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GRAFFITI -- May 22, 2006 thru May 28, 2006 >> 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.

MONDAY    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
May 22, 2006

0802 - Good morning. I started off Sunday broken. Did I take the day off? One guess...

Right. We rearranged the living room. The large three-piece entertainment center (6' 8" tall by 7' wide, all side by side), which dominated the room, is now in the dining room. We'll repurpose that as a china and display cabinet one day. The new TV stand (aka "entertainment" center) is in place, loaded with gear and LPs. Time for another relaxing week at work.

But the game isn't over yet. I'm likely to take the week following Memorial Day off altogether. Marcia wants the room repainted in a brighter color. I can't say I blame her. While the room is fine when it's bright in there, it lacks a window in the end wall (that's right over the chiller units for the cooling systems). So most of the time, it's a cave. We're looking for something between beige and goldenrod, I think.

There was precious little time for anything tech-ish this weekend. Here at the office I'm working on a setup to do version-controlled configuration management, using Subversion, Rsync, OpenSSH, Make, and Keychain. That should be enough hint for now.

Happy Monday, time for me to go slay another dragon.

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Mon    TUESDAY    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
May 23, 2006

0854 - Good morning. Working from home today, as I've got a package delivery to sign for, and if I'm not here, they'll come when Marcia's out, like they did yesterday. I'm back on the remote configuration management trail, but working remote from HQ today. First task, understand more about make.

Our condolences to Rick Hellewell and his family, on the loss of his son.

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Mon    Tues    WEDNESDAY    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
May 24, 2006

0843 - Good morning. The awaited package arrived late yesterday afternoon, and we like our new, inexpensive television. Much cheaper to buy this stuff online than in a store (cheaper even than buying it at our discount warehouse place). It's not top of the line, just middle of the road: it doesn't do HDMI, nor is it progressive scan, nor huge. But it has all the inputs I *do* want, and a few more besides. I've got the Mac Mini hooked up to it, so we now have access to the home library of music easily in the living room, and nice slide shows of our digital pictures. We'll enjoy that.

It's a mad, mad world. Congress considers pets' place in disaster plans, with a bill tying pet evacuation contingency planning to Federal funding. Is it time to climb the clocktower yet? "The Humane Society of the United States cited a recent Zogby International poll that found that 49 percent of adults say they would refuse to evacuate if they couldn't take their pets with them." Sounds like a perfect opportunity for Darwin's work to be continued. I mean, sure, the dogs are sweet and all, and if they *can* come with us, they will. But come crunch time, it's Marcia and me, first. Friends and neighbors are next. Then the mutts.

But we can leave the politicians behind. Speaker of the House Hastert implies that Congressional offices are off-limits to FBI searches. Therefore Hastert implies that CongressCritters are above or at least outside the Law. My rejoinder? Hell, No! I've got an idea. Vote every incumbent out of office. All of them. Then watch the new ones like hawks, and if they don't represent your views, vote them out, too. Vote for a candidate that stands for No Corporate Influence in politics. Vote for a Libertarian, or an Independent. In general I can't recommend voting for Greens, as their agenda is a little too "black and white, love the Earth but hate the people" for me.

Time to get back to work. Have a great day!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    THURSDAY    Fri    Sat    Sun   
May 25, 2006

0758 - Good morning. Big splash on CNN: "Congress passes funeral protest ban". Those fundie fuckwads who show up at military funerals are like unto Henry II's troublesome priest, someone is likely to take matters into their own hands one day. A law, because it is going to be held up in courts on Religion v. State and Freedom of Speech issues, is going to be useless. Our CongressCritters are irretrievably irrelevant, sigh. To be honest, I'm a little surprised that some of the protesters haven't been put down already.

A busy day today, with plenty to prep before I take the next 5 working days off. I'd best get to it.

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    FRIDAY    Sat    Sun   
May 26, 2006

0820 - Good morning. Day 1 of "vacation". Last night I worked for about 4 hours down in the basement. I was sanding out the walls in the in-law suite after patching in places where I'd demounted shelves, and where the old paper tape had lifted a bit. Eventually I'll prime and paint down there. But it's good to finish a part of the project there, at least. Today I've got some shopping to do for a variety of things, at Lowes and Best Buy. Additionally, I'm going to do our weekly shopping early, because Sunday at the stores is likely to be a nightmare as people buy last minute stuff for Memorial Day.

The other goal for my first day of "vacation" is to get the lawns mowed. We're due for rain this afternoon and evening, I'd like to get the grass cut before it takes in the moisture and grows another inch or two overnight. Then Marcia and I can look at the color samples I bring back from Lowes, and decide what color paint to use in the living room.

My friend Harlan, writing about the Funeral Protest ban, brought up the folks who also attend those funerals, to shield the families and mourners from the crap-for-brains fundamentalists. That's the Patriot Guard Riders (website). A friend of ours is a member of that group; they are to be commended for doing what's right.

On with my day. Happy Friday!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    SATURDAY    Sun   
May 27, 2006

0854 - Good morning. By the time I'd made it back from the shopping, it had rained once already. Grrr. I had to double mow to get the grass down to the height I wanted. Now I'm broken. But not dead, oh, no. See the Amazing Death Calculator for more details. I don't see any records of a Dr. Hugo Pinero involved in that work, so it's likely just a hoax.

This is starting off as a day full of peace and quiet. How long do you think that'll last? Me, too, more's the pity. Have a great day!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    SUNDAY  
May 28, 2006

1044 - Good morning. Actually we stayed at equilibrium yesterday. There were clouds and a few light unforecast sprinkles in the morning, that all cleared by noon. We did little else. Oh, I did go fill the propane canisters and we had our first barbeque of the season - turkey burgers. I wrapped mine in bacon, then grilled it. Deeeee-licious!

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. But today is when I take the time to observe a moment of silence for respect and condolences, for our troops lost in battle. I am grateful for and proud of our young warriors. Here are this week's announced casualties:

• Petty Officer Third Class Lee Hamilton Deal, 23, of West Monroe, La., died May 17, as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Staff Sgt. Christian Longsworth, 26, of Newark, N.J., died in Oruzgan province, Afghanistan, on May 19, from wounds sustained when his convoy came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations.
• Sgt. David R. Christoff, 25, of Rossford, Ohio, died May 22, from wounds received while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. William J. Leusink, 21, of Maurice, Iowa, died May 22, from wounds received while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. Benito A. Ramirez, 21, of Edinburg, Texas, died May 21, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Spc. Michael L. Hermanson, 21, of Fargo, N.D., died on May 24, in AL Abayachi, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his RG-31 Mine Protected Vehicle came under improvised explosive device, rocket propel grenade and enemy small arms fire while on a route-clearing mission during combat operations.
• Pfc. Steven W. Freund, 20, of Pittsburgh, Pa., died May 23, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. Robert G. Posivio III, 22, of Sherburn, Minn., died May 23, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Pfc. Caleb A. Lufkin, 24, of Knoxville, Ill., died on May 25, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., of injuries sustained on May 4, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his RG-31 Mine Protected Vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. Kevin A. Lucas, 20, of Greensboro, N.C., died May 26, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Capt. Douglas A. Dicenzo, 30, of Plymouth, N.H., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 25, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations.
• Spc. Robert E. Blair, 22, of Ocala, Fla., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 25, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations.

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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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