Category: Uncategorized

Where’s The Technology, Filbert?

I haven’t posted any stories in the Technology section yet (until this one). While this might be due to my slow recovery from a career as a network engineer and network security guy, it’s probably due more to the fact that it’s been a whirlwind of activity since I left corporate America at the end of March.

There are a couple of new computers (one desktop, one notebook) sitting in their boxes at the top of the stairs, waiting for me to do some pre-configuring before taking them over to my in-law’s to 1) replace the father-in-law’s sluggish, elderly Gateway, and 2) get my mother-in-law into the wireless/laptop generation. That should be entertaining, and I’ll be posting that saga here.

Also on the Ideas list for articles is a review of my 2005 Acura RL[*1] . In short, a very nice car.

Elsewhere, I got my own notebook back from the fine folks at LinuxCertified[*2] . My motherboard fried itself earlier this year. I took it to the local MicroCenter[*3] , who tried their best, identified the motherboard itself as the toasted component, but couldn’t locate a replacement. Fortunately, LinuxCertified (who I originally bought the laptop from) came through. Happy customer here.

Other topics which may find their way here may include:
Network management,
Network security,
Satellite TV,
Mobile computing,
Home automation,
and anything else which catches my fancy.

Morning Whip 4/17/05

Snookums and I took a day off yesterday, going to a baseball game and fininshing off with our 6 month anniversary dinner at The Melting Pot[*1] .

Playing SimCity for real: Fire department response in most of metro Kansas City[*2] is longer than the national target of six minute response 90% of the time.

The Chinese really don’t like the Japanese very much[*3] .

Biosafe cat litter?[*4] Isn’t that a contradiction?

Drunk Monkeys Brawl with Humans[*5] .
BHUBANESWAR: A group of monkeys descended on an Orissa village, quaffed down pots of an intoxicating brew lying in the open and then set upon the villagers, injuring three of them.

Couple gets cruise line apology for bed bug infestation[*6] .

Cola Wars

We picked up a 12-pack of the new Pepsi One last week in South Dakota, and as much as I’m a Coke guy, I have to say the Splenda and acesulfame-potassium-sweetened Pepsi product is pretty good. It had the usual yucky Pepsi Cola aftertaste, with very little artificial sweetener taste. Overall, it was very much like “real” Pepsi, in fact.

Now, I can’t wait for Coca-Cola Zero[*1] to come out in June. It’s supposed to taste a lot like Coke Classic. They’re also planning to roll out a Splenda-sweetened Diet Coke, but retaining DC’s unique taste which has legions of fans (including my very own Snookums).

It looks like it will be a tasty summer 2005 for cola lovers.

Morning Whip, 4/15/05

RV Capital of the U.S.?[*1]
Yesterday’s Whip stated that two of the top five fastest growing counties in the US were in suburban Sioux Falls, SD. Not quite true. Hanson County is one county over from the Sioux Falls MSA which now includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, Turner, and McCook counties. The reason for the big percentage growth in Hanson County’s population is that nomadic RV owners have to list somewhere as their residence, and use a Hanson County company to do that.

Tech News: IBM revenue and profits rise, but the company misses its targets[*2] .

Cisco buys Topspin[*3] , a “grid computing” company which makes products to cluster servers.

Is it possible to drink too much water? Well, yeah[*4] . Keep those electrolytes up, y’all.

Morning Whip, 4/14/05

“You’re not going to file this, are you?” Listed under Things you don’t want to hear from an accountant. Snookums and I got our draft tax return back from a Major Tax Return Preparation Service, and shipped it over to Snookums’ sister, who works in the tax division of a Major Accounting Firm. Snookums’ sister, um, recommended we file an extension. Enough said.

Hyping the number of people with diseases[*1] . Objective scientists would never do this. Would they?

UN Oil-For-Food scandal indictments[*2] . A Texas oilman, David Chalmers, a British citizen, John Irving, and a Bulgarian associate Ludmil Dionissiev are named in the just-opened indictment in New York. The first of many, we hope.

Florida is still growin’ like a weed with 14 of the fastest-growing 100 counties[*3] in the U.S. Suburban Sioux Falls, S.D. has two counties in the top five – – but when one of them only has 3,700 residents, one big Catholic family moving in will skew the stats a bit.

The RIAA is going after the research/academic Internet 2 network users[*4] .

“It Is What It Is”

I’m not precisely sure which category this belongs in. But have you noticed how often people are using the phrase “It is what it is?” More and more, I’m hearing this phrase, which is becoming the 21st Century version of “S hit happens”. (Weird formatting due to my site’s content filter.)

A Google search on “It Is What It Is”[*1] finds a number of interesting sites:
Zeke[*2] runs a blog so titled.
So does Alaskagirl[*3] (sadly somewhat stale).
A set of John Barlow (Grateful Dead) lyrics[*4] has that title.
It’s rapper Jay-Z’s[*5] favorite saying.
A movie[*6] . Anybody seen it? Know what it’s about?
A song by Usher.

More research is obviously required into the origins of “it is what it is” as a cultural meme. Anybody got some grant money laying around? I’m up for it.

Morning Whip, 4/13/05

Whippin’ on the road again today . . .

Britany is preggers[*1] .

This Can’t Be Good:[*2] 1957 pandemic influenza virus sent to thousands of labs by mistake. Oops.

John Bolton, nominee for U.S. ambassador to the U.N., is a meanie[*3] .

This month’s serious Microsoft security flaws[*4] . Patch yer systems[*5] , for cryin’ out loud (Windowsupdate requires Internet Explorer, sadly).

Everybody’s apparently talking about I-Pod One[*6] , the President’s exercise music selections.

Morning Whip, 4/12/05

Third-largest opening day crowd in Kauffman Stadium history sees the Kansas City Royals blown away[*1] by the Seattle Mariners. Sigh. Joe Pozanski sees a silver lining[*2] , though.

Low-fat diets may be depriving kids of necessary vitamins[*3] .

Purdue extends its Rube Goldberg Contest dynasty with its third straight championship[*4] .

There’s a huge scandal brewing up north in Canada. Here’s what it’s aboot . . .[*5]

U.S. to start requiring American Citizens returning from Mexico and Canada to have valid passports[*6] .

Don’t want genetically altered rice in your beer? That’s OK, Anheuser-Busch is on your side[*7] . Don’t want rice in your beer? Well . . .

Related: The St. Louis beer giant has increased its stake[*8] in China’s Tsingtao brewery. Makes sense to me.

Regular readers may know that we keep half an eye on Wal-Mart, which rarely gets positive press. This Townhall editorial[*9] is an exception.

Finally in The Whip today: The Incredible Popeman[*10] ?