It wasn't me. You can't prove anything.


2012-06-03

Phonetic Alphabet

This is me testing my knowledge of the US Army Phonetic Alphabet.

Letter Name Did I remember it?
A Alpha yes
B Bravo no
C Charlie yes
D Delta yes
E Echo No
F Foxtrot yes
G Golf Yes
H Hotel yes
I India no
J Juliette no
K Kilo yes
L Lima yes
M Mike no (I went by Mike for years and it does't help)
N November no
O Oscar no
P Papa yes
Q Quebec y
R Romeo no
S Sierra No
T Tango yes
U Uniform no, I got it wrong
V Victor no, but almost
W Whiskey yes
X X-ray yes
Y Yankee no
Z Zulu yes

Eleven out of twenty six is shit. I'll work on it. I'll also work on the spelling. I got may wrong that way too. Even copying over does't work.


2012-05-31

Notes:

There was a writer who had an office that even his family didn't know the location of. He worked from 10 to 18 daily, writing. Wrote several books. He wrote horror stories. This was in the late nineteenth century.

How much room do you need to install a virus checker? Semantic Endpoint is enormous. What is it doing that requires such a huge install package?

I had a dream last night about running a network cable in a friend's house. Every time I thought I had the cable run, there was another obstacle to run tough or around. Every time I had a room wired up, there were three more rooms to do. I hate dreaming about work.

Normtastrophy: Every day is bat shit crazy.

I bet I have 25 USB drives at work that I use on pretty much a daily basis to get my job done.

I've only been to horse races once. I've only been to the dog track once. I didn't win anything. The only time I've ever won at gambling was a casino in Louisiana. I wound the night up $6 ahead. Every one else in the party left empty handed.

They started getting little bags of goldfish crackers at work in the snack bar. Bastards. That's my Kryptonite. God help me if they start stocking PayDay candy bars.

People seem to love San Fransisco. I've never been. I listened to an episode of Johny Dollar where he described the city like a seven jeweled something or other. I hear the weather is nice I'm told. It must be the atmosphere because I don't get it from the pictures and videos I've seen of the place. The stories, they tell a story of some kind of magic. Anyone out there on the internet hate San Fransisco? I want another opinion.

The thing that boots up your computer in order to install an operating system is in itself an OS. It is what I call a boot OS. There are many different names for it. These systems are designed for compatibility. They are designed to work even under unfavorable conditions. Every chance the programmers/designers get, they err or the side of "just get it working" and sacrifice performance and other factors. This approach doesn't work with full OS installs. Thus, when you boot Windows PE, ake install Windows, you will get far enough to boot the first GUI that comes up just long enough to tell you that your install media cannot be read, probably for lack of a driver. How did it get this far? Well, that is the boot OS turning over control to the install OS/program. They are written and designed by two different groups of folks with highly diverse needs.

The Greeks knew the world was round. At least some of them did anyway. They simply had the math written down somewhere. The navigation methods simply insist that they had to know this. They probably just didn't bother shouting it from the roof tops because it would cause confusion.


2012-05-28

Best flog ever

Field Data
Title Best vlog ever
Description
I've done it. This is the best vlog ever shot. EVER!
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Tags vlog day life memorial day working commute traffic trim beard goatee clippers crossing street "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link Link


2012-05-26

Another day

Field Data
Title Mostly about Ubuntu and everything else
Description
Ubuntu 12.04 fresh install, hula hoop, My editing setup and a bunch of other stuff.
* Ubuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/
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Tags hula hoop Ubuntu 12.04 fresh setup results Linux issues vidoe driver Houston Texas Kdenlive "Canon Elph 300"
Link Link

Cute kid

Her name is Anna. She is one of the cute ones. This is also a test of some Facebook embed code I just found. It can be both.


2012-05-23

Lunch conversation

  • Insurance
  • Whom Tracey is dating
  • Whom Tracey is not dating
  • Tracey's work
  • Avon
  • Elle's calendar
  • My work
  • People working at Beck's
  • The placement of the fake Owl Beck's put in to scare away the birds.

Went to lunch at Beck's Prime with My lovely wife and Tracey. No work folks this time. It was refreshing if I'm honest. I don't get enough time with non work friends. Lunch ran right at one hour and one minute.

Notes:

At the moment, I'm stuck in a rut. I can't seem to bring myself to do very much that is creative. I hope it is just writer's block and will go away soon. I like being creative. I'm not particularly good at it, but I enjoy trying.

Facebook is the leading photo sharing site on the internet. I don't think you can even link to galleries once on Facebook. I haven't figured out how anyway. Once uploaded, the pictures are stuck in the sandbox. This is the same thing that killed AOL. They wanted to create an environment online that you wouldn't want to escape. Facebook is rapidly turning in to the bad bits of AOL.

"She lived to one hundred and three, outliving all her children." -Writer's Almanac. I can't imagine that.

Am I really going to be one of those people who regrets not doing so much in my life when I'm old and dying, many years from now? I already regret things. Most of those things are having not done things. Are those true regrets? I'm not sure I could have done those things. The list is a mile long and mostly consist of dealing with people. Maybe I'll have the chance to vlog the experience and post it before I kick off.

There is a brain controlled robot out there. OK, it is an arm in this article. This is the beginning of the end. Between this and the rat brain controlled robots, they are going to take over. What are these scientists thinking?

60% of Americans think it would be all right to compensate organ downers and/or families. I think this is a dangerous slope.


2012-05-22

Dead video

This past Sunday, I shot a video all about the audio video sync issues I've had with Kdenlive and MLT. It was fun. Everyone laughed and cried. No one paid me. I'll never make any money off the video. But I'm not bitter. I just poor my heart and sole in these useless videos. My biggest fan is my Mom. Thanks Mom.

In the video I mentioned that I attempted to update my video driver in an effort to fix the timing issue. It doesn't make any sense that this would work to me really, but I'm desperate and someone said the issue went away after a video driver update. Well, turns out there was some unforeseen fallout from this effort that didn't rear its ugly head until Monday evening.

No sooner do I walk in the door after work than I mow the front yard while avoiding the cable that still has not been buried. That is another story. Then I rolled a dresser in the house. I should have videoed this. I borrowed a dolly from work. I flipped the dresser upside down on the dolly, because it wouldn't fit right side up. Then I was able to get it over the door jam, thread it through the cluttered house, and flip it back right side up in the bedroom where it went.

While waiting for a spot to be cleared for the dresser, I turned on my computer as you do. It came up in a strange video setting and had an error that complained about incompatible video settings. I attempted to reinstall the Ubuntu proprietary driver that is recommended by Ubuntu. Why would they bother if it didn't have some kind of advantage? This caused the system to completely fail on boot and X (the GUI for Linux) just bailed. I found myself at a command prompt.

At this point, I backed up a bunch of my data. I have two drives in that box. I had a plan to attempt to fix the video driver and then to reinstall the system. Either way, a backup is a good idea. By the time I properly destroyed my system, I won't be in the mood for backing it up before just wiping it and starting over. Get the impression I've been down this road a few times?

Fortunately, I still had the driver I downloaded on the system. I installed it again and this time I told it to attempt to modify my settings. Now, I have a running system that is back to the level of video output that I had before. Not great, but acceptable for daily use.

Things are not to a point I want. I have not tried it, but I bet the video sync issues still happen. I'm really glad I had my laptop setup because I was able to watch some videos and do my normal stress release (no, reading news and blogs and stuff) after work. I think this helped me stay focused while working on the computer and flipping the dresser in the back room. This fact makes me want to make sure I have a backup around that I don't mess with. The laptop sounds like a good candidate.

