package:

ABC News has compiled an FAQ regarding the proposed 2008 tax "rebates". Some interesting topics include how stay-at-home parents, retirees, and disabled veterans are treated as well as how the "rebates" apply to the 2008 tax year.

2008-01-24T12:48:00.000-06:00

More on the Economic Stimulus Package:

Individuals who pay income taxes would get up to $600, working couples $1,200 and those couples with children an additional $300 per child under the deal. Workers who make at least $3,000 but don't pay taxes would get $300 rebates. The rebates would be limited to individuals whose income is $75,000 or less and working couples with incomes $150,000 or less. The plan would also boost the cap on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits. [...] The rebates would phase out gradually for individuals whose income exceeds $75,000 and couples with incomes above $150,000, aides said. Individuals with incomes up to $87,000 and couples up to $174,000 would get partial rebates. The caps rise higher for individuals and couples with children.

I shouldn't complain about a sudden $2100 windfall, but I still don't believe this is a necessary move by our federal government. More likely, it is just a scheme to give the illusion that they're "doing something". We could use a little less scheming and a little more sensibility.

2008-01-24T12:24:00.000-06:00

So, if you're a progressive, and you endorse the development of biofuels as an alternative to gasoline, but you're also deeply concerned about hunger in the third world, how do you reconcile your thoughts when you read this?

Speaking at a regional forum on bioenergy, Regan Suzuki of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization acknowledged that biofuels are better for the environment than fossil fuels and boost energy security for many countries. [...] Foremost among the concerns is increased competition for agricultural land, which Suzuki warned has already caused a rise in corn prices in the United States and Mexico and could lead to food shortages in developing countries. She also said China and India could face worsening water shortages because biofuels require large amounts of water, while forests in Indonesia and Malaysia could face threats from the expansion of palm oil plantations.

2008-01-24T12:01:00.000-06:00

And The Stimulus Goes Forward:

via the Economist -

President George Bush will unveil the whole package in his state-of-the-union speech on January 28th. But several details have leaked. Households will receive tax rebates of between $300 and $1,200, depending largely on how many children they have. Pressure from Democrats ensured that even families too poor to pay taxes will benefit. And pressure from Republicans ensured that even couples who earn as much as $150,000 a year will get a handout. The package also includes tax cuts for businesses, giving firms incentives to invest in new factories, showrooms, machine tools and so on. Small firms will enjoy laxer rules on writing off expenses, and ailing firms will get rebates for taxes already paid. To buoy house prices the package includes a rescue plan for distressed mortgages more generous than anything previously mooted. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—two huge government-backed firms that finance and guarantee home loans—will be allowed to buy up mortgages significantly larger than the $417,000 maximum currently permitted. Critics worry that this will only delay a necessary correction in the housing market, but they will almost certainly be ignored. Both parties have compromised. Democrats wanted to expand food stamps and unemployment benefits, but have backed down. Republicans wanted to target the rebates at those who pay income taxes, but have reportedly agreed to extend them to the large number of Americans who do not.

Compassionate Conservatism meets the Democratic legislature, and in an election year to boot.

Sigh.

2008-01-22T13:45:00.000-06:00

Fred has dropped out of the Republican race. I've heard that he isn't interested in a cabinet or a VP post either. That's too bad, as I believe he is the only one in the race worth voting for. I believe that it is my civic duty to vote, but this year, I will definitely be holding my nose when doing so.

2008-01-22T13:43:00.000-06:00

Don't ever let it be said that ESPN doesn't respect what's going on with Volunteer basketball.

2008-01-14T16:05:00.000-06:00

If there are a total of 37 million people in America living in poverty, how could there be 60 million people living on $2,555 a year?

2008-01-14T08:38:00.001-06:00

A headline that speaks for itself:

Financial advisers' No. 1 worry: A Democrat in the White House

2008-01-13T18:52:00.000-06:00

Best Laid Plans...

When the day started, I was cheerfully planning a football party next weekend. Most of us are Cowboys' fans. At least one of us (me) is a Colts' fan. Absolutely none of us are Patriots' fans.

Well, of course, the Pats won handily yesterday. Today, the Colts lost by 4. So did the Cowboys. And I didn't really get to pay attention to much of it anyway because of the boys.

Sigh.

I guess it won't be a festive party. Oh, well.

2008-01-09T22:32:00.000-06:00

There is evil in this world. Pure evil.

We see images of it on TV, hear about it on our radios, every day. We've become somewhat desensitized to it, too. A murder on a street corner in town. A wife beaten to death in Anytown, USA. "Sad, but it happens," we say. And then we move on.

This week, three particular stories have captivated me. These aren't people I know. I had no emotional interest in them. But reading each one affected me.

First, we have a college basketball coach with a beautiful son. He marries a woman who seems to be his dream wife, but it falls apart. She refuses to let go of the marriage, and in the meantime becomes more unstable. Ultimately, she exacts her revenge on her estranged husband by killing herself, and the son they shared.

Second, another relationship soured along the way. More revenge by an evil man as he decides to throw four children into the bayou from a height of 80 feet.

Third, here in Smith County, where I live, a vivacious, stunning young lady was murdered by her boyfriend, and then partially eaten. Yes, that's what I said. Eaten.

As I said, we're desensitized. We all too often move on, and accept that bad things happen. But things like this make me stop and think twice.

Say a prayer for the innocent families that were affected by these events. And say another prayer for the moral relativists out there. Anyone who says evil doesn't exist need only read these three stories to know otherwise.

2008-01-09T16:49:00.001-06:00

Now THIS is rich with irony:

On the eve of a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Indiana Voter ID law has become a story with a twist: One of the individuals used by opponents to the law as an example of how the law hurts older Hoosiers is registered to vote in two states. Faye Buis-Ewing, 72, who has been telling the media she is a 50-year resident of Indiana, at one point in the past few years also claimed two states as her primary residence and received a homestead exemption on her property taxes in both states.

2008-01-09T12:37:00.001-06:00

John Derbyshire hits the nail on the head regarding Election 2008:

Subtract out those who want the handouts, those who want the Washington jobs, those who want to tell us how to live, and those who want everlasting war, and there's not much left of small-government conservatism. Pity — it was a really cool idea.

2008-01-09T09:19:00.000-06:00

I haven't felt like posting much to the blog lately, but I have been diligently responding to the Dallas Morning News' decision to name the 'illegal immigrant' as the Texan of the Year. See the editorial board's blog post here, here, and here, including some rather angry reader reaction. My own take is also included in the comments.

