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GRAFFITI -- August 14, 2006 thru August 20, 2006>> Link to the Current Week <<Last Week << Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun >> Next Week 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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August 14, 2006
1051 - Good morning. A lazy day yesterday before the end-of-summer social season gets into full swing. We're having house guests, house sitters while we travel for a few days, more house guests, more travel. And that's just between now and the end of September. I can't wait for Winter!
A lot of people still don't know that Byte is no longer carrying The User's Column by Jerry Pournelle. After Byte/CMP declined to pick up his contract, Jerry has started posting his columns on his new site, built for the purpose: Chaos Manor Reviews. So I you're looking for Jerry's Byte columns, well, he's still writing them, just not for Byte anymore. Yeah, I think CMP made a mistake on that one, too. But then, I'm biased. As "Managing Editor" of Chaos Manor Reviews (Jerry's phrase, not my presumption), I'm pleased to point you in that direction if you landed here while searching for his columns. And there's a new column and a new mailbag up, fresh this morning. I hope this helps.
Meanwhile, the RIAA continues their customer alienation campaign, this time by choosing to continue one of their frivolous (my opinion) lawsuits against a guy who died in June! Really, here's the link! They're willing, nay eager, to request a 60 day stay to allow the family to 'grieve' (their quote marks, not mine!), before beginning to take the depositions of the children. As one of the Slashdot commentators said, echoing Army AG Welch chastising Senator Joe McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" I would expect that there is no happy answer to that question, as regards the RIAA.
Backups are rolling, calls are coming in. Time to reapply myself to the grindstone. Ciao!
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August 15, 2006
0625 - Good evening. HAHAHAHAHA. Abundance of sensitivity. HAHAHAHAHA! <thunk> So endeth another killer joke. See ya tomorrow.
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August 16, 2006
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| The tomato harvest for the Ides of August. For scale, there's a cup measure on the counter. |
0833 - Good morning. Yesterday I got back out in the yard for a bit and harvested up a bunch of tomatoes: mostly Sweet 100's cherry tomatoes and some Juliet hybrids. I'll also observe that I'm still getting new sets on almost all of the plants. The cucumbers did well this year, as did the peppers. The carrots are coming along nicely, the corn and squash mostly sucked. But the tomatoes, all of them, are the stars of the growing season.
The Santa Fe came back into service yesterday at noon. I'd put it in Monday morning for brakes, possibly tires, and some errant indicators in the dash cluster. They did the front brakes, flushed the brake system, rotated the tires, and couldn't replicate the dash indicator errors. Oh, and they didn't want to sell me tires. I'm surprised and not a little impressed by that. I suggested that it *might* be a good idea to get new tires to the Service Manager, and expected him to come back with a quote. On that, when he called back mid-morning on Monday, he said that I really didn't need new tires this year. If I insisted, he'd be happy to sell me some, but ... Anyway, wow!
The dash gauge and indicator problems aren't, apparently, indicative of deeper problems. And they're intermittent. So they're not deeply concerned. Thus, neither am I. The final bit of work was a recall upgrade of the software in the engine computer. I can't find record of that online, though. Hmmm. Still, I'm pleased with the service I received at Fitzgerald Lake Forest Hyundai, and can recommend them.
Time to get back to work. Have a great day!
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August 17, 2006
0927 - Good morning. Yesterday in the afternoon, my allergies got the better of me. My right ear clogged up, pain and ringing. I finished up the necessary tasks and bailed out shortly after 1500. Once home, I had a bit of food, some decongestants and ibuprofen. I repeated at bedtime, and things seem to have improved.
I note (from the /. story) that Indiana is doing good things with Linux in education. That's a smart move, on a lot of levels. But my favorite quote from the article is "In surveying one classroom last year, he asked a student what he thought of using a Linux desktop vs. a Windows desktop, and the student responded, 'Who cares?'"