The bills didn't get paid. I didn't manage to weed whack or edge. The list of things that didn't get done is a mile long. One evening after work at a time.

Notes:

Spent half my day reconciling DHCP entries. It is amazing how easy it is to get out of whack with what you wanted to have working. Things can simply cascade like a wild fire, hurtling toward chaos. Wrangling the servers and settings back in to sanity is a task strong of heart.

Did you know there is Piranha 3DD? No? You should hear the reviews. Some of the critics had strokes watching it.


2012-05-20

Unload

Field Data
Title Unload the dresser
Description
U-Haul is a rip sometimes.
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Tags U-Haul uhaul table ramp dresser unload furneture "Canon Elph 300" Kdenlive Houston Texas
Link Link

Rendering troubles

The trouble I have is the lips and words don't always line up in my videos. This is called audio video synchronization. I shot a 20 second long video that is basically me speaking words with lots of the letters "p" and "b" and clapping. This was to just slam my machine with a hundred different ways of generating output video. I went online and tried nearly every suggestion I could find. None of the tricks or workarounds worked for me.

I have narrowed the trouble down to one of three things. A) AMD processor B) Video driver C) Legacy software or settings left over from multiple updates. My laptop does not have the issue. It has an Intel processor, ATI video card and has only been updated once from Ubuntu 11.10 to 12.04.

Kdenlive is the program that I use for editing my videos. This is the program that I have the audio video sync issues with on my desktop at home. I have tried several other packages for the same thing, but they all suck. Kdenlive is one of the few that seems to have made a program that both works and has a usable interface. Every other program has major issues or is not the kind of editor I need. I've tried most of them.

Cinelerra is unwieldy. If you are some sort of professional, you use a Mac for your video editing. For some reason, people think that professionals who use Linux use Cinelerra. I doubt it. The interface blows and the output is buggy. Half the stuff you click on crashes the system.

Openshot really appears to be some offshoot of Kdenlive to me. They look similar. They work similar. I could probably use the interface of Openshot without much effort because I'm used to Kdenlive. However, the interface of Openshot looks to be a simplified less complex interface. That is all well and good, but I can't find some of the settings and tools that I'm used to in Kdenlive. Openshot appears to be some kind of 3D animation tool as well. I'm not ready for that sort of thing to be honest.

Avidemux is great for a linear editor. It has always worked. It converts, chops, modifies, and does great at mas corrections. I would love to use this program with the addition of multiple track editing, also known as nonlinear editing.

Audacity is an audio editing program. It is so good that I wish the people who made this program would make a video editor with the same feel and functionality.

Why do I fight with Linux on this subject? Well, I've been able to get pretty much every other genera of software to work just fine on Linux with the exception of games. It turns out I have to add video editors to this list. It needs to just work. I don't need the aggravation of every upgrade and security touch up killing my software for three weeks. I need a video editor that is more than just a proof of concept. I need one that just works, every day.

This is a big selling point of Linux. it works. It doesn't have the issues of a million proprietary vendors fighting each other instead of working with one another to make a buck. The idea behind open source is you can step in, look at the code and either fix it yourself or at least contribute to the package via educated complaining.

  • Tried everything
    • Different video driver
    • Separate sound and video
    • Every kind of rendering available
  • Tried other programs. The trouble is, many use the same MLT rendering engine. Many video programs just don't work.
  • Combination of Nvidia video card and AMD processor I bet

Field Data
Title No more kung fu theater hopefully
Description
Hopefully the audio and video will synchronize better from now on. It turns out the MLT (rendering) engine I use does not play well with the hardware I have on my desktop. My laptop works though. So that's what I use from now on.
Also fit a 5.5 foot table in the back of a 2005 Carola.
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Tags audio video sync synchronization issues kdenlive mlt hardware issue houston texas "canon elph 300"
Link Link


2012-05-18

Something inspiring

I walked from the bus to the building and noticed a pare of jeans and shoes lying on the sidewalk. This made me wonder what the story was behind this pile of cloths.

  • Someone felt it was appropriate to strip in that spot, then fled the scene.
  • Someone was hit by a car and the ambulance left their stuff. I didn't notice any blood.
  • Someone got tired of carrying the stuff in a bag or pack.
  • Someone got tired of that stuff being in their car.
  • It was the rapture and this guy was it.

It is almost enough to inspire a story to be written. Damn good thing I'm so lazy. What do you suppose the story is behind this event?

Notes:

I heard someone use the old saying "If there is a will, there is a way." Today. I hadn't heard that in a while. It was me.

NPR came to a timely conclusion. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting more poor.

Retiring early means an earlier death. I've seen this in my personal life. There is evidence that it is both how you act and the lack of structure in your life that kill you. You have to be active and focused to live longer. I think I could pull it off. I plan on blogging/vlogging full time if I ever get a chance to retire.

People are complaining that Nascar is not exciting any more. I have to ask "Was it ever exciting for sober people?" "Is it too safe now?" It isn't a demolition Derby.

The wireless mouse I have at home uses a separate dongle on the computer. This is nothing new. The mouse turns off when you plug the dongle back in to the mouse for storage. The trouble is, that appears to be the only way besides removing the battery to turn the mouse off. If you intend to leave the laptop and mouse sitting for a couple days, the battery would go dead between uses. It appears the new mice have a switch and a much smaller USB dongle.


2012-05-16

Funeral for Louise

Field Data
Title Funeral for Louise
Description
Natalie's mom past away. I shot a few clips around the funeral, but not of it.
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Tags Louise mother grandmother funeral family clips traffic light repairs cherry picker "Canon Elph 300" Houston Conroe Texas Kdenlive
Link Link

Copyright Rant

Field Data
Title Copyright Rant
Description
There is such a thing as not being under copyright and fair use.
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Tags Copyright fair use rant youtube video content freedom rules laws "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
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2012-05-15

The battery, a box, and tape

The battery needed changing on the little thermometer thing in the server room. It is a plastic box with a display and a wire that hangs down with a remote sensor. It takes a single AAA battery. That lasts about a year.

Some jerk had just used a glob of clear tape to bolt the box on the front of the cooling unit. The remote sensor hangs down to the intake vent at the bottom. Functional, but you have to remove the device and clear away the tape to change the battery. "What amazing lack of forethought!" "Why would someone do this?"

I ripped the dead box off the front panel and started clearing away the tape while mumbling to myself about poor planning and poor execution.

The tape of course sticks to the front of the display. They used packing tape and the glue bubbles up. I tried alcohol to remove it. That just causes the glue to smear. I didn't get all the glue off the front, but you can read the display.

My first attempt to hang the device was a disaster. The tape stuck to the tape dispenser better than anything else. The tape splits up the middle easier than being cut. Thank God I have a one handed open knife or I would be taped to the front of the cooling unit. My grand suspension bridge based design is a ridiculous failure.

My twenty first attempt to hang the thermometer was what I am calling a success. It looks worse now than it did before. You still can't change the battery without taking the whole thing down. There will be just as much tape stuck to the front of the device. My hands smelled like that glue on the tape for half the day.

Fixed.

Notes:

Money

I just found myself skipping a news story about the housing market picking up. I can't help but feel split on this subject. our house has lost nearly $30,000 in value. We will never get that back out of the shit box we bought. The fact that people are getting more than they expected, but less than they wanted is not making me feel warm and fuzzy.

Greece is really about to get pushed out of the EU. I have thought this is the inevitable way to exit the situation. It was simply inevitable that someone would screw up. I remember a news story from the beginning of the EU experiment that said there was no exit strategy for countries. Once you are in, there is no plan to get out. Well, there is about to be one, like it or not.