Basically, I disagree with the editorial staff's choice because a) an illegal immigrant is not a Texan, no matter how you parse it, and b) the DMN board changed their criteria for selecting the TOY midway through the process. It is my feeling and that of many others that no candidate existed that fit their editorial agenda, so they 'moved the goalposts'. Bottom line: the 'illegal immigrant' is definitely a candidate for story of the year in Texas, but the choice of such a nebulous group as TOY is misguided and nonsensical.

2008-01-09T09:17:00.000-06:00

Michael Silence pointed out today a proposal in NJ to raise toll fees by 50%. Some are objecting that the increase is a hidden tax hike.

I'm as anti-tax as they come, but raising tolls isn't really a tax. It's a hike in user fees. There can be an argument made that a toll is a user fee that cannot be avoided. However, in every toll jurisdiction in which I have lived (Texas, Georgia, Mass Pike, NYC), there were alternate paths for travel. Note that I didn't say 'convenient' paths of travel.

I would prefer have tolls and eliminate taxation for funding roads, creating a system whereby roads are paid for by those who use them, but that's another discussion altogether.

2007-12-28T15:13:00.000-06:00

Buy American, You Insensitive Clod!

Today was spent with my oldest son, Ethan, doing some shopping and such. After we had a chocolate malt, I stopped at a local grocer to buy butter for my wife. When I was getting out of the truck, I was approached by an elderly gentleman who began the following exchange:

Man: Excuse me, son, I see you are driving one of those foreign trucks. I'd like to ask you to buy American next time you buy a truck. Me: Yeah? Why is that? Man: We're losing $19bn per year because of those Japanese car makers... Me: What about the assembly plants here in Texas? Man: Those parts are assembled here, but made overseas! Me: What about the global economy? Jobs that can be done cheaper overseas should probably be done there, right? Man: I've been studying this for twenty years, and I warned that this would happen, and people like you just won't listen. Me: But I did listen, by buying a Toyota that will last years longer than a (looking at the man's truck)... a GMC. Man: Grumble.

Ethan seemed oblivious to the whole conversation, which was fine with me. I didn't want to belabor the point, so while the man fumed, I walked into the store, and bought my American-made butter from my American cashier.

There's not really a point to all this except to say that, well... when I go to the grocer, I'm probably not in the mood for political prosetylization. I just wanted some butter. And a little time with my son. So if you happen to want to sell me on the merits of "buying American", please don't do it in a grocery store parking lot.

2007-12-27T20:18:00.000-06:00

My son just decided, as he was watching HGTV's Divine Designs, that he wanted this ceiling fan for his room. This will not be funny to anyone but those of us who know him so well. See, my son has an obsession with fans. He now thinks his existing ceiling fan is not good enough. He needs this one. He is, for your information, only four years old. Needless to say, he isn't getting this fan. But it's funny to hear him talk about it.

2007-12-27T18:23:00.000-06:00

Local Christmas Tree Recycling:

The City Waste Department and the Keep Tyler Beautiful Program want you to give your tree to them. You can drop off undecorated trees at the Golden Road Park and Fun Forest Park. Communications Director Susan Guthrie says recycling your tree is a lot better than just trashing it. She says that "those trees will end up in a landfill and they'll be picked up as a space and time will allow." Ms. Guthrie says local fisherman will put the trees in lakes to attract more fish. The Christmas Tree Recycling Program ends January sixth.

2007-12-27T17:13:00.000-06:00

Christmas at Our House:

This year, my mom managed to make the trip here to Texas. Last year, we had gone to Michigan and Tennessee on a two week jaunt. Readers of this blog know that there is one less family member (my Granny, who passed away in August) and one more family member (my 4 1/2 month old son, Dylan). I'm really glad that my mom was able to come. I didn't want her spending Christmas alone.

We procured a 10' Douglas Fir this year, which didn't take to water very well, so it has slowly withered away. It's still mostly on the green side, but the orange smell that accompanied it at first is no more.

The boys and my wife made the tree decorations out of oranges, popcorn, pine cones, cinnamon, and cranberries. Mostly, it turned out well, although the dog and the middle child both wanted to eat the ornaments.

Gifts began arriving weeks ago, mostly from Amazon. Some though still have not found their way here. Needless to say, this has been a very frustrating logistical Christmas. Mom is leaving this weekend, so hopefully her gift arrives before then!

I won't go into the litany of gifts that the kids received (because they are too numerous), but my wife's favorite thing is probably her new anodized pots and pans. She cooks a lot, and she was in great need for some well-made cookware. Apparently, I managed to fill that need adequately.

As for me, I was given some cash, and I filled some of my own software needs. I purchased a nice little suite called Evernote (for 60% off). Evernote allows me to quickly clip documents, websites, etc. and save them into a local database. This comes in handy for blogging. I also paid for my licensed copy of mSafe, which allows me to remotely lock my Treo and wipe the contents of the SD card and the device in case I lose it or in case it is (God forbid!) stolen.

I was also able to purchase some long needed replacement parts for my Swiss Army Cybertool and my Startech watch.

My wife also got me a wet-dry shaver that, so far, seems to be working quite well, although the trimming option isn't much of a trimmer. I've definitely needed a new shaver.

Apparently, I also have some other gifts on the way (like I said, this has been a logistically challenging Christmas season), and that's great. However, having my family together, seeing their faces and their smiles, and having free time to catch up on housework, and to be with my boys, and my wife, and my mom... there's more joy in those things than any gift could bring. I hope your Christmas was as good as mine was.

2007-12-27T11:21:00.000-06:00

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan today. This, of course, has been all over the news and blogs. And there have been typical responses of shock, anger, and sadness. These are natural responses.

But the question that occurs to me is why are so many people acting like this is such an unexpected occurrence? After all, unabated violence is the tactic that Islamicists best know. And if Bhutto was the supposed "choice" of the American political establishment, what then would be a better show of power and control then to eliminate her, if for no other reason then a symbolic one?

When all is said and done, this is a sad day for the world, and for Pakistan in particular. But nothing about it should be shocking.

MORE: Of course! What were we thinking? It's President Bush's fault!

Here's the Economist's coverage of the assassination. And more here from a symposium on NRO's The Corner.

2007-12-27T11:13:00.000-06:00

Tom Sowell echoes exactly what I've been thinking since this election season started way too prematurely - our choices for President pretty much suck.

2007-12-24T01:05:00.000-06:00

Dave Winer gives me a new, and better reason to never buy an Apple product - apparently, if you send your Mac in for a disk repair, they will refuse to give you the old disk. Further, they can at their discretion give you a refurbished hard drive instead of a new one.

