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GRAFFITI -- December 05, 2005 thru December 11, 2005 >> Link to the Current Week << Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week Search this site : Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable.     About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.

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December 5, 2005

0750 - Good morning. At work and charging ahead. I'll be keeping one eye on the weather, as the first snow of the season is likely to start dropping by midday, with 1-3 inches of accumulation by dark, and double that by tomorrow morning. I've got a new employee to setup, a server to remodel, and bunches of other things to do, so I'd best be about it. Later...

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December 6, 2005

1920 - Good evening. Hmmm. The icy hour and a half the drive in this morning ate the time I had set aside for an early post. Of course, there might have been actual thoughts that were worth posting at that time, but now there's precious little. I've got projects out the waazoo, and no time in which to do them, so I'd better at least try. There are two sites: ETS and Moses, that I keep close watch over. Both have pending updates ... pending my spending time on them. So I guess I will. Later!

Heh. Here's a good .signature that I came across in a list email yesterday: "I can be Googled. Therefore I am."

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December 7, 2005

Pearl Harbor Day.

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December 8, 2005

0823 - Good morning. A person claiming to have a bomb behaves badly, disobeys Federal Air Marshal orders, and takes actions that, were he to really have had a bomb, would have been probably lethal to a fair number of folks. So they shot him. Yay, Federal Air Marshals. Today, on the front page of the Washington Post site, this: "Air Marshal's Reaction Debated: Some laud ramped-up airline security efforts, but potential injury to bystanders draws concern." Um, shut up? Calling a headline like that stupid is an insult to stupid people (thanks to the Fish Called Wanda script-writers for that). But nobody else other than the threatening person WAS hurt, the threat was abated. What more can you ask? So, yeah, shut up with the stupid headlines, and stop giving play to the stupid people ... it turns out I was wrong - there ARE stupid questions. I'd no idea how many until I moved to DC and see the machinations and idiocy going on, on a daily basis.

Today I finish the prep work for tomorrow's new phone system installation. Yeah, we're expecting a few inches of snow overnight, but I'll be here in the morning, just the same. I'll just drive the truck instead of the car. Heh, this morning is was 19° out. Warm by Chicago standards, but bloody cold, all the same. Now it's time to get back to work. Ciao!

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December 9, 2005

0741 - Good morning. Well, except for some nutjobs in Expeditions and Suburbans who apparently are immortal, everyone was driving pretty sanely in slushy/freezing rain over the top of snow conditions this morning. It took me about 50 minutes to make it into the office, which means that the light volume made the average trip time a little better than a normal morning commute. Why did I bother, when governments are closed or opening late, and most schools are closed? Because it's phone-system installation day! Now I've got to get prepping for the final bits... Happy Friday!

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December 10, 2005

1235 - Good afternoon. So far I've setup a local backup storage option for Marcia's laptop, and picked up some painting gear that'll be useful for us, and when we help out Linda Rose painting her new home later this upcoming week.

I received a disturbing email this morning. The correspondent, whom I shall not name, although she sent her missive via a corporate email identity, was clearly very angry, moderately illiterate, rude and personally insulting, regarding what I wrote in the context of discussing the death of Marine Lance Corporal Ryan Nass, back on September 11th. Therein I made mention of Lance Corporal Nass' death by a "non-hostile gunshot wound" and wondered what that meant. I perceive my writing to be a criticism of the DoD reporting, not of Lance Corporal Nass, whom I listed among the fallen that Sunday, as I try to do every week to honor our troops.. And while my commentary about "seatbelts" was already publicly aired, yeah, I understand that issue too. Mobility and the abilty to react quickly are incredibly important. It's too bad that so many of our soldiers die because their vehicle rolls. Is there more training or equipment changes that could help lessen these losses? Anyway, should any of you care to know more, this story in the Honolulu Star Bulletin asks some of the same questions I did. I wonder if Ms. Unpleasant (that's as polite as I can get, given the vitriolic nature of her diatribe), sent them a nasty-gram, too. Ma'am, I can only wonder how Lance Corporal Nass would feel about your sending rude and insulting email to someone. When you criss-cross the net looking for other people upon whom you can spew your hatred, stop and ask yourself, would Lance Corporal Ryan Nass want his memory publicly sullied by your inability to control your temper?