The BBS finally admits that the EU is "back in recession." When exactly were you out of recession? I remember people saying a "U" shaped recession and an "L" shaped recession. It turns out it is more like a "\" shaped recession.

Other

I ate lunch yesterday and had an apple and some cereal for dinner last night. Today just before lunch, I was starving. I really need to find a cheap source of food that is exceedingly easy to fix.


2012-05-13

Supertanker engine room tour

I like the walk in turbo charger. I want to see the torque wrench they used on the head.


2012-05-12

ISP rant

Field Data
Title ISP rant
Description
I hate cable companies, but we are going to get cable because the DSL in my neighborhood sucks. Internet has become a necessity. The ISP companies have us over a barrel.
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Tags ISP Internet DSL Cable Rant anger upset private industrial "They are out to get you" "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link Link

Evening with Elle

Field Data
Title Evening with Elle
Description
Just complaining about work and hanging out with the kid watching the storm clouds.
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Tags weather rain kid lightning family evening work IT backup restore vanishing files "canon elph 300" kdenlive houston Texas
Link Link


2012-05-10

Obama and same sex marriage

Obama has written off so called blue color or Reagan Democrats. Obama is loosing the young because they are getting out of collage and not getting jobs. The Democratic base saw not a single one of the changes Obama promised come about during the first four years.

The gay community (LGPT or whatever lable you want to put on these folks) seem to know they are being used for political gain. I did hear one crybaby on the radio last night wine about how wonderful it is that a president made this decision and it is about time blah blah. I'm not hearing a lot of it. I can't get hold of my friends who are members of this community to ask them what they think. They all have jobs, lives and many have kids. I'll keep working on that.

The only evolution Obama has made recently is a result of an election in three states that was a slaughter for Democrats. Something big had to be thrown to the great unwashed. When I listen to the audio of the little speech Obama gave, I don't buy that he really believes anything including this issue. He really seems like he is always just saying words. He reminds me of those sales people on the phone who are desperately trying to sell you something, but just sound desperate and not like they believe in their products.

The exterminator

The exterminator showed up, sprayed then demanded payment. We had one more treatment on our contract. Nat didn't remember this until the guy left so she paid with the card. Nat called the contract company only to find out that this treatment should have been included. Then I called the bank be cause Nat saw the guy write down our card information. We will be without the card for 5 to 10 business days. This just might be a hardship, but hopefully not.

It felt funny shredding that card. our shredder at the house won't really do cards even though it says it will. I did the dead at work. Shredding was the correct thing to do, but still, something just didn't sit right.

A friend of ours said it was raciest to assume the guy was going to do something with our numbers because he was Indian. I didn't know he was Indian until after I made the choice to stop the card. Regardless of skin color, don't mess with my info.

I'm sure it is all just some clerical issue. The company we went with is far too expensive. If we go with an exterminator, we are going to have to find someone more ... less ... someone who is cheap.

Buy American

I do not go out of my way to buy American. I do not know what buy American means because Mexicans are calling themselves Americans as they should. We should call ourselves U. S. Citizens and say things like buy U. S. products.

  • Our car is a Toyota. It works. It has nearly 100,000 miles at six years old. So far so good.
  • My primary machine at the House is a Frakenbox. I have no idea where all the bits came from except the majority could only have come from South East Asia.
  • We buy Dells, Samsung, Toshiba and a couple old IBM/Lenovo laptops at work.
  • My wife has a Dell laptop. I'm pretty sure it was made in China.
  • My home laptop is a Fujitsu. It was a much appreciated gift from my parents.
  • The server I have at the house is an HP, also a gift from my parents.
  • My video cameras are Canon and Toshiba.

I use what works as much as I can. I take cost and quality in to consideration when buying things. Made in the U. S. A. might be a tiebreaker.

Back pain

It's funny how much more effort it takes to walk across rough ground with a sore back. My back feels better than it did earlier this week, but it still reminds me there is something wrong. The walk in, though not really painful, takes more out of me at the moment.

Every step requires a balance. The upper body moves in a direction to counter balance each step to keep the whole body moving forward and upright. The transmission of this effort is the lower back. The motion of swinging the arms and swaying back and forth a bit while walking to keep balance all send energy through the lower back. Every step. Once in a while, a single move, like stepping up a curb or turning to look for cars, can send a shot though my spine.

When I was younger, I heard a song by a bunch of old Country and Western stars called "Old Friends". One of the lines is "Locking arms to climb a curb." That sticks with me. I feel old. I hear people in news interviews start sentences with "When you turn forty ..." and I cringe.

Notes:

I just heard someone on the BBC use the term "Shareholder Spring" to describe a rebellion by shareholders holding high paid executives accountable for decisions. This is a play on the term "Arab Spring" which is wrong because many of the people who are fighting for their freedom and control of their own lives are not Arab in the slightest. Besides, using these terms like this cheapens all the people who have died for their cause. It reminds me of people saying "crusade" when describing someone with a mission.

Are so many western languages based on Latin, or just strongly influenced by Latin because of all the conquering in the old days?

AQAP Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. NPR is just using the acronym now.

Bill Murry played The Human Torch in a radio series in the sixties at some point.

This phone conversation almost happened today.
"I'm getting an error on a server."
"What server?"
"Localhost."
After a slap sound and a couple moments of silence "Good luck." click.

The Pyramids are magnificent tours of human achievement. They prove what people are capable of when given forty years to kill and an unlimited number of slaves and rocks. They are also useless except for a tourist trap. They should be recycled.

Umptilian: An undefined large number.

There was a story on NPR about hoodies. I have a hoodie somewhere. I have no idea what it says. Part of the story was (I'm paraphrasing from memory) "When Mark Z (Facebook) wares a hoodie it is trendy. When a black boy wares a hoodie he gets shot for walking down the street." The lady had a point. So, hoodies are racist. Enough said.

Of all the senses to loose, the sense of smell has the highest 5 year suicide rate. -Dr Karl


2012-05-09

Alaska bush pilots

Freaking amazing landings. Places that look and to walk and they are putting a plane down. Nice.


2012-05-08

A day in the dinner of America

Field Data
Title A day in the dinner of America
Description
Why do I kill myself to eat these huge sandwiches?
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Tags clouds weather family kids fun outing schlotzsky's pronounce annunciation overeating evening "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link Link

Creating

Sunday I videoed myself folding cloths. Monday I videoed myself complaining about my stiff back and complaining about work. I put the two together and got at least one comment saying it was a good vlog. This is proof that I have no idea what I'm doing.

Write for fun, not for profit. I'm just plane bad at telling fiction stories. You would think that I would be a good bullshitter, but no.

Write as long or as short a story that tells the story that is trying to be told. Aiming for a length pretty much guarantees editing for length instead of content. Many people think that shortening a story always helps. I'm not so sure.

Deadlines are the only reason anything ever gets published. I would say that deadlines are the only reason we breath or eat. Deadlines are why we pull our head out of water. Deadlines are why we walk quickly across the street. Deadlines are why planes land instead of crashing.

Don't worry about being good. Worry about getting the words on the page. Once the words are written, you can fix them. This translates to shoot the video. No one is going to force you to put it up on the web or using it in your personal movie. Shoot the video. Write the words. Then, go back and fix it.

Share your bad work and good work. Learn. Learn to be better. Learn to laugh at yourself. Learn to yawn in the face of critics.

Turn off the phone. Disconnect your laptop from the wifi. Close the drapes. Do not answer the door, anyone with an emergency will make themselves heard. Get it done.

All of this boils down to one word. Discipline. Good luck. I can't get any of this to work for me.