$160 for an 80 GB refurb? That's insane. I've often pointed to Apple's hard line on replacing iPod batteries, and to their obsession with being a closed operating system as reasons for staying away from their products. I'm now convinced that I'd just as soon run Linux on a 486 then own a Mac.

2007-12-24T00:34:00.000-06:00

Gasp! It's Christmas Eve... time to start tracking Santa.

2007-12-24T00:26:00.000-06:00

Thinking about taxes early? Try comparing your present income situation to that under the Fair Tax. Here's a calculator to compare the Fair Tax vs. the current tax system.

Personally, I'm undecided on the Fair Tax, even though I tend to lean toward it, but I've read Boortz's book, and I like the idea of having a minimalist IRS. On the other hand, I'm not a big Huckabee fan, and he's a prominent supporter of the FairTax, so I guess there's room for me to move either way on the issue.

2007-12-24T00:17:00.000-06:00

Because I was too dad-blamed busy yesterday, and I forgot to mention it... Happy Festivus!

2007-12-21T15:55:00.000-06:00

A Brief History of Christmas... and Saturnalia. I find it curious though that in a treatise about the origin of Christmas, there is no mention of Mithra.

2007-12-21T15:20:00.001-06:00

Innocent Until Proven Guilty?

Read this. Then tell me what kind of country we live in that would allow this sort of thing to happen.

UPDATE: From the editorial:

What (Mr. Ricks) also needs is his congressman to try to intervene on his behalf. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, should involve himself in pressing the FBI to return the money to his constituent.

Amen. If the spirit moves you, call or write the congressman referenced above. Here's Jordan's contact information. (Email here)

2007-12-21T14:53:00.000-06:00

Huckabee. Ethically challenged? It appears so. I've been wary that this is the candidate that the Republican establishment is going to saddle the electorate with.

2007-12-21T14:42:00.000-06:00

From today's WSJ editorial page:

...Washington officially joined the world-wide lightbulb prohibition movement. The regular incandescent bulb has worked fine since the 1880s, but Congress is dictating that it be phased out starting in 2012 in favor of compact fluorescents.

Now, I'm all for CFLs. I used them in my basement in Connecticut and I have them in my attic in Texas. However, unless they become more aesthetically pleasing, I'm going to have to harvest as many clear incandescent lights as possible and stash them in my attic... er, alongside my lone CFL.

2007-12-21T12:31:00.000-06:00

Cecilia Reyes, doctor and one-time super-hero, member of the X-Men. Seventh Day Adventist? Interesting.

And here's a further listing of superheroes and their religious affiliations.

2007-12-21T12:10:00.000-06:00

Despite the fact that I live in a dry county, I might just get one of these and install it in my backyard.

2007-12-20T16:07:00.000-06:00

Slashdot: NCAA Puts Severe Limits On Sport Event Blogging

It seems to me that there is an easier way around this for the media. Find a blogger that writes very professionally, who has a reputation for knowing his stuff. Buy a choice set of seats for the blogger and give him a PDA device with blogging software. (I've been blogging from my Treo using Vagablog for years.) That would seem to remove any possibility of the blogger being ejected or having any credentials revoked.

In fact, the next time I'm at an NCAA event, I'm going to do just what I said above. Let 'em kick me out.

2007-12-13T13:22:00.000-06:00

Some Thoughts on Baseball and Steroids:

The Mitchell Report is out today, and it calls out some pretty big names. Clemens. Pettitte. Bonds. McGwire. Tejada. All names that have been associated with performance-enhancing drugs in the past.

The report is 409 pages, see link here. Certainly, I don't have time to read it, nor do I plan to do so. Much of what is contained in the report apparently comes from two sources: Kirk Radomski and the Albany investigation into an Orlando pharmacy.

I will be interested to see if any players claim defamation and sue the league because of this report. After all, many of these players are Hall of Fame caliber, and could be prevented from entering the Hall after retirement. Some could be affected directly by being denied endorsement deals. I mean, would you want to solicit an endorsement from an accused drug user?

Aside from all that, here's how I believe this should pan out. Any player that knowingly used these drugs after the league banned them should be suspended indefinitely. No player is above the rules. However, a player that used them before any sort of ban was instituted should not be disciplined. It is hard to make the argument that a player broke the rules when the rule didn't exist. Besides, those players will be subject to public scrutiny, and will likely not play again in the public eye anyway. That is punishment enough, in my opinion.

This report should help Major League Baseball begin to move on and leave the steroid era behind. The sport has survived a great many harmful events in its past, and I believe it will survive this one also... with a caveat. MLB must admit the mistakes that were made, eliminate them, and advocate stiff penalties for future violators. If not, the integrity of the sport will always be questioned.

2007-12-13T13:13:00.000-06:00

The Fair Tax:

Talk show host Neal Boortz has been championing the Fair Tax for quite some time now. For those that are unfamiliar with the concept, the Fair Tax is conceived as a way to tax consumption (instead of income), eliminating deductions and credits as well as the IRS itself. Heck, the whole taxation cottage industry would be eliminated or largely reduced. Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has adopted the Fair Tax as one of his campaign platforms. Thus, it has crept into the national spotlight recently.

Now, you would expect self-styled progressives to frown upon this new method of taxation, but most of the pounding lately has come from the right. The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto, no fan of exorbitant taxation, is apparently even more leery of the Fair Tax. Both Boortz and Taranto have thrown around various arguments this week on their respective websites regarding the Fair Tax. I've found the discussion interesting.

What I've found frustrating though is that Taranto's tone has been very condescending. What I'd like to read is a categoric refutation of the arguments that Boortz is making. Taranto doesn't seem to understand how taxes are passed onto the consumer through the supply chain. Taranto refuses to even acknowledge how prices are inflated because each hand that touches a product or a commodity has to pay some share of the tax for the transaction.

In effect, we have a value-added tax (just like Europe does), but it's "hidden". It's very much like when people argue that they pay 7% of their income for SOcial Security and Medicare, and their employer pays the other half, when in fact, the employer is paying nothing. They're just taking the required value out of the salary they would be paying out to the employee. If you don't believe me, look at how human resource departments allocate their expenses for human capital. SS and Medicare outlays are included in that overhead. That equates to money that would have been paid out as salary that simply is being reclassified.

Taxation on goods and services works very similarly. Let's assume that you run an assembly plant for computers. Each component is supplied by a vendor. That vendor has to pay taxes. The commodities used to produce that component come from another vendor. That vendor has to pay taxes. The logistics companies who distribute the components and commodities also pay taxes. The software vendors that provide ERP services to track the commodities and components are taxed. Each transaction has an associated tax. These taxes are evident to the vendors who pay them, but are transparent to the purchaser, because the cost is embedded in the product or commodity. The bottom line is that, if a good costs less to make, the cost savings will be passed onto the consumer. If you doubt that, watch how a market economy works. If a supplier decides to keep their margins high by charging the same cost as before the embedded taxes were removed, watch another firm enter the marketplace that will lower their margins while keeping expenditures nearly the same. Watch the firm that lowers the price to the consumer thrive, while the "greedy" company that stubbornly stuck to its old pricing structure goes out of business.

