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GRAFFITI -- March 19, 2007 thru March 25, 2007 >> 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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March 19, 2007

No Post.

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March 20, 2007

0837 - Good morning. Between jet lag and chores and Jerry and a couple thousand emails and preparation for four days of product training in the office, time got away from me. The training itself starts in a few minutes. So you'll excuse me from further duties, please. See y'all later.

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March 21, 2007

0653 - Good morning. One of the DVD series that we've been getting from Netflix is The Mary Tyler Moore Show. We can pretty much fly through those, because for some episodes, we'd both seen it so many times that we could skip right to the punch lines, even though it's been years and years (decades?) since we'd last seen it. And we put them on as background, while doing other stuff. Then we can sit and watch for a while when the fancy is tickled. And honestly, all the special feature stuff that comes on DVDs these days bores me. However, in general, Netflix continues to meet our need for entertainment that's far more entertaining than anything on the tube "live" these days. So, recommended. Yeah, I know ... Tivo. We don't have one. I'd want to what? Dancing with the Stars? Heather Mills swapping out dancing legs? I don't think so. And Marcia's gone off Lost, so there really isn't much.

Taxes are on tap for the weekend upcoming. I've been busier than hell, but I'm not a fan of waiting until the last minute. Even though I was supposed to take last weekend off to recuperate from travel, I got Marcia's quilting frame finished. She's got ideas for a box header above the windows in the Master, but that's a couple of weeks out.

Do you like fast cars? Yes? Go watch this Top Gear segment and weep. Now I've got to get to work - there's email and whatnot to handle before another day of product training. Ciao!

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March 22, 2007

1305 - Hullo. I'm in the midst of training, as previously noted. The good news is that, this morning, I finally remembered to set the clock on the thermostat an hour forward. That's good, because it's still cold in the AM, and having night temps when it's time to jump up and into the shower ... well, that just sucks.

In other news, reader Peter Thomas jumped up to point out one of the downsides of Bugatti Veyron ownership: fender-benders in a million dollar car: see this link. But accidents do happen, sometimes to people like the one in front of me on the beltway the other day (pictured at right). What I could see through the rear window was that the child belted in the back seat had a book and was reading. That's good. Mom, behind the wheel, was reading, too. And driving pretty erratically as a result. Lovely! This also (when you click on the thumbnail to get the full-size image) demonstrates the resolution of the camera in my new corporate resource - a Motorola L6 phone.

Okay. Back to class. Ciao!

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March 23, 2007

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March 24, 2007

0904 - Good morning. I just didn't have the motivation last night. I've been fighting a cold-like thing that keeps migrating between my throat and left ear/sinus. Decongestants and ibuprofen keep it under control ... when I remember to take them. So there was that. Last night Marcia, Linda Rose and another friend went to a dinner theatre in Baltimore, so I had my favorite dinner: bacon. Only to keep the smell of frying bacon out of the house, I used the burner on the grill. So I guess my first grilling of the season was bacon. Yum!

Today, TurboTax. More later here once that's done. I've got the AMD64 build of Kubuntu 7.04 Beta here to burn and muck about with on Vimes. Mmmm. That reminds me... time to switch off the Torrent.

1308 - One chore down. Both Feds and State owe us a little bit, but the total in refund is less than a grand, so that's not too heinous an offset. So this year we'll leave the W4 witholding where it is - each year we get a little less interest deduction from the mortgage, so I'll have to adjust sometime, just not this year. We also managed to escape the AMT, which is a good thing. According to the software, 58% of taxpayers in our bracket end up in that bucket.

Marcia should be home shortly from her writing class. I've got errands to run, and I'm waiting until she gets back. She can sign the appropriate forms and I'll get those gone. Then I want to stop at one of the home centers, and at Best Buy. Plus we may want to stop a place or two and look at stuff to dress up the master suite — it looks a bit barren yet, with nothing on the walls or in the dead corners.

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March 25, 2007

1207 - Good afternoon. We slept in a little bit, since we were up late entertaining last night - Linda Rose's sister Mary was over to visit. I made a shrimp and chicken stir fry for supper (Mary brought the shrimp). Now that the shopping is done, I'm going to take advantage of a sunny day to do a bit of preparatory yard work, trimming back the decorative grasses that have finished their winter's work of dressing the yard. There's a lot to do, and I'd better get to it, but first...

Our troops fight on in the wars that our CinC has chosen. They do great work under harrowing circumstances, and deserve our pride and respect. My message to the assholes masquerading as peace protestors in Portland, Oregon: Knock it off. Our soldiers are doing their jobs, and taking risks on our behalf. I don't have a problem with you disagreeing with the mission or the President. But leave the soldiers out of it.

My thanks to, and my pride in our serving folks is boundless. My thoughts are with the families and the units of the fallen:

• Lance Cpl. Harry H. Timberman, 20, of Minong, Wis., died March 17 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Pfc. Anthony A. Kaiser, 27, of Narrowsburg, N.Y., died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire.
• Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin L. Sebban, 29, of Chattanooga, Tenn., died Mar. 17 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit.
• Sgt. 1st Class Christopher R. Brevard, 31, of Phoenix, died Mar. 16 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit.
• Sgt. 1st Class John S. Stephens, 41, of San Antonio, Texas, died March 15 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his patrol came under attack during combat operations.
• Sgt. Nimo W. Tauala, 29, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died March 17 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury.
• Sgt. Ryan P. Green, 24, of Woodlands, Texas, died Mar. 18 in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol Mar. 15 in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Spc. Marieo Guerrero, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas, died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
• Sgt. John E. Allen, 25, of Palmdale, Calif., died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Sgt. Ed Santini, 25, of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Pfc. William N. Davis, 26, of Adrian, Mich., died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Pfc. John F. Landry Jr., 20, of Lowell, Mass., died Mar. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Lt. Col. Peter E. Winston, 56, of Plant City, Fla., died Nov. 13, 2006, in Kaiserslautern, Germany, from a non-combat related incident while in Iraq.
• Staff Sgt. Gina R. Sparks, 35, of Drury, Mo., died Oct. 4, 2004, at Fort Polk, La., from a non-combat related incident.
• Sgt. Wayne R. Cornell, 26, of Holstein, Neb., died Mar. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Pfc. Stephen K. Richardson, 22, of Bridgeport, Conn., died Mar. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Cpl. Dustin J. Lee, 20, of Quitman, Miss., died March 21 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Spc. Curtis E. Glawson Jr., 24, of Daleville, Ala., died Mar. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
• Pfc. Joey T. Sams II, 22, of Spartanburg, S.C., died Mar. 21 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, of injuries suffered when he was pinned between two vehicles.
• Staff Sgt. Darrell R. Griffin Jr., 36, of Alhambra, Calif., died Mar. 21 in Balad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with small arms fire during combat operations.
• Sgt. Nicholas J. Lightner, 29, of Newport, Ore., died Mar. 21 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol March 15 in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Sgt. Freeman L. Gardner Jr., 26, of Little Rock, Ark., died Mar. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol.
• Spc. Lance C. Springer II, 23, of Fort Worth, Texas, died Mar. 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol.
• Sgt. Adrian J. Lewis, 30, of Mauldin, S.C., died Mar. 21 in Ramadi, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations.
• Sgt. Greg N. Riewer, 30, of Frazee, Minn., died Mar. 23 in Habbaniyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive devise detonated near his 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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