2012-05-07

Notes:

Thorium fuel. Sounds like a plan. Lets get some experiments going.

I'm still stewing over the mouse pointer issues in Ubuntu. It takes an act of Congress to change the pointer. I am displeased.

At work, we are just like every other company on the planet. We need to create new users. This means, all the services that new users use must have license and such. I find myself balancing the need to create new user accounts with both getting rid of old accounts and making sure we have plenty of time to correct any issues that arise from our systems. Just one more thing required of your friendly neighborhood IT guy.

My back hurts. it is my lower back. It only hurts when I move or bend. It is gout, I'm convinced. I had a glass of wine Friday evening and by Saturday evening my back hurt. The pain is not as bad as my ankle was a couple months ago. It feels better to keep moving. I even replaced one of the water cooler bottles earlier today without incident. I barely felt the tension in my spine. Putting on socks and tying my shoes, however, is agonizing.

Laundry day

Field Data
Title Laundry day
Description
OK, laundry and complaining about work and life. Blah.
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Tags work laundry wash time lapse folding cloths "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
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2012-05-06

Letting Guns walk

      A section of the draft of contempt charges against Attorney General Eric Holder is dedicated to explaining how Fast & Furious branches off into different departments within the Department of Justice (DOJ).
While most know about the operation being based in Phoenix, the strategy was actually developed in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) in Washington, DC. The ODAG decided it would be brilliant to concentrate on identifying the members of the trafficking network instead of seizing the firearms right away. The goal was to capture the big fish of the cartels. The ATF Phoenix Field Office decided to use this strategy in Fast & Furious. But that wasn’t good enough for them and in late January 2010 the office “applied for Fast and Furious to become an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case.” In order to do that the agents had to tell all about their investigative strategy, i.e. gunwalking. It was approved and was given new funding.
...
 

Who knew what, and when? How did this ever sound like a good idea? Are the people running this country neurotic?

      CBS News has obtained a series of emails that show the White House had more information on ATF's controversial Fast and Furious operation than previously disclosed. But administration officials insists nobody at the White House knew specifically that ATF was allowing guns to "walk" into the hands of suspected gun traffickers for Mexican drug cartels.
ATF allegedly allowed more than two thousand assault rifles and other weapons to fall into the hands of suspects from late fall of 2009 through 2010.
The emails indicate three White House officials were briefed on gun trafficking efforts that included Fast and Furious. The officials are Kevin O'Reilly, then-director of North American Affairs, now assigned to the State Department; Dan Restrepo, senior Latin American advisory; and Greg Gatjanis, a national security official.
 

Let me get this straight. The U. S. government encourage straw purchasers, read gun runners, to buy guns in the U. S. and get them to Mexico. The gun store owners didn't want to sell to these people, but the feds insisted. Then what? Count the bodies? What in the world were they thinking?

I'll tell you what they were thinking. They were thinking this would make gun purchases in the U. S. look bad and give them, excuse the play on words, ammunition to take the right to own firearms away from U. S. citizens. That is the only thing that makes sense. In order to make the citzinery depend solely on the government, they cannot have the tools to be independant. What part of independant is more important than self preservation?


2012-05-05

Muslim Brotherood in America

I offer without comment. Please let me know what you think.

Stimulus or money laundering?

      ...
But it gets worse. In states like Wisconsin, far from the automakers and their union workers, 80% of stimulus funds “went to public unions.” That means these unions received $600 million in funding which they are now using to fill the coffers of Democrat candidates and to pay for ongoing opposition to Gov. Scott Walker. As a matter of fact, public employee unions have already spent more than $8 million in their effort to recall Walker. What this does, in effect, is remove the advantage Walker had achieved in fundraising by placing the weight of the national purse behind Walker’s opponents.
...
 

This is not the first time I've come across this comparison. It is true that much of the money that saved GM and others ended up in the heads of unions. They get part of every union employee's check. It is true that labor unions lean heavily toward Democrats. I think it is time to ban unions from participating in elections at all. They would still have collective bargaining and cover their union member's asses. They would just loose the support of the ones running the government.

What do I know? I'm just a well read citizen of the U. S..

That extinquisher is shit

Yup, I feel much more comfortable having a fire extinguisher in my kitchen now. Hopefully, thatis a counterfit

Why passing on the right is wrong

c

Because there might be a broken down vehicle in the breakdown lane.

About time

      Auto Makers Announce Electric Car Charging Standard
"Auto makers are launching a universal EV charger that charges an electric vehicle in 15 to 20 minutes. The standard, called Combined Charging System, has been approved by the Society of Automotive Engineers and ACEA, the European association of vehicle manufacturers, as the standard for fast-charging electric vehicles."
 

It only took 177 years or so.

      Who invented the very first EV is uncertain and several inventors have been given credit. In 1828, Hungarian, Ányos Jedlik invented a small-scale model car powered by an electric motor that he designed. Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland invented a crude electric-powered carriage. In 1835, another small-scale electric car was designed by Professor Stratingh of Groningen, Holland, and built by his assistant Christopher Becker. In 1835, Thomas Davenport, a blacksmith from Brandon, Vermont, built a small-scale electric car. Davenport was also the inventor of the first of the first American-built DC electric motor.  

This is something that should have happened a long time ago. Someone should have taken the responsibility of the standard out of the hands of the automotive industry a long time a go. Thee sorts of things never work out for long. They come up with a standard, then implement it. Five weeks later they gut the design and fix it. Then they put that fix in place. Then, after everyone is sick of dealing with it, they decide something entirely new needs to be done. By this time people are scared of buying the products for fear of being left in the dust on versions. This has happened with everything that has a battery in it since the invention of the first battery.


2012-05-03

Wind noise

Field Data
Title What I do about wind noise
Description
I'm far from a pro, but I've picked up a couple tricks along the way. The old camera sticking out of a stocking cap trick does wonders for tempering wind noise. It is the cheapest solution around. I tried to make this in to a "how to" video, but I'm just not very good at it. Let me know what you think.
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags wind noise technique video shooting tip wind test "Canon Elph 300" "Toshiba T30" Kdenlive Houston Texas breeze
Link Link


2012-05-02

The relevance of TV

      Hulu To Require Viewers To Have Cable Subscriptions
The NY Post reports that Hulu, the video streaming service with over 30 million users, has plans to force those users to prove they have a subscription to cable or satellite TV if they want to keep watching. Quoting:
"The move toward authentication is fueled by cable companies and networks looking to protect and profit from their content. The effort comes as entertainment companies continue to face drastic shifts in home viewing habits. Overall spending on home entertainment edged up 2.5 percent to $4.45 billion in the first quarter as a surge in digital streaming — which rose more than fivefold to $549 million — offset a continuing collapse in video rentals, according to Digital Entertainment Group. ... Hulu racked up some $420 million in ad revenue last year and is expected to do well in this year’s ad negotiations. But the move toward authentication, which could take years to complete, will make cable companies happy because it could slow cord-cutting by making cable subscribing more attractive."

A buddy of mine heard me talking about this and didn't believe me. He said that this would be dumbest move hulu could make. I agreed with him. It is a dumb move. I also believe that the people in charge of the industry are in their seventies and don't get the modern market.

His thing was that he wanted to watch TV on whatever device he had handy. He didn't want to wait for things. He wanted access to everything and was willing to pay for at least the good stuff. He didn't want to have to buy cable TV and pay for competing channels all through the year just to get a couple of good shows.

My television viewing habits consist of watching whatever is on when I'm in the mood. This used to mean lots of channel flipping. It now means surfing while something is playing on another tab of my browser. It would be great if a stream could detect when I'm not watching and only listening and save me the bandwidth.