Taranto ridicules Boortz in his posts to "Best of the Web" on the fact that he finds it absurd that prices will be lower when the current taxation scheme is eliminated. Taranto is (I believe) a supply-sider, so it surprises me that he doesn't understand that the elimination of embedded taxes will lower the cost of goods and services. Actually, in his latest post, he at least acknowledges the argument.

In fairness, the fair tax fans' notion is federal taxes on income, payroll, corporate profits and other things make up a substantial portion of the cost of bringing an item to market. The repeal of these "embedded" taxes, the argument goes, would reduce pretax prices, both wholesale and retail.

If Taranto accepts the above premise, then I fail to see his objections to the idea. If the Fair Tax could lower pretax prices, eliminate political constituencies by consolidating taxation into one rate that is applicable to all, increase the rate and ability of taxes to be collected (since every act of consumption would be taxed), and reduce the size and scope of an agency as large as the Internal Revenue Service, what's not to like?

It appears that, at this point, Taranto's only issue is with the idea of a tax "prebate". I'm not going to argue the merits of a prebate here, nor am I going to argue what the Fair Tax rate should be. Those details would certainly need to be well thought out in the event that a Fair Tax was implemented. However, considering the above points, and considering the current way that Washington uses tax policy, I just can't help but to think that there has to be a better way, and I believe the Fair Tax is the best idea I've heard so far. If Taranto has a better way, I'm all eyes.

2007-12-12T16:37:00.000-06:00

Much has been said recently about the untimely demise of Washington Redskins' defensive back Sean Taylor. What I never knew until recently was that he was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church. (Readers of this site probably know that I, too, attend the SDA church.) I found this story and this one to be very insightful into the life of this misunderstood, private man.

2007-12-12T13:14:00.000-06:00

Frustrating. I was all excited that the Treo 680 has a ROM upgrade available this morning, offering ATT's push-to-talk along with some much needed enhancements.

But along the way to the upgrade path. I encountered a Big Caveat:

BlackBerry Connect is not compatible with the Treo 680 Update 2.11. Once the update has been installed, it cannot be removed.

AAUGH! So I gain some functionality at the expense of Blackberry Connect? This does not bode well for me, as I was planning to upgrade several users to PTT and BBC on their devices.

2007-12-12T13:12:00.000-06:00

I heard at lunch that the 2007 word of the year was w00t. That's fine and good, but w00t has been around a long time, at least since 1997. The fine website woot.com is several years old as well.

The runnerup - Facebook. I am of the opinion that Facebook is much newer and should have been selected, especially given how popular social networking is.

2007-12-12T13:10:00.001-06:00

More from Slashdot: The 5 Users You'd Meet in Hell. You're preaching to the choir here, guys.

2007-12-12T13:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's post about the Vista giveaway shows up on Slashdot. Nothing like a little M$ news to get the /. community stirred up.

2007-12-12T13:05:00.000-06:00

The secret to raising smart kids? Focus on effort, instead of intelligence.

2007-12-11T13:47:00.000-06:00

In case you haven't heard, Microsoft is giving away copies of Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit and 64-bit DVD), Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007, Microsoft Money Plus Premium, Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008, and Microsoft Streets and Trips 2008. The caveat - you have to let them monitor your use of the program.

2007-12-11T13:34:00.001-06:00

More on the subprime mess from the Economist:

The Treasury claims that the plan will produce winners all round. That is because the costs of foreclosure are high—typically around 25% of the value of the typical subprime mortgage. Lenders may take modest losses from, say, extending the period of lower interest payments yet still do better than if they pushed borrowers into foreclosure. But that begs an obvious question: if loan modification is such a win-win solution, why does the government need to get involved at all?

To me, the larger questions are of philosophy and of policy. First, what moral obligation does the government have to bail out someone who took on more than they can handle? As an ARM holder, I knew what I was getting into - a short term rate decrease that would soon be followed by either a relocation on my part, or a refi into a prime rate mortgage. That was calculated by me. Other people have tapped their equity with constant refinancing, and the housing bubble threatens to ruin their livelihood. Why is the government responsible for the consequences of those choices?

Further, the risk of subprime mortgages are securitized. Like it or not, that's how the financial markets work. Anyone want to wager on how rigid the credit markets will be once the margin of risk is reduced by a government bail out?

Two words: unintended consequences.

Paulson and the Federal Government can try to be as compassionate as they want, but this scheme just isn't the way to show compassion. Real compassion would be to hold each borrower to the same standard of personal responsibility.

2007-12-11T13:33:00.000-06:00

King of the Wild Frontier, Generation X

A 5-year-old Arkansas County boy killed a black bear Sunday weighing more than 400 pounds. Tre Merritt, a descendant of Davy Crockett, was hunting with his grandfather Mike Merritt when a black bear happened upon their stand. "His 10th great-grandfather was Davy Crockett," Mike Merritt said. "And Davy supposedly killed him a bear when he was three. And Tre is five and really killed a bear. I really doubt if Davy killed one when he was three."

2007-12-11T13:32:00.000-06:00

They Summoned Who?

An Indian judge has summoned two Hindu gods to help resolve a 20-year-old property dispute. Sunil Kumar Singh has placed notices in newspapers in the coal mining town of Dhanbad, in the eastern state of Jharkhand, asking gods Ram and Hanuman to appear in his court next week to present their arguments. "You failed to appear in court despite notices sent by a messenger and later through registered post. You are hereby directed to appear before the court personally," Judge Singh's notice stated. The newspaper notices were published, in keeping with accepted Indian legal practice, after two summons dispatched to the plaintiff deities were returned because their addresses were "incomplete".

No commentary required here.

2007-12-11T13:31:00.000-06:00

Social Networking via Bluetooth?

IMAGINE you are a woman at a party who spots a good-looking fellow standing alone in a corner. Before working up the courage to talk to him, you whip out your mobile phone. A few clicks reveal his age and profession, links to his latest blog posts and a plethora of other personal information. To many, this sounds like a nightmare. But to those building so-called “mobile” social networks, it is nirvana: linking virtual communities such as Facebook or MySpace with the real world. The idea is not new, but so far such services have not gained much traction. They have to be able to pinpoint people in order to work, but satellite positioning does not work indoors. More importantly, it is hard for such a service to gain critical mass: why join, if it does not already have many users? A new generation of mobile social networks may have found ways to overcome these barriers. One is Aka-Aki, a start-up based in Berlin. Users of its service download a small program onto their mobile phone. The software then uses Bluetooth, the short-range radio technology built into many mobile phones, to check whether any friends or other members with similar interests are within 20 metres. If so, the program pulls down the person's picture and whatever information he or she is willing to reveal from the firm's website.

