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We’re back

Note to self: Never, never attempt to drive on the PA Turnpike on the Sunday after Thanksgiving again. Self-medicate this evening with two (2) ozs single malt. Good night.

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VoIP experimentation

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the latest thing for medium-to-large size companies. It offers the ability to carry voice traffic between corporate sites over the data networks which have generally been paid-for already. To one degree or another, it will also allow a mobile company employee – a sales rep, for instance – to use an Internet connection to hook up with the company’s voice systems. The rep can then literally carry his desk with him, phone and all.

So here I am in the broadband wasteland of northern Ohio and I’m using a dial-up connection to a local ISP. The best connect I can get here is 36.6K and I can now assure you that, along with the overhead of a VPN client connection, that ain’t enough to carry reliable, usable-quality voice traffic. Not even close.

Damn I miss my broadband!

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Happy Thanksgiving

Here’s hoping you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving. May God grant you favor.

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Master/Slave

In yet another example of political correctness running amok, a complaint was filed this week about the IT industry’s use of the term “Master/Slave” to describe a subordinate operation state. For those of you not aware, the term has been in common use literally for decades and refers to the relationship between 2 devices where one is the control unit and the other follows the operational orders of that unit. It’s most commonly used in redundant backups or distributed systems where the slave units are to take their instructions from the master units rather than from other slave units or sources.

The story, titled on CNN as “‘Master’ and ‘slave’ tech labels irk some” describes how Los Angeles officials have asked their vendors to stop using the term after an unidentified worker spotted a videotape machine with the term labels and went to the Office of Affirmative Action Compliance to file a discrimination complaint. Note to CNN: When 1 person makes a complaint, that’s not “some.” That’s 1. Work on those titles, OK?

As yet to be explained is how a label that’s been present on machines for decades and has a commonly accepted definition that has nothing to do with racism can create a condition of discrimination in an individual. What’s next? Is this person going to file a complaint over blank areas on a page being referenced as “white space”? The end of a movie scene being described as a “fade to black”?

Folks, this “goodspeak” shit is going too far.

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A Change of Scenery

The Holiday travel season came up for us a little early this year allowing us to make our annual Holiday Safari out to the wilds of the Ohio Valley . So here we are this afternoon and what do we see out the window?

Snow!!!

Now out in DC the stuff I saw coming down would have caused schools to close early and close tomorrow just in case, governmental agencies would close (except essential personnel, of course) and the grocery stores would run out of a month’s supply of bread, milk, and toilet paper. Out here, they look out there and say “Hmmm. Guess I better go roll up the windows on the truck.” Gotta love it.

Justice

I read on CNN where the jury deliberating the sentance for John Muhammad, the convicted DC sniper, came back with a recommendation for the death penalty. The Judge can, of course, refuse the recommendation and hand down life in prison, but I don’t think he will. Justice. Glad to see her here.

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You’ll do it when?

OK, I’m going to say 1 thing and 1 thing only about the Michael Jackson thing. If I were the Chief of Police in the jurisdiction where Jackson was currently located, I’d have listened to him and his attorney saying he’d come in at a time and place of his choosing and immediately sent my detectives to bring him in. In handcuffs. And leg irons. And there’s no way he’d get the chance to come in the rear entrance to the courthouse, either. Were I in the Chief’s shoes I’d send a message that when the cops are going to allow you to surrender yourself, you don’t string them along and do it on your schedule. Nuff said.

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What is your name?

What is your quest?

And what, you immediately ask, is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? If you’re a real Monty Python fan, your answer is just as immediate: African or European? Well, we now know half of the answer to that question. Some engineer with clearly not enough to do has figured the cruising speed of an unladen European swallow and laid it all out just for you.

And if that’s not enough, he’s also provided the names of the 4 capitals of Assyria. What a guy.

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Al Qaeda Responsible for Instanbul Blasts

In case anyone was left who wondered, Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the bombings in Istanbul last week. Heads up, Islam. They don’t think you’re worth saving, either. If you’re in their way, you’re just as dead. I recommend you actively pursue these vermin as quickly as you can.

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Sniper Muhammad Guilty

This just in, DC sniper John Muhammad was convicted today of capital murder, murder in an act of terrorism, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, and conspiracy. The jury deliberated about 6.5 hours on this one and found him guilty on all 4 of the charges. The 2 murder specifications can carry the death penalty. I’m hoping the jury will do the right thing and bring that home to Mr. Muhammad. He deserves nothing less and the lethal injection method used here in Virginia is a hell of a lot kinder than the fear he put us through last year. If justice were truly to be served, he’d be stood up in front of a firing squad. Better yet, he’d be released into an area about a mile square surrounded by sniper blinds. Sometime during the next few weeks, he’d get capped. Making him live like that for a while would be justice for what he did.

Good riddance.

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Couldn’t say it better myself

And I’m not even going to try. If you haven’t been over to Healing Iraq, go have a look today. He’s got a synopsis of a TV address by the current President of Iraq’s Governing Council about what’s going to be happening over the next couple of years in terms of the Iraqi government. This guy’s over there, folks, so he’s going to know.