The music industry has had to change to a model that lets people get the songs they like on the devices they use. The TV industry is next. Heaven forbid they do what Capitalism is all about and provide a good or service that people are willing and able to pay for. Hollywood needs to pay attention as well. TV thinks they are too big to fail when in reality, they are becoming too irrelevant to matter.

This is just the way things work. The establishment keeps doing things the way they got to work in the first place. New people come along and think "Why isn't someone doing it this way? Doesn't that make more sense?" and horn in on the establishment. It is called adapting.

At the moment, I watch several vlogs for my nightly entertainment. I could list several here. I have become highly interested in these people's lives. It is like a soap opera. The best art is, they are real people. I can follow them on Twitter and Facebook. I can email them tips on dealing with Linux and such. It is interactive. This is real reality TV. That crap the executives vomit on the screen is crap.

The establishment can afford more lawyers and lobbyists. The upstarts typically have the people beatinga path to their door.


2012-04-30

Work day

Field Data
Title Servers, broken boots and wind noise
Description
Well, not much going on at the zhsy00001 compound. I complain about work and wind noise most in this video. 
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags Mt. Dew servers unbox time lapse broken boots cat boots Caterpillar boots design flaw "Canon elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link Link


2012-04-29

Anders Behring Breivik

      Many are shocked to find out, though, that the maximum penalty one can get in Norway for any crime is 21 years in prison. That’s in total, not per murder, although there are admittedly mechanisms in place for keeping a person locked up indefinitely if he still poses a threat to society.

I've been following this issue and trial for a couple weeks. This guy killed a bunch of kids with a gun. Now he is on trial. The most anyone can get in Norway for any crime is 21 years. People are screaming for a death penalty for this asshole.

So, is he nuts? Is he using this trial as a pulpit or soapbox? Is he a brilliant manipulator? He is definitely in charge of his thoughts. He is anti everything it seems.

According to his long manifesto, he has deliberately joined some political parties in order to discredit them. He has plotted and planned this for a very long time.

This guy has made a bunch of people reconnoiter how law and punishment has evolved in Europe over the last hundred years. Some say the Pusification of the Western culture has made it too difficult to deal with true evil that shows up. I still wonder what would happen differently if this guy were not white and from a Christin background. If here were Jewish or Muslim, things would be handled differently, I'm convinced of this.

The fact that this is happening is not a good thing. What does it take to wake a people up to the realities of their world? Must it take something this bad to fill people in that humans are still animals in the long stretch. Humans should be dealt human treatment, but they should also be held responsible for their actions.

This guy was raised in the general area he committed the crimes. He didn't come in from a long way away and kill people he had nothing in common with. He is the home grown terrorist the experts said will come along. Listen very closely for the next couple of years for legislation that comes out of Europe that is designed to keep an eye on local citizens. The laws will be designed to identify deviants from specific norms and isolate them for observation in the name of saving the children.

Never let a crisis go to waist.


2012-04-28

Notes:

I don't really like Susan Vega, but I like some of her songs.

I'm updating two of my computers from Ubuntu 11.10 to Ubuntu 12.04. This upgrade should go pretty well. It just so happens that Ubuntu 12.04 is the next LTS (long term support) version of Ubuntu. There has been quite a bit of testing. Now that I've said this, I've doomed myself to days of aganizing recover efforts.


2012-04-26

Talk about not giving up

This is called determination. That or if you don't get it out of the lake, it is your ass.

Notes:

The number of Mexicans entering the country has leveled off and pretty much equaled the number of Mexicans leaving the country over the last three years. -NPR This is particularly damming because much of Mexico is a fucking war zone.

Wal-Mart is getting hit with an investigation for bribing Mexican officials to do business there. From what I understand, that is just the way things are done in other parts of the world. The U. S. and Europe just refuse to acknowledge this fact.

It it funny how difficult it is to keep a web server running. Even when you have a pretty basic web page, things just stop working. It is odd what stops working too. You might get a single page that fails to load that is in the same folder as all the other pages. It gets an error and the others work fine. You get one query out of a DB that fails and the next query works fine. They will be repeatable and consistent. They are also unexplainable as far as I can tell. I wonder if Apache does the same thing.

The new boots I got are not going to last. I can already tell. They are comfortable. They seem to be tough. The soles are going to ware out before I'm ready for them to do so.

I'm trying to think of an excuse to get arms for monitor mounts. Same for the laptop. I would love to have a pull out table with a power plug and small speakers in it for my laptop that lets me use it in bed to play music. I could probably get something together for under a hundred bucks that would work. I need to think of ways to bolt the laptop to the table at the end of the arm.


2012-04-24

Notes:

In Spain, 50% of "youth" are unemployed.

I want to write down things that strike me about my surroundings. Not that anyone will care. I feel the need to document myself and the bits of the world that I bump in to.

Some of the programs that I'm used to using on a daily basis have been criticized for not updating their user interface to work with Windows 8. Some of the software companies counter by saying the interface they have works. The counter to this is basically that "works" doesn't mean "works well". The thing is, Windows 8 is a wholesale change of interface. People are not going to like old stile and new stile mixes of software. I have ranted that the interface is a side line for Microsoft. I don't think they care about the interface changes. Microsoft wants an App store and everything else be dammed.

I like productive meetings. There are productive meetings. I hate unproductive meetings. There are unproductive meetings. There are meetings that exist to make someone happy (get them off other people's backs). This kind of thing happens at every company.

Some guy at Microsoft, an ex employee, put some rant up on a web page about the ineptness at Microsoft. His name now shows up at the top of Google searches. He will have some awkward questions to answer at interviews. I'm not going to put his name up here because I don't want to give him the link. Is there a keyword specific block for search engines?

I found something interesting today. I found an online HTML editor. It is almost complete. I think these folks want to provide the code for you to run this on your server. It looks pretty good for what it is. Now I wonder why more programs don't have something like this shoved inside them so people can do a better job of expressing themselves. I think I still prefer just writing the code myself. They will never please me when it comes to laying out the HTML. I'm not particularly good at HTML, but I know what I like.

A podcast commentator read out the horrible translation of a French news report about a guy who was blown up by a grenade sent to him from a friend. Not sure it is legal to send grenades through the mail in any country. This guy was a lawyer. He was killed. No news on who the friend was. The neighboring offices were damaged. Some bystanders were injured. I've learned to read through these things for facts. He was tickled by the grammar and his translation of the translation. I would suggest trying a Chinese news story about anything. Now, that is a translation in need of translation.

A friend and I had a discussion about button fly vs zipper fly. Zipper fly is easier to take care of when necessary, but button fly jeans are more comfortable. We pondered it must be the double stitching of the zipper fly jeans. It takes me several seconds to button up. It is embarrassing to stand at the uranyl fiddling with my fly until I'm done. I feel the need to explain myself to anyone who is standing there trying very hard not to pay any attention to what I'm doing.


2012-04-23

Notes:

I have a couple laptops that have basically died while trying to install service pack one on windows 7. They get stuck on one file. There is little to do to recover. I usually end up restaging the computer. I've tried repairs and stitching and booting in to safe mode to kill the update. Nothing works. I even have to kill the partition to get the system to follow through with the install. I have to boot in linux and wipe the first 100k or so of the drive so it looks blank. I tis all a rich tapestry.

Roll on. Roll on. God almighty help me roll on.

I can't remember the last time I walked to a place to get breakfast, ate it, paid for it, left and continued my walk. Been so long.

I just might be feeling the photography itch again. Not sure.