Somehow, the old method of simply introducing myself seems more appropriate.

As for myself, I generally only use LinkedIn, and I only use that for professional contacts. I've been waiting for a mobile version of LinkedIn, but I still haven't seen one.

2007-12-10T16:44:00.001-06:00

What a waste. Vick gets 23 months is prison. I don't see him playing in the NFL again, especially as a quarterback.

2007-12-10T16:40:00.000-06:00

Guess who's running for President as a Greenie?

Could be bad news if Hillary wins the nomination.

2007-12-10T13:47:00.003-06:00

A solar powered charger in a book bag? Me likey.

2007-12-10T13:47:00.001-06:00

I had a user this morning that spilt coffee onto one of our $3000 handheld devices. Ironic then that this little article was posted about saving wet devices. I suggested drying out the device (as does the article), but ultimately, this being an enterprise environment, I will probably issue a warranty claim.

2007-12-10T13:46:00.001-06:00

Need a backup solution for your computer? I've used this before and liked it. Today, it's free from this website.

2007-12-10T13:45:00.001-06:00

Since I just upgraded to a new HD LCD TV, I'm not too pleased with the performance of my "upscaling" DVD player, which always seem to render disks in 576p instead of 780p or 1080i. I'm convinced that I want to upgrade to a Hi-Def DVD player, but do I want Blu-Ray or HD DVD? It would help if the standards would somehow converge. It's like choosing XM or Sirius (I chose Sirius for the NFL, but now I no longer get SEC sports broadcasts), or Dish vs. DirecTV (I chose Dish for... well, I think it was cheaper, but I can't remember now). The point is that I want one HD standard, and that has heretofore kept me out of the HD DVD market.

Of course, if the price keeps coming down (as Engadget points out this morning, Samsung has dropped one of their Blu-Ray models to $299), I might buy one just so that I can have HD-quality video output.

2007-12-10T13:44:00.002-06:00

Glenn Reynolds posts a reader email about Call of Duty 4:

"So, if as Hollywood whines that the public doesn' t want Iraqi War movies, why is this selling so well, top of the rental lists, and ever so popular? At this rate it'll be the successful game companies, that gives the pubic what they want, who'll buy out the studios for their IP and name. Hollywood appears to have missed the impact of the technological shift as badly as MSM has. The public is getting the entertainment they crave, just not in the form that the old gatekeepers dispense."

Let's tie this sentiment back into the writers' strike. How about we use this occasion to simply get rid of the product that is out there and replace it with "what the public wants"? Anyone want to wager that a positive movie about the Iraq War would be a huge draw? I know I would pay to see it.

2007-12-10T13:44:00.001-06:00

Interesting stuff about the Hollywood writers' strike here.

I've been lamenting the fact that 24 will likely be delayed for quite some time, but I'm starting to find a comparable amount of entertainment in reading the Hollywood Daily site, and the whining of the posters there.

I will admit that I don't know all of the facts because, well, I'm just not that interested in taking sides on this issue. But if it's true that the average writer makes $230,000 per year, then I'm not sure that I, or Joe Everyman is going to side with them on this issue.

Even funnier are the claims that this strike is "ruining lives"... of TV watchers! Please. I would argue that an absence of the tripe typically featured on TV these days is a Godsend for families. Now people have an excuse to actually SPEND TIME together instead of vegging out in front of the idiot box.

Here's hoping both sides hemorrhage enough to come back to reality, and that they figure out that maybe a strike in an industry that, while useful, is not necessary to the sustainence of mankind, just isn't that great of an idea. And hey... maybe the public will get out of this some quality programming in the aftermath. Eh, no, that would be asking too much.

UPDATE: Some of the funnier hyperbole...

"now we must eat the food SOVA gives us in the soup lines in West Los Angeles."

"I’m sure reality writers would love to stop working in literal sweatshops where the greedy producers won’t even pay for air conditioning while their slave labor writers toil all weekend with no overtime."

Hhmph. Somehow, I'm not feeling much sympathy.

2007-12-08T19:08:00.001-06:00

Moving the Goalposts (Heisman Trophy Edition)

I'm watching the Heisman Trophy presentation now, not really caring who wins. But it strikes me that the ESPN talking heads are touting how noble it is that the best player is being selected and not the best player on the best team. Funny how their position in 1997 was totally different... or did they forget about Peyton Manning (being the best player) and Charles Woodson (being the best player on the best team)? And did they forget that they essentially won that award for Woodson based on their promotion ad nauseum of the "anti-candidate"?

If ever I have been convinced of the uselessness of this trophy, it's tonight.

2007-12-05T14:33:00.000-06:00

Blue Christmas:

My son, ever the volatile one, in a fit of anger over being put to bed, decided to destroy his blinds. His Levelor, not-cheap, not-a-good-time-to-be-broken-because-it's-Christmas blinds.

I'm not much for suffering fools, or children with poor impulse control, so I'm glad I was at work during this debacle. My wife and I decided that a call to Santa would be sufficient to convey our disappointment in him. Plus we decided that Santa should deduct a coveted toy from his upcoming bounty, probably the candy apple red remote control Mustang that looks like it kicks... er, you know.

Needless to say, he was very upset. But my wife explained to him that when he disobeys, bad things happen. She told him over and over and over that the blinds are not a toy, and not to play with the blinds, and he didn't obey, and they broke, so Santa had to hear about it.

Apparently, he threatened to get the phone and say, "Hi, Santa. Please bring me my red Mustang and some trucks," and not give my wife the phone to say not to bring them. Silly child. He thinks sequestering the phone will prevent his parents from contacting Santa.

A lesson learned? Maybe not. But definitely a lesson taught. One of these days, this sort of counseling will sink into the boy's head. That day cannot come soon enough.

2007-12-05T13:57:00.000-06:00

A Beef with SQL Server:

So I'm trying to move a backup to an existing SQL Server from another database on the same instance today, and I keep getting an error saying that the files don't match, despite the fact that I've since deleted the original MDF and LDF files. Why this happens, I'm still unclear. I even deleted the original database container from Enterprise Manager.