If you want to be angry, be angry at our President, for this statement (if nothing else):

"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!" - Doug Thompson in Capitol Hill Blue

It seems to me that Bush has repudiated his oath of office. Impeach the bastard and throw him out on his ass.

Now, I have work to do. Happy Saturday!

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December 11, 2005

1221 - Good afternoon. The more I thought about it, the madder I got. Doug Thompson's column in Capitol Hill Blue, entitled Bush on the Constitution: 'It's just a goddamned piece of paper', has me seeing red!

I read and heard that Bush's approval rating is up a bit, to 42%. I wonder if he were to stand up on National Television and repeat his statement for the world, how long he'd last in office. As it is, I'm writing to my congresscritters to ask that they confirm or deny this, and if confirmed, take the appropriate action and begin Impeachment proceedings against our highest elected official, the President, who takes the following oath upon entering office:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

In his continuing support for the Patriot Act, its enhancement and expansion, he is not preserving, protecting, nor defending the Constitution of the United States. When this is considered in the light of his flagrant disrespect for the constitution itself, George Bush is unfit for the office and should be removed. If you agree, get the ball rolling in your Congressional district, and with your Senators. We can't afford three more years of this oath-breaker.

While our Oath-breaker-in-Chief gets ready to take another vacation, we've got our troops in action across the world, most in Afghanistan and Iraq, fighting and achieving the goals set for them. In the process, we're losing some of those soldiers, sailors, marines, fliers, and guardsmen in action. This week was little different, as we lead up to the first national elections after Iraq affirmed their new Constitution. DoD reported the following men and women who died for their country this week:

• Sgt. Grzegorz Jakoniuk, 25, of Schiller Park, Ill., died in Taji, Iraq, on Nov. 30, from non-combat related injuries.
• Cpl. William G. Taylor, 26, of Macon, Ga., died Nov. 30 from small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq.
• Sgt. 1st Class Richard L. Schild, 40, of Tabor, S.D. died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 4, when improvised explosive devices detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations.
• Staff Sgt. Daniel M. Cuka, 27, of Yankton, S.D. died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 4, when improvised explosive devices detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations.
• Staff Sgt. Philip L. Travis, 41, of Snellville, Ga. died at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, on Dec. 2, of injuries sustained earlier that day when his truck accidentally rolled over.
• Sgt. Philip A. Dodson, Jr., 42, of Forsyth, Ga. died at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, on Dec. 2, of injuries sustained earlier that day when his truck accidentally rolled over.
• Spc. Marcus S. Futrell, 20, of Macon, Ga. died at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, on Dec. 2, of injuries sustained earlier that day when his truck accidentally rolled over.
• Cpl. Jimmy L. Shelton, 21, of Lehigh Acres, Fla., died in Bayji, Iraq on Dec. 3, when his forward operating base was attacked by enemy forces using mortars.
• Spc. Brian A. Wright, 19, of Keensburg, Ill., died in Ramadi, Iraq on Dec. 6, when his HMMWV struck a mine during combat operations.
• Pfc. Thomas C. Siekert, 20, of Lovelock, Nev., died in Bayji, Iraq on Dec. 6, from non-combat related injuries.
• Cpl. Joseph P. Bier, 22, of Centralia, Wash., died Dec. 7 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Ar Ramadi, Iraq.
• Sgt. Michael C. Taylor, 23, of Hockley, Texas, died in Balad, Iraq, on Dec. 7, when an improvised expolsive device detonated near his Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck while his unit was conducting combat operations.
• 1st Lt. Kevin J. Smith, 28, of Brandon, Fla., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 8, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV.

Anyhow, the shopping's done, Marcia's running other errands, and I suppose we ought to get our holiday cards addressed and mailed. Meanwhile, I had my worst night's sleep in years. Hmmm. Oh, well. Happy Sunday!

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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

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