Sunday

Field Data
Title Sunday
Description
Yard, meal and yard again.
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags yard lawn work mow killing ants bugs spraying granules family kids helping schlotzsky's sandwich almond chocolate milk food
Link Link


2012-04-21

One way off the high rock

You can move the truck, move the rock, or in this case, take it with you.

War in Mexico

There is a war in Mexico that will not abate unless we take specific action. Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) are ruthless and unafraid to utilize all the tools of terror and violence at their disposal. They enjoy extreme wealth, power, and an impressive arsenal unmatched by local police and military forces. Until we categorize DTOs as terrorists, we are unable to fight this problem with our own full range of resources. This paper argues that the first step to combating this threat is to properly identify the enemy and update our list of foreign terrorist organizations. Adding these DTOs to this list will open up the full range of tools and resources at the disposal of the Federal Government. The U.S. has succeeded in the past in responding to terrorism in the Americas, as seen in our work with Colombia in the 1980’s and 90’s against a variety of sub-state groups. These sub-state groups demonstrated identical motivation and tactics to those in Mexico today and were placed on America’s terrorist list in order to level the playing field. This identification alone was the impetus for a joint U.S. and Colombian response which led to successful management of the problem. This change is a must if we wish to see improvement across our border.
...
We must realize that apart from being a contemporary security concern within Mexico’s borders, Mexican DTO members have an octopus-like reach, maintaining a strong presence in many countries and also a stake in a diverse array of highly profitable illicit markets. Beyond the production and distribution of illegal drugs, Mexican drug trafficking organizations have branched into kidnapping, assassination for hire, auto theft, prostitution, extortion, money-laundering, and human smuggling. While most victims are from rival drug cartels, many are innocents, and more than a few have been U.S. citizens. Based on the strategy, brutal tactics, and common usage of military-grade weaponry utilized by the cartels, law enforcement strategists have begun to make comparisons to some of the world’s most prolific conflicts in recent years, including the raging insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
...
With this established, we return to the principle argument that the Mexican DTOs behave and exist precisely like other well-established organizations that enjoy a spot on the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. State Department defines terrorism as “Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience” (p. 13).
With this definition in mind, some argue that Mexican DTOs are simply motivated by profits rather than political aspirations, even if their tactics do resemble those of terrorists. This viewpoint was represented in a Council on Foreign Relations report from last year. However, we must recognize that political motivation behind the actions of these groups does exist, as there is a degree of submissiveness within the state that allows their illicit activities to take place. There is ample evidence to suggest that DTOs are attempting to influence major government elections by kidnapping and threatening the lives of political candidates. The Mexican Attorney General in 2008 said: "We have evidence, complaints from candidates who were kidnapped or intimidated, or who received threats intended to influence the results of an election and the behavior of candidates." On top of efforts to influence state elections, the organizations have established a strong presence at the municipal level. The Attorney General commented that: "There are municipal police forces that have collapsed, that function more as an aid to organized crime than as protection for the public.”
Small Wars

Apologies for the long quote. This is very important. I believe this information is accurate. I want as many U. S. citizens to know this is going on as possible.

By redefining these groups as terrorists instead of criminal organizations would allow things like military intervention. As much as I hate the I'de a of using the military for law enforcement, I worry it is what this situation calls for. Our current government loves to redefine things to get their way instead of bringing new rules about.

Please pay attention.

Remind me to never ask this guy for help

This guy calls his channel an auto school. I've learned stuff from him. I cannot stand it when he does characters on his channel. He is enough of a character.


2012-04-18

Notes:

We tried to get a Dell laptop to boot properly from a USB key and install Windows. This is a normal thing. It has worked in the past. This time, it didn't work worth a flip. One of the other IT folk spent hours messing with it. The laptop boots Linux and Windows PE just fine. Just not the install image from Microsoft. It is a driver issue. The USB image will boot, but once booted, the install running will not see the drive it just booted from.

I'm thinking I will encrypt my home directory on my home machines the next time I install Ubuntu on my machines at the house. Anyone had experience out there? It just seems like the thing to do these days. I need to look at my choice of passwords and make sure they are conducive to a good algorithm. Unfortunately, you have to do this at install time. It is for all users apparently. In order to get full drive encryption, you have to use a different install in order to make full drive encryption work in Ubuntu. That is annoying. Perhaps Ubuntu 12 will fix things up. I'm sure I'll complain if things do not go well.


2012-04-17

Linux Background image changer

Field Data
Title Linux Background image changer
Description
This is an example, not a how to video. It is just a little thing I learned about changing the desktop background in Ubuntu 11.10. Let me know if you have better instructions of software.
* Wallch project http://sourceforge.net/projects/wall-changer/
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags desktop wallpaper linux ubuntu 11.10 walch install software example schedule startup login Kdenlive Houston Texas "Canon Elph 300"
Link Link


2012-04-16

Notes:

On the way in this morning I couldn't help but notice the rain drops traveling thorough the beam of my flashlight. Each drop made between one and two dozen images while traveling though the beam. That means, the LED flashes that many times in the time it takes the drop to fall past the beam. It just looks like a dashed line to me as the drop passes. I see it all as one image. I have no idea what the Hertz rate is on my light on medium.

Could have used a waterproof phone/case this morning.

Noon snuck up on me today. It wasn't until I looked at the time clock and saw that someone clocked out at 11:55 when I noticed what time it was. I would have swore it was 9:30 or so. I suppose this is better than the other way round, but it still through me off the rest of the day. I blame the rainy weather and being very busy.

There have been at least 34 submarines that have sunk since the end of WWII. Those are the one's that are publicized. There is a NATO standard for submarine rescue. The company delivering the equipment is Roles Royce.

Notes:

On the way in this morning I couldn't help but notice the rain drops traveling thorough the beam of my flashlight. Each drop made between one and two dozen images while traveling though the beam. That means, the LED flashes that many times in the time it takes the drop to fall past the beam. It just looks like a dashed line to me as the drop passes. I see it all as one image. I have no idea what the Hertz rate is on my light on medium.

Could have used a waterproof phone/case this morning.

Noon snuck up on me today. It wasn't until I looked at the time clock and saw that someone clocked out at 11:55 when I noticed what time it was. I would have swore it was 9:30 or so. I suppose this is better than the other way round, but it still through me off the rest of the day. I blame the rainy weather and being very busy.

There have been at least 34 submarines that have sunk since the end of WWII. Those are the one's that are publicized. There is a NATO standard for submarine rescue. The company delivering the equipment is Roles Royce.


2012-04-15

Late Easter Egg Hunt

Field Data
Title Kid party at Tracy's place
Description
This was a late Easter egg hunt because of kid custody schedules. For some reason, we had a pinata. We also had a silly-string water gun fight that ended up with someone covered in soap. Not sure how it all worked out. Good time had by all.
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags pranks party kids friends family fun Easter eggs water guns silly string "Canon Elph 300" Rosenberg Texas
Link Link

A different spin

Pretty dang good if you ask me. This is kind of an old video too. Surprised it hasn't gone round the Faire crew.

Young heavy metal band

Sign these kids up.

Good job of not crashing

Watch the fender pop up on the right. The tire didn't just blow, it blew up. The driver deserves a raise.


2012-04-14

Best Buy and voter ID

Best Buy Scans Drivers License For Returns — No More Allowed For 90 Days rullywowr writes "A customer with a defective Blu-Ray disc returns to the Best Buy store where he purchased it. After having his driver's license scanned into the system, he is now banned from returning/exchanging goods for 90 days. This is becoming one of the latest practices big-box stores are using to limit fraud and abuse of the return system — for example, the people who buy a giant TV before the big game and then return it on Monday. Opponents feel this return-limiting concept has this gone too far, including the harvesting of your personal data."