It turns out that the path to the new MDF and LDF files was wrong. I changed it, recreated the original database, and I still inexplicably got an error saying that there was a user currently using the database that no longer exists. So... I went to Restore Database, and of course, in the dropdown, the database doesn't exist since I deleted it. Turns out that you need to type in the new database (well, not really new, but it is since I have deleted it. Twice.), select Force Restore Over Old Database (despite the fact that there no longer exists an Old Database), and click OK.

Voila. We have database with tables, views, stored procs, etc. intact.

This is all well, and good, but it's so non-intuitive. I think I will go back to T-SQL to do my restores. At least it makes more sense.

2007-12-05T13:51:00.000-06:00

The President's Subprime Mortgage Relief Plan:

The plan has multiple parts, including a proposal to freeze interest rates on certain subprime loans for five years, fast track other borrowers toward refinanced loans and allow state and local governments to use more tax-exempt bond programs to fund refinancings.

Like I said earlier this week, I'd like to know what kind of specifics we're talking about here. Is the government going to subsidize the difference in the frozen and the original interest rate? Who qualifies for a freeze, and on what basis? Is there an income means test? An assets vs. liabilities means test? A debt-to-income ratio means test?

Furthermore, why are state and local authorities bailing out borrowers with bond funding? I have no problem with refinancing schemes, but I have a huge issue with a wholesale bail out, and that's what this sounds like to me.

2007-12-05T09:28:00.000-06:00

John Hood on the latest NIE:

If it is true that the clandestine nuclear-weapons program was suspended in Fall 2003, it is very good news. It means that the policies of America and its allies have been correct and successful. These policies include the accumulation and use of military might on Iran's eastern and western borders, yes, but also multi-lateral diplomacy and policies initiated and supported by Democrats and Europeans. There's credit enough to share, and plenty of room still to make partisan points on the specifics and on other issues, but instead there is this idiotic effort to spin a foreign-policy success as a Bush loss. It makes no sense on the merits. It makes sense only as hyper-partisanship.

I've been thinking this ever since the news came out. Isn't a win for America a win? Or does everything have to be spun as a way to make the president look bad? Furthermore, I fail to see how this makes Bush and Cheney look bad anyway. Wouldn't this mean that the pressure we've put on Iran and our presence in the Gulf region has led to something useful (like the suspension of a nuclear program)? Or is it just too bitter a pill to swallow to admit that maybe something good has happened in the Middle East, because you can't possibly allow something good to happen on President Bush's watch, don'tcha know?

All of this, of course, has an important caveat - IF the NIE is true in the first place. There is plenty of room for skepticism. But my premise above remains. If it is true, then it should be a good thing.

2007-12-03T15:10:00.000-06:00

The Subprime Trap?

Most financial papers I read seem to be preoccupied with what they like to call a subprime mortgage mess. Now, I couldn't agree more that loaning huge amounts of money to less than creditworthy individuals was probably not a good idea. But the more I think about a possible government bailout, the more I question where personal responsibility has gone.

Why should the taxpayer subsidize poor decisions by both lending institutions and by individuals? Answer: they shouldn't. It is not the place of the .gov to intervene in a crisis that really isn't yet a crisis.

What should happen is that lenders should solicit those who have been faithful with their payments for the original terms of the loan, and then offer them a comparable fixed rate, with some sort of incremental increase tied to the prime, along with maybe a nominal processing fee. I'm unclear as to how the lender can be compelled to do so, other than a common sense approach ("Gee, maybe if we renegotiate this borrower's rate, the home won't go into foreclosure, and we won't lose money on this deal.") Heck, maybe an enterprising lender can open a whole new business catering to people who want to transition from an ARM to a fixed rate that is comparable to what they're already paying. It would seem to be good business to loan to those who have already proven their worth, wouldn't it?

Now, if a borrower can't make the $800 payment on a 5.35% 5 year ARM that is about to go up to 7.35%, maybe foreclosure is the best option. But I really think some semblance of reason should prevail for those who are keeping up with their obligations.

Just my $0.02.

MORE: From today's WSJ Afternoon Report - "Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson offered some clues today in a speech to the Office of Thrift Supervision's housing forum. "First, we are increasing efforts to reach able homeowners who are struggling with their mortgages. Second, we are working to increase the availability of affordable mortgage solutions for these borrowers. Third, we are leading the industry to develop a systematic means of efficiently moving able homeowners into sustainable mortgages," Mr. Paulson said, outlining the goals of the plan. He also broke down four categories of subprime borrowers. The first and second groups are, respectively, those who can afford the adjusted rate and those who can't afford their lower starter rates. These borrowers shouldn't expect to be included in the plan, Mr. Paulson said. The third group represents homeowners who might be able to refinance their mortgages, while the fourth are borrowers "with steady incomes and relatively clean payment histories who could afford the lower introductory mortgage rate but cannot afford the higher adjusted rate." The final group is the focus of the government-backed plan.

That all sounds well and good on the surface, but here's the rub. Who determines who falls into what group? What criteria is going to be used? How can someone prove that they belong in the group that is going to be the focus of the government-backed plan? Platitudes are worth nothing. I would like to see the details on this proposal.

2007-12-03T15:04:00.000-06:00

"Blogger Fights for Free Speech in New Jersey"

I will be interested to see how difficult Google makes it for the town of Manalapan. After all, they haven't been too apprehensive about revealing a blogger's identity in the past, even without a court order.

2007-12-03T15:00:00.000-06:00

I just received an email from our church secretary for this week's prayer requests. In it, she mentions a car accident in Mississippi in which the great-grandson of one of our church members died. He was only nine years old.

Not long ago, our church secretary lost her granddaughter.

In the last two years, not many in our congregation have not been touched with the loss of someone close, including me, as anyone who has read this blog knows.

As I read the email this afternoon, I cried. Death has become so normal, so typical, yet the news that a little boy had died... it touched me. I believe I am much more keenly aware of death now. Being responsible for the lives of three little boys, and thinking every day about the loss of my wonderful grandmother has humbled me, and has made me much more sympathetic for losses such as these.

I cannot begin to imagine losing any of my boys. I hope I never have to go through that pain. God be with anyone who has to deal with such tragedy.

2007-11-29T17:36:00.000-06:00

I'm Just Sayin'...

Every sign points to a sure Tennessee loss in this week's SEC Championship Game. Statistics all favor the Bayou Bengals. So does sheer talent. You can argue about the intangibles such as motivation, injuries, etc. But of all the things I've seen this week, here's the one I have found most interesting.

Tennessee is 6-2-1 against the spread in its last 9 games and LSU is 1-7-1 against the spread in its last 9 games.

The spread - LSU by 7 1/2.

Again, I'm just sayin'.

