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GRAFFITI -- December 25, 2006 thru December 31, 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.

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December 25, 2006

1606 - Good afternoon. Happy Christmas!

So starts the last week of the year. I should find some useful and pithy words to convey my thoughts as we turn our eyes towards the sun, and the days getting longer again. Another year past, and not much wiser, I fear. Here in the US we voted, and got us a new group of bastards to replace some of the old bastards. They'll tax and spend with the best of them, I'm sure. And as before, Congress will support our foreign expeditions with all the heart their pollsters can muster. Or they'll cut and run with the job seven-eighths done. But be sure we'll have spent all the blood and gold first.

Unless we're bloody careful and lucky to boot, our new masters at the DHS will use this new year to strengthen their control over the populace. Just us, I'm afraid. We won't really be any safer, but we'll have less privacy and fewer rights. And more citizens will be wrongly prosecuted, or rightly prosecuted under the auspices of very, very wrong laws lawfully legislated and signed to consolidate power and might.

We can't fight our enemies without admitting we're fighting a religion. And "we" can't do that until it's illegal to be an idiot bleeding heart liberal who thinks that America is at fault when her enemies attack her, until it's illegal to stand in the way of effectively taking the war to the enemy, instead of afflicting our populace with stupid laws and insane bureaucrats who do the enemies work of breaking our spirit and our dreams. The problem with that path is that lots of other rights and privileges here in the land of the free and the home of the brave are going to fall by the wayside, first. The world isn't going to be a nice place to live. And that's got nothing to do with global warming.

The only good news is that somewhere out in the Oort Cloud there's another Dinosaur Killer with our name on it. One biosphere will be extinguished, another will emerge. Time, Life, the Universe - they all march on. We're not even bit players in the big picture.

So Happy Christmas! Enjoy what time you have with those you love, as I do. For the future will happen, with or without us.

Happy Christmas.

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December 26, 2006

0908 - Good morning. Mmmmm. I slept much better with all that bitterness and bile out of my system. Now it's someone else's turn ... Like a UK resident, for example. I've got other fish to fry, what with this office being on skeleton crew status this week, and me being nearly the only skeleton. Ciao for now.

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December 27, 2006

0635 - Good morning. Apparently bitterness and bile bother more than a few people. Sigh. How about naked greed instead, then?

Marcia got me a RoboRaptor, one of those WowWee things related to the RoboSapiens bot. Okay, not a bot, but a fun little widget for screwing with the Spaniel mind. Lucy alternates between hiding behind us and attacking it. Molly can't even be bothered to notice it. On the scale of things that affect Molly, from extreme threat on one end to offers cookies at the other end ... the RoboRaptor has no place at all, therefore merits no consideration. I just don't understand how the big stupid dog gets it right.

Also appearing under the tree-shaped thing with my name on were items resembling the following: A 3" tall glass penguin paperweight. 1200 pages of "The Art of Software Security Assessment: Identifying and Preventing Software Vulnerabilities" Linda brought me a Far Side desk calendar. There was some chocolate stuff. And a bunch of nice cards from friends and family. While we were out shopping early Sunday morning, Marcia and I got each other a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. Isn't that romantic! Marcia also got lots of fabric (to make us stuff), and a fair hunk of Longeberger stuff. She also got socks. Faux fur topped socks, to be precise, from my mom. Marcia thinks those are the best ever. Ever!

I've got a Thinkpad T42p that I'm lugging around now. Guess which mandated OS it has to run? Go on, guess. But that's okay, because I don't have to support it. I just have to use it. And it doesn't have to be my only computational tool. Just my primary corporate resource. So I'm locking it down as hard as I can.

Time for me to get to work. I'm doing my best to enjoy a week of lighter-than-usual commutes, but best not to comment too much on that ... still it only takes one bad accident 30 minutes before I leave to destroy a smooth drive in or home. Happy Wednesday!

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December 28, 2006

0837 - Good morning. I forgot something... We also received this as a gift: Radio Comedy Classics (Audio CD). That sure looks like a lot of fun! And Sven? No, not OS/2. Nice guess, though. Now, back to work. Have a great day!

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December 29, 2006

1015 - Good morning... possibly. After all, it is Friday. But when I went into the garage this morning and pressed the button to open the door and set the cars free, there was a blue flash. That was followed by grinding noise, but no actual motion from the garage door. Sigh. A little later today I'll toddle across the street to Home Depot and pick up a new garage door opener. Lucky me. Later!

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December 30, 2006

1718 - Good afternoon. Thursday night, only one disc in the mail from Netflix - the second replacement of Star Trek The Original Series, Volume 39. The first disc was scratched and didn't play all the way through. The first replacement had a crack from the hub about halfway out towards the rim. This second replacement was also problematic, as you can see at left. Grrr. Today, the third replacement arrived, and it's fine, praise Ba'al.

You may recall that yesterday morning the garage door opener didn't. So yesterday I left work a little early and picked up a new Genie screw-drive opener. I was home by four in the afternoon, and by 7:30 had the old one out, the new one in and running the door up and down. That was enough of a day, thanks very much. Today I finished up dressing the wiring, mounted the outside control pad, and cleaned everything up.