Not long ago someone tried to get in to one of the offices of one of the senators who is against using picture IDs for voting in government elections. The person trying to get in to the office was asked for ID. You now need your photo id to return an item to a store. Wal-Mart can't be far behind. The argument for not wanting people to present ID to vote is getting thin.


2012-04-10

Bad news for hybrid manufacturers

Hybrid Car Owners Not Likely To Buy Another Hybrid
An anonymous reader writes "A new study has found that people who purchased a hybrid car in the past are not likely to buy a hybrid for their next car purchase. 'Only 35% of hybrid vehicle owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the market in 2011, according to auto information company R.L. Polk & Co. If you factor out the super-loyal Toyota Prius buyers, the repurchase rate drops to under 25%.' The study also found Florida drivers to be a bit more loyal to the hybrid segment than elsewhere in the country. 'It's hard to know what's causing the low repurchase rate. One reason is that about 17,000 people purchased electric cars last year, and other data shows that many of those were trading in a hybrid vehicle. Honda has been hounded by high-profile class-action and small claims court lawsuits over fuel economy issues with older models of its Civic hybrid. ... Hybrid vehicles represent just 2.4% of the overall new vehicle market in the U.S., according to Polk, down from a high of 2.9% in 2008.'"

I almost hate to say this, but the reason Prius is so successful is because it is a farce. The Prius is just a normal Toyota with some extra bits bolted on the front breaks. The computer keeps you from driving like an asshole most of the time. That is pretty much it. That is why it is successful. The name is what sells the cars. It has become a status symbol. Who cares if it actually does any good? "I'm green and trendy. I drive a Prius." Fuck reality.

Notes:

Asked someone if they could print from Firefox because Internet Explorer was not working for them. They asked "What is Firefox?" I tripped over my jaw on the way to show them.

I screwed up some file permisssions this morning. It only took the entire IT department an hour to get things fixed. Go me.


2012-04-09

Crazy laptop firmware upgrade

Field Data
Title Dell Inspiron 14Z Notebook firmware update
Description
Why does this laptop freak out when you run the Firmware upgrade? There is no point really to beeping you head off. Either people know to leave the machine running or they don't. this reminds me of the "Everything is OK" alarm.
* Everything is OK alarm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTzByQTeyJQ
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags Apocalypse sound Dell Inspiron 14Z Notebook firmware update upgrade IT "Information Technology" notebook laptop maintenance "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas


2012-04-07

Tex

Field Data
Title Tex
Description
We gathered to say goodbye to a friend. Tex was a good man, good friend. He will be missed.
LeTulle Park http://www.cityofbaycity.org/index.aspx?NID=71
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags Tex Ryman Birdwell "Saying goodbye" birds LeTulle park lake pavilion food family fun "Baytown" Texas "Canon Elph 300"
Link Link

Ducks vs kids

Field Data
Title Ducks vs kids
Description
Talk about relaxing. This was like going back in time and relaxing twice.
LeTulle Park http://www.cityofbaycity.org/index.aspx?NID=71
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags ducks kids LeTulle park family fun nature "Baycity Texas" "Canon Elph 300" Kdenlive
Link Link


2012-04-06

Spotify

I am completely addicted to Spotify. It is to the point that I want to hurry up and listen to all my podcasts so I can go listen to the huge list of crap that I have already gathered and assigned to play lists. It is amazing.

  • Songs kick off immediately.
  • Play lists
  • Search by artist, track, album ...
  • "Like" searches.
  • "Like" play lists.
  • "Like" stations that play similar bands to the one you just clicked on.

I like this service so much that there is no way it can last. I was serious when I said that since I have joined, things are going to go to hell. I cannot afford $120 or half that per year. I would probably be able to drop $20 a year. That is not their business model. It isn't that I'm hording money and won't spend it. The money does not exist. I already have hose and home to keep going. Spotify has already put out feelers for charing for even the most basic usage.

Notes:

Oklahoma City has a 5.x% unemployment. Apparently it is the place to find a job. Just so long as you have something related to Oil. Houston and San Antonio are in the top 10 as well. Providence Road island is dead last.

Three billion years ago, the sun was only 80% as bright and assumability, hot. Earth was in a state that was not much different than today when looking at temperature and pressure. They think that the atmosphere may have had more greenhouse gasses, or the chemicals were differently balanced than they are now. I wonder if the Earth was closer to the sun that long ago.

In theory, the largest rain drop is 6.8mm. In reality a large rain drop is 5mm.

I don't like auto correct on my phone because at least with typos, you can tell when I screwed up typing and didn't say something completely stupid. Maybe I should deliberately put in types to mask my stupidity.

We used map navigation on my phone to get to the funeral home yesterday. This was the first time we really depended on it. Nat had her normal print out and map as primary so I guess we only used the navigation as a backup. It was really nice having the distance to the next turn ready at a glance. The lady's voice really did sound more and more annoyed as you refuse to turn the way she says just because you want less lights or a specific route.

I am completely addicted to Spotify. It is to the point that I want to hurry up and listen to all my podcasts so I can go listen to the huge list of crap that I have already gathered and assigned to play lists. It is amazing. Songs kick off immediately.

Spiders

Field Data
Title Spiders
Description
Spiders everywhere. I've walked in to these same webs more than once. Hate it every time.
* Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001
* Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com
* YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags spider spiders spider arachnid web macabre commute dark scary cobweb "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link Link


2012-04-04

Family day

Field Data
Title We are family
Description
Uncle Ron and Aunt Judi. Hadn't't seen them since the wedding.
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Tags family fun home visiting grandma stories antlers garage Canon DSLR dog "Canon Elph 300" Missouri City Texas Kdenlive
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Spotify

I'm trying Spotify. It hooks in to your Facebook account. This is how you log in and how you find music. You can browse your friend's music lists. They can do the same to yours. I looked and only about two dozen out of the nearly 200 people have accounts and only about half of those really use it. Most of my friends have shit taste in music.

I didn't try Spotify several months ago because they didn't have a reliable Linux client. They have an unsupported Linux client now that at least functions on my work Ubuntu 11.10 laptop. Now, I will allow myself to try the Windows client as well. I refuse to subscribe to something that I just feel should have a frigging web page and nothing else. There is no reason they couldn't just make this a complex web page. It must boil down to DRM and nothing else. They don't want people to have access to the stream in a form they might be able to save without their service.

Trying it out. I have yet to dig through my friend's accounts for new music. Oh, I've looked, I haven't listened. I killed the playback so I could run around and look at related artists. I have no idea how to make things show up as in my library or stared or however you get back to the music you like. They have play lists, but that is not perfect. I want a vast tub of titles that I have approved and it just plays on random and lets me skip like mad.

I heard Spotify wants to charge for the service. As it is, you have to pay for mobile access. Computer access is still free (cost of your demographics and friend's lists) to use. They want $10 a month. Screw that. I just don't have it. Now that I've joined on the free version and listened to a total of one song, they will want to sell out, lock it down and start suing their customers. Mark my words.

Loss of a friend

I blogged about using an online aggregater for my podcasts as apposed to using a piece of software. This really saved me last night. I had a half day of work. I went to my parent's place and had a great visit with some family in town. I went home and was able to collapse without having to download and deal with podcasts. This was wonderful because tomorrow (Thursday) is a big day. This is more than a convenience because my podcasts keep me sane at work.

Why in the world would I start a blog post about loosing a friend with that paragraph? Because life has to go on. Before I get past the loss of my friend though, I must grieve. I must remember.