2007-11-24T21:19:00.000-06:00

In case you missed it, the Vols are the SEC Eastern division champion after their spectacular 52-50 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. Lots of coverage here.

And for some sour grapes coverage, see here and here. One particularly amusing article stands out in the Athens rag. The reality-challenged sportswriter penned this hilarious item:

"If Georgia's players saw the Tennessee-Kentucky highlights after the Bulldogs' seventh straight win over Georgia Tech, they had to realize how badly they played against the Volunteers on Oct. 6. Bottom line? If Georgia played Tennessee in a week, the Bulldogs would win by two touchdowns. Tennessee, as the rest of the country saw in Lexington, Ky., is nothing more than an average team."

This ilicited the following response from me:

Do you really believe that? You think that the Dawgs just played poorly, and that the Vols' effort in the 35-14 pasting in Neyland Stadium had nothing to do with the result? That's more than just arrogant. It's stupid.

Look, I've watched every available SEC game this season. The Dawgs had their moments. So did the Vols. Who is the better team? There's only one way to know for sure, and that's to look at what happened on the field.

It bears repeating (since you firmly believe that the Dawgs are far superior to the Vols) - 35 to 14. In case you are numerically challenged, that's thirty-five for the Vols, and fourteen for the Dawgs.

So when you're sitting at home years from now recalling your BCS invitation, remember this - only one thing matters in competitive team sports, and that's championships. And in 2007, the Vols won the SEC East. The Dawgs did not.

Now excuse me while I go to the TiVo and watch the 35-14 Vols win over Georgia. It bears viewing again, for old times' sake.

2007-11-22T14:03:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving:

Today, I am thankful for...

God's mercy
My wife
My boys
God's healing hand which touched my youngest
The 37+ years that I was able to spend with my Granny
My Mom, who took such great care of her even to the end
The skills that God gave me to be able to support my family
My wonderful church family
My native land, the United States of America
Our forefathers, who fashioned the most successful government in world history
Our freedom (or what's left of it anyway)
Our military, without whom our freedom would not be guaranteed

The foodstuffs that my wife miraculously produces
Naps for babies
Naps for adults
Naps in general
Holiday football games
The digital age, which both introduced me to my wife, and allows me to make a living
TiVo
Big screen TVs
Chicken patties, Diet Mountain Dew, and grilled cheese sandwiches
The 2007 Super Bowl (Go Colts!)
Bruce Pearl (Go Vols!)
Everything orange (carotene orange, not the fake "burnt" orange)

2007-11-21T12:47:00.000-06:00

Property Rights? What Property Rights?

So a couple buys a swatch of land in the 80s, maintains it, pays taxes and homeowner's dues on it, then decides to build their dream home on it. Sounds pretty typical, right? Well, this story is far from typical. A local judge and his wife have designs on the land. They even have parties and create their own trails on it. They like it so much, they decide to pull a few strings and have the land given to them. Absurd? Yes. Not possible? Think again.

Using an old common law doctrine called adverse possession, former Boulder, Colorado District Judge Richard McLean and his wife, attorney Edith Stevens claimed the land that rightfully belonged to Don and Susie Kirlin. McLean and wife have been admittedly trespassing on a parcel of land for which the Kirlins had been paying taxes, and McLean has the nerve to claim squatters rights? Finders, keepers? This makes the Kelo case look logical in comparison.

Perhaps the Kirlins should have fenced their property, but did the HOA allow them to do so? The article doesn't say, but if it's like my HOA, the answer is no. This is a story that deserves national attention, and that attention needs to be directed at the McLeans, and the judge that ruled in their favor. With all of the feigned outrage these days, I would think people from all walks of life, from all political ideologies could get justifiably exorcised about this.

UPDATE: See video of a picnic protest at the Kirlin's property here. Note the rendition of "This Land is Your Land". Heh.

2007-11-20T09:53:00.000-06:00

I love college football. It's in my blood. I was born into it, you see. And I do understand the rivalries that exist (Alabama/Auburn, Michigan/Ohio State, Tennessee/Florida, etc.) and how intense they are.

But nothing compares to Kansas/Missouri. Think otherwise? Take a look at their gameday shirts. here, and here. Then read a little about the history of the two states.

All I can say is that, as much as I love the game, I don't take it this seriously, and I hope I never do.

2007-11-20T08:27:00.000-06:00

Sinus Surgery:

Previously, I referred to the hectic three month period that has transpired since I last posted here. One of the reasons cited was because of sinus surgery.

Since I can remember, I have not been able to breathe completely through my nose. I've learned to live with it, but recently, I decided to have an ENT specialist look at it. Not only was I diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, which is now being treated with BIPAP use, but I was told that I was a definite candidate for sinus surgery. It turns out that a portion of my sinus area, called the inner turbinates, was too large and effectively had narrowed my nasal passage quite significantly. This was obvious when the doctor was unable to even insert the scope into my nose. It was also determined that I had a severely deviated septum. Surgery to correct the septum and to reduce the inner turbinates was recommended, and I agreed with the assessment. After all, any possibility that I might be able to breathe normally was worth the trouble.

Last week, I went to an outpatient clinic in the morning and was prepped for the procedure. The most annoying thing about the pre-op process was filling out redundant paperwork, and not being able to drink anything 12 hours prior to surgery. I was parched, and hungry, and not in a good mood due to lack of caffeine/liquid/food. My mood was further worsened when the medical tech spent 10 minutes looking for a vein, and finally settled for my knuckle, this while an unnamed R.N. asked me myriad questions that I had already answered.

(An aside here: why can't someone invent a standard process whereby medical consumers can collect this information, enter it into a system, and hand it off pre-op to those who may require it? It shouldn't be hard to have an encrypted database of medical information on a jump drive, should it? I mean, sheesh... I answered the same questions three times that day.)

Anyway, this attitude quickly subsided when the anesthesiologist brought a concoction that she called the "I-don't-care-juice" and injected it into the IV line. I recall events in this manner:

Ms. Anesthesiologist asked me several questions along the lines of "how are you feeling? do you have kids? are these the droids I'm looking for?"
An unrecognized individual came in and wheeled me away to the elevator.
Fade to Black...

Next thing I know, I awakened in a large holding area for folks with bleeding and lacerated sinuses. My mouth was painfully dry, and my calves were literally in a knot. Dehydration was much more evident than any nasal pain. Shortly, they wheeled me into another room where my wife met me. I was still groggy so I don't recall much conversation. I do recall the joy of drinking a Diet Coke just after she arrived.

Ami drove me home to rest (we stopped at DQ along the way for some much needed steak fingers). Home isn't particularly restful when you have three kids aged 4 and under, but I was glad to be there nonetheless.