After all that fun, I sanded out the wall in the family room, and applied the first coat of primer. When that dries, I'll apply a coat of tinted primer, then one or two top color coats. Certainly that'll be done this weekend, in time for Marcia's "beauty products" party she's throwing next weekend.

Hmmm. So, what next? I don't know. There's going to be a column and a mailbag to format for Jerry for the upcoming week. I've got a Beta of the mailbag in my inbox right now. We're going to go help out Linda with some around-the-house chores tomorrow. New Year's Day is uncommitted, and likely to stay that way. Catch y'all tomorrow.

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December 31, 2006

1655 - Good afternoon. Last post of the year. We did our shopping, then went over to Linda's. There I did my best to install a ceiling fan/light combo ... but either the in-wall wiring is screwy, or the fan wiring is screwy. There's no danger, but I couldn't come up with a combination that powered the fan and the lights separately. Sigh. Now we're back here, and the girls are working on a puzzle. Tonight we'll go with Linda over to her friend Yvonne's for an evening of board games and New Year's Eve merriment. Should be fun. Tomorrow, George Lucas is Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade, there should be some fun loony fans to enjoy watching on the telly.

Our troops had another rough month, and it may get hairier before it improves, what with a dead Saddam and all. Good riddance there, but seriously folks, stop killing each other and let our guys help you finish rebuilding some of the broken shit so that they can come home. Okay? Hope you're listening ... because we're paying attention to the losses our brave young men and women endure, doing their sworn duty.

• Hospitalman Kyle A. Nolen, 21, of Ennis, Texas, died Dec. 21 in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, as a result of enemy action.
• Lance Cpl. Fernando S. Tamayo, 19, of Fontana, Calif., died December 21 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Staff Sgt. Jacob G. McMillan, 25, of Lafayette, La., died Dec. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle and was followed by enemy small arms fire.
• Spc. Joshua D. Sheppard, 22, of Quinton, Okla., died Dec. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his patrol came in contact with the enemy using small arms fire.
• Sgt. Curtis L. Norris, 28, of Dansville, Mich., died Dec. 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
• Spc. John Barta, 25, of Corpus Christi, Texas, died Dec. 23 in Buhritz, Iraq, of wounds suffered from indirect enemy fire during combat operations.
• Pvt. Evan A. Bixler, 21, of Racine, Wis., died Dec. 24 in Hit, Iraq, of wounds suffered from enemy indirect fire during security operations.
• Pfc. Eric R. Wilkus, 20, of Hamilton, N.J., died Dec. 25 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of a non-combat related injury Dec. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Sgt. Jason C. Denfrund, 24, of Cattaraugus, N.Y., died Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on patrol.
• Spc. Chad J. Vollmer, 24, of Grand Rapids, Mich., died Dec. 23 in Salman Pak, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Pfc. Wilson A. Algrim, 21, of Howell, Mich., died Dec. 23 in Salman Pak, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Pvt. Bobby Mejia II, Saginaw, Mich., died Dec. 23 in Salman Pak, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Lance Cpl. Myles C. Sebastien, 21, of Opelousas, La., died Dec. 20 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. Stephen L. Morris, 21, of Lake Jackson, Texas, died Dec. 24 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Sgt. John T. Bubeck, 25, of Collegeville, Pa., died of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Spc. Aaron L. Preston, 29, of Dallas, Texas, died of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Pfc. Andrew H. Nelson, 19, of Saint Johns, Mich., died of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Spc. Elias Elias, 27, of Glendora, Calif., died Dec. 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while on patrol.
• Sgt. Jae S. Moon, 21, of Levittown, Pa., died Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while on patrol Dec. 14 in Baghdad.
• Sgt. 1st Class Dexter E. Wheelous, 37, of Winder, Ga., died Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Spc. Michael J. Crutchfield, 21, of Stockton, Calif., died Dec. 23 in Balad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury.
• Spc. Joseph A. Strong, 21, of Lebanon, Ind., died of injuries suffered when the vehicle he was in was involved in a rollover incident on Dec. 26 in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Spc. Douglas L. Tinsley, 21, of Chester, S.C., died of injuries suffered when the vehicle he was in was involved in a rollover incident on Dec. 26 in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Cpl. Joshua M. Schmitz, 21, of Spencer, Wis., died December 26 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. William C. Koprince Jr., 24, of Lenoir City, Tenn., died December 27 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Capt. Hayes Clayton, 29, of Georgia, died Dec. 25 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting combat operations.
• Pvt. Clinton T. McCormick, 20, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Dec. 27 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated during combat operations.
• Cpl. Christopher E. Esckelson, 22, of Vassar, Mich., died on December 28 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. Nicholas A. Miller, 20, of Silverwood, Mich., died on December 28 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. William D. Spencer, 20, of Paris, Tenn., died on December 28 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Spc. Dustin R. Donica, 22, of Spring, Texas, died Dec. 28 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds received from small arms fire while conducting 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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