Tex was a funny guy. He was a serious guy. He was Witty in that redneck way. He was a good friend who would show up when he could to help. He showed me a good place to get chicken fried stake. He invited me in to his home. We hung out together. We chased girls together. We played CB tag once or twice. We had fun.

Tex gave me a ride to the eye doctor once. I ended up buying him a pare of glasses.

Tex is gone, but will never be forgotten.

For the last couple years, I have noticed Tex deteriorating. I wish he had taken better care of himself. I and others asked him about it. He basically wanted to live a normal life and not live like someone who had all the health problems. I believe in the rights of the individual to live the way they want if it hurts no one else. That doesn't make me mis him any less.


2012-04-02

Notes:

I ordered a new pare of boots on Amazon last night. That is correct, I ordered shoes online. I've done it once before. This time it is cost. I need to replace on of the pares of my boots because they came apart in such a way that I consider premature and unnecessary. No more Caterpillar boots for a while. The boots I ordered are Wolverine. I've had good luck with Wolverine. They are not steel toe, but they have plastic on the toe. They are not so much work boots as hiking boots. I'm going to give them a try. I believe they were $99 at Academy and I paid $65.x including shipping.

It rained this morning. I was surprised. I hadn't heard there was a chance. I must not have been paying attention. I made it in to work about half an hour before it started. It was thick as soup for about fifteen minutes. A couple of folks came in dripping this morning.

The Republicans are headed for a convention and perhaps a couple interventions on the way. The "other" candidate wannabes are not bailing out on queue. Thins are plowing headlong to a last minute fight. I love it. I'm glad the lesser guys are making the greater guy work for it. Goodness knows that the press are not slapping either side around to get answers.

One of the guys brought in some biscuits that were still gooey and smothered in some kind of butter sugar nut concoction. They were amazing. His wife made them for church and then forgot to take them along. I think I ate three of them. Nearly made myself sick. I was not the only one who loved them. I need that recipe. Well, I really don't need that recipe.

Sunday was April Fools day. I thought YouTube was playing a prank on me. All the Flash video was blue. Actually, red and blue were swapped. I didn't figurer it out until today. It turns out there is some kind of driver glitch in Ubuntu on NVIDIA and I have to true off hardware acceleration on all Flash video or see the planet though Smurf colored glasses.No big deal, but I feel even more the fool for catching on earlier.


2012-04-01

Just another Sunday

Field Data
Title Multicultural Sunday at the park and a racial slur
Description
Talk about extremes. We went to the park and had a good time. We were out for bread and some milk and got more than we expected.
Blind people need not apply to the future.
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Tags Multicultural "racial slur" "n word" family fun Sunday enjoy park "good times" "jack in the box" alarms "touch displays" Houston Texas "Canon Elph 300" Kdenlive
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Plane vs car

Pretty dang good.


2012-03-31

Blind man behind the wheel

Blind Man Test Drives Google's Autonomous Car

"'This is some of the best driving I've ever done,' Steve Mahan said the other day. Mahan was behind the wheel of a Toyota Prius tooling the small California town of Morgan Hill in late January, a routine trip to pick up the dry cleaning and drop by the Taco Bell drive-in for a snack. He also happens to be 95 percent blind. Mahan, head of the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center, 'drove' along a specially programmed route thanks to Google's autonomous driving technology. Google announced the self-driving car project in 2010. It relies upon laser range finders, radar sensors, and video cameras to navigate the road ahead, in order to make driving safer, more enjoyable and more efficient — and clearly more accessible. In a Wednesday afternoon post on Google+, the company noted that it has hundreds of thousands of miles of testing under its belt, letting the company feel confident enough in the system to put Mahan behind the wheel."

This is amazing news. Except, I would skip Taco Bell. Are they trying to give this guy a heart attack?

Notes:

I'm reading (listening to) a bunch of speculative fiction where people upload themselves to devices. Or, people have ubiquitous contact to a a collective hive network. The common thread is of course things that go wrong or people taking advantage of such glitches. This is a good exorcise for all the things that are coming in my lifetime. I bet that before my end, baring accidents, there will be many of these advances. I think the idea of uploading yourself is a ways off, but a hive mind sort of thing is here now if you count online gaming. It is not thought and people think they have control of their experience, but it is sort of the idea.

Riding the bus sucks. Light rail and trolleys are just too frigging expensive. If they would just get rid of the drivers, things would work much


2012-03-29

Lunch conversation

  • Some crazy cartoon that Coy watched as a kid.
  • Torture and having the choice to enter the oil head first so you would drown before you would cook.
  • Seven people simultaneously looking up Sunday's weather on their phones, citing their source as they went.
  • April fool's day. Tricks played on kids by parents.
  • Birthday's too close to Christmas. Someone had been lied to until they were 16 about their birthday to manipulate their first day of school.
  • Adam getting punched in the gut.
  • An erroneous parking ticket that should have never happened.
  • The service at the restaurant, normally excellent, was done in by the new chick. Still not the worst by a dang sight.
  • A DnD game where someone killed one of the plot pivotal characters too early.
  • Getting stuck in the middle of an intersection.

We nearly got run over on the way to the restaurant and again on the way back. Something happened feather down Westheimer that caused a traffic backup. People were stuck in the intersection. When the light turned green, we all walked between the cars still hanging over the lines to the safety of the curb. I don't think anyone complained about the rain.

Autism in the U. S.

The estimated number of U.S. autistic kids has skyrocketed by 78% since 2000, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in 88 American kids has autism, according to the new figures. Among boys, it's one in 54. Why? One expert says: "Better diagnosis, broader diagnosis, better awareness, and roughly 50% of 'We don't know.'" One advocate says: "we have an epidemic of autism in the United States."
CNN Headline News email

I lvoe it when billions of dollars are spent and the anser is "We don't know." That just tickles me pink.

Notes:

I listen to two financial podcasts. One from the U. S. and the other from the U. K.. I prefer listening to them first thing. If I miss listening to them first thing, I don't pay as much attention to them when I do end up listening to them.

One of the users is working remotely from home. She caught a virus or something that routs all her Google links to some Chinese web site that has been translated to English. We ran the virus software and hopefully got it. She wanted to know how it got on her computer. This is a natural question. I wish I had an answer for her. The only secret is that the bad guys really out to get you. Any time you click on something, a link, a button, a window, you open yourself up for manual activation of one of these vicious things. There are ways to infiltrate computers even without user intervention. That is less common. Those are the holes that get closed eventually. Hopefully we got it and it won't be one of those self healing nightmares.


2012-03-28

Interview questions

This is brainstorming. I want to interview some folks for my vlog. I have no idea how to proceed so I'm just pulling stuff out of my ear.

Generic questions

  • Tell me about your life.
  • Tell me about your family.
  • Tell me about your interests.
  • Tell me about your problems.

I picture myself asking myself these generic questions and coming up with more specific questions for each person I interview. I shouldn't call it an interview because people will associate that word with things like going before the principal and trying to get a job.

Perfect storm of morning distractions

My bed was just too inviting.
There was plenty of very hot water.
The cats were cute.
My wife was kind on my way out the door.

The walk was quiet.
The bus was prompt.
The bus stop was dry.
The light let me cross the street.

The elevator took me straight to my floor.
The coffee was already made.
The water cooler was cold.
My boots held no mud.

My coworkers said good morning.

Post script

What inspired this "poem" was my need to get a new water jug for the water cooler this morning. It took many too many steps because I also needed to stop and find a cup and a pill for my headache. I needed to sit down my coffee and I stopped to say good morning to a coworker. For all that inspiration, not much of it ended up in the bit above.

Just another day

Field Data
Title Just another day
Description
Some work stuff. Some home stuff. You know how it goes. The time lapse is sped up seven times.
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