As far as my condition after the surgery, I didn't really have much noticeable pain during the post-op period, other than my throat and my teeth. Apparently this is typical when a breathing tube is inserted during surgery. More bothersome to me was the fact that my nose was essentially useless. Inside the nose were inserted two splints made of plastic. They were rectangular with tapered corners, wound into a cylinder so that their tension would keep the nose in place during recovery. The remaining opening was completely insufficient for breathing, but just wide enough to allow bleeding to occur. This meant that I had to wear gauze on my upper lip, which was fine. However, I wish I had thought to shave beforehand. Ami ended up helping me shave my beard and moustache. The bleeding just wasn't cooperating with my facial hair.

Day two of the post-op period was very anxious for me because I just couldn't seem to clear out my nose or my throat, so it felt like I was being suffocated. I had slept very little and at a 45 degree angle no less. At this point, admittedly, I wondered if it was worth the effort. Ami took me to the ENT office to have a nurse suction out my sinuses. This was a tremendous relief. The nurse could detect my anxiety, and I admitted my aversion to being enclosed in any way. Not being able to breathe is definitely a feeling of enclosure.

Once cleaned up, I was able to more easily identify the opening into my sinuses and how best to irrigate and flush out the area. I found that irrigation on an hourly basis was necessary to both remove any blockage and to soothe the sinus area. With the feeling of suffocation no longer a problem, I was more able to notice the irritation around the nose itself, not pain so much as a dull feeling of discomfort. From watching my wife manage pain during three c-sections, I learned to try to get ahead of the pain instead of dealing with it after it arrived, so I took my prescribed Hydrocodone and left it at that.

On day three, the presence of the splints was much more noticeable. I had the inconsolable urge to yank them out and cast them away. This was akin to the madness of Poe's writings, echoing in my head -

"What is that? Oh, you damnable splints! You wreak havoc on my nose! Be gone, evil! The fury that rises within me! I can no longer live like this!"

Etc.

When the morning of day four arrived, I was jubilant inside, but exhausted to the point that I could not demonstrate my happiness. Still, I went to the ENT knowing that soon, my nose would be free. The tech took me back to the exam room and promptly inserted some industrial-strength Afrin into my nasal passages. Several minutes later, she suctioned the area and used a weird-looking tool similar to those in the movie Dead Ringers to extract the splints. With a yank and a twist, they were removed, first one, then the other. What struck me initially was the size of these plastic beasts. How they fit into my nose is beyond me. Then the clots and tissue that emanated forth from my nose caught me by surprise. After a little cleanup though, I was pleasantly surprised by the presence of airflow into my nose, and by the clarity of my sense of smell. Suddenly, I was able to smell things that had long escaped me. To me, this was a pleasant unintended consequence, for the real joy I experienced was in my ability to breathe. Normally. Without my mouth. Astounding.

The doctor examined me before I left, expressed his pleasure in the outcome, and gave me a rinse kit to keep my sinuses flushed out. I went home pleased, all the while paying close attention to the smells around me. Flora. Restaurants emanating the odors of their foodstuffs. Nearby lakes. As I said before, astounding.

As for my present condition, I have found that the presence of tissue and congestion is still cause for breathing difficulty, especially at night. I still snore without my breathing machine. I still have swelling in the sinuses. And I still have enough pain to require me to take an occasional Hydrocodone. My nose is very sensitive to the touch, and to the air around it. Nose-blowing is required with more frequency. But this is part of my recovery, I am told.

It is encouraging that for the first time in my life, I can actually blow my nose. Smells are magnified. I can breathe with my mouth closed (when the sinuses aren't swollen, anyway). I realize many people take these things for granted. I certainly don't. I actually find myself stopping to "smell the roses".

I'm hopeful that I can eventually lose the BIPAP entirely, and that I can eliminate any reliance on pharmaceuticals to relieve sinus issues. This might be too optimistic, but then again, it's easy to be optimistic when you can now experience things for the first time that you never have before.

2007-11-20T08:12:00.000-06:00

A note to developers and vendors working in our corporate environment:

No, we absolutely cannot host IIS on a shop floor DESKTOP device. There is a reason this device is placed in the shop environment, and servers are placed in the server room. If your software cannot accommodate connectivity to a physically separate internet server, and a logically separate SQL server, then quite frankly, the architecture of your software is poorly conceived. Please understand that these are corporate guidelines as well as personal ones. If you cannot abide by them, we cannot deploy your product.
When we say that we cannot use your process ID on the server to write events to the event log, we mean it. We're not just "teasing you". Additionally, we are perplexed that you choose to write to the event logs when only the process ID and the admin user has access to them in the first place (e.g., no one will ever look at the logs). When we suggest writing any logs to a text file, scoffing is not acceptable. We take our jobs seriously. You should too.
We cannot give you our wireless encryption key without first waterboarding you.
No, we cannot connect your Windows Smartphone to our Blackberry Enterprise Server. We will someday be using Windows devices on Exchange, but since BES is what we are stuck with, you will need to obtain a Blackberry-compatible device. One of the values of MIS in the corporation is its capacity to advise the end user. In this case, asking us a few questions would have alleviated any embarrassment you might experience when you return to your wireless provider and explain that you really intended to buy a Blackberry. Oops.
There is no acceptable reason for requesting an FTP server to be installed in the corporate data center, and then expecting it to be outward facing, with RWCD privileges. Even in the most basic, least secure environments, this is unacceptable. Please use better judgment in the future when planning enterprise-level data connectivity. And try to go away from the flat files if you can. RDBMS have been around for years now. Make use of them.

Thank you, and good day.

2007-11-20T08:11:00.001-06:00

The Apocalypse Is Upon Us:

The Times has something... er, positive to say about the situation in Iraq.

2007-11-20T08:01:00.000-06:00

Whither Thou?

Wow, has it been ~~three~~ 2 1/2 months since I last touched the blog? How easy it is to be distracted by... well, real life. Besides the 60 or so projects I am managing at work, and adjusting to the presence of a third baby boy, I've managed to take on other things in my "free time", such as:

Implementing Active Directory and Group Policy for my church's private school
Porting 100 GB or more of personal data from 5 PCs to a new NAS device
Upgrading my wi-fi setup from B to G, and hacking the WAP to enable more functionality
Porting my blog to a new server, and to new blogging software
Hosting my oldest son's 4th birthday party
Welcoming "Grandma" to Texas to see her grandsons
Having sinus surgery that has been needed for 20 years or so

Somehow, I just wasn't able to fit blogging into my daily routine. Hopefully, I will be able to do so going forward.