Now, I have a lot of work to do, and I am greatly vexed by salesmen. So I'll stop typing here before I say something rude. Have a great day!
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August 18, 2006
0623 - Good morning. I'll thank you for a moment of peace and quiet while I say goodbye to Colonel Mike Buckley, my great uncle on my mom's side. He was a class act, a West Pointer who served as an observer with British forces in Libya before America's entry into World War II. He was captured by Rommel's forces, the first American POW in that conflict, and spent several months in an Italian camp before being repatriated in a prisoner exchange. He was married to Eleanor in 1926, she passed away in 1999. His 104th birthday was this last May. That's a good long run. He passed away yesterday morning in the wee hours.
Now, off to see the dental hygenist. Happy Friday!
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August 19, 2006
0756 - Ooooh. Errr, were you looking for me? Sorry about that. We've got Jen in town visiting. And I've spent all the other spare moments working on refurbishing a site that we host, sort of for my sister-in-law. Material is starting to flow in from Pournelle, so the future is murky. But there are a couple of interesting tidbits you may have missed: there's the Upside-Down-Ternet. I saw that a couple of weeks ago, chuckled, and moved on. I meant to say something here, but forgot until Don Armstrong jumped in with an email and reminded me. Thanks, Don! In another exchange, Roland pointed out that Google Analytics is now Free (as in beer). Either that will hold you, or it won't. Have a lovely evening.
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August 20, 2006
1514 - Good afternoon. Jen is on her way to the airport, the shopping is done, and so is my prep work for the Column and Mailbag for Jerry. Then in my mailbox, I just got the obituary for Great Uncle Mike ...
Col. Michael Buckley Jr.
ObituaryCol. Michael Buckley Jr., a Coalinga Pioneer, died on August 17, 2006 at the Mercy Care Center in Oakland, at the age of 104. At the time of death he was the oldest living graduate of West Point. He was also the first American prisoner of war in World War II.
He was born in Bisbee, Arizona Territory, on May 17, 1902, the son of Michael and Barbara Lally Buckley. In 1906 the family moved to Coalinga where his father owned the Reliable Boiler Works and the St. John (later the Barbara) Hotel. He graduated from Coalinga Union High School in 1919 and entered the United States Military Academy where he lettered in baseball, boxing, and soccer. Upon graduation in 1923 he was commissioned in the Field Artillery of the United States Army.
In the fall of 1941 the then Major Buckley was sent to Egypt as an observer with the British forces fighting the combined German and Italian army under General Erwin Rommel. He was with the 5th South African Brigade when Rommel's panzer forces overran their position on Nov.23. Buckley was captured along with the entire Brigade staff. As an unarmed noncombatant, he should have been released. But after Pearl Harbor, he was interned in Italy until freed by a prisoner exchange in May 1942. During the war he served on the planning staff of General Lesley McNair in Washington, D.C., and later in the occupation of Japan.
Following his army retirement in 1954 he taught mathematics at Santa Clara University until 1968. He and his wife, the former Eleanor Fletcher, were married for seventy-three years until her death in 1999. They frequently visited Coalinga where his sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Edward O'Neill, the owner of Premier Creamery, lived until their deaths. He was also predeceased by four of their six children: Barbara Brown, Patricia Pope, Fletcher, and George Edward. His survivors include two sons, Fr. Michael Buckley, S.J. of Santa Clara University, and Fr. Thomas Buckley, S.J. of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, a sister, Sr. Marie Barbara, S.N.D. of Belmont, a son-in-law John N. Pope of San Jose, a daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Buckley of New Jersey, twelve grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be said at Santa Clara Mission Church at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 25, followed by burial at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery.
Colonel Buckley wasn't our only loss this week. The war continues in Afghanistan and Iraq...
My condolences and thoughts are with the families of the fallen, and with their units. My hat's off to all of our service men and women!
Now to get the front yard watered. The promised rain isn't materializing. Ciao!
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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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